Shalom, dragonfly.
Certainly. However, be aware that many of these conclusions are based upon other conclusions from other verses. It's a bit complicated, but not impossible to see and accept. For starters, Revelation 21:
Revelation 21:2-3
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle (Greek: skeenee = tent) of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
KJV
First, the city is likened to a tent, not a house.
Revelation 21:16-17
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
KJV
Second, the sheer size of the city rejects a cube theory. At 12,000 furlongs (Greek:
stadia after the Roman
stadium which is 660 feet long), this is a city that is 1,500 miles long by 1,500 miles wide by 1,500 miles high. These dimensions do NOT suggest the shape; they are purely directional dimensions. A distance of 1,500 miles is roughly the distance between Tampa, FL and Minneapolis, MN. Even if one could drive the entire distance at 70 mph, this distance would take 21 and a half hours to drive! Even in a jet airplane with a cruising speed of 550 mph, it would take the better part of three hours (2 hours 43 minutes) to travel that distance!
The only statement in these verses that is related to the shape of the city is that "the city lieth foursquare." However, all that tells us is that the city LIES UPON a plot of ground with four square corners. It says NOTHING about the shape of the city above the base.
Here's where other conclusions come into the picture. I believe that the New Earth, mentioned in 21:1, is approximately the same as the present Earth, being formed from the materials of the present Earth. Let's look at 2 Peter 3:3-13 for a moment:
2 Peter 3:3-13
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
KJV
Verse 5 is talking about the world before the Flood of Noach's day. The earth (the ground) and the skies (the atmosphere) were positioned between waters, the waters below sea level that are called "seas" or "oceans," and the waters above the atmosphere AT THAT TIME, from which the rains of Noach's Flood came. Today's Earth is now a little different: ALL the waters (except what may evaporate into the atmosphere and condense in the sky as clouds) is below the atmosphere as seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, and underground reservoirs, and the skies have expanded outward, thinning and rarifying the atmosphere until it reached a new equilibrium.
Verse 6 mentions that Flood of Noach's time period, when he was 600 years old.
Verse 7 talks about the current Earth and atmosphere. That has been in existence since the Flood and will continue until the Fire.
Verses 7 through 12 talks about the coming Fire that will happen on "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men," which is the same as the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:7-15.
Verse 13 talks about "new heavens (atmosphere) and a new earth (ground)" where righteousness will live. This seems obvious to me to be that new earth and new heaven which Yochanan (John) saw in Revelation 21:1.
Since the present earth and sky is not that much different than the earth and sky before the Flood, it only stands to reason that the earth and sky AFTER the Fire will also not be that much different than the present earth and sky. Indeed, there are several passages in Scripture that tell us that the earth will abide forever, even though we have these verses in 2 Peter that tell us the earth will be destroyed by fire. The key is to remember that there's a difference between "earth" as the dirt and ground upon which we walk and the "Earth" which we call our planet. The Scriptures will seldom refer to the whole Earth, although they frequently talk about the ground earth. This passage in 2 Peter is no different. The destruction that Kefa (Peter) told us about in 2 Peter 3:7-12 affects the GROUND "earth," not necessarily the entire planet Earth. Thus, the core and the mantle of our planet will not be affected much by this Fire. God will simply burn that portion of our planet that was affected by mankind and his sin. Only the Earth's crust, then, will be affected by the Fire. That means that the PLANET Earth will be pretty much the same after the Fire as it was before the Fire. I mean, a whole PLANET of 6.6 sextillion tons need not be destroyed on account of the puny specks of putrescence that live upon it! It just needs a good scrubbing!
Therefore, when Yochanan sees a "new heaven (sky) and a new earth," in Revelation 21:1, he is only looking at the SAME PLANET with a new "skin!" That means that the dimensions of the new Earth will be the same dimensions of the present Earth, and with that understanding in place, then we can compare the dimensions of the city to the dimensions of the present Earth.
The next conclusion is that the New Jerusalem will sit upon the New Earth. There are, once again, several factors that contribute to this conclusion.
First, is that there are said to be four sides to this city with three gates on each side: three facing east, three facing north, three facing south, and three facing west. Thus, the city must be low enough to be affected by the four compass directions of the surface of the earth. (Rev. 21:12-13.)
Second, the city's walls are said to have foundations (Greek:
themelioi). Normal foundations to any structure are sunk into the earth's surface at least down to the bedrock, if possible. (The author of Hebrews said that Avraham was looking for a city that had such
themelioi-foundations.) (Rev. 21:14, 19-20; Heb. 11:10.)
Third, the gates are said always to stand open so that the kings of the earth may bring their glory and honor into it. (Rev. 21:24-26.)
Fourth, where will the water from the river of the water of life flow? Wouldn't it make sense, since the river is in the middle of the street of the city, that it would flow to the gates and outward? It's just not going to pool at the bottom of the city! That would be a waste. It would be better to think of it flowing out of the gates and God using its life-sustaining properties to heal the surface of the Earth! (Rev. 22:1-2.)
So, for these reasons (and others), the city will land and sit upon the surface of the New Earth.
So, if the city will land upon the New Earth, and the New Earth's dimensions are comparable to the dimensions of the present Earth, then a distance of 1,500 miles compared to the Earth's circumference of 23,901 miles means that, of the 360-degree circumference, this distance would cover 22.593 degrees! That's a significant portion of the earth's curvature! So much so that the direction for "down" on one side of the city will be 22.593 degrees different than "down" on the other side of the city! This blows away the cube theory: IF the city is positioned so that the center of the city is exactly orthogonal to the surface of the city, then each side of the cube would be 11.2965 degrees short of being plumb to vertical. If, however, each side of the "cube" were plumb to its vertical, then the top of the city would be significantly longer than the 1,500 miles of its base! or if the top of the "cube" were held to 1,500 miles, then the base would have to be significantly shorter than 1,500 miles! Any way you look at it, the cube would have problems sitting upon the surface of the earth.
However, the pyramid, having four isosceles triangles for its walls such that the overall height of the city in the center was still 1,500 miles, would not be affected negatively by this 11.2965-degrees-short-of-plumb effect at all! Furthermore, the most basic and stable, mathematical shape would be that of a triangle, providing stability to the structure! Squares and rectangles can easily squash into rhombuses and parallelograms.
Revelation 22:1-2
22 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
KJV
Another reason for believing that the New Jerusalem will be a pyramid is the origin of the river, the throne of God and of the Lamb: Where within the city is the logical location for the throne of God and of the Lamb? In a cube, the logical position would be in the center of the cube. However, in such a structure, one would have to pump water uphill to provide water to the all the trees and plants in the gardens for HALF of the city!
In a pyramid, the logical location for the throne of God and of the Lamb would be in the pinnacle, the "
capstone," if you will. Indeed, the phrase "the head stone of the corner" or "the chief stone of the angle" IS a capstone!
Psalm 118:22-23
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the Lord 's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
KJV
Remember: The children of Isra'el had FIRST HAND knowledge of the pyramids in Egypt, having been in service to them for the better part of the 430 years spent there before the Exodus. They may even have been used as slaves to build one of more of them!
A "cornerstone" MAY be the large stone used to start the square of the foundation for a building, but most of the time in Scripture, such a stone is the CAPSTONE of a pyramid, especially if it is a reference to THIS particular verse!
One might also point out Zechariah 4:7:
Zechariah 4:6-7
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
KJV
And, the "tomb" of (or monument to) Z'kharyahu is capped with the shape of a pyramid's capstone! See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Zechariah.
So, the natural location of the throne of God and of the Lamb, being in the pinnacle of the city, would provide water to every location of the city below it as water would normally flow downhill with the force of gravity, rather than against it.
Revelation 21:23-24
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
KJV
and
Revelation 22:5
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
KJV
The argument here is similar to the one for the river of the water of life. Where would one most likely need the "light brighter than the sun" to be, somewhere half-way up the city or at the top? The Source of light, like the Source of water, would be best at the pinnacle or in the capstone of the city!
The NATIONS of those who are rescued shall walk in its light! Those nations are OUTSIDE of this city!
One should also note that these verses do NOT say that there will be no more sun or moon any more than they say there will be no more candles! The sun and moon are said to exist forever and ever! Only the NEED for them changes, and THAT only within the city! The rest of the New Earth will still need them.
In fact, time will not cease for it is an intricate part of the space-mass-time continuum. Instead, we will just have INFINITE time, with righteousness forever and no more sin or its consequences.
Anyway, these are my reasons for believing that the New Jerusalem will have a pyramid shape.