A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 86
When John was caught up into Heaven in Revelation chapter 4, the first thing he saw was a throne with someone sitting on the throne. Instead of telling us Who this person was, John described His appearance.
“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and someone was sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance”—Revelation 4:2-3 (NASB)
John gives us important clues about Who this was that he saw sitting upon the throne. The appearance of a jasper and sardius stone have significant meaning.
Sardius and jasper stones are only mentioned in four other passages of Scripture, and they are always mentioned together; never separately.
The Ancient of Days
The sardius and jasper stones were included in God’s design for the breastplate of high priest of Israel. God gave the design of this breastplate to Moses in Exodus 28. In that description, God called it “the breastplate of judgment” (Exodus 28:15). We will see that the One seated on the throne is the ultimate judge. This is the same “Ancient of Days” that Daniel saw.
“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days (God) took His seat; His garment was white as snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was flames of fire; Its wheels were a burning fire.
“A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; A thousand thousands were attending Him, And ten thousand times ten thousand were standing before Him; The court was seated, And the books were opened.” — Daniel 7:9-10 (AMP)
The sardius was the first of twelve stones that were set in the breastplate of the high priest. Jasper was the last.
This reminds us that John is looking at Him Who is the First and the Last; the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End. This is God Almighty.
Father God
The stones that were set in the breastplate of the high priest had the names of the children of Israel engraved in them. Whenever the high priest entered the Holy Place of the tabernacle, he wore this breastplate on his chest, over his heart.
“So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them in continual remembrance before the Lord.”—Exodus 28:29 (AMPC)
This represents the heart of Father God for His children. God is the best Father that we could ever imagine. Every decision He makes is with the best interests of His children in mind. His children are always uppermost on His heart.
“In the breastplate of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim [unspecified articles used when the high priest asked God’s counsel for all Israel]; they shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord, and Aaron shall bear the judgment (rights, judicial decisions) of the Israelites upon his heart before the Lord continually.”—Exodus 28:30 (AMPC)
What Lucifer Lost
The next time these two stones are mentioned in Scripture is in Ezekiel 28. This passage speaks of Lucifer, and it laments all that Lucifer lost when he rebelled against God, and how far he has fallen.
“You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
“By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.
“You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.” —Ezekiel 28:11–19 (NKJV)
Here it mentions that Lucifer walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. Both the jasper and the sardius stones can have an intense red color, and jasper can have a color pattern that resembles flames.
The Glory of the New Jerusalem
But what Lucifer lost, the children of God gained! The last time we see the jasper and sardius stones in the Bible, they are used as building materials to form some of the foundations of the New Jerusalem, where Jesus and His Bride will live and reign.
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a vast and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy (sanctified) city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having God’s glory [filled with His radiant light]. The brilliance of it resembled a rare and very precious jewel, like jasper, shining and clear as crystal.”—Revelation 21:9-11 (AMP)
“The wall was built of jasper; and the city was pure gold, transparent like clear crystal. The foundation stones of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite (yellow topaz); the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.”—Revelation 21:18-20 (AMP)
The Consuming Fire
The sardius and the jasper stones are similar in color. Vine’s Dictionary of Greek New Testament Words indicates that sardius is a gemstone that often has a deep red color, and that jasper is a “translucent stone of various colors, especially that of fire.”
The comparison to fire may be significant because, in Scripture, God is said to be three things: God is love; God is light; and God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).
Each of the three persons of the Godhead represents one of these characterizations in Scripture.
Jesus is the embodiment of love. He laid down His life for all of us, and we know that there is no greater love than that a man lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
The Holy Spirit is often represented by light. He is seen as seven lamps of fire in Revelation 4:5.
Father God is often seen as the righteous judge Who is a consuming fire. When Daniel saw God seated on His throne, the predominant characteristic was fire.
“His throne burned with flaming fire, and its wheels burned with fire. A river of fire flowed out from before him.”—Daniel 7:9–10 (ISV)
To put it all together, the symbolism of the jasper and the sardius stones suggests to us that the One seated on the throne is the Father God.
Of all the testimonies in the Bible, John has a very rare experience of seeing all three persons of the Godhead in the same place, at the same time. Here he sees God the Father seated on His throne. He will also see the Holy Spirit represented by seven lamps of fire in verse five. He will soon see the Son of God, Jesus Christ, represented by a lamb in Revelation 5:6.
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