"As heaven's high twins, whereof in Tyrian blue The one revolveth, through his course immense Might love his fellow of the damask hue, For like and difference." " - the triple whirl Of blue and red and argent worlds that mount Or float across the tube that Herschel sways, Like pale-rose chaplets, or like sapp'hire mist, Or hang or droop along the heavenly ways, Like scarves of amethyst." Jean Ingelow, "Honors."

Herodotus, describing the Median city of Agbatana, says that it is surrounded by seven walls rising in circles, one within the other, and having their battlements of different colors - white, black, scarlet, blue, orange, silver, and gold. These seven colors were those employed by the Orientals to denote the seven great heavenly bodies: Saturn black, Jupiter orange, Mars scarlet, the sun gold, Mercury blue, the Moon green or silver, and Venus white. The great temple of Nebuchadnezzar at Borsippa was built in seven platforms colored in a similar way. See the beautiful description of the Astrologer's Chamber in Schiller's "Wallenstein," Part I., act ii., sc. 4. There is no allusion to the different degrees of glory among the risen saints.

Robertson's NT Word Studies