Verse: Revelation 21
Fun Fact: Virgin Islands National Park is one of only two parks not located in the 50 states
Favorite Hike: National Park Underwater Trail in Trunk Bay
Virgin Islands National Park is located on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, about five miles east of St. Thomas. Two-thirds of the small island is designated as a U.S. National Park, including the surrounding water and sea floor. Most people fly into St. Thomas and take the ferry over to St. John. It’s only about 20 minutes from the ferry landing at Red Hook to Cruz Bay where the visitors center is located.
Denmark originally settled St. John and established sugarcane and cotton plantations. You can visit some of the sugar mill ruins to see old windmills, horse mills (used to power the mill without wind) and factories at Annaberg, Catherineberg or Reef Bay. Like many coastal national parks, the land was originally acquired to safeguard U.S. land and interests. During WWI, the U.S. purchased St. John and 50 other islands in an effort to protect the mainland from German attacks. In the 1950s, Laurance Rockefeller, son of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., purchased half of St. John and later donated it as a national park.
It should come as no surprise that the best thing to do when visiting Virgin Islands National Park is to hit the beaches. Trunk Bay is the most iconic beach on the island and one of the top beaches in the entire Caribbean. It’s home to one of the most unique national park trails — a 225-yard underwater snorkeling trail with plaques that provide information about the reef system as you swim! Over 40 percent of the park is underwater, so there are plenty of opportunities for snorkeling!
You should also visit Cinnamon Bay, Salomon Bay, or Honeymoon Beach for the full experience. There are also a number of hikes along the various beaches or through some of the tropical forests. You can also stop by the visitors center to learn more about the culture or walk Main Street for food and shopping.
St. John’s Virgin Islands National Park is one of the most picturesque places in the world. From the turquoise water, to the white sand beaches, palm trees, and coral reefs, this island is nothing short of paradise.
The Bible has a bit to say about paradise, but it doesn’t necessarily describe it as a tropical, Caribbean utopia. How, then, is paradise described?
We see the word paradise used three times in the New Testament to describe heaven: Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:4, and Revelation 2:7 (New American Standard Bible version).
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. Revelation 2:7
In Revelation, we read that heaven, the New Jerusalem, is vividly depicted as nothing short of spectacular and marvelous. John describes heaven as a sea of glass (4:6,15:2) with the brilliance of crystal-clear jasper all around like a diamond where God’s glory is radiantly reflected (21:11). The city is pure gold with gates of pearls (21:21) and the walls are adorned with every kind of precious stone full of color and beauty, such as sapphires, emeralds, and amethyst (21:18-19). John further states that there is no sun or moon in heaven, because the glory of God will illuminate heaven (21:23). Can you imagine such a place?
And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:5.
Heaven, the city of the living God, is going to be more beautiful, breathtaking and awesome than our minds can comprehend. We cannot begin to imagine what God has prepared for us and how beautiful it will be (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Psalm 20:2 states “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.”
Friends, heaven is the ultimate paradise — something infinitely greater than a tropical beach. For those of us who live in Christ, it’s ours forever, and this paradise will have no end (Luke 1:33, Psalm 45:6, Daniel 2:44)!
I pray, as you visit Virgin Islands National Park, that you enjoy the paradise that it is on this side of heaven, but that you long for and wait with eager anticipation for the day you will be with the Lord in the true paradise. Find joy in these glimpses of what the Lord has prepared for you.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6
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