The throne of God, the most beautiful scene ever recorded. The Throne of God glows with the light of every beautiful gem. God gives this beauty also to those He loves. Daniel 12:3:
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Matthew 13:43: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear let him hear."
For background, see in Ezekiel 28:12 something of the description of the beauty of the "Eden, the Garden of God." Although the lament is for the "king of Tyre," it is his spiritual counterpart, satan himself that is described. When satan was in heaven, he was "full of wisdom and perfect in beauty."
But it is also said to him: "Thou sealest up the sum (KJV),”or "You were the signet of perfection (RSV)" This probably indicates that he was the one who had the authority to use the signet ring of God; "Every precious stone was your covering."
He could "authorize" anything by use of the "seal" which represented God's Name, His Signature. He could "seal up the sum"; that is, he could endorse the full extent of God's blessings. Satan was cast out of "Eden, the Garden of God," because of his pride and he attempts now to counterfeit the wisdom, beauty and wealth that he once had.
To think that Jesus has given us that Name of God! The power and authority of using the Name that was taken from satan has been given to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Mark 11:23-24, etc.) The beautiful gems that were in "Eden, the Garden of God," are now in the New Jerusalem, the Church, the Bride of Christ in Revelation 21:11-21.
God intended for His fleshly nation, Israel, to have the wealth and beauty of the jewels. In Exodus 28:9-30 we read of the precious gems that were to be used in the breastplate and carried before the Lord by the High Priest. Each tribe was engraved into the two onyx stones upon the shoulders of the High Priest, six names upon each onyx stone.
Then there were also twelve precious gems that had the names of the twelve sons, tribes, of Israel engraved into them separately. These twelve stones represented their signet ring or signature, their name, which the High Priest carried before the Lord. Over the course of their Biblical history, however, fleshly Israel lost this beautiful symbol of God's presence and blessings and "dwelt many years without an ephod," (Hosea 3:4).
In the time of Christ, Herod had tried to adorn the temple with "costly stones," (Mark 13:1). But these were only satan's imitations, not the real jewels of God. Then, in the image of Babylon the Great, we see the ugliness of the jewels of the harlot, (Revelation 17:4). It is in contrast to this that we see the jewels of the beautiful Bride, the New Jerusalem, in 21:11-21.
The twelve stones of the ephod are represented in New Jerusalem by the twelve gates of pearl which are engraved with the names of the twelve tribes, (21:12 and 21). The authority of the twelve apostles is represented by the twelve foundation stones which are engraved with their names. It is these signet ring stones which form the foundation of the wall, (21:19-21). Either they are these precious stones – imagine a gem 1500 miles long and wide serving as a foundation stone! – or they were inlaid with these precious stones.
Note that this beautiful Bride, the New Jerusalem, now dwells in "Eden, the Garden of God." Satan has been cast out, chapter 20, and now the Garden is safe. The Bride now dwells in the place that satan once enjoyed, having the "signet of perfection," being full of "Wisdom" and "Perfect in Beauty," "Zion, the Perfection of Beauty."
Bullinger, (p.687), gives an interesting comment on these jewels. They may have had further symbolic meanings. He speaks of the number seven as representing, among other things, the notes of the music scale. The scale as we now know it begins with “c” goes through “g” and back to “a-b.” In this scheme of things: “c” is the first note; “d” the second; “e” the third; “f”’ the fourth; “g” the fifth; “a” the sixth; “b” the seventh.
He says that these notes also represent colors, so that if the notes do not harmonize the colors they represent will not either. We know that the numbers of the Hebrew alphabet also represented letters. If the stones of the New Jerusalem represent colors, then there is a possibility that a message could be transmitted by using the number of that color of stone.
This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com
or www.xulonpress.com
Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net
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