Revelation 21:19; All Manner of Precious Stones (1)

Revelation 21:19 (KJV) And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

Defining the source of the symbolism of the stones is a possibility. It is not the jewels of the apparel of the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:11-13), because it would be inappropriate to use a pagan king as symbolic of the future eternal kingdom (Johnson).

Ezekiel 28:11-13 (KJV) Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Eight of the stones are the same as in the breastplate, with the remaining one being words that are unused – chalcedony, chrysoprasus, jacinth, sardonyx (Swete).

Revelation 21:20 (KJV) 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.

The symbolism is rich in meaning. The old covenant confined the privilege of direct fellowship with God to the high priest, but in the new city the privilege will belong to all the people of God (v22) (Moffatt).

Revelation 21:22 (KJV) And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 470]