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20 The
fifth,[pemptos] sardonyx;[sardonux] the
sixth,[hektos] sardius;[sardios] the seventh,[hebdomos]
chrysolite;[chrusolithos] the eighth,[ogdoos] beryl;[berullos] the
ninth,[ennatos] a topaz;[topazion] the tenth,[dekatos] a
chrysoprasus;[chrusoprasos] the eleventh,[hendekatos] a jacinth;[huakinthos] the
twelfth,[dodekatos] an amethyst.[amethustos] KJV-Interlinear
20 the
fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth,
beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the
twelfth, amethyst. 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.
Now when we consider the colors of the High Priest breastplate, the stones are the same for nine of them and of the remaining three, the language separation of over 1500 years, combined with the differences between Hebrew of Moses day and the Greek of Johns day accounts for the last three being actually the same gemstones. The colors all match up with accuracy.
When the sons of Jacob are listed, their birth order is never given except as a chronological order by birth mother. This order was listed on the shoulder of the High Priest, six names on one shoulder and six names on the other shoulder.
This sequence matches perfectly the camp and marching order of the tribes when they were in the desert. And with good assumption, we can infer that the order of the breastplate gens stones followed that same order.
Note that the Hebrew reads from right to left and the camp order and the breastplate stones follow that same pattern, matching the north, east, south and west sides per the camp order. However, there is nowhere in the Bible that specifically assigns the stones to any particular tribe, except only through this inference.
The breastplate stones by the Hebrew name, by the King James English name, by the Septuagint name are as follows:
And the whole point of this exercise is not to match a gem stone to a tribe to an apostle to a foundation, but to emphasize that they are all the same stones. That the stones back in Moses day, represented communication with God and of Gods plan for humanity. And therefore that same God of Moses day, is in fact the same God of our day, and of the next universe.
There is only one true God, namely Jesus Christ, with whom and through whom and by whom all life exists, since time began and forever into eternity.
John did not have to state the names of the foundations or gates. God did not have to represent the new Jerusalem city as having those names. The Bible could have simply said that a city descended and had a dozen gates and a dozen foundations, but it went further to assign them to the Tribes of Israel and to the apostles in order to tie them together as one cohesive faith.
Christianity is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus Christ judged the angels long ago. Jesus Christ walked with Adam in the Garden. Jesus Christ is the focus of all of the Levitical offerings and priesthood. Jesus Christ went to the Cross and was resurrected and will one day at the end of history, judge everyone.
He created this universe and will destroy it, and He will create a new one. And He will combine heaven with the new universe, combining God and man together forever. Heaven can never be destroyed, and when it is combined with the new universe, then there will never be a destruction of the universe again.
The foundation of Christ, represented by the apostles, is underneath the wall of faith, represented by the tribes of Israel, through which gates we enter into the city of doctrine, which is the vast wisdom and truth of God.
