The Future Life and Home of the Redeemed

To many believers in our time the life in the world to come is unreal and therefore so shadowy and indistinct that it appeals to no one. In the Bible, on the other hand, and in the writings of Mrs. White, the life beyond is not misty and uncertain. It is concrete and intelligible and worth any sacrifice and effort to obtain. It is indeed the effort of the evil one to becloud and even destroy our sense of the reality of the eternal glories. We read:FSG 422.5

“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.’FSG 423.1

“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.... 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.FSG 423.2

“In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country.... The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home.”—The Great Controversy, 674, 675.FSG 423.3

The Bible agrees with the idea that the redeemed will have bodies and live in homes and remember and know one another. But a few lines on this can be quoted. The Spirit of prophecy books abound with similar ideas. Concerning life in the great hereafter, Mrs. White in her first vision wrote:FSG 423.4

“There I saw most glorious houses, that had the appearance of silver, supported by four pillars set with pearls most glorious to behold. These were to be inhabited by the saints. In each was a golden shelf. I saw many of the saints go into the houses, take off their glittering crowns and lay them on the shelf, then go out into the field by the houses to do something with the earth; not as we have to do with the earth here; no, no. A glorious light shone all about their heads, and they were continually shouting and offering praises to God....FSG 423.5

“Next I saw a field of tall grass, most glorious to behold; it was living green, and had a reflection of silver and gold, as it waved proudly to the glory of King Jesus. Then we entered a field full of all kinds of beasts,—the lion, the lamb, the leopard, and the wolf, all together in perfect union. We passed through the midst of them, and they followed peaceably after....FSG 424.1

“As we were traveling along, we met a company who also were gazing at the glories of the place. I noticed red as a border on their garments; their crowns were brilliant; their robes were pure white. As we greeted them, I asked Jesus who they were. He said they were martyrs that had been slain for Him. With them was an innumerable company of little ones; they also had a hem of red on their garments.... And I saw the little ones climb, or, if they chose, use their little wings and fly to the top of the mountains, and pluck the never-fading flowers.”—Early Writings, 18, 19.FSG 424.2

“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 Owers of mind and soul and body.”FSG 424.3

Such words as the above could be multiplied many fold from the works of Mrs. White. We find these definite, clear cut pictures of the joys and realities of the reunion of loved ones and the noble joys in the life to come. Although they set forth that the new earth is a tangible place and teach that the saints live in glorified human bodies, they never portray the pleasures of the world to come as sensual or material enjoyments, but rather as spiritual and noble beyond words. Thus she writes:FSG 425.1

“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 spectacles 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.”—The Great Controversy, 677, 678.FSG 425.2

Theologians have argued, scientists have scoffed, philosophers have wondered, and poets have dreamed of a paradise lost and a paradise restored, but the true children of God have rejoiced in the certainty and reality of the coming rewards and eternal happiness. Those who in their blindness reject the doctrine of a personal God usually reject the hope of a hereafter for man; whereas those who believe in a personal Creator invariably also accept the hope of personal immortality; that is, a life in the world to come, where we will know each other and remember this life on earth. But even these who rejoice in the hope of a life throughout eternity with the Lord too often cherish ideas of that coming life so indistinct that their hereafter means but little and gives neither comfort nor inspiration for higher things in the present life.FSG 425.3

In contrast to these vague popular conceptions of the hereafter, the Spirit of prophecy books bring us, as shown, beautiful, ennobling pictures of the glories to be. Thousands of Adventists today whose parents were in the faith will remember the happy hours of their childhood when their parents told them about the beauty and the realities of the new earth. Indeed, these visions of the unseen glories of heaven and the reality of angels and the help of God have given Adventists a faith different from the faith of Christians generally, and stronger and more real. We shall need this faith in the trials ahead, a faith that really is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. To my mind the most intriguing and graphic description of the coming glory is the word picture of the events occurring at the second advent. It is unique in modern religious literature. We read:FSG 425.4

“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.”—Early Writings, 286. (See also The Great Controversy, 638-645.)FSG 426.1

These accounts of the coming of Christ in glory were not born in Mrs. White’s own imagination but were given to her in holy vision. She claims to describe only what she has thus seen. Her visions are, however, in complete agreement with the words of Holy Writ; in fact, she quotes many scriptures to prove them true. To Adventists they not only give cheer and comfort but also throw a beautiful light on the words of the Bible. Who among us, for instance, would have thought in detail of the words, “The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself” (Psalm 50:6), as they are outlined in the following:FSG 426.2

“The glory of the celestial city streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet, ‘The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself.’ That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the Ten Commandments, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth. It is impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who have trampled upon God’s holy requirements.”—The Great Controversy, 639.FSG 427.1

The Bible can be thought of and studied as literature, and as such it stands at the highest peak, without an equal in human writing. In like manner the writings of Mrs. White can be regarded from the viewpoint of literary achievement, and it must be admitted that in the religious literature of our time it stands unsurpassed. No other author has produced such excellent and high-ranking works. As an illustration of this, take what is possibly the most exquisite and poetic sketch from her pen—her vision of the death of Moses. We cannot give it here, but the reader will find it in Patriarchs and Prophets, 472-477. Note the closing words:FSG 427.2

“Still another scene opens to his view,—the earth freed from the curse, lovelier than the fair land of promise so lately spread out before him. There is no sin, and death cannot enter. There the nations of the saved find their eternal home. With joy unutterable, Moses looks upon the scene,—the fulfillment of a more glorious deliverance than his brightest hopes have ever pictured. Their earthly wanderings forever past, the Israel of God have at last entered the goodly land.FSG 427.3

“Again the vision faded, and his eyes rested upon the land of Canaan as it spread out in the distance. Then, like a tired warrior, he lay down to rest.”—page 477.FSG 427.4

It would be most helpful if our members would meditate more and if our ministers would preach oftener on the realities and advantages of the life to come. Moses chose the service of Christ rather than the wealth of Egypt because he remembered the eternal reward and “endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:26, 27. We shall need that same faith in the unseen if we are to stand in the trials and tests ahead.FSG 427.5