age 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.
In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. (Hebrews
11:14-16.) There the great Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living
waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the
tree are for the service of the nations. 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.
The New Jerusalem
There is the New Jerusalem, “having the glory of God,” her light “like
unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.”
Revelation 21:11. Saith the Lord, “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in
My people.” Isaiah 65:19. “The tabernacle of God is with men, and He
will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall
be with them, and be their God. 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 21:3, 4.
In the city of God “there shall be no night.” 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,
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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The light of the sun will be superseded by a radiance which is not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.
“I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it.” Revelation 21:22. The people of God are privileged
to hold open communion with the Father and the Son. Now we “see
through a glass, darkly.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. We behold the image of
God reflected, as in a mirror, in the works of nature and in His dealings
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with men; but then we shall see Him face to face, without a dimming veil
between. We shall stand in His presence and gaze upon the glory of His
countenance.
There immortal minds will study with never-failing delight the
wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There is no
cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be
developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will
not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises
may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest
ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new
wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth
the powers of mind and soul and body.
And as the years of eternity roll, they will bring richer and 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
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His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and
the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts
of the ransomed beat with a stronger devotion, and they sweep the harps
of gold with a firmer hand: and ten thousand times ten thousand and
thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of
praise.
“And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:13.
Sin and sinners are no more, God’s en
