Revelation21:12

1

“It,” refers to the holy city which I am convinced refers to the people of God. Hence it is expressed in the paraphrase as “these people.”

2: “at the gates were twelve angels”

Access refers to what enters our minds, our relationships and our homes. God does not protect those access points unless we ask Him to, and even then we must do our part to keep evil out of our minds and our homes and our relationships.

Some may react negatively to the thought that people suffering persecution or strong opposition “are very well protected.” Many Americans see suffering as a failure of God’s protection. We think that if we are in pain, God and His angels are not doing their jobs correctly. But God cares more about our spiritual well-being than our physical comfort. He is not afraid of pain and does not want us to be. He will use pain in our lives to draw us closer to Him or to make us stronger. If someone is killed as a martyr it is not a failure of God’s protection, it is a victory, for God has protected him from weakness, and from the temptation to put self first. This does not mean that God is always the one to thrust us into hard times, but it means He can use suffering for our good. It also means that He knows what we can handle and He only gives us what we can handle—with His help (I Cor 10:13).

It may sound strange to some that, at first this verse explains that the access is heavily guarded, and then it talks about “full and open access.” It sounds like a contradiction. To understand it we must picture the use of gates in the walls of ancient cities. The gates were openings in the walls so they were obviously the greatest points of weakness in the walls. Therefore many countries built their walls with towers over the gates, and with either two or four chambers (rooms) in the gate complex. Remember that their walls were often thick enough to have a walkway several feet wide on top so soldiers could be moved to where they were needed, and there were sometimes small apartments in those walls where people lived.  The gate was not just a heavy door, but a heavy door that opened from the outside into a set of rooms, followed by an opening into the city. The chambers in the gate complexes were often made with holes in the ceiling of each chamber in order to drop new soldiers into that area from above and always be able to fight off an enemy that got into the gate but had not yet penetrated the city itself. Because of the protected nature of these points of access (city gates) the people who belonged in the city felt safe and secure. To the people of that day, the idea of open access which was also heavily protected made perfect sense.

3: “names were inscribed on those gates”

I believe this means that the protection of God was created specifically for each person, it is not the same for all people. God knows me completely; He knows my weaknesses and has planned spiritual protection for me that is exactly what I need. If I fall for temptation it is my own fault because I have rejected the perfect protection God provided for me.

4

12 gates, 12 angels, 12 tribes: The numbers used in Revelation are never without symbolic meaning. Here they symbolize the highest level of perfection, completeness, or fullness. The idea being communicated is that God’s protection is complete, and it is available to all of God’s people. However, the way it is communicated, with three sets of 12, is far more powerful than I can possibly explain. Therefore you can fully and unreservedly trust God to protect your soul if you give your soul to Him.

Jacob struggled with God (in the form of Jesus) and he refused to let go of God. The name “Israel” means to “struggle with God.” To struggle with God is a good thing; to struggle against God is a bad thing. We are given examples of people like Moses and Abraham who knew God so well that they dared to challenge His declared plans based on what they knew of His nature. I think that, in part, God told them of His plans to see if they would play the role of reminding Him of His mercy and grace. It was intended as a teaching tool for them and for us. God does not mind if we “contend” with Him in the right way, but it should never be for our benefit. He wants us to strive and exert ourselves on behalf of others, and fight for the helpless. God wants His children to be holy warriors, not pansies and wimps (See Job 29:12-17). In the paraphrase I have rendered the name Israel in a way that points beyond simply the fact that he struggled with God, and to the fact that he refused to let go of God until He received something from God.