A whimsical question: What will the gates of pearl look like?

[Ezra]

1 hour ago, Retrobyter said:

Shalom, Ezra.

But, HOW will they be constructed from a pearl?

Assuming each gate has two section, each section will consist of one gigantic pearl (not necessarily globular) mounted within some kind of framework, so as to have an actual gate. The pearl of course will be heavenly, thus created by God specifically for this purpose, as possibly a massive sheet of pearl.

[Retrobyter]

2 hours ago, eileenhat said:

Hebrews 12:22

"King James Bible
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, "

I see where there is a difference in interpretation over this.

First, where is Mount Sion located, on New Earth or in New Heaven?

Second, it says that Mount Sion is a city that is 'heavenly'.  That translated to me, means it has inhabitants that have past through the final judgement are therefore perfected by God.

Verse 23 refers to the Church.

My thread about this Church was deleted two days ago by forum moderators.  So perhaps, a topic they have decided they do not want me to reference.

That thread I would have reference regarding 'Sion'.  Seems a 'hot topic'.

Shalom, eileenhat.

The Greek of this verse is EXTREMELY revealing and fascinating!

Pros Hebraious 12:22-24
22 Alla proseleeluthate Sioon orei kai polei Theou zoontos, Ierousaleem epouranioo, kai muriasin aggeloon, paneegurei
23 kai ekkleesia proototokoon apogegrammenoon en ouranois, kai kritee Theoo pantoon, kai pneumasi dikaioon teteleioomenoon,
24 kai diatheekees neas mesitee Ieesou, kai haimati hrantismou kreitton lalounti para ton Habel.
UBS Greek New Testament

Notice the endings of "orei" and "polei." They are in the same case, the dative (singular) case. They are "mountain" and "city" in the same case, and BOTH refer to the name "Sioon" ("Zion") and "Ierousaleem epouranioo" ("Jerusalem from-ab0ve-the-sky"). Believe me, a "city" that is 1,500 miles high QUALIFIES as a "mountain!"

However, there are a few things everyone should know about this city:
First, it is not necessarily "cubical." It is said to LIE on a square plot of land, not be a 3-D cube.
Second, it is not necessarily "floating" above the New Earth. How can it be said to "LIE?" (Rev. 21:16, Greek: keitai.)
Third, there's "heavenly," and there's "heavenly." What I mean by that is that there are TWO Greek words that were translated as "heavenly": "ouranios," and "epouranios." To all I would say, learn the difference.

 

[Retrobyter]

19 minutes ago, Ezra said:

Assuming each gate has two section, each section will consist of one gigantic pearl (not necessarily globular) mounted within some kind of framework, so as to have an actual gate. The pearl of course will be heavenly, thus created by God specifically for this purpose, as possibly a massive sheet of pearl.

Shalom, Ezra.

Your take is not unlike my own once. Mother-of-pearl was my answer. Then, I thought about these verses:

Revelation 21:24-27
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
KJV

The gates are always open during the day, but there's no night there! That logically suggested to me that these gates would always be open. If there's no night, then it is always daytime for the city. If it is always daytime, then the gates are always open ... period!

This, then, presented a minor but nagging problem to me: What was the point of there being a gate if its going to stand open all the time? What good are these gates? What purpose would they serve?

I was investigating pearls and their shapes one day, and saw something like this: A pearl guide on pearl shapes. I noticed something about the most valuable pearls: They were ROUND and even BUTTON-shaped, flattened on at least one side by the oyster's shell. That may seem simplistic, but bear with me....

What immediately popped into my head was a picture like this (this one taken by Ferrell Jenkins):

What if the reason why these gates are always standing open will be to COMMEMORATE THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD? One doesn't get into the New Jerusalem except through His Resurrection!

In addition to this, it says that the walls and the first foundation were made of jasper. Now, some have thought that this could be a name for diamond. However, traditionally, jasper (Greek: iaspis) is called the "bloodstone" or a "heliotrope," and is described like this:

Jasper Chalcedony is a mineral with a hardness of 7 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness [?]. These Trigonally structured gems are made of silicon dioxide, their full chemical compound being SiO2.

Jasper is the opaque form of Chalcedony, the microcrystalline varieties of quartz that form concretionary deposits, partially of organic origin in the case of jasper.

It is commonly microscopically fibrous, massive, and has a nearly wax-like luster. It has a lower density than ordinary quartz.

It is the archetypal collectable beach pebble, dense, fine crystalline, translucent to opaque, and consists of massive, fine-grained quartz, fairly dense, containing significant amounts of other materials, particularly iron oxides. 

Uniformly colored jasper is rare, usually it is multicolored, striped, spotted, or marbled. Most commonly, jasper is a dark brownish red but it may be yellow or black, green, grayish-blue, lavender, and brown, normally spotted or banded of impure variety of chalcedony or chert.

- See more at: http://gem5.com/stone/64/jasper-chalcedony/#sthash.tzvkKr74.dpuf

and

Jasper is the name of dense and opaque varieties of microcrystalline quartz. Jasper is not really a mineral in the strict sense, but a mixture of different types of microcrystalline quartz with impurities of other minerals, and is called a textural variety of quartz. Jasper of homogeneous color looks a bit like a colored, opaque flint, and shares many of its physical properties, but it forms in different environments. Multicolored jasper makes for an interesting ornamental stone, and red jasper is cut as a gemstone.

Specific Properties 

What clearly distinguishes jasper from other valuable cryptocrystalline varieties like agate, chrysoprase, sard, or carnelian, is its opacity. Only thin chips of jasper are translucent. It might, for example, be of the same color as a carnelian, but the latter is translucent. Heliotrope is opaque and thus considered a variety of jasper (see below). 

The high content of embedded iron compounds occasionally causes the streak to be slightly colored, which is very different from all other quartz varieties. Most of the times the streak will be colorless or white, though. 

Jasper can have a very homogeneous structure and be evenly colored, and is then suitable for lapidary works. Often it is unevenly colored, either irregularly banded or patchy. Some jasper varieties are valued for their peculiar color patterns.

(This was found at Quartz page on jasper.)

So, perhaps we are actually seeing "carnelian" here, but the point is that the entire city is surrounded in a case of jasper! No one gets into the city except through the blood (-stone). The city's walls and first foundation may commemorate the blood of our Lord!

We're also told that upon each gate will be written the name of one of the tribes of Israel. I believe this is the way that one gate is distinguished from another. The R'uwveen Gate, the Y'hudah Gate, the Leviy Gate, etc., and I believe the order of the gates will be similar to the order for the gates of the Millennial Jerusalem found in Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 48:31-35
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
KJV

First, we are taken eastward across the north side of the city: Reuben, Judah, Levi; (4,500 measures)
Then, we are taken southward across the east side of the city: Joseph, Benjamin, Dan; (4,500 measures)
Then, we are taken westward across the south side of the city: Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun; (4,500 measures) and
Finally, we are taken northward across the west side of the city: Gad, Asher, and Naphtali. (4,500 measures).

The total perimeter is 18,000 measures.

[Ezra]

15 hours ago, Retrobyter said:

What if the reason why these gates are always standing open will be to COMMEMORATE THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD? One doesn't get into the New Jerusalem except through His Resurrection!

Retro,

You've shared some very good information here and made some excellent points. There's always more to it than meets the eye.

[Retrobyter]

41 minutes ago, Ezra said:

Retro,

You've shared some very good information here and made some excellent points. There's always more to it than meets the eye.

Shalom, Ezra.

Thank you for those kind words. Here's a little something that you might find interesting: