The Saints
The Angels Sing,
Christ Has Conquered!
In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son. The angels, touching their golden harps, will welcome the King and His trophies of victory--those who have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. A song of triumph will peal forth, filling all heaven. Christ has conquered. He enters the heavenly courts, accompanied by His redeemed ones, the witnesses that His mission of suffering and sacrifice has not been in vain.
With unutterable love, Jesus welcomes His faithful ones to the joy of their Lord. The Saviour's joy is in seeing in the kingdom of glory the souls that have been saved by His agony and humiliation.
In the results of His work Christ will behold its recompense. In that great multitude which no man could number, presented "faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy," He whose blood has redeemed and whose life has taught us "shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied."
The Saints Given Crowns and Harps
I saw a very great number of angels bring from the city glorious crowns--a crown for every saint, with his name written thereon. As Jesus called for the crowns, angels presented them to Him, and with His own right hand, the lovely Jesus placed the crowns on the heads of the saints.
On the sea of glass the 144,000 stood in a perfect square. Some of them had very bright crowns, others not so bright. Some crowns appeared heavy with stars, while others had but few. All were perfectly satisfied with their crowns.
The crown of life will be bright or dim, will glitter with many stars, or be lighted by few gems, in accordance with our own course of action.
There will be no one saved in heaven with a starless crown. If you enter, there will be some soul in the courts of glory that has found an entrance there through your instrumentality.
Before entering the city of God, the Saviour bestows upon His followers the emblems of victory, and invests them with the insignia of their royal state. The glittering ranks are drawn up in the form of a hollow square about their King. . . . Upon the heads of the overcomers, Jesus with His own right hand places the crown of glory. . . . In every hand are placed the victor's palm and the shining harp. Then, as the commanding angels strike the note, every hand sweeps the harp strings with skillful touch, awaking sweet music in rich, melodious strains. . . . Before the ransomed throng is the holy city. Jesus opens wide the pearly gates, and the nations that have kept the truth enter in.
The Inheritance of the Saints
A Gift From the Lord
Christ, only Christ and His righteousness, will obtain for us a passport into heaven.
The proud heart strives to earn salvation, but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ.
That we might become members of the heavenly family, He became a member of the earthly family.
Better than a title to the noblest palace on earth is a title to the mansions our Lord has gone to prepare. And better than all the words of earthly praise, will be the Saviour's words to His faithful servants, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."--
Why We Should Think About the Future World
Jesus has brought heaven to view, and presents its glory to our eyes in order that eternity may not be dropped out of our reckoning.
With eternal realities in view we will habitually cultivate thoughts of the presence of God. This will be a shield against the incoming of the enemy; it will give strength and assurance, and lift the soul above fear. Breathing in the atmosphere of heaven, we will not be breathing the malaria of the world. . . .
Jesus comes to present the advantages and beautiful imagery of the heavenly, that the attractions of heaven shall become familiar to the thoughts, and memory's hall be hung with pictures of celestial and eternal loveliness. . . .
The great Teacher gives man a view of the future world. He brings it, with its attractive possessions, within the range of his vision. . . . If He can fasten the mind upon the future life and its blessedness, in comparison with the temporal concerns of this world, the striking contrast is deeply impressed upon the mind, absorbing the heart and soul and the whole being.
LDE 282, 284