From
the very beginning of the great controversy in Heaven, it has been Satan's
purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered
upon his rebellion against the Creator; and though he was cast out of Heaven, he
has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead
them to transgress God's law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued.
Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by
rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. He that
offends "in one point," manifests contempt for the whole law; his
influence and example are on the side of transgression; he becomes "guilty
of all."[1 JAMES 2:10.]
In
seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes, Satan has perverted the
doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become incorporated into the faith
of thousands who profess to believe the Scriptures. The last great conflict
between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing
controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering,--a
battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the
religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition.
The
agencies which will unite against truth and righteousness in this contest are
now actively at work. God's holy Word, which has been handed down to us at such
a cost of suffering and blood, is but little valued. The Bible is within the
reach of all, but there are few who really accept it as the guide of life.
Infidelity prevails to an GC 583 - alarming
extent, not in the world merely, but in the church. Many have come to deny
doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of
creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement,
and the perpetuity of the law of God, are practically rejected, either wholly
or in part, by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who
pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it an evidence of
weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of
superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures, and to spiritualize
and explain away their most important truths. Many ministers are teaching their
people, and many professors and teachers are instructing their students, that
the law of God has been changed or abrogated; and those who regard its
requirements as still valid, to be literally obeyed, are thought to be
deserving only of ridicule or contempt.
In
rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God,
they deny the authority of the Lawgiver. It is as easy to make an idol of false
doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. By misrepresenting
the attributes of God, Satan leads men to conceive of him in a false character.
With many, a philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the
living God, as he is revealed in his Word, in Christ, and in the works of
creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature, while they deny the
God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian
world to-day as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of
Elijah. The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets,
politicians, journalists,--the god of polished fashionable circles, of many
colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions,--is little
better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia.
No
error accepted by the Christian world strikes more boldly against the authority
of Heaven, none is more GC 584 - directly opposed to the dictates of reason,
none is more pernicious in its results, than the modern doctrine, so rapidly
gaining ground, that God's law is no longer binding upon men. Every nation has
its laws, which command respect and obedience; no government could exist
without them; and can it be conceived that the Creator of the heavens and the
earth has no law to govern the beings he has made? Suppose that prominent ministers
were publicly to teach that the statutes which govern their land and protect
the rights of its citizens were not obligatory,--that they restricted the
liberties of the people, and therefore ought not to be obeyed; how long would
such men be tolerated in the pulpit? But is it a graver offense to disregard
the laws of States and nations than to trample upon those divine precepts which
are the foundation of all government?
It
would be far more consistent for nations to abolish their statutes, and permit
the people to do as they please, than for the Ruler of the universe to annul
his law, and leave the world without a standard to condemn the guilty or
justify the obedient. Would we know the result of making void the law of God?
The experiment has been tried. Terrible were the scenes enacted in France when
atheism became the controlling power. It was then demonstrated to the world
that to throw off the restraints which God has imposed is to accept the rule of
the cruelest of tyrants. When the standard of righteousness is set aside, the
way is open for the prince of evil to establish his power in the earth.
Wherever the divine precepts are rejected, sin ceases to appear sinful,
or righteousness desirable. Those who refuse to submit to the government of God
are wholly unfitted to govern themselves. Through their pernicious teachings,
the spirit of insubordination is implanted in the hearts of children and youth,
who are naturally impatient of control; and a lawless, licentious state of
society results. While scoffing at the credulity of those who obey the
requirements GC 585
- of God, the multitudes eagerly
accept the delusions of Satan. They give the rein to lust, and practice the
sins which have called down judgments upon the heathen.
Those who teach the people to lightly regard the commandments of God,
sow disobedience, to reap disobedience. Let the restraint imposed by the divine
law be wholly cast aside, and human laws would soon be disregarded. Because God
forbids dishonest practices, coveting, lying, and defrauding, men are ready to
trample upon his statutes as a hindrance to their worldly prosperity; but the
results of banishing these precepts would be such as they do not anticipate. If
the law were not binding, why should any fear to transgress? Property would no
longer be safe. Men would obtain their neighbor's possessions by violence; and
the strongest would become richest. Life itself would not be respected. The
marriage vow would no longer stand as a sacred bulwark to protect the family. He
who had the power, would, if he desired, take his neighbor's wife by violence.
The fifth commandment would be set aside with the fourth. Children would not
shrink from taking the life of their parents, if by so doing they could obtain
the desire of their corrupt hearts. The civilized world would become a horde of
robbers and assassins; and peace, rest, and happiness would be banished from
the earth.
Already the doctrine that men are released from obedience to God's
requirements has weakened the force of moral obligation, and opened the
flood-gates of iniquity upon the world. Lawlessness, dissipation, and
corruption are sweeping in upon us like an overwhelming tide. In the family,
Satan is at work. His banner waves, even in professedly Christian households.
There is envy, evil surmising, hypocrisy, estrangement, emulation, strife,
betrayal of sacred trusts, indulgence of lust. The whole system of religious
principles and doctrines, which should form the foundation and frame-work of
social life, seems to be a tottering mass, ready to fall to ruin. The vilest of
criminals, when thrown into GC 586 - prison for
their offenses, are often made the recipients of gifts and attentions, as if
they had attained an enviable distinction. Great publicity is given to their
character and crimes. The press publishes the revolting details of vice, thus
initiating others into the practice of fraud, robbery, and murder; and Satan
exults in the success of his hellish schemes. The infatuation of vice, the
wanton taking of life, the terrible increase of intemperance and iniquity of
every order and degree, should arouse all who fear God, to inquire what can be
done to stay the tide of evil. Courts of justice are corrupt. Rulers are
actuated by desire for gain, and love of sensual pleasure. Intemperance has
beclouded the faculties of many, so that Satan has almost complete control of
them. Jurists are perverted, bribed, deluded. Drunkenness and revelry, passion,
envy, dishonesty of every sort, are represented among those who administer the
laws. "Justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and
equity cannot enter."[1 ISA. 59:14.]
The
iniquity and spiritual darkness that prevailed under the supremacy of Rome were
the inevitable result of her suppression of the Scriptures; but where is to be
found the cause of the widespread infidelity, the rejection of the law of God,
and the consequent corruption, under the full blaze of gospel light in an age
of religious freedom? Now that Satan can no longer keep the world under his
control by withholding the Scriptures, he resorts to other means to accomplish
the same object. To destroy faith in the Bible serves his purpose as well as to
destroy the Bible itself. By introducing the belief that God's law is not
binding, he as effectually leads men to transgress as if they were wholly
ignorant of its precepts. And now, as in former ages, he has worked through the
church to further his designs. The religious organizations of the day have
refused to listen to unpopular truths plainly brought to view in the
Scriptures, and in combating them they have adopted interpretations and taken
positions which have sown broadcast the seeds GC 587 - of
skepticism. Clinging to the papal error of natural immortality and man's
consciousness in death, they have rejected the only defense against the
delusions of Spiritualism. The doctrine of eternal torment has led many to
disbelieve the Bible. And as the claims of the fourth commandment are urged
upon the people, it is found that the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is
enjoined; and as the only way to free themselves from a duty which they are
unwilling to perform, popular teachers declare that the law of God is no longer
binding. Thus they cast away the law and the Sabbath together. As the work of Sabbath
reform extends, this rejection of the divine law to avoid the claims of the
fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal. The teachings of religious
leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to Spiritualism, and to contempt
for God's holy law, and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for
the iniquity that exists in the Christian world.
Yet
this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is
largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called "Christian
Sabbath," and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly
improve the morals of society. This claim is especially urged in America, where
the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been most widely preached. Here the
temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is
often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter
represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society;
and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of
temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to establish error is
connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of
the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do
not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is
more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan's devices to combine with
falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility.
GC 588 -
The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate
reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible,
yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God's law, his
servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the
commandments of God for the precepts of men.
Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul, and
Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the
former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of
sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in
stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they
will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the
influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of
Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.
As
Spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has
greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern
order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through
the agency of Spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed,
and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess
faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church,
their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power.
The
line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly
distinguishable. Church-members love what the world loves, and are ready to
join with them; and Satan determines to unite them in one body, and thus
strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of Spiritualism. Papists,
who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily
deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the
shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings
will alike accept the form of godliness GC 589 -
without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the
conversion of the world, and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium.
Through Spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race,
healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more
exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a
destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin. Intemperance
dethrones reason; sensual indulgence, strife, and bloodshed follow. Satan
delights in war; for it excites the worst passions of the soul, and then sweeps
into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite
the nations to war against one another; for he can thus divert the minds of the
people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God.
Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of
unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and
he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was
suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses,
children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is
God that shields his creatures, and hedges them in from the power of the
destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah;
and the Lord will do just what he has declared that he would, he will withdraw
his blessings from the earth, and remove his protecting care from those who are
rebelling against his law, and teaching and forcing others to do the same. Satan
has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and
prosper some, in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble
upon others, and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them.
While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal
all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities
are reduced to ruin and GC 590 -
desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by
land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hail-storms, in
tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in
a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening
harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint,
and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more
and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast.
"The earth mourneth and fadeth away," "the haughty people . . .
do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because
they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting
covenant."[1 ISA. 24:4, 5.]
And
then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing
these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge
all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God's commandments is a
perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God
by the violation of the Sunday-sabbath, that this sin has brought calamities
which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced, and
that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying
reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration
to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old
against the servant of God will be repeated, and upon grounds equally well
established. "And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said
unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not
troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the
commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim."[2 1 KINGS 18:17,
18.] As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will
pursue a course toward God's ambassadors very similar to that which apostate
Israel pursued toward Elijah.
GC 591 -
The
miracle-working power manifested through Spiritualism will exert its influence
against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the
spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday
of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law
of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world, and second the
testimony of religious teachers, that the degraded state of morals is caused by
the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all
who refuse to accept their testimony.
Satan's policy in this final conflict with God's people is the same that
he employed in the opening of the great controversy in Heaven. He professed to
be seeking to promote the stability of the divine government, while secretly
bending every effort to secure its overthrow. And the very work which he was
thus endeavoring to accomplish, he charged upon the loyal angels. The same
policy of deception has marked the history of the Romish Church. It has
professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt itself
above God, and to change his law. Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered
death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evil-doers; they were
declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to
cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear, in the eyes of the people,
and even to themselves, as the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While
Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God's law he will cause them to be
accused as law-breakers, as men who are dishonoring God, and bringing judgments
upon the world.
God
never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan's constant resort--to gain
control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce--is compulsion by cruelty.
Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience, and to secure homage
to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular
authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the
law of God.
GC 592 -
Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law
and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy
and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their
conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt
of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government.
Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the
pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of
God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment-keepers will be
misrepresented and condemned. A false coloring will be given to their words;
the worst construction will be put upon their motives.
As
the Protestant churches reject the clear, scriptural arguments in defense of
God's law, they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by
the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes to the fact, they are now adopting
a course which will lead to the persecution of those who conscientiously refuse
to do what the rest of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the
claims of the papal Sabbath.
The
dignitaries of church and State will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all
classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by
oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and
regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to
secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing
Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice,
will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see
exemplified the prophet's words: "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."[1 REV. 12:17.]
<SB The Scriptures a Safeguard. <EB
-PR- 01
-PG-
593
-TEXT-
"To the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them."[1 ISA. 8:20.] The
people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the
influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness.
Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge
of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. At every revival
of God's work, the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is
now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and
his followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is
to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit
resemble the true, that it will be impossible to distinguish between them
except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every
miracle must be tested.
Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed
and derided. They can stand only in God. In order to endure the trial before
them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in his Word; they can
honor him only as they have a right conception of his character, government,
and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have
fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last
great conflict. To every soul will come the searching test, Shall I obey God
rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on
the rock of God's
GC 594 - immutable Word? Are we prepared to stand
firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?
Before his crucifixion, the Saviour explained to his disciples that he
was to be put to death, and to rise again from the tomb; and angels were
present to impress his words on minds and hearts. But the disciples were
looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke, and they could not
tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes centered should suffer an
ignominious death. The words which they needed to remember were banished from
their minds; and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The
death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if he had not forewarned them.
So in the prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened
to the disciples by the words of Christ. The events connected with the close of
probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly
presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths
than if they had never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every
impression that would make them wise unto salvation, and the time of trouble
will find them unready.
When God sends to men warnings so important that they are represented as
proclaimed by holy angels flying in the midst of heaven, he requires every
person endowed with reasoning powers to heed the message. The fearful judgments
denounced against the worship of the beast and his image,[1 REV. 14:9-11.]
should lead all to a diligent study of the prophecies to learn what the mark of
the beast is, and how they are to avoid receiving it. But the masses of the
people turn away their ears from hearing the truth, and are turned unto fables.
The apostle Paul declared, looking down to the last days, "The time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine."[2 2 TIM. 4:3.] That time
has fully come. The multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it interferes
with the desires of the sinful, world-loving heart; and Satan supplies the
deceptions which they love.
GC 595 -
But
God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible
only, as the standard of all doctrines, and the basis of all reforms. The
opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of
ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which
they represent, the voice of the majority,-- not one or all of these should be
regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before
accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain "Thus saith
the Lord" in its support.
Satan is constantly endeavoring to attract attention to man in the place
of God. He leads the people to look to bishops, to pastors, to professors of
theology, as their guides, instead of searching the Scriptures to learn their
duty for themselves. Then, by controlling the minds of these leaders, he can
influence the multitudes according to his will.
When
Christ came to speak the words of life, the common people heard him gladly; and
many, even of the priests and rulers, believed on him. But the chief of the
priesthood and the leading men of the nation were determined to condemn and
repudiate his teachings. Though they were baffled in all their efforts to find
accusations against him, though they could not but feel the influence of the
divine power and wisdom attending his words, yet they encased themselves in
prejudice; they rejected the clearest evidence of his Messiahship, lest they
should be forced to become his disciples. These opponents of Jesus were men
whom the people had been taught from infancy to reverence, to whose authority
they had been accustomed implicitly to bow. "How is it," they asked,
"that our rulers and learned scribes do not believe on Jesus? Would not these
pious men receive him if he were the Christ?" It was the influence of such
teachers that led the Jewish nation to reject their Redeemer.
The
spirit which actuated those priests and rulers is still manifested by many who
make a high profession of piety.
GC 596 -
They refuse to examine the testimony of the
Scriptures concerning the special truths for this time. They point to their own
numbers, wealth, and popularity, and look with contempt upon the advocates of
truth as few, poor, and unpopular having a faith that separates them from the
world.
Christ foresaw that the undue assumption of authority indulged by
the scribes and Pharisees would not cease with the dispersion of the Jews. He
had a prophetic view of the work of exalting human authority to rule the
conscience, which has been so terrible a curse to the church in all ages. And
his fearful denunciations of the scribes and Pharisees, and his warnings to the
people not to follow these blind leaders, were placed on record as an
admonition to future generations.
The
Romish Church reserves to the clergy the right to interpret the Scriptures. On
the ground that ecclesiastics alone are competent to explain God's Word, it is
withheld from the common people. Though the Reformation gave the Scriptures to
all, yet the self-same principle which was maintained by Rome prevents
multitudes in Protestant churches from searching the Bible for themselves. They
are taught to accept its teachings <SI as interpreted by the church; <EI
and there are thousands who dare receive nothing, however plainly revealed in
Scripture, that is contrary to their creed, or the established teaching of
their church.
Notwithstanding the Bible is full of warnings against false teachers,
many are ready thus to commit the keeping of their souls to the clergy. There
are to-day thousands of professors of religion who can give no other reason for
points of faith which they hold than that they were so instructed by their
religious leaders. They pass by the Saviour's teachings almost unnoticed, and
place implicit confidence in the words of the ministers. But are ministers
infallible? How can we trust our souls to their guidance unless we know from
God's Word that they are light-bearers? A lack of moral courage to step aside
from the beaten track of the
GC 597 -
world, leads many to follow in the steps of
learned men; and by their reluctance to investigate for themselves, they are
becoming hopelessly fastened in the chains of error. They see that the truth
for this time is plainly brought to view in the Bible, and they feel the power
of the Holy Spirit attending its proclamation; yet they allow the opposition of
the clergy to turn them from the light. Though reason and conscience are
convinced, these deluded souls dare not think differently from the minister;
and their individual judgment, their eternal interests, are sacrificed to the
unbelief, the pride and prejudice, of another.
Many are the ways by which Satan works through human influence to bind
his captives. He secures multitudes to himself by attaching them by the silken
cords of affection to those who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Whatever
this attachment may be, parental, filial, conjugal, or social, the effect is
the same; the opposers of truth exert their power to control the conscience, and
the souls held under their sway have not sufficient courage or independence to
obey their own convictions of duty.
The
truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it is impossible for us, with the
Bible within our reach, to honor God by erroneous opinions. Many claim that it
matters not what one believes, if his life is only right. But the life is
moulded by the faith. If light and truth are within our reach, and we neglect
to improve the privilege of hearing and seeing it, we virtually reject it; we are
choosing darkness rather than light.
"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death."[1 PROV. 16:25.] Ignorance is no excuse for
error or sin, when there is every opportunity to know the will of God. A man is
travelling, and comes to a place where there are several roads, and a
guide-board indicating where each one leads. If he disregards the guide-board,
and takes whichever road seems to him to be right, GC 598 - he may be ever so sincere, but will in all
probability find himself on the wrong road.
God
has given us his Word that we may become acquainted with its teachings, and
know for ourselves what he requires of us. When the lawyer came to Jesus with
the inquiry, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" the Saviour
referred him to the Scriptures, saying, "What is written in the law? how
readest thou?" Ignorance will not excuse young or old, or release them
from the punishment due for the transgression of God's law, because there is in
their hands a faithful presentation of that law and of its principles and its
claims. It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not enough to do what a
man thinks is right, or what the minister tells him is right. His soul's
salvation is at stake, and he should search the Scriptures for himself. However
strong may be his convictions, however confident he may be that the minister
knows what is truth, this is not his foundation. He has a chart pointing out
every way-mark on the heavenward journey, and he ought not to guess at
anything.
It
is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the
Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light, and encourage others
to follow his example. We should day by day study the Bible diligently,
weighing every thought, and comparing scripture with scripture. With divine
help, we are to form our opinions for ourselves, as we are to answer for
ourselves before God.
The
truths most plainly revealed in the Bible have been involved in doubt and
darkness by learned men, who, with a pretense of great wisdom, teach that the
Scriptures have a mystical, a secret, spiritual meaning not apparent in the
language employed. These men are false teachers. It was to such a class that
Jesus declared, "Ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of
God."[1 MARK 12:24.] The language of the Bible should be explained
according to its obvious meaning, GC 599 - unless a symbol or figure is employed.
Christ has given the promise, "If any man will do His will, he shall know
of the doctrine."[1 JOHN 7:17.] If men would but take the Bible as it
reads, if there were no false teachers to mislead and confuse their minds, a
work would be accomplished that would make angels glad, and that would bring
into the fold of Christ thousands upon thousands who are now wandering in
error.
We
should exert all the powers of the mind in the study of the Scriptures, and
should task the understanding to comprehend, as far as mortals can, the deep
things of God; yet we must not forget that the docility and submission of a
child is the true spirit of the learner. Scriptural difficulties can never be
mastered by the same methods that are employed in grappling with philosophical
problems. We should not engage in the study of the Bible with that self-reliance
with which so many enter the domains of science, but with a prayerful
dependence upon God, and a sincere desire to learn his will. We must come with
a humble and teachable spirit to obtain knowledge from the great I AM.
Otherwise, evil angels will so blind our minds and harden our hearts that we
shall not be impressed by the truth.
Many a portion of Scripture which learned men pronounce a mystery, or
pass over as unimportant, is full of comfort and instruction to him who has
been taught in the school of Christ. One reason why many theologians have no
clearer understanding of God's Word is, they close their eyes to truths which
they do not wish to practice. An understanding of Bible truth depends not so
much on the power of intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of
purpose, the earnest longing after righteousness.
The
Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause
us to feel the importance of those things easy to be understood, or prevent us
from wrestling truths difficult of comprehension. It is the office of heavenly
angels to prepare the heart to so comprehend God's
GC 600 - Word that we shall be charmed with its
beauty, admonished by its warnings, or animated and strengthened by its
promises. We should make the psalmist's petition our own: "Open thou mine
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."[1 PS. 119:18.]
Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and
the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God's promises
and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. But angels are round about those who
are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity,
they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus
"when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall
lift up a standard against him."[2 ISA. 59:19.]
Jesus
promised his disciples, "The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."[3 JOHN 14:26.] But the
teachings of Christ must previously have been stored in the mind, in order for
the Spirit of God to bring them to our remembrance in the time of peril. "Thy
Word have I hid in mine heart," said David, "that I might not sin
against thee." [4 PS. 119:11.]
All
who value their eternal interests should be on their guard against the inroads
of skepticism. The very pillars of truth will be assailed. It is impossible to
keep beyond the reach of the sarcasms and sophisms, the insidious and pestilent
teachings, of modern infidelity. Satan adapts his temptations to all classes.
He assails the illiterate with a jest or sneer, while he meets the educated
with scientific objections and philosophical reasoning, alike calculated to
excite distrust or contempt of the Scriptures. Even youth of little experience
presume to insinuate doubts concerning the fundamental principles of
Christianity. And this youthful infidelity, shallow as it is, has its
influence. Many are thus led to jest at the faith of their fathers, and to do
despite to the Spirit of grace.[5 HEB. 10:29.] Many a life that promised to be
an GC 601 - honor to God and a blessing to the world,
has been blighted by the foul breath of infidelity. All who trust to the
boastful decisions of human reason, and imagine that they can explain divine
mysteries, and arrive at truth unaided by the wisdom of God, are entangled in
the snare of Satan.
We
are living in the most solemn period of this world's history. The destiny of
earth's teeming multitudes is about to be decided. Our own future well-being,
and also the salvation of other souls, depends upon the course which we now
pursue. We need to be guided by the Spirit of truth. Every follower of Christ
should earnestly inquire, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" We
need to humble ourselves before the Lord, with fasting and prayer, and to
meditate much upon his Word, especially upon the scenes of the Judgment. We
should now seek a deep and living experience in the things of God. We have not
a moment to lose. Events of vital importance are taking place around us; we are
on Satan's enchanted ground. Sleep not, sentinels of God; the foe is lurking
near, ready at any moment, should you become lax and drowsy, to spring upon you
and make you his prey.
Many
are deceived as to their true condition before God. They congratulate
themselves upon the wrong acts which they do not commit, and forget to
enumerate the good and noble deeds which God requires of them, but which they
have neglected to perform. It is not enough that they are trees in the garden
of God. They are to answer his expectation by bearing fruit. He holds them
accountable for their failure to accomplish all the good which they could have
done, through his grace strengthening them. In the books of Heaven they are
registered as cumberers of the ground. Yet the case of even this class is not
utterly hopeless. With those who have slighted God's mercy and abused his grace,
the heart of long-suffering love yet pleads. "Wherefore he saith, Awake,
thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
See then that ye GC
602 - walk circumspectly, . . .
redeeming the time, because the days are evil."[1 EPH. 5:14-16.]
When
the testing time shall come, those who have made God's Word their rule of life
will be revealed. In summer there is no noticeable difference between
evergreens and other trees; but when the blasts of winter come, the evergreens
remain unchanged, while other trees are stripped of their foliage. So the
false-hearted professor may not now be distinguished from the real Christian,
but the time is just upon us when the difference will be apparent. Let
opposition arise, let bigotry and intolerance again bear sway, let persecution
be kindled, and the half-hearted and hypocritical will waver and yield the
faith; but the true Christian will stand firm as a rock, his faith stronger,
his hope brighter, than in days of prosperity.
Says
the psalmist: "Thy testimonies are my meditation." "Through thy
precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way."[2 PS.
119-99, 104.]
"Happy is the man that findeth wisdom." "He shall be as a
tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and
shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be
careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding
fruit."[3 PROV. 3:13; JER. 17:8]
<SB The Final Warning. <EB
-PR- 01
-PG- 603
-TEXT-
"I saw another angel come down from Heaven, having great power; and
the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong
voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the
habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every
unclean and hateful bird." "And I heard another voice from Heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues."[1 REV. 18:1, 2, 4.]
This
scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of
Babylon, as made by the second angel[2 REV 14:8.] of Revelation 14, is to be
repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been
entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message
was first given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of the religious
world is here described. With every rejection of truth, the minds of the people
will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an
infidel hardihood. In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will
continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the decalogue, until they are
led to persecute those who hold it sacred. Christ is set at naught in the
contempt placed upon his Word and his people. As the teachings of Spiritualism
are accepted by the churches, the restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is
removed, and the profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the
basest iniquity. A belief in spiritual manifestations opens GC 604 - the door to seducing spirits, and doctrines
of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches.
Of
Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared,
"Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities."[1 REV. 18:5.] She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and
destruction is about to fall upon her. But God still has a people in Babylon;
and before the visitation of his judgments, these faithful ones must be called
out, that they "partake not of her sins, and receive not of her
plagues." Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from
Heaven, lightening the earth with his glory, and crying mightily with a strong
voice, announcing the sins of Babylon. In connection with his message the call
is heard, "Come out of her, my people." These announcements, uniting
with the third angel's message, constitute the final warning to be given to the
inhabitants of the earth.
Fearful is the issue to which the world is to be brought. The powers of
earth, uniting to war against the commandments of God, will decree that all,
"both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,"[2 REV. 13:16.]
shall conform to the customs of the church by the observance of the false
sabbath. All who refuse compliance will be visited with civil penalties, and it
will finally be declared that they are deserving of death. On the other hand,
the law of God enjoining the Creator's rest-day demands obedience, and
threatens wrath against all who transgress its precepts. TEXT-
With the issue thus clearly brought before him, whoever shall trample
upon God's law to obey a human enactment, receives the mark of the beast; he
accepts the sign of allegiance to the power which he chooses to obey instead of
God. The warning from Heaven is, "If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into
the cup of his indignation."[3 REV. 14:9, 10.]
GC 605 -
But
not one is made to suffer the wrath of God until the truth has been brought
home to his mind and conscience, and has been rejected. There are many who have
never had an opportunity to hear the special truths for this time. The
obligation of the fourth commandment has never been set before them in its true
light. He who reads every heart, and tries every motive, will leave none who
desire a knowledge of the truth, to be deceived as to the issues of the
controversy. The decree is not to be urged upon the people blindly. Every one
is to have sufficient light to make his decision intelligently.
The
Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty; for it is the point of truth especially
controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the
line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who
serve him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the
law of the State, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of
allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true
Sabbath, in obedience to God's law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator.
While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive
the mark of the beast, the other, choosing the token of allegiance to divine
authority, receive the seal of God.[1 SEE APPENDIX, NOTE 13.]
Heretofore those who presented the truths of the third angel's message
have often been regarded as mere alarmists. Their predictions that religious
intolerance would gain control in the United States, that church and State
would unite to persecute those who keep the commandments of God, have been
pronounced groundless and absurd. It has been confidently declared that this
land could never become other than what it has been, the defender of religious
freedom. But as the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated,
the event so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the
third message will produce an effect which it could not have had before.
GC 606 -
In
every generation God has sent his servants to rebuke sin, both in the world and
in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken to them, and the
pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many reformers, in entering upon
their work, determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the
church and the nation. They hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to
lead the people back to the doctrines of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came
upon them as it came upon Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins of a wicked
king and an apostate people; they could not refrain from preaching the plain
utterances of the Bible,--doctrines which they had been reluctant to present.
They were impelled to zealously declare the truth, and the danger which
threatened souls. The words which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of
consequences, and the people were compelled to hear the warning.
Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time
comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble
instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to his
service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of his Spirit
than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be
constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives
them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing
the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of Spiritualism,
the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power,--all will be unmasked. By
these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will
listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the
testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins,
because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from Heaven. As the people go
to their former teachers with the eager inquiry, Are these things so? the
ministers present fables, prophesy GC 607 - smooth
things, to soothe their fears, and quiet the awakened conscience. But since
many refuse to be satisfied with the mere authority of men, and demand a plain
"Thus saith the Lord," the popular ministry, like the Pharisees of
old, filled with anger as their authority is questioned, will denounce the
message as of Satan, and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and
persecute those who proclaim it.
As the
controversy extends into new fields, and the minds of the people are called to
God's down-trodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending the message will
only madden those who oppose it. The clergy will put forth almost superhuman
efforts to shut away the light, lest it should shine upon their flocks. By
every means at their command they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of
these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and
in this work, papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday
enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against
commandment-keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and
some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages,
as inducements to renounce their faith. But their steadfast answer is,
"Show us from the Word of God our error,"--the same plea that was
made by Luther under similar circumstances. Those who are arraigned before the
courts make a strong vindication of the truth, and some who hear them are led
to take their stand to keep all the commandments of God. Thus light will be
brought before thousands who otherwise would know nothing of these truths.
Conscientious obedience to the Word of God will be treated as
rebellion. Blinded by Satan, the parent will exercise harshness and severity
toward the believing child; the master or mistress will oppress the
commandment-keeping servant. Affection will be alienated; children will be
disinherited, and driven from home. The words of Paul will be literally
fulfilled, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus GC 608 - shall suffer persecution."[1 2 TIM.
3:12.] As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath, some of
them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as
slaves. To human wisdom, all this now seems impossible; but as the restraining
Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men, and they shall be under the control
of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments.
The heart can be very cruel when God's fear and love are removed.
As
the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third
angel's message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth,
abandon their position, and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with
the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly
the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the
easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in
the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the
most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbath-keepers are brought
before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most
efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports
and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.
In
this time of persecution the faith of the Lord's servants will be tried. They
have faithfully given the warning, looking to God and to his Word alone. God's
Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has constrained them to speak. Stimulated
with holy zeal, and with the divine impulse strong upon them, they entered upon
the performance of their duties without coldly calculating the consequences of
speaking to the people the word which the Lord had given them. They have not
consulted their temporal interests, or sought to preserve their reputation or
their lives. Yet when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon GC 609 - them, some, overwhelmed with consternation,
will be ready to exclaim, "Had we foreseen the consequences of our words,
we would have held our peace." They are hedged in with difficulties. Satan
assails them with fierce temptations. The work which they have undertaken seems
far beyond their ability to accomplish. They are threatened with destruction.
The enthusiasm which animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then,
feeling their utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength.
They remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs, but His
who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and they
could not forbear to proclaim it.
The
same trials have been experienced by men of God in ages past. Wycliffe, Huss,
Luther, Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley, urged that all doctrines be brought to the
test of the Bible, and declared that they would renounce everything which it
condemned. Against these men, persecution raged with relentless fury; yet they
ceased not to declare the truth. Different periods in the history of the church
have each been marked by the development of some special truth, adapted to the
necessities of God's people at that time. Every new truth has made its way
against hatred and opposition; those who were blessed with its light were
tempted and tried. The Lord gives a special truth for the people in an
emergency. Who dare refuse to publish it? He commands his servants to present
the last invitation of mercy to the world. They cannot remain silent, except at
the peril of their souls. Christ's ambassadors have nothing to do with
consequences. They must perform their duty, and leave results with God.
As
the opposition rises to a fiercer height, the servants of God are again
perplexed; for it seems to them that they have brought the crisis. But
conscience and the Word of God assure them that their course is right; and
although the trials continue, they are strengthened to bear them.
GC 610 -
The contest grows closer and sharper, but
their faith and courage rise with the emergency. Their testimony is, "We
dare not tamper with God's Word, dividing his holy law, calling one portion
essential and another non-essential, to gain the favor of the world. The Lord
whom we serve is able to deliver us. Christ has conquered the powers of earth;
and shall we be afraid of a world already conquered?"
Persecution in its varied forms is the development of a principle which
will exist as long as Satan exists, and Christianity has vital power. No man
can serve God without enlisting against himself the opposition of the hosts of
darkness. Evil angels will assail him, alarmed that his influence is taking the
prey from their hands. Evil men, rebuked by his example, will unite with them
in seeking to separate him from God by alluring temptations. When these do not
succeed, then a compelling power is employed to force the conscience.
But
so long as Jesus remains man's intercessor in the sanctuary above, the
restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is felt by rulers and people. It still
controls, to some extent, the laws of the land. Were it not for these laws, the
condition of the world would be much worse than it now is. While many of our
rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has his agents among the leading
men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his servants to propose measures that
would greatly impede the work of God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are
influenced by holy angels to oppose such propositions with unanswerable
arguments. Thus a few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The
opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel's
message may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will arrest
the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and
some of them will accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the
time of trouble.
The
angel who unites in the proclamation of the third GC 611 - angel's message is to lighten the whole
earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and unwonted power is here
foretold. The Advent movement of 1840-44 was a glorious manifestation of the
power of God; the first angel's message was carried to every missionary station
in the world, and in some countries there was the greatest religious interest
which has been witnessed in any land since the Reformation of the sixteenth
century; but these are to be far exceeded by the mighty movement under the last
warning of the third angel.
The
work will be similar to that of the day of Pentecost. As the "former
rain" was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of
the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, so the "latter
rain" will be given at its close, for the ripening of the harvest.
"Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; his going forth is
prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter
and former rain unto the earth." [1 HOSEA 6:3.] "Be glad then, ye
children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he hath given you the
former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the
former rain, and the latter rain."[2 JOEL 2:23.] "In the last days,
saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." "And it
shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
saved."[3 ACTS 2:17, 21.] The great work of the gospel is not to close
with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The
prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the
opening of the gospel, are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its
close. Here are "the times of refreshing" to which the apostle Peter
looked forward when he said, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that
your sins may be blotted out [in the investigative Judgment], when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send
Jesus."[4 ACTS 3:19, 20.]
GC 612 -
Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy
consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from
Heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given.
Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will
follow the believers. Satan also works with lying wonders, even bringing down
fire from heaven in the sight of men.[1 REV. 13:13.] Thus the inhabitants of
the earth will be brought to take their stand.
The
message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the
Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and
now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by
missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were
impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from
yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is
seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which
have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay
them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies
combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord's
side.
<SB Chapter XXXIX. <EB
-
<SB "The Time of Trouble." <EB
-PR- 01
-PG-
613
-TEXT-
"At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which
standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble,
such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that
time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in
When
the third angel's message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty
inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work. They
have received "the latter rain," "the refreshing from the
presence of the Lord," and they are prepared for the trying hour before
them. Angels are hastening to and fro in Heaven. An angel returning from the
earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the
world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have
received "the seal of the living God."[2 SEE APPENDIX, NOTE 13.] Then
Jesus ceases his intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts his hands, and
with a loud voice says, "It is done;" and all the angelic host lay
off their crowns as he makes the solemn announcement: "He that is unjust,
let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and
he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him
be holy still."[3 REV. 22:11.] Every case has been decided for life or
death. Christ has made the atonement for his people, and blotted out their
sins. The number of his subjects is made up; "the kingdom and dominion,
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven," is about to be
given to the heirs of GC
614 - salvation, and Jesus is to
reign as King of kings, and Lord of lords.
When
he leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that
fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an
intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan
has entire control of the finally impenitent. God's long-suffering has ended.
The world has rejected his mercy, despised his love, and trampled upon his law.
The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God,
persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace,
they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the
inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God
cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of
strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more
terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.
A
single angel destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians, and filled the land
with mourning. When David offended against God by numbering the people, one
angel caused that terrible destruction by which his sin was punished. The same
destructive power exercised by holy angels when God commands, will be exercised
by evil angels when he permits. There are forces now ready, and only waiting
the divine permission, to spread desolation everywhere.
Those who honor the law of God have been accused of bringing judgments
upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of the fearful
convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among men that are filling
the earth with woe. The power attending the last warning has enraged the
wicked; their anger is kindled against all who have received the message, and
Satan will excite to still greater intensity the spirit of hatred and
persecution.
When
God's presence was finally withdrawn from the Jewish nation, priests and people
knew it not. Though GC
615 - under the control of
Satan, and swayed by the most horrible and malignant passions, they still
regarded themselves as the chosen of God. The ministration in the temple
continued; sacrifices were offered upon its polluted altars, and daily the
divine blessing was invoked upon a people guilty of the blood of God's dear
Son, and seeking to slay his ministers and apostles. So when the irrevocable
decision of the sanctuary has been pronounced, and the destiny of the world has
been forever fixed, the inhabitants of the earth will know it not. The forms of
religion will be continued by a people from whom the Spirit of God has been
finally withdrawn; and the Satanic zeal with which the prince of evil will
inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant designs, will bear the
semblance of zeal for God.
As
the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom,
and religious and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance
of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the
popular demand, will make them objects of universal execration. It will be
urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and
a law of the State, ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to
suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The
same argument eighteen hundred years ago was brought against Christ by the
"rulers of the people." "It is expedient for us," said the
wily Caiaphas, "that one man should die for the people, and that the whole
nation perish not."[1 JOHN 11:50.] This argument will appear conclusive;
and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the Sabbath of the
fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment,
and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death.
Romanism in the Old World, and apostate Protestantism in the New, will pursue a
similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts.
GC 616 -
The
people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress
described by the prophet as the time of Jacob's trouble. "Thus saith the
Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace."
"All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! for that day is great, so that
none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved
out of it."[1 JER. 30:5-7.]
Jacob's night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance
from the hand of Esau,[2 GEN. 32:24-30.] represents the experience of God's
people in the time of trouble. Because of the deception practiced to secure his
father's blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by
his brother's deadly threats. After remaining for many years an exile, he had
set out, at God's command, to return with his wives and children, his flocks
and herds, to his native country. On reaching the borders of the land, he was
filled with terror by the tidings of Esau's approach at the head of a band of
warriors, doubtless bent upon revenge. Jacob's company, unarmed and
defenseless, seemed about to fall helpless victims of violence and slaughter.
And to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the crushing weight of
self-reproach; for it was his own sin that had brought this danger. His only
hope was in the mercy of God; his only defense must be prayer. Yet he leaves
nothing undone on his own part to atone for the wrong to his brother, and to
avert the threatened danger. So should the followers of Christ, as they
approach the time of trouble, make every exertion to place themselves in a
proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger
which threatens liberty of conscience.
Having sent his family away, that they may not witness his
distress, Jacob remains alone to intercede with God. He confesses his sin, and
gratefully acknowledges the mercy of God toward him, while with deep humiliation
he pleads the covenant made with his fathers, and the promises to GC 617 - himself in the night vision at Bethel and in
the land of his exile. The crisis in his life has come; everything is at stake.
In the darkness and solitude he continues praying and humbling himself before God.
Suddenly a hand is laid upon his shoulder. He thinks that an enemy is seeking
his life, and with all the energy of despair he wrestles with his assailant. As
the day begins to break, the stranger puts forth his superhuman power; at his
touch the strong man seems paralyzed, and he falls, a helpless, weeping
suppliant, upon the neck of his mysterious antagonist. Jacob knows now that it
is the Angel of the covenant with whom he has been in conflict. Though
disabled, and suffering the keenest pain, he does not relinquish his purpose.
Long has he endured perplexity, remorse, and trouble for his sin; now he must
have the assurance that it is pardoned. The divine visitant seems about to
depart; but Jacob clings to him, pleading for a blessing. The Angel urges,"Let
me go; for the day breaketh;" but the patriarch exclaims, "I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me." What confidence, what firmness and
perseverance, are here displayed! Had this been a boastful, presumptuous claim,
Jacob would have been instantly destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who
confesses his weakness and unworthiness, yet trusts the mercy of a
covenant-keeping God.
"He had power over the Angel, and prevailed."[1 HOS. 12:4.]
Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal
prevailed with the Majesty of Heaven. He had fastened his trembling grasp upon
the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite Love could not turn away the
sinner's plea. As an evidence of his triumph, and an encouragement to others to
imitate his example, his name was changed from one which was a reminder of his
sin, to one that commemorated his victory. And the fact that Jacob had
prevailed with God was an assurance that he would prevail with men. He no
longer feared to encounter his brother's anger; for the Lord was his defense.
GC 618 -
Satan
had accused Jacob before the angels of God, claiming the right to destroy him
because of his sin; he had moved upon Esau to march against him; and during the
patriarch's long night of wrestling, Satan endeavored to force upon him a sense
of his guilt, in order to discourage him, and break his hold upon God. Jacob
was driven almost to despair; but he knew that without help from Heaven he must
perish. He had sincerely repented of his great sin, and he appealed to the
mercy of God. He would not be turned from his purpose, but held fast the Angel,
and urged his petition with earnest, agonizing cries, until he prevailed.
As
Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the wicked to
destroy God's people in the time of trouble. And as he accused Jacob, he will
urge his accusations against the people of God. He numbers the world as his
subjects; but the little company who keep the commandments of God are resisting
his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be
complete. He sees that holy angels are guarding them, and he infers that their
sins have been pardoned; but he does not know that their cases have been
decided in the sanctuary above. He has an accurate knowledge of the sins which
he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these before God in the most
exaggerated light, representing this people to be just as deserving as himself
of exclusion from the favor of God. He declares that the Lord cannot in justice
forgive their sins, and yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as his
prey, and demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.
As
Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the Lord permits him
to try them to the uttermost. Their confidence in God, their faith and
firmness, will be severely tested. As they review the past, their hopes sink;
for in their whole lives they can see little good. They are fully conscious of
their weakness and unworthiness. Satan GC 619 -
endeavors to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless, that
the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes to so destroy
their faith that they will yield to his temptations, and turn from their
allegiance to God.
Though God's people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent
upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of
persecution for the truth's sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented
of, and that through some fault in themselves they shall fail to realize the
fulfillment of the Saviour's promise, "I will keep thee from the hour of
temptation which shall come upon all the world."[1 REV. 3:10.] If they
could have the assurance of pardon, they would not shrink from torture or
death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their
own defects of character, then God's holy name would be reproached.
On
every hand they hear the plottings of treason, and see the active working of
rebellion; and there is aroused within them an intense desire, an earnest
yearning of soul, that this great apostasy may be terminated, and the
wickedness of the wicked may come to an end. But while they plead with God to
stay the work of rebellion, it is with a keen sense of self-reproach that they
themselves have no more power to resist and urge back the mighty tide of evil.
They feel that had they always employed all their ability in the service of
Christ, going forward from strength to strength, Satan's forces would have less
power to prevail against them. They afflict their souls before God, pointing to
their past repentance of their many sins, and pleading the Saviour's promise,
"Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he
shall make peace with me."[2 ISA. 27:5.] Their faith does not fail because
their prayers are not immediately answered. Though suffering the keenest
anxiety, terror, and distress, they do not cease their intercessions.
GC 620 -
They lay hold of the strength of God as Jacob
laid hold of the Angel; and the language of their souls is, "I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me."
Had
not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud,
God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life. So, in
the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before
them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair
would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God
for deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they
have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins have gone beforehand to
Judgment, and have been blotted out; and they cannot bring them to remembrance.
Satan
leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in the minor
affairs of life; but the Lord shows in his dealings with Jacob that he will in
nowise sanction or tolerate evil. All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their
sins, and permit them to remain upon the books of Heaven, unconfessed and
unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan. The more exalted their profession, and
the more honorable the position which they hold, the more grievous is their
course in the sight of God, and the more sure the triumph of their great
adversary. Those who delay a preparation for the day of God cannot obtain it in
the time of trouble, or at any subsequent time. The case of all such is
hopeless.
Those
professed Christians who come up to that last fearful conflict unprepared,
will, in their despair, confess their sins in words of burning, anguish, while
the wicked exult over their distress. These confessions are of the same
character as was that of Esau or of Judas. Those who make them lament the
<SI result <EI of transgression, but not its guilt. They feel no true
contrition, no abhorrence of evil. They acknowledge their sin, through fear of
punishment; but, like Pharaoh of old, they would return to their defiance of
Heaven, should the judgments be removed.
GC 621 -
Jacob's history is also an assurance that God will not cast off
those who have been deceived, and tempted, and betrayed into sin, but who have
returned unto him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to destroy this
class, God will send his angels to comfort and protect them in the time of
peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are
terrible; but the Lord's eye is upon his people, and his ear listens to their
cries. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to
consume them; but the Refiner will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire.
God's love for his children during the period of their severest trial is as
strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is
needful for them to be placed in the furnace fire; their earthliness must be
consumed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.
The
season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure
weariness, delay, and hunger,--a faith that will not faint, though severely
tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time.
Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His victory is an
evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God's
promises, as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed
as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God,
to pray long and earnestly for his blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with
God--how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls drawn out after
God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch. When waves of
despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant, how few cling
with unyielding faith to the promises of God.
Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger of
falling under the power of Satanic delusions and the decree to compel the
conscience. And even if they endure the test, they will be plunged into deeper
distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have never GC 622 - made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons
of faith which they have neglected, they will be forced to learn under a
terrible pressure of discouragement.
We
should now acquaint ourselves with God by proving his promises. Angels record
every prayer that is earnest and sincere. We should rather dispense with
selfish gratifications than neglect communion with God. The deepest poverty,
the greatest self-denial, with his approval, is better than riches, honors,
ease, and friendship without it. We must take time to pray. If we allow our
minds to be absorbed by worldly interests, the Lord may give us time by
removing from us our idols of gold, of houses, or of fertile lands.
The
young would not be seduced into sin if they would refuse to enter any path,
save that upon which they could ask God's blessing. If the messengers who bear
the last solemn warning to the world would pray for the blessing of God, not in
a cold, listless, lazy manner, but fervently and in faith, as did Jacob, they
would find many places where they could say, "I have seen God face to
face, and my life is preserved."[1 GEN. 32:30.] They would be accounted of
Heaven as princes, having power to prevail with God and with men.
The
"time of trouble such as never was," is soon to open upon us; and we
shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too
indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in
anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The
most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time
of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God. Though Noah, Daniel,
and Job were in the land, "as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall
deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by
their righteousness."[2 EZE. 14:20.]
Now,
while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to
become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our Saviour be brought to
yield to GC 623 - the power of temptation. Satan finds in
human hearts some point where he can gain a foot-hold; some sinful desire is
cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power. But Christ
declared of himself, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in
me."[1 JOHN 14:30.] Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would
enable him to gain the victory. He had kept his Father's commandments, and
there was no sin in him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition
in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.
It
is in this life that we are to separate sin from us, through faith in the
atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Saviour invites us to join ourselves to
him, to unite our weakness to his strength, our ignorance to his wisdom, our
unworthiness to his merits. God's providence is the school in which we are to
learn the meekness and lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting before us,
not the way we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the
true aims of life. It rests with us to co-operate with the agencies which
Heaven employs, in the work of conforming our characters to the divine model.
None can neglect or defer this work but at the most fearful peril to their
souls.
The
apostle John in vision heard a loud voice in Heaven exclaiming, "Woe to
the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short
time."[2 REV. 12:12.] Fearful are the scenes which call forth this
exclamation from the heavenly voice. The wrath of Satan increases as his time
grows short, and his work of deceit and destruction will reach its culmination
in the time of trouble.
Fearful sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed
in the heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons. The spirits of
devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the whole world, to
fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite with Satan in his last
struggle against the government of Heaven. By these GC 624 - agencies, rulers and subjects will be alike
deceived. Persons will arise pretending to be Christ himself, and claiming the
title and worship which belong to the world's Redeemer. They will perform
wonderful miracles of healing, and will profess to have revelations from Heaven
contradicting the testimony of the Scriptures.
As
the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate
Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour's advent as the
consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that
Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself
among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the
description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation.[1 REV. 1:13-15.]
The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have
yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air., "Christ has
come! Christ has come!" The people prostrate themselves in adoration
before him, while he lifts up his hands, and pronounces a blessing upon them,
as Christ blessed his disciples when he was upon the earth. His voice is soft
and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents
some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals
the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he
claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the
day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy
the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels
sent to them with light and truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering
delusion. Like the Samaritans who were deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes,
from the least to the greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying, This is
"the great power of God."[2 ACTS. 8:10.]
But
the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false christ are
not in accordance with the Scriptures His blessing is pronounced upon the
worshipers of the beast GC 625 - and his
image,--the very class upon whom the Bible declares that God's unmingled wrath
shall be poured out.
And,
furthermore, Satan is not permitted to counterfeit the manner of Christ's
advent. The Saviour has warned his people against deception upon this point,
and has clearly foretold the manner of his second coming. "There shall
arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
. . . Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not
forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be."[1 MATT. 24:24-27, 31, 25:31; REV. 1:7; 1
THESS. 4:16, 17.] This coming, there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It
will be universally known--witnessed by the whole world.
Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures, and who
have received the love of the truth, will be shielded from the powerful
delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect
the deceiver in his disguise. To all, the testing time will come. By the
sifting of temptation, the genuine Christian will be revealed. Are the people
of God now so firmly established upon his Word that they would not yield to the
evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible, and
the Bible only? Satan will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining a
preparation to stand in that day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up
their way, entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them to carry a heavy,
wearisome burden, that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of this
life, and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief.
As
the decree issued by the various rulers of Christendom against
commandment-keepers shall withdraw the protection of government, and abandon
them to those who desire their destruction, the people of God will flee from
the cities and GC
626 - villages, and associate
together in companies, dwelling in the most desolate and solitary places. Many
will find refuge in the strongholds of the mountains. Like the Christians of
the Piedmont valleys, they will make the high places of the earth their
sanctuaries, and will thank God for the "munitions of rocks."[1 ISA.
33.16.] But many of all nations, and all classes, high and low, rich and poor,
black and white, will be cast into the most unjust and cruel bondage. The
beloved of God pass weary days, bound in chains, shut in by prison bars,
sentenced to be slain, some apparently left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome
dungeons. No human ear is open to hear their moans; no human hand is ready to
lend them help.
Will
the Lord forget his people in this trying hour? Did he forget faithful Noah
when judgments were visited upon the antediluvian world? Did he forget Lot when
the fire came down from Heaven to consume the cities of the plain? Did he
forget Joseph surrounded by idolaters in Egypt? Did he forget Elijah when the
oath of Jezebel threatened him with the fate of the prophets of Baal? Did he
forget Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his prison-house? Did he forget
the three worthies in the fiery furnace? or Daniel in the den of lions.?
"Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten
me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands."[2 ISA. 49:14-16.]
The Lord of hosts has said, "He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of
his eye."[3 ZECH. 2:8.]
Though enemies may thrust them into prison, yet dungeon walls
cannot cut off the communication between their souls and Christ. One who sees
their every weakness, who is acquainted with every trial, is above all earthly
powers; and angels will come to them in lonely cells, bringing light and peace
from Heaven. The prison will be as a palace; for GC 627 - the
rich in faith dwell there, and the gloomy walls will be lighted up with
heavenly light, as when Paul and Silas prayed and sung praises at midnight in
the Philippians dungeon.
God's judgments will be visited upon those who are seeking to oppress
and destroy his people. His long forbearance with the wicked emboldens men in
transgression, but their punishment is none the less certain and terrible
because it is long delayed. "The Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim,
he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his
strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act."[1 ISA. 28:21.]
To our merciful God the act of punishment is a strange act. "As I live,
saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,"[2 EZE.
33:11.] The Lord is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant
in goodness and truth," "forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin." Yet he will "by no means clear the guilty." "The Lord
is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the
wicked."[3 EX. 34:6, 7; NAH. 1:3.] By terrible things in righteousness he
will vindicate the authority of his downtrodden law. The severity of the
retribution awaiting the transgressor may be judged by the Lord's reluctance to
execute justice. The nation with which he bears long, and which he will not
smite until it has filled up the measure of its iniquity in God's account, will
finally drink the cup of wrath unmixed with mercy.
When
Christ ceases his intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled wrath threatened
against those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark,[4 REV.
14:9, 10.] will be poured out. The plagues upon Egypt when God was about to
deliver Israel, were similar in character to those more terrible and extensive
judgments which are to fall upon the world just before the final deliverance of
God's people. Says the Revelator, in describing these terrific scourges,
"There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had GC 628 - the mark of the beast, and upon them which
worshiped his image." The sea "became as the blood of a dead man, and
every living soul died in the sea." And "the rivers and fountains of
waters became blood."[1 REV. 16:2-6, 8, 9.] Terrible as these inflictions
are, God's justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of God declares,
"Thou art righteous, O Lord, . . . because thou hast judged thus. For they
have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to
drink; for they are worthy.[1 REV. 16:2-6, 8, 9.] By condemning the people of
God to death they have as truly incurred the guilt of their blood, as if it had
been shed by their hands. In like manner Christ declared the Jews of his time
guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the days of Abel;
for they possessed the same spirit, and were seeking to do the same work, with
these murderers of the prophets.
In
the plague that follows, power is given to the sun "to scorch men with
fire. And men were scorched with great heat."[1 REV. 16:2-6, 8, 9.] The
prophets thus describe the condition of the earth at this fearful time:
"The land mourneth;. . . because the harvest of the field is
perished." "All the trees of the field are withered; because joy is
withered away from the sons of men." "The seed is rotten under their
clods, the garners are laid desolate." "How do the beasts groan! the
herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. . . . The rivers
of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the
wilderness." "The songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day,
saith the Lord God; there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall
cast them forth with silence."[2 JOEL 1:10-12, 17-20; AMOS 8:3.]
These plagues are not universal, or the inhabitants of the earth would
be wholly cut off. Yet they will be the most awful scourges that have ever been
known to mortals. All the judgments upon men, prior to the close of probation,
have been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood of GC 629 - Christ has shielded the sinner from
receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in the final Judgment, wrath is
poured out unmixed with mercy.
In
that day, multitudes will desire the shelter of God's mercy which they have so
long despised. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will
send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but
of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and
from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of
the Lord, and shall not find it."[1 AMOS 8:11, 12.] The people of God will not be free from suffering;
but while persecuted and distressed, while they endure privation, and suffer
for want of food, they will not be left to perish. That God who cared for
Elijah will not pass by one of his self-sacrificing children. He who numbers
the hairs of their head will care for them, and in time of famine they shall be
satisfied. While the wicked are dying from hunger and pestilence, angels will
shield the righteous, and supply their wants. To him that "walketh
righteously" is the promise, "Bread shall be given him; his waters
shall be sure." "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is
none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God
of Israel will not forsake them."[2 ISA. 33:16; 41:17.]
"Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit
be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield
no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd
in the stalls;" yet shall they that fear him "rejoice in the
Lord," and joy in the God of their salvation.[3 HAB. 3:17, 18.]
"The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall
preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul." "He shall
deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome GC 630 - pestilence. He shall cover thee with his
feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield
and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the
arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor
for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side,
and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with
thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou
hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation;
there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy
dwelling."[1 PS. 121:5-7; 91:3-10.]
Yet
to human sight it will appear that the people of God must soon seal their
testimony with their blood, as did the martyrs before them. They themselves
begin to fear that the Lord has left them to fall by the hand of their enemies.
It is a time of fearful agony. Day and night they cry unto God for deliverance.
The wicked exult, and the jeering cry is heard. "Where now is your faith?
Why does not God deliver you out of our hands if you are indeed his
people?" But the waiting ones remember Jesus dying upon Calvary's cross,
and the chief priests and rulers shouting in mockery, "He saved others;
himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from
the cross, and we will believe him."[2 MATT. 27:42.] Like Jacob, all are
wrestling with God. Their countenances express their internal struggle.
Paleness sits upon every face. Yet they cease not their earnest intercession.
Could men see with heavenly vision, they would behold companies of
angels that excel in strength stationed about those who have kept the word of
Christ's patience. With sympathizing tenderness, angels have witnessed their
distress, and have heard their prayers. They are waiting the word of their
Commander to snatch them from their peril. But they must wait yet a little
longer. The people of God
GC 631 - must drink
of the cup, and be baptized with the baptism. The very delay, so painful to
them, is the best answer to their petitions. As they endeavor to wait
trustingly for the Lord to work, they are led to exercise faith, hope, and
patience, which have been too little exercised during their religious
experience. Yet for the elect's sake, the time of trouble will be shortened.
"Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? . .
. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily."[1 LUKE 18:7, 8.] The end
will come more quickly than men expect. The wheat will be gathered and bound in
sheaves for the garner of God; the tares will be bound as fagots for the fires
of destruction.
The
heavenly sentinels, faithful to their trust, continue their watch. Though a
general decree has fixed the time when commandment-keepers may be put to death,
their enemies will in some cases anticipate the decree, and, before the time
specified, will endeavor to take their lives. But none can pass the mighty guardians
stationed about every faithful soul. Some are assailed in their flight from the
cities and villages; but the swords raised against them break and fall as
powerless as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form of men of war.
In
all ages, God has wrought through holy angels for the succor and deliverance of
his people. Celestial beings have taken an active part in the affairs of men.
They have appeared clothed in garments that shone as the lightning; they have
come as men, in the garb of wayfarers. Angels have appeared in human form to
men of God. They have rested, as if weary, under the oaks at noon. They have
accepted the hospitalities of human homes. They have acted as guides to
benighted travelers. They have, with their own hands, kindled the fires of the
altar. They have opened prison doors, and set free the servants of the Lord.
Clothed with the panoply of Heaven, they came to roll away the stone from the
Saviour's tomb.
In
the form of men, angels are often in the assemblies of GC 632 - the righteous, and they visit the assemblies
of the wicked, as they went to Sodom, to make a record of their deeds, to
determine whether they have passed the boundary of God's forbearance. The Lord
delights in mercy; and for the sake of a few who really serve him, he restrains
calamities, and prolongs the tranquillity of multitudes. Little do sinners
against God realize that they are indebted for their own lives to the faithful
few whom they delight to ridicule and oppress.
Though the rulers of this world know it not, yet often in their
councils angels have been spokesmen. Human eyes have looked upon them; human
ears have listened to their appeals; human lips have opposed their suggestions
and ridiculed their counsels; human hands have met them with insult and abuse.
In the council hall and the court of justice, these heavenly messengers have
shown an intimate acquaintance with human history; they have proved themselves
better able to plead the cause of the oppressed than were their ablest and most
eloquent defenders. They have defeated purposes and arrested evils that would
have greatly retarded the work of God, and would have caused great suffering to
his people. In the hour of peril and distress, "the angel of the Lord
encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."[1 PS.
34:7.]
With
earnest longing, God's people await the tokens of their coming King. As the
watchmen are accosted, "What of the night?" the answer is given
unfalteringly, "'The morning cometh, and also the night.'[2 ISA. 21:11,
12.] Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountain tops. Soon there will
be a revealing of His glory. The Sun of Righteousness is about to shine forth.
The morning and the night are both at hand,--the opening of endless day to the
righteous, the settling down of eternal night to the wicked."
As
the wrestling ones urge their petitions before God, the veil separating them
from the unseen seems almost GC 633 - withdrawn.
The heavens glow with the dawning of eternal day, and, like the melody of angel
songs, the words fall upon the ear, "Stand fast to your allegiance. Help
is coming." Christ, the almighty victor, holds out to his weary soldiers a
crown of immortal glory; and his voice comes from the gates ajar: "Lo, I
am with you. Be not afraid. I am acquainted with all your sorrows; I have borne
your griefs. You are not warring against untried enemies. I have fought the
battle in your behalf, and in my name you are more than conquerors."
The
precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The way to Heaven is
consecrated by his foot-prints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded
his. Every cross that we are called to bear, he has borne before us. The Lord
permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace. The time of trouble is a fearful
ordeal for God's people; but it is the time for every true believer to look up,
and by faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him.
"The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing
unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain
gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I, am he
that comforteth you; who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that
shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest
the Lord thy Maker; . . . and hast feared continually every day because of the
fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of
the oppressor? The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he
should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the Lord
thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared. The Lord of hosts is his
name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the
shadow of mine hand."
"Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but
not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah, and thy God that pleadeth the cause
of his people, Behold, I have GC 634 - taken out
of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou
shalt no more drink it again. But I will put it into the hand of them that
afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and
thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went
over."[1 ISA. 51:11-16, 21-23.]
The
eye of God, looking down the ages, was fixed upon the crisis which his people
are to meet, when earthly powers shall be arrayed against them. Like the
captive exile, they will be in fear of death by starvation or by violence. But
the Holy One who divided the Red Sea before Israel, will manifest his mighty
power and turn their captivity. "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of
hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man
spareth his own son that serveth him."[2 MAL. 3:17.] If the blood of
Christ's faithful witnesses were shed at this time, it would not, like the
blood of the martyrs, be as seed sown to yield a harvest for God. Their
fidelity would not be a testimony to convince others of the truth; for the
obdurate heart has beaten back the waves of mercy until they return no more If
the righteous were now left to fall a prey to their enemies it would be a
triumph for the prince of darkness. Says the psalmist, "In the time of
trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall
he hide me."[3 PS. 27:5.] Christ has spoken: "Come, my people, enter
thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were
for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh
out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity."[4 ISA. 26:20, 21.] Glorious will be the deliverance of those
who have patiently waited for his coming, and whose names are written in the
book of life.
-
<SB God's People Delivered. <EB
-PR- 01
-PG-
635
-TEXT-
When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who
honor the law of God, there will be, in different lands, a simultaneous
movement for their destruction. As the time appointed in the decree draws near,
the people will conspire to root out the hated sect. It will be determined to
strike in one night a decisive blow, which shall utterly silence the voice of
dissent and reproof.
The
people of God--some in prison cells, some hidden in solitary retreats in the
forests and the mountains--still plead for divine protection, while in every
quarter companies of armed men, urged on by hosts of evil angels, are preparing
for the work of death. It is now, in the hour of utmost extremity, that the God
of Israel will interpose for the deliverance of his chosen. Saith the Lord:
"Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and
gladness of heart, as when one goeth . . . to come into the mountain of
Jehovah, to the Mighty One of Israel. And the Lord shall cause his glorious
voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the
indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with
scattering, and tempest, and hailstones."[1 ISA. 30:29, 30.]
With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men
are about to rush upon their prey, when lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the
darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the
glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens, and seems to encircle each
praying company. The angry multitudes are GC 636 -
suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their murderous
rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God's
covenant, and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness.
By
the people of God a voice, clear and melodious, is heard, saying, "Look
up," and, lifting their eyes to the heavens, they behold the bow of
promise. The black, angry clouds that covered the firmament are parted, and
like Stephen they look up steadfastly into Heaven, and see the glory of God,
and the Son of man seated upon his throne. In his divine form they discern the
marks of his humiliation; and from his lips they hear the request, presented
before his Father and the holy angels, "I will that they also, whom thou
hast given me, be with me where I am."[1 JOHN 17:24.] Again a voice,
musical and triumphant, is heard, saying, "They come! they come! holy,
harmless, and undefiled. They have kept the word of my patience; they shall
walk among the angels;" and the pale, quivering lips of those who have
held fast their faith, utter a shout of victory.
It is
at midnight that God manifests his power for the deliverance of his people. The
sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick
succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the
righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in
nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy
clouds come up, and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens
is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like
the sound of many waters, saying, "It is done."[2 REV. 16:17, 18.]
That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty
earthquake, "such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an
earthquake and so great."[2 REV. 16:17, 18.] The firmament appears to open
and shut. The glory from the throne of God seems flashing through. The
mountains GC 637 - shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged
rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming tempest. The
sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of the hurricane, like the
voice of demons upon a mission of destruction. The whole earth heaves and
swells like the waves of the sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very
foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain chains are sinking. Inhabited
islands disappear. The seaports that have become like Sodom for wickedness, are
swallowed up by the angry waters. Babylon the Great hath come in remembrance
before God, "to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his
wrath."[1 REV. 16: 19, 21.] Great hailstones, every one "about the
weight of a talent," are doing their work of destruction. The proudest
cities of the earth are laid low. The lordly palaces, upon which the world's
great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves, are
crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent asunder, and God's
people, who have been held in bondage for their faith, are set free.
Graves are opened, and "many of them that sleep in the dust
of the earth" "awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt."[2 DAN. 12:2.] All who have died in the faith of the
third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God's
covenant of peace with those who have kept his law. "They also which pierced
Him,"[3 REV. 1:7.] those that mocked and derided Christ's dying agonies,
and the most violent opposers of his truth and his people, are raised to behold
him in his glory, and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient.
Thick
clouds still cover the sky; yet the sun now and then breaks through, appearing
like the avenging eye of Jehovah. Fierce lightnings leap from the heavens,
enveloping the earth in a sheet of flame. Above the terrific roar of thunder,
voices, mysterious and awful, declare the doom of the wicked. The words spoken
are not comprehended GC
638 - by all; but they are
distinctly understood by the false teachers. Those who a little before were so
reckless, so boastful and defiant, so exultant in their cruelty to God's
commandment-keeping people, are now overwhelmed with consternation, and
shuddering in fear. Their wails are heard above the sound of the elements.
Demons acknowledge the divinity of Christ, and tremble before his power, while
men are supplicating for mercy, and groveling in abject terror.
Said the prophets of old as they beheld in holy vision the day of God:
"Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a
destruction from the Almighty."[1 ISA. 13:6.] "Enter into the rock,
and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his
majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men
shall be bowed down; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the
day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and
upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." "In
that day a man shall cast the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold,
which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for
fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake
terribly the earth."[2 ISA. 2:10-12, 21 (MARGIN).]
Through a rift in the clouds, there beams a star whose brilliancy is
increased fourfold in contrast with the darkness. It speaks hope and joy to the
faithful, but severity and wrath to the transgressors of God's law. Those who
have sacrificed all for Christ are now secure, hidden as in the secret of the Lord's
pavilion. They have been tested, and before the world and the despisers of
truth they have evinced their fidelity to Him who died for them. A marvelous
change has come over those who have held fast their integrity in the very face
of death. They have been suddenly GC 639 - delivered
from the dark and terrible tyranny of men transformed to demons. Their faces,
so lately pale, anxious, and haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and
love. Their voices rise in triumphant song: "God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be
removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though
the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof."[1 PS. 46:1-3.]
While these words of holy trust ascend to God, the clouds sweep back,
and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the
black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial city
streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears against the sky a hand holding
two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet, "The heavens shall
declare His righteousness; for God is judge himself."[2 PS. 50:6.] That
holy law, God's righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from
Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The
hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the decalogue, traced
as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is
aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and
God's ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the
view of all the inhabitants of the earth.
It is
impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who have trampled upon
God's holy requirements. The Lord gave them his law; they might have compared
their characters with it, and learned their defects while there was yet
opportunity for repentance and reform; but in order to secure the favor of the
world, they set aside its precepts and taught others to transgress. They have
endeavored to compel God's people to profane his Sabbath. Now they are
condemned by that law which they have despised. With awful distinctness they
see that they are without GC 640 - excuse.
They chose whom they would serve and worship. "Then shall ye return, and
discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and
him that serveth him not."[1 MAL. 3:18.]
The
enemies of God's law, from the ministers down to the least among them, have a
new conception of truth and duty. Too late they see that the Sabbath of the
fourth commandment is the seal of the living God. Too late they see the true
nature of their spurious sabbath, and the sandy foundation upon which they have
been building. They find that they have been fighting against God. Religious
teachers have led souls to perdition while professing to guide them to the
gates of Paradise. Not until the day of final accounts will it be known how
great is the responsibility of men in holy office, and how terrible are the
results of their unfaithfulness. Only in eternity can we rightly estimate the
loss of a single soul. Fearful will be the doom of him to whom God shall say,
Depart, thou wicked servant.
The
voice of God is heard from Heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus' coming,
and delivering the everlasting covenant to his people. Like peals of loudest
thunder, his words roll through the earth. The Israel of God stand listening,
with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with his glory,
and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked
cannot look upon them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have
honored God by keeping his Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.
Soon
there appears in the east a small black cloud, about half the size of a man's
hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour, and which seems in the
distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God know this to be the sign
of the Son of man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the
earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its
base a glory GC 641 - like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus
rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a "man of sorrows," to
drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, he comes, victor in Heaven and earth, to
judge the living and the dead. "Faithful and True," "in
righteousness he doth judge and make war." And "the armies in Heaven
follow him."[1 REV. 19:11, 14.] With anthems of celestial melody the holy
angels, a vast, unnumbered throng, attend him on his way. The firmament seems
filled with radiant forms,-- "ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands." No human pen can portray the scene, nor mortal
mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. "His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the
light."[2 HAB. 3:3, 4.] As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye
beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head, but a
diadem of glory rests on his holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling
brightness of the noonday sun. "And he hath on his vesture and on his
thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords."[3 REV. 19:16.]
Before his presence, "all faces are turned into
paleness;" upon the rejecters of God's mercy falls the terror of eternal
despair. "The heart melteth, and the knees smite together," "and
the faces of them all gather blackness."[4 JER. 30:6; NAH. 2:10.] The
righteous cry with trembling, "Who shall be able to stand?" The
angels' song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence. Then the voice
of Jesus is heard, saying, "My grace is sufficient for you." The
faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the
angels strike a note higher, and sing again, as they draw still nearer to the
earth.
The
King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are
rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before him, and every mountain
and island is moved out of its place. "Our God shall come, and GC 642 - shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour
before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to
the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people."[1
PS. 50:3, 4.]
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,
and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every
freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said
to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that
sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his
wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"[2 REV. 6:15-17.]
The
derisive jests have ceased. Lying lips are hushed into silence. The clash of
arms, the tumult of battle, "with confused noise, and garments rolled in
blood,"[3 ISA. 9:5.] is stilled. Naught now is heard but the voice of
prayer and the sound of weeping and lamentation. The cry bursts forth from lips
so lately scoffing, "The great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be
able to stand?" The wicked pray to be buried beneath the rocks of the
mountains, rather than meet the face of Him whom they have despised and
rejected.
That
voice which penetrates the ear of the dead, they know. How often have its
plaintive, tender tones called them to repentance. How often has it been heard
in the touching entreaties of a friend, a brother, a Redeemer. To the rejecters
of his grace, no other could be so full of condemnation, so burdened with
denunciation, as that voice which has so long pleaded, "Turn ye, turn ye
from your evil ways; for why will ye die?"[4 EZE. 33:11.] Oh that it were
to them the voice of a stranger! Says Jesus: "I have called, and ye
refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But ye have set at
naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof."[5 PROV. 1:24, 25.]
That voice awakens memories which they would fain blot out,--warnings despised,
invitations refused, privileges slighted.
GC 643 -
There
are those who mocked Christ in his humiliation. With thrilling power come to
their minds the Sufferer's words, when, adjured by the high priest, he solemnly
declared, "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand
of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." [1 MATT. 26:64.] Now they
behold him in his glory, and they are yet to see him sitting on the right hand
of power.
Those who derided his claim to be the Son of God are speechless now.
There is the haughty Herod who jeered at his royal title, and bade the mocking
soldiers crown him king. There are the very men who with impious hands placed upon
his form the purple robe, upon his sacred brow the thorny crown, and in his
unresisting hand the mimic scepter, and bowed before him in blasphemous
mockery. The men who smote and spit upon the Prince of life, now turn from his
piercing gaze, and seek to flee from the overpowering glory of his presence.
Those who drove the nails through his hands and feet, the soldier who pierced
his side, behold these marks with terror and remorse.
With awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of Calvary.
With shuddering horror they remember how, wagging their heads in Satanic
exultation, they exclaimed, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If
he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will
believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have
him."[2 MATT. 27: 42, 43.]
Vividly they recall the Saviour's parable of the husbandmen who refused
to render to their lord the fruit of the vineyard, who abused his servants and
slew his son. They remember, too, the sentence which they themselves
pronounced: The lord of the vineyard will miserably destroy those wicked men.
In the sin and punishment of those unfaithful men, the priests and elders see
their own course and their own just doom. And now there rises a cry of mortal
agony. Louder than the shout, "Crucify him! crucify him!" which rang
through the streets of Jerusalem, GC 644 - swells the
awful, despairing wail, "He is the Son of God! He is the true
Messiah!" They seek to flee from the presence of the King of kings. In the
deep caverns of the earth, rent asunder by the warring of the elements, they
vainly attempt to hide.
In
the lives of all who reject truth, there are moments when conscience awakens,
when memory presents the torturing recollection of a life of hypocrisy, and the
soul is harassed with vain regrets. But what are these compared with the
remorse of that day when "fear cometh as desolation," when
"destruction cometh as a whirlwind!"[1 PROV. 1:27.] Those who would
have destroyed Christ and his faithful people, now witness the glory which
rests upon them. In the midst of their terror they hear the voices of the
saints in joyful strains exclaiming, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited
for him, and he will save us."[2 ISA. 25:9.]
Amid
the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder, the
voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the
graves of the righteous, then raising his hands to heaven he cries,
"Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!"
Throughout the length and breadth of the earth, the dead shall hear that voice;
and they that hear shall live. And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of
the exceeding great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From the
prison-house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying, "O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is the victory?"[3 1 COR.
15:55.] And the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voices in a
long, glad shout of victory.
All
come forth from their graves the same in stature as when they entered the tomb.
Adam, who stands among the risen throng, is of lofty height and majestic form,
in stature but little below the Son of God. He presents a marked contrast to
the people of later generations; in this one respect is shown the great
degeneracy of the race. But GC 645 - all arise with the freshness and vigor of
eternal youth. In the beginning, man was created in the likeness of God, not
only in character, but in form and feature. Sin defaced and almost obliterated
the divine image; but Christ came to restore that which had been lost. He will
change our vile bodies, and fashion them like unto his glorious body. The
mortal, corruptible form, devoid of comeliness, once polluted with sin, becomes
perfect, beautiful, and immortal. All blemishes and deformities are left in the
grave. Restored to the tree of life in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will
"grow up"[1 MAL. 4:2.] to the full stature of the race in its
primeval glory. The last lingering traces of the curse of sin will be removed,
and Christ's faithful ones will appear "in the beauty of the Lord our
God;" in mind and soul and body reflecting the perfect image of their
Lord. Oh, wonderful redemption! long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated
with eager anticipation, but never fully understood.
The
living righteous are changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye." At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal,
and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels
"gather together the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other." Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers'
arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with
songs of gladness ascend together to the city of God.
On
each side of the cloudy chariot are wings, and beneath it are living wheels;
and as the chariot rolls upward, the wheels cry, "Holy," and the
wings, as they move, cry, "Holy," and the retinue of angels cry,
"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." And the redeemed shout
"Alleluia!" as the chariot moves onward toward the New Jerusalem.
Before entering the city of God, the Saviour bestows upon his
followers the emblems of victory, and invests them with the insignia of their
royal state. The glittering ranks are GC 646 -
drawn up, in the form of a hollow square, about their King, whose form rises in
majesty high above saint and angel, whose countenance beams upon them full of
benignant love. Throughout the unnumbered host of the redeemed, every glance is
fixed upon him, every eye beholds His glory whose "visage was so marred
more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." Upon the heads
of the overcomers, Jesus with his own right hand places the crown of glory. For
each there is a crown, bearing his own "new name,"[1 REV. 2:17.] and
the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." In every hand are placed the
victor's palm and the shining harp. Then, as the commanding angels strike the
note, every hand sweeps the harp strings with skillful touch, awaking sweet
music in rich, melodious strains. Rapture unutterable thrills every heart, and
each voice is raised in grateful praise: "Unto Him that loved us, and
washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests
unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever."[2
REV. 1:5, 6.]
Before the ransomed throng is the holy city. Jesus opens wide the pearly
gates, and the nations that have kept the truth enter in. There they behold the
Paradise of God, the home of Adam in his innocency. Then that voice, richer
than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, is heard, saying, "Your
conflict is ended." "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
Now
is fulfilled the Saviour's prayer for his disciples, "I will that they
also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am." "Faultless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,"[3 JUDE 24.] Christ
presents to the Father the purchase of his blood, declaring, "Here am I,
and the children whom thou hast given me." "Those that thou gavest me
I have kept." Oh, the wonders of redeeming love! the rapture of that hour
when the infinite Father, looking GC 647 - upon the ransomed, shall behold his image,
sin's discord banished, its blight removed, and the human once more in harmony
with the divine!
With
unutterable love, Jesus welcomes his faithful ones to the "joy of their
Lord." The Saviour's joy is in seeing, in the kingdom of glory, the souls
that have been saved by his agony and humiliation. And the redeemed will be
sharers in this joy, as they behold, among the blessed, those who have been won
to Christ through their prayers, their labors, and loving sacrifice. As they
gather about the great white throne, gladness unspeakable will fill their
hearts, when they behold those whom they have won for Christ, and see that one
has gained others, and these still others, all brought into the haven of rest,
there to lay their crowns at Jesus' feet, and praise him through the endless
cycles of eternity.
As
the ransomed ones are welcomed to the city of God, there rings out upon the air
an exultant cry of adoration. The two Adams are about to meet. The Son of God
is standing with outstretched arms to receive the father of our race,--the
being whom he created, who sinned against his Maker, and for whose sin the
marks of the crucifixion are borne upon the Saviour's form. As Adam discerns
the prints of the cruel nails, he does not fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but
in humiliation casts himself at his feet, crying, "Worthy, worthy is the
Lamb that was slain!" Tenderly the Saviour lifts him up, and bids him look
once more upon the Eden home from which he has so long been exiled.
After his expulsion from Eden, Adam's life on earth was filled with
sorrow. Every dying leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the fair
face of nature, every stain upon man's purity, was a fresh reminder of his sin.
Terrible was the agony of remorse as he beheld iniquity abounding, and, in
answer to his warnings, met the reproaches cast upon himself as the cause of
sin. With patient humility GC 648 - he bore,
for nearly a thousand years, the penalty of transgression. Faithfully did he
repent of his sin, and trust in the merits of the promised Saviour, and he died
in the hope of a resurrection. The Son of God redeemed man's failure and fall,
and now, through the work of the atonement, Adam is re-instated in his first
dominion.
Transported with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his
delight,--the very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his
innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands have trained, the very
flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the reality of the
scene; he comprehends that this is indeed Eden restored, more lovely now than
when he was banished from it. The Saviour leads him to the tree of life, and
plucks the glorious fruit, and bids him eat. He looks about him, and beholds a
multitude of his family redeemed, standing in the Paradise of God. Then he
casts his glittering crown at the feet of Jesus, and, falling upon his breast,
embraces the Redeemer. He touches the golden harp, and the vaults of Heaven
echo the triumphant song, "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was
slain, and lives again!" The family of Adam take up the strain, and cast
their crowns at the Saviour's feet as they bow before him in adoration.
This
reunion is witnessed by the angels who wept at the fall of Adam, and rejoiced
when Jesus, after his resurrection, ascended to Heaven, having opened the grave
for all who should believe on his name. Now they behold the work of redemption
accomplished, and they unite their voices in the song of praise.
Upon
the crystal sea before the throne, that sea of glass as it were mingled with
fire,--so resplendent is it with the glory of God,--are gathered the company
that have "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over
his mark, and over the number of his name."[1 REV. 15:2.] With the Lamb
upon Mount Zion, "having the harps of God," they stand, GC 649 - the hundred and forty and four thousand that
were redeemed from among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many waters,
and as the sound of a great thunder, "the voice of harpers harping with
their harps."[1 REV. 14:1-5; 15:3; 7:14-17] And they sing "a new
song" before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred
and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb,--a song of
deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song;
for it is the song of their experience,--an experience such as no other company
have ever had. "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth."
These, having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are
counted as "the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb." "These
are they which came out of great tribulation;"[1 REV. 14:1-5; 15:3;
7:14-17.] they have passed through the time of trouble such as never was since
there was a nation; they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob's
trouble; they have stood without an intercessor through the final outpouring of
God's judgments. But they have been delivered, for they have "washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." "In their mouth
was found no guile; for they are without fault" before God.
"Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among
them."[1 REV. 14:1-5; 15:3; 7:14-17.] They have seen the earth wasted with
famine and pestilence, the sun having power to scorch men with great heat, and
they themselves have endured suffering, hunger, and thirst. But "they shall
hunger no more; neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them,
nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes."[1 REV. 14:1-5; 15:3; 7:14-17.]
In
all ages the Saviour's chosen have been educated and disciplined in the school
of trial. They walked in narrow GC 650 - paths on
earth; they were purified in the furnace of affliction. For Jesus' sake they
endured opposition, hatred, calumny. They followed him through conflicts sore;
they endured self-denial and experienced bitter disappointments. By their own
painful experience they learned the evil of sin, its power, its guilt, its woe;
and they look upon it with abhorrence. A sense of the infinite sacrifice made
for its cure, humbles them in their own sight, and fills their hearts with
gratitude and praise which those who have never fallen cannot appreciate. They
love much, because they have been forgiven much. Having been partakers of
Christ's sufferings, they are fitted to be partakers with him of his glory.
The
heirs of God have come from garrets, from hovels, from dungeons, from
scaffolds, from mountains, from deserts, from the caves of the earth, from the
caverns of the sea. On earth they were "destitute, afflicted,
tormented." Millions went down to the grave loaded with infamy, because
they steadfastly refused to yield to the deceptive claims of Satan. By human
tribunals they were adjudged the vilest of criminals. But now "God is
judge himself."[1 PS. 50:6.] Now the decisions of earth are reversed.
"The rebuke of his people shall he take away."[2 ISA. 25:8.]
"They shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord." He
hath appointed "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."[3 ISA.
62:12; 61:3.] They are no longer feeble, afflicted, scattered, and oppressed.
Henceforth they are to be ever with the Lord. They stand before the throne clad
in richer robes than the most honored of the earth have ever worn. They are
crowned with diadems more glorious than were ever placed upon the brow of
earthly monarchs. The days of pain and weeping are forever ended. The King of
glory has wiped the tears from all faces; every cause of grief has been
removed. Amid the waving of palm-branches they pour forth a song of praise,
clear, sweet, and harmonious; every voice takes up GC 651 - the strain, until the anthem swells through
the vaults of Heaven, "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb." And all the inhabitants of Heaven respond in the
ascription, "Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever."[1 REV.
7:10, 12.]
In
this life we can only begin to understand the wonderful theme of redemption.
With our finite comprehension we may consider most earnestly the shame and the
glory, the life and the death, the justice and the mercy, that meet in the cross;
yet with the utmost stretch of our mental powers we fail to grasp its full
significance. The length and the breadth, the depth and the height of redeeming
love are but dimly comprehended. The plan of redemption will not be fully
understood, even when the ransomed see as they are seen and know as they are
known; but through the eternal ages, new truth will continually unfold to the
wondering and delighted mind. Though the griefs and pains and temptations of
earth are ended, and the cause removed, the people of God will ever have a
distinct, intelligent knowledge of what their salvation has cost.
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. As the nations of
the saved look upon their Redeemer, and GC 652 -
behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in his countenance; as they
behold his throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting, and know that his
kingdom is to have no end, they break forth in rapturous song, "Worthy,
worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his own most
precious blood!"
The
mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries. In the light that streams
from Calvary, the attributes of God which had filled us with fear and awe
appear beautiful and attractive. Mercy, tenderness, and parental love are seen
to blend with holiness, justice, and power. While we behold the majesty of his
throne, high and lifted up, we see his character in its gracious
manifestations, and comprehend, as never before, the significance of that
endearing title, our Father.
It
will be seen that He who is infinite in wisdom could devise no plan for our
salvation except the sacrifice of his Son. The compensation for this sacrifice
is the joy of peopling the earth with ransomed beings, holy, happy, and
immortal. The result of the Saviour's conflict with the powers of darkness is
joy to the redeemed, redounding to the glory of God, throughout eternity. And
such is the value of the soul that the Father is satisfied with the price paid;
and Christ himself, beholding the fruits of his great sacrifice, is satisfied.
<SB Chapter XLI. <EB
-
<SB Desolation of the Earth. <EB
-PR- 01
-PG-
653
-TEXT-
"Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities." "In the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double.
How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and
sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow,
and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death,
and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong
is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed
fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for
her, . . . saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in
one hour is thy judgment come."[1 REV. 18:5-10, 3, 15-17.]
"The merchants of the earth," that have "waxed rich
through the abundance of her delicacies," "shall stand afar off for
the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas that great
city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with
gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come
to naught."[1 REV. 18:5-10, 3, 15-17.]
Such
are the judgments that fall upon Babylon in the day of the visitation of God's
wrath. She has filled up the measure of her iniquity; her time has come; she is
ripe for destruction.
When
the voice of God turns the captivity of his people, there is a terrible
awakening of those who have lost all in the great conflict of life. While
probation continued, they were blinded by Satan's deceptions, and they
justified their GC
654 - course of sin. The rich
prided themselves upon their superiority to those who were less favored; but
they had obtained their riches by violation of the law of God. They had
neglected to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to deal justly, and to love
mercy. They had sought to exalt themselves, and to obtain the homage of their
fellow-creatures. Now they are stripped of all that made them great, and are
left destitute and defenseless. They look with terror upon the destruction of
the idols which they preferred before their Maker. They have sold their souls
for earthly riches and enjoyments, and have not sought to become rich toward
God. The result is, their lives are a failure; their pleasures are now turned
to gall, their treasures to corruption. The gain of a life-time is swept away
in a moment. The rich bemoan the destruction of their grand houses, the
scattering of their gold and silver. But their lamentations are silenced by the
fear that they themselves are to perish with their idols.
The
wicked are filled with regret, not because of their sinful neglect of God and
their fellow-men, but because God has conquered. They lament that the result is
what it is; but they do not repent of their wickedness. They would leave no
means untried to conquer if they could.
The
world see the very class whom they have mocked and derided, and desired to
exterminate, pass unharmed through pestilence, tempest, and earthquake. He who
is to the transgressors of his law a devouring fire, is to his people a safe
pavilion.
The
minister who has sacrificed truth to gain the favor of men, now discerns the
character and influence of his teachings. It is apparent that an omniscient eye
was following him as he stood in the desk, as he walked the streets, as he
mingled with men in the various scenes of life. Every emotion of the soul,
every line written, every word uttered, every act that led men to rest in a
refuge of falsehood, has been scattering seed; and now, in the wretched, lost
souls around him, he beholds the harvest.
GC
655 -
Saith
the Lord: "They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people
slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace." "With lies
ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and
strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked
way, by promising him life."[1 JER. 8:11; EZE. 13:22.]
"Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep
of my pasture! . . . Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your
doings." "Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the
ashes, ye principal of the flock; for your days for slaughter and your
dispersions are accomplished; . . . and the shepherds shall have no way to
flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape."[2 JER. 23:1, 2; 25:34, 35
(MARGIN).] Ministers and people see that they have not sustained the right
relation to God. They see that they have rebelled against the Author of all
just and righteous law. The setting aside of the divine precepts gave rise to
thousands of springs of evil, discord, hatred, iniquity, until the earth became
one vast field of strife, one sink of corruption. This is the view that now
appears to those who rejected truth and chose to cherish error. No language can
express the longing which the disobedient and disloyal feel for that which they
have lost forever,--eternal life. Men whom the world has worshiped for their
talents and eloquence now see these things in their true light. They realize
what they have forfeited by transgression, and they fall at the feet of those
whose fidelity they have despised and derided, and confess that God has loved them.
The
people see that they have been deluded. They accuse one another of having led
them to destruction; but all unite in heaping their bitterest condemnation upon
the ministers. Unfaithful pastors have prophesied smooth things; they have led
their hearers to make void the law of God and to persecute those who would keep
it holy. Now, in their despair, these teachers confess before the world their
work of deception. The multitudes are filled with fury. "We GC 656 - are lost!" they cry, "and you are
the cause of our ruin;" and they turn upon the false shepherds. The very
ones that once admired them most, will pronounce the most dreadful curses upon
them. The very hands that once crowned them with laurels will be raised for
their destruction. The swords which were to slay God's people are now employed
to destroy their enemies. Everywhere there is strife and bloodshed.
"A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord
hath a controversy with the nations: he will plead with all flesh; he will give
them that are wicked to the sword." [1 JER. 25:31.] For six thousand years the great controversy
has been in progress; the Son of God and his heavenly messengers have been in
conflict with the power of the evil one, to warn, enlighten, and save the
children of men. Now all have made their decision; the wicked have fully united
with Satan in his warfare against God. The time has come for God to vindicate
the authority of his downtrodden law. Now the controversy is not alone with
Satan, but with men. "The Lord hath a controversy with the nations;"
"he will give them that are wicked to the sword."
The
mark of deliverance has been set upon those "that sigh and that cry for
all the abominations that be done." Now the angel of death goes forth,
represented in Ezekiel's vision by the men with the slaughtering weapons, to
whom the command is given: "Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and
little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark;
and begin at my sanctuary." Says the prophet, "They began at the
ancient men which were before the house."[2 EZE. 9:1-6.] The work of
destruction begins among those who have professed to be the spiritual guardians
of the people. The false watchmen are the first to fall. There are none to pity
or to spare. Men, women, maidens, and little children perish together.
"The Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the
earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no
more cover her slain."[3 ISA. 26:21.] GC 657 - "And this shall be the plague wherewith
the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: Their
flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall
consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their
mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day that a great tumult from the Lord
shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his
neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor."[1 ZECH.
14:12, 13.] In the mad strife of their own fierce passions, and by the awful
outpouring of God's unmingled wrath, fall the wicked inhabitants of the
earth,--priests, rulers, and people, rich and poor, high and low. "And the
slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor
buried."[2 JER. 25:33.]
At
the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the whole
earth,--consumed with the spirit of his mouth, and destroyed by the brightness
of his glory. Christ takes his people to the city of God, and the earth is
emptied of its inhabitants. "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and
maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the
inhabitants thereof." "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly
spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word." "Because they have
transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are
desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned."[3 ISA. 24:1,
3, 5, 6.]
The
whole earth appears like a desolate wilderness. The ruins of cities and
villages destroyed by the earthquake, uprooted trees, ragged rocks thrown out
by the sea or torn out of the earth itself, are scattered over its surface,
while vast caverns mark the spot where the mountains have been rent from their
foundations. Now the event takes place, foreshadowed in the last solemn GC 658 - service of the day of atonement. When the
ministration in the holy of holies had been completed, and the sins of Israel
had been removed from the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin-offering,
then the escape-goat was presented alive before the Lord; and in presence of
the congregation of high priest confessed over him "all the iniquities of
the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting
them upon the head of the goat."[1 LEV. 16:21.] In like manner, when the
work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the
presence of God and heavenly angels, and the host of the redeemed, the sins of
God's people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the
evil which he has caused them to commit. And as the escape-goat was sent away
into a land not inhabited, so Satan will be banished to the desolate earth, an
uninhabited and dreary wilderness.
The
Revelator foretells the banishment of Satan, and the condition of chaos and
desolation to which the earth is to be reduced; and he declares that this
condition will exist for a thousand years. After presenting the scenes of the
Lord's second coming and the destruction of the wicked, the prophecy continues:
"I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the key of the bottomless
pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him,
that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be
fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season." [2 REV.
20:1-3.]
That
the expression, "bottomless pit," represents the earth in a state of
confusion and darkness, is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the
condition of the earth "in the beginning," the Bible record says that
it "was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the
deep."[3 GEN. 1:2; THE WORD HERE TRANSLATED "DEEP" IS THE SAME
THAT IN REV. 20:1-3 IS RENDERED "BOTTOMLESS PIT."]
GC 659 -
Prophecy teaches that it will be brought
back, partially, at least, to this condition. Looking forward to the great day
of God, the prophet Jeremiah declares: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it
was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld
the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I
beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities
thereof were broken down."[1 JER. 4:23-27.]
Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand
years. Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds, to tempt
and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that he is bound;
there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise his power. He is wholly cut
off from the work of deception and ruin which for so many centuries has been
his sole delight.
The
prophet Isaiah, looking forward to the time of Satan's overthrow, exclaims:
"How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
thou cast down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations." "Thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God." "I will be like the Most High. Yet thou
shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee
shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that
made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a
wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that <SI opened not the house
of his prisoners? <EI"[2 ISA. 14:12-17.]
For
six thousand years, Satan's work of rebellion has "made the earth to
tremble." He has "made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the
cities thereof." And "he opened not the house of his prisoners."
For six thousand years his prison-house has received God's people, and he would
have held them captive forever, but Christ has broken his bonds, and set the
prisoners free.
Even
the wicked are now placed beyond the power of GC 660 - Satan;
and alone with his evil angels he remains to realize the effect of the curse
which sin has brought. "The kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in
glory, every one in his own house [the grave]. But thou art cast out of thy
grave like an abominable branch. . . . Thou shalt not be joined with them in
burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people."[1
ISA. 14:18-20.]
For
a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth, to behold
the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his
sufferings are intense. Since his fall, his life of unceasing activity has
banished reflection; but he is now deprived of his power, and left to
contemplate the part which he has acted since first he rebelled against the
government of Heaven, and to look forward with trembling and terror to the
dreadful future, when he must suffer for all the evil that he has done, and be
punished for the sins that he has caused to be committed.
To
God's people, the captivity of Satan will bring gladness and rejoicing. Says
the prophet: "It shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give
thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service
wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this proverb against
the king of Babylon [here representing Satan], and say, How hath the oppressor
ceased! . . . The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the
rulers; that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the
nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained."[2 ISA. 14:3-6,
REVISED VERSION.]
During the thousand years between the first and the second
resurrection, the Judgment of the wicked takes place. The apostle Paul points
to this Judgment as an event that follows the second advent. "Judge
nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the
hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
hearts."[3 1 COR. 4:5.] Daniel declares that when the Ancient of days GC 661 - came, "Judgment was given to the saints
of the Most High." [1 DAN. 7:22.] At this time the righteous reign as
kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: "I saw thrones,
and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them." "They
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand
years."[2 REV. 20:4, 6; 1 COR. 6:2,3.] It is at this time that, as
foretold by Paul, "the saints shall judge the world."[2 REV. 20:4, 6;
1 COR. 6:2, 3.] In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their
acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the
deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted
out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the
book of death.
Satan also and evil angels are judged by Christ and his people. Says
Paul, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" [2 REV. 20:4, 6; 1
COR. 6:2, 3.] And Jude declares that "the angels which kept not their
first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting
chains-under darkness unto the Judgment of the great day."[3 JUDE 6.]
At
the close of the thousand years the second resurrection will take place. Then
the wicked will be raised from the dead, and appear before God for the
execution of "the judgment written." Thus the Revelator, after
describing the resurrection of the righteous, says, "The rest of the dead
lived not again until the thousand years were finished."[4 REV. 20:5; ISA.
24:22.] And Isaiah declares, concerning the wicked, "They shall be
gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up
in the prison, and <SI after many days shall they be visited <EI"[4
REV. 20:5; ISA. 24:22.]
<SB The Controversy Ended. <EB
-PR- 01
-PG-
662
-TEXT-
At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth.
He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed, and attended by a retinue of
angels. As he descends in terrific majesty, he bids the wicked dead arise to
receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands of
the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection!
The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the
traces of disease and death.
Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the
Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim, "Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord!" It is not love to Jesus that inspires
this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the
wicked went into their graves, so they come forth, with the same enmity to
Christ, and the same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation, in
which to remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by
this. A life-time of transgression has not softened their hearts. A second
probation, were it given them, would be occupied as was the first, in evading
the requirements of God and exciting rebellion against him.
Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after his
resurrection, he ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of his return.
Says the prophet, "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with
thee." "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of
Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives GC 663 - shall cleave in the midst thereof, . . . and
there shall be a very great valley." "And the Lord shall be King over
all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one."[1
ZECH. 14:5, 4, 9.] As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down
out of Heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it,
and Christ with his people and the angels, enters the holy city.
Now
Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of
his power, and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was
miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised, and he sees the vast
multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the
great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner,
and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan's
captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader.
They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to
his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be
the Prince who is the rightful owner of the world, and whose inheritance has
been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects
as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their
graves, and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny. The
presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his
claims. He makes the weak strong, and inspires all with his own spirit and
energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints, and to take
possession of the city of God. With fiendish exultation he points to the
unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead, and declares that as
their leader he is well able to overthrow the city, and regain his throne and
his kingdom.
In
that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the
flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control
of fallen angels, GC
664 - devoted all their skill
and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art
led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions,
defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused him to blot them from
the face of his creation. There are kings and generals who conquered nations,
valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach
made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up
from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased.
They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell.
Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors
and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and
declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and
that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches
and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle.
Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for
their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions.
At
last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on,--an army
such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces
of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of
warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final
struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in
vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision, the
serried ranks advance over the earth's broken and uneven surface to the city of
God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the
armies of Satan surround the city, and make ready for the onset.
Now
Christ again appears to the view of his enemies. Far above the city, upon a
foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne
sits the Son GC 665
- of God, and around him are the
subjects of his kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can
describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding his
Son. The brightness of his presence fills the city of God, and flows out beyond
the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.
Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of
Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour
with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters
in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when
the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were
martyred for their faith. And beyond is the "great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,"
"before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and
palms in their hands."[1 REV. 7:9.] Their warfare is ended, their victory
won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their
hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless
righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.
The
redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes and re-echoes through the vaults of
heaven, "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb." And angel and seraph unite their voices in adoration. As the
redeemed have beheld the power and malignity of Satan, they have seen, as never
before, that no power but that of Christ could have made them conquerors. In
all that shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to themselves, as
if they had prevailed by their own power and goodness. Nothing is said of what
they have done or suffered; but the burden of every song, the key-note of every
anthem, is, Salvation to our God, and unto the Lamb.
In
the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and Heaven the final
coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme
majesty and power, the GC 666 - King of
kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels against his government, and executes
justice upon those who have transgressed his law and oppressed his people. Says
the prophet of God: "I saw a great white throne, and Him that 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, stand before God; and the
books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works." [1 REV. 20:11, 12.]
As
soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the
wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They
see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just
how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law of
God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in sin, the
blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected, the
waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant heart,--all appear as
if written in letters of fire.
Above the throne is revealed the cross; and like a panoramic view appear
the scenes of Adam's temptation and fall, and the successive steps in the great
plan of redemption. The Saviour's lowly birth; his early life of simplicity and
obedience; his baptism in Jordan; the fast and temptation in the wilderness;
his public ministry, unfolding to men Heaven's most precious blessings; the
days crowded with deeds of love and mercy, the nights of prayer and watching in
the solitude of the mountains; the plottings of envy, hate, and malice which
repaid his benefits; the awful, mysterious agony in Gethsemane, beneath the
crushing weight of the sins of the whole world; his betrayal into the hands of
the murderous mob; the fearful events of that night of horror,--the unresisting
prisoner, forsaken by his best-loved disciples, rudely hurried through the
streets of Jerusalem; the Son of God exultingly displayed before GC 667 - Annas, arraigned in the high priest's
palace, in the judgment hall of Pilate, before the cowardly and cruel Herod,
mocked, insulted, tortured, and condemned to die,--all are vividly
portrayed.
And now before the swaying multitude are revealed the final scenes,--the
patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of Heaven hanging
upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble deriding his
expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving earth, the rent rocks,
the open graves, marking the moment when the world's Redeemer yielded up his
life.
The
awful spectacle appears just as it was. Satan, his angels, and his subjects
have no power to turn from the picture of their own work. Each actor recalls
the part which he performed. Herod, who slew the innocent children of Bethlehem
that he might destroy the King of Israel; the base Herodias, upon whose guilty
soul rests the blood of John the Baptist; the weak, time-serving Pilate; the
mocking soldiers; the priests and rulers and the maddened throng who cried,
"His blood be on us, and our children!"--all behold the enormity of
their guilt. They vainly seek to hide from the divine majesty of His
countenance, outshining the glory of the sun, while the redeemed cast their
crowns at the Saviour's feet, exclaiming, "He died for me!"
Amid the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul,
the ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their true-hearted brethren,
and with them the vast host of martyrs; while outside the walls, with every
vile and abominable thing, are those by whom they were persecuted, imprisoned,
and slain. There is Nero, that monster of cruelty and vice, beholding the joy
and exaltation of those whom he once tortured, and in whose extremest anguish
he found Satanic delight. His mother is there to witness the result of her own
work; to see how the evil stamp of character transmitted to her son, the
passions encouraged and developed by her influence and example, have borne
fruit in crimes that caused the world to shudder.
GC 668 - There are papist priests and
prelates, who claimed to be Christ's ambassadors, yet employed the rack, the
dungeon, and the stake to control the consciences of his people. There are the
proud pontiffs who exalted themselves above God, and presumed to change the law
of the Most High. Those pretended fathers of the church have an account to
render to God from which they would fain be excused. Too late they are made to
see that the Omniscient One is jealous of his law, and that he will in nowise
clear the guilty. They learn now that Christ identifies his interest with that
of his suffering people; and they feel the force of his own words,
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me."[1 MATT. 25:40.]
The
whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God, on the charge of high
treason against the government of Heaven. They have none to plead their cause;
they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is pronounced
against them.
It
is now evident to all that the wages of sin is not noble independence and
eternal life, but slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they have
forfeited by their life of rebellion. The far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory was despised when offered them; but how desirable it now appears.
"All this," cries the lost soul, "I might have had; but I chose to
put these things far from me. Oh, strange infatuation! I have exchanged peace,
happiness, and honor, for wretchedness, infamy, and despair." All see that
their exclusion from Heaven is just. By their lives they have declared,
"We will not have this Jesus to reign over us."
As
if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God.
They see in his hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which they
have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture,
and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the
multitudes without the city, all with one GC 669 -
voice exclaim, "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just
and true are thy ways, thou King of saints;" and falling prostrate, they worship
the Prince of life.
Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He
who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining
seraph, "son of the morning;" how changed, how degraded! From the
council where once he was honored, he is forever excluded. He sees another now
standing near to the Father, veiling his glory. He has seen the crown placed
upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence, and
he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his.
Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace and
content that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of
Christ. His accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and
support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort for
self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness,--all come vividly
before him. He reviews his work among men and its results,--the enmity of man
toward his fellow-man, the terrible destruction of life, the rise and fall of
kingdoms, the overturning of thrones, the long succession of tumults,
conflicts, and revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work
of Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees that his hellish plots have
been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan
looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin.
He has led the multitudes to believe that the city of God would be an easy
prey; but he knows that this is false. Again and again, in the progress of the
great controversy, he has been defeated, and compelled to yield. He knows too
well the power and majesty of the Eternal.
The
aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself, and to prove the
divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this end he has bent all
the power of his GC
670 - giant intellect. He has
worked deliberately and systematically, and with marvelous success, leading
vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy which has been
so long in progress. For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed
off falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be
finally defeated, and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last
great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy his people, and take possession of the
city of God, the arch-deceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united
with him see the total failure of his cause. Christ's followers and the loyal
angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the government of
God. He is the object of universal abhorrence.
Satan
sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for Heaven. He has trained
his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of Heaven would
be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God
are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah
rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down, and confesses the justice
of his sentence.
"Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou
only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy
judgments are made manifest."[1 REV. 15:4.] Every question of truth and
error in the long-standing controversy has now been made plain. The results of
rebellion, the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes, have been laid open
to the view of all created intelligences. The working out of Satan's rule in
contrast with the government of God, has been presented to the whole universe.
Satan's own works have condemned him. God's wisdom, his justice, and his
goodness stand fully vindicated. It is seen that all his dealings in the great
controversy have been conducted with respect to the eternal good of his people,
and the good of all the worlds that he has created. "All thy GC 671 -
works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy
saints shall bless thee."[1 PS. 145:10.] The history of sin will stand to
all eternity as a witness that with the existence of God's law is bound up the
happiness of all the beings he has created. With all the facts of the great
controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal and rebellious, with one
accord declare, "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints."
Before the universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made
by the Father and the Son in man's behalf. The hour has come when Christ
occupies his rightful position, and is glorified above principalities and
powers and every name that is named. It was for the joy that was set before
him,--that he might bring many sons unto glory,-- that he endured the cross and
despised the shame. And inconceivably great as was the sorrow and the shame,
yet greater is the joy and the glory. He looks upon the redeemed, renewed in
his own image, every heart bearing the perfect impress of the divine, every
face reflecting the likeness of their King. He beholds in them the result of
the travail of his soul, and he is satisfied. Then, in a voice that reaches the
assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, he declares, "Behold
the purchase of my blood! For these I suffered; for these I died; that they
might dwell in my presence throughout eternal ages." And the song of
praise ascends from the white-robed ones about the throne, "Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honor, and glory, and blessing."[2 REV. 5:12.]
Notwithstanding that Satan has been constrained to acknowledge God's
justice, and to bow to the supremacy of Christ, his character remains
unchanged. The spirit of rebellion, like a mighty torrent, again bursts forth.
Filled with frenzy, he determines not to yield the great controversy. The time
has come for a last desperate struggle against the King of Heaven. He rushes
into the midst of his subjects, and endeavors to inspire them with his own
fury, and arouse GC
672 - them to instant battle.
But of all the countless millions whom he has allured into rebellion, there are
none now to acknowledge his supremacy. His power is at an end. The wicked are
filled with the same hatred of God that inspires Satan; but they see that their
case is hopeless, that they cannot prevail against Jehovah. Their rage is
kindled against Satan and those who have been his agents in deception, and with
the fury of demons they turn upon them.
Saith
the Lord: "Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; behold,
therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations; and
they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall
defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to 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."[1 EZE. 28:6-8, 16-19.]
"Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and
garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
"The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all
their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the
slaughter." "Upon the wicked he shall rain quick burning coals, fire
and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their
cup."[2 ISA. 9:5; 34:2; PS. 11:6 (MARGIN).] Fire comes down from God out
of Heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons concealed in its depths are
drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks
are on fire. The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt
with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are burned up.[3
MAL. 4:1; 2 PET. 3:10.] The earth's surface seems one molten mass,--a vast,
seething lake of fire. It is the time of the judgment and perdition of ungodly
men,--
GC 673 -
The
wicked receive their recompense in the earth.[1 ISA. 34:8; PROV. 11:31.] They
"shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the
Lord of hosts."[2 MAL. 4:1.] Some are destroyed as in a moment, while
others suffer many days. All are punished "according to their deeds."
The sins of the righteous having been transferred to Satan, he is made to
suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused
God's people to commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that of those
whom he has deceived. After all have perished who fell by his deceptions, he is
still to live and suffer on. In the cleansing flames the wicked are at last
destroyed, root and branch,--Satan the root, his followers the branches. The
full penalty of the law has been visited; the demands of justice have been met;
and Heaven and earth, beholding, declare the righteousness of Jehovah.
Satan's work of ruin is forever ended. For six thousand years he
has wrought his will, filling the earth with woe, and causing grief throughout
the universe. The whole creation has groaned and travailed together in pain.
Now God's creatures are forever delivered from his presence and temptations.
"The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they [the righteous] break
forth into singing."[3 ISA. 14:7.] And a shout of praise and triumph
ascends from the whole loyal universe. "The voice of a great
multitude," "as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings," is heard, saying, "Alleluia; for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth."
While
the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode safely in
the holy city. Upon those that had part in the first resurrection, the second
death has no power.[4 REV. 20:6; PS. 84:11.] While God is to the wicked a
consuming fire, he is to his people both a sun and a shield. [4 REV. 20:6; PS.
84:11.]
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first GC 674 - heaven and the first earth were passed
away."[1 REV. 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
before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.
One
reminder alone remains: our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of his
crucifixion. Upon his wounded head, upon his side, his hands and feet, are the
only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought. Says the prophet, beholding
Christ in his glory, "He had bright beams coming out of his side; and
there was the hiding of his power."[2 HAB. 3:4 (MARGIN)] That pierced side
whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God,--there is the
Saviour's glory, there "the hiding of his power." "Mighty to
save," through the sacrifice of redemption, he was therefore strong to
execute justice upon them that despised God's mercy. And the tokens of his
humiliation are his highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of
Calvary will show forth his praise, and declare his power.
"O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of
Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion."[3 MICAH 4:8; EPH.
1:14.] The time has come, to which holy men have looked with longing since the
flaming sword barred the first pair from Eden,--the time for "the
redemption of the purchased possession."[3 MICAH 4:8; EPH. 1:14.] The
earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the hands of
Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great
plan of redemption. All that was lost by sin has been restored. "Thus
saith the Lord . . . that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it,
he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited."[4 ISA. 45:18.]
God's original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made
the eternal abode of the redeemed. "The righteous shall inherit the land,
and dwell therein forever."[5 PS. 37:29.]
A
fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to
spiritualize away the very truths which lead GC 675 - us
to look upon it as our home. Christ assured his disciples that he went to
prepare mansions for them in the Father's house. Those who accept the teachings
of God's Word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. And
yet, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."[
1 COR. 2:9.] Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the
righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can
comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God.
In
the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country.[2 HEB. 11:14-16.]
There the heavenly Shepherd leads his flock to fountains of living waters. The
tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for
the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal,
and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the
ransomed of the Lord. There the widespreading plains swell into hills of
beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful
plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims and
wanderers, shall find a home.
"My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure
dwellings, and in quiet resting-places." "Violence shall no more be
heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt
call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." "They shall build
houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of
them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and
another eat: . . . mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands."[3
ISA. 32:18; 60:18; 65:21, 22.]
There, "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad
for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."
"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier
shall come up the myrtle tree."[4 ISA. 35:1; 55:13.] "The wolf also
shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard GC
676 -
shall lie down with the kid; . . . and a
little child shall lead them." "They shall not hurt nor destroy in
all my holy mountain,"[1 ISA. 11:6, 9; 33:24; 62:3; 65:19.] saith the
Lord.
Pain
cannot exist in the atmosphere of Heaven. There will be no more tears, no
funeral trains, no badges of mourning. "There shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, . . . for the former things are passed
away."[2 REV. 21:4, 11, 24, 3.] "The inhabitant shall not say, I am
sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity."[1
ISA. 11:6, 9; 33:24; 62:3; 65:19.]
There
is the New Jerusalem, the metropolis of the glorified new earth, "a crown
of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy
God."[1 ISA. 11:6, 9; 33:24; 62:3; 65:19.] "Her light was like unto a
stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."
"The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and
the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it."[2 REV.
21:4, 11, 24, 3.] Saith the Lord, "I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in
my people."[1 ISA. 11:6, 9; 33:24; 62:3; 65:19.] "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."[2 REV. 21:4, 11, 24,
3.]
In
the city of God "there shall be no night." None will need or desire
repose. There will be no weariness in doing the will of God and offering praise
to his name. We shall ever feel the freshness of the morning, and shall ever be
far from its close. "And they need no candle, neither light of the sun;
for the Lord God giveth them light."[3 REV. 22:5; 21:22.] The light of the
sun will be superseded by a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which
immeasurably surpasses the brightness of our noontide. The glory of God and the
Lamb floods the holy city with unfading light. The redeemed walk in the sunless
glory of perpetual day.
"I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it."[3 REV. 22:5; 21:22.] The people of God are
privileged to hold open communion with the Father and the Son. Now we "see
through a glass, darkly."[4 1 COR. 13:12.] We GC 677 - behold the image of God reflected, as in a
mirror, in the works of nature and in his dealings with men; but then we shall
see him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in his
presence, and behold the glory of his countenance.
There the redeemed shall "know, even as also they are known."
The loves and sympathies which God himself has planted in the soul, shall there
find truest and sweetest exercise. The pure communion with holy beings, the
harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of
all ages, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together "the whole family in Heaven and
earth," [1 EPH. 3:15.]--these help to constitute the happiness of the
redeemed.
There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the
wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There is no cruel,
deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be
developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not
weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be
carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions
realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to
admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of
mind and soul and body.
All
the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed.
Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds
afar,--worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe, and rang
with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable
delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen
beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through
ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision they
gaze upon the glory of creation,--suns and stars and systems, all in their
appointed order circling GC 678 - the throne
of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name
is written, and in all are the riches of his power displayed.
And
the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious
revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love,
reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will
be their admiration of his character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of
redemption, and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan,
the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more
rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand
and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of
praise.
"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, heard I
saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever."[1 REV. 5:13.]
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.
GC (679) -
<SB APPENDIX. <EB
-
<SB GENERAL NOTES. <EB
<SB NOTE 1. PAGE 53. <EB--CONSTANTINE'S SUNDAY LAW, ISSUED
A.D. 321, WAS AS FOLLOWS:--
"LET ALL THE JUDGES AND TOWN PEOPLE, AND THE OCCUPATION OF ALL
TRADES REST ON THE VENERABLE DAY OF THE SUN; BUT LET THOSE WHO ARE SITUATED IN
THE COUNTRY, FREELY AND AT FULL LIBERTY ATTEND TO THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE;
BECAUSE IT OFTEN HAPPENS THAT NO OTHER DAY IS SO FIT FOR SOWING CORN AND
PLANTING VINES; LEST, THE CRITICAL MOMENT BEING LET SLIP, MEN SHOULD LOSE THE
COMMODITIES GRANTED BY HEAVEN."
OF THIS LAW, SO HIGH AN AUTHORITY AS THE "ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANNICA"
PLAINLY SAYS: "IT WAS CONSTANTINE THE GREAT WHO FIRST MADE A LAW FOR THE
PROPER OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY; AND WHO, ACCORDING TO EUSEBIUS, APPOINTED THAT IT
SHOULD BE REGULARLY CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE. BEFORE HIM, AND
EVEN IN HIS TIME, THEY OBSERVED THE JEWISH SABBATH, AS WELL AS SUNDAY." AS
TO THE DEGREE OF REVERENCE WITH WHICH SUNDAY WAS REGARDED, AND THE MANNER OF
ITS OBSERVANCE, MOSHEIM SAYS THAT IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE LAW ENACTED BY
CONSTANTINE, THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK WAS <SI "OBSERVED WITH GREATER
SOLEMNITY THAN IT HAD FORMERLY BEEN." <EI[1 ECCL. HIST. CENT. 4, PART
2, CHAP. 4, SEC. 5.] YET CONSTANTINE PERMITTED ALL KINDS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR
TO BE PERFORMED ON SUNDAY! BISHOP TAYLOR DECLARES THAT "THE PRIMITIVE
CHRISTIANS DID ALL MANNER OF WORKS UPON THE LORD'S DAY."[2 DUCT.
DUBITANT., PART 1, BOOK 2, CHAP. 2, RULE 6, SEC. 59.] THE SAME STATEMENT IS
MADE BY MORER: "THE DAY [SUNDAY] WAS NOT WHOLLY KEPT IN ABSTAINING FORM
COMMON BUSINESS; NOR DID THEY [CHRISTIANS] ANY LONGER REST FROM THEIR ORDINARY
AFFAIRS (SUCH WAS THE NECESSITY OF THOSE TIMES) THAN DURING THE DIVINE
SERVICE." [3 DIALOGUES ON THE LORD'S DAY, P. 233.] SAYS COX: "THERE
IS NO EVIDENCE THAT EITHER AT THIS [THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE], OR AT A PERIOD
MUCH LATER, THE OBSERVANCE WAS VIEWED AS DERIVING ANY OBLIGATION FROM THE
FOURTH COMMANDMENT; IT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN REGARDED AS AN INSTITUTION
CORRESPONDING IN NATURE WITH CHRISTMAS, GOOD FRIDAY, AND OTHER FESTIVALS OF THE
CHURCH." [4 COX'S SABBATH LAWS, P. 281.]
<SB NOTE 2. PAGE 54. <EB--IN THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF REVELATION WE HAVE AS A
SYMBOL A GREAT RED DRAGON. IN THE NINTH VERSE OF THAT CHAPTER THIS SYMBOL IS
EXPLAINED AS FOLLOWS: "AND THE GREAT DRAGON WAS CAST OUT, THAT OLD
SERPENT, CALLED THE DEVIL, AND SATAN, WHICH DECEIVETH THE WHOLE WORLD; HE WAS
CAST OUT INTO THE EARTH, AND HIS ANGELS WERE CAST OUT WITH HIM."
UNDOUBTEDLY THE DRAGON PRIMARILY REPRESENTS SATAN. BUT SATAN DOES NOT APPEAR
UPON THE GC 680 - EARTH IN PERSON; HE WORKS THROUGH AGENTS. IT WAS IN THE PERSON OF
WICKED MEN THAT HE SOUGHT TO DESTROY JESUS AS SOON AS HE WAS BORN. WHEREVER
SATAN HAS BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL A GOVERNMENT SO FULLY THAT IT WOULD CARRY OUT
HIS DESIGNS, THAT NATION BECAME, FOR THE TIME, SATAN'S REPRESENTATIVE. THIS WAS
THE CASE WITH ALL THE GREAT HEATHEN NATIONS. FOR INSTANCE, SEE EZEKIEL 28,
WHERE SATAN IS REPRESENTED AS ACTUAL KING OF TYRE. THIS WAS BECAUSE HE FULLY
CONTROLLED THAT GOVERNMENT. IN THE FIRST CENTURIES OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA, ROME,
OF ALL THE PAGAN NATIONS, WAS SATAN'S CHIEF AGENT IN OPPOSING THE GOSPEL, AND
WAS THEREFORE REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON.
BUT THERE CAME A TIME WHEN PAGANISM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE FELL
BEFORE THE ADVANCING <SI FORM <EI OF CHRISTIANITY. THEN, AS IS STATED ON
PAGE 54, "PAGANISM HAD GIVEN PLACE TO THE PAPACY. THE DRAGON HAD GIVEN TO
THE BEAST 'HIS POWER, AND HIS SEAT, AND GREAT AUTHORITY.'" THAT IS, SATAN
THEN BEGAN TO WORK THROUGH THE PAPACY, JUST AS HE HAD FORMERLY WORKED THROUGH
PAGANISM. BUT THE PAPACY IS NOT REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON, BECAUSE IT IS NECESSARY
TO INTRODUCE ANOTHER SYMBOL IN ORDER TO SHOW THE CHANGE IN THE <SI FORM
<EI OF THE OPPOSITION TO GOD. PREVIOUS TO THE RISE OF THE PAPACY, ALL
OPPOSITION TO THE LAW OF GOD HAD BEEN IN THE FORM OF PAGANISM,--GOD HAD BEEN
OPENLY DEFIED; BUT FROM THAT TIME THE OPPOSITION WAS CARRIED ON UNDER THE GUISE
OF PROFESSED ALLEGIANCE TO HIM. THE PAPACY, HOWEVER, WAS NO LESS THE INSTRUMENT
OF SATAN THAN WAS PAGAN ROME; FOR ALL THE POWER, THE SEAT, AND THE GREAT
AUTHORITY OF THE PAPACY, WERE GIVEN IT BY THE DRAGON. AND SO, ALTHOUGH THE POPE
PROFESSES TO BE THE VICEGERENT OF CHRIST, HE IS, IN REALITY, THE VICEGERENT OF
SATAN--HE IS ANTICHRIST.
THE BEAST WHICH IS A SYMBOL OF THE PAPACY IS INTRODUCED IN REVELATION
13; AND FOLLOWING IT, IN THE SAME LINE OF PROPHECY, "ANOTHER BEAST"
IS SEEN "COMING UP," [1 REV. 13:11-14.] WHICH EXERCISES "ALL THE
POWER OF THE FIRST BEAST BEFORE HIM," THAT IS, IN HIS SIGHT. THIS OTHER
BEAST MUST THEREFORE BE A PERSECUTING POWER ALSO; AND THIS IS SHOWN IN THAT
"IT SPAKE AS A DRAGON." THE PAPACY RECEIVED ALL ITS POWER FROM SATAN,
AND THE TWO-HORNED BEAST EXERCISES THE SAME POWER; IT ALSO BECOMES THE DIRECT
AGENT OF SATAN. AND ITS SATANIC CHARACTER IS FURTHER SHOWN IN THAT IT ENFORCES
THE WORSHIP OF THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST, BY MEANS OF FALSE MIRACLES. "HE
DOETH GREAT WONDERS, SO THAT HE MAKETH FIRE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN ON THE EARTH
IN THE SIGHT OF MEN, AND <SI DECEIVETH <EI THEM THAT DWELL ON THE EARTH
BY THE MEANS OF THOSE MIRACLES WHICH HE HAD POWER TO DO."
THE FIRST PERSECUTING POWER IS REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON ITSELF; IN
HEATHENISM THERE WAS OPEN ALLIANCE WITH SATAN, AND OPEN DEFIANCE OF GOD. IN THE
SECOND PERSECUTING POWER, THE DRAGON IS MASKED; BUT THE SPIRIT OF SATAN
ACTUATES IT,--THE DRAGON SUPPLIES THE MOTIVE POWER. IN THE THIRD PERSECUTING
POWER, ALL TRACES OF THE DRAGON ARE ABSENT, AND A LAMB-LIKE BEAST APPEARS; BUT
WHEN IT SPEAKS, ITS DRAGON VOICE BETRAYS THE SATANIC POWER CONCEALED UNDER A
FAIR EXTERIOR, AND SHOWS IT TO BE OF THE SAME FAMILY AS THE TWO PRECEDING
POWERS. IN ALL THE OPPOSITION TO CHRIST AND HIS PURE RELIGION, "THAT OLD
SERPENT, CALLED THE DEVIL, AND SATAN,"--"THE GOD OF THIS
WORLD,"--IS THE MOVING POWER; EARTHLY PERSECUTING POWERS ARE SIMPLY
INSTRUMENTS IN HIS HANDS.
GC 681 -
<SB NOTE 3. PAGE 328. <EB--THAT THE READER MAY SEE THE
REASONABLENESS OF MR. MILLER'S POSITION ON THE PROPHETIC PERIODS, WE COPY THE
FOLLOWING, WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN THE <SI ADVENT HERALD, <EI BOSTON, IN
MARCH, 1850, IN ANSWER TO A CORRESPONDENT:--
"IT IS BY THE CANON OF PTOLEMY THAT THE GREAT PROPHETICAL PERIOD OF
THE SEVENTY WEEKS IS FIXED. THIS CANON PLACES THE SEVENTH YEAR OF ARTAXERXES IN
THE YEAR B.C. 457; AND THE ACCURACY OF THE CANON IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE
CONCURRENT AGREEMENT OF MORE THAN TWENTY ECLIPSES. THE SEVENTY WEEKS DATE FROM
THE GOING FORTH OF A DECREE RESPECTING THE RESTORATION OF JERUSALEM. THERE WERE
NO DECREES BETWEEN THE SEVENTH AND TWENTIETH YEARS OF ARTAXERXES. FOUR HUNDRED
AND NINETY YEARS, BEGINNING WITH THE SEVENTH, MUST COMMENCE IN B.C. 457, AND
END IN A.D. 34. COMMENCING IN THE TWENTIETH, THEY MUST COMMENCE IN B.C. 444,
AND END IN A.D. 47. AS NO EVENT OCCURRED IN A.D. 47 TO MARK THEIR TERMINATION,
WE CANNOT RECKON FROM THE TWENTIETH; WE MUST THEREFORE LOOK TO THE SEVENTH OF
ARTAXERXES. THIS DATE WE CANNOT CHANGE FROM B.C. 457 WITHOUT FIRST
DEMONSTRATING THE INACCURACY OF PTOLEMY'S CANON. TO DO THIS, IT WOULD BE
NECESSARY TO SHOW THAT THE LARGE NUMBER OF ECLIPSES BY WHICH ITS ACCURACY HAS
BEEN REPEATEDLY DEMONSTRATED, HAVE NOT BEEN CORRECTLY COMPUTED; AND SUCH A RESULT
WOULD UNSETTLE EVERY CHRONOLOGICAL DATE, AND LEAVE THE SETTLEMENT OF EPOCHS AND
THE ADJUSTMENT OF ERAS ENTIRELY AT THE MERCY OF EVERY DREAMER, SO THAT
CHRONOLOGY WOULD BE OF NO MORE VALUE THAN MERE GUESS-WORK. AS THE SEVENTY WEEKS
MUST TERMINATE IN A.D. 34, UNLESS THE SEVENTH OF ARTAXERXES IS WRONGLY FIXED,
AND AS THAT CANNOT BE CHANGED WITHOUT SOME EVIDENCE TO THAT EFFECT, WE INQUIRE,
WHAT EVIDENCE MARKED THAT TERMINATION? THE TIME WHEN THE APOSTLES TURNED TO THE
GENTILES HARMONIZES WITH THAT DATE BETTER THAN ANY OTHER WHICH HAS BEEN NAMED.
AND THE CRUCIFIXION, IN A.D. 31, IN THE MIDST OF THE LAST WEEK, IS SUSTAINED BY
A MASS OF TESTIMONY WHICH CANNOT BE EASILY INVALIDATED."
AS THE 70 WEEKS AND THE 2300 DAYS HAVE A COMMON STARTING-POINT, THE
CALCULATION OF MR. MILLER IS VERIFIED AT A GLANCE BY SUBTRACTING THE 457 YEARS
B.C. FROM THE 2300. THUS,
2300
457
-----
1843 A.D.
THE YEAR 1843 WAS, HOWEVER, REGARDED AS EXTENDING TO THE SPRING OF 1844.
THE REASON FOR THIS, BRIEFLY STATED, IS AS FOLLOWS: ANCIENTLY THE YEAR DID NOT
COMMENCE IN MIDWINTER, AS NOW, BUT AT THE FIRST NEW MOON AFTER THE VERNAL
EQUINOX. THEREFORE, AS THE PERIOD OF 2300 DAYS WAS BEGUN IN A YEAR RECKONED BY
THE ANCIENT METHOD, IT WAS CONSIDERED NECESSARY TO CONFORM TO THAT METHOD TO
ITS CLOSE. HENCE, 1843 WAS COUNTED AS ENDING IN THE SPRING, AND NOT IN THE
WINTER.
BUT THE 2300 DAYS CANNOT BE RECKONED FROM THE <SI BEGINNING <EI OF
THE YEAR 457 B.C.; FOR THE DECREE OF ARTAXERXES--WHICH IS THE
STARTING-POINT--DID NOT GO INTO EFFECT UNTIL THE <SI AUTUMN <EI OF THAT
YEAR. CONSEQUENTLY THE 2300 DAYS, BEGINNING IN THE AUTUMN OF 457 B.C., MUST
EXTEND TO THE AUTUMN OF 1844 A.D. (SEE SMALL DIAGRAM ON PLATE OPPOSITE PAGE
328.)
GC 682 -
THIS FACT NOT BEING AT FIRST
PERCEIVED BY MR. MILLER AND HIS ASSOCIATES, THEY LOOKED FOR THE COMING OF
CHRIST IN 1843, OR IN THE SPRING OF 1844; HENCE THE FIRST DISAPPOINTMENT AND
THE SEEMING DELAY. IT WAS THE DISCOVERY OF THE CORRECT TIME, IN CONNECTION WITH
OTHER SCRIPTURE TESTIMONY, THAT LED TO THE MOVEMENT KNOWN AS THE "MIDNIGHT
CRY" OF 1844. AND TO THIS DAY THE COMPUTATION OF THE PROPHETIC PERIODS
PLACING THE CLOSE OF THE 2300 DAYS IN THE AUTUMN OF 1844, STANDS WITHOUT
IMPEACHMENT.
<SB NOTE 4. PAGE 373. <EB--THE STORY THAT THE
ADVENTISTS MADE ROBES WITH WHICH TO ASCEND "TO MEET THE LORD IN THE
AIR," WAS INVENTED BY THOSE WHO WISHED TO REPROACH THE CAUSE. IT WAS
CIRCULATED SO INDUSTRIOUSLY THAT MANY BELIEVED IT; BUT CAREFUL INQUIRY PROVED
ITS FALSITY. FOR MANY YEARS A LARGE REWARD HAS BEEN OFFERED FOR PROOF THAT ONE
SUCH INSTANCE EVER OCCURRED; BUT THE PROOF HAS NOT BEEN PRODUCED. NONE WHO
LOVED THE APPEARING OF THE SAVIOUR WERE SO IGNORANT OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE
SCRIPTURES AS TO SUPPOSE THAT ROBES WHICH THEY COULD MAKE WOULD BE NECESSARY
FOR THAT OCCASION. THE ONLY ROBE WHICH THE SAINTS WILL NEED TO MEET THE LORD
WILL BE THAT OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. SEE REV. 19:8.
<SB NOTE 5. PAGE 374. <EB--DR. GEO. BUSH, PROFESSOR OF HEBREW AND
ORIENTAL LITERATURE IN THE NEW YORK CITY UNIVERSITY, IN A LETTER ADDRESSED TO
MR. MILLER, AND PUBLISHED IN THE <SI ADVENT HERALD <EI FOR MARCH, 1844,
MADE SOME VERY IMPORTANT ADMISSIONS RELATIVE TO HIS CALCULATIONS OF THE
PROPHETIC TIMES. MR. BUSH SAYS:--
"NEITHER IS IT TO BE OBJECTED, AS I CONCEIVE, TO YOURSELF OR
YOUR FRIENDS, THAT YOU HAVE DEVOTED MUCH TIME AND ATTENTION TO THE STUDY OF THE
<SI CHRONOLOGY <EI OF PROPHECY, AND HAVE LABORED MUCH TO DETERMINE THE
COMMENCING AND CLOSING DATES OF ITS GREAT PERIODS. IF THESE PERIODS ARE
ACTUALLY GIVEN BY THE HOLY GHOST IN THE PROPHETIC BOOKS, IT WAS DOUBTLESS WITH
THE DESIGN THAT THEY <SI SHOULD <EI BE STUDIED, AND PROBABLY, IN THE END,
FULLY UNDERSTOOD; AND NO MAN IS TO BE CHARGED WITH PRESUMPTUOUS FOLLY WHO
REVERENTLY MAKES THE ATTEMPT TO DO THIS. . . . IN TAKING A <SI DAY <EI AS
THE PROPHETICAL TERM FOR A <SI YEAR, <EI I BELIEVE YOU ARE SUSTAINED BY
THE SOUNDEST EXEGESIS, AS WELL AS FORTIFIED BY THE HIGH NAMES OF MEDE, SIR
ISAAC NEWTON, BISHOP NEWTON, KIRBY, SCOTT, KEITH, AND A HOST OF OTHERS, WHO
HAVE LONG SINCE COME TO <SI SUBSTANTIALLY <EI YOUR CONCLUSIONS ON THIS
HEAD. THEY ALL AGREE THAT THE LEADING PERIODS MENTIONED BY DANIEL AND JOHN DO
ACTUALLY EXPIRE <SI ABOUT THIS AGE OF THE WORLD, <EI AND IT WOULD BE A
STRANGE LOGIC THAT WOULD CONVICT YOU OF HERESY FOR HOLDING IN EFFECT THE SAME
VIEWS WHICH STAND FORTH SO PROMINENTLY IN THE NOTICES OF THESE EMINENT
DIVINES." "YOUR RESULTS IN THIS FIELD OF INQUIRY DO NOT STRIKE ME AS
SO FAR OUT OF THE WAY AS TO AFFECT ANY OF THE GREAT INTERESTS OF TRUTH AND
DUTY." "YOUR ERROR, AS I APPREHEND, LIES IN ANOTHER DIRECTION THAN
YOUR <SI CHRONOLOGY <EI." "YOU HAVE ENTIRELY MISTAKEN <SI
THE NATURE OF THE EVENTS <EI WHICH ARE TO OCCUR WHEN THOSE PERIODS HAVE
EXPIRED. THIS IS THE HEAD AND FRONT OF YOUR EXPOSITORY OFFENDING. . . . THE
GREAT EVENT BEFORE THE WORLD IS NOT ITS <SI PHYSICAL CONFLAGRATION, <EI
BUT ITS <SI MORAL REGENERATION <EI. ALTHOUGH THERE IS DOUBTLESS A SENSE IN
WHICH CHRIST MAY BE SAID TO COME IN CONNECTION WITH THE PASSING GC 683 - AWAY OF THE FOURTH EMPIRE AND OF
THE OTTOMAN POWER, AND HIS KINGDOM TO BE ILLUSTRIOUSLY ESTABLISHED, YET THAT
WILL BE FOUND TO BE A <SI SPIRITUAL COMING <EI IN THE POWER OF HIS GOSPEL,
IN THE AMPLE OUTPOURING OF HIS SPIRIT, AND THE GLORIOUS ADMINISTRATION OF HIS
PROVIDENCE." EVIDENTLY, MR. BUSH LOOKED FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD AS
THE EVENT TO MARK THE TERMINATION OF THE 2300 DAYS. BOTH MR. MILLER AND MR.
BUSH WERE RIGHT ON THE TIME QUESTION, AND BOTH WERE MISTAKEN IN THE EVENT TO
OCCUR AT THE CLOSE OF THE GREAT PERIODS.
THE DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY MR. MILLER DID NOT ORIGINATE WITH HIM; EVERY
POINT ADVANCED IN HIS EXPOSITIONS OF PROPHECY, TAKEN SEPARATELY, WAS ADMITTED
BY SOME AMONG HIS OPPONENTS. HENCE THERE WERE NONE WHO CONDEMNED ALL HIS VIEWS,
AND THOSE WHO ATTEMPTED TO REFUTE HIM FOUND THAT THERE WAS AS GREAT DIVERSITY
AMONG THEMSELVES AS BETWEEN HIM AND THEM. THEY HAD NOT ONLY TO OVERTHROW MR.
MILLER'S THEORY, BUT EACH HAD TO CORRECT THOSE OF THE OTHERS. THIS BEING THE
CASE, THEIR ARGUMENTS COULD, OF COURSE, HAVE LITTLE WEIGHT WITH THOSE WHO HAD
RECEIVED HIS VIEWS.
TO OPPOSE MILLER, MEN WHO HAD BEEN REGARDED AS LEADERS OF
RELIGIOUS THOUGHT WERE READY TO ABANDON LONG-ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLES OF
PROTESTANT INTERPRETATION. THE BOSTON <SI RECORDER <EI (ORTHODOX CONG.)
SAID: "IT MUST NEEDS BE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT <SI OUR FAITH IS GREATLY
SHAKEN IN THE INTERPRETATIONS ON WHICH, IN COMMON WITH MOST OF OUR OWN
BRETHREN, WE HAVE HERETOFORE RELIED <EI, AND WHICH FORM THE <SI
FOUNDATION <EI OF THE BASELESS THEORIES OF MILLER"!
IN THEIR DETERMINATION TO DISPROVE MR. MILLER'S POSITIONS, SOME WERE
READY EVEN TO JOIN WITH UNIVERSALISTS, ADOPTING INDEFINITE AND SPIRITUALIZING
METHODS OF EXPOSITION, IN PLACE OF THOSE PRINCIPLES OF LITERAL INTERPRETATION
WHICH ARE AN ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF THE PROTESTANT FAITH. OF THE ARGUMENTS
BROUGHT FORWARD BY PROFESSORS STUART AND BUSH THE NEW YORK <SI EVANGELIST
<EI SPOKE AS FOLLOWS: "THE TENDENCY OF THESE VIEWS IS TO DESTROY THE
SCRIPTURE EVIDENCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF ANY REAL END OF THE WORLD, ANY DAY OF
FINAL JUDGMENT, OR GENERAL RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. THE STYLE OF
INTERPRETATION, WE ASSERT, TENDS FEARFULLY TO <SI UNIVERSALISM <EI. THIS
TENDENCY WE ARE PREPARED TO PROVE." SO ALSO THE HARTFORD <SI
UNIVERSALIST <EI SAID OF PROFESSOR STUART: "HE PUTS AN UNCOMPROMISING
VETO UPON THE POPULAR INTERPRETATIONS OF DANIEL AND REVELATION, AND <SI
UNITES WITH UNIVERSALISTS <EI IN CONTENDING THAT MOST OF THEIR CONTENTS HAD
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO, AND THEIR FULFILLMENT IN, SCENES AND EVENTS WHICH
TRANSPIRED BUT A FEW YEARS AFTER THOSE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN." IT WAS THUS
THAT POPULAR MINISTERS PREPARED THE MINDS OF THOUSANDS TO LIGHTLY REGARD THE
TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
<SB NOTE 6. PAGE 411. <EB--THAT THE EARTH IS THE
SANCTUARY WAS INFERRED FROM THOSE SCRIPTURES WHICH TEACH THAT THE EARTH WILL BE
PURIFIED AND FITTED UP FOR THE ETERNAL DWELLING-PLACE OF THE SAINTS, ACCORDING
TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE CREATOR. ADVENTISTS UNDERSTOOD THIS JUST AS IT
WAS TAUGHT BY WESLEY AND OTHERS. AND THEIR MINDS DID NOT REST ON ANY OTHER
DWELLING-PLACE OR ANY OTHER THING WHICH NEEDED CLEANSING. THE ONLY SCRIPTURES
WHICH WE EVER KNEW TO BE OFFERED IN FAVOR OF THE EARTH OR ANY DWELLING-PLACE OF
MAN BEING CALLED THE SANCTUARY, FAIRLY DISPROVE THE POSITION. THEY ARE ONLY
THREE IN NUMBER, AS FOLLOWS:--
GC 684 -
EX. 15:17: "THOU SHALT BRING
THEM [THE PEOPLE] IN, AND PLANT THEM IN THE MOUNTAIN OF THINE INHERITANCE, IN
THE PLACE, O LORD, WHICH THOU HAST MADE FOR THEE TO DWELL IN; IN THE SANCTUARY,
O LORD, WHICH THY HANDS HAVE ESTABLISHED." WITHOUT TAKING TIME OR SPACE TO
GIVE AN EXPOSITION OF THE TEXT, IT IS SUFFICIENT FOR THE PRESENT PURPOSE TO
REMARK THAT IT DISPROVES THE IDEA OF <SI THE EARTH <EI BEING THE
SANCTUARY. WHATEVER CONSTRUCTION MAY BE PLACED UPON THE TEXT, IT TEACHES THAT
THE PEOPLE WERE NOT THEN IN THE SANCTUARY; BUT THEY WERE IN THE EARTH. THEN IT
IS CLAIMED THAT IT REFERRED TO THAT PART OF THE EARTH INTO WHICH THEY WERE TO BE
BROUGHT, NAMELY, PALESTINE. THIS IS DISPROVED BY THE SECOND TEXT.
JOSH. 24:26: "AND JOSHUA WROTE THESE WORDS IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW
OF GOD, AND TOOK A GREAT STONE, AND SET IT UP THERE UNDER AN OAK, THAT WAS BY
THE SANCTUARY OF THE LORD." THE STONE AND THE OAK WERE IN PALESTINE, BUT
THEY WERE <SI BY <EI THE SANCTUARY OF THE LORD--NOT <SI IN <EI IT.
AND THE OTHER TEXT IS MORE RESTRICTIVE STILL, AND EQUALLY CONCLUSIVE AGAINST
THE INFERENCE TO WHICH REFERENCE IS HEREIN MADE.
PS. 78:54: "AND HE BROUGHT THEM [HIS PEOPLE] TO THE BORDER OF HIS
SANCTUARY, EVEN TO THIS MOUNTAIN, WHICH HIS RIGHT HAND HAD PURCHASED." THE
MOUNTAIN WAS MOUNT MORIAH, ON WHICH THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON WAS BUILT; YET BEING
BROUGHT UNTO IT IS CALLED BEING BROUGHT "TO THE BORDER OF HIS SANCTUARY."
THUS THESE TEXTS DO NOT PROVE THAT THE EARTH IS THE SANCTUARY, BUT RATHER THE
REVERSE.
JEHOSHAPHAT'S PRAYER GIVES THE TRUE IDEA OF THE RELATION OF THAT
LAND TO THE SANCTUARY: "ART NOT THOU OUR GOD, WHO DIDST DRIVE OUT THE
INHABITANTS OF THIS LAND BEFORE THY PEOPLE ISRAEL, AND GAVEST IT TO THE SEED OF
ABRAHAM THY FRIEND FOREVER? AND THEY DWELT THEREIN, AND HAVE BUILT THEE A
SANCTUARY THEREIN FOR THY NAME." 2 CHRON. 20:7, 8. THIS CORRESPONDS TO THE
COMMAND IN EX. 25:8: "AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY; THAT I MAY DWELL
AMONG THEM." IN THIS SAME BOOK IS GIVEN A MINUTE DESCRIPTION OF THE
SANCTUARY, ITS ERECTION, AND APPROVAL BY THE LORD. THE PROCESS OF CLEANSING THE
SANCTUARY IS DESCRIBED IN LEVITICUS 16. WHILE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL POSSESSED
CANAAN, SOLOMON BUILT A TEMPLE, IN WHICH WAS A HOLY AND A MOST HOLY PLACE; AND
THE VESSELS OF THE MOVABLE SANCTUARY, WHICH WAS MADE IN THE DESERT OF SINAI,
WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE TEMPLE. THIS WAS THEN THE SANCTUARY,--THE
DWELLING-PLACE OF GOD'S GLORY UPON THE EARTH.
SOME HAVE INFERRED THAT THE EARTHLY SANCTUARY WAS A SYMBOL OF THE
CHURCH, REASONING FROM THOSE SCRIPTURES IN WHICH THE CHURCH IS CALLED THE
TEMPLE OF GOD. BUT IT IS NOT INFREQUENTLY THE CASE IN SCRIPTURE THAT IN DIFFERENT
CONNECTIONS THE SAME FIGURE IS EMPLOYED TO REPRESENT DIFFERENT OBJECTS. THE
BIBLE PLAINLY TEACHES THAT THE HOLY PLACES OF THE EARTHLY SANCTUARY WERE
"PATTERNS OF THINGS IN THE HEAVENS." HEB. 9:23. THE EXPRESSION,
"TEMPLE OF GOD," IS SOMETIMES EMPLOYED TO DESIGNATE THE SANCTUARY IN
HEAVEN, AND SOMETIMES THE CHURCH. ITS SIGNIFICANCE, IN EACH CASE, MUST BE
DETERMINED BY THE CONTEXT.
<SB NOTE 7. PAGE 429. <EB--ALMOST ALL ADVENTISTS,
INCLUDING MR. MILLER, DID, FOR A SHORT TIME AFTER THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT IN 1844,
BELIEVE THAT THE WORLD HAD RECEIVED ITS LAST WARNING. THEY COULD HARDLY THINK
OTHERWISE, WITH THEIR FAITH IN THE MESSAGE WHICH THEY HAD GIVEN,--"THE
HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME." REV. 14:6, 7. THEY NATURALLY THOUGHT THAT
THIS PROCLAMATION MUST CLOSE THE DISPENSATION.