The Size of New Jerusalem according to Priest Ezekiel and Apostle John

The size of the heavenly city given in Rev. 21:16 needs further study.  All Greek text Bibles say there are twelve thousand stadia on each side, but the Aramaic Peshitta says “about twelve stadia, twelve thousand..”  Lamsa’s translation of this sentence is “about twelve furlongs, twelve thousand paces.” 

 

The New Jerusalem vision should take account of Ezekiel’s 48:15-19 vision wherein the future city is seen as 4500 cubits on each side.  There is an extra 250 cubit width land area around the city, making the overall land portion 5000 cubits on each side.  This differs from the Greek text of Revelation but the Aramaic text may serve better. 

A Greek Stadia is 185 metres.  But when Roman writers refer to stadia they usually mean the artabic stadia.  Sea distances were calculated in artabic stadia.  A Roman artabic stadia averaged 187.5 metres, which serves well as a basis of calculations. 

 

The twelve stadia dimension is 2250 metres.  The Aramaic text indicates that this is twelve thousand paces but that cannot be a single side.  If twelve thousand paces is the 9000 metre parameter of the four sides, a single pace is 75 cm.  The 9000 metre parameter around the wall’s four sides is easily paced in twelve thousand paces.  Expressed in round numbers this pace is realistic. 

 

Ezekiel was a priest in the First Temple.  Solomon built the Temple by using Israel’s first cubit (2 Chron. 3:3), which is 42.85714 cm, confirmed by corner stone sockets measured at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.  This was the Israeli cubit in Ezekiel’s time before captivity.  The angel of Ezekiel’s vision took measures using a longer cubit (40:5), “a cubit and handbreadth.”  A cubit has six handbreadths.  The longer cubit used by the angel is therefore 50 cm exactly —an half metre.  The measuring rod of the angel was six of these longer cubits, a three-metre rod. 

 

Ezekiel said the city in his vision has a parkland space around it of 125 cubits width (62.5 metres), thus making the full land portion of the city 5000 cubits on each side (2500 metres).  The outer parameter of the parkland area is 10 000 metres.  The wall enclosing the city is 144 cubits tall, (72 metres, slightly more than 236 feet).  A stroll through the parkland surrounding the city would be a six-mile walk. 

 

The towering city wall is very beautiful because it is jade green and because of the magnificence of the twelve gateways.  We know the city is space-built because it is from heaven.  It is made for earth however, and it will be the centre of God’s earthly Kingdom.  The city will be very high tech but nevertheless material and physical.  God, glorified saints and angels will be there, coming and going about their duties.  Righteous people of Earth are allowed to enter and have access to the Tree of Life. 

We find that John’s and Ezekiel’s visions of New Jerusalem are the same.  They are not two different cities, nor does John’s vision replace Ezekiel’s vision.  Both visions add together.  This future city, though large, is still small enough to set upon earth without causing earthquakes.  The height is like our tallest mountains, but the mass most likely would not exceed a medium-size mountain such as earth now supports. 
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A Bible study essay written by Paul Phelps, 28 May 2006