A common misinterpretation views this passage literally as promising streets paved with actual gold and gates of real pearls in heaven, fostering a materialistic expectation of physical riches rather than recognizing the symbolic language conveying spiritual purity, incomparable worth, and the radiant holiness of God's presence; others dismiss it as mythical exaggeration, overlooking its prophetic assurance of ultimate restoration and divine perfection.
Revelation of John 21:21
King James Version (1769)
21 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.
Revelation 21:21 depicts the exquisite beauty and purity of the New Jerusalem, the eternal city where God dwells with His redeemed people, portraying its twelve gates as individual pearls and its main street as pure gold resembling transparent glass to symbolize supreme value, holiness, and divine glory that surpass earthly treasures, emphasizing the perfection and splendor of the coming kingdom.