New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:9-14 and 18-27  Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."  And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from G-d.  It has the glory of G-d and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.  It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates and on the west three gates.  And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass.  The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.  And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.  I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the L-rd G-d the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of G-d is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.  Its gates will never shut by day”and there will be no night there.  People will bring into it the glory and honor of the nations.  But nothing unclean will enter it, nor will anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

This is a long passage, without a doubt, but I love the description.  I love the beauty of gems.  To try to see what is said in this passage I looked up the jewels on Google Images.  I understand the names of the gems are given because it was an to attempt to show us something that could not be described accurately. It is beyond the words we have, beyond what we could imagine. With that in mind, these are a few ideas given by the passages and the illustrations I found.

There are many kinds and colors of jasper. As I looked through the many types, I found jasper to be one of my favorites because of the incredible variety and mix of colors. One I like is a reddish-brown, opaque gem with darker, warm markings.  What kind of jasper could be as clear as crystal? The city is made of gold, but also clear as glass.  Certainly, there will be things in the New Jerusalem that are unknown to us now.  

Sapphire is a translucent, brilliant blue.  Though a dark color, it reminds me of light.  

Agate comes in many beautiful shades and designs.  Each one is different from another, with individual patterns, colors, and shadings. The agates are art created by this living, moving planet. 

Emerald is a clear, bright green that glows. Remember the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz? 

Onyx is most often known as black stone, with a black so deep it seems you could fall into it.  

Carnelian is described as a fiery red color that, to me, seems to burn bright.

Chrysolite is a transparent light, delicate and pale green.  

Beryl is a green similar to the chrysolite, but with a little more depth to it.  

Topaz can be many colors but the most well known color is a light amber. I do like the pink topaz, perhaps even more than the amber. 

Chrysoprase is green, rich shade and reminds me of jade.    

Jacinth is a bright, hot, transparent orange.    

Amethyst, the most beautiful of all, is a transparent and bright purple.  

Even looking at these images of the jewels, I cannot imagine the beauty and splendor of the foundation of the temple.  Each of the gates is a single pearl.  That I can imagine!  Not quite white, polished, with a sheen to it, a pearl is so beautiful.  The city's temple is the Lord God the Almighty, the Lamb.  He is the source of light in the city, a city that will have no night.  Of all the things in this passage, the hardest to imagine is that there will be nothing unclean, nor will anyone practice any evil thing.  Living in this world, where sin and ugliness is everywhere we turn, the purity and holiness of God and His New Jerusalem I cannot fathom. Come, Lord!