Jasper

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. (Rev. 21:18)

Thus reads the Authorised Version, though nearly every other translation renders the walls of New Jerusalem to be of jasper, too. My specimen, above, is rough and red, though more polished and varied types are available. Unlike other precious stones which constitute the heavenly city’s foundations, the walls are of an opaque material, which means it is not translucent or see-through. There is a sense in which heaven, though available to all who come to God through Christ, is a private place, only for those whose sins have been washed away. In the very next chapter, we read:

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 22:14-16

One wonders who or where these dog-like people are (hell, presumably) and just how close they are to the urban paradise that God has been preparing these two millennia. Whether this is literal or symbolic, we know that those walls of jasper are beautiful, but shield from view the glories within from any without. Those inside enjoy a private intimacy with their God; those without can only imagine it from afar. 

A D