The Controversy Ended
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“Who shall not
fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy
name? For Thou only art holy: for all
nations shall come and worship before
Thee; for Thy judgments are made
manifest.” Verse 4. Every
question of truth and error in the
long-standing controversy has now
been made plain. The results of
rebellion, the fruits of setting
aside the divine statutes, have been
laid open to view of all the created
intelligences. The working out of
Satan’s rule in contrast with
the government of God has been
presented to the whole universe.
Satan’s own works have condemned
him. God’s wisdom, His justice,
and His goodness stand fully
vindicated. It is seen that all His
dealings in the great controversy
have been conducted with respect to
the eternal good of His people and
the good of all the worlds that He
has created. “All Thy works
shall praise Thee, O Lord; and Thy
saints shall bless Thee. Psalm 145:
10. The history of sin will stand to
all eternity as a witness that with
the existence of God’s law is
bound up the happiness of all beings
He has created. With all the facts of
the great controversy in view, the
whole universe, both loyal and
rebellious, with one accord:
“Just and true are Thy ways,
Thou King of saints.”
Before the universe
has been clearly presented the great
sacrifice made by the Father and the
Son in man’s behalf. The hour
has come when Christ occupies His
rightful position and is glorified
above principalities, powers, and
every name that is named. It was for
the joy that was set before Him
– that He might bring many 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 heart bearing the perfect
impress of the divine, 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.
Notwithstanding that,
Satan has been constrained to
acknowledge God’s justice and to
bow to the supremacy of Christ, his
character remains unchanged. The
spirit of rebellion, like a mighty
torrent, again burst forth. The time
has come for a last struggle against
the King of heaven. He rushes into
the midst of his subjects and
endeavors to inspire them with his
own fury and arouse them to instant
battle. However, of all the countless
millions whom he has allured into
rebellion, there are none now to
acknowledge his supremacy. His power
is at an end. The wicked are filled
with the same hatred of God that
inspires Satan; but they see that
their case is hopeless, that they
cannot prevail against Jehovah. Their
rage is kindled against Satan and
those who have been his agents in
deception, and with fury of demons
turn upon them.
Saith the Lord:
“Because thou hast set thine
heart as the heart of God; behold,
therefore I will bring strangers upon
thee, the terrible of the nations:
and they shall draw their swords
against the beauty of thy wisdom, and
they shall defile thy brightness.
They shall bring thee down to the
pit.” “I will destroy thee,
O covering cherub, from the midst of
the stones of fire….I will cast
thee to the ground, I will lay thee
before kings, that they might behold
thee….I will bring thee to ashes
upon the earth in the sight of all
them that behold thee….Thou
shalt be a terror, and never thou be
any more.” Ezekiel 28: 6-8,
16-19
“Every battle of
the warrior is with confused noise,
and garments rolled in blood; but
this shall be with burning and fuel
of fire.” “The indignation
of the Lord is upon all nations, and
His fury upon all their armies: He
hath utterly destroyed them, He hath
delivered them to the
slaughter.” “Upon the
wicked He shall rain quick burning
coals, fire and brimstone and an
horrible tempest: this shall be the
portion of their cup.” Isaiah
9:5; 34:2; Psalm 11:6, margin. Fire
comes down from God out of heaven.
The earth is broken up. The weapons
concealed in its depths are drawn
forth. Devouring flames burst from
every yawning chasm. The very rocks
are on fire. The day has come that
shall burn like as an oven. The
elements melt with fervent heat, the
earth also, and the works that are
therein are burned up. Malachi 4: 1;
2 peter 3:10. The earth’s
surface seems one molten mass –
a vast, seething lake of fire. It is
the time of the judgment and
perdition of ungodly men –
“the day of the Lord’s
vengeance, and the year of
recompenses for the controversy of
Zion.” Isaiah 34: 8.
The wicked receive
their recompense in the earth.
Proverbs 11:31. They “shall be
stubble: and the day that cometh
shall burn them up, saith the Lord of
hosts.” Malachi 4:1. Some are
destroyed as in a moment, while
others suffer many days. All are
punished “according to their
deeds.” The sins of the
righteous having been transferred to
Satan, he is made to suffer not only
for his own rebellion, but also for
all the sins which he caused
God’s people to commit. His
punishment is to be far greater than
that of those whom he has deceived.
After all have perished who fell by
his deceptions, he is still to live
and suffer on. In the cleansing
flames the wicked are at last
destroyed, root and branch –
Satan the root, his followers the
branches. The full penalty of the law
has been visited; the demands of
justice have been met; and heaven and
earth, beholding, declare the
righteousness of Jehovah.
Satan’s work of
ruin is forever ended. For six
thousand years, he has wrought his
will, filling the earth with woe and
causing grief throughout the
universe. The whole creation has
groaned and travailed together in
pain. Now God’s creatures are
forever delivered from his presence
and temptations.
“The whole earth
is at rest, and is quiet: they [the
righteous] break forth into
singing.” Isaiah 14:7. Moreover,
a shout of praise and triumph ascends
from the whole loyal universe.
“The voice of a great
multitude,” as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty
thundering,” is heard, saying:
“Alleluia: for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation
19:6.
While the earth was
wrapped in the fire of destruction,
the righteous abode safely in the
Holy City. Upon those that had part
in the first resurrection, the second
death has no power. While God is to
the wicked a consuming fire, He is to
His people both a sun and a shield.
Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84: 11.
“I saw a new
heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were
passed away.” Revelation 21:1.
The fire that consumes the wicked
purifies the earth. Every trace of
the curse is swept away. No eternally
burning hell will keep before the
ransomed the fearful consequences of
sin.
One reminder alone
remains: Our redeemer will ever bear
the marks of His crucifixion. Upon
His wounded head, upon His side, His
hands and feet, are the only traces
of the cruel work that sin has
wrought. Says the prophet, beholding
Christ in His glory: “He has
bright beams coming out of His side:
and there is 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 Savior’s
glory, there “the hiding of His
power.” “Mighty to
save,” through the sacrifice of
redemption, Hw was therefore strong
to execute justice upon them that
despised God’s mercy. Moreover,
the tokens of His humiliation are His
highest honor; through 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 many to spiritualize away the
very truths that 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.
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 are wide-spreading plains
swell into hills of beauty, and the
mountains of God rear their lofty
summits. On the peaceful plains,
beside those living streams,
God’s people, so long pilgrims
and wanderers shall find a home.
“My people shall
dwell in a peaceable habitation, and
in sure dwellings, and in quiet
places.” “Violence shall no
more be heard in thy land, wasting
nor destruction within thy borders;
but thou shalt call thy walls
Salvation, and thy gates
Praise.” “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…Mine
elect shall long enjoy the work of
their hands.” Isaiah 32:18; 60:
18; 65: 21, 22.
There, “the
wilderness and the solitary place
shall be glad for them; and the
desert shall rejoice, and the blossom
as the rose.” Instead of the
thorn shall come up the fir tree, and
instead of the brier shall come up
the myrtle tree.” “The wolf
also shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the
kid; …and a little child shall
lead them.” “They shall not
hurt nor destroy in all My holy
mountain,” saith the Lord.”
Isaiah 35:1; 55:13; 11:6-9.
Pain cannot exist in
the atmosphere of heaven. There will
be no more tears, no funeral trains,
and no badges of mourning. There will
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying…for the former things are
passed away.” “The
inhabitant shall not say, I am sick:
the people that dwell therein shall
be forgiven their iniquity.”
Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24.
There is the New
Jerusalem, the metropolis of the
glorified new earth, “a crown of
glory in the hand of the Lord, and a
royal diadem in the hand of thy
God.” “Her light was like
unto a stone most precious, even like
a jasper stone, clear as
crystal.” “The nations of
them which are saved shall walk in
the light of it: and the kings of the
earth do bring their glory and honor
into it.” Saith the Lord:
“I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and joy in My people.” “The
tabernacle of God is with men, He
will dwell with them, they shall be
His people, and God Himself shall be
with them, and be their God.”
Isaiah 62:3; Revelation 21:1, 24;
Isaiah 65: 19; Revelation 21:3.
In the City of God,
“there shall be no night.”
None will need or desire repose.
There will be no weariness in doing
the will of God and offering praise
to His name. We shall ever feel the
freshness of the morning and shall
ever be far from its close. “And
they need no candle, neither light of
the sun; for the Lord God giveth them
light.” Revelation 22:5.
The light of the sun will be
superseded by a radiance that is not
painfully dazzling, yet, which
immeasurably surpasses the brightness
of our noontide. The glory of God and
the Lamb floods the Holy City with
unfading light. The redeemed walk in
the sunless glory of perpetual day.
“I saw no temple
therein: for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the temple of
it.” Revelation 21:22. The
people of God are privileged to hold
open communication with the Father
and the Son. “Now we see through
a glass, darkly.” 1 Corinthians
13:12. We behold the image of God
reflected, as in a mirror, in the
works of nature and in His dealings
with men; but then we shall see Him
face to face, without a dimming veil
between. We shall stand in His
presence and behold the glory of His
countenance.
There the redeemed
shall know, even as also they are
known. The loves and sympathies that
God Himself has planted in the soul
shall there 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 who
have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb, the
sacred ties that bind together
“the whole family in heaven and
earth” (Ephesians 3:15) –
these help to constitute the
happiness of the redeemed.
There, immortal minds
will contemplate with never-failing
delight the wonders of creative
power, the mysteries of redeeming
love. There will be no cruel,
deceiving foe to tempt to
forgetfulness of God. Every faculty
will be developed, every capacity
increased. The acquirement of
knowledge will not weary the mind or
exhaust the energies. There the
grandest enterprises may be carried
forward, the loftiest aspirations
reached, the highest ambitions
realized; and still will arise new
heights to surmount, new wonders to
admire, new truths to comprehend,
fresh objects to call forth the
powers of mind and soul and body.
All the treasures of
the universe will be open to the
study of God’s redeemed.
Unfettered by mortality, they wing
their tireless flight to world’s
afar – worlds that thrilled with
sorrow at the spectacle of human woe
and rang with songs of gladness at
the tidings of a ransomed soul. With
unutterable delight, the children of
earth enter into the joy and the
wisdom of unfallen beings. They share
the treasures of knowledge and
understanding gained through the ages
upon ages in contemplation of
God’s handiwork. With undimmed
vision, they gaze upon the glory of
creation – suns and stars and
systems, all in their appointed order
circling the throne of Deity. Upon
all things, from the least to the
greatest, the Creator’s name is
written, and in all are the riches of
His power displayed.
Moreover, 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. As Jesus opens
before them the riches of redemption
and the amazing achievements in the
great controversy with Satan, the
hearts of the ransomed thrill with
more fervent devotion, and with more
rapturous joy they sweep the harps of
gold; and ten thousand times ten
thousand and thousands of thousands
of voices unite to swell the mighty
chorus of praise.
“And every
creature which is in heaven, and on
the earth, and under the earth, and
such are in the sea, and all that are
in them, heard I saying, Blessings
and honor, and glory, and power, be
unto Him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever
and ever.” Revelation 5:13.
The great controversy
is ended. Sin and sinners are no
more. The entire universe is clean.
One pulse of harmony and gladness
beats through the vast creation. From
Him who created all, flow life,
light, and gladness, throughout the
realms of illimitable space. From the
minutest atom to the greatest world,
all things, animate and inanimate, in
their shadowed beauty and perfect
joy, declare that God is love.
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