April-June
We are living in a world of sin—with many excruciating moments and untold misery. People are getting sick, each and every hour thousands of people are dying; many families are mourning for their beloved ones; there is much pain, shame, loss, and worst of all, bloodshed. Amid all of these bad things around us, we know that the state of our world today is not how it were once it was created. We know that everything that God created was absolutely good and perfect as is written in the word of God (Genesis 1:27, 31). God created man in His image and after His likeness and God saw that everything which He made was good. If we read in the word of God, we know that a place of this kind is promised. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthian 2:9). If we understand this verse very well, we may say that what is ahead of us is more than what was here before, even more so than we can ever imagine. “As your senses delight in the attractive loveliness of the earth, think of the world that is to come, that shall never know the blight of sin and death; where the face of nature will no more wear the shadow of the curse. Let your imagination picture the home of the saved, and remember that it will be more glorious than your brightest imagination can portray. In the varied gifts of God in nature we see but the faintest gleaming of His glory.”—Steps to Christ, p. 86.
We may have different ideas and perspectives on how life in Heaven will be, but putting aside all our preconceived ideas and perspectives, what does the Bible actually say about Heaven? “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” (Revelation 21:4). This means that “there is no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no one who shall say, I am sick; there are no burial trains, no mourning, no death, no partings, no broken hearts; but Jesus is there, peace is there. There ‘they shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them’ (Isaiah 49:10).”—Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings, p. 17.
In this cursed world we live in, we have no peace but in the heavens made new, where there will be everlasting peace:
“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise” (Isaiah 60:18). This means that there will be perfect harmony between humans and animals. The Lord’s messenger describes: “I saw a field of tall grass, most glorious to behold; it was living green and had a reflection of silver and gold, as it waved proudly to the glory of King Jesus. Then we entered a field full of all kinds of beasts—the lion, the lamb, the leopard, and the wolf, all together in perfect union.”—Early Writings,—Education, p. 18. “The fierce will become gentle, and the timid trustful.” p. 304.
Before His death, Jesus comforted His disciples with the promise that He would go and provide a place for them. The most beautiful part was His assurance that He would return for them and receive them unto Himself. No matter how spectacular the mansions in our Father’s house, dwelling with Jesus will make it beyond the most beautiful habitation ever to imagine. Welcomed into the eternal realm by the Way, the Truth, and the Life will be the culmination of the hope we have in Christ.
“‘Let not your heart be troubled,’ He said; ‘ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.’ For your sake I came into the world. I am working in your behalf. When I go away, I shall still work earnestly for you. I came into the world to reveal Myself to you, that you might believe. I go to the Father to co-operate with Him in your behalf. The object of Christ’s departure was the opposite of what the disciples feared. It did not mean a final separation. He was going to prepare a place for them, that He might come again, and receive them unto Himself. While He was building mansions for them, they were to build characters after the divine similitude.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 663.
“Ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness and tempest. . . . But ye are come to Mount Sion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect (Hebrews 12:18, 22, 23). This Bible passage is rich with beautiful and detailed descriptions of heaven. The “city of the living God,” will be a spectacular place according to God’s perfect design. And, as one writer put it, the heavenly Jerusalem will be “a place of unimagined blessing.” In the earth made new, the redeemed will come to worship before the Lord Sabbath after Sabbath. The Sabbath will continue to be a memorial of God’s creation and redemption throughout eternity. See Isaiah 66:22, 23.
In the earth made new, the redeemed “are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-–17, NKJV). Those who have come out of the great tribulation will remain before the throne of God forever. With pure joy and adoration, they will serve Him. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will lead them to fountains of living waters, never to thirst again. Every tear will be wiped away by the merciful hand of God and the faithful will rest in the shade of His presence. The love of God will be the ultimate focus.
In the new earth, “the redeemed shall know, even as also they are known. The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest exercise.”—The Great Controversy, p. 677.
“In the earth made new, the redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning.”—Prophets and Kings, pp. 730, 731.
“There will be music there, and song, such music and song as, save in the visions of God, no mortal ear has heard or mind conceived.”—Education, p. 307.
“In the City of God, ‘there shall be no night.’ None will need or desire repose. . . . We shall ever feel the freshness of the morning and shall ever be far from its close. ‘And they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light.’ Revelation 22:5. The light of the sun will be superseded by a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which immeasurably surpasses the brightness of our noontide. The glory of God and the Lamb floods the Holy City with unfading light. The redeemed walk in the sunless glory of perpetual day.”—The Great Controversy, p. 676.
In a world that is riddled with sickness and disease, the description of the tree of life in Revelation 22 is a beautiful reminder that there will be no more suffering or pain in heaven. “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2). “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Verse 14).
“Every trace of the curse is swept away. . . .
“One reminder alone remains: Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought. . . . That pierced side whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God—there is the Saviour’s glory, there ‘the hiding of His power.’ . . . And the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power.”—The Great Controversy, p. 674.
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). In the place promised us, sin and sinners will be no more.
Only “those whose lives have been hidden with Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer’s glory in the kingdom of God.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 287.
“And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character [forever].”—The Great Controversy, p. 678.
“It is high time we devoted the few remaining precious hours of our probation to washing our robes of character and making them white in the blood of the Lamb, that we may be of that white-robed company who shall stand about the great white throne.”—That I May Know Him, p. 65.
Let us strive to obtain an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord. Let us diligently study the Gospel that Christ came in person to present to John on the Isle of Patmos—the Gospel that is termed, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Revelation 1:1). Let us remember always that “blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Verse 3).
“My dear brethren and sisters, let the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ be in your minds continually and let them crowd out worldly thoughts and cares. When you lie down and when you rise up, let them be your meditation. Live and act wholly in reference to the coming of the Son of man. The sealing time is very short, and will soon be over. Now is the time, while the four angels are holding the four winds, to make our calling and election sure.”—Early Writings, p. 58.