Sabbath Meditation #31 – God With Us
By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God”…the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev. 21:1a, 3, 22:3b-4).

“22 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. 23 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” (Isaiah 66:22-23).

“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).

The New Heavens and the New Earth are the final phase of God’s plan for humanity. That is where we will spend eternity with God and Christ. It is called the home of righteousness in 2 Peter 3:13. In Isaiah 66:22-23, we also learn that the Sabbath will still be observed – not by a remnant or a small group, but by everyone! Many wonderful promises await us there, such as those described in Rev. 21:4-6:

“4 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. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 – I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”

In this present age, we rest from the weary world around us on the Sabbath. We must persevere through trials, heartaches, and sorrows, yet still learn how to rest in the Lord God Almighty. In the home of righteousness, the sorrow and pain that started in the Garden of Eden will no longer exist.

In the home of righteousness, our tears will be wiped away! We won’t need rest from weariness of work, healing from rejection, and defensiveness from satan’s wiles. We will not have to ponder the instabilities of the age that we live in now. We will not have concern about our family members not living the right way. Everyone in the New Heavens and New Earth will be our permanent family. At that time, people will no longer make poor decisions or operate selfishly.

There are benefits of the Sabbath that we will understand then which we could not understand now because we are presently limited in our knowledge of spiritual and physical things. “9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (I Cor. 13:9-10). There are also aspects of the Sabbath we will experience then that are available only for glorified beings.

In the New Heavens and the New Earth, God and Christ will be permanently dwelling with us. This means that we will not have to reach out to God and Christ merely in the Spirit by prayer or worship. We will no longer wonder where God is when we need Him; we will see His face. This means that our Sabbath observance will be much more intimate and fulfilling than it has ever been in our present age. They will be with us in the most personable, intimate way possible. In that future age, the physical and spiritual will be merged for the whole universe. We will have a peace and assurance that transcends anything we have ever experienced in this age.

I pray that these thoughts will spur you on to honor the Sabbath in this age as we look forward to its observance in the home of righteousness when God is with us!

Selah.

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org