He That Sat
“And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone:” (Rev 4:3a KJV)
John attempts to give us a description of the glorious vision of Jesus siting upon His throne. Words cannot do justice to the awesome presence of God. We can only relate to what we know, can see, touch, etc. John used words that demonstrated how precious God and Heaven is in a way that we can picture the presence of God for ourselves.
The precious jewels that John saw relate to God’s character. The jasper shows the glory, magnificence, and beauty of God.
Jasper – 2393 ἰάσπις iaspis {ee’-as-pis}
Meaning: 1) jasper, a precious stone of various colours (for some are purple, others blue, others green, and others the colour of brass)
The Sardine stone shows the power and strength of God.
Sardine – 4555 σάρδινος sardinos {sar’-dee-nos}
Meaning: 1) a sardius, a precious stone of which there are two types, the former is called a carnelian (because flesh coloured) and the latter a sard
A Rainbow
“and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” (Rev 4:3b KJV)
The rainbow is God’s sign of His covenant with Noah.
“13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
(Gen 9:13-17 KJV)
It is fitting that God would continue to use the rainbow as a symbol of His covenant with His Church. We see this symbol again in Heaven, but this time the rainbow looks like an emerald. The emerald is symbolic of growth and new life. Yes, the emerald rainbow is very fitting indeed.
Emerald – 4664 σμαράγδινος smaragdinos {smar-ag’-dee-nos}
Meaning: 1) of emerald, made of emerald