3. Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal--21:11. The attribute of glory here ascribed to the holy church in descent was an allusion to the cloud of glory that covered and filled the tabernacle at its completion-- the Shekinah, that divine manifestation through which God’ s presence was made known. The light of the City was like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. In chapter 4:3 the One on the throne had this appearance of crystal jasper; so the vision here is that the Holy City represented the resplendent glory of God Himself, as Paul affirmed of the church in Ephesians 3:21 : “ Unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end.” The force of this descriptive attribute of the Holy City was the ultimate in glory and grandeur. The ancient crystal jasper was pellucid in its transparency and diaphonous in its translucency. As the sun is the luminary of the heavens, the glory of God Himself illumined this descending Holy City, the New Jerusalem church, with the divine effulgence of his presence.