[And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, `Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'] (Rev. 21:1-4).
[And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives the light. And they shall reign forever and ever] (Rev. 22:1-5).
Ah! How long until we get to heaven ... we have wandered from place to place, suffering trials and spending our lives in sorrow and tears! But all the painful wandering has now ceased and we are already in our Father's heavenly paradise of eternity. We will never leave from here, never leave our loving real Father's bosom again. From now on we will enjoy everlasting happiness, walking beside the river of the water of life, building our beautiful homes in paradise.
[My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.] [Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.] [They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands] (Isa. 32:18, 60:18, 65:21, 22).
[The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.] [Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree] (Isa. 35:1, 55:13). [The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatting together; and a little child shall lead them.] [They shall not hurt nor destroy in all MY holy mountain] (Isa. 11: 6, 9).
From now on, there will be no more grief, vexation, tears, funeral ceremonies, or mourning. [And the inhabitant will not say, `I am sick'] (Isa.33:24). We will dwell in everlasting happiness, and however long we may live, no one will say, "I am too old to live any longer." We will enjoy our Father's everlasting life with fresh vitality and happiness always. Just to give us this life of everlasting happiness, He went through so much trouble and suffering, giving up His only Son to die and sacrifice Himself for us.
Oh how can we express our thanks to Him who has given us this eternal life!
[Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God] (Rev. 21:3). But why does God choose to live in the same house with His fallen children who have caused Him such great distress and torment, and not with His sinless children of other worlds who have never tormented nor grived Him? What a great agony these fallen ones caused Him! Did they not crucify His only Son on the cross and create the great hole in His heart? Then why? He does not leave them alone in a far corner of the universe in abhorence, but rather choose to dwell with them forever who do not even deserve His painstking corncern and care. Our Father's infinite heart of love is beyond our understanding.
Years ago when I was living in a little village in the country, I was acquainted with a sincere and pious elder sister who was in charge of a small church in the area. She had lost one of her eyes by accident when she was very young. And I remember her telling me of the following story: she was the youngest daughter of a poor farmer in the country who had three daughters. When she got married, she was given something by her father that her two other other sisters never received at the time of their marriage. Her compassionate father gave her a portion of his rice field as a dowry that the other daughers were not privileged to have. One day, her father gathered all the members of the family and said, "Now my poor youngest daughter who lost one of her eyesight is going to get married. Let us give her a portion of the rice field. My heart does not allow me to send her away empty handed." The father pitied her enormous suffering and difficulty as a result of the irorevocable injury inflicted on her eye in her early childhood. He therefore decided to grant her a portion of his farmland which none of the other children received.
In the same way, our merciful Father has made up His mind to live with His fallen earthly children, having pity on them - although He was wounded and tormented beacuse of them - due to their many hardhips having gone through all the bitter tears, grief, curse, sickness, and even death that the inhabitants of the other worlds had not. [God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, (they shall be comforted forever, and) there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying and there shall be no more pain for the former things had passed away] (Rev. 21:3, 4).
What unlimited love and mercy our heavenly Father has for His most tormented and bruised children! With His immense love, He has completely erased away all our distress and painful wounds that we caused Him as a result of our ingratitude and disobedience. He is deeply touched with the toils that we have brought upon ourselves and therefore, binds us up, embraces us in His bosom and wipes away our tears. What a boundless love it is! Only parents who have raised children can have perhaps even a dim understanding of this love of God.
[Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself wil be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and there shall no more pain for the former things have passed away] (Rev. 21:3, 4). And so the children who have fallen most deeply, suffering the most bitter wounds and sorrows, will receive the greatest love and favor above all the other children of all the other worlds in the universe. My dear brothers and sisters! Let us meet together in that glorious place under His love and favor.
Let us not be discouraged by trials but persevere until the day He wipes away our tears with His hand. Let us not disappoint Him anymore who loves and cares for us so much. Let us render Him the greatest joy by keeping ourselves courageous in times of trials, patient in times of sorrows, and strong in times of distress. Praise the Lord!
[For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you] (Isa. 54:7, 8).
[You shall no longer be termed Forsaken nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate: but you shall be called Hephzibah (My delight is in her), and your land Beulah (Married) ... For as a young man marries a virgin ... and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you] (Isa. 62:4, 5).
Praise the Lord! Glory to our real Father who loves us so much and lives with us forever! Praise the Lord!
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