p. 3 | Review and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 33. (7/5/1915)

The Garden of Eden

By Daniel March

Among all nations and in all times there have been beautiful legends and blessed memories of a glory that once shone on the earth with the fullness of heavenly light. It has ever been supposed that all things were fair and lovely in the fresh morning of the world, and that every voice sang for joy when the heir of earth entered upon his great inheritance. The all-creating Father took the hand of his earthly child and walked with him, “teaching him to go,” in the brightness of the broad noon and in the coolness of the forest shade. The sun shone upon the genial landscapes and gentle home, and the silent stars looked down upon sleeping innocence and secure repose.

God Walks and Talks With Man

Between heaven and earth the flow of thought and sympathy was free as the flight of angels, and constant as the succession of day and night. The homes of men were not yet haunted by the shadowy forms of fear. The thorns of regret had not yet grown in the path of pleasure. Sin had not mingled the poison of death in the full cup of life. The inner chambers of the soul were all open to heaven’s light. The sun of peace and gladness was never hidden by the cloud of care and pain and sorrow. Man talked with God in open vision, as friend with friend, and he lived in daily companionship with the blessed. The poets of every age have sung their sweetest, saddest strains when lamenting the lost glory of that happy age, and the toiling millions of mankind have mourned over their hard lot, as the caged bird mourns in remembrance of the wild woods, and the slave groans under the burden of inherited bondage.

The Legend of All Nations

These faint beams of a glory that has passed away from the earth are found among the traditions of all nations; they can be traced back to the earliest periods of human history. Though darkened with many errors and superstitions, they point to a common origin, and they spring from the actual and inspired history of man’s first days on the earth. That better state, so brief in duration, so far away in the past, is fully described by the meaning of one word, “Eden” — a garden of delight, a paradise of loveliness and purity. By common consent the name stands for riches without want, health without sickness, pleasure without pain, joy without sorrow, life without death. Wherever man can now find a region having most of what all desire and least of what all dread, they call it Eden.

The First Man

In such a home, surrounded with beauty and loaded with blessing, man woke to conscious being when the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul. The first father of our race knew nothing of the helplessness of infancy. He started upon his career in the strength and fullness of perfect manhood. In the first moment of self-scrutiny he found himself everything that he would desire to be, with no feeling or suspicion that anything had been omitted or overdone in the selection and finish of his faculties. As the bird could wish itself nothing else than what it was when bursting forth upon the wing, so the first man could find no defect in the constitution of his being. The whole creation around him was pronounced very good by Him whose standard is infinite perfection, and man was the last and best work of all.

Perfection and Beauty

The flowers that bloomed on the banks of the fourfold river of Paradise, the forests that clothed the hills and climbed the distant mountain sides, the singing birds that lifted the sweet incense of song highest into the dome of heaven, the splendors that poured from the open gates of the morning, and the golden hues that robed the setting, were all that God made them to be in beauty and in use the first day of their existence, and man himself was the crowning glory of the whole, the consummation of all completeness, the last and grandest achievement of infinite wisdom and power in the work of creation.

The first rose that bloomed in Eden was mature and perfect on the day of its appearance. The grape was already hanging on the vine, and the fig was formed upon the tree; the goodly feathers adorned the ostrich, and the tawny lion “shook his brindled mane;” the mighty oak and the mountain pine rose to their loftiest height in the same day that the Lord God created them by his power.

They did not grow up at first by slow development from germs and atoms. Every race started with a full-grown and perfect life. All this is implied in the simple statement of the inspired record, that the Lord God planted the garden and made it complete before delivering it into the hands of its new possessor. It was fitting that the Creative Power, in bringing new classes of beings upon the earth, should start them in their generations at the highest perfection.

Evolution a Fable

And so man began his existence on the earth at the very highest grade of human power and excellence. The utmost that the race could do in all subsequent time would be to equal the first perfect man as God made him. He was not left to roam the wilderness in search of food and to seek a shelter in the caves of the earth. The idea that the first man was a savage, and that his first home was with the brutes, is a fable of heathen poets or an invention of misnamed philosophy, having no foundation in reason or revelation. The highest attainment of modern culture is only an imperfect return to the blessed age when the human mind was taught directly by divine inspiration, and every faculty was fresh and free to range through all the works of God.

A Garden of Delight

The first home which the heavenly Father gave his earthly child was in a garden of delight — a paradise of loveliness and beauty. The Lord God selected the site, and planted the garden with his own hand. Along the shaded walks and winding streams he set the fruitful trees and hung the climbing vines. He chose every shade and shape of leaf and flower to make them pleasant to the eye. He gave the form and flavor of fruit such as should satisfy both the desire for beauty and the appetite for food. Within that sacred conservatory the first man could survey the most rare and beautiful productions in the whole vegetable world, collected and ranged in order by his divine teacher for him to study and admire. The towering cedar crowned the distant heights, the branching banyan spread its “pillared shade high over-arched” along the quiet walk; the tufted palm waved its feathery fronds in the evening wind, when the voice of the Lord God was heard while he walked among the trees of the garden in the cool of the day.

Adam Names the Beasts of His Dominion

The wild beasts were moved by divine impulse to present themselves in peaceful homage before their human lord and receive such names as he would give. Bright birds flashed like meteors among the branches of the dim woods. The wildest were tame in the presence of man, and all came with beauty and song to receive his praise and to adorn his garden of delight. Dominion was given unto him over all the living tribes of the earth, and he was inspired with skill to exercise that dominion so far as to make the bird and the beast obey him. The names which he gave to the multitudes of living creatures indicated a knowledge of their habits and instincts more precise and significant than the dry and studied terms of modern science. The wild man of the West named the bright cascade Minnehaha, that the word might bring to mind the merry sound of “the laughing water.” And so the names which were given to the winds, the clouds, the rivers, the forests, the beasts, the birds, by the inspired man in Paradise, were all significant of the objects to which they were given. The most obvious and distinctive characteristic of the bird or flower was conveyed by the sound and sense of its name. If we could still speak the language of Eden, our children would learn the qualities of things from the names they bear.

Taught of God

God himself was the teacher of the first man, and under the instruction of Omniscience the pupil was conducted at once through the whole range of knowledge by special inspiration. The Almighty Father spoke to his earthly child with a human voice, and so man learned to speak. In the beginning of language, man received every word from the mouth of the Lord. The vocal sounds which give the names of things, the forms and inflections of words which express connected thought, were never invented by man nor created by necessity. They were given as truly as were the faculties of the mind and the organs of the body. No effort or want or invention of man could have created the organs of speech. Just as little could he originate language itself. It must be given by the inspiration of the Almighty or he would be speechless forever.

A Pure Language

And the first language spoken by man was the best, because it came fresh and living from the mouth of God. The perfection of the first speech was correspondent to the perfection of the first man. The many languages now spoken on the earth, compared with the first, are only as the shining fragments of a broken vase compared with the beautiful whole. The fragments are not only irregular and incomplete, but they have been scattered in the dust and soiled. Taken piece by piece and polished with ever so careful a hand, we can only guess at the primitive language — we can never reconstruct the perfect whole.

All the philosophers in the world could not create a language, any more than they could create a man. They can only take what has been given by God, and the gift itself as now received is marred with all of man’s imperfections. The child learns to speak only by hearing others speak. If the whole race were struck dumb, or one generation should grow up without hearing a word spoken, language would be lost to the earth, and it could be recovered only by direct inspiration from the Almighty. All our attempts to refine and improve language are only slight approaches toward the power and the purity with which the first man was taught to speak with his Maker in the garden of delight.

The first man had a home suited to his wants and gratifying to his taste. The first human habitation was built by him who built the worlds.

Happy Days of Innocence

And so lived the great first father of mankind in his garden home while the happy days of innocence lasted, and the holy heavens looked down upon a new world of purity and love. To the first created man was given a companion correspondent to him in nature and his counterpart in affection. Hand in hand the blessed pair walked through the green fields and shaded aisles, conversing in language which both had learned from the mouth of God, as angels walk by the river of life in the Paradise above. Birds of the sweetest song joined with them in their morning hymn of praise. Flowers of the sweetest perfume shed incense on their path. Celestial harmonies murmured in the air. Guardian spirits kept them secure by night. The Son of God appeared in form like their own, and poured into their attentive ear, fast as they could receive it, the knowledge of all things in heaven and earth.

The Paradise of the Pure in Heart

Such was man’s first home in the garden of delight; such the freedom and high command which he enjoyed in the paradisiacal state. Alas for him that he should ever lose that blest abode! Alas for us that the lost Paradise should be so hard to regain! And yet it is not so much change of place that we need as change of heart. If Eden still remained, with all its primitive beauty, and the flaming sword of the cherubim were lifted from the guarded gate that we might enter and reclaim the lost possession, it would not be to us a garden of delight unless the innocence of the first man were ours. Long and dark as have been the ages of sin and sorrow since Adam fell, the pure in heart can still see God. If we should wander the earth over, and sound the deep and question the stars, in search of the joys of Eden, we should find them only in the paradise of the pure in heart. Long as have been the woes of exile from the garden of delight which God planted for man’s first home, deep and dark as have been the shadows which have fallen upon every path trodden by human feet, the Holy One still dwells with the humble and contrite; guardian angels still keep the home of those who walk with God.

“Return Unto Me”

The whole purpose of divine revelation is to open a way for the wanderer to come back, to convince the doubting, the fearful, and the penitent, that their injured Father desires their return.

The whole Book of God, from beginning to end, is a continual cry unto the children of men, “Return unto me, and I will return unto you.” And God orders the whole course of his all-teaching and eternal providence to confirm the voice of a Father’s yearning and pleading love which cries through his Word. It is impossible for the wanderer to go beyond the reach of those bonds of love with which the Holy and the Blessed One is ever drawing the disinherited child of earth back to his lost inheritance.

Paradise Regained by the Cross of Christ

The cherubim whose fiery sword guarded the gate of the forfeited Eden, forbidding all return, spread out their covering wings over the mercy seat in the tabernacle of Moses and in the temple of Zion. They were represented as bending forward with reverent and adoring study to learn what might be signified by the divine symbol of a propitiatory sacrifice for sin. Thus God taught his ancient people the great mystery which angels desired to look into — the mystery of Paradise regained by the cross of Christ.

When the weary exile of earth returns from all his wanderings and stands in penitence at the guarded gate, pleading only the cross of Christ for admission, “the watching cherub hears and drops his double-flaming sword.” The way of entrance is open and free. Angel hosts come forth to welcome him to bliss. Crowned and proclaimed as the ransomed of the Lord, he finds a brighter home and a better life than Adam lost in Eden.

The Home of the Saved

A Bible Study

God's Purpose in Creating the Earth

1. For what purpose was the earth created? “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited.” Isa. 45:18.

2. To whom has God given the earth? “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” Ps. 115:16.

3. For what purpose was man made? “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” Ps. 8:6. See Gen. 1:26; Heb. 2:8.

The Lost Dominion

4. How did man lose his dominion? Through sin. Rom. 5:12; 6:23.

5. When man lost his dominion, to whom did he yield it? “For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19. NOTE.—Man was overcome by Satan in the garden of Eden, and there yielded himself and his possessions into the hands of his captor.

6. In tempting Christ, what ownership did Satan claim? “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” Luke 4:5, 6.

The Dominion Restored Through Christ

7. Through whom is this first dominion to be restored? “And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:8. NOTE.—The “tower of the flock” is Christ.

8. Why did Christ say the meek are blessed? “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5. NOTE.—This inheritance cannot be realized in this life; for here the truly meek generally have little of earth’s good things.

9. Who does David say have most now? “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. . . . Their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more than heart could wish.” Ps. 73:3-7.

10. Where are the righteous to be recompensed? “Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.” Prov. 11:31.

11. What will be the difference between the portion of the righteous and the wicked? “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.” Ps. 37:34.

The Promise to Abraham

12. What promise was made to Abraham concerning the land? “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.” Gen. 13:14, 15.

13. How much did this promise comprehend? “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Rom. 4:13.

14. How much of the land of Canaan did Abraham own in his lifetime? “And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.” Acts 7:5. See Heb. 11:13.

15. How much of the promised possession did Abraham expect during his lifetime? “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11:8-10.

The Promise Fulfilled to Spiritual Israel

16. Who is the seed to whom this promise is made? “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” Gal. 3:16.

17. Who are heirs of the promise? “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Verse 29.

18. Why did not these ancient worthies receive the promise? “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Heb. 11:39, 40.

The Destruction and Restoration of the Earth

19. What is to become of our earth in the day of the Lord? “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10.

20. What will follow this great conflagration? “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Verse 13. NOTE.—At the coming of Christ, the living wicked will die, and the saints will be taken to heaven to dwell with Christ a thousand years, or until the wicked of all ages are judged, and the time comes for their destruction and the purification of the earth by the fires of the last day. Following this, the earth will be formed anew, and man, redeemed from sin, will be restored to his original dominion.

21. To what Old Testament promise did Peter evidently refer? “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isa. 65:17.

22. What was shown the apostle John in vision? “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Rev. 21:1.

The New Jerusalem

23. What was one of Christ’s parting promises to his disciples? “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2.

24. What does Paul say God has prepared for his people? “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not

ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” Heb. 11:16.

25. Where is this city, and what is it called? “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Gal. 4:26.

26. For what did Abraham look? “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11:10.

The Descent of the New Jerusalem

27. What did John see concerning this city? “And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Rev. 21:2.

28. How many foundations has this city? “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Verse 14.

29. Of what are the streets of the city composed? “And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” Verse 21.

30. Why will this city have no need of the sun or moon? “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And 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.” Verses 23, 24. See Rev. 22:5; Isa. 60:19, 20.

31. Why are its gates not to be closed? “And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.” Rev. 21:25.

32. What will be excluded from this city? “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie.” Verse 27.

33. Who will be permitted to enter it? “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev. 22:14. NOTE.—The late English and American revisions render this, “Blessed are they that wash their robes,” etc. The result is the same, for those who wash their robes cease to sin, and hence do God’s commandments.

The Metropolis of the New Earth

34. When this city becomes the metropolis of the new earth, what will be the condition of God’s people? “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Rev. 21:4. “And there shall be no more curse.” Rev. 22:3.

35. What will be the condition of all the earth? “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Isa. 11:6-9.

36. What seasons of worship will be observed in the new earth? “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Isa. 66:22, 23.

37. What will the ransomed of the Lord then do? “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isa. 35:10.

Pleasures Forevermore

38. What will finally be the privilege of God’s children? “And they shall see his face.” Rev. 22:4.

39. How perfect will be their knowledge of God? “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” 1 Cor. 13:12.

40. Whom will they be like? “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2.

41. How completely will the pains and sorrows of the former world pass away? “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind [‘come upon the heart’ (margin); that is, be desired].” Isa. 65:17.

42. Who will dwell with the redeemed? “He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Rev. 21:3.

43. What will it mean to dwell in God’s presence? “In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” Ps. 16:11.

THEY SHALL NOT HURT NOR DESTROY IN ALL MY HOLY MOUNTAIN

44. How will the ransomed of the Lord return to Zion? “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isa. 35:10.

45. How enduring will be their pleasures? “For as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isa. 65:22.

46. How long will they possess the future kingdom? “But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” Dan. 7:18.

Eden

Eden. “It is written, 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.”

The Goodly Land

By Uriah Smith

He Will Come for His Own

“And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.” Mal. 3:17.

He comes not as a thief in the sense of stealing in stealthily and quietly upon the world, and purloining goods to which he has no right. But he comes to take to himself his dearest treasure, the sleeping and living saints, whom he has purchased with his own precious blood, whom he has wrested from the power of death in fair and open conflict, and for whom his coming will be no less open and triumphant, too. It will be with the brilliancy and splendor of the lightning as it shines from the east to the west. Matt. 24:27. It will be with a sound of a trumpet that shall pierce to earth’s lowest depths, and with a mighty voice that shall wake the sainted sleepers from their dusty beds. Matt. 24:31; margin; 1 Thess. 4:16. He will come upon the wicked as a thief, only because they persistently shut their eyes to the tokens of his approach, and will not believe the declarations of his Word that he is at the door.

A Glorious Climax of the Plan of Salvation

“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Rev. 22:20, 21.

The Word of God is given to instruct us in reference to the plan of salvation. The second coming of Christ is to be the climax and completion of that great scheme. It is most appropriate, therefore, that the book should close with the solemn announcement, “Surely I come quickly.” Be it ours to join with fervent hearts in the response of the apostle, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Thus closes the volume of inspiration,—closes with that which constitutes the best of all promises, and the substance of the Christian’s hope—the return of Christ.

Then Shall the Elect Be Gathered

and bid a long farewell to all the ills of this mortal life. How rich in all that is precious to the Christian is this promise! Wandering an exile in this evil world, separated from the law of like precious faith, he longs for the companionship of the righteous, the communion of saints. Here he shall obtain it; for all the good shall be gathered, not from one land only, but from all lands; not from one age only, but from all ages,—the great harvest of all the good, coming up in long and glorious procession, while angels shout the harvest home, and the timbrels of heaven sound forth in joyous concert; and a song before unheard, unknown, in the universe, the song of the redeemed, shall add its marvelous notes of rapture and melody to the universal jubilee. So shall the saints be gathered, to be joyful in one another’s presence forever and ever,—

“While the glory of God, like a molten sea, Bathes the immortal company.”

This gathering has nothing in it but that which is desirable. The saints cannot but sigh and pray for it. Like Job, they cry out for the presence of God. Like David, they cannot be satisfied till they awake in his likeness. In this mortal condition we “groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon.” We cannot but be upon tiptoe for “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Our eyes are open for its visions, our ears are waiting to catch the sounds of the heavenly music, and our hearts are beating in anticipation of its infinite joy. Our appetites are growing sharp for the marriage supper. We cry out for the living God, and long to come into his presence. COME, LORD JESUS, COME QUICKLY. No news more welcome than the announcement that the command has gone forth from the Lord to his angels, Gather together unto me my elect from the four winds of heaven!

The Land of Rest

I see here a land which stands in a wonderful contrast to this. As the hymn says—

“O, how unlike the present world Will be the one to come!”

I see fields smiling in living green, trees majestic in their wealth of verdure, flowers dazzling with their rainbow hues, and on neither field nor tree nor flower do I see the touch of frost, or the pale hand of decay. I see no footprints of the curse, no scars of sin; no pestilence walking in darkness, nor destruction wasting at noonday. I see no forms distorted with pain, nor brows furrowed with anxiety and care. I see no mournful shafts telling where weary forms have gone down into dust and darkness. I see no painful messages passing over that land telling that a friend, a brother, a fellow-laborer, has fallen beneath the cruel stroke of a relentless foe. I see no darkened room where the tide of a precious life is ebbing slowly away. I see no bosom heaving with anguish, no badges of mourning, no funeral trains, no yearning, insatiate grave. But on the other hand, I see a glorious company who bear bright palms of victory over death and the grave.

I see every eye sparkling with the fullness of the joy that reigns within. I see on every cheek the bloom of eternal youth and everlasting health. I see every limb lithe and strong. I see the lame man leaping as an hart. I see the blind gazing with rapture on the celestial glory. I see the deaf listening enchanted to the heavenly melody. I see the dumb joining with loud voice in the anthems of praise. I see the mother clasping to her bosom the children she had lost awhile in the land of the enemy, but now recovered forever. I see long-parted friends meet in eternal reunion. I see a river so pure and clear, so charged with every element of refreshment and life, that it is called “the river of life.” I see a tree overarching all, so healing in its leaves, so vivifying in its fruits, that it is called “the tree of life.” I see a great white throne in whose effulgence shall there be no need of moon or sun to give us light. I hear a voice saying to that victorious company, “This is your rest forever, and you shall no more be acquainted with grief; for there shall be no more pain or death, and sorrow and mourning have forever fled away.” And in all the universe I then see no trace of sin, or suffering, but I hear from every world and from every creature a joyous anthem, like the sound of many waters, going up to God; and they say, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”

The Place of Gathering

has nothing but attraction. Jesus, the fairest among ten thousand, is there. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Noah, Job, and Daniel, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, the perfection of heavenly society, are there. Visions of beauty are there; flowers that never fade, streams that never dry, produce in a variety that never ends, fruits that never decay, crowns that never dim, harps that know no discord, and all else of which a taste purified from sin and raised to the plane of immortality, can form any conception or think desirable, are there.

We Must Be There

We must bask in the forgiving smiles of God, to whom we have become reconciled, and sin no more; we must have access to that exhaustless fount of vitality, the fruit of the tree of life, and never die; we must repose under the shade of its leaves, which are for the service of the nations, and never again grow weary; we must drink from the life-giving fountain, and thirst nevermore; we must bathe in its silvery spray, and be refreshed; we must walk on its golden sands, and feel that we are no longer exiles; we must exchange the cross for the crown, and feel that the days of our humiliation are ended; we must lay down the staff and take the palm branch, and feel that the journey is done; we must put off the rent garments of our warfare for the white robes of triumph, and feel that the conflict is ended and the victory gained; we must exchange the time-worn, dusty girdle of our pilgrimage, for the glorious vesture of immortality, and feel that sin and the curse can never more pollute us. O day of rest and triumph and every good, delay not thy dawning! Let the angels at once be sent to gather the elect. Let the promise be fulfilled which bears in its train these matchless glories.

THE BEREAN LIBRARY

ALL who desire to study further the important Bible subjects presented in this series of Extras should order from this list of valuable books put up in paper covers, postpaid, at the following very low prices:—

Steps to Christ, 144 pages........$ .25 Thoughts on Daniel, 345 pages........$ .25 Thoughts on Revelation, 430 pages......$ .35 His Glorious Appearing, 124 pages......$ .15 The Sabbath in the Scriptures, 216 pages......$ .25 The Sabbath in History, 600 pages......$ .50 Capital and Labor, 208 pages......$ .25 Here and Hereafter, 360 pages......$ .25 Bible Footlights, 320 pages......$ .35 Our Paradise Home, 128 pages......$ .15 Religious Liberty in America, 448 pages......$ .35 The Coming King, 320 pages......$ .50

Order from the publisher, whose address is given below

EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS

“OUR PARADISE HOME”

Those who have read this paper will surely want to read the book entitled “Our Paradise Home.” It is a beautiful description of the saints’ inheritance. 128 pages, beautifully illustrated, cloth binding, 50 cents; thin paper edition, paper cover, 15 cents.

“THE WORLD’S CRISIS”

This new book answers from a prophetic standpoint the world’s universal question: “What is the meaning of these things, and toward what end are we drifting?” 128 pages; paper cover printed in two colors; profusely illustrated; price, 25 cents, postpaid.