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The 12 Foundation Stones in New Jerusalem

In Revelation chapter 21, there are 12 gems mentioned to be inlaid for decoration of the New Jerusalem, and ALL of these 12 gems are anisotropic gems...
“The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.” (Revelation 21:19) 

Anisotropic vs. Isotropic Gems

In the past century, scientists have discovered that gems can be classified as either anisotropic or isotropic. Only recently have they discovered cross-polarized light, which can be used to identify whether a gem is anisotropic or isotropic. Anisotropic stones produce a colorful array when viewed in crossed-polarized light (similar to “pure” light), reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, whereas isotropic stones lose all of their color and appear black.

Anisotropic Gems in Revelation 21

An intriguing observation regarding Revelation chapter 21 is that all 12 of the gems mentioned for adorning the New Jerusalem are anisotropic gems, i.e., gems that can show colorful patterns under pure light...

Interestingly, diamond, rubies, and garnets are not mentioned, despite the fact that these groups of gems are very, very common. For instance, the precious stones are generally considered to be diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald, with all other gemstones being semi-precious. It turns out that they are isotropic, and when pure light passes through them, there is no beauty at all...

“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.” (Prov. 8:11)

What Are the Odds?

Of the 28 stones that are normally regarded as gemstones, only 16 are anisotropic. Considering that anisotropic behavior was discovered only in the last century, and John wrote Revelation almost 2,000 years ago, the odds of randomly selecting 12 stones from this group are approximately 1 in 16,715!

In fact, this analysis assumes that all gems have an equal chance of being included, which is not the case as some are more precious than others. Therefore, the actual probability of naming all 12 anisotropic gems in the book of Revelation is much lower than 1 in 16,715.

Conclusion

It is important to keep in mind that some assumptions are being made, such as the stones being a literal representation of heaven (which I believe they are) and the light in heaven being similar to “pure” light that passes through the gems.

Nevertheless, could it be that God intentionally chose stones that disperse light and produce stunning rainbow effects, while avoiding those that would lose their color, when selecting the foundation stones for the new temple?
“...and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” (Rev. 4:3)

30 comments

  1. Awesome......post for sure and just goes to show how AMAZING GOD is!!!!
    • Truely he is incredbly amazing GOD!!!!!!
    • the 12 foundations of the new Jerusalem reminds me of aaron's ephod somehow ,that the high priest wore that had the stones signifying the 12 tribes of israel...

      exodus 28...
      9 “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel.

      ....17“You shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz and emerald; 18and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; 19and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; 20and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. 21“The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their …
    • Definitely something to ponder. I like studying questions like yours, because God does EVERYTHING with purpose.
  2. tremendous..a blessing to read
  3. And to ensure that forevermore there will be light! Is amazing...
  4. Thank you for the insight. I believe Christians are meant to reflect the glory of Jesus Christ brilliantly. Rather than absorb it in themselves Wonderful !
    • Wonderful response!
  5. According to Revelation 21, 10 and 11,a Jasper stone is described thusly: ....he ..( the angel ) showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God, having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a Jasper stone, clear as crystal; This sounds to me like a diamond. For the first foundation stone, brilliant and the strongest of stones.
  6. Glory to God! Amen.
  7. Very interesting
  8. Dont forget the pearly gates and streets of gold. I can't wait to see what this will look like . Praise God for his love and specific descriptions of the New Holy City!
  9. Did some more digging...the wall foundations of the New Jerusalem being the apostles, not the tribes of Israel...

    Matthew 19...
    28 Jesus answered:

    Yes, all of you have become my followers. And so in the future world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, I promise that you will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

    luke 22...
    28 You have stayed with me in all my troubles. 29 So I will give you the right to rule as kings, just as my Father has given me the right to rule as a king. 30 You will eat and drink with me in my kingdom, and you will each sit on a throne to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
  10. Thank you for the great search.
    Jasper was last in the old testament and became first in Rev 21
  11. Amazing ,all the glory to our lord Jesus
  12. God's magnificent wisdom, insight, knowledge and majesty never fail to amaze!! This is so interesting! Someone mentioned the stones on Aaron's breastplate. I wonder...each stone represents one of the 12 tribes of Israel. They were not all pure; they were not all brilliant or good; some were steadfast, some were weak and brittle... perhaps, God in His splendid knowledge, chose stones that accurately represent each tribe's characteristics???
    • I support this assumption, amazing, everything meant something, HE does all with great precision!!
  13. Thank you so much,
    This got drops of tears out of my eyes, how amazing and all knowing GOD is. Thank you
  14. I am very GREATFUL for these very enlightening words,I have met many of CHRISTIANS who dont belive in crystals or are totally against them. How very misled they are to be so narrow minded can't wait to do a sermon on this one. Thank you so very much for your very wise and inligh ting facts SINCERLY Christine lawrence
    • Replying to Christine L., I recently a few months ago discovered crystals/stones for well being, I was reluctant at first because I thought this was against God.. I recently have had an enlightening ahha moment in that if stones are mentioned in the bible and are in Heaven so then why wouldnt they be okay. God is so Amazing!
      Sincerly Anonymous
  15. Also look at the composition of the stones
  16. how can i express my thankfulness for bringing this article forth ...i am so blown away of this ...even more so now that we all have so much more to look forward too when the Kingdom of God returns here on earth
  17. HALLELUYAHUAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  18. Nice analysis. I checked your work regarding the probabilities. You understate the odds (and weaken your case)! The proper way to compute the probability is without replacement, because you want to choose 12 different gemstones. The actual odds are about 6 in 100,000, which is less common than 10,000 to one! That is a ten times rarer occurrance than you claim, which strengthens your case.
    In Python:
    >>> print( (16/28)*(15/27)*(14/26)*(13/25)*(12/24)*(11/23)*(10/22)*(9/21)*(8/20)*(7/19)*(6/18)*(5/17) )
    5.982560835165492e-05
    • Thanks for the correction!
  19. The exact PROBABILITY is 4 IN 66,861. The ODDS are 4 TO 66,857.
  20. Hi..
    Sorry to report, but I checked on Stack Exchange (https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/54011/does-revelation-21-demonstrate-pre-scientific-knowledge-about-precious-stones), and the verdict seems to be that a first century writer could have known the gems all shared a common property, even without knowing about isotropy, polarised light, etc.

    I have been bitten before by claims like this, so I wanted to be cautious.
    Claims like this, that can actually be confirmed or disconfirmed by secular scientists, are worth taking a lot of care over.
    If true, they could rock the secular world and would be worth submitting for peer review; if false, it can save a lot of embarrassment not to make the claim in the first place.
  21. Yes, Anonymous, you're absolutely right. I just read the article, realized the same thing and performed the calculation without replacement. The odds are 1 in 16,715. Truly astounding. Thanks for providing this information, Joel.
  22. Legitimate to connect these stones with “we are being built up as living stones”. Present tense but still in process. Rev 21:2 tells us jerusalem is like a bride prepared for her husband. We are lights in the world but that light is limited by our flesh and the degree to which we surrender to the Spirit. In our immortal bodies there will be no limitation of the flesh.
  23. Scripture repeatedly talks about us being a dwelling place for God, by His Spirit. May He open our eyes to see wonderful things in His Law, and give us strength to endure to the end.