A cab driver reaches the pearly gates. St. Peter looks him up in his Big Book and tells him to pick up a gold staff and a silk robe and proceed into Heaven. Next in line is a preacher. St. Peter looks him up in his Big Book, furrows his brow and says, “OK, we’ll let you in, but take that cloth robe and wooden staff.”

The preacher is shocked and replies, “But I am a man of the cloth. You gave that cab driver a gold staff and a silk robe. Surely I rate higher than a cabbie!” St. Peter responds matter-of-factly, “This is Heaven and up here, we are interested in results. When you preached, people slept. When the cabbie drove, people prayed.”

Have you ever wondered about heaven? Will St. Peter really stand at the pearly gates and pass out staffs and robes? Are there really pearly gates in heaven?

Have you wondered what heaven is really going to be like? Have you thought about what it is going to look like, sound like, and feel like? Have you ever wondered who you will see in heaven? Someone once said, “When we get to heaven, we will be surprised by who we see and who we don’t see.” There are so many things about heaven that we just don’t know, but then again, there are some things we do know!

The end of the Book of Revelation answers some of our questions about heaven. In Revelation 21:1-8, the Apostle John told us about his vision of heaven as the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God. He told us that heaven is a place where God makes all things new. He told us that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain in heaven. What a wonderful description of heaven that was!

In today’s passage, John continues to tell us about heaven. This time, he zooms in further and presents a close up image of heaven. In verse 9 he tells us that one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues invites him to come and see the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Then the angel carried him away to a very high mountain and acted as his personal tour guide of heaven, the New Jerusalem, God’s holy and celestial city.

Today, let’s follow John and the angel and take a tour of heaven! Let us take a closer look and see the structure, the materials, and the inhabitants of the celestial city.

The Structure of the Celestial City (11-17)

The first thing we learn about the structure of heaven is that it is supported by the presence and glory of God. In verse 11, John tells us that the celestial city shone with the presence glory of God and compared its brilliance to a precious jewel, sparkling like jasper. The Temple in Israel was the temporary place were God’s glory dwelt, but in the new creation, God’s presence and glory are not limited to a physical structure, with the people outside the structure, but the people will be both the city and the temple where God’s glory resides. Unlike the present earth, God’s presence and glory will be seen all the time.

The second thing we learn about the structure of heaven is that it has a high wall and twelve gates. In the ancient world, walls were built around cities to provide protection from foreign armies. Here, the wall around the celestial city symbolizes strength, safety, and security in heaven. There are no physical or spiritual threats in heaven; there is nothing to fear, it is a place of perfect peace.

Like Ezekiel’s vision of the New Jerusalem (Ezekiel 48), John tells us that the celestial city has twelve gates, three facing east north, south, and west. The gates displayed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the foundations of the gates bore the names of the twelve apostles. The gates represent plentiful entry points into heaven. The twelve tribes and the twelve apostles together represent the covenant community, total number of God’s people from the Old Testament and New Testament eras. This builds on the 144,000 in Revelation 7:1-8, a symbolic number representing the complete people of God.

Just as a sign bearing a family name on someone’s front door tells us who lives there, so the names of the of the twelve tribes and twelve apostles tells us who lives in heaven: the complete redeemed people of God.

The third and final thing we learn about the structure of the celestial city is that it is a cube; it is equal on all sides. This symbolically represents the perfection of God’s celestial city: nothing is out of order or balance. Verse 16 tells us that it is 12,000 stadia on each side, which is about 1,500 miles. The city’s length and width are equal to about half of the United States. These staggering numbers are obviously symbolic, representing a city large enough to hold all of the saints down through the ages, the saints from “every tribe, language, people, and nation.”

So, what does the structure of the celestial city tell us about heaven? Heaven is an absolutely perfect place and it is big enough for all of God’s redeemed people to live in safety and security. Heaven is so wonderful that it is difficult to imagine, but try anyway. Can you imagine living in a place where there are no physical or spiritual threats—no more wars or terrorist attacks, no more health problems or financial concerns, no more guilt from the past or fear of the future?

Can you imagine living in a place where nothing is out of order or balance? Do you ever get tired of fixing things and cleaning up messes? In heaven, nothing will be broken and there will be no more messes. Perfect peace at last! Think about it!

The Materials of the Celestial City (18-21)

Well, now that we have seen a close-up view of the structure of the celestial city, let us focus our eyes on the materials of the celestial city. Verse 18 tells us that the wall of the city is made from jasper, one of the most precious gems in the ancient world. And the whole city is constructed with pure gold, including the city’s main street. The foundations of the city is decorated with beautiful gemstones. This list of twelve gems is similar to what was adorned on the breastplate of the high priest, thus emphasizing the priestly nature of the church. And finally, we learn that each of the city’s twelve gates are made from single pearls. Pearls were considered the most luxurious of all the jewels.

One morning when I was teaching a senior high Sunday school class in Massachusetts, we had a discussion about heaven. A young man asked me, “Are there really pearly gates in heaven?” With a puff of pastoral pontification, I responded, “No, the image of pearly gates comes from our jokes, not from the Bible.”

But then, I noticed that one girl had a confused and disappointed look on her face, and she said, “My mother told me that heaven’s gates were made out of pearls.” To complicate things further, the girl was the pastor’s daughter, which made her mother the pastor’s wife. I said, “I’m sure your mother meant well; anybody can make a mistake.” I was young and inexperienced and I had yet to learn that a pastor’s wife is never wrong.

As our discussion turned another direction, I hardly noticed her thumbing through her Bible. About ten minutes later, I heard her say, “A-huh! I knew it! The Bible does say that heaven’s gates are made out of pearls.” We all turned to Revelation 21:21 and there it was! I had read the Book of Revelation dozens of times, but it had never sunk in that heaven’s gates were made out of pearls. I stood corrected by a teenage girl and I apologized to the class.

Even though I stood corrected that day, I do not believe that we will ever walk through pearly gates or on streets of gold. These are all symbolic images which represent the glory and grandeur of the celestial city. Human language was inadequate for describing the majesty and splendor of God in heaven, so it was common to us precious metals and jewels to highlight his glory.

Heaven will be a place of indescribable and awe-inspiring beauty. All of the ugly, corrupt, and disturbing images of this world will be gone. Heaven will be more beautiful than the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Don’t you want to spend eternity in a place like that?

The Inhabitants of the Celestial City (22-27)

The tour of the celestial city concludes with a description of heaven’s inhabitants. John tells us that he did not see any temple there because God the Father and Jesus the Lamb are its temple. Likewise, there is neither sun nor moon because God’s glory provides the light. So, who is the first inhabitant of heaven? God himself! God’s full presence is in heaven.

The other inhabitants include the nations and kings and people who have repented from their sins and have put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is clarified in verse 27, when it says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Neither sin nor unrepentant sinners can enter the celestial city, but only those people whose names have been recorded in the Lamb’s book of life by trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The bad news is that every one of us have said and done things that are impure, shameful, and deceitful. Therefore, we are all disqualified from heaven. But Jesus died on the cross and rose on the third day to offer us forgiveness from our sins and the hope of eternal life in this celestial city. Have you committed your life to Jesus Christ? Is your name in the Lamb’s book of life?

Throughout today’s sermon, I have referred to the New Jerusalem and heaven as “The Celestial City.” This term does not come from the Bible. Rather, it comes from John Bunyan’s 17th century classic The Pilgrim’s Progress. The story follows the protagonist, Christian, as he leaves the City of Destruction (which represents this present world) and journeys to the Celestial City (which represents heaven).

“Celestial” simply means otherworldly—a good term to describe heaven. It is so otherworldly that human mind cannot fully comprehend it and human language cannot fully explain it. But we know that it is a place of ultimate safety and security, peace and perfection, and majesty and magnificence!

So, now that we have taken a taken a tour of heaven and have seen a preview of things to come, let us give our souls to the Lord Jesus Christ and begin our journey to the Celestial City!