THE BLESSING OF THE ETERNAL LIFE VERSUS THE BLESSING TO THE PEOPLES ON THE NEW EARTH
“Even the last hymn in our hymnal, 1348, is a wrong hymn based upon our present realization. This hymn is comprised of Revelation 21:3-4 which says, “And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor will there be sorrow or crying or pain anymore; for the former things have passed away.” The only problem with this hymn is that this word was not spoken to the believers but to the peoples on the new earth outside the holy city. When we sang this hymn were we singing it to the people outside the city? I do not believe this hymn was written with this understanding. This really troubles me that this hymn was written and placed in our hymnal...In the next edition of the hymnal we will replace this hymn with a positive one about the blessings of the eternal life in which the sons of God will participate...The fact that this hymn made it into our supplement shows that with just a little carelessness something is able to creep in.”
Elders' Training, Book 02: The Vision of the Lord's Recovery
Witness Lee, pg 76-78 - ISBN: 0-87083-115-1 – Living Stream Ministry
Listen to the ''Recovered Version'' of Hymn 1348 [40kbs stereo mp3 - 2Meg] (Recorded in 1984)
Sheet music and Guitar chords for this new version of #1348 are now available at Hymnal.net