The New Jerusalem - the basic elements of its structure
The New Jerusalem is composed of three categories of materials: gold, signifying God the father and His divine nature; pearls, signifying Christ in His life-releasing death and life-secreting resurrection; and precious stones, signifying the Spirit in His transforming work. God’s nature is His divine life which is the very life of Christ released through His death; His divine life is secreted in His resurrection into His believers. With this life the Spirit transforms the believers, making them precious materials for the building of the New Jerusalem to express the Triune Godhead in what the three of the Godhead are and have done, in His marvelous manifestation in the ages to come in eternity.
Gold - Revelation 21:18 says, "The city was pure gold like pure glass" and Revelation 21:21 says, "The street was pure gold as transparent glass." Gold is characterized by its unchangeableness and in the biblical typology it refers to the divine nature of God. The divine nature of God is the base of the city. This indicates that the New Jerusalem is wholly constituted of the nature of God, which is pure and transparent as the pure and transparent glass without any mixture, with which and in which nothing can be hidden. The divine nature is the golden base within us for God’s building. When we were regenerated we received the divine gold, God’s divine nature into us. The more we partake of the divine nature (II Pet. 1:4), the more we become gold-men (God-men) and the more we have the base for God’s building.
Pearls - Revelation 21:21 tells us that the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem are twelve pearls. Pearls are produced by oyster. When an oyster is wounded by a particle of sand, it secretes its life-juice around the sand and makes it a precious pearl. The oyster depicts Christ as the living One coming into the death waters, being wounded by us (the sand) and secreting His life over us to become precious pearls for the building of God’s eternal habitation and expression. Whenever we remain in the all-inclusive death of Christ, whenever we take the cross, the resurrection life of Christ secretes over us to make us more and more a pearl. That the twelve gates of the holy city are twelve pearls signifies that regeneration through death - overcoming and life-secreting Christ is the entrance into the city.
Precious Stones - According to Rev. 21:18-20 the building material of the wall and the twelve foundations of the wall were made of precious stones. Precious stones are not created, but transformed from things created. Due to intense heat and pressure these stones were transformed from their original form and nature to a transformed form and nature, Thus, precious stones signify the produce of the Spirit in His transforming work with his divine element for the building up of God’s building (Gen.21:12b; I Cor. 3:12a; I Pet. 2:4-5; II Cor. 3;18).
The New Jerusalem - its Gates
There are three gates on each of the four sides of the holy city. The number four refers to us God’s creatures (Rev. 4:6; Ezek. 1:5-14) and three refers to the Triune God. The twelve gates are a number mingled and blended by three times four. This means that the entire New Jerusalem is a blending, a mingling of the Triune God with His human beings.
The three gates on each side signify that the Triune God - Father, Son, and Spirit - working together to bring people into the holy city. Hence, the Triune God is the entrance into the New Jerusalem.
Gates are for communication, coming in and going out. Hence, "twelve gates" indicate that the communication in the New Jerusalem is absolutely perfect and eternally complete (signified by the number 12) for God’s administration.
The names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel inscribed on the twelve gates of the city (Rev. 21:12) represent the Old Testament believers and the law of the Old Testament. The law watches and observes to insure that all the communication, the comings and goings out, of the holy city meet its requirement.
The New Jerusalem - its wall, its foundation and its street
Its Wall - signifies the image of God. God sitting on this throne looks like Jasper (Rev. 4:3a) and the entire wall is built with jasper. The entire wall of the city bears one unique image - the image of God. In the church life there should not be European, Asian, American, Chinese, or any flavor, but only the flavor of the Triune God expressed in His unique image. Although the wall is mainly for expression it also becomes a separation and protection. Anything that is separated is also preserved and protected. In the church life we must have God’s expression. This divine expression is our separation, and this separation is our protection and preservation. If we all expressed God, we shall be separated from anything worldly. There should be nothing in the church but God’s desire. Only what God wants is within the wall and nothing else.
Its Foundation - twelve foundations (Rev. 21:14a) signify the foundation of absolute perfection and eternal completion in God’s administration. The twelve precious stones of the foundation indicate the unsearchable riches of the all-inclusive Christ. The colors of the twelve layers of the foundation (Rev. 21:19-20) give the appearance of a rainbow, signifying, that the city is built upon and secured by God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant (Gen. 9:8-17). The foundations are the twelve apostles of the Lamb representing the New Testament believers and the grace of the New Testament signifying the New Jerusalem is built upon the grace of God.
Its Street - the street of the city is gold as a transparent glass (Rev. 21:21b), signifying God’s nature. The street being gold means that God’s nature is the way in the city and the way in the church life. If we take God’s nature as our unique way we will be pure, without mixture, and transparent, without opaqueness. Because it is one street that proceeds out of the throne to reach all that passes through the entire city, it should be spiral that passes through the entire city. In this way the one street proceeding out of the throne, is able to reach and serve the twelve gates from four directions (east, west, north, south), but they are gathered into one street which is according to the nature of God and corresponds to it. Because the street is uniquely one there is no maze, no leading astray, and no getting lost. In the New Jerusalem there is no such things as Baptist street, nor a Methodist street, nor a Lutheran street; there is no confusion because there is only one way.