Revelation 21:16

16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

A. The city is a cube. The three dimensions are equal. The length, width and depth are the same.

B. The measurement is 12,000 furlongs. In modern measurements a furlong is about 220 yards. 12,000 furlongs would be about 1,500 miles.

C. This would make the city 1,500 mile long and wide. It would also make the city have walls that are 1,500 miles high.

D. I believe that the number, like most numbers in Revelation, should be taken in its figurative sense. The number 12 is the number that represents organized religion. The 12 tribes of Israel represent Judaism. The 12 apostles represent the New Testament church.

E. If you take this number and multiply by 1,000, the number of completeness, you have the sum completeness, the grand total of all who have ever lived lives of faithful obedience to God. Thus, 12,000 represent the total of all who have been obedient to God. Remember this is the spiritual city, the New Jerusalem.