How large is the New Jerusalem? - How many people can fit in the New Jerusalem?
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The city described in Revelation 21:9-27 is amazingly vivid and also somewhat strange. It has great walls, many gates, pure glassy gold, precious stones, and light that shines forever. In the next chapter, Rev. 22, we find out more about God’s throne, the river of life, and the tree of life. We are only in this world for a time; it is eternity which we must prepare for…do you know what it might be like? Let's examine just one aspect of the New Jerusalem: its sheer size.
For some time now, I have been at a loss to imagine a golden city with twelve foundations as described in verses 19-20. When revisiting this passage recently, it noticed that the city is described as a cube with each side being of equal length (Rev 21:16). Its measurements are 12,000 furlongs (or stadia) on each side (Rev 21:16), which converts to around 1,380 miles.
Just how big is that? The illustration below compares the size of this city to Planet Earth:
For some time now, I have been at a loss to imagine a golden city with twelve foundations as described in verses 19-20. When revisiting this passage recently, it noticed that the city is described as a cube with each side being of equal length (Rev 21:16). Its measurements are 12,000 furlongs (or stadia) on each side (Rev 21:16), which converts to around 1,380 miles.
Just how big is that? The illustration below compares the size of this city to Planet Earth:
At this point I should explain that we’re talking about a brand new place, restored to the conditions of perfection that humans once enjoyed before we rebelled in Eden. Such a radical change to our physical world could go so far as to alter our concept of space and perhaps modify physical laws in ways we cannot imagine. Therefore, certain aspects of this city, its construction, shape, dimensions, and more are simply unimaginable.
At the same time, God does give us some basic parameters that relate to the physical world we can understand. As I mentioned above, we know some basic dimensions (even if we don’t know the exact shape or layout). I soon wondered how many people might fit in such a cubical volume. After all, its footprint won’t even cover Russia! Is there enough room for everyone, or only the chosen “elect?”
If we ignore the areas that might be taken up for public use, streets, etc. and cram every individual into a prison-cell sized room, you could fit one quintillion (one billion billion, or one with 18 zeros after it) people inside.
One estimate of the total number of humans that have ever lived on this planet puts the figure at around 106.5 billion. For the sake of argument, if we assume each and every one gets a place in the city, that leaves enough room for everyone to have a house that’s 1,500 feet on each side, or 2.25 million square feet on each level and around 150 stories tall! In other words, it seems there will be more than enough room for everyone.
Yet, not everyone gets to go (John 3:18-19). There will come a day when God will judge everyone according to their works (Rom 14:10-12). For those who have repented of their sins and believed on Jesus Christ for forgiveness, this judgment will determine our rewards in Heaven (Matt 25:21). Everyone else will go to the Lake of Fire (Rev 21:8) along with Satan and the angels that follow him, earning the title “demon.” Yes, even some angels will go to Hell. In fact, Hell was originally intended for fallen angels, not for us (Matt 25:41).
Will you dwell in this place called the New Jerusalem, destined to spend eternity with the creator of all beauty? God wants you to be there with him. He has made it clear that he has kept a place with plenty of room for everyone, but as a perfect judge he must not allow sin to go unpunished. If you are not 100% sure of your destiny after death, do not wait another day to put it all on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who paid this penalty on your behalf (John 3:16). Believe He died for your sins. (Acts 16:31) Trust in Jesus as Savior. (John 1:12) Repent, (Change your mind) about your inability to earn salvation, and that the resurrected LORD can save you from your sin! I hope you enjoy your future dwelling place!
At the same time, God does give us some basic parameters that relate to the physical world we can understand. As I mentioned above, we know some basic dimensions (even if we don’t know the exact shape or layout). I soon wondered how many people might fit in such a cubical volume. After all, its footprint won’t even cover Russia! Is there enough room for everyone, or only the chosen “elect?”
If we ignore the areas that might be taken up for public use, streets, etc. and cram every individual into a prison-cell sized room, you could fit one quintillion (one billion billion, or one with 18 zeros after it) people inside.
One estimate of the total number of humans that have ever lived on this planet puts the figure at around 106.5 billion. For the sake of argument, if we assume each and every one gets a place in the city, that leaves enough room for everyone to have a house that’s 1,500 feet on each side, or 2.25 million square feet on each level and around 150 stories tall! In other words, it seems there will be more than enough room for everyone.
Yet, not everyone gets to go (John 3:18-19). There will come a day when God will judge everyone according to their works (Rom 14:10-12). For those who have repented of their sins and believed on Jesus Christ for forgiveness, this judgment will determine our rewards in Heaven (Matt 25:21). Everyone else will go to the Lake of Fire (Rev 21:8) along with Satan and the angels that follow him, earning the title “demon.” Yes, even some angels will go to Hell. In fact, Hell was originally intended for fallen angels, not for us (Matt 25:41).
Will you dwell in this place called the New Jerusalem, destined to spend eternity with the creator of all beauty? God wants you to be there with him. He has made it clear that he has kept a place with plenty of room for everyone, but as a perfect judge he must not allow sin to go unpunished. If you are not 100% sure of your destiny after death, do not wait another day to put it all on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who paid this penalty on your behalf (John 3:16). Believe He died for your sins. (Acts 16:31) Trust in Jesus as Savior. (John 1:12) Repent, (Change your mind) about your inability to earn salvation, and that the resurrected LORD can save you from your sin! I hope you enjoy your future dwelling place!
Watch video with a grain of salt! (rm)
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9
(Rob Madden)
1 Corinthians 2:9
(Rob Madden)
Some Thoughts On the Size & Layout of the New Jerusalem
By John MacArthur
Now some have suggested because it says length and width and height it could be a pyramid. And it is conceivable that that is possible. But it is best seen as a cube, a perfect cube, and I’ll tell you why. Because the closest earthly counterpart we have to this was when God gave orders for the building of the holy place in the tabernacle in the temple, which was a cube.
Henry Morris writes some interesting things about this. “The pyramid, whether in Egypt, Mexico, or the stepped towers of practically all ancient nations, seems always to have been associated with paganism, with the pyramid’s apex being dedicated to the worship of the sun. The first such structure was the Tower of Babel; and the Bible always later condemns worship carried out in high places, whether these were simply natural high hills or artificially constructed hills in the form of a pyramid or ziggurat. The cube, on the other hand, was the shape specified by God for the holy place, such as in Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings 6:20.”
And I think that there’s another reason for this that has to be a cube, and that is because the walls have to be at least as high as the city. And what would be the point of having three gates on each side if it was a pyramid. And I’ll show you why I say that. Because if it is a cube you have to get access to all the layers, so the gate has to run from the bottom to what? To the top. And if it’s a cube, then it’s sort of pointless. No, it’s not pointless, but it’s pointless, you understand.
It also needs to be remembered that we will in that city apparently travel vertically as well as horizontally, and so streets will not just be going this way, they’ll be going up and down as well. They will not only be going horizontal, they will be going vertical. The blocks will be cubical blocks instead of square areas like they are in our present life. And that makes it understandable that we could all live there.
You say, “It’s only fifteen hundred miles cubed? Is that enough to get us all in?” Listen to what Henry Morris says: “This kind of geometry makes it easier to understand how all the redeemed of all the ages could be living in a single city. Although there’s no way to know precisely how many people will be there, one can make at least a somewhat accurate guess. It can be calculated,” – he says – “that the total number of people who have lived between Adam’s time and our time is about 40 billion. Then assuming that a similar number will be born during the millennium, because of the conditions, and allowing another 20 billion who died before or soon after death and never really populated the earth, it is reasonable that about 100 billion men, women and children could have been members of the human race, past, present and future.
“Assume, for the sake of argument, that twenty percent of these will be saved, including all of those who die in infancy. It’s obviously only a guess, but the Lord Jesus did make it plain that the large majority will never be saved, right? If this figure is used, then the new Jerusalem would have to accommodate 20 billion residents. Also assume that twenty-five percent of the city is used for the dwelling places of the inhabitants, with the rest allocated to streets, parks, public buildings, et cetera.”
Then he figures out in some exotic calculation – and he’s a scientist – that the average space assigned to each person would be one over thirty cubic miles. This would correspond to a cubicle block with about seventy-five acres on each face. Obviously there’s adequate room in the holy city for all who will be there.
Another way to calculate this immense city is shared by an F. W. Boreham, and he shares this, quite interesting, in quite interesting terms. He says, “Now if you work it out, fifteen hundred cubed, you have an area of two million, two hundred and fifty thousand square miles. The only city foursquare,” – he says – “that I ever saw is Adelaide in South Australia. The ship that brought me out from the old country called in there for a couple of days, and I thought it was a fine city. But as you know very well, the city of Adelaide covers only one-square mile. Each of the four sides is a mile long. London covers an area of a hundred and forty square miles. But this city, the city foursquare, it is two million, two hundred and fifty thousand times as big as Adelaide, fifteen thousand times as big as London.” And he goes on to make some other comparatives.
Well, you get the picture. It’s big enough.
By John MacArthur
Now some have suggested because it says length and width and height it could be a pyramid. And it is conceivable that that is possible. But it is best seen as a cube, a perfect cube, and I’ll tell you why. Because the closest earthly counterpart we have to this was when God gave orders for the building of the holy place in the tabernacle in the temple, which was a cube.
Henry Morris writes some interesting things about this. “The pyramid, whether in Egypt, Mexico, or the stepped towers of practically all ancient nations, seems always to have been associated with paganism, with the pyramid’s apex being dedicated to the worship of the sun. The first such structure was the Tower of Babel; and the Bible always later condemns worship carried out in high places, whether these were simply natural high hills or artificially constructed hills in the form of a pyramid or ziggurat. The cube, on the other hand, was the shape specified by God for the holy place, such as in Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings 6:20.”
And I think that there’s another reason for this that has to be a cube, and that is because the walls have to be at least as high as the city. And what would be the point of having three gates on each side if it was a pyramid. And I’ll show you why I say that. Because if it is a cube you have to get access to all the layers, so the gate has to run from the bottom to what? To the top. And if it’s a cube, then it’s sort of pointless. No, it’s not pointless, but it’s pointless, you understand.
It also needs to be remembered that we will in that city apparently travel vertically as well as horizontally, and so streets will not just be going this way, they’ll be going up and down as well. They will not only be going horizontal, they will be going vertical. The blocks will be cubical blocks instead of square areas like they are in our present life. And that makes it understandable that we could all live there.
You say, “It’s only fifteen hundred miles cubed? Is that enough to get us all in?” Listen to what Henry Morris says: “This kind of geometry makes it easier to understand how all the redeemed of all the ages could be living in a single city. Although there’s no way to know precisely how many people will be there, one can make at least a somewhat accurate guess. It can be calculated,” – he says – “that the total number of people who have lived between Adam’s time and our time is about 40 billion. Then assuming that a similar number will be born during the millennium, because of the conditions, and allowing another 20 billion who died before or soon after death and never really populated the earth, it is reasonable that about 100 billion men, women and children could have been members of the human race, past, present and future.
“Assume, for the sake of argument, that twenty percent of these will be saved, including all of those who die in infancy. It’s obviously only a guess, but the Lord Jesus did make it plain that the large majority will never be saved, right? If this figure is used, then the new Jerusalem would have to accommodate 20 billion residents. Also assume that twenty-five percent of the city is used for the dwelling places of the inhabitants, with the rest allocated to streets, parks, public buildings, et cetera.”
Then he figures out in some exotic calculation – and he’s a scientist – that the average space assigned to each person would be one over thirty cubic miles. This would correspond to a cubicle block with about seventy-five acres on each face. Obviously there’s adequate room in the holy city for all who will be there.
Another way to calculate this immense city is shared by an F. W. Boreham, and he shares this, quite interesting, in quite interesting terms. He says, “Now if you work it out, fifteen hundred cubed, you have an area of two million, two hundred and fifty thousand square miles. The only city foursquare,” – he says – “that I ever saw is Adelaide in South Australia. The ship that brought me out from the old country called in there for a couple of days, and I thought it was a fine city. But as you know very well, the city of Adelaide covers only one-square mile. Each of the four sides is a mile long. London covers an area of a hundred and forty square miles. But this city, the city foursquare, it is two million, two hundred and fifty thousand times as big as Adelaide, fifteen thousand times as big as London.” And he goes on to make some other comparatives.
Well, you get the picture. It’s big enough.
