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Revelation 4:3a
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3 And [kai] he that sat [kathemai] was [en] to look upon [horasis] like [homoios] a jasper [iaspis] and [kai] a sardine [sardinos] stone: [lithos] and [kai] there was a rainbow [iris] round about [kuklothen] the throne, [thronos] in sight [horasis] like [homoios] unto an emerald. [smaragdinos] KJV-Interlinear
3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. NASB
'He', refers to Jesus Christ, the unique person of the universe, the God/man who both created the universe and is the savior of it, and of whom is in full power and control over it all.
Three characteristics surround Christ's rule. The throne represents the ultimate in His authority which emanates from the basic foundations of His essence, namely - righteousness, justice, and love.
The first two, righteousness and justice combine to form the Holiness of God. The third combines with the former two to bring about Gods policy of grace toward all of creation.
The jasper is a diamond. Brilliant and perfect in every way. Glistening and reflecting light in such a manner that one can find no imperfection of any kind, no matter what direction one views the diamond from. Looking down on it you see perfection. Looking at it from any side, or from underneath, only perfection is found. This is Gods righteousness. Sin free, defect free. In Him there is no sin, no defect, no fault of any kind.
The jasper was the first stone on the High Priests breastplate. It stands for the first son of the twelve sons of Jacob, Reuben, which means, ‘Behold a Son.’
The sardius is a blood red stone representing Gods justice. God can have nothing to do with sin and therefore when it exists, Gods justice demands punishment, and not only punishment but obliteration of sin. Where there is sin there is failure in the structure of life and in anything that exists. Sin is like a germ, a bacteria, a cancer, which penetrates something and causes it to rot and ultimately destroys it and itself. In order to preserve life, God punishes and destroys sin thus to prevent its further decaying processes against other victims.
The sardius was the last stone in the High Priests breastplate, representing the last son of the twelve sons of Jacob, Benjamin, which means, ‘son of my right hand.’
These two, the diamond and the sardius represent Gods righteousness and justice and this combination makes up His Holiness. This is a state of perfection which must exist in order to permit one to continue into eternity. This is the state that we must recognize and maintain in ourselves (fellowship) in order to be in the presence of God, on His holy ground. Anything that is holy then is perfect and free of defect.
A brilliant reflection of Gods essence based on Gods word resident in ones own soul. Note that it is your soul that is in question here, not your body. Your body of flesh is riddled with the sin nature and will perish one day. But too, God will replace your body of flesh with a resurrection body of perfection exactly like that of Christ's.
Likewise, the two stones represent the promise of a Savior, a son, who would sit on the right hand of God, in the throne of power and certainty and permanence. The promise was made to Adam, and again and again all the way down to Jacob, to David, and to all of humanity.
That which was promised was now present in front of John in this vision, in heaven, in all of His brilliant glory.
Others in history who have claimed to have been to heaven and have seen what was there, are frauds.
Those in the scriptures who have truly seen the visions of heaven were terrified and humbled because of the phenomenal power and sights which they witnessed, Isaiah (Isa 6:5), Ezekiel (Ezek 1:28), and Daniel (Dan 7:15). These are the true witnesses.
Johns vision is not one of soft peacefulness and contentment, but one of extreme power and permanence, and one of Jesus Christ.
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