THE EMERALD WORD
The Lord speaks in mysterious ways, and for me, it can be in one-word riddles.
Last Sunday afternoon such a riddle came interrupting my thoughts. The word was—emerald. I began scouring my Bible as if searching for hidden treasure and found a gem speaking directly to me. In the Book of Revelation where John is taken into heaven and, in the Spirit, is allowed to see a glimpse of the throne of God, he wrote: And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. -Revelation 4:3
Two days before ‘emerald’ was spoken in my thoughts, I had a dream about rainbows. And here was a verse mentioning both an emerald and a rainbow.
In my dream, I saw what appeared to be a canopy of rainbows arched in like a tunnel style. I could see mature trees, leafed in green, too.
Ezekiel was shown heaven’s throne describing it, as like the appearance of a rainbow and that it was the appearance of the glory of the LORD (Ezekiel 1:28-29).
The following morning, during my prayer time, I asked the Lord for another clue. This time the Spirit said, “Emerald Sea”.
EMERALD SEA
As it turns out, just a few verses down from Revelation 4:3 the word sea is mentioned. In verse six it says: In front of the throne, there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. The sea of glass represents the presence of God!
Of the verse, Elliott’s Bible Commentary led off by saying: There is a sea before the throne of God. The woman appareled in purple. It was a sign for me that I was on the right track for finding the next clue. I wear purple nearly every time I am invited to speak on the Immanuel Quilt.
Unpacking the dream and discovering the meaning behind the clues, Emerald Sea, led to finding a treasury of hope and promise. A rainbow is always a reminder of God’s covenant promise (Genesis 9:13-17) and an emerald denotes the shining glory of the LORD.
CORRECTING OUR TUNNEL VISION
The phrase Light at the end of the tunnel means a hardship or struggle is nearing its end. If you are like me, you may be thinking the journey of late while waiting for promises not yet received to come has been long and dark. In my dream, the tunnel was an open canopy of rainbows. I sense God saying, “Look Up! The tunnel of darkness does not surround you—it’s My glory that does!”
It’s interesting that in the Christian faith, an emerald denotes resurrection and rebirth. What hopes and dreams have you had fallen away? I think God wants to resurrect them.
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” -John 11:40