Gemstones: The Stones That Transfer, Part 2 – Sapphire and Emerald

[Study Aired February 24, 2026]

Introduction

Part 1 of this study established the foundation through sardius and topaz—stones revealing blood redemption and divine wisdom as inseparable realities undergirding God’s eternal purpose. The sardius declared humanity’s forfeited birthright in the first Adam and its restoration through the Last Adam’s sacrifice. The topaz testified to God’s hearing and His response through wisdom’s illumination, guiding believers from darkness into truth’s brilliance.

We now turn to the second pair of transferring stones: the sapphire and the emerald. These gems, appearing in all three contexts alongside sardius and topaz, reveal complementary truths. The sapphire, blue as heaven itself, declares God’s sovereign throne authority and the submission required of those who enter His presence. The emerald, green as flourishing life, testifies to resurrection power, covenant mercy, and the promise that encircles God’s throne.

Understanding these stones requires recognition of Scripture’s governing principle: “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46). The progression from Aaron’s chest to Eden’s covering to New Jerusalem’s foundations traces God’s purposeful work—from external symbol through judgment’s exposure to internal reality, from shadow to substance. What begins in natural representation under law finds spiritual fulfillment in Christ and eternal establishment in God’s dwelling place with His people.

The Stones in Three Contexts

The sapphire and emerald occupy the second row of the High Priest’s breastplate, positioned fourth and fifth respectively: “And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond” (Exodus 28:18). The emerald possibly bore the name of Judah, Jacob’s fourth son whose name means “praise”—Leah’s declaration at his birth, “Now will I praise the LORD” (Genesis 29:35). The sapphire possibly bore the name of Issachar, Jacob’s fifth son whose name means “reward” or “recompense”—Leah’s testimony, “God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband” (Genesis 30:18).

The Hebrew nophek (H5306) describes the emerald, a precious stone distinguished by vivid green color. The Hebrew cappiyr (H5601) designates the sapphire, valued for deep blue color and exceptional hardness. These colors—life-giving green and heaven-reflecting blue—establish the stones’ symbolic significance even before examining their scriptural testimony.

In Ezekiel’s vision of the anointed cherub, both stones maintain significant position among the nine covering stones: “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle” (Ezekiel 28:13). The sapphire appears seventh—a position of completion. The emerald occupies eighth position—representing new beginning beyond the completion marked by seven. Eight throughout Scripture signifies resurrection, new creation, and entrance into new reality. Christ rose on the first day of the week, counted as the eighth day from the previous Sabbath.

Finally, both stones appear in New Jerusalem’s foundations: “The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire… The fourth, an emerald” (Revelation 21:19-20). Here the stones’ distinct transfer patterns emerge clearly. The sapphire moves from fifth position (breastplate) through seventh (covering) to second (foundation)—rising in prominence to stand immediately after jasper’s revelation of God’s glory. The emerald remarkably returns to its original fourth position—the only stone among the six transferring gems to maintain identical numerical position from breastplate to foundations.

This consistency reveals something profound about the emerald’s testimony: covenant promise, resurrection life, and mercy remain unchanged throughout redemptive history. What God promises in covenant faithfulness at the beginning endures into eternity. The sapphire’s ascent from fifth to second demonstrates that heaven’s throne authority, though always present, becomes increasingly central as God’s purpose unfolds—moving from external reminder through completed testimony to structural foundation.

Heaven’s Throne and Earth’s Life

The sapphire’s deep blue color connects it unmistakably to heaven, God’s throne, and sovereign authority exercised from the celestial realm. When Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders ascended Mount Sinai, they received unprecedented vision: “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness” (Exodus 24:10). The pavement beneath God’s feet consisted of sapphire—blue as heaven’s expanse, clear as unclouded sky. This vision revealed that God’s throne rests upon heaven itself; His authority originates from the celestial realm, not earthly circumstance.

Ezekiel’s vision reinforces this connection. When the prophet beheld the living creatures and wheels, he saw beyond them to the throne: “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it” (Ezekiel 1:26). The repetition establishes the pattern: sapphire consistently symbolizes God’s heavenly throne and the authority emanating from it. Later Ezekiel saw again “in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne” (Ezekiel 10:1).

The blue color itself carried covenantal significance. God commanded Israel to incorporate blue into their garments: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them” (Numbers 15:38-39). The blue ribbon served as perpetual reminder of God’s commandments—His authoritative directives issued from heaven requiring obedience.

The emerald’s vibrant green contrasts perfectly with sapphire’s heavenly blue. Where blue points upward to throne authority, green points to earthly life sustained by divine power. Scripture consistently employs green vegetation and thriving growth to symbolize vitality, prosperity under God’s blessing, and abundance produced by His life-giving power. Jeremiah’s contrast captures this perfectly: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh… Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

The green leaf—remaining vibrant despite heat and drought—testifies to life sourced in God rather than circumstances. This pattern appears throughout Scripture, whether the green olive tree of Psalm 52:8 flourishing in God’s mercy or the flourishing palm of Psalm 92:12 planted in the Lord’s house. Natural life withers when tested; spiritual life endures through every trial because its source transcends natural limitation.

(Psa 52:8)  “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.”

(Psa 92:12)  “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” 

Christ declared Himself the source of this enduring life: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The abundant life He provides is flourishing vitality—the green growth of spiritual fruitfulness. Jesus continues: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Connection to Christ produces the green flourishing the emerald symbolizes.

Together, the sapphire’s blue and the emerald’s green present complete reality: divine authority from heaven governing the new earthly life that flourishes under that authority. The throne does not crush life—it sustains it. The life does not exist autonomously—it flows from submitted recognition of heaven’s rule. These complementary truths explain why both stones transfer through all three contexts. Authority and life, throne and garden, new heaven and new earth—all must unite in God’s eternal purpose.

(Rev 21:1)  “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” 

The Submitted Soul and the Living Praise

Jacob’s blessing of Issachar declared: “Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute” (Genesis 49:14-15). This willingness to bear burdens, to submit to assigned labor, to bow the shoulder in service—all foreshadow the submission to heaven’s authority that the sapphire represents. True reward comes not through self-assertion but through submitted service under God’s government.

Jesus declared plainly: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). This comprehensive authority—spanning both celestial and terrestrial realms—demands recognition and response. Paul reveals the pattern: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:5-9).

Christ’s own submission to the Father’s will resulted in His exaltation to supreme authority. The pattern applies to believers: submission precedes exaltation, obedience leads to reward, bowing the shoulder under God’s yoke brings rest rather than burden. The sapphire testifies that God’s throne authority, though absolute and unquestionable, operates in righteousness and mercy toward those who submit. David declares: “The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalm 103:19). Yet this same throne dispenses grace: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Jacob’s blessing of Judah contained Messianic promise: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). From Judah’s line came David, and from David’s line came Christ—the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). The emerald’s position and Judah’s name points toward Christ as the source of resurrection life and the object of eternal praise.

The connection between praise and resurrection life establishes crucial truth: genuine worship springs from experienced transformation, not religious obligation or manufactured emotion. Leah praised God when Judah was born because she finally recognized God’s sovereign working despite her circumstances. True worship emerges when believers comprehend the life God has granted through Christ. Jesus explained: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). Worship in spirit and truth requires spiritual life—the quickening work of the spirit producing genuine recognition of who God is and what He has accomplished.

Paul describes this transformed worship: “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Worship originating from spiritual life rather than fleshly effort characterizes those who have experienced God’s resurrection power.

The integration becomes clear: submission to divine authority (sapphire/Issachar) produces the very life that generates genuine praise (emerald/Judah). One cannot truly worship without first bowing before God’s throne. One cannot find the rest Issachar discovered without receiving the life Judah celebrated. Authority and life, submission and praise, throne and flourishing—these operate inseparably in God’s economy.

Eternal Foundations

The emerald’s most profound biblical appearance occurs in John’s vision of God’s throne: “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” (Revelation 4:3). This rainbow encircling God’s throne, appearing emerald-green, connects directly to God’s covenant promise established after the flood.

God declared to Noah: “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 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” (Genesis 9:13-15).

The rainbow testifies to covenant faithfulness—God binding Himself to remember His promise, restricting His righteous judgment by merciful commitment. The emerald rainbow around the sapphire throne in Revelation reveals that mercy surrounds judgment, covenant faithfulness encircles sovereign power, and the promise of life frames even the exercise of divine authority. This image unites both stones in one comprehensive testimony: the blue throne of absolute authority operates within the green rainbow of life giving mercy.

This connection explains the emerald’s unique positional consistency. Covenant promise occupies fourth position on both the breastplate and in New Jerusalem’s foundations because God’s faithfulness remains unchanged regardless of dispensation, circumstance, or testing. What God pledges in covenant mercy at creation’s beginning He fulfills in eternity’s consummation. The fourth position—maintained across all contexts—declares that life’s promise stands unshakeable.

The sapphire’s ascent from fifth to second position demonstrates different truth: what was represented externally through blue threads and priestly mediation becomes foundational reality in God’s dwelling place. Heaven’s authority, once pointed toward through symbol, now surrounds completely as heaven descends to earth in New Jerusalem. The blue that reminded Israel of distant commandments becomes the immediate foundation upon which believers stand—no longer external reminder but internal reality.

Paul describes this progression: “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Liberty does not mean freedom from authority but freedom through submitted obedience to rightful authority. The sapphire’s eternal presence in the foundations testifies that God’s throne, though absolute in power, provides secure foundation for those who bow before it rather than tyrannical threat to be feared or resisted.

Believers rest upon this dual foundation—unchanging covenant faithfulness (emerald) and ascending throne authority (sapphire). Together they proclaim that God who rules all things does so with unfailing mercy toward those who submit. The rainbow around the throne ensures that judgment never operates apart from covenant promise, that authority never exercises itself without life-giving mercy. What appears as blue sky separated from green earth in natural creation unites in eternal reality—heaven and earth joined, authority and life merged, throne and garden reconciled in God’s presence.

Conclusion

The sapphire and emerald add to the picture begun through sardius and topaz. Together, these four stones from the breastplate’s first two rows establish foundational realities essential to redemption. Blood provides the basis through which sinners approach God. Wisdom illuminates truth that transforms minds. Authority governs all creation under righteous rule. Life flourishes through resurrection power granting abundant vitality. These truths operate inseparably in Christ Jesus.

Paul unites these realities when writing to the Colossians: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:14-17).

Redemption through blood (sardius), Christ as image revealing wisdom (topaz), sovereign authority over thrones and powers (sapphire), preeminence as firstborn giving life to all (emerald)—all converge in Christ Jesus. The stones appearing in all three biblical contexts testify that these realities transcend every dispensation, remaining essential from creation through judgment to eternity.

What Aaron bore externally upon his chest—names engraved on stones, carried into God’s presence through priestly mediation—finds spiritual fulfillment in believers who are themselves living stones built together in Christ. What appeared under judgment as temporary covering gives way to permanent foundation. As Paul’s pattern predicted, the natural shadow yields to spiritual substance, and what was first represented externally becomes our internal reality through the indwelling Spirit.

In Part 3, we will examine the final two transferring stones: the beryl and the jasper. These stones complete the six-stone testimony, revealing transformation’s progressive work and ultimate transparency in God’s presence. The beryl’s sea-green beauty speaks of struggle transformed into freedom, while the jasper’s crystal clarity declares complete transparency before God—the final stage where nothing remains hidden, all has been refined, and God’s glory shines unobstructed through His people.

Yet already through these four stones—sardius, topaz, sapphire, emerald—we comprehend redemption’s essential components. Christ supplies all four: the Lamb whose blood cleanses, the Wisdom of God revealing truth, the Lord exercising all authority, the Resurrection and the Life granting abundant vitality. The stones that transferred through every context testify that these realities, established from the beginning, endure into the age to come and form the unshakeable foundation upon which God’s eternal dwelling rests. Isaiah declares what these precious stones ultimately reveal: “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16).