“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass” (Rev. 21:21). In the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13 we get the figure of a pearl of great price, which when a merchantman found, he went and sold all that he had and bought it (verses 45-46). The merchantman sets forth Christ, while the pearl of great price is the church in her moral beauty, value and unity. Christ, though rich, became poor that He might purchase it. The great price was His own precious life’s blood. He gave Himself for it (Eph. 5:25). In the coming day the twelve gates of the holy city on high are twelve pearls. “Each one of the gates, respectively, was of one pearl” (JND). The moral beauty of the church shines at every gate. “And the street of the city” is, so to speak, paved with purity, righteousness and holiness. It was of “pure gold.” There is no alloy there. Like the city generally in verse 18, the pure gold of the street is as clear as transparent glass. Perfect transparency wholly characterizes it.
E. H. Chater