December 21:  An Eternity of Bliss.

A Sinless New Earth.
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;...Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.  Then the lame shall lead like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing....And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads.  They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.--Isaiah 35:1, 5, 6, 10, NKJV

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 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, 675.

                               "Look, God's home is now among his people!
                          He will live with them, and they will be his people.
                    God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
                            and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
                                                All these things are gone forever."
                                                                                          --Revelation 21:3, 4, NLT

December 20:  An Eternity of Bliss.

We Shall Be Like Him.
Beloved, now are we children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.--1 John 3:2, NKJV

THOSE WHO LOVE GOD will have an intelligent knowledge of him.  The image of God will shine forth from the faces of his servants, and they will be openly acknowledged as sons and daughters of God.  When in the world, they did not claim to be their own, and God set to his seal that they were his.  Heaven will be for those who desire it with intense desire, who put forth efforts in proportion to the value of the object which they seek.  The thoughts of those who will obtain heaven, will be upon heavenly things; but those who are all taken up with the excitement and pleasure of this world, will have no love whatever for God or heaven.--"Perils of, and Provisions for, the Youth,"  Review and Herald, May 13, 1890, 290.

Those who take no pleasure in thinking and talking of God in this life, will not enjoy the life that is to come, where God is ever present, dwelling among his people.  But those who love to think of God will be in their element, breathing in the atmosphere of heaven.  Those who on earth love the thought of heaven, will be happy in its holy associations and pleasures.  The prophet says, "...His servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads."--Perils of, Provisions for, the Youth,"  Review and Herald, May 13, 1890, 289, 290.

"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.

                         "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
                      that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
                          For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
                                         but that the world through him might be saved."
                              
                                                            --John 3:16, 17, NKJV

December 19:  An Eternity of Bliss.

Endless Delight.
"Then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."--Isaiah 58:14, ESV

THE HERITAGE THAT GOD has promised to His people is not in this world....

...All that are Christ's are "Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise"--heirs to "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away"--the earth freed from the curse of sin.  Galatians 3:29; 1 Peter 1:4.  For "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;" and "the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."  Daniel 7:27; Psalm 37:11.--Patriarchs and Prophets, 169.

You must be there.  Whatever you lose here, be determined to make sure of eternal life.  Never become discouraged....Live for Jesus....Seek earnestly for the crown of life.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, 131.

Look to Jesus, keeping your eyes fixed on the glory at the top of the ladder.  Through Christ alone can you make sure of heaven, where all is purity, holiness, peace, and blessedness, where there are glories that mortal lips cannot describe.  The nearest we can come to a description of the reward that awaits the overcomer is to say that it is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  It will be an eternity of bliss, a blessed eternity, unfolding new glories throughout the ceaseless ages.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, 131.

                                      "For as the new heavens and the new earth
                                                             that I make
                                          shall remain before me, says the Lord,
                                       so shall your offspring and your name remain."
                              
                                                                 --Isaiah 66:22, ESV

December 18:  An Eternity of Bliss.

The Greatest Honor.
Honor and majesty surround him; strength and joy fill his dwelling.--1 Chronicles 17:27, NLT

THOSE WHO TAKE CHRIST at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude.  Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by his presence....

As though Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here.  We respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we begin the life eternal.  Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ.  The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness.  As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His presence.  All that human nature can bear, we may receive here.  But what is this compared with the hereafter?--The Desire of Ages, 331.

The true Christian's joys and consolation must and will be in heaven.  The longing souls of those  who have tasted of the powers of the world to come and have feasted on heavenly joys, will not be satisfied with things of earth....Their amusement will be in contemplating their treasure--the Holy City, the earth made new, their eternal home.  And while they dwell upon those things which are lofty, pure, and holy, heaven will be brought near, and they will feel the power of the Holy Spirit, and this will tend to wean them more and more from the world and cause their consolation and chief joy to be in the things of heaven, their sweet home.--Early Writings, 112.

December 17:  An Eternity of Bliss.

The Joy of Being in His Presence.
"You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence."--Acts 2:28, NKJV

LET THOSE MEN AND WOMEN...FOR AN INSTANT witness the high, the holy state of perfection that ever abides there,--every soul filled with love; every countenance beaming with joy; enchanting music in melodious strains rising in honor of God and the Lamb;...realize that there is higher and greater joy yet to experience, for the more they receive of the enjoyment of God, the more is their capacity increased to rise higher in eternal enjoyment, and thus continue to receive new and greater supplies from the ceaseless sources of glory and bliss inexpressible.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, 266.

Heaven is a good place.  I long to be there and behold my lovely Jesus.--Early Writings, 39.

                            For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.
                       Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
                                                                                           --1 Corinthians 13:12, NKJV

                 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal,
                                  flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
                                      It flowed down the center of the main street.
                                        On each side of the river grew a tree of life,
                            bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month.
                                 The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
                                       No longer will there be a curse upon anything.
         For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.
                   And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.
                              
                                                                 --Revelation 22:1-4, NLT

December 16:  An Eternity of Bliss.

We Shall Rejoice at His Appearance.
Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word: "Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name's sake, said, 'Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy',' but they shall be ashamed."--Isaiah 66:5, NKJV

CHRIST IS COMING with power and great glory.  He is coming with His own glory and with the glory of the Father.  He is coming with all the holy angels with Him.  While all the world is plunged in darkness, there will be light in every dwelling of the saints.  They will catch the first light of His second appearing.  The unsullied light will shine from His splendor, and Christ the Redeemer will be admired by all who have served Him.  While the wicked flee from His presence, Christ's followers will rejoice.  The patriarch Job, looking down to the time of Christ's second advent said, "Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not a stranger."  Job 19:27, margin.  To His faithful followers Christ has been a daily companion and familiar friend.  They have lived in close contact, in constant communion with God.  Upon them the glory of the Lord has risen.  In them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has been reflected.  Now they rejoice in the undimmed rays of the brightness and glory of the King in His majesty.  They are prepared for the communion of heaven; for they have heaven in their hearts.--Christ's Object Lessons, 420.

                                       Beloved, now we are children of God;
                               and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be,
                                     but we know that when He is revealed,
                              we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
                                                                                        --1 John 3:2, NKJV

December 15:  An Eternity of Bliss.

We Shall Meet and See the Lord Jesus.
It will be said on that day, "See, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.  This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."--Isaiah 25:9, NRSV

JESUS IS COMING, but not as at His first advent, a babe in Bethlehem; not as He rode into Jerusalem, when the disciples praised God with a loud voice and cried, "Hosanna"; but in the glory of the Father and with all the retinue of holy angels to escort Him on His way to earth.  All heaven will be emptied of the angels, while the waiting saints will be looking for Him and gazing into heaven, as were the men of Galilee when He ascended from the Mount of Olivet.  Then only those who are holy, those who have followed fully the meek Pattern, will with rapturous joy exclaim as they behold Him, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us."  And they will be changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump"--that trump which wakes the sleeping saints, and calls them forth from their dusty beds, clothed with glorious immortality, and shouting, "Victory!  Victory over death and the grave!"  The changed saints are then caught up together with the angels to meet the Lord in the air, never more to be separated from the object of their love.--Early Writings, 110.

                      For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
                      with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.
               And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall
                   be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
                                        And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
                                                                                        --1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17, NKJV

December 14:  An Eternity of Bliss.

We Shall See God's Face.
"When he prays to God, he will be accepted.  And Gods will receive him with joy and restore him to good standing."--Job 33:26, NLT

SINCE SIN BROUGHT separation between man and His Maker, no man has seen God at any time, except as He is manifested through Christ....

"Lord, show us the Father," said Philip, "and it sufficeth us.  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.?...

The disciples did not yet understand Christ's words concerning His relation to God.  Much of His teaching was still dark to them.  Christ desired them to have a clearer, more distinct knowledge of God....

Our knowledge of God is partial and imperfect.  When the conflict is ended, and the Man Christ Jesus acknowledges before the Father His faithful workers, who in a world of sin have borne true witness for Him, they will understand clearly what now are mysteries to them.

Christ took with Him to the heavenly courts His glorified humanity.  To those who receive Him He gives power to become the sons of God, that at last God may receive them as His, to dwell with Him throughout eternity.  If during this life they are loyal to God, they will at last "see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads."  Revelation 22:4.  And what is the happiness of heaven but to see God?  What greater joy could come to the sinner saved by the grace of Christ than to look upon the face of God and know Him as Father?--The Ministry of Healing, 419-421.

December 13:  An Eternity of Bliss.

Greater Than Sorrow and Shame.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.--Hebrews 12:2, NKJV

IT WAS FOR THE JOY that was set before Him--that He might bring sons unto glory--that He endured the cross and despised the shame.  And inconceivably great as was the sorrow and the shame, yet greater is the joy and the glory.  He looks upon the redeemed, renewed in His own image, every face reflecting the likeness of their King.  He beholds in them the result of the travail of His soul, and He is satisfied.  Then, in a voice that reaches the assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, He declares: "Behold the purchase of My blood!  For these I suffered, for these I died, that they might dwell in My presence throughout eternal ages."  And the song of praise ascends from the white-robed ones about the throne: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."  Revelation 5:12.--The Great Controversy, 671.

                                          "Blessing and honor and glory and power
                                                Be to Him who sits on the throne,
                                              And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
                              
                                                     --Revelation 5:13, NKJV

December 12:  An Eternity of Bliss.

Faultless Before the Father's Throne.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.  Amen.--Jude 24, 25. NKJV

AMID THE REELING OF THE EARTH, the flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints.  He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then, raising His hands to heaven, He cries: "Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!"  Throughout the length and breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live.  And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of the exceeding great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.  From the prison house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying: "O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?"  1 Corinthians 15:55.  And the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voices in a long, glad shout of victory.--The Great Controversy, 644.

There will be a relinking of the family chain.  When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."  1 Corinthians 15:52.  A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty.  A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes.  A little longer, and He will present us "faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."  Jude 1:24.--The Desire of Ages, 632.

   It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown....And we
                                            who are living will also be transformed.
                              
                                                           --1 Corinthians 15:52, NLT