"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind" (Isaiah 65:17).

"Let your imagination picture the home of the saved, and remember that it will be more glorious than your brightest imagination can portray."–Steps to Christ, p. 86.

Suggested Readings: Education, pp. 301—309.
Maranatha, pp. 361—373.

Sunday September 23

1. PARADISE

a. Describe the gift that God gave Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:8, 15, 16; 1:29, 31.

"The Garden of Eden, the home of our first parents, was exceedingly beautiful. Graceful shrubs and delicate flowers greeted the eye at every turn. In the garden were trees of every variety, many of them laden with fragrant and delicious fruit. On their branches the birds caroled their songs of praise. Adam and Eve, in their untainted purity, delighted in the sights and sounds of Eden."–Counsels on Health, p. 266.

b. What happened to man after sin entered the world, and later to the Garden of Eden? Genesis 3:22—24.

"The Garden of Eden remained upon the earth long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths. The fallen race were long permitted to gaze upon the home of innocence, their entrance barred only by the watching angels. At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the divine glory was revealed. Hither came Adam and his sons to worship God. . . . When the tide of iniquity overspread the world, and the wickedness of men determined their destruction by a flood of waters, the hand that had planted Eden withdrew it from the earth."–Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 62.

Monday September 24

2. PROMISES OF RESTORATION

a. What did Satan claim regarding this world, and what did Jesus accomplish through His sacrifice? Luke 4:5, 6; Micah 4:8.

"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."–The Great Controversy, p. 674.

"Satan, by means of his success in turning man aside from the path of obedience, became ‘the god of this world’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The dominion that once was Adam’s passed to the usurper. But the Son of God proposed to come to this earth to pay the penalty of sin, and thus not only redeem man, but recover the dominion forfeited. It is of this restoration that Micah prophesied when he said, ‘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 apostle Paul has referred to it as ‘the redemption of the purchased possession’ (Ephesians 1:14). And the psalmist had in mind the same final restoration of man’s original inheritance when he declared, ‘The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever’ (Psalm 37:29)."–Prophets and Kings, p. 682.

b. What did the Lord promise His people through Isaiah the prophet as well as through John? Isaiah 65:17, 18; Revelation 21:1, 5.

"One of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible is that of Christ’s second coming to complete the great work of redemption. To God’s pilgrim people, so long left to sojourn in ‘the region and shadow of death,’ a precious, joy-inspiring hope is given in the promise of His appearing, who is ‘the resurrection and the life,’ to ‘bring home again His banished.’ The doctrine of the second advent is the very keynote of the Sacred Scriptures. From the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden, the children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised One to break the destroyer’s power and bring them again to the lost Paradise."–The Great Controversy, p. 299.

Tuesday September 25

3. ENVIRONMENT OF THE NEW EARTH

a. How will our earth be transformed? 2 Peter 3:10, 13.

"When God finally purifies the earth, it will appear like a boundless lake of fire. As God preserved the ark amid the commotions of the Flood, because it contained eight righteous persons, He will preserve the New Jerusalem, containing the faithful of all ages, from righteous Abel down to the last saint which lived. Although the whole earth, with the exception of that portion where the city rests, will be wrapped in a sea of liquid fire, yet the city is preserved as was the ark, by a miracle of Almighty power. It stands unharmed amid the devouring elements."–Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, pp. 87, 88.

"‘The feet of the wicked will never desecrate the earth made new. Fire will come down from God out of heaven and devour them–burn them up root and branch. Satan is the root, and his children are the branches. The same fire that will devour the wicked will purify the earth.’"–Early Writings, p. 52.

"When there shall be ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ (Revelation 21:1), [the Garden of Eden] is to be restored more gloriously adorned than at the beginning."–Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 62.

b. How are the conditions of the new earth described by the prophet Isaiah? Isaiah 35:4—7; 60:18.

"You think much of your pieces of land that you have here in this earth, but we read of a building that is made by God and not by human hands that is for the obedient and we want that inheritance that is not corruptible. We want a home on the earth made new. All that we have in this life is uncertain. We may meet with losses and discouragements but in that home all is made new and shall be forever and ever. How short-sighted must mortals be to place their affections on this life and lose sight of the things eternal! How important that we understand the conditions of obtaining this eternal inheritance!" –Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, p. 197.

"Those who on earth love the thought of heaven will be happy in its holy associations and pleasures."–The Review and Herald, May 13, 1890.

Wednesday September 26

4. PEACE AND JOY

a. Describe the harmony which will exist between men and animals in the new earth. Isaiah 11:6—9.

"I saw another field full of all kinds of flowers, and as I plucked them, I cried out, ‘They will never fade.’ Next I saw a field of tall grass, most glorious to behold; it was living green and had a reflection of silver and gold, as it waved proudly to the glory of King Jesus. Then we entered a field full of all kinds of beasts–the lion, the lamb, the leopard, and the wolf, all together in perfect union. We passed through the midst of them, and they followed on peaceably after. Then we entered a wood, not like the dark woods we have here; no, no; but light, and all over glorious; the branches of the trees moved to and fro, and we all cried out, ‘We will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.’"–Early Writings, p. 18.

"There man will be restored to his lost kingship, and the lower order of beings will again recognize his sway; the fierce will become gentle, and the timid trustful." –Education, p. 304.

b. What kind of dwellings will the saints enjoy? Isaiah 32:18. What will be the occupation of the saved? Isaiah 65:21, 22.

"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, p. 675.

"The redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field."–Prophets and Kings, pp. 730, 731.

Thursday September 27

5. ARE YOU PREPARED FOR HEAVEN?

a. What does the Bible say of those who think they can reach heaven by their own devices? Amos 9:2; Obadiah 1:4.

"The sinner could not be happy in God’s presence; he would shrink from the companionship of holy beings. Could he be permitted to enter heaven, it would have no joy for him. The spirit of unselfish love that reigns there–every heart responding to the heart of Infinite Love–would touch no answering chord in his soul. His thoughts, his interests, his motives, would be alien to those that actuate the sinless dwellers there. He would be a discordant note in the melody of heaven. Heaven would be to him a place of torture; he would long to be hidden from Him who is its light, and the center of its joy. It is no arbitrary decree on the part of God that excludes the wicked from heaven; they are shut out by their own unfitness for its companionship. The glory of God would be to them a consuming fire. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them."–Steps to Christ, pp. 17, 18.

b. What promise is given to those who are qualified to enter heaven? Isaiah 40:31; 1 Corinthians 2:9.

"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 worlds 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."–The Great Controversy, p. 677.

Friday September 28

1. What eternal truths are found in the history of Eden?
2. How is Satan’s usurpation of the earth limited?
3. What is to be the outcome of planet Earth?
4. Why do we know that heaven will never be boring?
5. Where in the Bible do we find the specific advantage that the saints have over today’s modern astronauts?

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