Sunday, our small group was discussing what the Bible says we can expect to see and experience in the New Heavens and the New Earth. (See notes.) As we discussed the New Jerusalem, I wondered about this description in Revelation 21: 18-21:
“And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundation of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; and every gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
As I heard our pastor describe the stones, I thought to myself that they sounded like the colors of the rainbow, but couldn’t imagine it until I found this image at http://rainbowcastle.org/preciousstones/foundation.html. The author explains a little bit about how he arrived at the colors for the various stones. The names of the stones and their colors are open to debate, but the order of the stones is very specific, as you can read in the above passage. We can’t say absolutely that this is the exact way the foundation of the New Jerusalem will look. If this researcher is close to being correct in his interpretation, then you can see the rainbow appearance of the foundation.
NOTES:
- I recommend In Light of Eternity by Randy Alcorn for a full treatment on this subject. (Mr. Alcorn has a larger volume, Heaven, but I think it was way too wordy and speculative.) In this more concise work (under 200 pages), Mr. Alcorn still speculates at times, so you should be aware of his tendency and examine the Scriptures for yourself as you read it.
- I do recommend Randy Alcorn’s excellent book on stewardhip, The Treasure Principle.
The Sovereign 
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