There are many reasons that crystals are used today.  They are often used alongside natural health supplements and remedies to help with healing in the body.

 

What are crystals?

"Crystals are a special kind of solid material where the molecules fit together in a repeating pattern. This pattern causes the material to form all sorts of unique shapes."[1] "The scientific definition of a 'crystal' is based on the microscopic arrangement of atoms inside it, called the crystal structure. A crystal is a solid where the atoms form a periodic arrangement."[2] Snowflakes are considered single crystals that make up snow.

Geology In states, "Crystals are the outer form of a mineral's inner order. Nearly every piece of rock of Earth is made of minerals, each of which is defined as a natural substance with a precise recipe and arrangement of atoms. It's important to realize that every mineral, whether it looks like a crystal or not, is crystallized inside. The outer shape of a crystal has a complicated relationship to that internal structure. The inside is the important part—how the various atoms of the mineral fit together."[3]

What do the Bible and God have to say about crystals? 
The word "crystal" is used five times in the Bible?  It is used in Job 28:17 alongside gold.  Speaking of wisdom, Job says, "The gold and the crystal cannot equal it, and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold." Not only are crystal and gold mentioned in this passage, but other precious materials are listed here as well. "Crystal" is also used in the book of Revelation and describes parts of heaven.  Crystal in the Bible is clear and transparent, like glass.

We find that precious stones are also significant in the Bible, and they are mentioned as early as Genesis, chapter two. "The name of the first (river) is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good, bdellium and the onyx stone are there." (NKJV) [emphasis added] (Genesis 2:11-12).

Stones are very important in Scripture.  Here are just a few examples of stones being used in the Bible:

• They are mentioned in Genesis chapter 2 when describing the Garden of Eden.

  • Gold is a precious metal, onyx is a semi-precious stone, and bdellium is considered a resin, though the Septuagint translates bdellium as a precious stone or crystal rather than a resin.

• Stones are used as a witness.

  • Jacob anoints the stone he used as a pillow during his famous dream about the ladder reaching from heaven to earth as a witness that if God would keep him and feed him and that if he returned to his father's house again in peace, then he would give God a tenth of everything he had. Genesis 28:10-22

  • Jacob used stones as a witness when he made a covenant with Laban. Genesis 31:45-55

• Moses and the elders saw the God of Israel in the wilderness, "And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of Heaven in his clearness."

• The Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone.  Exodus 24:12

Precious stones and "crystals" were also used on the breastplate of Aaron, the high priest.  When the high priest went to minister before God, he wore the breastplate with twelve stones etched with the names of the twelve children of Israel. This was worn over his heart as a memorial to the Lord, showing that he, the high priest, was interceding on behalf of all the people. Each stone was different and represented each tribe of Israel.  The high priest also wore ephods with onyx on his shoulders.

The stones in the high priest's breastplate were: sardius (ruby), topaz, carbuncle (emerald), turquoise, sapphire, diamond, jacinth, agate, amethyst, beryl, shoham (onyx), and jasper[4]. (Exodus 28:17-20)

Crystal and precious stones (what we would call crystals today) are used in building the New Jerusalem.  Revelation 21:18-20 reads, "The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.  The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx (sardonyx), the sixth sardius (carnelian), the seventh chrysolite (peridot), the eighth beryl (aquamarine), the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth (zircon), and the twelfth amethyst."

 

In the past century, it has been discovered that gems can be classified as either anisotropic or isotropic, and only recently have scientists discovered cross-polarized light, which can be used to identify whether a gem is anisotropic or isotropic. When viewed in crossed-polarized light (“pure” light), anisotropic stones produce a colorful array- reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, whereas isotropic stones lose all of their color and appear black.

In Revelation chapter 21 there are 12 gems mentioned to be inlaid for decoration of the New Jerusalem, and ALL of these 12 gems are anisotropic gems, (gems that can show colorful patterns under pure light...)
 

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Neither diamond, rubies or garnets are mentioned, despite the fact that these group of gems are very common. The precious stones are generally considered to be diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald, with all other gemstones being semi-precious. Because they are isotropic, when pure light passes through them, there is no beauty at all...
 

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"For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs 8:11)

Of the 28 stones that are normally regarded as gemstones, only 16 are anisotropic.

God chose the stones for the foundation of the new temple, avoiding stones that would lose their color and instead chose stones that disperse light to produce brilliant rainbow effects, even before we understood the unique feature of these stones. 
 

"...and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." (Revelation 4:3)

Believers are given white stones with a new name inscribed in them according to Revelation 2:17.

There are many more instances of when stones, including precious stones, are talked about in the Bible. These passages describe the throne room where God sits in Heaven and include being used as witnesses and memorials to agreements and covenants. 

Consider what Hannah said about God, "There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God." And Deuteronomy 32:4 declares, "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."

Peter had the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God.  Jesus said he was going to build His church on the truth of the rock of this revelation. (Matthew 16:18).

Many times in Scripture, God is referred to as our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer.  There is something pretty special about rocks, stones, and crystals if God uses them in His throne room, as a picture of His attributes, as a foundation for building His church, as a witness by people to keep their words and to speak the truth, as memorials, and more! 

Romans 1:20 tells us, "For since the creation of the world His invisible qualities have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, both His everlasting power and mightiness, for them to be without excuse."

God created rocks, crystals, gemstones.  He likens Himself to a rock, and He surrounds Himself with beautiful stones to show and demonstrate to us His beautiful qualities; who He is, what He is like.  The use of crystals and rocks belongs to God first.  When believers use crystals, they can be used to glorify God.  They were created by Him.

When Christ entered Jerusalem, the Pharisees asked Him to silence the crowd that was praising Him, "He answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out"?  (Luke 19:40)

The stones do not have mouths, but they do have energy.  Everything has energy and frequency.  Crystals have energy too.  Those unique crystalline patterns that make up different crystals and gemstones each put off a different frequency. The different frequencies emitted by these stones can "cry out."

Kenneth Solomon wrote, "Our bodies possess an energy field that is created by the rhythmic vibrations such as heartbeats, breathing, and circadian rhythms. The frequency or rate of these vibrations generates an electromagnetic energy field that causes changes to cells of the body and ultimately affect how the body functions. Changes to vibrational frequency from stimuli such as temperature or anxiety can alter the overall mental and physical health."[5]

Not only do temperature and stress affect the vibrational frequency of our bodies, anything that emits a frequency can as well.  Silicon or silica dioxide is used in electronics.  Silica dioxide is known as crystal quartz.  Silica dioxide is used in electronics because of its ability to store large amounts of data and release that data as needed.  The storage and release of this data is based on frequency.  Energy.

Silicon is a semiconductor material with an atomic number of 14, located in the group 4 of the periodic table.  Semiconductors are nothing but materials with insulating properties in pure form and conducting properties when doped or added with impurities. Semiconductors usually have a band gap (energy required for electrons to break free from covalent bonds) between insulators (maximum band gap) and conductors (minimum band gap). The conduction or flow of charge in semiconductors is due to the movement of free electrons or holes.[6] This means that quartz crystal can store and conduct energy depending on how it is used.  When utilized in your cell phone, it is used to communicate with someone on another phone.  When used in a computer, it allows you to see and read this article.  All of this has to do with the unique, God-given characteristics of this material. Cell phones and computers put out electromagnetic fields that may be harmful.  Crystals put off electromagnetic fields that may be helpful to our bodies.

Minerals are used to make up our bodies, and we need minerals so that our bodies can function properly.  When we eat, we consume foods rich in minerals to help our bodies stay strong and healthy, or we can take mineral supplements when there is a deficiency causing health symptoms. It is possible that the energy that is being given off from crystals, which are made up of minerals, can benefit our bodies as well. 

Some people are reluctant to use crystals because they don't see them being used for healing in the Bible. X-rays, MRIs, EKG/EEG machines, or ultrasounds weren't used or talked about in the Bible either, but we benefit from their appropriate use. While there isn't any passage in Scripture that shows someone using crystals, stones, or rocks for healing, we can clearly see that they were highly valued and used and worn for spiritual purposes.  It is through scientific discovery and research that we have learned to use things like radium, lithium, cobalt, titanium, silicon, etc., for medical and health benefits. Because crystals may put off frequencies, we may be able to use them for the benefit of our health. 

While some people use crystals for things like psychic healing or magic, that doesn't mean that we have to avoid using them.  How we use them is the question.  Anything can be used for good or for bad.  Just as the brazen serpent was appropriate when it pointed believers to Christ, and was destroyed when people began worshipping it, crystals can be used appropriately when they point us to the Creator, Jesus Christ. Crystals have been used since ancient times, just as herbs, to bring strength and health to the body. 

Rocks and stones show the beautiful, multi-faceted attributes of God, one of which includes being our Healer.  Using crystals the way God intended means using them with purity of heart, not looking for crystals to do the healing, but trusting that God will use crystals, the same way He uses herbs to bring healing to our bodies.

 

Footnotes:

[1] Ducksters. (2021). Science for Kids: Crystals. Ducksters. https://www.ducksters.com/science/crystals.php

[2] Crystal. (2021, January 5). In Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal

[3] What are Crystals?. (2014, December). In Geology http://www.geologyin.com/2014/12/what-are-crystals.html

[4] Discrepancies are common with the names of gemstones as the meaning of original words have changed throughout time. I’ve included the name of the gemstone that the Scriptures might be referring to in parentheses.

[5] Solomon, K. (2020, December 7). Materia Medica and Gemmotherapy. 

[6] (n.a.) Top 5 Reasons for Silicon Uses in Electronics as a Semiconductor Material. (n.d.). https://www.elprocus.com/what-are-the-reasons-behind-silicon-uses-in-electronics/