Read Ellen G. White, “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 674-678, in The Great Controversy; “The Earth Made New,” pp. 133-145; “Heaven Is a School,” pp. 146-158; “It Will Not Be Long,” pp. 159-166; “Heaven Can Begin Now,” pp. 167-176; “The Music of Heaven,” pp. 177-184; “A Call for Us to Be There,” pp. 185-192, in Heaven.

 “The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph delighted to adore — humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that He bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father’s face, till the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life on Calvary’s cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 651.

 “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, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 678.

 1. Many secularized Christians live their lives as if this world will last forever (Luke 12:16-21). How can we balance our earthly ideals with our heavenly priorities? How can we guard against what Jesus has warned us about in Luke 12?
 2. If heaven begins here, what should we do to transform our homes and our personal lives into little expressions of heavenly principles?
 3. Dwell on the question asked at the end of Sunday’s study. What is the logic behind the pessimism of those who don’t believe in eternal life? At the same time, too, some of these people nevertheless seem to live fairly “happy” lives, even without expressing any future hope. How do you think they do that? That is, how might they rationalize living, even contentedly, without the promise of something beyond this life?