Several years ago Ann and I, together with our two daughters, were driving back home from a short vacation in Estes Park, Colorado. We could see ahead of us that storm clouds were forming and sure enough it began to rain quite heavily. After the rain ended, we could see directly in front of us the most beautiful and majestic rainbow that we had ever seen.
Nevertheless, we were captivated by the beauty and size and brilliance of this particular rainbow. What are you supposed to do when you are blessed with an experience like that? So we simply held our breath and tried our best to enjoy the moment before it passed. We simply drank it all in. It was somewhat similar to what people mean when they speak of missing the forest for the trees. Or again, it would be like standing at the base of Niagara Falls and trying to calculate the quantity of water that is ceaselessly crashing down all around you.
Or again, it would be like standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon and failing to appreciate its breath-taking grandeur because you are too busy trying to figure out how deep and wide it is and how it was actually formed. I mention these things as a way of preparing you for your encounter with the holy city, the New Jerusalem.
Now, make no mistake about it. But I will do so in order that it might enhance the overall visceral impact that gazing upon this city is designed to evoke.
I think perhaps the best way to experience the reality of the New Jerusalem is simply to stand back a bit and take it all in as a composite whole. When you do this, you realize that the reason John is shown this vision and the reason why he recorded it for us is to overwhelm our senses with the creativity of God himself.
