Editorial – The Inheritance We Are Preparing For

“In imagination I gathered with the saints around the wide-spreading tree of life. Friends and dear home relatives who had been separated from us by death were gathered there. The redeemed, white-robed multitude, who had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, were there. No flaming guard stood around the tree of life, barring our approach. With happy, joyous songs of praise, the voices were blended in perfect harmony as we plucked of the fruit from the tree of life.

“I seemed to be there where all was peace, where no stormy conflicts of earth could ever come—heaven, a kingdom of righteousness where all the holy and pure and blest are congregated, ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, living and walking in happy, pure intimacy, praising God and the Lamb who sitteth on the throne.

“Their voices were in perfect harmony. They never do each other wrong. Princes of heaven, the potentates of this mighty realm, are rivals only in good, seeking the happiness and joy of each other. The greatest there is least in self-esteem, and the least is greatest in his gratitude and wealth of love.

“There are no dark errors to cloud the intellect. Truth and knowledge, clear, strong, and perfect, have chased every doubt away, and no gloom of doubt casts its baleful shadow upon its happy inhabitants. No voices of contention mar the sweet and perfect peace of heaven. Its inhabitants know no sorrow, no grief, no tears. All is in perfect harmony, in perfect order and perfect bliss.

“The Great Shepherd was leading His flock to living fountains of water and to green pastures, new and delightful scenery opening continually before His people. Heaven, sweet heaven, the saints’ eternal home, the abode for the toilers, where the weary who have borne the heavy burdens through life find rest, peace, and joy! They sowed in tears, they reap with joy and triumph. Heaven is a home where sympathy is alive in every heart, expressed in every look. Love reigns there. There are no jarring elements, no discord or contentions or war of words.

“With our deepest study and our broadest experience we shall never be able to describe heaven or our senses to comprehend it. All that is pure, all that is excellent and lovely is there. The possession of heaven is endless bliss, infinite glory, riches, and knowledge. The character of heaven is perfect love, holiness, peace. We know these things now only in part. ‘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. It is the discipline imposed upon us all to walk by faith and not by sight.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 104, 105.

“Remember that if you speak cross words to fellow church members, you would speak the same kind of words in heaven, were you permitted to enter there. But you never will be unless you change.” General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903.

“No unpleasant words are spoken in heaven. There no unkind thoughts are cherished. There envy, evil surmising, hatred, and strife find no place. Perfect harmony pervades the heavenly courts.” Upward Look, 163.

“(John 14:15, 21, 23, 24 quoted.) Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of His requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory. All, who would reach this standard of character, will have to employ the means that God has provided to this end. If you would inherit the rest that remaineth for the children of God, you must become a co-laborer with God. You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ,—to bear His burden, to lift His cross. You are to be diligent ‘to make your calling and election sure.’ 2 Peter 1:10.”  Christian Education, 118.

“Both you and ourselves fully believe that holiness of life is necessary to fit us for the inheritance of saints in light.” Review and Herald, June 6, 1878.

“Those who have been tested and proved on this matter of loving others as themselves, will be pronounced meet for an inheritance with the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 2, 1894.

“By looking unto Jesus, by talking with Jesus, by fashioning the life after Christ’s example, they become meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, for our taste is perfected for the purity of heaven.” Signs of the Times, September 5, 1895.

“This present life is only our training-school. Here we are to be purified that at Christ’s coming we may be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,—prepared to receive the inheritance of the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 17, 1901.

Fear Not, Part II

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. In Part I of our study on the phrases of this text, we learned that, in order to “fear not,” we must experience the perfect love of God. We must ask for this love by spending time on our knees, talking with God, and we must care for the gift of this love by studying the character of God until His attributes, His love, become a part of us. As we grow in God’s love, we will attain peace.

Little Flock

Jesus calls us a “little flock.” If we look at the history of God’s people, we will find that they have always been in the minority. The throngs flock to worldly pleasures. Remember, it says in Hebrews 11:25 that Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” We must choose to belong to the few. We are not to worry about who is the greatest or who has the biggest church. After all, if we are on the Lord’s side, we are in the majority.

There are two good angels to every bad angel, and there is the universe beyond which is peopled with faithful beings. “When Satan became disaffected in heaven, . . . through their sympathy with him one third of the angels lost their innocence, their high estate, and their happy home.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 291. “Worlds are peopled by his power, and yet the humblest creatures of the earth are the objects of his love and care.” The Signs of the Times, December 12, 1878.

When Jesus was here on earth in human form, he had only a “little flock.” Even the nation and church which He had blessed and established turned Him down. They called Him a deceiver. (Matthew 27:63.) They even said that he had a devil. (John 7:20.) But Jesus was calm, undisturbed by criticism and not elated by praise, because He knew His heavenly Father. He knew that His cause was just and true, and that truth would triumph.

If we know that what we believe is true and that our belief is founded on the eternal principles given to us from our Heavenly Father, it will not make any difference how many or how few believe as do we. We can stand as firmly as Jesus did, even if it is only a “little flock.” Numbers never make a thing right; the principle is, Is it truth? The majority may be able to sway crowds, but only God can control the events.

Our Example

When Jesus was here, He spoke to crowds and even fed thousands by His miracles. People flocked to Him for healing. But He had only a faithful few that actually followed Him. Of His 12 disciples, even one of them betrayed Him, and the rest fled from the mob when He was captured in the Garden of Gethsemane. No one stood with Him at His trial. One of the disciples even denied he knew the man, Christ Jesus. (Matthew 4:23, 25; 14:21; 15:38; 26:47–49, 56, 69–72.) Through all of this, He triumphed.

As His followers, can we expect to be accepted by any great number? Only 120 were faithful in following His instructions at the time Jesus returned to heaven. (Acts 1:15.) It was only a “little flock,” but He did a mighty work with only a “little flock.” There were times when He did a mighty work with only one person.

In the end of time, God will have a “little flock,” and I do hope to be one of them.

Good Pleasure

Now we come to the phrase in Luke 12:32 that says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure.”

Ellen White tells us of the suffering that God has experienced and is going through as the result of sin: “Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him. When there came upon Israel the calamities that were the sure result of separation from God,—subjugation by their enemies, cruelty, and death,—it is said that ‘His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’ ‘In all their affliction He was afflicted: . . . and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.’ Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9.” Education, 263.

After reading of the suffering that our heavenly Father has gone through to redeem us from this world of sin and degradation, we should deem it a great privilege to bring even a little joy to His heart.

To Give

In our human experiences, we enjoy giving gifts to those we love and experiencing the thrill they have in receiving those gifts. And if the gift is something useful that the receiver will use for a while, seeing them use it may extend our joy.

Our key text says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give.” [Emphasis supplied.] “To give” is a great demonstration of Acts 20:35 that tells us, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It brings the Father pleasure to give to His “little flock.”

“Our Heavenly Father gave Christ to our world as a sin-bearer, in order that he who would believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Having made so priceless a donation to men, will he not with Christ freely give us all things? In the gift of his Son, all heaven was opened up, that its priceless treasures might enrich men and women of faith. The love of God has been revealed to the hearts of believers, that they should diffuse the light of heaven, and not spend their time and money in lands and their cultivation, and in taking pleasure in the things which their imaginations might picture as being desirable, as did the inhabitants of the Noachic world.” Review and Herald, January 8, 1895.

The Kingdom

God’s eye is ever watching over us to help us to prepare for the day when He can say to us, “Enter into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:21.) How great that joy is, we cannot comprehend, but, if faithful, we will be able to experience it someday soon.

Can you imagine, God giving us “the kingdom”? How great that kingdom is, we do not even know. But we are told that we will sit on the throne with Jesus, for it says, in Revelation 3:21, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” You may wonder to yourself, Can a God that rules the world and holds the stars in space and governs the unnumbered inhabited planets say to human beings such as you and I, “Come, sit with Me on My throne”?

When Jesus departed from this earth, He left with us a promise that has been held dear to the saints ever since: “Let not your heart be troubled: 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.” John 14:1–3.

Redemption of the Saints

Jesus is coming again, and the best way I know how to describe His coming and the kingdom of God is to quote from the writings of Ellen G. White. The description she gives is thrilling, and I cannot improve upon it.

But first, let us read 1 Thessa-lonians 4:15–17: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

“Soon appeared the great white cloud, upon which sat the Son of man. When it first appeared in the distance, this cloud looked very small. The angel said that it was the sign of the Son of man. As it drew nearer the earth, we could behold the excellent glory and majesty of Jesus as He rode forth to conquer. A retinue of holy angels, with bright, glittering crowns upon their heads, escorted Him on His way. No language can describe the glory of the scene. The living cloud of majesty and unsurpassed glory came still nearer, and we could clearly behold the lovely person of Jesus. He did not wear a crown of thorns, but a crown of glory rested upon His holy brow. Upon His vesture and thigh was a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. His countenance was as bright as the noonday sun, His eyes were as a flame of fire, and His feet had the appearance of fine brass. His voice sounded like many musical instruments. The earth trembled before Him, the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ‘And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?’ [Revelation 6:15–17.] Those who a short time before would have destroyed God’s faithful children from the earth, now witnessed the glory of God which rested upon them. And amid all their terror they heard the voices of the saints in joyful strains, saying, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’ [Isaiah 25:9.]

“The earth mightily shook as the voice of the Son of God called forth the sleeping saints. They responded to the call and came forth clothed with glorious immortality, crying, ‘Victory, victory, over death and the grave! O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ [1 Corinthians 15:55.] Then the living saints and the risen ones raised their voices in a long, transporting shout of victory. Those bodies that had gone down into the grave bearing the marks of disease and death came up in immortal health and vigor. The living saints are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and caught up with the risen ones, and together they meet their Lord in the air. Oh, what a glorious meeting! Friends whom death had separated were united, never more to part.” Early Writings, 286, 287.

What an experience that will be to see Jesus come and know that we will be with Him forever!

Strive for the Strait Gate

It is recorded, in Luke 13:24, that Jesus said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” In this parable, He is talking about the kingdom of God, for which it is surely worth striving. Following are additional descriptions of that kingdom:

“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.” The Great Controversy, 677, 678.

“And as the redeemed shall ascend to Heaven, the gates of the city of God will swing back, and those who have kept the truth will enter in. A voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, will be heard saying, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Then the righteous will receive their reward. Their lives will run parallel with the life of Jehovah. They will cast their crowns at the Redeemer’s feet, touch the golden harps, and fill all Heaven with rich music.” The Signs of the Times, April 15, 1889.

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. What a wonderful promise! It would be well worth it for each of us to make first things first and to prepare for the kingdom of heaven.

Ruth Grosboll is an employee of Steps to Life. A retired registered nurse, she worked for many years with her husband in the mission field. She may be contacted by e-mail at: ruthgrosboll@stepstolife.org or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Bible Study Guides – The Saints Taken to Heaven

September 4, 2005 – September 10, 2005

Memory Verse

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:9.

Suggested Reading: Revelation 22:1–8; The Great Controversy, 645–652, 657; Early Writings, 287–289.

Introduction

In the previous lesson, we learned that when Jesus comes the second time, He comes as “King of kings and Lord of lords” to fight the coalition of Revelation 16:13, 14 in what is called the Battle of Armageddon. During the battle, Christ frees the subjects of His kingdom from the captivity of Satan. We were told about the resurrection of the sleeping saints and how they, with the living saints, receive immortality and are caught up together to meet their Lord in the air.

In this lesson, we will learn about their journey to the Holy City and their reception into the kingdom of glory.

1 Describe the gathering of the saints in preparation for the trip to heaven. See Isaiah 26:19; 1 Corinthians 15:51–55.

note: “The living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’ At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels ‘gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’ Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers’ arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.” The Great Controversy, 645.

2 Describe the winged chariot as it moves upward with the saints toward the New Jerusalem. Compare Ezekiel 1:22–28.

note: “On each side of the cloudy chariot are wings, and beneath it are living wheels; and as the chariot rolls upward, the wheels cry, ‘Holy,’ and the wings, as they move, cry, ‘Holy,’ and the retinue of angels cry, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.’ And the redeemed shout, ‘Alleluia!’ as the chariot moves onward toward the New Jerusalem.” The Great Controversy, 645.

3 When Jesus comes, is His reward with Him? Revelation 22:12.

note: “Before entering the City of God, the Saviour bestows upon His followers the emblems of victory and invests them with the insignia of their royal state. The glittering ranks are drawn up in the form of a hollow square about their King, whose form rises in majesty high above saint and angel, whose countenance beams upon them full of benignant love.” The Great Controversy, 645, 646.

4 What three emblems (items) of victory are presented to the saints during this ceremony? Revelation 2:10; 7:9; 15:2.

note: “Throughout the unnumbered host of the redeemed every glance is fixed upon Him, every eye beholds His glory whose ‘visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.’ Upon the heads of the overcomers, Jesus with His own right hand places the crown of glory. For each there is a crown, bearing his own ‘new name’ (Revelation 2:17), and the inscription, ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ In every hand are placed the victor’s palm and the shining harp. Then, as the commanding angels strike the note, every hand sweeps the harp strings with skillful touch, awaking sweet music in rich, melodious strains. Rapture unutterable thrills every heart, and each voice is raised in grateful praise: ‘Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.’ Revelation 1:5, 6.” The Great Controversy, 646.

5 When Jesus opens the gates of the Holy City for the saints to enter in, what is the scene they behold? Revelation 22:1–5; Genesis 2:8–15.

note: “Before the ransomed throng is the Holy City. Jesus opens wide the pearly gates, and the nations that have kept the truth enter in. There they behold the Paradise of God, the home of Adam in his innocency.” The Great Controversy, 646.

6 Will God’s people (His church) be victorious commandment-keepers? Revelation 22:14; 15:2; 14:12; 1 Corinthians 15:56, 57; 1 John 5:4.

note: “The church militant is not in this world the church triumphant. From generation to generation, the enemy has been marshaling his forces against God. . . . But God’s children will not be frightened from their purpose by the proud, presumptuous opposition of evildoers. By faith they see a crown of life awaiting those who are victorious, and they press forward toward the mark for the prize of their high calling in Christ Jesus.” Review and Herald, July 26, 1898.

“The Church militant is not the Church triumphant. Unless the people of God wage a valiant warfare against every species of sin, they will never pass through the portals of the holy city. And we shall have no second trial. Now is the accepted time, the time in which we are to obtain the education that will enable us to live in the heavenly courts. The whole heavenly universe is watching with the deepest interest to see who in this primary school is practicing the lessons of Christ.” Ibid., December 31, 1901.

“The injunction to each one of us is, ‘Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.’ The ardent desire of the apostles was to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. Jesus lives; he is before the Father in the heavenly courts, making intercession for those who are still upon the earth in the turmoil and strife of life; for the church militant is not yet the church triumphant.” Signs of the Times, July 24, 1893.

“Then that voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, is heard, saying: ‘Your conflict is ended.’ ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ [Matthew 25:34.]” The Great Controversy, 646.

7 Who does Jesus present to the Father after they enter the Holy City? John 17:9, 12, 24; Isaiah 8:18; Jude 24.

note: “Now is fulfilled the Saviour’s prayer for His disciples: ‘I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.’ ‘Faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy’ (Jude 24), Christ presents to the Father the purchase of His blood, declaring: ‘Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given Me.’ ‘Those that Thou gavest Me I have kept.’ Oh, the wonders of redeeming love! the rapture of that hour when the infinite Father, looking upon the ransomed, shall behold His image, sin’s discord banished, its blight removed, and the human once more in harmony with the divine!” The Great Controversy, 646.

8 When Jesus and the redeemed gather around the great white throne, what is the cause of the unspeakable joy they experience? Matthew 18:12–14; Luke 15:4–7.

note: “With unutterable love, Jesus welcomes His faithful ones to the joy of their Lord. The Saviour’s joy is in seeing, in the kingdom of glory, the souls that have been saved by His agony and humiliation. And the redeemed will be sharers in His joy, as they behold, among the blessed, those who have been won to Christ through their prayers, their labors, and their loving sacrifice. As they gather about the great white throne, gladness unspeakable will fill their hearts, when they behold those whom they have won for Christ, and see that one has gained others, and these still others, all brought into the haven of rest, there to lay their crowns at Jesus’ feet and praise Him through the endless cycles of eternity.” The Great Controversy, 647.

9 What group receives special recognition at this time? Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1–5.

note: “Upon the crystal sea before the throne, that sea of glass as it were mingled with fire,—so resplendent is it with the glory of God,—are gathered the company that have ‘gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.’ With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, ‘having the harps of God,’ they stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed from among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of a great thunder, ‘the voice of harpers harping with their harps.’ And they sing ‘a new song’ before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb—a song of deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the song of their experience—an experience such as no other company have ever had. ‘These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.’ These, having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted as ‘the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.’ Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1–5. ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation;’ they have passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble; they have stood without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God’s judgments. But they have been delivered, for they have ‘washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ ” The Great Controversy, 648, 649.

10 What will be the song of the redeemed? Revelation 5:9, 12.

note: “The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph delighted to adore—humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that He bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father’s face, till the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life on Calvary’s cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe. As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer and behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in His countenance; as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting, and know that His kingdom is to have no end, they break forth in rapturous song: ‘Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His own most precious blood!’ ” The Great Controversy, 651, 652.

11 Whom do we address when we pray? Matthew 6:9.

note: “The mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries. In the light that streams from Calvary the attributes of God which had filled us with fear and awe appear beautiful and attractive. Mercy, tenderness, and parental love are seen to blend with holiness, justice, and power. While we behold the majesty of His throne, high and lifted up, we see His character in its gracious manifestations, and comprehend, as never before, the significance of that endearing title, ‘Our Father.’ ” The Great Controversy, 652.

 

The Saints Sitting in Judgment

The coronation of Christ is for the execution of the judgment. Daniel 7:9–14; Psalm 110; 45:1–7; 2:6–9. Our Lord makes His people sharers with Him in the judgment work. That they may be such, He exalts them to participate with Him in His kingly dignity. Revelation 3:21; 2:26, 27. This exaltation is given them in the morning of the great day. Compare Psalm 49:14, 15; 110:3; 30:5; Isaiah 21:11, 12; Romans 13:11, 12.

They are to sit with Christ in the judgment, but not to determine who shall be saved or who lost. God the Father has already pronounced the decision of who shall have immortality, and the Son has executed that decision by immortalizing His saints. And thus all others are counted unworthy of eternal life, and must receive the second death as their portion. But there are degrees of punishment. Some shall receive greater damnation than others. Luke 20:47; Romans 2:6, 8, 9; Luke 12:47, 48.

Bear in mind, therefore, that the saints have not in their hands the determination of the salvation or damnation of anyone. The Father has decided this when He made them immortal and left all the others as unworthy. Also bear in mind that God keeps books of record (Isaiah 65:6, 7; Jeremiah 2:22; Daniel 7:9, 10; Revelation 20:12), and that He weighs men’s actions, so that they are set down for their true worth. (1 Samuel 2:3.) If the reader will do this, it will not seem strange to him to learn that the immortal saints, with Christ at their head, should be commissioned by the Father to determine the measure of punishment which each wicked man shall receive.

As we have already shown that the final perdition of the wicked is determined by the Father before He makes His saints immortal, if we now clearly prove that the glorified saints are to sit with Christ and determine the measure of guilt of each sinful man, it will be a most convincing proof that there is to be a resurrection of the unjust, that God may inflict the just penalty upon every soul of man that doeth evil. Romans 2:5–9.

When our Lord says to those at His right hand, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” He takes His saints into the presence of His Father (compare John 13:36; 14:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17; Revelation 19:1–9), to the Paradise of God, once here upon earth (Genesis 2:8, 9; 3:22–24), now in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2–4), within the heavenly Jerusalem itself (compare Revelation 2:7; 22:2, 14). Here they sit down with Him at His table and eat the marriage supper. Revelation 19:1–9. These things being accomplished, the work of judgment is committed to the saints, a work so vast that we may well conceive the long period which lies between the two resurrections to be requisite for its accomplishment. Revelation 20:4–6. The sitting of the saints in judgment upon the wicked must begin after they have heard the words of Christ approving them in His Father’s name, and before the sentence, “Depart ye cursed,” is pronounced by the Saviour upon those who shall be thus judged. This judgment by the saints is thus presented in the Scriptures: “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” Daniel 7:21, 22.

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5.

“Dare any of you having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:1–3.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again unto the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”Revelation 20:4–6.

According to the first of these texts, the saints of the Most High are to have the judgment work committed to them. But before this is placed in their hands, they are themselves to be judged by God the Father. And this very act of determining who are worthy to be saved, really determines that all the others are unworthy of eternal life. The judgment work of the saints cannot, therefore, relate to the salvation or damnation of those who are judged by them, but solely to the determination of the measure of their guilt. The second of these texts, in forbidding the work of judgment “before the time,” plainly implies that when that time does come, then this work is to be done by those who are at present forbidden to do it. And the time is fixed when this prohibition expires, for it is thus limited, “Until the Lord come.” That they will not err in the judgment which they will then perform is guaranteed in the further statement that the Lord shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart. And this will no doubt be accomplished by placing in their hands the books of record, which contain an accurate statement of the deeds of those to be judged by them. Barnes, in his notes on this text, makes this remark: ” ‘And then shall every man have praise of God.’ The word here rendered praise, epainos, denotes in this place reward, or that which is due to him; the just sentence which ought to be pronounced on his character. It does not mean, as our translation would imply, that every man will then receive the divine approbation—which will not be true; but that every man shall receive what is due to his character, whether good or evil.” So Bloomfield and Bretschneider explain it.

The third text states, in the most explicit manner, “that the saints shall judge the world.” As it occurs in the same epistle which forbids this judgment “before the time until the Lord come,” it is manifest that this is a work which the saints enter upon immediately after they have been exalted to reign with Christ. The nature of the judgment which the saints are to decide is clearly determined by two facts: 1. It is rendered by the saints after the Lord has brought to light the hidden works of darkness, and made manifest the counsels of the hearts. 2. It is said in this same passage, and in the same manner, that the saints “shall judge angels,” meaning, of course, those angels that have sinned whose cases are thus stated: “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” 2 Peter 2:4.

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 6.

These two facts are decisive as to the nature of the judgment which the saints are to engage in when exalted at Christ’s right hand. They are not to be judges over men in a state of probation, something as the ancient judges of Israel were raised up to rule over God’s ancient people, but their judgment is to be rendered in the case of wicked men, when the Lord brings “to light the hidden things of darkness,” and it is to be exercised alike in the case of sinful men and fallen angels. It is not a judgment to determine the guilt or innocence of the parties to be judged; for the guilt of the angels was virtually pronounced to be unpardonable when they were cast out of heaven, and delivered to chains of darkness, i.e. to utter despair, and to the hopeless bondage of their own sins. And the last condition of wicked men has, before their judgment by the saints, already been determined by the resurrection and translation of the just, leaving all others as unworthy of eternal life. This judgment of the saints is, therefore, simply designed to determine the measure of the guilt of wicked men and fallen angels. As their rejection from the kingdom of God is determined by God the Father before they are thus judged by the saints, this judgment by them for the determination of the measure of each man’s guilt, is a most convincing proof that God designs, in rendering to every man according to his deeds, to inflict tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil. (Romans 2:5–9.)

Doctor Bloomfield says of 1 Corinthians 6:2: “Upon the whole, there is, after all, no interpretation that involves less difficulty than the common one, supported by some Latin Fathers, and, of modern divines, by Luther, Calvin, Erasmus, Beza, Cassaubon, Crellius, Wolf, Jeremy Taylor, Doddridge, Pearce, Newcome, Scott, and others, by which it is supposed that the faithful servants of God, after being accepted in Christ, shall be in a certain sense, assessores judicii, by concurrence, with Christ, and being partakers of the judgment to be held by Him over wicked men and apostate angels, who are, as we learn from 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6, reserved unto the judgement of the last day.”

And Doctor Barnes speaks thus: “Grotius supposes that it means that they shall be first judged by Christ, and then act as assessors to Him in the judgment, or join with Him in condemning the wicked.”

But the fourth text relative to this judgment by the saints is very remarkable. It shows that the resurrection by the just precedes the work of judgment by them. It elevates them to thrones of judgment, where they live and reign with Christ, during the period between their own resurrection and that of “the rest of the dead.” It assigns the space of time occupied in this vast work, viz., a thousand years, a period none too long for this examination of the books containing the deeds of all wicked men and fallen angels, even though all the saints engage in it, as we have learned that they do.

There is this statement respecting the thrones, an evident allusion to Daniel 7:9, which speaks of thrones being “cast down,” or, more correctly rendered, “were placed,” as many able critics inform us. These thrones were placed for the judgment work, when entered upon, as we have seen, in the second apartment of the heavenly temple of God the Father. And when the judgment is given to the immortal saints, and they are able to enter the temple after the outpouring of the plagues (Revelation 15:8), it appears that they sit upon the thrones thus placed for them, and with the Saviour at their head finish the work of the judgment as indicated in the text examined. They are, in this exalted state, priests to God and Christ, not as mediators with Them in behalf of wicked men, but as worshipers of God and the Lamb, even as Christians in their mortal state are a royal priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5, 9.

The reason why so vast a period as one thousand years intervenes between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked, is now made very apparent. The work committed to the saints demands no less a period than that assigned it by the Holy Scriptures. It is that they examine the books of God’s records to determine the measure of guilt of each wicked man, and of every fallen angel. To this great exaltation the psalmist refers in these words: “For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written; this honor have all His saints. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 149:4–9.

The saints have no participation in the work of the judgment until the coming of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 4:5. The decision of every case is made by God the Father before He sends His Son to execute the judgment. Daniel 7:9–14, compared with Jude 14, 15. It is the execution of the judgment, therefore, that pertains to the Son. John 5:22, 27. And that work which is given to the Son, He shares with His saints. For when He sits in His throne, all His saints shall sit down with Him in it, as He once thus sat down with the Father. And that power which the Father gives Him over the nations when He receives His own throne, He shares with His saints when He exalts them to His right hand to unite with Him in the execution of the judgment. Compare Psalm 2:6–9; Revelation 2:26, 27. The most important part of this work is the determination of that measure of guilt which pertains to each individual of the lost. God the Father having pronounced them unworthy of eternal life, it is then the business of the saints to determine the measure of punishment which their respective lives of sin demand. This Psalm is worthy of careful study.

  1. When the meek are beautified with salvation, it will be by the change to immortality. They will bear the image of the second Adam, as in this life they bear that of the first. 1 Corinthians 15:47–49. Compare also Isaiah 33:17 with 1 John 3:2.
  2. This beautifying of the saints, and exalting them to glory, precede their participation in the judgment, mentioned in verses 7–9 of Psalm 149.
  3. The two-edged sword in their hand is doubtless the same as that which proceeded out of the mouth of Him whose name is called the Word of God. Revelation 19:11–15.
  4. And if we consider this Psalm from verse 6 to verse 9, we shall see that the work of the immortal saints in the judgment of the wicked is effected by the examination of the book of God, the sharp sword which they hold in their hands (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12), and the written record of their evil deeds; so that the record of their lives will be compared with the rule given them to govern their conduct, and the measure of their guilt thus determined.

A brief survey of Revelation 20 may now be in place. We understand the events of this chapter, as stated in verses 1–11, are given very nearly in strict chronological order, and that verses 12–15 cover some of the same ground, namely, that of the final judgment.

It has already been shown that God the Father sits in judgment before the advent of Christ, and that at this tribunal our Lord acts as advocate for His people, and closes His priesthood with securing their acquittal and the blotting out of their sins. He determines every case, deciding who shall have eternal life, and thus counting all others unworthy of it. Then He commits the execution of the judgment to the Son, who, in fulfillment of this work, makes His saints immortal, and associates them with Himself in the judgment of the wicked. When God thus commits the judgment to His Son, and the Son ceases forever His work of intercession, the words of Psalm 76:7–9 will be found true: “Thou, even Thou, art to be feared; and who may stand in Thy sight when once Thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.”

When the Son of God shall thus save all the meek of the earth, He will raise them up from the dust to inherit the throne of His own glory. 1 Samuel 2:8; Matthew 25:31–33; Revelation 3:21. But the adversaries of the Lord will be broken to pieces; out of heaven will He thunder upon them (Revelation 16:18); He will render decision in strict justice in the case of all men, and then clothe His anointed king with strength to execute that decision (1 Samuel 2:10). Indeed, it is because the Son loves righteousness, and hates iniquity, that He is anointed to do this work. Psalm 45:7; 2:6–9. His arrows will be sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies (Psalm 45:4,5), and none will escape His just infliction of wrath (Romans 2:6–9).

The session of the judgment by God the Father is to determine who shall have part in the resurrection of the just. The session of the Father’s judgment being an event that precedes the advent of His Son, the dead have their cases brought into the judgment in the books which are brought forth, and in particular the righteous dead appear in the person of their Advocate. They do not personally stand as dead men at the Father’s judgment seat, for that is in the heavenly temple; but they are judged by the Father while dead, as if they were personally present at His bar; and all who have secured the services of the only Advocate in the court of heaven, by obeying the gospel while they lived, will have decision rendered, that the Spirit of God shall quicken them to immortality. 1 Peter 4:6. This judgment work begins with the saints who render account through their High Priest; and if they are scarcely accounted worthy of eternal life when weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, what will be the end of those who have no Advocate in the judgment, but who come up to it with all their sins standing against them in the book of God? 1 Peter 4:17, 18. Verily the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment. Psalm 1:5.

When the Ancient of Days was shown to Daniel in vision, sitting in judgment, preparatory to the advent of His Son to execute that judgment, the words of the little horn, spoken at that very time, attracted the prophet’s attention: “I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake.” Daniel 7:11. The Hebrew word rendered “then” is very emphatic in the signification of “at that time.” Gesenius renders it, “at that time, thereupon, then.” And it is specially worthy of notice that at this very time the head of the Romish apostasy had assembled at Rome the entire body of popish bishops, almost equal in number to Belshazzar’s lords (Daniel 5), and expected and required of them to pronounce him infallible! It is evident, indeed, that for this very purpose he assembled them, and they obeyed his behest. We have, therefore, heard the great words of the little horn, which even arrested the attention of the prophet while in vision he beheld the tribunal of the Father.

The binding of Satan precedes the resurrection of the just. This seems plain enough from Revelation 20, but it is very plainly taught in our Lord’s parable of binding the strong man and spoiling his house. Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27; Luke 11:21, 22. He is evidently bound before the complete slaughter of the wicked in the battle of the great day.

Every mention of the bottomless pit, or deep, or abyss, both in the Old Testament and in the New, seems plainly to refer to our earth, or some part of it, in some form, or at some time. And in the most emphatic sense, after our earth has been turned upside down by the awful convulsions of the great day, and made utterly desolate, we understand it to be fully fitted to constitute the place of Satan’s confinement, termed in this prophecy the bottomless pit. A strong confirmation of this view is found in the fact that this expression is used in the Septuagint in Genesis 1:2, where the earth, while yet without form and voice, is spoken of as the deep; Greek, the bottomless pit. And the Hebrew original signifies the same. And it is predicted that our earth shall be reduced to this condition again. Jeremiah 4:23.

This binding of the devil is to be at the very time when, as the scapegoat, he receives the sins of the righteous. Leviticus 16. And our earth in its utter desolation is the land not inhabited, where he shall remain with this terrible load of guilt upon him, while the saints sit in judgment upon the fallen angels, and upon all the members of the human family who would go on still in their sins.

The judgment of wicked men, and of evil angels, by the saints, during the thousand years, will solve to their minds, by means of the examination of the books of God’s remembrance, the providence of God, which has seemed dark and mysterious; for God will then lay open the hidden springs of human conduct, and bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart. 1 Corinthians 4:5.

The course of those who have diligently used the comparatively small measure of light which has been granted them, will come up to condemn those who have been favored with great light and have neglected it. Matthew 12:41, 42; Luke 11:31, 32.

And in like manner those who have been cut off in their sins, as a warning to others, and who would have repented had as great light been granted them as those who have lived at a later time have enjoyed, will come up in this examination to condemn most fearfully those who have had the example of their fate, and had seen greater light then they, and yet have not repented. Matthew 11:21–23; Luke 10:13.

But even those wicked men who have been thus cut off by God’s judgments as an example to those that after should live ungodly, shall come up in the judgment for the complete punishment of their sins. But their case shall be more tolerable in the judgment than that of those who have had the example of their punishment, and have had far greater light than they were favored with, and yet have refused to repent. Matthew 10:15; 11:22, 24; Luke 10:12, 14. Thus, even the mitigating circumstances are taken into the account in the judgment of the wicked as certainly as are those of an aggravating character. Surely God is, in the highest sense, just and righteous.

The record of the righteous, as we have seen, is passed upon by the Father when He counts them worthy to have part in the resurrection to immortality, and by the Son when they stand before Him to receive according to their labors and sacrifices in the cause of God. And that record will show, in the case of everyone who is able to stand in the judgment, so perfect a work of repentance, and confession, and reparation of wrongs done toward others, that not one sinful man can rise up in the judgment against them. Isaiah 54:17.

The judgment, by the saints of Satan and his angels and of wicked men being accomplished, it appears that, just before the thousand years expire, the holy city, with its immortal inhabitants, descends upon our earth, upon a place prepared for it. See Zechariah 14:4, 5.

At the termination of the one thousand years all the wicked dead hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth (John 5:28, 29); the unjust have their resurrection (Acts 24:15); “The rest of the dead” live again (Revelation 20:5). They come forth from the depths of the ocean and from the caverns of earth; for the sea gives up the dead, and Hades gives them up also. And they come forth alive, for death itself gives them up. Revelation 20:13.

And now Satan is loosed for his final work. He begins it just where he left off. He had gathered the nations to the great battle, when he was bound and they were cut off. Revelation 19. Now, after they have been “many days” in the “prison,” the time comes for Satan to visit them as they are loosed from it for their execution. Isaiah 24:21, 22; Ezekiel 38:8, 9.

He resumes his work by inciting them to capture the city of God. Revelation 20:7–10. And thus, by the direct action of Satan, all the wicked, with himself and his angels at their head, stand in the presence of Christ, for the execution of the judgment.

As the righteous stand in Christ’s presence immediately after they are made immortal, that they may each receive according to their labor (2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 16:27), so do the wicked thus stand in His presence after the second resurrection. As the righteous cannot receive punishment for their sins after they have been blotted out, it follows that those who stand before him to receive for their evil deeds are the wicked, who stand thus in His presence, after the examination of their cases by His saints, during the one thousand years.

We may safely conclude that many who go down to their graves self-deceived, will come up in the second resurrection really expecting to be saved, and quite unaware that it is the resurrection of the unjust. We think this is the very time when our Lord’s words shall have their fulfillment: “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22, 23.

And now, for the first time, all the members of the human family are congregated in one vast assembly. The wicked see the righteous in the kingdom of God, and realize that they themselves are thrust out. And when the wicked realize the mercy which they have slighted, and the infinite sacrifice made for their salvation in the death of God’s only Son, and remember their persistent continuance in sin till God could bear no longer, every knee will bow in deepest abasement, acknowledging that God is just, and that their ruin was caused by themselves alone, while the throne of God is forever clear.

And as both classes behold the final result of faithful obedience, and of persistent sins, they will, with one mind and voice, declare, “Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth.” Psalm 58:11. And now the Son of God pronounces the awful sentence, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41.

And now, after the example of Sodom and Gomorrah, fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. Revelation 20:9; 2 Peter 2:6; Genesis 19:24–28. It is the burning earth that constitutes the great lake of fire in which the wicked shall experience the second death. 2 Peter 3:7–12; Malachi 4:1–3; Proverbs 11:31. Satan and his angels shall share this furnace of fire with wicked men; for, indeed, it was originally prepared for them. Matthew 25:41; Isaiah 30:33.

Finally, the earth shall be not only melted, but also dissolved. 2 Peter 3:10, 11. Such shall be the intense action of the devouring fire, that the earth itself shall be reduced to a molten mass and changed by the power of Him that sitteth upon the great white throne. Hebrews 1:12. Then He that sitteth upon the throne shall say, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5. And all the elements that were dissolved in the devouring fire shall unite again to form the earth. The New Jerusalem shall have place upon the new earth, and the glory of God shall fill the earth as the waters fill the sea. The saints shall bear the image of the second Adam, as now they bear that of the first, and shall live for endless ages. Sin, being thus struck out of existence, in the utter destruction of all evildoers, shall never rise up again to mar the handiwork of God. The universe shall be as clean as it was before the rebellion of Satan, and God shall be all in all.

 

Heaven

I want to share with you about heaven. I think it is so wonderful that we are preparing for that place, and we are all doing it together.

I am a lover of poetry and I like to use quite a lot of it:

The Master’s here at Sabbath School and e’er we start our day

Let us thank Him for the order of the day

Which helps us walk throughout the day the narrow way.

The Master’s here at Sabbath School and as we read and study and sing

We ask the Master for the very tool that will shape our lives to please the King.

The Master’s here at Sabbath School, let each countenance beam with joy

As we see with Him the mighty dual over evil in each adult, girl and boy.

The Master’s here at Sabbath School and with love, let each one do our part

To invite the Master into Sabbath School and into every life and heart.

There are many puzzling experiences we go through in this life not knowing which way to turn. But we are so thankful that God has promised to lead and guide us each day with the help of the holy angels and the Holy Spirit.

I am sure there are many who have the same kind of longing that I have, a longing to see Jesus return. We are almost home, but before we get there we have a work to do. We are told, “All heaven was represented to me [Ellen White] as beholding and watching upon the Sabbath those who acknowledge the claims of the fourth commandment and are observing the Sabbath. Angels were marking their interest in, and high regard for, this divine institution. Those who sanctified the Lord God in their hearts by a strictly devotional frame of mind, and who sought to improve the sacred hours in keeping the Sabbath to the best of their ability, and to honor God by calling the Sabbath a delight—these [souls] the angels were specially blessing with light and health, and special strength was given them.” Counsels for the Church, 271.

The Lord has given us the Sabbath as a blessing to help us on our way to heaven. I know that you all realize that sometimes the road is a little harder than that which we had planned, but remember, we are almost home.

“We are homeward bound. He who loved us so much as to die for us hath builded for us a city. The New Jerusalem is our place of rest. There will be no sadness in the city of God. No wail of sorrow, no dirge of crushed hopes and buried affections, will evermore be heard. Soon the garments of heaviness will be changed for the wedding garment. Soon we shall witness the coronation of our King. 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.

“It will not be long till we shall see Him in Whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials and sufferings of this life will be as nothingness. … Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city of God into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed.” Maranatha, 352.

I am looking forward to that day with excitement. From day to day I think of the love of God and His promises and I think there is nothing in this world worth losing heaven for—no, not one thing. The following is something about the joy of heaven:

Knowest thou the joy of a handclasp of the return of a long, lost friend,

Then you begin to know the joy of eternity, the joy that will never end.

Knowest thou the joy of a mother as she clasps her firstborn babe,

Then you begin to know the joy of heaven, the joy that will never fade.

Knowest thou the joy of the birds, the bride and groom as together they start on their journey to trod,

Then you begin to know the joy, the wonderful joy that is found in the love of God.

The joy of this earth is small and short compared to the joy of our Father’s love,

As a drop in the Ocean is the joy on earth compared to the joy we will have up above.

I contemplate that joy and think of it a lot. I often look up at the clouds and think of that little cloud that starts out the size of a man’s fist. And as it gets bigger and closer, we will recognize it as the realization of all our hopes. It is the Second Coming and we will finally see Jesus and hear Him say, “Awake, awake” and the graves all over the world will open up and the dead in Christ shall rise. Oh how wonderful. This is more than any of us dare miss. It is more than anybody who has had the opportunity to know truth dare think of letting it slip by.

If we are to be saints in heaven we must first be saints on earth. “Those who in heaven join with the angelic choir in their anthem of praise must learn on earth the song of heaven, the keynote of which is thanksgiving.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 244.

Thankfulness must be learned and practiced. We need to learn to praise the Lord with our very breath and life, because as we learn these things on earth, we are preparing for eternity. As we come closer and closer to the end of time, the conflict between good and evil will become more severe. And though we often think of the outside conflict that will come, the real conflict occurs throughout day-to-day life. It is with those little annoyances, when you can’t get the screw to turn and you need more patience, when you have an appointment and you have to be there at a certain time and somebody knocks on the door and they talk and you can’t get away, or when you are ready to go some place and the phone rings and somebody needs help. It is at those times when we guard our patience and our thoughts and our words that we are being prepared for eternity.

All of the problems of this earth must be laid aside and then readily accept the providence of God and realize that He is leading us on the way. “The conflict in which you have to take an active part is found in your everyday life. Will you not in times of trial lay your desires by the side of the written word, and in earnest prayer seek Jesus for counsel? Many declare that it is certainly no harm to go to a concert and neglect the prayer-meeting, or absent themselves from meetings where God’s servants are to declare a message from heaven. It is safe for you to be just where Christ has said He would be.

“Those who appreciate the words of Christ will not turn aside from the prayer meeting, or from the meeting where the Lord’s messenger has been sent to tell them concerning things of eternal interest.” Messages to Young People, 140, 141.

Man was made a social creature and we need the association of one another. We need to be together and to attend our prayer meetings and other sacred meetings to receive the needed encouragement in order to do all the things necessary to shape up our lives for eternity, for we are on the road to heaven. “Those who enter heaven must learn on earth the song of heaven, the key-note of which is praise and thanksgiving. Only as they learn this song can they join in singing it with the heavenly choir.” The Signs of the Times, November 20, 1901.

My message to you is that Jesus is coming soon—get ready! As we are getting ready, we want to remember that heaven is not only for us but also for others, and we want others to be with us.

I hope to see each one of you there, and I hope that as we gather around that great white throne we will know one another and continue to develop the relationships we started on earth for eternity.

Jesus is coming in the clouds above.

He has told us about it in His book of love.

The Bible describes this glorious event

By the prophets whom to you He has sent.

The soldiers and Pilate heard Jesus say,

They’d see Him in the glorious day.

He promised the disciples there would be mansions for them,

That He would come back and for them to prepare.

The signs of His coming are described in the book

And we are to watch and to be ready and to look.

The nations will be angry and then overcharged with care.

Peace and safety they will cry but none will be there.

As I see these things happening, my heart overflows

And a longing to see Him in my breast grows.

With an urgency that is hard to describe,

The spirit impresses that I must decide.

Oh to meet Jesus, to be ready that day

For there I am longing and for this I pray.

I know there are mansions above in the sky.

I am planning to go to them and to occupy.

And I hope there is a mansion not far away

Where you will be living and planning to stay.

Oh let us be neighbors in that home up above

Where all is peace and joy and love.

Ruth Grosboll, matriarch of Steps to Life, lived a long life in the service of her Master. She served as a missionary nurse in Myanmar, formerly Burma. In her later years she held the position of receptionist and correspondent at Steps to Life Ministry, blessing many people with her heartfelt encouraging letters. She is sadly missed to this day.