After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Revelation 4:1-3.
“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen you shall make it. It shall be square and folded double, a span in length and a span in width. You shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of sardius, topaz and emerald; and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each according to his name for the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:15-21.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
Do not just skim or surface read My Word. There are deeper levels. Deep calls unto deep. The Spirit knows My deepest thoughts. 1 Corinthians 2:10 (“for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God”), so go deeper and go higher. There is now an portal, a highway of holiness, open right to the highest Heaven and no demon or wicked person can walk there. And that door is open, so come up here where you are seated with Christ already in the spirit.
And what did John see when I called him higher? He saw an open door. Jesus is the door and He will never reject any who come to Him in sincerity and truth. I draw you to Jesus. For in Him I have reconciled you to Myself. I draw you back into Myself through Jesus and in Jesus.
He is your great good Shepherd but He is also your great High Priest.
Since the Old is a shadow of the New, take a look at the vestments of the High Priest. For now you who are baptized into Christ Jesus are clothed in Christ, in the anointed One. And priests under the Old Covenant had a perpetual anointing and it came to the new priest in the garments of the old one. And the same for prophets, Elijah’s anointing came to Elisa in his robe. And all the woman with the hemorrhage needed to do was touch the tassels on the corners of Jesus’ cloak to receive the anointing that healed her wasted body.
The High Priest had what are called “golden garments” by the Jewish people. They were for majesty and beauty. Skillfully woven, the tunic was woven in one piece with no seams.
I told Moses, “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me. These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me. They shall take the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet material and the fine linen.” Exodus 28:4-5.
This is all very significant, but let us focus on the breastpiece. It was the work of a skillful workman; made of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. It was square and folded double, a span in length and a span in width. Mounted on it were four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of carnelian (sardius), topaz and emerald; and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; all set in gold filigree. The stones were according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each according to his name for the twelve tribes. You shall make on the breastpiece chains of twisted cordage work in pure gold. On the breastpiece were two rings of gold, and two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. Two cords of gold were on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. The other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, were put on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it. Then two rings of gold were placed on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. Two rings of gold were put on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod. Aaron carried the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he entered the holy place, for a memorial before Me continually. In the breastpiece of judgment were the Urim and the Thummim, and they were over Aaron’s heart when he went in before the Me; and Aaron carried the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Me continually. Exodus 28:15-30.
The beautiful and precious stones that My people had donated to the building of the Tabernacle and the making of the High Priest’s sacred garments were part of the booty that was given to them as they left Egypt by their neighbors. And now they gave Me what I had given to them. And on those beautiful stones I taught Bezalel to engrave deep into the stone the names of the twelve sons of Israel. All My people at that point were descendants of one or another of those sons. Hence, all were included on the breastpiece for all were descended from those on the stones. And there was a particular order, the order of their births, in which the rows of jewels were set up. From right to left, of course. So first was Reuben. His stone was red, a carnelian or sardius you will see it translated, but the word in Hebrew is odem, which is spelled just like Adam, just that the vowel pointings make it sound very different. And the last stone is for the youngest son, the last born whose name was Benjamin. And if you note, it is a jasper. Which is a clear and many faceted stone that reflects all the colors.
But don’t stop there, keep going forward all the way to the book of Revelation and what do I show you? John wrote, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.” Revelation 4:1-3. A jasper and a sardius (carnelian). I see things from the end from the beginning.
But go deeper.
At the throne you are seeing the breastpiece of the High Priest but I mention the last and the first stone. What sons are those? Benjamin and Reuben. In Hebrew the Name Benjamin means “Son of My right hand,” and the name Reuben means “see the Son,” and He was Jacob’s first born son.
Do you see? The Son at My right hand is Jesus, and He is My first born Son and I tell you that My Will is that all who behold the Son and believe in Him are saved and sealed in Him, just as the engraved names were sealed in the stones, and He must raise them up on the last day. Keep your eyes on Jesus, My Son at My right hand forever. He is the first and the last. The firstborn Son and the last Adam. And the stone of Reuben is red. Adam. Dam is red, red blood. He shared in your flesh and blood and became one of you. But His blood was of the Word and not the perishable blood of Adam.
And what else did John see at My throne? The rainbow. The sign that I would never destroy mankind by a flood again. Jesus is the ark of the Covenant, but He is like the ark of Noah too. Once you are in Him, you are saved from the wrath to come the will fall on the unbelievers. In Jesus you have favor before Me, as Noah did and I seal you in Him, just as I sealed Noah in the ark so that no harm touched him though thousands fell at his side.
“Adonai YHWH,” sang My prophet Habakkuk, “is my strength and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk in high places.” Habakkuk 3:19. Come up higher and live in Heavenly realms where Jesus My Son has led you as your great good Shepherd and great High Priest. And He has all your names engraved as jewels on His heart and carries you on His shoulders.
I love you. Go deeper to go higher. My Word is for you.