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Revelation 21:14-16
New Catholic Bible
Revelation 21:14-16
New Catholic Bible
14 The city wall had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The angel who was speaking to me was carrying a gold measuring rod to measure the city,[a] its gates, and its wall. 16 The city was laid out like a square, with its length and its width identical. He measured the city with his measuring rod: it was fifteen hundred miles[b] in length and width, and equal in height.
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- Revelation 21:15 Measure the city: see Ezek 40–41. The measuring in Rev 11 was to ensure protection; here it is done to indicate the size and symmetry of the eternal dwelling place of God’s people.
- Revelation 21:16 Fifteen hundred miles: literally, “twelve hundred stadia,” about twelve thousand furlongs. In the mind of the ancients the square was the perfect form. When the number twelve, which symbolizes the new Israel, is multiplied by 1000, it signifies supreme perfection. The city possesses the symmetrical dimensions of a perfect cube, which is akin to its earthly counterpart, the inner sanctuary in the tabernacle and temple (see 1 Ki 6:20).
