Pen Pictures of the New Earth
419
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
Social Life—There we shall know even as also we are known.
There the loves and sympathies that God has planted in the soul will
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, the sacred fellowship that binds together “the
[549]
whole family in heaven and earth”—all are among the experiences of
the hereafter
Occupations in the New Earth—In the earth made new the re-
deemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought
happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be
lived, the life in garden and field. “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: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect
shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
There every power will be developed, every capability increased.
The grandest enterprises will be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations
will be 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 body and mind
and soul
On the Verge of Fulfillment—We are living in a most solemn
period of this earth’s history. There is never time to sin; it is always
perilous to continue in transgression, but in a special sense is this true
at the present time. We are now upon the very borders of the eternal
world and stand in a more solemn relation to time and to eternity than
ever before. Now let every person search his own heart and plead for
the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness to expel all spiritual
darkness and cleanse from defilement
5
The Great Controversy, 677, 678
.
6
Education, 306
.
7
Prophets and Kings, 730, 731
.
8
Education, 307
.
9
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 147
.