The (Anisotropic) Gemstones of Revelation 21
Posted on October 6, 2024 by Patrick Shabi with an estimated reading time of 11 minutes
Last updated on October 6, 2024
“The foundation of the wall of the city [New Jerusalem] were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.”
(Revelation 21:19-20)
Pictured above is the Nicol prism, invented by William Nicol in 1828, which consists of two specially cut calcite prisms bonded together with an adhesive. This prism transmits waves vibrating in one direction only and thus produces a plane-polarized beam from ordinary light.
The study of light polarization gained significant momentum in the early 19th century, mainly due to the groundbreaking work of French engineer and physicist Étienne-Louis Malus. In 1808, Malus made the pivotal discovery that light could be polarized through reflection, meaning that it would bounce off when it hit a surface, causing the light waves to align in a specific orientation. Typically, light waves vibrate in multiple directions as they travel. However, when reflected off certain surfaces, the vibrations become restricted to a particular plane, producing polarized light. This insight paved the way for developing instruments to observe polarized light better. Building on this foundation, Scottish physicist William Nicol invented the Nicol prism. This device, composed of two pieces of calcite glued together, allowed only light traveling in a single direction to pass through. By 1828, Nicol had applied this invention to create the polarizing light microscope. This tool became fundamental in the study of gemstones' optical properties.
Sir David Brewster, Scottish physicist, who discovered the concept of double refraction, which paved the way for the discovery of anisotropic stones.
Sir David Brewster, another Scottish physicist, expanded on Nicol's work through a series of experiments from 1815 to 1830, delving deeper into the behavior of light as it passed through various crystals. His investigations explored critical areas of optical science, such as birefringence, chromatic polarization, and the refractive index of polarized light. During this period, Brewster made a crucial discovery: specific stones could split a single light ray into two distinct rays, a phenomenon known as double refraction. This property became the defining feature of what we now call anisotropic stones, including many gemstones used throughout history.
But what does this history of gemstones and polarized light have to do with the Bible and science?
These discoveries laid the groundwork for modern gemology. Today, gemologists use polarized light microscopes to examine the anisotropic properties of stones. This practice continues to benefit from the pioneering work of Brewster and Nicol. Their contributions transformed the understanding of gemstones, revealing optical properties that were previously inaccessible. Remarkably, these characteristics were not known until the 19th century, adding a layer of awe to the detailed description in Revelation 21. In this passage, John lists twelve gemstones as the foundations of New Jerusalem. This vision now resonates with this new and expanded scientific understanding:
“The foundation of the wall of the city [New Jerusalem] were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.” (Revelation 21:19-20)
All the gemstones listed by John in Revelation are anisotropic! Furthermore, John mentions only 12 gemstones in his account. While hundreds of gemstones have been discovered today, historically (and at the time when John wrote Revelation), there were 28 primary gemstones referred to as "precious" and "semi-precious." This number is often referenced in historical records or for simplified contexts, typically including the most well-known and commonly recognized gemstones since many of the newly discovered gemstones are varieties or subsets of these original 28.
The odds of John randomly selecting 12 gemstones from this group and having all of them be anisotropic would be an astonishing 1 in 16,715! This calculation assumes that all gemstones were equally likely to be included, which wasn't the case since some were considered more valuable than others. Even when narrowing it down through the Bible, you can see that certain gems and stones were esteemed more highly than others. For instance, in the Old Testament God commands the ancient Israelites to make for Aaron a breastplate of precious gemstones as described in Exodus 28:17-20. That chapter tells us specifically what gemstones were to be used in that breastplate:
“The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.”
Interestingly, when looking at the breastplate that the ancient Israelites were commanded to make for Aaron and his sons, an exciting distinction emerges: while diamonds are included among the stones listed for Aaron’s breastplate, they are notably absent from the list that John provided in Revelation when describing the New Jersualem.
Despite their brilliance, diamonds are isotropic, meaning they do not interact with light in the same dynamic way as anisotropic gems. Curiously, John replaces some stones from the Exodus breastplate in Revelation, such as agate with chalcedony (a variety of agate) and onyx with another gem. Only turquoise is anisotropic of the four stones replaced between the two lists. John substitutes it with yet another anisotropic stone. He could have easily chosen other significant biblical gems like garnets or diamonds, or other precious gemstones such as spinel, amber, glass, or opal. Still, he opted for a different set of symbolic stones all of which are anisotropic.
Below are the gemstones which are included in the list of those to be in the New Jerusalem, but do not show up in the account in Exodus of those that were in Aaron’s breastplate. Notice some of the gemstones added to this list, especially chrysoprase, looks to be almost opaque. It would have been very difficult for John to know at the time of writing that this gemstone could not only allow light through, but that the light passing through would result in color.
Below are gemstones mentioned in both accounts of the New Jerusalem and Aaron’s breastplate. Once again, notice how some of the gemstones appear opaque (such as jasper) and others appear transparent (such as topaz and beryl). For some of these gemstones it would be hard to imagine light could pass through. For others, that could easily be seen, but for these gemstones the fact that color results (and not just plain light shining through) would have been much harder for John to know without divine knowledge.
Finally, the gemstones below are the ones that were included on Aaron’s breastplate, but are not in the New Jerusalem. Of the gemstones below, most look to be opaque and were actually anisotropic. The only one that wasn’t is diamond, which is isotropic in nature. These gemstones were replaced with all anisotropic gemstones as listed above.
God selected the stones and gemstones for the new temple's foundation, deliberately avoiding those that would fade in color or lose their brilliance in light. Instead, He chose gemstones that disperse light to create stunning rainbow effects—well before we even understood this unique characteristic of these gems.
“And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.” (Revelation 4:3)
Why would He want this?
Although the gemstones listed in Revelations have spiritual significance, Revelation describes New Jerusalem in physical terms. Its application in the universe will most likely be both spiritual and physical. The Bible tells us there will no longer be any light in that city, but the light we know of now will be replaced with a pure and perfect light – from God the Father and Jesus Christ. Imagine the effects and beauty these gemstones will give off when their light source is totally pure.
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of God gave it light, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” (Revelation 21:3)
The gemstones listed in Revelation 21 provide more than just a glimpse of the beauty of God's coming Kingdom and the New Jerusalem; they reveal divine knowledge far beyond what John or anyone in the first century could have understood. The precise mention of these anisotropic gems—nearly 1,800 years before their unique optical properties were discovered—points to the Bible's divine inspiration and prophetic insight. This alignment with modern scientific discoveries further proves that the Bible is not merely a product of its time but a timeless revelation from God. Whether through the precious stones of the New Jerusalem or the symbolic gems of the priesthood, the Bible continues to unveil truths that only an omniscient Creator could have known.