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Controversy Ended
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be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be
any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” [
Revelation
21:3, 4
.]
In the city of God “there shall be no night.” None will need or
desire repose. There will be no weariness in doing the will of God
and offering praise to his name. We shall ever feel the freshness of
the morning, and shall ever be far from its close. “And they need
no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them
light.” [
Revelation 22:5
.] The light of the sun will be superseded by
a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which immeasurably
surpasses the brightness of our noontide. The glory of God and the
Lamb floods the holy city with unfading light. The redeemed walk
in the sunless glory of perpetual day.
“I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the
Lamb are the temple of it.” [
Revelation 21:22
.] The people of God
are privileged to hold open communion with the Father and the Son.
Now we “see through a glass, darkly.” [
1 Corinthians 13:12
.] We
behold the image of God reflected, as in a mirror, in the works of
nature and in his dealings with men; but then we shall see him face
to face, without a dimming vail between. We shall stand in his
presence, and gaze upon the glory of his countenance.
There, immortal minds will study with never-failing delight the
wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There
is no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every
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faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquire-
ment of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies.
There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest
aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there
will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new
truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind
and soul and body.
And as the years of eternity roll, they will bring richer and more
glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progres-
sive, 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 beat with a stronger devotion, and they sweep the harps