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Sermon: Rev 21 The New Jerusalem

Rev 21:9-22:5


The New Jerusalem


How do you describe colour to a blind man? How do
you convey the music of Bach or Beethoven to
someone who has been deaf from birth? How do you
describe wine to someone who has drunk only water?


This is the problem the biblical writers face as they
describe heaven. They are describing something, which
is outside of our experience, beyond our frame of
reference, essentially indescribable.


At best, and it is a poor best, they can only hope to do
so by analogy. By comparing heaven to some lesser
realities in our present world. This of course is what
they do. It is what John does here in Revelation. He
describes heaven in terms of images drawn from our
present world, especially the world of the bible itself.


Divinely prepared images that can give us a hint of
heaven, a glimpse of glory, a whisper of the
transcendent, but we must remember that they are only
images. Heaven is not really streets of transparent gold
nor does it have actual gates of pearls. It is far more
glorious than even the surreal images of Revelation can
ever hope to describe.

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About John

Hi there - I am a member of Greenview and have been for over 20 years. For a number of these years I functioned as an elder, however, indifferent health forced me to take more of a back seat. I see this as an opportunity to do a little writing, often focussing on issues that are a matter of evangelical debate today. Naturally the views expressed are my own and may not reflect the views of the elders or church at large, though differences are likely to be in the detail and not the substance.

These articles and sermons were written partly to clarify my own thoughts and partly with the intention of provoking thought in others who may read them. If you read one I hope you find it stimulating. Please feel free to give me feedback or discuss my articles in the forums.

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