21:15And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall.

And the one who spoke with me had a GOLD MEASURING ROD

GOLD stands for divinity or royalty, and it is the only appropriate material for this MEASURING ROD. This is especially true since it will be used to measure the dimensions of a city having the GLORY of GOD (verse 11). The angel holding it is John's city guide (verse 9).

to measure

Clearly here we are looking at the exterior of the new Jerusalem. Later scattered throughout Chapter 22, we get just a few glimpses of what's inside.

Using the GOLD MEASURING ROD, we will be given the actual dimensions in the next two verses. The other time in the Revelation (Revelation 11:1-2) when the temple of God was measured during the tribulation period, we weren't given the dimensions. This is consistent with the devil not being allowed to have either our "spiritual names" or the measurements of "spiritual places". Now that the devil is put away permanently (Revelation 20:10), it actually is neat to show him how many souls (city residents) he was not able to subvert. Furthermore, with GATES and a WALL, this city is not approachable unless you are a bona fide resident. Amazingly, you can reserve your place in this new Jerusalem, TODAY!