What does Revelation 21:25 mean?
The gates of New Jerusalem will never be shut to those who qualify by faith in Christ to enter the city. In ancient times cities closed their gates at night to keep out hostile forces, but no hostile forces exist to threaten New Jerusalem. All kinds of evil occurred under the cloak of darkness in ancient times, as well as today, and hostile forces usually chose nighttime to invade an ancient city, but night does not exist inside New Jerusalem. The city's all-pervasive light emanates from the glory of God and the Lamb.The perpetually open gates are a clear reminder that Jesus is the Door to heaven and He does not withdraw His invitation to enter (John 10:7–9). However, if a person rejects the invitation and dies, it is too late to change his eternal destination. Hebrews 9:27 states: "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." Second Corinthians 6:2 and Hebrews 3:15 offer valuable counsel: "Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
Revelation 21:9–27 presents a description of the New Jerusalem. Interpreters disagree about whether this is a flashback to the millennial reign of Christ, or a description of the eternal state of the city. A flashback is not unprecedented in Revelation, occurring in chapters 11, 14, 15, and 17. However, some verses here clearly refer to eternal conditions, and most scholars take this as a depiction of the eternal, final heavenly city.
This chapter focuses on the New Jerusalem. This is not the earthly, historic Jerusalem of the tribulation (Revelation 11:2, 8). Nor is it the surviving Jerusalem of the millennium that serves as Jesus' capital (Revelation 20:9). It is the heavenly city referred to in Hebrews 12:22, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10, 16). John attempts to describe the indescribable using analogies to precious gems and metals.
