The Holy City's Twelve Gates: Universal Access to Glory

What do these twelve gates—three on each side—signify? They proclaim that the city lies open and accessible to all quarters equally. This stands in sharp contrast to every human institution, which grants access only to the few. The prizes of this life belong to the rich, the successful, the talented, the favored of fortune; only miseries, sicknesses, and bereavements fall as common heritage upon all alike.

But the glories of the holy city lie equally open toward every quarter, accessible to men of every race, clime, color, and circumstance. Take courage, O traveler Zionwards: if thy face be set toward the holy city, thou shalt surely find a gate open to admit thee, from whatever direction thou comest.

Consider further what is written—that the city "lieth foursquare." It is symmetrical in every direction, with no inequality; all is full, complete, utterly satisfactory. Here again the contrast with earthly happiness strikes powerfully: human goods remain so unequal, so incomplete. What prospers in one direction fails in another; what pleases the body grieves the soul.

But in heaven nothing shall be wanting. Perfect and equal extension will be the law of being. Life will have its threefold expansion: in fulness infinite, in intensity perfect, in duration eternal. The city itself is pure gold, like unto clear glass—a substance unknown to earth, combining opacity with transparency, proclaiming that in Elohim's dwelling, all shadows dissolve.