You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
19 And[kai] the foundations[themelios] of the wall[teichos] of
the city[polis] were garnished with[kosmeo] all manner of[pas]
precious[timios] stones.[lithos] The first[protos]
foundation[themelios] was jasper;[iaspis] the second,[deuteros]
sapphire;[sappheiros] the third,[tritos] a chalcedony;[chalkedon]
the fourth,[tetartos] an emerald;[smaragdos]
KJV-Interlinear
19 The
foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious
stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third,
chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; NASB
The light which emanates from the city, is reflected and refracted into all of the colors of the rainbow, which leads us to the foundation stones.
There are twelve foundations. Most building structures have only one foundation. The thickness measurements of the foundations are not given, but we can safely assume that they are massive as well. There is nothing small about this city.
Each foundation is adorned with different types of gems.
The first being jasper, or diamond, its color being clear and reflecting and refracting all of the other colors,
the second, sapphire, its color being sky-blue,
the third, chalcedony, its color being bluish with whitish stripes like quartz,
the fourth, emerald, its color being green,
the fifth, sardonyx, its color being reddish-yellow or orange,
the sixth, sardius, its color being blood red,
the seventh, chrysolite, its color being yellow,
the eighth, beryl, its color being bluish-green,
the ninth, topaz, its color being pale yellow-green,
the tenth, chrysoprase, its color being greenish-golden
the eleventh, jacinth, its color being deep purple
and the twelfth, amethyst, its color being violet.
When put together, all of the colors of the rainbow will be present. This represents the promises of God, fulfilled.
There are some theories that correlate the foundation gem stones with the order of the tribes of Jacob and the High Priest breastplate. Those stones on the breastplate though are in the marching and encampment order of the twelve tribes, are not in the same color order as described in the foundations of the New Jerusalem city wall.
Likewise, the wall foundations have already been described as relating to the twelve Apostles, but nowhere in the Bible are gems or colors assigned to the Apostles, except by inference within this passage.
The original gems associated with the twelve tribes, are the same gems associated with the twelve foundations, when you match up the colors of the gems. Remember that the original language of Moses was Hebrew, and of John was Greek. Only nine of the gems match perfectly by name, but the last three, though their names do not match due to language, do match up by color.
The only possible conclusion that anyone can come up with as to the meanings of these gems or colors, together with the twelve tribes, so named by the gates, and the twelve apostles, so named by the foundations, is that they refer to one and the same God, and Savior, and promise, and plan, and conclusion.
This effectively excludes all other religions and philosophies and beliefs that are not associated with the Bible, and ties together the Bible in its entirety, into one consistent and cohesive faith, with a continuity that spans all generations in history.
Christ is yesterday, today and tomorrow. There is no other name by whom me must be saved. There is no other name by whom we have eternal life.
