The Coming Crisis by Ellen G. White Click to
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The Coming Crisis
Ellen G.
White
"And 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." In the near future we shall see these words fulfilled as
the Protestant churches unite with the world and with the papal power against
commandment keepers. The same spirit which actuated papists in ages past will
lead Protestants to pursue a similar course toward those who will maintain
their loyalty to God. {5T 449.2}
Church and state are now making preparations for the future conflict.
Protestants are working in disguise to bring Sunday to the front, as did the
Romanists. Throughout the land the
papacy is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of
which her former persecutions are to be repeated. And the way
is preparing for the manifestation, on a grand scale, of those lying wonders by
which, if it were possible, Satan would deceive even the elect. {5T 449.3}
The decree which is to go forth against the people of God will be very similar
to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews in the
time of Esther. The Persian edict sprang from the malice of Haman toward
Mordecai. Not that Mordecai had done him harm, but he had refused to show him
reverence which belongs only to God. The king's decision against the Jews was
secured under false pretenses through misrepresentation of that peculiar
people. Satan instigated the scheme in order to rid the
earth of those who preserved the knowledge of the true God. But his plots were
defeated by a counterpower that reigns among the
children of men. Angels that excel in strength were commissioned to protect the
people of God, and the plots of their adversaries returned upon their own
heads. The Protestant world today see in the little
company keeping the Sabbath a Mordecai in the gate. His character and conduct,
expressing reverence for the law of God, are a constant rebuke to those who
have cast off the fear (reverence) of the Lord and are trampling upon His
Sabbath; the unwelcome intruder must by some means be put out of the way. {5T 450.1}
The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past is still
seeking to rid the earth of those who fear God and obey His law. Satan will excite indignation against the humble minority who
conscientiously refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of
position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel
against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover
them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members will
conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule,
they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry
appeals they will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a "Thus
saith the Scriptures" to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath,
they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure
popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for a Sunday
law. Those who fear (reverence) God cannot accept an institution that violates
a precept of the Decalogue. On this battlefield comes the last great conflict
of the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to
the issue. Now, as in the days of Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate His truth
and His people. {5T 450.2}
By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law
of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from
righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across
the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the
abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when,
under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every
principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and
shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then
we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that
the end is near. {5T 451.1}
As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the
impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may this apostasy be a sign to us that
the limit of God's forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nation's
iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight,
never to return. The people of God will then be plunged into those
scenes of affliction and distress which prophets have described as the time of
Jacob's trouble. The cries of the faithful, persecuted ones ascend
to heaven. And as the blood of Abel cried from the ground, there are voices
also crying to God from martyrs' graves, from the sepulchers of the sea, from
mountain caverns, from convent vaults: "How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth?" {5T 451.2}
The Lord is doing His work. All heaven is astir. The Judge of all the earth is
soon to arise and vindicate His insulted authority. The mark of deliverance
will be set upon the men who keep God's commandments, who revere His law, and
who refuse the mark of the beast or of his image. {5T 451.3}
God has revealed what is to take place in the last days, that
His people may be prepared to stand against the tempest of opposition and
wrath. Those who have been warned
of the events before them are not to sit in calm expectation of the coming storm,
comforting themselves that the Lord will shelter His
faithful ones in the day of trouble. We are to be as men
waiting for their Lord, not in idle expectancy, but in earnest work, with
unwavering faith. It is no time now to allow our minds to be engrossed with
things of minor importance. While men are sleeping, Satan is actively arranging
matters so that the Lord's people may not have mercy or justice. The Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are
concealing the true issue, and many who unite in the movement do not themselves
see whither the undercurrent is tending. Its professions are mild and
apparently Christian, but when it shall speak it will reveal the spirit of the
dragon. It is our duty to do all in
our power to avert the threatened danger. We should endeavor to disarm
prejudice by placing ourselves in a proper light before the people. We should
bring before them the real question at issue, thus interposing the most
effectual protest against measures to restrict liberty of conscience. We should
search the Scriptures and be able to give the reason for our faith. Says the
prophet: "The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of
the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." {5T 452.1}
Those who have access to God through Christ have important work before them.
Now is the time to lay hold of the arm of our strength. The prayer of David
should be the prayer of pastors and laymen: "It is time for Thee, Lord, to
work: for they have made void Thy law." Let the servants of the Lord weep
between the porch and the altar, crying: "Spare Thy people, O Lord, and
give not Thine heritage to reproach." God has always wrought for His
people in their greatest extremity, when there seemed the least hope that ruin
could be averted. The designs of wicked men, the enemies of the church, are
subject to His power and providence. He can move upon the hearts of statesmen;
the wrath of the turbulent and disaffected, the haters of God, His truth, and
His people can be turned aside, even as the rivers of water are turned, if He
orders it thus. Prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. He who marshals the stars
in order in the heavens, whose word controls the waves of the great deep, the
same infinite Creator will work in behalf of His people if they call upon Him
in faith. He will restrain the forces of darkness until the warning is given to
the world and all who will heed it are prepared for the conflict. {5T 452.2}
"The wrath of man shall praise Thee," says the psalmist; "the
remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain." God means
that testing truth shall be brought to the front and become a subject of
examination and discussion, even if it is through the contempt placed upon it. The minds of the people must be agitated. Every controversy, every
reproach, every slander, will be God's means of provoking inquiry and awakening
minds that otherwise would slumber. {5T 453.1}
Thus it has been in the past history of God's people. For refusing to worship
the great golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up, the three Hebrews were cast into the fiery furnace. But God preserved
His servants in the midst of the flames, and the attempt to enforce idolatry resulted
in bringing the knowledge of the true God before the assembled princes and
great men of the vast kingdom of Babylon. {5T 453.2}
So when the decree went forth forbidding prayer to any god save the king. As
Daniel, according to his custom, made his supplications three times a day to
the God of heaven, the attention of the princes and rulers was called to his
case. He had an opportunity to speak for himself, to
show who is the true God, and to present the reason why He alone should receive
worship, and the duty of rendering Him praise and homage. And the deliverance
of Daniel from the den of lions was another evidence
that the Being whom he worshiped was the true and living God. {5T 453.3}
So the imprisonment of Paul brought the gospel before kings, princes, and
rulers who otherwise would not have had this light. The efforts made to retard the progress of truth will serve to extend
it. The excellence of truth is more clearly seen from
every successive point from which it may be viewed. Error requires disguise and
concealment. It clothes itself in angel robes, and every manifestation of its
real character lessens its chance of success. {5T 453.4}
The people whom God has made the depositaries of His law are not to permit
their light to be hidden. The truth must be proclaimed in the dark places of
the earth. Obstacles must be met and surmounted. A great work
is to be done, and this work has been entrusted to those who know the truth.
They should make mighty intercession with God for help now. The love of Christ
must be diffused in their own hearts. The Spirit of Christ must be poured out
upon them, and they must be making ready to stand in the judgment. While they
are consecrating themselves to God, a convincing power will attend their
efforts to present the truth to others, and its light will find access to many hearts. We must sleep no longer on
Satan's enchanted ground, but call into requisition all our resources and avail
ourselves of every facility with which Providence has furnished us. The last
warning is to be proclaimed "before many peoples, and nations, and
tongues, and kings;" and the promise is given, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." {5T 454.1}
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