Chapter 21: Home at Last
Is heaven a real place, or is it an indefinite space, filled with intangible spirits? Hebrews 11: 14, 16-- People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own...Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 1 Peter 1: 4--...and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you.. John 14: 3--And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. "What a source of joy to the disciples to know that they had such a Friend in heaven to plead in their behalf! Through the visible ascension of Christ all their views and contemplation of heaven are changed. Their minds had formerly dwelt upon it as a region of unlimited space, tenanted by spirits without substance. Now heaven was connected with the thought of Jesus, whom they had loved and reverenced above all others, with whom they had conversed and journeyed, whom they had handled, even in His resurrected body... "Heaven could no longer appear to them as an indefinite, incomprehensible space, filled with intangible spirits. They now looked upon it as their future home, where mansions were being prepared for them by their loving Redeemer" (6BC 1054). "A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home" (GC 674, 675).Does Satan want us to spend time thinking about heaven? "The temptations of Satan present earthly things and make them all- absorbing and attractive, so that the heavenly realities are eclipsed and the attachment to the world made first" (OHC 285).Does Christ want us to take time to think of heaven? "Jesus comes to present the advantages and beautiful imagery of the heavenly, that the attractions of heaven shall become familiar to the thoughts, and memory's hall be hung with pictures of celestial and eternal loveliness" (ibid. 286).Why has the Lord given us so much information about the future life? "The great Teacher gives man a view of the future world. He brings it, with its attractive possessions, within the range of his vision...If He can fasten the mind upon the future life and its blessedness, in comparison with the temporal concerns of this world, the striking contrast is deeply impressed upon the mind, absorbing the heart and soul and the whole being" (ibid. [see also OHC 250, 319]). "Motives stronger, and agencies more powerful, could never be brought into operation; the exceeding rewards for right-doing, the enjoyment of heaven, the society of the angels, the communion and love of God and His Son, the elevation and extension of all our powers throughout eternal ages--are these not mighty incentives and encouragements to urge us to give the heart's loving service to our Creator and Redeemer?" (SC 21).Is it possible for us to comprehend the glory of that better land? "The wonderful things I there saw I cannot describe. Oh, that I could talk in the language of Canaan, then could I tell a little of the glory of the better world. I saw there tables of stone in which the names of the 144,000 wre engraved in letters of gold. After we beheld the glory of the temple, we went out, and Jesus left us and went to the city" (EW 19). "Language is altogether too feeble to attempt a description of heaven. As the scene rises before me, I am lost in amazement. Carried away with the surpassing splendor and excellent glory, I lay down the pen, and exclaim, 'Oh, what love! what wondrous love!' The most exalted language fails to describe the glory of heaven or the matchless depths of a Saviour's love" (EW 289). "If we could have but one view of the celestial city, we would never wish to dwell on earth again. There are beautiful landscapes on earth, and I enjoy all these prospects of loveliness in nature. I associate them with the Creator. But I know that if I love God, and keep His commandments, there is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory reserved in Heaven for me. Beautiful as are the scenes of earth, they can bear no comparison to the glories of the eternal world" (ST Apr. 8, 1889). "Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God" (GC 675).What are some of the features of nature to be found there? Mountains, plains, and streams. "There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home" (ibid.). Forests. "Then we entered a wood, not like the dark woods we have here; no, no; but light, and all over glorious; the branches of the trees waved to and fro, and we all cried out, 'We will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.' We passed through the woods, for we were on our way to Mount Zion" (EW 18). All kinds of trees. "Mount Zion was just before us, and on the mount was a glorious temple, and about it were seven other mountains, on which grew roses and lilies. And I saw the little ones climb, or, if they chose, use their little wings and fly, to the top of the mountains and pluck the never-fading flowers. There were all kinds of trees around the temple to beautify the place: the box, the pine, the fir, the oil, the myrtle, the pomegranate, and the fig tree bowed down with the weight of its timely figs--these made the place all over glorious" (ibid. 19). All kinds of flowers. "I saw another field full of all kinds of flowers, and as I plucked them, I cried out, 'They will never fade.' Next 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" (ibid. 18). All kinds of fruit. "And I saw a table of pure silver; it was many miles in length, yet our eyes could extend over it. I saw the fruit of the tree of life, the manna, almonds, figs, pomegranates, grapes, and many other kinds of fruit. I asked Jesus to let me eat of the fruit" (ibid. 19). The tree of life. "Here we saw the tree of life and the throne of God. Out of the throne came a pure river of water, and on either side of the river was the tree of life. On one side of the river was a trunk of a tree, and a trunk on the other side of the river, both of pure, transparent gold. At first I thought I saw two trees. I looked again, and saw that they were united at the top in one tree. So it was the tree of life on either side of the river of life. Its branches bowed to the place where we stood, and the fruit was glorious; it looked like gold mixed with silver" (ibid. 17). Animals all gentle and trustful. "There shall be nothing to 'hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord (Isa. 65: 25).' There man will be restored to his lost kingship, and the lower order of beings will again recognize his sway; the fierce will become gentle, and the timid trustful" (Ed 304). Perpetual day. "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" (GC 676).What will the people look like? How big will they be? How strong? Of what will they be capable? About twelve feet tall. "Restored to the tree of life in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will 'grow up' (Mal. 4: 2) to the full stature of the race in its primeval glory" (ibid. 645). "He [Adam] was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned" (3SG 34). Twenty times as much vitality. "If Adam, at his creation, had not been endowed with twenty times as much vital force as men now have, the race, with their present habits of living in violation of natural law, would have become extinct" (FE 23). "None will need or desire repose. There will be no weariness in doing the will of God and offering praise to His name. We shall ever feel the freshness of the morning and shall ever be far from its close" (GC 676). "Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. 'There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying: ...for the former things are passed away.' 'The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick' (Rev. 21: 4; Isa. 33: 24)" (ibid.). "Heaven is all health" (3T 172). "The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies" (GC 677). Present identity perfectly preserved. "The resurrection of Jesus was a type of the final resurrection of all who sleep in Him. The countenance of the risen Saviour, His manner, His speech, were all familiar to His disciples. As Jesus arose from the dead, so those who sleep in Him are to rise again. We shall know our friends, even as the disciples knew Jesus. They may have been deformed, diseased, or disfigured, in this mortal life, and they rise in perfect health and symmetry; yet in the glorified body their identity will be perfectly preserved" (DA 804). Perfect memories. "The antediluvians were without books, they had no written records; but with their great physical and mental vigor, they had strong memories, able to grasp and to retain that which was communicated to them, and in turn to transmit it unimpaired to their posterity" (PP 83). Minds capable of constant expansion. "As they learn more and more of the wisdom, the love, and the power of God, their minds will be constantly expanding, and their joy will continually increase" (5T 702, 703). Microscopic and telescopic eyesight. "With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation--suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity" (GC 677). "There, when the veil that darkens our vision shall be removed, and our eyes shall behold that world of beauty of which we now catch glimpses through the microscope; when we look on the glories of the heavens, now scanned afar through the telescope; when, the blight of sin removed, the whole earth shall appear in 'the beauty of the Lord our God,' what a field will be open to our study!" (Ed 303). "The veil that interposes between the visible and the invisible world will be drawn aside, and wonderful things will be revealed" (ibid. 304). Ability to travel through space. "The redeemed throng will range from world to world, and much of their time will be employed in searching out the mysteries of redemption" (7BC 990). "All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar" (GC 677). A crown of life. "The reward, the glories of heaven, bestowed upon the overcomers, will be proportionate to the degree in which they have represented the character of Christ to the world. 'He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly' (2 Cor. 9: 6)....The crown of life will be bright or dim, will glitter with many stars, or be lighted by few gems, in accordance with our own course of action" (OHC 123).