ST. JOHN THE DIVINE DESCRIBED HIS VISION OF HEAVEN THIS WAY: "The holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21:2–4).
When should we expect to see this holy city ourselves? St. John made it clear. He heard a voice saying, "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night" (ibid. 12:10).
One dictionary defines salvation, in part, as "safety." So, clearly, the Bible tells us that now we live in safety. Now we live in the kingdom of heaven. Yet, despite this Biblical account—and its promise of unbounded safety and freedom—around the world today, tyranny holds a cruel and unjust grip on millions of people. And not only through oppressive governments. Too often, in our individual lives we give up our own freedom and peace of mind because we become mesmerized by beliefs of everything from heredity to the aggressive domination by a family member or employer to our own negative view of ourselves.
