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The Great Controversy
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
. 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.”
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
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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 man-
sions 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 de-
scribe 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