It is Finished. It is Done...

Listen to the Blog - It Is Finished It Is Done

45:55

We are well aware of the very last words spoken of by the God-man Jesus

as he hung dying on the cross as the sacrifice for all of our worldly sins…it

is finished. What do those words mean? How those gathered at the cross,

witnessing the crucifixion of the one they had put their hope must have

wondered. How can it be finished? There was so much yet to do. But the life

that Jesus was to live and die for us was finished. The sacrifice was

accomplished. All the sins of the world had been symbolically placed on the

lamb that was killed to pay the price of our sins. Atonement for the sins of

the world was made. We must also be aware of the words spoken by God in

preparation for our return to the new earth following the one-thousand-year

period in heaven…it is done. Both the God Son and the God Father are

identified as the Alpha and the Omega.

What Jesus was telling us is how temporary this life is and the inevitability of

death. Yet, the fulfillment of God’s plan for mankind’s salvation was finished.

But the hope of glory was made sure in his finishing his earthly work. The

words of the Son meet the words of the Father in that we are not to be

conformed to this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

And that renewing means conformed to the newness of the age to come,

because God says, "Behold I make all things new". God’s invincible purpose

determined in the counsel is done. It is in knowing that in Christ our destiny

is glorious and certain and because of that we are free to live the most radical

life of love and sacrifice here on earth completing the life work of Jesus.

Colossians 1:4, 5

When Jesus uttered His proclamation “it is finished” he was dying on the

cross at Calvary. When the great voice said “it is done”, we see the very last

wrath from God toward the unbelieving world who rejected the offer of

salvation. Things are not done until the author of sin and all its following are

cast into the lake of fire. That event is certain as we descend to this earth to

view the panoramic scene of rejection chosen by the wicked. Let’s hear from

the Spirit of Prophecy…

SOP - Chapter XLII - The Controversy Ended, pages 662-678

At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is

accompanied by the host of the redeemed, and attended by a retinue of

angels. As he descends in terrific majesty, he bids the wicked dead arise to

receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands

of the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection!The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear

the traces of disease and death.

Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of

God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim, “Blessed is He that cometh

in the name of the Lord!” It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance.

The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went

into their graves, so they come forth, with the same enmity to Christ, and the

same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation, in which to

remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by this. A

life-time of transgression has not softened their hearts. A second probation,

were it given them, would be occupied as was the first, in evading the

requirements of God and exciting rebellion against him.

Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after his resurrection, he

ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of his return. Says the

prophet, “The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” “And

his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before

Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst

thereof, . . . and there shall be a very great valley.” “And the Lord shall be

King over all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord, and his name

one.” [Zechariah 14:5, 4, 9.] As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor,

comes down out of Heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready

to receive it, and Christ with his people and the angels, enters the holy city.

Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While

deprived of his power, and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of

evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised, and he

sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines

not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost

under his banner, and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The

wicked are Satan's captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule

of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his

bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to

be Satan. He claims to be the Prince who is the rightful owner of the world,

and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents

himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power

has brought them forth from their graves, and that he is about to rescue them

from the most cruel tyranny. The presence of Christ having been removed,

Satan works wonders to support his claims. He makes the weak strong, and

inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes to lead them against

the camp of the saints, and to take possession of the city of God. With

fiendish exultation he points to the unnumbered millions who have been

raised from the dead, and declares that as their leader he is well able to

overthrow the city, and regain his throne and his kingdom.

In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before

the flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control

of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of

themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their

genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing

the image of God, caused him to blot them from the face of his creation.

There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never

lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms

tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the

grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They

are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell.

Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors

and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side,

and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs,

and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the

riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for

battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed

for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and

divisions.

At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on,—an

army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the

combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal.

Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their

forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the

multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With

military precision, the serried ranks advance over the earth's broken and

uneven surface to the city of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the

New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city, and

make ready for the onset.

Now Christ again appears to the view of his enemies. Far above the city,

upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon

this throne sits the Son of God, and around him are the subjects of his

kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen

portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding his Son. The

brightness of his presence fills the city of God, and flows out beyond the

gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.

Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan,

but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour

with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian

characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the

law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all

ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the “great multitude,

which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and

tongues,” “before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes,

and palms in their hands.” [Revelation 7:9.] Their warfare is ended, their

victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch

in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the

spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.

The redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes and re-echoes through the

vaults of heaven, “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and

unto the Lamb.” And angel and seraph unite their voices in adoration. As the

redeemed have beheld the power and malignity of Satan, they have seen,

as never before, that no power but that of Christ could have made them

conquerors. In all that shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to

themselves, as if they had prevailed by their own power and goodness.

Nothing is said of what they have done or suffered; but the burden of every

song, the key-note of every anthem, is, Salvation to our God, and unto the

Lamb.

In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and Heaven the final

coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme

majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels

against his government, and executes justice upon those who have

transgressed his law and oppressed his people. Says the prophet of God: “I

saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth

and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw

the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened;

and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were

judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their

works.” [Revelation 20:11, 12.]

As soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon

the wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed.

They see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness,

just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law

of God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in

sin, the blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings

rejected, the waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant

heart,—all appear as if written in letters of fire.

Above the throne is revealed the cross; and like a panoramic view appear

the scenes of Adam's temptation and fall, and the successive steps in the

great plan of redemption. The Saviour's lowly birth; his early life of simplicity

and obedience; his baptism in Jordan; the fast and temptation in the

wilderness; his public ministry, unfolding to men Heaven's most precious

blessings; the days crowded with deeds of love and mercy, the nights of

prayer and watching in the solitude of the mountains; the plottings of envy,

hate, and malice which repaid his benefits; the awful, mysterious agony in

Gethsemane, beneath the crushing weight of the sins of the whole world; his

betrayal into the hands of the murderous mob; the fearful events of that night

of horror,—the unresisting prisoner, forsaken by his best-loved disciples,

rudely hurried through the streets of Jerusalem; the Son of God exultingly

displayed before Annas, arraigned in the high priest's palace, in the judgment

hall of Pilate, before the cowardly and cruel Herod, mocked, insulted,

tortured, and condemned to die,—all are vividly portrayed.

And now before the swaying multitude are revealed the final scenes,—the

patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of Heaven hanging

upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble deriding his

expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving earth, the rent rocks,

the open graves, marking the moment when the world's Redeemer yielded

up his life.

The awful spectacle appears just as it was. Satan, his angels, and his

subjects have no power to turn from the picture of their own work. Each actor

recalls the part which he performed. Herod, who slew the innocent children

of Bethlehem that he might destroy the King of Israel; the base Herodias,

upon whose guilty soul rests the blood of John the Baptist; the weak, time-

serving Pilate; the mocking soldiers; the priests and rulers and the maddened

throng who cried, “His blood be on us, and our children!”—all behold the

enormity of their guilt. They vainly seek to hide from the divine majesty of His

countenance, outshining the glory of the sun, while the redeemed cast their

crowns at the Saviour's feet, exclaiming, “He died for me!”

Amid the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the

ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their true-hearted brethren, and

with them the vast host of martyrs; while outside the walls, with every vile

and abominable thing, are those by whom they were persecuted,

imprisoned, and slain. There is Nero, that monster of cruelty and vice,

beholding the joy and exaltation of those whom he once tortured, and in

whose extremest anguish he found Satanic delight. His mother is there to

witness the result of her own work; to see how the evil stamp of character

transmitted to her son, the passions encouraged and developed by her

influence and example, have borne fruit in crimes that caused the world to

shudder.

There are papist priests and prelates, who claimed to be Christ's

ambassadors, yet employed the rack, the dungeon, and the stake to control

the consciences of his people. There are the proud pontiffs who exalted

themselves above God, and presumed to change the law of the Most High.

Those pretended fathers of the church have an account to render to God

from which they would fain be excused. Too late they are made to see that

the Omniscient One is jealous of his law, and that he will in nowise clear the

guilty. They learn now that Christ identifies his interest with that of his

suffering people; and they feel the force of his own words, “Inasmuch as ye

have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto

me.” [Matthew 25:40.]

The whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God, on the charge of

high treason against the government of Heaven. They have none to plead

their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is

pronounced against them.

It is now evident to all that the wages of sin is not noble independence and

eternal life, but slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they have

forfeited by their life of rebellion. The far more exceeding and eternal weight

of glory was despised when offered them; but how desirable it now appears.

“All this,” cries the lost soul, “I might have had; but I chose to put these things

far from me. Oh, strange infatuation! I have exchanged peace, happiness,

and honor, for wretchedness, infamy, and despair.” All see that their

exclusion from Heaven is just. By their lives they have declared, “We will not

have this Jesus to reign over us.”

As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of

God. They see in his hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which

they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder,

rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps

over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, “Great and

marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou

King of saints;” and falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life.

Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He

who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining

seraph, “son of the morning;” how changed, how degraded! From the council

where once he was honored, he is forever excluded. He sees another now

standing near to the Father, veiling his glory. He has seen the crown placed

upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence,

and he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his.

Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace and content

that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of Christ.

His accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and

support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self-

recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness,—all come vividly

before him. He reviews his work among men and its results,—the enmity of

man toward his fellow-man, the terrible destruction of life, the rise and fall of

kingdoms, the overturning of thrones, the long succession of tumults,

conflicts, and revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work

of Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees that his hellish plots have

been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan

looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin. He

has led the multitudes to believe that the city of God would be an easy prey;

but he knows that this is false. Again and again, in the progress of the great

controversy, he has been defeated, and compelled to yield. He knows too

well the power and majesty of the Eternal.

The aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself, and to prove the

divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this end he has bent all

the power of his giant intellect. He has worked deliberately and

systematically, and with marvelous success, leading vast multitudes to

accept his version of the great controversy which has been so long in

progress. For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off

falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be

finally defeated, and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last

great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy his people, and take possession of

the city of God, the arch-deceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have

united with him see the total failure of his cause. Christ's followers and the

loyal angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the

government of God. He is the object of universal abhorrence.

Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for Heaven. He has

trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of

Heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy

and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored

to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down,

and confesses the justice of his sentence.

“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy:

for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are

made manifest.” [Revelation 15:4.] Every question of truth and error in the

long-standing controversy has now been made plain. The results of rebellion,

the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes, have been laid open to the viewof all created intelligences. The working out of Satan's rule in contrast with

the government of God, has been presented to the whole universe. Satan's

own works have condemned him. God's wisdom, his justice, and his

goodness stand fully vindicated. It is seen that all his dealings in the great

controversy have been conducted with respect to the eternal good of his

people, and the good of all the worlds that he has created. “All thy works

shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.” [Psalm 145:10.]

The history of sin will stand to all eternity as a witness that with the existence

of God's law is bound up the happiness of all the beings he has created. With

all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal

and rebellious, with one accord declare, “Just and true are thy ways, thou

King of saints.”

Before the universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made by

the Father and the Son in man's behalf. The hour has come when Christ

occupies his rightful position, and is glorified above principalities and powers

and every name that is named. It was for the joy that was set before him,—

that he might bring many sons unto glory,— that he endured the cross and

despised the shame. And inconceivably great as was the sorrow and the

shame, yet greater is the joy and the glory. He looks upon the redeemed,

renewed in his own image, every heart bearing the perfect impress of the

divine, every face reflecting the likeness of their King. He beholds in them

the result of the travail of his soul, and he is satisfied. Then, in a voice that

reaches the assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, he

declares, “Behold the purchase of my blood! For these I suffered; for these I

died; that they might dwell in my presence throughout eternal ages.” And the

song of praise ascends from the white-robed ones about the throne, “Worthy

is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and

strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” [Revelation 5:12.]

Notwithstanding that Satan has been constrained to acknowledge God's

justice, and to bow to the supremacy of Christ, his character remains

unchanged. The spirit of rebellion, like a mighty torrent, again bursts forth.

Filled with frenzy, he determines not to yield the great controversy. The time

has come for a last desperate struggle against the King of Heaven. He

rushes into the midst of his subjects, and endeavors to inspire them with his

own fury, and arouse them to instant battle. But of all the countless millions

whom he has allured into rebellion, there are none now to acknowledge his

supremacy. His power is at an end. The wicked are filled with the same

hatred of God that inspires Satan; but they see that their case is hopeless,

that they cannot prevail against Jehovah. Their rage is kindled against Satan

and those who have been his agents in deception, and with the fury of

demons they turn upon them.

Saith the Lord: “Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;

behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations;

and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they

shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit.” “I will

destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. . . . I

will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold

thee.” “I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that

behold thee. . . . Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”

[Ezekiel 28:6-8, 16-19.]

“Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in

blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. “The indignation of the

Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly

destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.” “Upon the wicked

he shall rain quick burning coals, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest:

this shall be the portion of their cup.” [Isaiah 9:5; 34:2; 11:6 (MARGIN).] Fire

comes down from God out of Heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons

concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every

yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come that shall burn

as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the

works that are therein are burned up. [Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:10.] The earth's

surface seems one molten mass,—a vast, seething lake of fire. It is the time

of the judgment and perdition of ungodly men,—“the day of the Lord's

vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” [Isaiah

34:8; Proverbs 11:31.]

The wicked receive their recompense in the earth. [Isaiah 34:8; Proverbs

11:31.] They “shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up,

saith the Lord of hosts.” [Malachi 4:1.] Some are destroyed as in a moment,

while others suffer many days. All are punished “according to their deeds.”

The sins of the righteous having been transferred to Satan, he is made to

suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused

God's people to commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that of those

whom he has deceived. After all have perished who fell by his deceptions,

he is still to live and suffer on. In the cleansing flames the wicked are at last

destroyed, root and branch,—Satan the root, his followers the branches. The

full penalty of the law has been visited; the demands of justice have been

met; and Heaven and earth, beholding, declare the righteousness of

Jehovah.

Satan's work of ruin is forever ended. For six thousand years he has wrought

his will, filling the earth with woe, and causing grief throughout the universe.

The whole creation has groaned and travailed together in pain. Now God's

creatures are forever delivered from his presence and temptations. “The

whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they [the righteous] break forth into

singing.” [Isaiah 14:7.] And a shout of praise and triumph ascends from the

whole loyal universe. “The voice of a great multitude,” “as the voice of many

waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings,” is heard, saying, “Alleluia;

for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

While the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode

safely in the holy city. Upon those that had part in the first resurrection, the

second death has no power. [Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11.] While God is to

the wicked a consuming fire, he is to his people both a sun and a shield.

[Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11.]

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first

earth were passed away.” [Revelation 21:1.] The fire that consumes the

wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally

burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.

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. Says the prophet,

beholding Christ in his glory, “He had bright beams coming out of his side;

and there was the hiding of his power.” [Habakkuk 3:4 (MARGIN)] 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.” “Mighty to

save,” through the sacrifice of redemption, he was therefore strong to

execute justice upon them that despised God's mercy. 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.

“O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall

it come, even the first dominion.” [Micah 4:8; Ephesians 1:14.] The time has

come, to which holy men have looked with longing since the flaming sword

barred the first pair from Eden,—the time for “the redemption of the

purchased possession.” [Micah 4:8; Ephesians 1:14.] The earth originally

given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the hands of Satan, and

so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great plan of

redemption. All that was lost by sin has been restored. “Thus saith the Lord

. . . that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it

not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited.” [Isaiah 45:18.] God's original

purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made the eternal abode

of the redeemed. “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein

forever.” [Psalm 37:29.]

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.

Christ assured his disciples that he went to prepare mansions for them in the

Father's house. Those who accept the teachings of God's Word will not be

wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. And yet, “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 Corinthians 2:9.] 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.

In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. [Hebrews 11:14-

16.] There the heavenly 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 widespreading 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.

”My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and

in quiet resting-places.” “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.” “They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall

plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another

inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: . . . mine elect shall long enjoy

the work of their hands.” [Isaiah 32:18; 60:18; 65:21, 22.]

There, “the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the

desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” “Instead of the thorn shall

come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree.”

[Isaiah 35:1; 55:13.] “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard

shall lie down with the kid; . . . and a little child shall lead them.” “They shall

not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” [Isaiah 11:6, 9; 33:24; 62:3;

65:19.] saith the Lord.

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.”

[Revelation 21:4, 11, 24, 3.] “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick; the

people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” [Isaiah 11:6, 9;

33:24; 62:3; 65:19.]

There is the New Jerusalem, the metropolis of the glorified new earth, “a

crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy

God.” [Isaiah 11:6, 9; 33:24; 62:3; 65:19.] “Her light was like unto a stone

most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” “The nations of

them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth

do bring their glory and honor into it.” [Revelation 21:4, 11, 24, 3.] Saith the

Lord, “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people.” [Isaiah 11:6, 9; 33:24;

62:3; 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.” [Revelation 21:4, 11, 24, 3.]

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, 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; 21:22.] 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 22:5; 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 with men; but then

we shall see him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall

stand in his presence, and behold the glory of his countenance.

There 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 pure communion with holy beings, the

harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of

all ages, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of

the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together “the whole family in Heaven and

earth,” [Ephesians 3:15.]—these help to constitute the happiness of the

redeemed.

There, immortal minds will contemplate 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.

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,—worlds

that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe, and rang with songs

of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the

children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They

share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages

upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. 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. Upon all things, from the least to

the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of his

power displayed.

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. As Jesus opens before them the

riches of redemption, and the amazing achievements in the great

controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent

devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; 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 the earth, and under the

earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,

Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the

throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” [Revelation 5:13.]

The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire

universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the

vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness,

throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the

greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed

beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.

When Jesus said “it is finished”, he was describing what God would proclaim

when He said “it is done”. For God’s determination concerning sin to be

complete it ultimately required the finished death of Jesus on the cross as a

sacrifice for God’s ultimate plan to eventually be done! Christ’s purpose for

being sent and his sacrifice still impact and create new lives today. It is done

says the unbelievers time is up. These people did not receive the gospel or

the testimony of Jesus carnally or spiritually. They will suffer for their own

sins. Jesus fulfilled God’s plan with his death and resurrection. Only later, at

the end of the one-thousand-year period following the seven last plagues,

when judgment of the wicked is complete by those redeemed from earth,

mankind’s rejection of God’s gift, will receive the just verdict and God finally

says, “it is done.” This is the highest court to ever be.

The gift not accepted…the execution takes place. Fire from heaven will fall

upon the wicked. The fire will completely eradicate sin and those who cherish

it from the universe forever. This will be a time of deep sadness and trauma

for God’s people. Virtually every person will have a loved one or friend in the

fire. Guardian angels will weep over the loss of the people they protected

and loved for years. Christ will doubtless weep over those he loved and pled

with so long. At that awful moment, the anguish of God, our loving Father,

will defy description.

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📖 Applying the Study

For ongoing spiritual encouragement and prophetical insights, visit Higher Learning.

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