EPrata photo
I wrote an essay on the subject of the color green in heaven. Green as in green pastures, green things to eat the Lord gave us in Genesis 1:29, green in emerald (like the emerald rainbow surrounding the throne and in the foundation of the new city), etc.
I was thinking about "green."
I pondered the beauty of the green in Ireland. The hues there are so different than the green pastures here, and if it is that beautiful in 'The Emerald Isle', how much more beautiful will it be in heaven? I'd posted a short quote from Randy Alcorn from his book Heaven, and in the quote he quoted himself from Dominion. It's encouraging to think of what is ahead of us.
In response to my essay, a commenter gave me this really interesting comment. I had never thought of this but isn't this absolutely true:
"Elizabeth, Thanks so much for this blog! Did you ever think about how all our colors on earth are dependent on our light sources--the sun, incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, . . . But in our eternal home, according to Rev. 22:5, "They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light." Think about what effect that will have on colors! An infinitely superior LIGHT SOURCE creating colors beyond our earthly imaginations!"
Wow! I had never thought of that! The light source is all-important in the range of colors we are able to see. Colors look like they do because of the source and type of light hitting the retina. The ranges of Ultraviolet light and Infrared light are much wider than we are currently able to see. Once the Light Source is pure (Jesus) and we see through His pure and holy light, imagine what we will be able to view, including new colors!
EPrata photo
You see, you probably already know this, so pardon me if I'm repeating myself, the brain and the eye, specifically the retina and the fovea, translate light into colors. Color actually originates in light. It bounces to the object and then to our eye. What we are seeing is actually the reflection off the bounce, and the color reflected to us is only as good as the original light source.That's why paint helpers at Sherwin-Williams tell new homeowners to paint a swatch on their wall and look at it at different times of day. The brightness and angle of the light will make the color appear different at each time.
Imagine when we are glorified and the full spectrum of light is now reflecting the purest, most holy and good light there can be! What will we see THEN?! So. Many. Colors.
It's gonna be GREAT!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FMI:
"How the Eye Sees Color"
Color originates in light. Sunlight, as we perceive it, is colorless. In reality, a rainbow is testimony to the fact that all the colors of the spectrum are present in white light. As illustrated in the diagram below, light goes from the source (the sun) to the object (the apple), and finally to the detector (the eye and brain).
1. All the "invisible" colors of sunlight shine on the apple.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. The surface of a red apple absorbs all the colored light rays, except for those corresponding to red, and reflects this color to the human eye.
3. The eye receives the reflected red light and sends a message to the brain.
The most technically accurate definition of color is:
"Color is the visual effect that is caused by the spectral composition of the light emitted, transmitted, or reflected by objects."
Impossible Colors
Train yourself to see impossible colors
How many colors are really in a rainbow?
