There is a very strong correlation between the subject of royalty and the color purple in the scriptures. The word, royal, means that which belongs or pertains to a king. The children of a king are said to be his royal seed. The clothing of a king are his royal apparel. The cities of the king are referred to as royal cities. Thus, all the possessions of a king are royal possessions.

Purple is a mixture of blue and red. Blue is associated with law or commandment and red is associated with war, blood, and judgment. Our King, Jesus Christ, kept the law (blue) to a jot and a tittle and then conquered sin, Satan, death, hell, and the grave through shedding his blood upon the cross of Calvary and satisfying the judgment of God upon the imputed sins of his elect people. The inscription above the head of Jesus on the cross read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." He was and is indeed the King of the Kingdom of heaven.

The color, purple, is found in many things pertaining to the tabernacle and temple. Often it is used in combination with other colors such as blue, red, gold, and white. The following items in the tabernacle and the clothing of the high priest contain such combinations including purple: curtain of the tabernacle, veil of the tabernacle, hanging for the door of the tent, hanging for the gate of the court, the ephod of the high priest, the curious girdle of the high priest, the breastplate of the high priest, the hem of the priests robe. The color, purple is also the color of the covering of the brazen altar. The combination colors will be dealt with in another section of this study on colors.

The soldiers who crucified Jesus dressed him in raiment of purple before his crucifixion and mocked him:

1. Mark 15:16 "And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him."
2. John 19:2 "And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, 3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. 4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. 5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!"

While the soldiers mocked Jesus as the King of the Jews, yet Jesus was and is indeed the King of kings and Lord of lords:

1. 1 Tim. 6:15 "Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;"
2. Rev. 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
3. Rev. 19:16 "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

The virtuous woman in Proverbs chapter 31 is said to be clothed with clothing of purple and silk: Prov. 31:22 "She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple." The virtuous woman is first a type of the Lord's bride, His church. The church is clothed with righteousness (white=silk):

1. 2 Cor. 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
2. Rev. 19:8 "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."
3. Rev. 19:14 "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."

The church is also clothed in royal apparel (purple) of King Jesus:

1. Rev. 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
2. 1 Pet. 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"

The loved in Song of Solomon is a type of the Lord's bride also and is described as follows: Song 7:3 "Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. 4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. 5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. 6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!" According to 1 Cor. 11:15 a woman's hair is given to her for a covering: "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." Thus, the Lord's bride has as her head, the Lord Jesus Christ. She is His royal bride.

Also, in the Song of Solomon, King Solomon made a chariot to carry "the daughters of Jerusalem." The daughters of Jerusalem are a type of the Lord's covenant people. Song 3:9 "King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. 10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem." This chariot is the King's chariot and was covered with purple. The Lord, himself, is our chariot and he carries us ultimately into the glory world:

1. John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."
2. Rom. 8:29, 30 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

Satan is an imitator. He tries to imitate Christ, but in a wicked way. We see in the scriptures where his false or idol gods are clothed in purple: Jer. 10:8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. 9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men."

Moreover, Satan's worldly rulers are covered in purple: Ezek. 27:3 "And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. 4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. 5 They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. 6 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. 7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee."

Satan's wretched bride is also covered in purple: Rev. 17:4 "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."

The great difference between those of the Lord's who are covered in purple and those of Satan that are covered in purple is that the Lord clothed his own with purple, but the bride, kings, and people of Satan covered themselves with purple.