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Revelation - John's Description of Heaven
4: Revelation 4 & 5: John’s description of Heaven
Imagine trying to describe something that can’t be described. Heaven must surely be beyond our power of description, and beyond the author, John’s.
Comic artists render action with symbols familiar to all our children – star-shapes with “POW” and “BAM” written on them imply somebody being hit. “BANG” is usually a gun. Light-bulbs drawn over heads imply inspiration and ideas.
The symbols John used in his writing would have been just as familiar to early readers, and to readers intimately acquainted with the Old Testament. When we read without the same understanding of the symbols, we might expect to struggle to understand – just as an alien might struggle to understand our children’s comic books.
John has just written Jesus’ letters to the churches. The rest of the book might be expected to give an explanation of what the warnings and promises were all about.
The story starts with images very reminiscent of the temple in Jerusalem, and s…
Imagine trying to describe something that can’t be described. Heaven must surely be beyond our power of description, and beyond the author, John’s.
Comic artists render action with symbols familiar to all our children – star-shapes with “POW” and “BAM” written on them imply somebody being hit. “BANG” is usually a gun. Light-bulbs drawn over heads imply inspiration and ideas.
The symbols John used in his writing would have been just as familiar to early readers, and to readers intimately acquainted with the Old Testament. When we read without the same understanding of the symbols, we might expect to struggle to understand – just as an alien might struggle to understand our children’s comic books.
John has just written Jesus’ letters to the churches. The rest of the book might be expected to give an explanation of what the warnings and promises were all about.
The story starts with images very reminiscent of the temple in Jerusalem, and s…
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