Lessons from a Common Gemstone (& why I'd rather be a Jasper than a Diamond)
Did you know that some of the most precious gemstones (diamonds, rubies, garnets) LOSE their brilliance under “pure light” and the more common, less precious ones become vibrant, reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, under that same light?
I learned this amazing truth after the following scripture kind of baffled my mind.
Revelation 21, 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the aglory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
My attention was
piqued because, although being a newbie in the rockhounding world, even I know
that Jasper is certainly not clear as crystal, nor is it regarded, at least in
today’s standards, as “precious”. It is
not transparent in the least and is sort of waxy textured and dull in its raw
form. (They do polish up beautifully, though,- pun intended) and certain
varieties, like Polychrome Jasper, are very colorful and pretty, but still not
considered very “precious” at least not in the world's standards.
I wondered why this, then, of all stones, would be used for describing the “light” or “glory of God” that was upon the city. Was the name Jasper used for a different stone in those days? I of course got “squirreled” and just had to do some digging… I came across this extremely interesting information at Christianevidence.net:
“In the past century, it has been discovered that gems can be classified as either anisotropic or isotropic… When viewed in cross-polarized light (similar to “pure” light), anisotropic stones produce a colourful array- reflecting all the colours of the rainbow, whereas isotropic stones lose all of their colour and appear black”. – Joel, Christianevidence.net
Jasper, along with every one of the stones mentioned in the scripture below, is one of these stones that is anisotropic, & so “produces a colourful array”!
Rev. 21:19 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; 20. The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl (Aquamarine); the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth (Zircon); the twelfth, an amethyst.
12 foundation stones under cross-polarized light. Photo credit: Christianevidence.net
In the above picture, Jasper is equated to Quartz. When we normally think of Quartz, we might think of a Chrystal chandelier which would make sense with the above scripture, but because every one of these 12 stones is a type of Quartz, I’m not convinced that it meant the clear variety or otherwise I believe it wouldn’t have been specified as “Jasper” but as clear or chrystal Quartz. And as you can see in the top photo, actual Jasper under this light, is incredibly beautiful!
But anyway, the author of Christianevidence.net poses the question:
“Could it be possible that God, in choosing the stones for the
foundation of the new temple, deliberately avoided stones that would lose their
colour and instead chose stones that disperse light to produce brilliant
rainbow effects?”
Apparently there are only 16 types of “gemstones”, that are anisotropic, and every
one of the 12 stones found “garnishing” the walls of the city (Rev. 21:19 above)
are included in this newly prestigious category! This is so fascinating to me!
So… the stones that are considered most “precious” to the world have no real beauty or value in the presence of “pure light” (God), but some of the more common, less “showy” stones are made brilliant in His light! Wow!! Another of God’s amazing paradox’s which can be a great lesson for us. Could this be another layer or illustration of “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”? I love that the Lord “looketh on the heart”, and not on the outward appearance as the world does.
Psalms 149: 4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will
beautify the meek with salvation.
This reminds me of our tenet to be a peculiar people. To be different from the “world”: Meek and
lowly of heart. Bruce R. McConkie said,
“We are a peculiar people; we are a congregation of true believers who are
unique and different from all others; we are the Saints of the Most High who
are assembling together in many nations to build up Zion and to prepare a
people for the second coming of the Son of Man….we glory in our designation as
a peculiar people. …because we have forsaken the world and have made a
covenant to live godly lives and to walk in paths of truth and virtue.”
So I ask myself, where is my heart? Do I want to “shine” in the eyes of the world or
will I, through forsaking the world, “shine” in the eyes of the Lord?
1Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light.
Duet. 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the
LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all
the nations that are upon the earth.
Titus 2: 14 Who gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Exodus 19: 5 Now therefore,
if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be
a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth
is mine:
A lesson here could be that it is the keeping of Covenants that brings the Glory of God upon us, not what we look like or how prized we are by the world.
Another scripture that eludes to this theory is Rev.4:3 And he (God) that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone (a form of carnelian): and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
With John seeing rainbow-like Glory emanating from not only the New Jerusalem, but also from God, Himself, it seems to me that there is much more to the “rainbow” than I ever previously thought
The Rainbow as a Sacred Symbol:
The rainbow is a sacred symbol of Covenants between God and man: the most universally known with Noah, of course, & his posterity (all of us), but a lesser known use of the rainbow being a symbol of a Covenant was with Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, found in (Genesis 9: 21-25 JST) 21. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch, that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch, which I have caught up unto myself.
22 And this is mine everlasting covenant: that when thy
posterity shall embrace the truth and look upward, then shall Zion look
downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth
shall tremble with joy;
23 And the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall
come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the
end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father
Enoch.
24 And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will establish
my covenant unto thee, which I have made between me and thee, for every living
creature of all flesh that shall be upon the earth.
25 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which
I have established between me and thee, for all flesh that shall be upon the
earth.
Through this JST (Joseph Smith Translation) of the KJV of the Bible, we learn that not
only was the rainbow given as a promise that the Lord would never again flood
the earth , but is also a reminder that the Lord Covenanted with Enoch that his
city, Zion, would, one day, (when enough of His children would be living their
Covenants and keeping His commandments) again descend to earth to help usher in
the Great day of the Lord, when the
earth will be cleansed from all wickedness, this time by fire. Those who choose
to live His laws will live in peace and joy, unhindered by the evil one,
throughout the Millennial day.
It is interesting that the adversary has hijacked this most
beautiful symbol (alhough, interestingly, his "rainbow" has only 6 colors). The very symbol given
as a promise of protection to mankind and the promise of a blessed, Millennial
life through purity and righteous living is now the celebrated symbol of
rebellion against the Laws of God, the very things that brought the flood of
destruction upon the whole world in the first place.
But we can be assured, as in the scripture below, that those that “fear
the Lord, and that thought upon his name” will be spared and considered His
“jewels”. (Which is an interesting
connection to the whole basis of this essay.)
3 Nephi. 24:16-17 “…for them that feared the
Lord, and that thought upon his name.”
“And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make
up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him.”
How I want to remember these things and to become meek and humble before he comes to ‘make up His Jewels’, so to be clothed in the magnificent colors and beauty of His Glory!
And that is why I’d rather be a Jasper than a Diamond.
Blessings on your day,
Nikki
This is a wonderful study and description! I love it! Thanks for sharing these insights!
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