New Jerusalem - Twelve Witnesses

[Mathew Enoch Mount]

The message regarding the twelve witnesses is the most common message
that we are told about today because the church really delights in
this subject, so I will not spend an incredible amount of time on it.
Consider the following scripture, "One of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come,
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me
away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the
Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone
with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very
precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high
wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the
gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There
were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south
and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The
angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the
city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square,
as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found
it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.
He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's
measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper,
and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the
city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first
foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the
fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh
chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase,
the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were
twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of
the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. I did not see a
temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its
temple." Revelation 21:9-22 (NIV) In order words the temple of God
is not in the city as a building but instead it is that the Father and
the Son together are the temple. The gold that is as clear as crystal
reflects the light from the Father as the light of the lamp while the
son is the lamp stand, and the holy ghost is the breath of God that
moves the flame that causes the shadows of the New Jerusalem to be
cast down onto earth. The high priest had twelve stones on his chest
with a name of a tribe written on each stone just as the twelve
disciples all represented a different tribe so to speak and by his
sacrifice and the offering of this blood before the throne in heaven
thus we are able to enter through the twelve gates of the city. The
fact that the wall is 144 cubits thick shows that it is the work of
the patriarchies or 12 multiplied by the work of the disciples or the
other 12 that gives us the safety of the city.

Regarding the specific message about the stones that the high priest
wore the following is said, "in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx
and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. There are to be
twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each
engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes."
Exodus 28:20-21 (NIV) These clearly show a shadow of the gates to the
city as our high priest had his heart rupture on the cross as the
blood and the water flowed from him when the weapon stabbed him.

The fact that the twelve stones are all arranged in rows of four
teaches us about how the four witnesses or the four living creatures
are the very thing that arranges the work of the apostles. "in the
fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in
gold filigree settings. There were twelve stones, one for each of the
names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name
of one of the twelve tribes. For the breastpiece they made braided
chains of pure gold, like a rope." Exodus 39:13-15 (NIV) Also
whenever the Israelites went to war with the ark they gathered all the
tribes into standards of four, and thus they demonstrated the body of
Christ as the mass of fighting force that would fight against the
enemy.

We see in Christ speaking regarding the relationship between the seven
and the twelve how he intercedes differently for the two different
sets of witnesses. The following is thus said, "When I broke the five
loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you
pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. "And when I broke the seven loaves
for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick
up?" They answered, "Seven." He said to them, "Do you still not
understand?" Mark 8:19-21 (NIV) The point appears to be that in
serving the multitude one time the disciples picked up twelve baskets
of bread for themselves after everyone had eaten, and yet another time
they picked up seven baskets of bread that shadows Christ feeding the
seven witness over all the earth. Note specifically that as the
number of the multitude decreases so to do the number of baskets also
decrease even though the proportion of gifts given to God (meaning the
initial loves) increases proportionally. The point is that the twelve
are to be servants of the multitude whereas the seven arc angles are
the servants of the twelve (this is why the apostles are called
ambassadors of Christ).

We can see that the ark (containing the three witnesses, having the
two witnesses, and being carried by the seven priests) intercedes for
the twelve. "See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the
earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve
men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the
priests who carry the ark of the LORD -the Lord of all the earth—set
foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and
stand up in a heap." Joshua 3:11-13 (NIV) Overall, we thus learn
that the twelve are on the outside ring circled around the throne of
God with only the seventy-two existing further out prior to the
multitude.

The scripture really dives this point home that the seven priests are
closer to the throne than the twelve because the following is said,
"When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said
to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each
tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the
Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with
you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." Joshua
4:1-3 (NIV) Overall, in other words the seven priests whom serve over
all the earth provide the safety for the foundations of the New
Jerusalem (the twelve stones taken out of the water). Although the
seven serve the twelve, the twelve are supposed to be a kingdom of
priests for all nations.


Just as the New Jerusalem has three gates on each side of the city, so
too the sea has three bulls all supporting the waters of the Red Sea
in each of the four sides. "The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three
facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing
east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were
toward the center." 1 Kings 7:25 (NIV) Overall, this teaches us not
just about the importance of baptism (or being cleaned from the firth
of Egypt) for entering the city of God, but it also shows us how God
delivers us by having us go under the waters fleeing death and
destruction and raise up to a new life through the great witness
(Moses in this case) that ushers in blood atonement.

For more information regarding the twelve consider reading the
blessing of Jacob’s over his twelve sons in Genesis chapter 49.