(4) The indescribable grandeur and magnificence of the new Jerusalem--21:18-21. It would be impractical, if not entirely futile and frustrating, to attempt a descriptive application of each precious stone which decorated the Holy City. There is no singular meaning or definition that can be imparted to these jewels of adornment, but altogether the enumeration of all existing precious stones presented a vision so exquisite in the extreme as to exceed all human imagination or contemplation. The sublime apocalypse portrayed the New Jerusalem as being the church of the firstborn ones (Hebrews 12:22-23), the citizens of which have their names inscribed in the registry of heaven. Its citizenry consisted in a kind of firstfruits of all of God’ s creatures (James 1:18)--they are his choice creation. Its structure was itself constructed of pure gold; its streetway, or passage system, was the same as of the city--of solid gold, and transparent. The expression pure gold means unalloyed, without the comparative carats in weight or measure or degree of content; but in purity no mixture or alloy. The eye of man has discovered and discerned pure gold, but no man has ever seen transparent gold, a description that adds visional resplendence to the delineations. The portals of the City were composed of pure pearls, each gate consisting of one solid pearl; and its twelve foundations were garnished with twelve rare jewels of glistening beauty, which in the order from one to twelve were: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, an emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth and an amethyst. With vast clusters of edifices within the high wall the super-structure of the City was embellished by whatever materials were known to man to be the most estimable and resplendent of earth’ s treasures--and these all were adapted to enhance the glorious majesty of the New Jerusalem, the Lamb’ s Bride--the church of Christ.