Revelation 21:12

The city’s wall with 12 gate-towers was what caught John’s attention next. The city evidently looked square (Revelation 21:16). Its high walls suggest its security and inviolability. Certainly its inhabitants will need no defense from attacking enemies there. The 12 gate-towers (Gr. pylon, cf. Luke 16:20) stood three on each side (Revelation 21:13). The gate-towers provided access into the city. In the case of this city, the many gate-towers also suggest great freedom of access.

The angelic guards also present a picture of great security (cf. Genesis 3:24; Isaiah 62:6). The names were apparently on the gates, not on the angels stationed beside them (cf. Ezekiel 48:31-34). Ezekiel 48:31-34 describes Jerusalem in the Millennium, not in the new earth. The fact that each gate-tower bears a name of one of Israel’s tribes probably indicates that Israel will have a distinctive identity and role in this city, as it had through history (cf. Revelation 7:1-8). [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 463.] God will perpetuate the memory of Israel throughout eternity.