X
info

Bible: YouVersion
Loading...
Sermon Outline

Growing in a Relationship With God

Into Eternity

Lesson #13 for June 27, 2026

Scriptures: Psalm 80;1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 7:17; 21:4,9-27; Isaiah 25:8; John 6:44; 1 John 3:2.

  1. What is implied by the term into eternity?

1 John 3:2: My dear friends, we are now God’s children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.—American Bible Society. (©1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation®* [GNT] (Today’s English Version) [TEV], Second Edition (1 John 3:2). Philadelphia: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible-TEV* or GNB-TEV*].†‡

[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 555.1.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2513&index=0]‡

[From the Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide=T-BSG:] We conclude our … reflection on our relationship with God. Our study culminates with the following question: What did we achieve as we studied, pondered, discussed, and diligently sought to develop a right relationship with the Creator, our Savior? Furthermore, what knowledge did we acquire … over those individuals who never knew Him?

To the Pharisees who asked their question about the coming of the kingdom of God, Jesus answered in the present tense: “ ‘The kingdom of God is within you’ ” (Luke 17:21, NKJV). But to His disciples who were concerned with the same question, Jesus used the future tense: “ ‘You will desire to see’ ” (Luke 17:22, NKJV; compare withLuke 17:37). That is, only those who have an intimate relationship with Christ will long to see His face.

Yet, we must acknowledge the great, albeit frustrating, paradox at the heart of our longing for God: the more our relationship with God develops, the more our longing for Him is intensified. We may experience, at times, this frustration at the delay in the fulfillment of our desire to see Him face-to-face. In this final lesson, we will embrace both our longing for a more personal knowledge of God and our longing for a deeper intimacy with Him. Specifically, we will seek to understand, as did Jacob, what it means to see God’s face. We also will pray with the Levite Asaph, through Psalm 80, out of this longing to see God face-to-face.—T-BSG* 171.†‡§

What Does the Future Hold for Us? This Earth? And God?

[From the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide=BSG:] What does the future hold for you? What lies ahead? It might seem daunting, exciting, scary, and wonderful all at once. Know that Jesus is faithful and that His words are true (Rev. 3:14). There will yet be turbulent times ahead (Matt. 24:21, 22), but He has promised that He will never leave nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). He will do exactly what He says He will do—He always has and always will (Heb. 10:23). And “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13, NKJV).—BSG* for Sabbath Afternoon, June 20.†‡§

  1. These passages make it very clear that: 1) God can be trusted, and 2) God’s promises will be fulfilled. We just need to hold on firmly to those promises.
  2. In brief, the future will be: (1) The pre-advent judgment which is in progress now; (2) The turbulent times of the “time of trouble”; (3) The second coming of Jesus which every eye will see and when all the righteous will be raised to life; (4) The millennium or 1000 years during which the righteous will be in heaven, reviewing the records and confirming to their satisfaction that God has made the correct judgment of each in the universe; (5) The third coming of Jesus when everyone (both righteous and wicked) who has ever lived on this earth will be alive and will view the panorama of the great controversy including the part each has played; all including Satan will realize that God has been fair and that each of us is where we really want to be—eternal life with God or eternal separation from God and death; and then, (6) The new earth and eternity with God for those who want it.

Before the Second Coming

  1. Matthew 24:6-14 teach us clearly that our world will go through some very difficult times before the second coming of Jesus. There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and even persecution. We have been assured by God that these times of trouble near the end of this world’s history will not last forever.
  2. Why do we have to go through a time of trouble before He comes the second time?

It will be Satan’s final fling! Satan will have one final goal in the great controversy: Satan knows that if a faithful group of follows stands up for Christ, then it is doomsday for him. So, he will send the seven last plagues in an attempt to destroy all of God’s faithful followers. But, God has guaranteed us that He will protect us in those final days. That does not mean that we will not go through times of trouble; but, God will be at our side. Will we be able to detect His presence?

  1. All through Scripture, the faithful followers of God have been appealing for God to take action. Often those appeals have taken the form of a question: “How long?” Asaph, one of the group religious leaders in the days of David, produced a beautiful psalm, Psalm 80. He was appealing for God to do something, even in his day. See especiallyPsalm 80:1-3 andPsalm 80:14-19.

The Reason for the Delay: See Evangelism 694-697—Deferred in Mercy

  1. Are we praying to God for the Holy Spirit in our lives? Are we prepared to accept His presence? What are we doing to hasten the second coming? (2 Peter 3:10-12)
  2. How well are we doing at preparing the world for the second coming? The Seventh-day Adventist Church has not always done well!

[EGW:] [Commenting on what happened at the General Conference meetings in Minneapolis in 1888:] An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord’s message through Brethren [E.J.] Waggoner and [A.T.] Jones. By exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. [Revelation 18:1] The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world.—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages,* Book 1, 234.6.†‡Ω

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p98.1417&index=0]‡

Revelation 18:1: After this I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and his splendor brightened the whole earth.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

  1. Does that mean that the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1888 prevented the outpouring of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Revelation 18 in preparation for the second coming of Jesus? Could that happen again in our day?

[EGW:] …. The long night of gloom is trying, but the morning is deferred in mercy, because if the Master should come, so many would be found unready. God’s unwillingness to have his people perish, has been the reason of so long delay. But the time of the coming of the morning to the faithful, and the night to the unfaithful, is right upon us.—Ellen G. White, Testimony for the Church,* No. 16, 97.1 [1868]; Testimonies for the Church,*€ vol. 2, 193.3 [1868]; †‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p12810.380&index=0]‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p120.808&index=0]‡

  1. The reason for the delay is that we have not worked with the Holy Spirit and have not finished the gospel! We are not ready! Will we ever be ready? Does persecution have to come first? The work might have been done!

[EGW:] A flood of light is shining from the word of God, and there must be an awakening to neglected opportunities. When all are faithful in giving back to God His own in tithes and offerings, the way will be opened for the world to hear the message for this time. If the hearts of God’s people were filled with love for Christ, if every church member were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice, if all manifested thorough earnestness, there would be no lack of funds for home or foreign missions. Our resources would be multiplied; a thousand doors of usefulness would be opened, and we should be invited to enter. Had the purpose of God been carried out by His people in giving to the world the message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, and the saints would have received their welcome into the city of God.—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church,* vol. 6, 449.4 [1900].†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p118.2497&index=0]‡

[EGW:] For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord’s professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.—Manuscript 4, 1883.—Ellen G. White, Evangelism* 696.2.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p30.3860&index=0]‡

  1. God has forgiven everyone who turns to Him; however, how have we responded? Have we repented (turned from our sins)? That is what is required according to Jesus and John the Baptist when they called for everyone to “repent.” We need to change our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah 31:33-34: 33 “The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the Lord, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.”—GNB-TEV.*†

  1. When we come to know God as a Friend, our past sins will not matter because God will choose not to remember them anymore! We are forgiven, and we are changed!

Finally, Face-To-Face—The Second Coming

  1. One day, a small black cloud will appear in the eastern sky; and Jesus will be there, accompanied by thousands upon thousands of angels. (SeeMatthew 25:31 as below.)

Matthew 25:31: “When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

  1. If you want to know for sure whether it is true when someone says that Jesus has come, all you have to do is look up. When the real Jesus comes, the sky will be full of bright, shining angels.

1 Thessalonians 4:16b-17: 16bThose who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; 17then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.—Good News Bible-TEV.*† [This is at the second coming.]‡

  1. Can you imagine what it will be like to see Jesus? To see His “face”?
  2. We, of course, need to be honest in recognizing that our individual lives will never last very long. Each one of us who dies will awaken to see Jesus coming! That will be either at the second coming, or at the third coming. Whether alive at the second coming or raised to life then, the righteous will see Him at the second coming and go to heaven with Him. The wicked will be raised to life at the end of the millennium. Everyone will be alive at that time. All will see Jesus. The wicked will be outside the New Jerusalem; the righteous will be inside the New Jerusalem. (John 5:28-29)

John 5:28-29: 28 “Do not be surprised at this; the time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice 29and come out of their graves: those who have done good will rise and live, and those who have done evil will rise and be condemned.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

  1. How can we keep our focus on Jesus Christ while we live in a world with demands for attention on every side?

[EGW:] We must be preparing for the white robe of character in order that we may pass within the pearly gates of the city of God to a heaven of bliss. Revelation presents the scene—fountains of living waters, rivers that are as clear as crystal proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb, trees of living green growing on either side of this river of life. [Revelation 7:17; 22:1, 2.] The foliage gives health and life to those who eat it, as well as the fruit. The walls and foundation of the city are of precious stone. The streets are paved with gold.—Ellen G. White, Manuscript 20, 1886,* [4Letters and Manuscripts, Ms 20, 1886] par. 8.†‡Ω

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p14054.4367013&index=0]‡

  1. ReadMatthew 5:12; Revelation 22:12; and1 Corinthians 2:9.

[BSG:] We were made to be close to God (Gen. 2:7). Ever since He created humanity, God has given everything to restore our broken relationship with Him (John 3:16). He has placed eternity in our hearts, yet human beings cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning to the end (Eccles. 3:11). We’re part of the great controversy raging around us—even in us—yet, too often, we don’t pause long enough to consider the great cost of what has been given in order for us to be restored to the relationship God intends for us to have with Him…. (Phil. 3:20, 21, NKJV).—BSG* for Monday, June 22.†‡§

  1. So, how close did God get to Adam?

Genesis 2:7: Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.—Good News Bible-TEV.* [Was that a kiss?]‡

John 3:16: For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.—Good News Bible-TEV.*

  1. Things might seem to be difficult here on this earth. We could even face imprisonment or torture; but, we have a promise, and it is God’s promise.

[BSG:] In that moment, when the trumpets sound and every [currently alive] human eye sees Jesus, we’ll know that it’s been worth the wait. Every persevering prayer, every moment we’ve prioritized time with Him, every time we’ve spoken boldly for Him, every trial—will be culminated in seeing His face (Rev. 22:4).—BSG* for Monday.†‡§

  1. There are a few people described in the Bible as having seen the face of God! This does not mean that they actual saw God’s face; rather, they had a direct encounter with Him.
  2. Jacob was one of those people. In fact, he wrestled with God through the night. SeeGenesis 32:22-33:10.

[T-BSG:] Moreover, the use of the Hebrew expression panim ’el panim, “face to face,” does not mean that Jacob actually saw the physical face of God. This expression is equivalent to seeing “the form of the Lord” (Num. 12:8, NKJV) and, instead, describes the experience of a direct encounter with God (Deut. 5:4). Jacob associates his salvation with this encounter: “And my life has been preserved” (Gen. 32:30, MEV).—T-BSG* 171-172.†‡§

  1. Have some of us had direct encounters with God? What would that be like today?
  2. It was almost immediately after his encounter with God that Jacob faced his brother, Esau. ReadGenesis 33:1-16. How did Jacob’s encounter with God prepare him for his encounter with Esau? In fact, the language used in the Hebrew describing that situation suggests that in Jacob’s eyes those encounters were similar.

[T-BSG:] Jacob’s encounter with Esau inGenesis 33:5–15 connects the face of God in Peniel (Gen. 32:30) with the face of Esau (Gen. 33:10).Genesis 33:5–15 also connects God’s grace to Jacob (Gen. 33:5, 11) with Esau’s grace to Jacob (Gen. 33:8, 10, 15). The phrase “Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there” (Gen. 33:1, NKJV; compare withGen. 33:5), which introduces Jacob’s sighting of Esau, is typical usage for introducing the appearance of God, and thus anticipates the association of Esau with God. Esau’s approach is, therefore, loaded with hopeful prospects. When Jacob finally meets Esau, he explicitly connects his relationship with his brother to his relationship with God: “ ‘I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God’ ” (Gen. 33:10, NKJV). It is this argument that induces Esau to accept Jacob’s gift (Gen. 33:11), a sign that he is willing to forgive his brother. Jacob has seen “the face of God” (Peniel) in the face of Esau.—T-BSG* 172.‡§

[EGW:] While Jacob was wrestling with the Angel, another heavenly messenger was sent to Esau. In a dream, Esau beheld his brother for twenty years an exile from his father’s house; he witnessed his grief at finding his mother dead; he saw him encompassed by the hosts of God. This dream was related by Esau to his soldiers, with the charge not to harm Jacob, for the God of his father was with him.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 198.2.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.830&index=0]‡

  1. How do you suppose Jacob’s encounter with God and then with Esau affected his later relationship with God and his brother?

[T-BSG:] Here, for the first time, Jacob acknowledges El [sic] as his personal God. Previously, Jacob referred to God only as the God of his fathers but never as his own personal God. Jacob has come to understand that his love for God and his love for his brother are dependent upon each other. Jesus infers this unique theological lesson from the Scriptures: “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matt. 22:37–40, NKJV).—T-BSG* 172.†‡§

  1. What did Esau say to Jacob/Israel about the dream he had received from God?

The Bride

Revelation 21:9-11: 9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came to me and said, “Come, and I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10The Spirit took control of me, and the angel carried me to the top of a very high mountain. He showed me Jerusalem, the Holy City, coming down out of heaven from God 11and shining with the glory of God. The city shone like a precious stone, like a jasper, clear as crystal.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

[BSG:] The bride is beautiful, and on her wedding day, everyone wants to see her. A wedding day is a turning point of a new life together for the bride and groom, and this will also be true of our relationship with God upon His return.—BSG* for Tuesday, June 23.‡

  1. What do we know about heaven and the future kingdom?

John 14:1-3: 1 “Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in me. 2There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. 3And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*

[EGW:] 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. 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 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.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 674.4-675.0.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.3044&index=0]‡

  1. What kind of a place did the disciples think Jesus, who did not even have a place to lay His head, was going to prepare for them?
  2. In two different places in the Gospel of Matthew, God describes His coming and the judgment that leads up to it as a wedding. SeeMatthew 22:1-14 andMatthew 25:1-13.
  3. It seems strange to us that the king would throw out someone because he did not have on the proper wedding clothes. However, in ancient times because few people were rich, the king provided the wedding attire for all who showed up. So, we have to conclude that the one who came in without a wedding garment had refused the king’s welcome.
  4. How are we supposed to put on the “Robe of Christ’s righteousness”?

[EGW:] “‘Christianity.’ How many there are who do not know what it is! It is not something put on the outside. It is a life inwrought [made] with the life of Jesus. It means that we are wearing the robe of Christ’s righteousness.”—Ellen G. White, The Review and Herald,* June 21, 1898, par. 30.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p821.16998&index=0]‡

  1. When it comes to talking about the New Jerusalem, that holy city, it is interesting that it is described as the bride. However, God’s people who will be inside that city are also described as the bride. (Revelation 19:7)

The Third Coming

  1. Jesus will come with His people down to this earth at the third coming. First, we do not know how long they will be on this earth or whether they will mix with the wicked who have been raised to life. However, we know what will happen after that!
  2. For a detailed description of the events which will happen at the third coming of Jesus when He will establish His headquarters here on this earth, see The Great Controversy 662-678 (https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2990&index=0).

[EGW:] At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed and attended by a retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty He bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands of the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease and death. [Notice that Christ descends with the saints before the wicked are raised.]

Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim: “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!” It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into their graves, so they come forth with the same enmity to Christ and the same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation in which to remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by this. A lifetime of transgression has not softened their hearts. A second probation, were it given them, would be occupied as was the first in evading the requirements of God and exciting rebellion against Him….

As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 662.1-3.†‡ [Then, Christ and the saints enter the city and leave the wicked outside the city!]‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2990&index=0]‡

  1. Philippians 2:10-11 describes an amazing scene as Satan admits that God has been fair and right in His judgments. However, Satan will not change his character; he will still rebel.

Philippians 2:10-11: 10 And so, in honor of the name of Jesus

all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below [including Satan!]

will fall on their knees, [This happens at the third coming.]

11and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.—GNB-TEV.*†‡ [As above, see also GC 662-678: https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2990&index=0.]‡

  1. Try to imagine what it will be like to see the whole universe, including Satan and all his angels, singing:

Revelation 5:12: [The whole universe including Satan:] And sang in a loud voice:

“The Lamb who was killed is worthy

to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and strength,

honor, glory, and praise!”—Good News Bible-TEV.*‡

The New Jerusalem and the Temple

  1. Revelation 21:9-27 gives us a brief description of the New Jerusalem. Many people are surprised to see that it suggests that the Temple is not in the city.
  2. In Ellen White’s first vision, she was taken around the New Jerusalem and, then, taken outside of the city and was told that the Temple was located outside of the New Jerusalem. See Ellen G. Harmon (White), Broadside 1,* April 6, 1846, par. 4-5.

(https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p465.8&index=0) See Early Writings 17.1-18.1.

  1. For more details about that first vision of Ellen G. Harmon (White), see 1T2:

https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p116.363&index=0.

“Come,” Eternal Life in the New Earth

  1. What do you look forward to most of all when you get to heaven, or return to the new earth? Children often speak about petting the lions, or riding on an elephant, etc. Teenagers and those of us who are older might be looking forward to the fact that we can travel almost instantaneously to any part of the universe. But, the greatest blessing of the New Jerusalem will be to see Jesus because it means death and tears and sorrow and disease will be gone forever.
  2. ReadIsaiah 25:8; Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4.
  3. Does it seem strange to you that Jesus who is described as a Lamb is also our Shepherd?

[BSG:] The invitation is offered to us again, today: “Come.”

Read the following passages and notice His invitation for you to come to Him: Matt. 11:28–30,Isa. 55:1–3,John 6:44.—BSG* for Thursday.†‡§

  1. The word come is the theme of the book of Revelation and really of the whole Bible!
  2. See Matthew 11:28-30; Isaiah 55:1-3;John 6:44; Revelation 22:17.

[BSG:] The Holy Spirit wants to draw you to Jesus today. Jesus invites you to come to Him, to abide in Him today, and every day, until He comes. When you respond and come to Him, when your heart is soft and your mind surrendered, you will feel peace because you know that He will raise you up, no matter how unworthy you may feel, on the last day of this earth. Jesus said, “Who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37, NKJV).—BSG* for Thursday, June 25.‡§

[EGW:] If we do not receive the religion of Christ by feeding upon the word of God [the Bible], we shall not be entitled to an entrance into the city of God. Having lived on earthly food, having educated our tastes to love worldly things, we would not be fitted for the heavenly courts; we could not appreciate the pure, heavenly current that circulates in heaven. The voices of the angels and the music of their harps would not satisfy us. The science of heaven would be as an enigma to our minds. We need to hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ; we need to be molded and fashioned by the transforming influence of his grace, that we may be fitted for the society of heavenly angels.—Ellen G. White, The Review and Herald,* May 4, 1897, par. 10; The Faith I Live By,* 365.3.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p821.15874&index=0]‡

  1. Does that rule out Muslims? Atheists? Evolutionists? And Hindus?
  2. What will be the nature of our relationships in heaven?

[EGW:] …. Then the nations will own no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving—the robe of Christ’s righteousness. All nature, in its surpassing loveliness, will offer to God a constant tribute of praise and adoration. The world will be bathed in the light of heaven. The years will move on in gladness. The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold greater than it is now. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming: “There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church,* vol. 8, 42.1.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p112.235&index=0]‡

  1. To the best of my knowledge, the only person in modern times who has seen heaven and the new earth is Ellen White. Review the wonderful words she used to describe that experience in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, 67.1-70.5.

(https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p116.363&index=0)

  1. This vision describes events to take place at the close of the thousand years which is at the third coming, one thousand years after Christ’s second advent. Revelation 20; 21; 22;Zechariah 14:4.

[BSG:] Summary: As we keep our eyes on the goal, may we be “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6, NKJV). God initiated the relationship He has with you, and He will complete it. May we grow in love and in faith as we wait for that day, while always resting only in the righteousness of Christ, which is credited to us by faith.—BSG* for Friday.‡§

Philippians 1:6: And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.—GNB-TEV.*

  1. Are we doing all that we can, first of all, to accept God’s invitation to live our lives according to His plan? And second, are we doing all we can to do everything to reach out to others, extending the invitation to them to come?

©2026, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. *Electronic version. †Bold type is added. ‡Brackets and content in brackets are added. ΩBrackets and the content in brackets within the paragraph are in the source. §Italic type is in the source. Compared with the first source, this source has punctuation and/or capitalization differences only. €This source has minor wording differences compared with the first source and may also have punctuation and/or capitalization differences.

Last Modified: June 18, 2026                                                                                    Email: [email protected]