Words of Hope…
As the ransomed are welcomed to the city of God, a triumphant cry rings out. The two Adams are about to meet. The Son of God will receive the father of our race—whom He created, who sinned,
and for whose sin the marks of the crucifixion are on the Savior’s
body. As Adam sees the prints of the nails, in humiliation he throws
himself at Christ’s feet. The Savior lifts him up and invites him to
look once more on the Eden home from which he was exiled so long
ago.
Adam’s life was filled with sorrow. Every dying leaf, every
animal sacrifice, every stain on mankind’s purity, was a reminder
of his sin. His agony of remorse was terrible as he was blamed for
being the cause of sin. Faithfully he repented of his sin, and he died
in the hope of a resurrection. Now, through the atonement, Adam is
reinstated in his Eden home.
Filled with joy, he sees the trees that were once his delight,
whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his innocence.
He sees the vines his own hands trained, the very flowers he once
loved to care for. This is truly Eden restored!
The Savior leads him to the tree of life and invites him to eat.
He sees so many of his family redeemed. Then he throws his crown
at the feet of Jesus and embraces the Redeemer. He touches the
harp, and heaven echoes the triumphant song, “Worthy is the Lamb
who was slain” (Revelation 5:12). The family of Adam throw their
crowns at the Savior’s feet as they bow in adoration. Angels wept
when Adam sinned, and they rejoiced when Jesus opened the grave
for all who would believe on His name. Now they see the work of
redemption accomplished, and they unite their voices in praise.
On the “sea of glass mingled with fire” are gathered those who
have gotten “the victory over the beast, over his image and over his
mark, and over the number of his name.” The one hundred forty-four
thousand were redeemed from among humanity, and they sing “a
new song,” the song of Moses and the Lamb. (Revelation 15:2,
3.) None but the hundred forty-four thousand can learn that song,
because it is the song of an experience that no other group ever
had. “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”
These, having been taken to heaven from among the living, are the “firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:4, 5.) They
passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was
a nation. They endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble.
They stood without an intercessor through the final outpouring of
God’s judgments. They “washed their robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb.” “In their mouth was found no deceit,
for they are without fault” before God. “They shall neither hunger
anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any
heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd
them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:14; 14:5; 7:16, 17.)
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Source: Ellen G. White, The Great Hope, pp. 79, 80