What Does The Bible Say About Streets of Gold?

Last updated on: June 29, 2016 at 5:42 pm by Jack Wellman

What Does The Bible Say About Streets of Gold? 2016-06-29T17:42:07-05:00 Jack Wellman

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Does the Bible really say that there are streets of gold in heaven?

The New Jerusalem

The Bible describes a time when the kingdom of heaven arrives on earth, but it’s in the form of the New Jerusalem. The Apostle John wrote, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:1-2) so here, heaven’s not so much up going up to heaven as heaven coming down from above as the city of God or the New Jerusalem. It is here where “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Rev 21:3). That’s part of the joy that we have to look forward too; the New Jerusalem, but more than that, we can finally see God face to face because He will dwell with us and we with Him and those who have been redeemed “will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Rev 22:4).

Beginnings and Endings

The New Jerusalem will be the beginning of many new things but be the end of many of the former things because at this time, God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4), however this is only for those who have trusted in Christ, just as John wrote, “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Rev 21:7). This is one splendid city. John writes that God “carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, it’s radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (Rev 21:10-11). It will be the end of all pain, suffering, sorrow, mourning, crying, and even the end of death itself. The end of these things is only the beginning of the greater things yet to come that we can’t even describe with words.

City of God

The New Jerusalem is almost indescribable but John does give us a very vivid mental image of it by writing about “the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Rev 21:21). There is a gold that is so pure that one can see through it. I’m not sure how that works, but there was also a “wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass” (Rev 21:18), so apparently not only are the streets made of transparent gold but the city itself is gloriously beautiful. John adds that “The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst” (Rev 21:19-20). John writes that there was no more temple because the “temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev 21:22-23). It is by this light that “the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations” (Rev 21:24-26) which is worthy of our Lord’s Glory.

Who goes There?

No one will ever see God without holiness and that presents a problem for us as we all fall short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23) and our sins have separated us from a holy God (Isaiah 59:2), and the Bible says of the New Jerusalem, “nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:27). So how does a person become holy since none are good (Rom 3:12)? It is by Jesus’ atoning work on our behalf at Calvary, just as the Apostle Paul wrote, it was “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2nd Cor 5:21). That’s the only way to enter into the kingdom. There is simply no other way (Acts 4:12).

Conclusion

Heaven is not as much a place as it is a Person and any place that Jesus is, is heaven, because He makes it heaven by being there. Being in His presence someday will make all of this troublesome life worth it because we can’t compare today troubles with the glory that we’ll see someday (Rom8:18), but this is only for those whom God has brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. As for all others who’ve never trusted in Christ, “the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars [will have] their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev 21:8). There are only two kinds of people; saints and aint’s, and I pray you’re in the former and not the latter (Rev 20:12-15).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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