Revelation 21:16

John described the shape and then the size of the city. Its base was square, the same shape as ancient Babylon and Nineveh. [Note: Robertson, 6:473.] The dimensions of this city were 12,000 stadia (approximately 1,500 miles) on each of its four sides and 1,500 miles high. The distance from Dallas, Texas, to Philadelphia or Los Angeles is about 1,500 miles.

Beasley-Murray wrote that the reader should not translate this measurement into miles because "it represents the ordinary unit of distance (the furlong) multiplied by the number of God’s people (twelve) and extended indefinitely." [Note: Beasley-Murray, p. 322.] Beale observed that the size of the city is the approximate size of the Hellenistic world in John’s day and so suggests the inclusion of all the redeemed. He held that the city’s measurements are not literal but symbolic of the inclusion of Gentiles in the true temple and city (the church). [Note: Beale, p. 1074.] Swete said, "Such dimensions defy imagination, and are permissible only in the language of symbolism." [Note: Swete, p. 289.] Such interpretations are very subjective and amount to guessing.

This description, understood literally, could allow for either a cube [Note: Mounce, p. 380; Beasley-Murray, p. 322; Seiss, p. 498; McGee, 5:1070-71; Ladd, p. 282; Swete, p. 288.] or a pyramid shape, the shape of a Babylonian ziggurat. [Note: Lilje, p. 267; William Hoste, The Visions of John the Divine, p. 178; Ironside, p. 357.] The fact that the holy of holies was a cube tempts one to conclude that the New Jerusalem will also be a cube in shape, but this is speculation.

Probably we should interpret these dimensions literally. Some interpreters believe they only symbolize what the holy of holies in Israel anticipated, namely, a perfect environment in which God dwells. Others hold that they symbolize the fulfillment of all God’s promises. [Note: E.g., Johnson, p. 596.]