WHEN all in heaven and in earth will be reconciled to God, even those who have persisted in rebellion against Him and in the refusal of His clemency, will be subjugated to His authority. Through enduring the horrors of the second death, eternal separation from God, they will realize that they have been dealt with in righteousness and are but receiving “the due reward of their deeds.”
For the redeemed there will be unbroken fellowship with God, who shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and free them forever from all that was mutable or that could cause pain or grief. Theirs will be unbroken communion with Him who says, “I make all things new.”
It is not God’s will that any should fail of this blessedness. Therefore He offers to every thirsty soul to give freely of the fountain of the water of life. If any refuse to drink and live, they have but themselves to blame for their eternal loss.
“I am come unto the waters,
Thou didst call me by name—
Thou didst call unto the thirsty,
I was thirsty and I came.
Drink from out the depths unfathomed
Life eternal, life divine—
Thou, O measureless, exhaustless,
Thou for evermore art mine.”
—Frances Bevan.