Aaron's Breastplate, The New Jerusalem and the Bride of Christ

Author:

Born-again Christian single mother of two grown kids. PC Tech, and Author of 18+ books in the non-fiction, personal/spiritual growth genres

God does not have a wife! Or does He?

Notes, links, and thoughts presented here are for research purposes as this author contemplates the question, "How does God Adorn His Bride in the Scriptures?" At first glance, this question seems entirely scandalous, particularly to the protestant evangelical or charismatic Christian. It is of no consequence to those who adhered to the Greeko-Roman deity worship back in ancient times. It is also of no consequence to those who adhere to the concept of worshipping the Mother of Jesus as Mary, Queen of Heaven. However, to those of neither persuasion, this is a jarring question for sure! God does not have a wife! Or does He?

God's Betrothal and Divorce

We see in the Old Testament Scriptures, references to God betrothing Himself to Israel and later divorcing Himself from that betrothal. In the New Testament, we see Christ referenced in relation to the Church in a passage on marriage in Ephesians, we see John the Baptist speaking of joy in his role as the Friend of the Bridegroom, and we see the Bride mentioned again in the closing verses of the book of Revelation. What becomes clear in these verses, is that God intended for Israel to be His future Bride, but due to Israel's continued rejection of God and His teachings, He chose to prepare the Bride of Christ and we see God the Son wanting to present His Bride to God the Father, without spot or wrinkle.

Verse Samples

Isaiah 62:5 KJV - Bible Gateway
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over
Jeremiah 2:32 KJV - Bible Gateway
Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Matthew 9:15 KJV - Bible Gateway
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the
John 3:29 KJV - Bible Gateway
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Revelation 21:2 KJV - Bible Gateway
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 22:17 KJV - Bible Gateway
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

How God Adorns His Bride

From time to time in the Scriptures, there are references to how God adorns His Bride. Some of these are in the Old Testament, and some are in the New Testament. There are references to jewels, to gold and silver, to fine linens, belts, cords, etc. The Scriptures tell us that upon acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, He grants to us His Robe of Righteousness. Interspersed among these passages and sometimes immediately following them, are references to how this raiment has been spoiled and what is necessary to clean it up again, to be made presentable to the Father by Christ the Son.

Examining the various pieces of raiment and adornment begins with the puzzling and turns out, confusing correlation between the precious stones found in Aaron's Breastplate in the book of Exodus, and the precious stones that make up the foundations of the New Jerusalem, described in Revelation 21, as a city coming down out of heaven, like unto a Bride prepared for her husband. There are 12 stones in Aaron's Breastplate, and 12 stones, one for each of 12 foundations of the New Jerusalem. Each of the 12 stones on the breastplate were to bear the name of a tribe of Israel, according to birth order. Members of the Early Church chose to assign the 12 Apostles to the 12 foundation stones of the New Jerusalem.

Breastplate as worn by the High Priest during Temple Worship

Final Top Initial Resources

Twelve Sons, Twelve Stones

Research and Available Records

Unfortunately for this author, due to various bits and pieces of historical record, genealogical record, archaeological record, ancient church record, and astronomical record, uncovering the most commonly accepted assignments as best understood by various researchers proved time consuming. Thanks to a well-quoted Early Church source, it only took me 5 points of research to confirm the commonly accepted assignments of the 12 Apostles to the 12 foundation stones. But it took me 9 points of research before I finally found a common thread in which tribe was assigned to which stone on Aaron's breastplate! The assignments ranged so wildly that I was beginning to think I'd never find a consensus! Before I could even do those two bits of research however, I had to come to a consensus on how the stones looked and what they themselves were called. The names change from the breastplate to the foundation stones, but the equation between the two has long been accepted down through history. So it was a matter of matching up from various points of research as best I could, the names with the colors and the Hebrew and Greek with the common modern terms. Suffice to say that after two days of research, I am glad to have arrived at a basis of sorts that can be used to begin this study.

Two sources ended up on top of the pack when all was said and done, "The Tribes of Israel and Their Symbolic Stones" and "Foundation Stones and the Apostles" both of them from jjkent's website, which appears to no longer be around. (edit 2016)

Combined Results - Use Horizontal scroll bar to see entire table

The Stones in Aaron's Breastplate, the 12 Foundation Stones of the New Jerusalem, the 12 Tribes of Israel, and the 12 Apostles.
Hebrew	Greek	Septuagint	King James	Breastplate Stone	Foundation Stone	Color	Tribe	Apostle
Odem	sardius/Carnelian	Sardius	Sardius	Ruby	Sard	Red	Reuben	Philip
Pitdah	Topaz	Topaz	Topaz	Topaz	Topaz	Tan	Simeon	Matthew
Bareketh	Emerald	Emerald	Carbuncle (Garnet)	Peridot	Chrysoprase	Yellow green (Golden)	Levi	Thaddaeus
Jophek	Anthrax	Anthrax(Garnet)	Emerald	Garnet	Jacinth	Reddish black	Judah	Simon
Sappir	Sapphire	Sapphire	Sapphire	Aqua-marine	Chalcedony	Light Blue	Issachar	Paul
Yahalom	Jasper	Jasper	Diamond	Fire Opal	Jasper	Orange	Zebulun	Peter
Leshem	Ligure	Ligure	Ligure	Sapphire	Lapis Lazuli	Royal Blue	Dan	Andrew
Shebo	Agate	Agate	Agate	Emerald	Emerald	Green	Gad	John
Ahlamah	Amethyst	Amethyst	Amethyst	Amethyst	Amethyst	Purple	Naphtali	Matthias
Tarshish	Chrysolite	Chrysolite	Beryl	Chrysoberyl	Chrysolite	Yellow	Assher	Bartholomew
Shoham	Beryl,Beryl	Beryl	Onyx	Diamond,	Beryl, Onyx	White	Joseph	Thomas
Yashpheh	Onyx	Onyx	Jasper	Pink Tourmaline	Sardonyx,Rose Quartz	Red/White stripes, or Pink	Benjamin	James

In Conclusion

In the links below, I have researched each stone, what it's properties are, why it was generally assigned to the tribe and apostle it was, and what, if any, correlation there is to why that stone was used to adorn the New Jerusalem, the future home of the Bride of Christ.

Now that this particular set of jewels has been covered, it is time to move on to the other forms of raiment and adornment and learn why they were chosen and what they mean to the Bride of Christ.

Whenever possible, images have been gathered to help the reader visualize items as we go along. It feels like a milestone just getting this far! :-)

Continued Discussion

Sardis - The First Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
The first Stone in Aaron's Breastplate, and generally considered by some to be the sixth stone of New Jerusalem's 12 Foundations, is Sardius, also known as Carrnelian, a varient of Chalcedony.
Topaz or Peridot - The Second Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
Pitdah, or Topaz as most scholars have come to refer to it, sits as the second stone in Aaron's Breastplate and the 9th stone of the 12 Foundations of the New Jerusalem.
Chrysoprase - The Third Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
The third stone in Aaron's Breastplate, and considered the fourth stone of the foundations of New Jerusalem, is the Chrysoprase or Emerald. Some scholars have suggested this stone is the Carbuncle.
Anthrax(Garnet) or Jacynth - The Fourth Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
Depending on the sources you read in what time period they wrote, you will find yourself looking at the fourth stone of the first row of Aaron's Breastplate and wondering what they are talking about
Sapphire - The Fifth Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
Sapphire, the fifth stone in Aaron's Breastplate, and the 2nd foundation stone of New Jerusalem, has an identity crisis as far as what this stone really refers to in the time of Ancient Hebrew.
Jasper - The Sixth Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
Jasper, as it's commonly called, or Fire Opal has some have referred to it, is the sixth stone in Aaron's Breastplate, the 8th stone in the foundations of New Jerusalem.
Ligure - The Seventh Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
The seventh stone in Aaron's Breastplate, often called the Ligure, and sometimes referred to as the Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli, is an interesting stone.
Agate or Emerald - The Eighth Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
This eighth stone in Aaron's Breastplate is largely considered to be the Agate, although some say the Emerald as well. Most sources agree that the color of the stone is a deep green colour.
Amethyst - The Ninth Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
Amethyst is one of the few stones in Aaron's Breastplate that are not contested by any other stone. Amethyst is the 12th stone in the foundations of the New Jerusalem.
Chrysoberyl (Chrysolite) - The Tenth Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
Chrysolite and Chrysoberyl are the same stone, only having changed names in more modern times. The original name was used up to the Victorian age. This is the tenth stone in Aaron's Breastplate.
Beryl (or is it Onyx or Diamond?)- The Eleventh Stone of Aaron's Breastplate
The Eleventh stone in Aaron's Breastplate is contested by three stones. What is generally understood, is that this 5th foundation stone of the New Jerusalem is of a whitish or clear tone.
Onyx - The Twelfth Stone of Aaron's Breastplate
The final stone in Aaron's Breastplate and the first foundation stone in the New Jerusalem, is generally thought to be the Onyx, or as some scholars have more specifically called it, the Sardonyx.

Want to Have a Little Fun?

Visit a Virtual Tabernacle

Before visiting the Virtual Tabernacle link to the right, be sure to install the Flux Player. The linked file is a Zip file. Download to your computer, unzip, run the 2.0 version. it will install a studio, and then the player. The successful install webpage nolonger works, close it. Click on the Virtual Tabernacle link. When your browser asks what to do with the file, tell it to open with the Flux Player. You may need to locate the player in the open dialogue box window. Typically it installs into c:\program files\media machine\flux. Then click open. A window will come up showing you a mock-up of the Israelit Tabernacle. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to travel around it. Click the outer curtain to enter the main tabernacle, click the inner curtain to reveal the Holy of Holies. Very well done!