Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
The foundations of the wall - Does not this mean the foundations or thresholds of the gates? The gates represented the twelve tribes, Revelation 21:12; and these foundations or thresholds, the twelve apostles, Revelation 21:14. There was no entrance into the city but through those gates, and none through the gates but over these thresholds. The whole of the Mosaic dispensation was the preparation of the Gospel system: without it the Gospel would have no original; without the Gospel, it would have no reference nor proper object. Every part of the Gospel necessarily supposes the law and the prophets. They are the gates, it is the threshold; without the Gospel no person could enter through those gates. The doctrine of Christ crucified, preached by the apostles, gives a solid foundation to stand on; and we have an entrance into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Hebrews 10:19, etc. And in reference to this we are said to be built on the Foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, Ephesians 2:20.
The first foundation was jasper - A stone very hard, some species of which are of a sea-green color; but it is generally a bright reddish brown.
The second, sapphire - This is a stone of a fine blue color, next in hardness to the diamond.
The third, a chalcedony - A genus of the semipellucid gems, of which there are four species: -
1.A bluish white; this is the most common sort.
2.The dull milky veined; this is of little worth.
3.The brownish black; the least beautiful of all.
4.The yellow and red; the most beautiful, as it is the most valuable of all. Hitherto this has been found only in the East Indies.
The fourth, an emerald - This is of a bright green color without any mixture, and is one of the most beautiful of all the gems, The true oriental emerald as very scarce, and said to be found only in the kingdom of Cambay.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Revelation 21:19:
Isaiah 54:11
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