After all the Spring rain this past week, our neighborhood’s grass transformed into a lush green. As Edmund, Alexis and I ran last night, I couldn’t help but comment on the sudden change and the beautiful scenery. The bright blue sky, with traces of white clouds, met the waves of green grass sprinkled with blooming yellow daffodils.
We marveled at God’s beauty,
achieved with just a few colors. I can’t fathom the beauty as He decorates the
new Jerusalem using more than all the colors imaginable in different textures
of stones and jewels. It won’t be a small area, either. Its length, width, and
height of 12,000 stadia, equivalent to 1,400 miles (or 2250 kilometers) is
roughly the distance between Detroit, MI and Miami, FL.
Revelation 21:15-21 15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold
to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The
city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city
with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and
high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall
using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. 18 The
wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as
glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were
decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was
jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the
fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the
ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth
amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve
pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was
of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
The variety of stones mentioned is stunning. In our world
today, jasper can display a wide range of earthy tones, while sapphire, agate,
onyx, beryl, and topaz come in almost every color. Agate is a type of quartz, and
onyx is known for its high polish. Jasper, sapphire, beryl and topaz can be
translucent. Emerald typically appears in shades of green, ruby in shades of red, chrysolite in shades of yellow, turquoise in shades of blue, jacinth in shades of orange, and amethyst in shades of purple. Plus, there will be pure gold streets, huge
pearl gates and walls over 200 feet thick!
