Chapter 42—Eternal Peace: The Controversy Ended

At the close of the thousand years, Christ returns to the earth accompanied by the redeemed and by legions of angels. He commands the wicked dead to arise to receive their doom. They come out, numberless as the sands of the sea, bearing the traces of disease and death. What a contrast to those raised in the first resurrection! 5TC 380.2

Every eye turns to see the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the vast army of the wicked exclaims, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” (Matthew 23:39). It is not love that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into the graves, so they come out with the same hatred of Christ and the same spirit of rebellion. They will have no new probation in which to remedy their past lives. 5TC 380.3

Says the prophet, “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, ... and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two” (Zechariah 14:4). As the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven, it rests on the place made ready for it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City. 5TC 381.1

While he was cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected, but when the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast forces on his side, his hopes revive. He determines not to give up the great controversy. He will rally the lost under his banner. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader, and they are ready to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early practice, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the rightful owner of the world whose inheritance has been taken from him unlawfully. He represents himself as a redeemer, assuring his deluded subjects that it is his power that has brought them from their graves. Satan makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own energy. He proposes to lead them in battle to take possession of the city of God. He points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead, and he declares that as their leader he is well able to regain his throne and kingdom. 5TC 381.2

In the vast assembly are many from the long-lived race that existed before the Flood, people of tall stature and giant intellect, whose amazing works led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil practices caused God to blot them from His creation. There are kings and generals who never lost a battle. In death these leaders experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they are driven by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they died. 5TC 381.3

The Final Assault Against God

Satan consults with these mighty men. They declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs and can be overcome. Skillful craftsmen construct weapons of war. Military leaders marshal warlike men into companies and divisions. 5TC 381.4

At last the order to advance is given, and the countless horde moves on, an army that the combined forces of all ages could never equal. Satan leads the procession, kings and warriors following. With military precision the densely packed ranks advance over the earth's broken surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan prepare for the attack. 5TC 382.1

Now Christ appears in view of His enemies. Far above the city, on a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne. The Son of God sits on this throne, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The glory of the Eternal Father enfolds His Son. The brightness of His presence flows out beyond the gates, flooding the earth with radiance. 5TC 382.2

Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in Satan's cause, but who, plucked like brands from the fire, have followed their Savior with intense devotion. Next are those who perfected character while surrounded by falsehood and unbelief, who honored the law of God when the world declared it void, and the millions from all ages who were martyred for their faith. Beyond is the “great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, ... clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9). Their warfare is over, their victory won. The palm branch is a symbol of triumph, the white robe an emblem of the righteousness of Christ, which is now theirs. 5TC 382.3

In all that vast crowd there are none who credit salvation to themselves by their own goodness. Nothing is said of what they have suffered. The keynote of every anthem is, Salvation to our God and to the Lamb. 5TC 382.4

Sentence Pronounced Against the Rebels

In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, acknowledged as having supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence on the rebels who have broken His law and oppressed His people. “I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:11, 12). 5TC 382.5

As the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious of every sin they have ever committed. They see where their feet left the path of holiness. The alluring temptations that they encouraged by indulging in sin, the messengers of God they despised, the warnings they rejected, the waves of mercy that their stubborn, unrepentant hearts beat back—all appear as if written in letters of fire. 5TC 383.1

Above the throne they see the cross. Like a panoramic view they watch the scenes of Adam's fall and the steps that followed it in the plan of redemption. The Savior's humble birth; His life of simplicity; His baptism in the Jordan; His fasting and temptation in the wilderness; His ministry bringing heaven's blessings to humanity; the days crowded with acts of mercy, the nights of prayer in the mountains; the plottings of envy and meanness that repaid His benefits; His mysterious agony in Gethsemane beneath the weight of the sins of the world; His betrayal to the murderous mob; the events of that night of horror—the unresisting prisoner abandoned by His disciples, put on trial in the high priest's palace, in the judgment hall of Pilate, before the cowardly Herod, mocked, insulted, tortured, and condemned to die—these events are all vividly portrayed. 5TC 383.2

And now the swaying crowd watches the final scenes: the patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of heaven hanging on the cross; the priests and rabbis mocking His dying agony; the supernatural darkness marking the moment when the world's Redeemer yielded up His life. 5TC 383.3

The awful spectacle appears just as it was. Satan and his subjects have no power to turn away from the picture. Each actor remembers the part he performed. Herod, who killed the innocent children of Bethlehem; the evil Herodias, guilty of the blood of John the Baptist; the weak, political Pilate; the mocking soldiers; the raging crowd who shouted, “His blood be on us and on our children!”—all try but fail to hide from the divine majesty of His face, while the redeemed throw their crowns at the Savior's feet, exclaiming, “He died for me!” 5TC 383.4

There is Nero, monster of cruelty and vice, watching the exaltation of those Christians in whose dying anguish he found satanic delight. His mother witnesses her own work, how the passions that her influence and example encouraged have borne fruit in crimes that made the world shudder. 5TC 384.1

There are Catholic priests and officials who claimed to be Christ's ambassadors, yet used the rack, the dungeon, and the stake to control His people. There are the proud popes who exalted themselves above God and dared to try to change the law of the Most High. Those pretended fathers have an account to settle with God. Too late they are made to see that the All-knowing One is particular about His law. They learn now that Christ identifies His interests with His suffering people. 5TC 384.2

The whole wicked world stands arraigned on the charge of high treason against the government of heaven. The lost have no one to plead their cause. They are without excuse, and God pronounces the sentence of eternal death against them. 5TC 384.3

The wicked see what they have forfeited by their rebellion. “All this,” cries the lost sinner, “I might have had. Why was I so blind! I have exchanged peace, happiness, and honor for wretchedness, disgrace, and despair.” All see that God is just in excluding them from heaven. By their lives they have declared, “We will not have this man [Jesus] to reign over us” (see Luke 19:14). 5TC 384.4

Satan Defeated

As if hypnotized, the wicked watch the coronation of the Son of God. They see in His hands the tablets of the divine law they have despised. They witness the outburst of adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the crowds outside the city, all exclaim, “Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!” (Revelation 15:3). Falling face down, they worship the Prince of life. 5TC 384.5

Satan seems paralyzed. He had once been a covering cherub, and he remembers how much he has lost. He is forever excluded from the council where he once was honored. He sees another now standing near to the Father, an angel of majestic presence. He knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his. 5TC 384.6

Memory recalls what heaven was like to him in his innocence, the peace and contentment that were his until his rebellion. He reviews his work among humanity and its results—the hostility of one person or group toward another, the terrible destruction of life, the overturning of thrones, the riots, conflicts, and revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of Christ. As he looks at the fruit of his work, he sees only failure. Again and again in the progress of the great controversy he has been defeated and forced to yield. 5TC 385.1

The aim of the great rebel has always been to prove that God's government was responsible for the rebellion. He has led vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy. For thousands of years, this chief of conspiracy has sold falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when everyone will see the history and character of Satan. In his last effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the City of God, the archdeceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who united with him see the total failure of his cause. 5TC 385.2

Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has made him unfit for heaven. He has trained his powers to war against God. The purity and harmony of heaven would be supreme torture to him. He bows down and admits the justice of his sentence. 5TC 385.3

Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy has now been fully answered. The whole universe has seen the results of setting aside God's law. For all eternity, the history of sin will stand as a witness that the happiness of all the beings God has created depends on the existence of His law. The whole universe, loyal and rebellious, with one voice declares, “Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!” 5TC 385.4

The hour has come when Christ is glorified above every name that is named. For the joy set before Him— that He might bring many sons and daughters to glory—He endured the cross. He gazes on the redeemed, renewed in His own image. He sees in them the result of the labor of His soul, and He is satisfied (Isaiah 53:11). In a voice that reaches everyone, righteous and wicked, He declares: “See the purchase of My blood! For these I suffered, for these I died.” 5TC 385.5

Violent End of the Wicked

Satan's character remains unchanged. Rebellion bursts out again like a raging flood. He determines not to give up the last desperate struggle against the King of heaven. But of all the countless millions whom he has drawn into rebellion, none now follow him as leader. The same hatred of God that inspires Satan fills the wicked, but they see that their case is hopeless. “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god, behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor. They shall throw you down into 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 may 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 shalt thou be any more.” (Ezekiel 28:6-8; verses 16-19, KJV.) 5TC 386.1

“The indignation of the LORD is against all nations.” “Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.” (Isaiah 34:2; Psalm 11:6.) Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are in it are burned up (2 Peter 3:10). The earth's surface seems one molten mass—a vast, boiling lake of fire. “It is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion” (Isaiah 34:8). 5TC 386.2

The wicked are punished “according to their deeds.” Satan is made to suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins that he has caused God's people to commit. In the flames the wicked are finally destroyed, root and branch—Satan the root, his followers the branches. Evildoers have received the full penalty of the law; the demands of justice have been met. Satan's work of ruin is ended forever. Now God's creatures are forever delivered from his temptations. 5TC 386.3

While the earth is wrapped in fire, the righteous are safe in the Holy City. To the wicked, God is a consuming fire, but to His people He is a shield. (See Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11.) 5TC 387.1

Our Final Home

“I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had 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 the ransomed thinking about sin's fearful consequences. 5TC 387.2

Reminder of Sin's Results

One reminder alone remains: our Redeemer will always carry the marks of His crucifixion, the only traces of the cruel work that sin has done. Through eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will reveal His praise and declare His power. 5TC 387.3

Christ assured His disciples that He went to prepare homes for them in the Father's house. Human language cannot describe the reward of the righteous. Only those who see it will truly know it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God! 5TC 387.4

The Bible calls the inheritance of the saved “a country” (Hebrews 11:14-16). There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows on the paths God has prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. Wide-spreading plains rise into beautiful hills, and the mountains of God lift their high summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God's people, who have been pilgrims and wanderers for so long, will find a home. 5TC 387.5

“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; ... My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.” “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, ... and a little child shall lead them.... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain.” (Isaiah 65:21, 22; 35:1; 11:6, 9.) 5TC 387.6

Pain cannot exist in heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral processions. “There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.... For the former things have passed away.” “The inhabitant will not say, ‘I am sick’; the people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.” (Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24.) 5TC 388.1

There is the New Jerusalem, the capital city of the glorified new earth. “Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” “The nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.” “The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” (Revelation 21:11, 24, 3.) 5TC 388.2

In the City of God “there shall be no night” (Revelation 22:5). There will be no tiredness. We will always feel the freshness of the morning and always be far from its close. The light of the sun will be surpassed by a radiance that is not painfully dazzling, yet immeasurably exceeds the brightness of our noonday. The redeemed walk in the glory of perpetual day. 5TC 388.3

“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22). The people of God are privileged to interact freely with the Father and the Son. Now we see the image of God like something in a mirror, but then we will see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. 5TC 388.4

The Triumph of God's Love

God Himself has planted the loves and sympathies in human hearts, and in heaven they will find their truest and sweetest expression. The pure fellowship with holy beings and the faithful of all the ages, the sacred ties that bind together “the whole family in heaven and earth” (Ephesians 3:15)—these help to make up the happiness of the redeemed. 5TC 388.5

There, with delight that has no end, immortal minds will study the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. Every aspect of mind will be developed, every capacity increased. Learning will not exhaust the energies. The redeemed may carry on the grandest enterprises, reach their highest aims, fulfill their noblest ambitions. And still they will find new heights to conquer, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to draw out the powers of mind and soul and body. 5TC 389.1

All the treasures of the universe will be open to God's redeemed. Not limited by mortality, they fly tirelessly to far-off worlds. The children of earth enter into the joy and wisdom of unfallen beings and share treasures of knowledge that these have gained through ages upon ages. With undimmed vision they gaze on the glory of creation—suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of God. 5TC 389.2

And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. The more we learn about God, the more we will admire His character. As Jesus opens before the redeemed the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, their hearts thrill with devotion, and ten thousand times ten thousand voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise. 5TC 389.3

“And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!’” (Revelation 5:13). 5TC 389.4

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, life and light and gladness flow throughout the realms of limitless space. From the smallest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love. 5TC 389.5