The basic elements of the structure of the New Jerusalem are gold, pearls, and precious stones (Rev. 21:11, 18-21). Gold is an element created by God and characterized by its unchangeableness. Pearls are produced by oysters. When an oyster is wounded by a particle of sand, it secretes its life-juice around the sand and makes it a precious pearl. The particle of sand is something created by God, yet the life-juice of the oyster is added to this particle by secretion and a pearl is produced in a marvelous way. Precious stones are not created, but transformed from things created. Due to intense heat and pressure these stones were transformed from their original form and nature to a transformed form and nature.
Gold in typology in the Bible refers to the divine, uncreated nature of God. If we would pay our attention to this matter of gold when we study the Bible, we would realize that gold is a special item in the Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2 we see God’s creation of man, the tree of life, the flow of the river, and the gold. Genesis 1 and 2 are very economical and these two chapters cover a great span of the creation of the universe and unveil to us God’s eternal purpose, His original intention in man. Following the gold in Genesis 2 we see bdellium. Bdellium is a kind of pearl produced from a tree’s secretion. When the resin of the tree, the tree’s life secretion, the tree’s sap, congeals into gum, this gum is considered as a kind of pearl. Following the bdellium in Genesis 2 is the onyx stone, the precious stone (v. 12b). Finally, we see a woman named Eve who was Adam’s counterpart. The Lord God took a rib from Adam’s side and built it into a woman. Actually, in Genesis 1 and 2 we see ten significant items—God, creation, man, the tree of life, the river that flows, gold, bdellium, onyx stone, a wife, and a couple who became one flesh. If you understand these ten items you know the real significance of God’s creation, especially of man, recorded in the first two chapters of His divine revelation.
At the conclusion of the divine revelation in the last two chapters of the Bible, Revelation 21 and 22, we see a city built with gold, pearls, and precious stone. In the real structure of a building the first item is the base or foundation. On the base the doors are set up and the wall is built up to fit the doors. In any building you need the base, the doors, and the wall. In the New Jerusalem the gold is for the base, pearls are for the gates, and the precious stones are for the wall. The record of these three materials in Genesis 2:12 is in this sequence because this is the sequence of building.
In 1 Corinthians 3:12 Paul refers to the building up of the church. For the proper building up of the church Paul mentions three kinds of materials—gold, silver, and precious stones. Instead of the bdellium or pearl Paul mentions silver in 1 Corinthians 3. In Genesis 2, in 1 Corinthians 3, and in Revelation 21 we see the materials for God’s building. In these three portions of the Scriptures the first item is gold and the last item is precious stone. The second items in these three portions are all somewhat different. In Genesis there is bdellium, in 1 Corinthians there is silver, and in Revelation there are pearls. It is quite marvelous to see the consistency of the divine revelation. In Genesis 2:12 we see three materials in typology for God’s building and in 1 Corinthians 3 we also see three materials for the actual building of the church. Paul says that he laid the unique foundation and that we should build on this foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones. Paul, of course, is not talking about a material building but about the building up of the Body of Christ. To say that the Body of Christ can be built with gold, silver, and precious stones indicates that these three materials are signs which signify something.
Gold, silver, and precious stones signify the various experiences of Christ in the virtues and attributes of the Triune God. It is with these the apostles and all spiritual believers build the church on the unique foundation of Christ. Silver in typology according to Exodus 30 always typifies redemption (vv. 11-16; cf. 38:25-28). The building materials of the church are first the gold referring to God with His divine nature, and second the silver referring to the Redeemer with His redemption.
We also must look into the significance of precious stones. According to John 1, Andrew went and found his brother Simon Peter and brought him to Jesus (vv. 41-42). By that time Peter was a “muddy” person. When Jesus saw Peter, He said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which translated means a stone)” (John 1:42). Peter (Gk.) means a stone. At that time Simon was not a piece of stone, but a piece of mud. When he came to the Lord, however, the Lord immediately changed his name. When we reach the book of Revelation we see that on the twelve foundation stones of the holy city there are twelve names (21:14). Undoubtedly, Peter is the first foundation stone—jasper.
All the Apostles were created pieces of clay, but they were regenerated and transformed into precious stones for God’s eternal building. In the Gospel of John, Peter was named “a stone” by the Lord and in John’s Revelation this same Peter is one of the twelve foundation stones. The Lord’s word in John 1 concerning Peter being a stone was a prophecy which was fully fulfilled in Revelation 21. Even at the time when the Lord was going to be crucified, Peter was still a piece of mud and not a stone. He first boasted that he would never deny the Lord and eventually in the same night he denied the Lord three times. At that time none of us could recognize or acknowledge Peter as the first layer of the foundation of the New Jerusalem, God’s eternal habitation. He was still quite muddy.
In between John’s Gospel and his Revelation are Peter’s Epistles. In his first Epistle Peter tells us that the Lord is the living stone and that we all need to come to Him as living stones for God’s building of His habitation (2:4-5; Eph. 2:22). All of us believers including Peter are the living stones for God’s building. After he experienced Christ in His resurrection and ascension, Peter declared that he was one of the precious stones for the building up of a spiritual house. John 1, 1 Peter 2, and Revelation 21 all refer to Peter. He was predicted to be a stone in John 1, he became a stone in 1 Peter 2, and he is a foundation stone in the New Jerusalem. Peter was a piece of mud or clay transformed into a piece of stone and transformed further to be a piece of precious stone for the building of God’s dwelling in the entire universe.