The Little Time of Trouble Versus
The Great Time of Jacob’s Trouble
Last Day Events Chapter 10—The Little Time of Trouble
A Time of
Trouble Before Probation Closes
On page 33 [of Early Writings] is given the following: “... At
the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as
we went forth and proclaimed
the Sabbath more fully.”{LDE 143.1}
This view was given in 1847 when there were but very few of the
Advent brethren observing the Sabbath, and of these but few supposed that its
observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of
God and unbelievers. Now the fulfillment of that view is beginning to be seen. “The
commencement of that time of trouble,” here mentioned, does not refer to the
time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just
before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time,
while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth,
and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work
of the third angel.—Early Writings, 85, 86 (1854).{LDE 143.2}
The End of
Religious Liberty in the United States
The law of God, through the agency of Satan, is to be made void.
In our land of boasted freedom religious liberty will come to an end. The contest
will be decided over the Sabbath question, which will agitate the whole world.—Evangelism, 236 (1875).{LDE
144.1}
A great crisis awaits the people of God. Very soon our nation
will attempt to enforce upon all the observance of the first day of the week as
a sacred day. In doing this they will not scruple to compel men against the
voice of their own conscience to observe the day the nation declares to be the
Sabbath.—The Review and Herald Extra, December
11, 1888.{LDE 144.2}
Seventh-day Adventists will fight the battle over the
seventh-day Sabbath. The authorities in the United States and in other
countries will rise up in their pride and power and make laws to restrict religious
liberty.—Ms 78, 1897.{LDE
144.3}
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.—The Great Controversy, 588 (1911).{LDE
144.4}
Church and
State Oppose God’s People
All who will not bow to the decree of the national councils and
obey the national laws to exalt the sabbath
instituted by the man of sin, to the disregard of God’s holy day, will feel, not
the oppressive power of popery alone, but of the Protestant world, the image of
the beast.—Selected Messages
2:380 (1886).{LDE 145.1}
Those religious bodies who refuse to
hear God’s messages of warning will be under strong deception and will unite
with the civil power to persecute the saints. The Protestant churches will unite with the
papal power in persecuting the commandment-keeping people of God....{LDE 145.2};
This lamb-like power unites with the dragon in
making war upon those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ.—Manuscript Releases
14:162 (1899).{LDE 145.3}
The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this
work papists and Protestants unite.—The Great
Controversy, 607 (1911).{LDE 145.4}
Before the
Courts
Those who live during the last days of this earth’s history will
know what it means to be persecuted for the truth’s sake. In the courts
injustice will prevail. The judges will refuse to listen to the reasons of those who are
loyal to the commandments of God because they know the arguments in favor of
the fourth commandment are unanswerable. They will say, “We have a law, and by our law
he ought to die.” God’s law is nothing to them. “Our law” with them is supreme.
Those who respect this human law will be favored, but those who will not bow to
the idol sabbath have no favors
shown them.—The Signs of the Times, May
26, 1898. {LDE 145.5}
In cases where we are brought before the courts, we are to give
up our rights, unless it brings us in collision with God. It is not our
rights we are pleading for, but God’s right to our service.—Manuscript Releases 5:69 (1895).{LDE 146.1}
Adventists Will
Be Treated With Contempt
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....{LDE 146.2}
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.—Testimonies
for the Church 5:450 (1885).{LDE 146.3}
There will come a time when, because of our advocacy of Bible
truth, we shall be treated as traitors.—Testimonies
for the Church 6:394 (1900).{LDE 146.4}
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.—The Great Controversy,
592 (1911). {LDE 146.5}
All who in that evil day would fearlessly serve God according to
the dictates of conscience, will need courage, firmness, and a knowledge of God
and His Word, for those who are true to God will be persecuted, their motives
will be impugned, their best efforts misinterpreted, and their names cast out
as evil.—The Acts of the Apostles,
431, 432 (1911).{LDE 147.1}
All Kinds of
Persecution
The persecutions of Protestants by Romanism, by which the
religion of Jesus Christ was almost annihilated, will be more than rivaled when
Protestantism and popery are combined.—Selected
Messages 3:387 (1889).{LDE 147.2}
Satan has a thousand masked batteries which will be opened upon
the loyal, commandment-keeping people of God to compel them to violate
conscience.—Letter 30a, 1892.{LDE 147.3}
We need not be surprised at anything that may take place now. We
need not marvel at any developments of horror. Those who trample under their
unholy feet the law of God have the same spirit as had the men who insulted and
betrayed Jesus. Without any compunctions of conscience they will do the deeds
of their father the devil.—Selected
Messages 3:416 (1897).{LDE 147.4}
Let those who desire to be refreshed in mind and instructed in
the truth study the history of the early church during and immediately
following the Day of Pentecost. Study carefully in the book of Acts the
experiences of Paul and the other apostles, for God’s people in our day must
pass through similar experiences.—The
Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, 118 (1907).{LDE
148.1}
Every Earthly
Support Will Be Cut Off
Hoarded wealth will soon be worthless. When the decree shall go
forth that none shall buy or sell except they have the mark of the beast, very
much means will be of no avail. God calls for us now to do all in our power to
send forth the warning to the world.—The
Review and Herald, March 21, 1878.{LDE 148.2}
The time is coming when we cannot sell at any price. The decree
will soon go forth prohibiting men to buy or sell of any man save him that hath
the mark of the beast. We came near having this realized in California a short
time since, but this was only the threatening of the blowing of the four winds.
As yet they are held by the four angels. We are not just ready. There is a work
yet to be done, and then the angels will be bidden to let go, that the four
winds may blow upon the earth.—Testimonies
for the Church 5:152 (1882).{LDE 148.3}
In the last great conflict in the controversy with Satan those
who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off. Because they
refuse to break His law in obedience to earthly powers they will be forbidden
to buy or sell.—The Desire of Ages,
121, 122 (1898).{LDE 148.4}
Satan says ... “For fear of wanting food and clothing they will
join with the world in transgressing God’s law. The earth will be wholly under
my dominion.”—Prophets and Kings, 183,
184 (c. 1914).{LDE 149.1}
Some Are
Imprisoned for Their Faith
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.—The
Great Controversy, 608 (1911).{LDE 149.3}
If we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake, we shall be able
to go to prison trusting in Him as a little child trusts in its parents. Now is the time
to cultivate faith in God.—Our High Calling, 357 (1892).{LDE
149.4}
Many Will Be
Put to Death
The best thing for us is to come into close connection with God
and, if
He would have us be martyrs for the truth’s sake, it may be the means of
bringing many more into the truth.—Selected
Messages 3:420 (1886).{LDE 149.5}
Many will be
imprisoned, many will flee for their lives from cities and towns, and many will
be martyrs for Christ’s sake in standing in defense of the truth.—Selected Messages 3:397 (1889).{LDE 150.1}
There is a prospect before us of a continued struggle, at the
risk of imprisonment, loss of property and even of life itself, to defend the
law of God.—Testimonies for the Church
5:712 (1889).{LDE 150.2}
Men will be required to render obedience to human edicts in
violation of the divine law. Those who are true to God will be menaced, denounced,
proscribed. They will be “betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and
kinsfolks, and friends,” even unto death.—Prophets
and Kings, 588 (c. 1914).{LDE 150.3}
We are
not to have the courage and fortitude of martyrs of old until brought into the position they
were in.... Should there be a return of persecution there would be grace
given to arouse every energy of the soul to show a true heroism.—Our High Calling, 125 (1889).{LDE 150.4}
The disciples were
not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was
needed.—The Desire of Ages,
354 (1898).{LDE 150.5}
How to Stand
Firm Under Persecution
We shall find that we must let loose of all hands except the
hand of Jesus Christ. Friends will prove
treacherous and will betray us. Relatives, deceived by the enemy, will think
they do God service in opposing us and putting forth the utmost efforts to
bring us into hard places, hoping we will deny our faith. But we may trust
our hand in the hand of Christ amid darkness and peril.—Maranatha,
197 (1889). {LDE 150.6}
The only way in
which men will be able to stand firm in the conflict is to be rooted and
grounded in Christ. They must receive the truth as it is in Jesus. And it is only as
the truth is presented thus that it can meet the wants of the soul. The preaching of Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, is
what satisfies the soul’s hunger. When we secure the interest of the people in
this great central truth, faith and hope and courage come to the heart.—General Conference Daily Bulletin,
January 28, 1893.{LDE 151.1}
Many, because of their faith, will be cut off from house and
heritage here, but if they will give their hearts to Christ, receiving the
message of His grace, and resting upon their Substitute and Surety, even the
Son of God, they may still be filled with joy.—The Signs of the Times, June 2, 1898.{LDE 151.2}
Persecution
Scatters God’s People
As enmity is aroused in various places against those who observe
the Sabbath of the Lord, it may become
necessary for God’s people to move from those places to places where they will
not be so bitterly opposed.{LDE 151.3}
God does not require His children to remain where, by the course
of wicked men, their influence is made of no effect and their lives endangered.
When liberty and life are imperiled it
is not merely our privilege, it is our positive duty to go to places where the
people are willing to hear the Word of life and where the opportunities for
preaching the Word will be more favorable.—Ms 26,
1904. {LDE 151.4}
The time is
soon coming when God’s people, because of persecution, will be scattered in
many countries. Those who have received an all-round education will have the
advantage where they are.—Manuscript Releases 5:280
(1908).{LDE 152.1}
Persecution
Leads to Unity Among God’s People
When the storm of persecution really breaks upon us, the true
sheep will hear the true Shepherd’s voice. Self-denying efforts will be put forth
to save the lost, and many who have strayed from the fold will come back to
follow the great Shepherd. The people of God will draw together and present to
the enemy a united front. In view of the common peril strife for supremacy will
cease, there will be no disputing as to who shall be accounted greatest.—Testimonies for the Church 6:401 (1900).{LDE 152.2}
A Crisis Makes
God’s Interference More Marked
From time to time the Lord has made known His manner of working.
He is mindful of what is passing upon the earth. And when a crisis has come, He
has revealed Himself and has interposed to hinder the working of Satan’s plans.
He has often permitted matters with nations, with families, and with
individuals to come to a crisis that His interference might become marked. Then
He has let the fact be known that there was a God in Israel who would sustain
and vindicate His people. {LDE 152.3}
When the defiance of the law of Jehovah shall be almost
universal, when His people shall be pressed in affliction by their fellow men,
God will interpose. The fervent prayers of His people will be answered, for He
loves to have His people seek Him with all their heart and depend upon Him as
their Deliverer.—The Review and Herald,
June 15, 1897.{LDE 153.1}
For a time the oppressors will be permitted to triumph over
those who know God’s holy commandments.... To the last, God permits Satan to
reveal his character as a liar, an accuser, and a murderer. Thus the final
triumph of His people is made more marked, more glorious, more full and
complete.—Selected Messages 3:414
(1904).{LDE 153.2}
Affliction
Purifies God’s People
Soon there is to be trouble all over the world. It becomes
everyone to seek to know God. We have no time to delay....{LDE
153.3}
God’s love for His church is infinite. His care over His
heritage is unceasing. He suffers no affliction to come upon the church but
such as is essential for her purification, her present and eternal good. He
will purify His church even as He purified the temple at the beginning and
close of His ministry on earth. All that He brings upon the church in test and
trial comes that His people may gain deeper piety and more strength to carry
the triumphs of the cross to all parts of the world.—Testimonies for the Church 9:228 (1909). {LDE 153.4}
True
Church Defined--“From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church
on earth. In every age the Lord has had
His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which
they lived. These sentinels gave the
message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others
took up the work. God brought these
witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with
the church in heaven. He has sent forth
His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail
against His [FAITHFUL] people.” E.G. White, Acts
of the Apostles, p. 11, 12.
“I was shown that those who
are trying to obey God and purifying their souls through obedience to the truth
are God’s chosen people, His modern Israel.” 2T-109.
“There is no other church than
the assembly of those who have the word of God, and who are purified by it. Adventists, seeing that the churches rejected the testimony
of God’s word, could no longer regard them as constituting the church of
Christ.” 4 SP-237.
“God has
a church. It is not the great cathedrals, neither is it the national
establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is
the people who love God and keep His commandments. ‘Where
two or three are gathered together in My name, there
am I in the midst of them’. Matthew
18:20. Where Christ is even
among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and
Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church.” The Upward Look, 315.
Based on the above
statements, who and what is the church?
The church is:
· “Those who are trying to
obey God and purifying their souls through obedience to the truth.”
· “Those who have the word of God, and who are purified
by it.”
·
“The people who love God and keep His
commandments.”
Afflictions, crosses, temptations, adversity, and our varied
trials are God’s workmen to refine us, sanctify us, and fit us for the heavenly
garner.—Testimonies for the Church 3:115
(1872).{LDE 154.1}
The Great Time
of Jacob’s Trouble -- The Real Church Triumphant and When
it Appears as About to Fall
The great time of Jacob’s
trouble begins after probation closes, and the Seven Last Plagues begin to
fall.
“When Christ shall cease His work as
mediator in man’s behalf, then this time of trouble will begin. Then the case
of every soul will have been decided, and there will be no atoning blood to
cleanse from sin. When Jesus leaves His position as man’s intercessor before
God the solemn announcement is made, “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” (Revelation 22:11). Then the restraining Spirit of God is withdrawn from
the earth.—Patriarchs and Prophets,
201 (1890).{LDE 253.1}
God’s People Are Prepared for the Trying Hour
Before Them
“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.” {LDE 253.2}
The
only church that can be paralleled with Jacob’s experience,
is the church triumphant, for that is the only SDA church that survives to the
great time of trouble and appears as about to fall AND THEN DOES NOT FALL.
“About four months since, I had a vision of
events, all in the future. And I saw the time of
trouble, such as never was,—Jesus told me it was
the time of Jacob’s trouble, and that we
should be delivered out of it by the voice of God. Just before we entered
it, we all received the seal of the living God. Then I saw the four Angels cease to hold the four winds. And I saw
famine, pestilence and sword, nation rose against nation, and the whole world
was in confusion. Then we cried to God for deliverance day and night till we
began to hear the bells on Jesus’ garment. And I saw Jesus rise up in the
Holiest, and as he came out we heard the tinkling of bells, and knew our High
Priest was coming out. Then we heard the voice of God which shook the heavens
and earth, and gave the 144,000 the day and hour of Jesus’ coming. Then the saints were free, united and full of the glory
of God, for he had turned their captivity. And I saw a flaming cloud come where
Jesus stood and he laid off his priestly garment and put on his kingly robe,
took his place on the cloud which carried him to the east where it first
appeared to the saints on earth, a small black cloud, which was the sign of the
Son of Man. While the cloud was passing from the Holiest to the east which took
a number of days, the Synagogue of Satan worshiped at the saints feet.” {Day
Star March 14, 1846, par. 2} Ellen G. Harmon White.
Note:
·
It is only the 144,000
that are delivered by the voice of God.
·
All others who are saved
are the righteous dead and the martyrs of all ages, including those who are
martyred after the first death decree at the end of day 1290 after the initial
legislation of the National Sunday Law.
·
The second death decree
is Satan’s final attempt to rid the earth of the 144,000 saints in one night.
This occurs at the very end, and the 144,000 are delivered by the voice of God.
The Great Controversy, p. 635.
· The 144,000 get another seal just before they enter the
great time of Jacob’s trouble such as never was.
When the Church Triumphant
Appears as About to Fall but Does Not Fall
“The
church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the
sinners in Zion
will be sifted out--the
chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but
nevertheless it must take place.”--2SM 380 (1886).
{LDE 180.5}
· The church from which and by
which sinners are sifted, shaken out, and which appears as about to fall, is
ZION, the church triumphant.
· In Isaiah 62:1-5, Zion is the
bride, the 144,000, who are married, verse 5.
· The church militant co-ed
church IS NOT ZION. The church members are guests at the wedding. If GUESTS,
they cannot be THE BRIDE. The Great Controversy, pp. 426, 427.
· Ezekiel 20:34-38 is Biblical
proof that all rebels are shaken out of Zion, the church triumphant.
· How could a co-ed wheat and
tare church be Zion, the strictly pure virgin bride of Christ, when tares and
thorns are within her borders--her membership?
· In Isaiah 62:5, the Hebrew
meaning of the word virgin is bethulah, which
means A STRICTLY PURE VIRGIN. This strictly pure virgin is distinguished from
the ten virgins who are concubines. The bethulah
virgin describes the bride of Christ, as opposed to the guests at the wedding.
GC 426, 427.
· In Christ’s Object Lessons,
pp. 405, 406, the voice of God AND THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE awaken ALL TEN
VIRGINS, for Matthew 25 says that they ALL SLUMBERED AND SLEPT, while the bride
is the faithful watchmen who are awake day and night (meaning that there is
always someone amongst them who is on guard duty day and night) that others
might be warned of the prevailing abominations and what is to come upon God’s
people because of their abominations--apostasies.
· If it was the church militant
wheat and tare co-ed church that appears as about to fall but does not, Ezekiel
9 would not begin at her Sanctuaries.
"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." Jeremiah
30:5-7.
Jacob's
night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of
Esau (Genesis 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.
"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:
630
He
shall preserve thy soul." "He shall deliver thee from the snare of
the fowler, and from the noisome 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." Psalms 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." Matthew 27:42. Like Jacob, all are wrestling with God." The Great Controversy, pp. 629, 630.
Wings
Heavenly Angels have wings
I
have seen the tender love that God has for His people, and it is very great. I saw angels over the saints with their
wings spread about them. Each saint had an attending angel. If the
saints wept through discouragement, or were in danger, the angels that ever
attended them would fly quickly upward to carry the tidings, and the angels in
the city would cease to sing. Then Jesus would commission another angel to
descend to encourage, watch over, and try to keep them from going out of the
narrow path; but if they did not take heed to the watchful care of these
angels, and would not be comforted by them, but continued to go astray, the
angels would look sad and weep. They would bear the tidings upward, and all the
angels in the city would weep, and then with a loud voice say, “Amen.” But if
the saints fixed their eyes upon the prize before them, and glorified God by
praising Him, then the angels would bear the glad tidings to the city, and the
angels in the city would touch their golden harps and sing with a loud voice,
“Alleluia!” and the heavenly arches would ring with their lovely songs. {CET
97.1}
There
is perfect order and harmony in the holy city. All the angels that are
commissioned to visit the earth hold a golden card, which they present to the
angels at the gates of the city as they pass in and out. Heaven is a good
place. I long to be there, and behold my lovely Jesus, who gave His life for
me, and be changed into His glorious image. Oh, for
language to express the glory of the bright world to come! I thirst for the
living streams that make glad the city of our God. {CET 97.2}
The
Lord has given me a view of other worlds. Wings
were given me, and an angel attended me from the city to a place that
was bright and glorious. The grass of the place was living green, and the birds
there warbled a sweet song. The inhabitants of the place were of all sizes;
they were noble, majestic, and lovely. They bore the express image of Jesus,
and their countenances beamed with holy joy, expressive of the freedom and
happiness of the place. I asked one of them why they were so much more lovely
than those on the earth. The reply was, “We have lived in strict obedience to
the commandments of God, and have not fallen by disobedience, like those on the
earth.” {CET 97.3}
Then
I saw two trees. One looked much like the tree of life in the city. The fruit of
both looked beautiful, but of one they could not eat. They had power to eat of
both, but were forbidden to eat of one. Then my attending angel said to me,
“None in this place have tasted of the forbidden tree; but if they should eat,
they would fall.” {CET 98.1}
“Evil
angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them to shut out Jesus from their
view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and
thus they be led to distrust God, and murmur against Him. Their only safety was
in keeping their eyes directed upward. Angels of God had charge over His
people, and as the poisonous atmosphere of evil angels was pressed around these
anxious ones, the heavenly angels
were continually wafting their wings over them to scatter the thick darkness.”
{CET 175.2}
People of other worlds are now
tempted
"Shouts
of triumph ascend from the angels and the redeemed saints, that they are to be
no more annoyed and tempted by Satan, and that the inhabitants of other worlds are delivered from his presence and
temptations."—The Spirit of Prophecy 4:474, 475. {Hvn 118.4}
The
Mediatorial Work of Christ
[EVEN FOR THOSE OF OTHER WORLDS]
“The
work of God’s dear Son in undertaking to link the created with the Uncreated,
the finite with the Infinite, in His own divine person, is a subject that may
well employ our thoughts for a lifetime. This
work of Christ was to confirm the beings of other worlds in their innocency and loyalty, as well as to save the lost and
perishing of this world. He opened a way for the disobedient to return to
their allegiance to God, while by the
same act He placed a safeguard around those who were already pure, that they
might not become polluted. {MYP 253.3}
“While
we rejoice that there are worlds which
have never fallen, these worlds render praise and honor and glory to Jesus
Christ for the plan of redemption to save the fallen sons of Adam, as well as
to confirm themselves in their position and character of purity. The arm
that raised the human family from the ruin which Satan has brought upon the
race through his temptations, is the arm which has preserved the inhabitants of other worlds from
sin. Every world throughout immensity engages the care and support of the
Father and the Son; and this care is constantly exercised for fallen humanity.
Christ is mediating in behalf of man,
and the order of unseen worlds also is preserved by His mediatorial work.
Are not these themes of sufficient magnitude and importance to engage our
thoughts, and call forth our gratitude and adoration to God? {MYP 254.1}
"If those who have been in
the church for weeks and months have not learned the straightness of the way,
and what it is to be Christians, and can not hear all the straight truths of the word of God,
it were better that they were cut off from Israel. It is too late in
the day to feed with milk. If souls, a month or two old in the truth, who are about to enter the time of
trouble such as never was, can not hear all the
straight truth, or endure the strong meat of the straightness of the way, how
will they stand in the day of battle? Truths that we have been years
learning must be learned in a few months by those who now embrace the Third
Angel's Message....There is no need of milk after souls are convinced of the
truth. As soon as the conviction of truth is yielded to and the heart
willing, the truth should have its effect, the truth will work like leaven, and
purify and purge away the passions of the natural heart. It is a disgrace
for those who have been in the truth for years to talk of feeding souls who
have been months in the truth, upon milk. It shows they know little
of the leadings of the Spirit of the Lord, and realize not the time we are
living in. Those who embrace the truth now will have to step fast.
There will have to be a breaking up of heart before the Lord, a rending
of heart, and not the garment." E.G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol
1, p 33-34 (Manuscript 1, February
12, 1854).
“The great obstacle both to the
acceptance and to the promulgation of truth, is the
fact that it involves inconvenience and reproach. This is the only argument
against the truth which its advocates have never been able to refute. But this
does not deter the true followers of Christ. These do not wait for truth to
become popular. Being convinced of their duty, they deliberately accept the
cross, with the apostle Paul counting that "our light affliction, which is
but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory;" [2 COR. 4:17.] with one of old, "esteeming the reproach of
Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." [HEB.
11:26.] {GC88 460.1}
“Let us cease the conversation that is so
unprofitable, and spend our time learning lessons from the Word of God. Christ
has told us that we are to be united in love. This is the lesson we are to
learn. We are to close
the door to all disparaging of one another and exalting of self.” {BTS, December
1, 1902 par. 6}
We are to teach
all truth, but we are to close the door to ALL DISPARAGING OF ONE ANOTHER and
exalting of self. Often the very act of disparaging another person is for the
distinct object of exalting self. This is all too evident in those who imbibe
this craft of Satan.
Chapter 17—The Seven Last Plagues and the Wicked (The Great Time of
Trouble, Part 1)
The Vials of
God’s Wrath Will Be Poured Out
Solemn events before us are yet to transpire. Trumpet
after trumpet is to be sounded; vial after vial poured out one after another
upon the inhabitants of the earth.—Selected Messages 3:426 (1890).{LDE 238.1}
The world is soon to be left by the angel of mercy and
the seven last plagues are to be poured out.... The bolts of God’s wrath are soon
to fall, and when He shall begin to punish the transgressors there will be no
period of respite until the end.—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers,
182 (1894).{LDE 238.2}
The Nations in
Conflict
Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth
till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the
world are eager for conflict, but they are held in check by the angels. When
this restraining power is removed there will come a time of trouble and
anguish. Deadly instruments of warfare will be invented. Vessels with their
living cargo will be entombed in the great deep. All who have not the spirit of
truth will unite under the leadership of Satanic agencies, but they are to be
kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of
Armageddon.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:967 (1900). {LDE 238.3}
The Whole World
Will Be Involved in Ruin
Angels are now restraining the winds of strife that they
may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom, but a storm is
gathering, ready to burst upon the earth, and when God shall bid His angels
loose the winds there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can
picture.—Education, 179, 180 (1903).{LDE 239.1}
The Saviour’s prophecy concerning the visitation of judgments
upon Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment, of which that terrible
desolation was but a faint shadow. In the fate of the chosen city we may behold
the doom of a world that has rejected God’s mercy and trampled upon His
law.—The Great Controversy, 36 (1911).{LDE 239.2}
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.—The Great Controversy, 614 (1911).{LDE
239.3}
God Is Just, as
Well as Merciful
It is the glory of God to be merciful, full of
forbearance, kindness, goodness, and truth. But the justice shown in punishing
the sinner is as verily the glory of the Lord as is the manifestation of His
mercy.—The Review and Herald, March 10, 1904.{LDE 240.1}
The Lord God of Israel is to execute judgment upon the
Gods of this world as upon the Gods of Egypt. With fire and flood, plagues and
earthquakes, He will spoil the whole land. Then His redeemed people will exalt
His name and make it glorious in the earth. Shall not those who are living in
the last remnant of this earth’s history become intelligent in regard to God’s
lessons?—Manuscript Releases 10:240, 241 (1899).{LDE
240.2}
The One who has stood as our
Intercessor; who hears all penitential prayers and confessions; who is
represented with a rainbow, the symbol of grace and love, encircling His head,
is soon to cease His work in the heavenly sanctuary. Grace and mercy will then
descend from the throne, and justice will take their place. He for whom His
people have looked will assume His right—the office of Supreme Judge.—The
Review and Herald, January 1, 1889.{LDE 240.3}
In all the Bible, God is presented not only as a Being of
mercy and benevolence, but as a God of strict and impartial justice.—The Signs
of the Times, March 24, 1881.{LDE 240.4}
The Certainty
of God’s Judgments
God’s love is represented in our day as being of such a
character as would forbid His destroying the sinner. Men reason from their own
low standard of right and justice. “Thou thoughtest
that I was altogether such an one as thyself” (Psalm
50:21). They measure God by themselves. They reason as to how they would act
under the circumstances and decide God would do as they imagine they would
do.... {LDE 240.5}
In no kingdom or government is it left to the lawbreakers
to say what punishment is to be executed against those who have broken the law.
All we have, all the bounties of His grace which we possess, we owe to God. The
aggravating character of sin against such a God cannot be estimated any more
than the heavens can be measured with a span. God is a moral governor as well
as a Father. He is the Lawgiver. He makes and executes His laws. Law that has
no penalty is of no force.{LDE 241.1}
The plea may be made that a loving Father would not see
His children suffering the punishment of God by fire while He had the power to
relieve them. But God would, for the good of His subjects and for their safety,
punish the transgressor. God does not work on the plan of man. He can do
infinite justice that man has no right to do before his fellow man. Noah would
have displeased God to have drowned one of the scoffers and mockers that
harassed him, but God drowned the vast world. Lot would have had no right to
inflict punishment on his sons-in-law, but God would do it in strict justice.{LDE 241.2}
Who will say God will not do what He says He will
do?—Manuscript Releases 12:207-209; Manuscript Releases 10:265 (1876).{LDE 241.3}
Judgments Come
When God Removes His Protection
I was shown that the judgments of God would not come
directly out from the Lord upon them, but in this way: They place themselves
beyond His protection. He warns, corrects, reproves, and points out the only
path of safety; then, if those who have been the objects of His special care
will follow their own course, independent of the Spirit of God, after repeated
warnings, if they choose their own way, then He does not commission His angels
to prevent Satan’s decided attacks upon them.{LDE 242.1}
It is Satan’s power that is at work at sea and on land,
bringing calamity and distress and sweeping off multitudes to make sure of his
prey.—Manuscript Releases 14:3 (1883).{LDE 242.2}
God will use His enemies as instruments to punish those
who have followed their own pernicious ways whereby the truth of God has been
misrepresented, misjudged, and dishonored.—The Paulson Collection of Ellen G.
White Letters, 136 (1894).{LDE 242.3}
Already the Spirit of God, insulted, refused, abused, is
being withdrawn from the earth. Just as fast as God’s Spirit is taken away,
Satan’s cruel work will be done upon land and sea.—Ms
134, 1898.{LDE 242.4}
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.—The
Great Controversy, 614 (1911).{LDE 242.5}
At Times Holy
Angels Exercise Destructive Power
[The sinner must himself bear full responsibility for the
punishment that is meted out to him. Ellen White states, “God destroys no one.
The sinner destroys himself by his own impenitence.” 5T 120.
See further The Great Controversy, 25-37.] God’s judgments were awakened
against Jericho. It was a stronghold. But the Captain of the Lord’s host
Himself came from heaven to lead the armies of heaven in an attack upon the
city. Angels of God laid hold of the massive walls and brought them to the
ground.—Testimonies for the Church 3:264 (1873).{LDE
243.1}
Under God the angels are all-powerful. On one occasion,
in obedience to the command of Christ, they slew of the Assyrian army in one
night one hundred and eighty-five thousand men.—The Desire of Ages, 700 (1898).{LDE 243.2}
The same angel who had come from the royal courts to
rescue Peter had been the messenger of wrath and judgment to Herod. The angel
smote Peter to arouse him from slumber. It was with a different stroke that he
smote the wicked king, laying low his pride and bringing upon him the
punishment of the Almighty. Herod died in great agony of mind and body, under
the retributive judgment of God.—The Acts of the Apostles, 152 (1911).{LDE 243.3}
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.—The Great Controversy, 614 (1911). {LDE 243.4}
The First Two
Plagues
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 (Revelation 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
those terrific scourges: “There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men
which had 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” [Revelation 16:2, 3].—The Great Controversy, 627,
628 (1911).{LDE 244.1}
The plagues were falling upon the inhabitants of the
earth. Some were denouncing God and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of
God and begged to be taught how they might escape His judgments. But the saints
had nothing for them. The last tear for sinners had been shed, the last
agonizing prayer offered, the last burden borne, the last warning given.—Early
Writings, 281 (1858).{LDE 244.2}
The Third
Plague
I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds
until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last
plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought
that we had brought the judgments of God upon them and that if they could rid
the earth of us the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay
the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance.—Early
Writings, 36, 37 (1851).{LDE 245.1}
And “the rivers and fountains of waters ... became
blood.” 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” (Revelation 16:2-6). 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.—The Great Controversy, 628 (1911).{LDE 245.2}
The Fourth
Plague
In the plague that follows, power is given to the sun “to
scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat” (Revelation 16:8,
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 water 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” (Joel
1:10-12, 17-20; Amos 8:3). {LDE 245.3}
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.—The Great Controversy, 628, 629 (1911).{LDE 246.1}
The Fifth
Plague
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 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....{LDE 246.2}
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 on the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy
the tokens of their deliverance.—The Great Controversy, 635, 636 (1911).
{LDE 246.3}
God’s Law
Appears in the Sky
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” (Psalm 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.—The Great Controversy, 639 (1911).{LDE 247.1}
The Lost
Condemn Their False Shepherds
Church members who have seen the light and been
convicted, but who have trusted the salvation of their souls to the minister, will
learn in the day of God that no other soul can pay the ransom for their
transgression. A terrible cry will be raised, “I am lost, eternally lost.” Men
will feel as though they could rend in pieces the ministers who have preached
falsehoods and condemned the truth.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 4:1157 (1900).{LDE 247.2}
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 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.—The Great Controversy, 655, 656 (1911). {LDE 247.3}
Here we see that the church—the Lord’s sanctuary—was the
first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men [Ezekiel 9:6],
those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the
spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust.—Testimonies for
the Church 5:211 (1882).{LDE 248.1}
God’s Word is made of none effect by false shepherds....
Their work will soon react upon themselves. Then will be witnessed the scenes
described in Revelation 18 when the judgments of God shall fall upon mystical
Babylon.—Ms 60, 1900.{LDE
248.2}
The Sixth
Plague
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.—The
Great Controversy, 624 (1911).{LDE 248.3}
The Spirit of God is gradually withdrawing from the
world. Satan is also mustering his forces of evil, going forth “unto the kings
of the earth and of the whole world,” to gather them under his banner, to be
trained for “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” [Revelation
16:14].—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:983 (1890).{LDE
249.1}
After John’s description in Revelation 16 of that
miracle-working power which was to gather the world to the last great conflict,
the symbols are dropped and the trumpet voice once more gives a certain sound:
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth,
and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame”
[Revelation 16:15]. After the transgression of Adam and Eve they were naked,
for the garment of light and security had departed from them.{LDE
249.2}
The world will have forgotten the admonition and warnings
of God as did the inhabitants of the Noatic world, as
did also the dwellers in Sodom. They awoke with all their plans and inventions
of iniquity, but suddenly the shower of fire came from heaven and consumed the
godless inhabitants. “Thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed” [Luke 17:30].—14MR 96, 97 (1896).{LDE 249.3}
The Last Great
Battle Between Good and Evil
Two great opposing powers are revealed in the last great
battle. On one side stands the Creator of heaven and earth. All on His side
bear His signet. They are obedient to His commands. On the other side stands
the prince of darkness, with those who have chosen apostasy and rebellion.—The
S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:982, 983 (1901). {LDE 249.4}
A terrible conflict is before us. We are nearing the
battle of the great day of God Almighty. That which has been held in control is
to be let loose. The angel of mercy is folding her wings, preparing to step
down from the throne and leave the world to the control of Satan. The principalities
and powers of earth are in bitter revolt against the God of heaven. They are
filled with hatred against those who serve Him, and soon, very soon, will be
fought the last great battle between good and evil. The earth is to be the
battle field—the scene of the final contest and the final victory. Here, where
for so long Satan has led men against God, rebellion is to be forever
suppressed.—The Review and Herald, May 13, 1902.{LDE
250.1}
The battles waging between the two armies are as real as
those fought by the armies of this world, and on the issue of the spiritual
conflict eternal destinies depend.—Prophets and Kings, 176 (c. 1914).{LDE 250.2}
All the World Will Be
Gathered on One Side or the Other
All the world will be on one side or the other of
the question. The battle of Armageddon will be fought. And that day must find
none of us sleeping. Wide awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our
vessels with our lamps. The power of the Holy Ghost must be upon us and the
Captain of the Lord’s host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to
direct the battle.—Selected Messages 3:426 (1890). {LDE 250.3}
The enmity of Satan against good will be manifested more
and more as he brings his forces into activity in his last work of rebellion,
and every soul that is not fully surrendered to God and kept by divine power
will form an alliance with Satan against heaven and join in battle against the
Ruler of the universe.—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 465 (1892).{LDE 251.1}
Soon all the inhabitants of the earth will have taken
sides, either for or against the government of heaven.—Testimonies for the
Church 7:141 (1902).{LDE 251.2}
The Seventh
Plague
We need to study the pouring out of the seventh vial
[Revelation 16:17-21]. The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict
without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of
Armageddon. When the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel of Revelation
eighteen, the religious elements, good and evil, will awake from slumber, and
the armies of the living God will take the field.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary
7:983 (1899).{LDE 251.3}
The battle of Armageddon is soon to be fought. He on
whose vesture is written the name, King of kings and Lord of lords, leads forth
the armies of heaven on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean and white
[Revelation 19:11-16].—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:982 (1899).{LDE 251.4}
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.... 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.—The Great Controversy, 637 (1911). {LDE
251.5}
Chapter 18—The Seven Last Plagues and the Righteous (The Great Time of
Trouble, Part 2)
The Great Time
of Trouble Begins After Probation’s Close
When Christ shall cease His work as mediator in man’s
behalf, then this time of trouble will begin. Then the case of every soul will
have been decided, and there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin. When
Jesus leaves His position as man’s intercessor before God the solemn
announcement is made, “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” (Revelation
22:11). Then the restraining Spirit of God is withdrawn from the
earth.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 201 (1890).{LDE 253.1}
God’s People
Are Prepared for the Trying Hour Before Them
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. {LDE 253.2}
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.” Then Jesus ceases
His intercession in the sanctuary above.... 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 salvation, and Jesus is to reign
as King of kings, and Lord of lords.—The Great Controversy, 613, 614 (1911).{LDE 254.1}
Terrible Beyond
Comprehension
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....{LDE 254.2}
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.—The Great
Controversy, 621, 622 (1911).{LDE 254.3}
When Jesus leaves the most holy His restraining Spirit is
withdrawn from rulers and people. They are left to the control of evil angels.
Then such laws will be made by the counsel and direction of Satan that, unless
time should be very short, no flesh could be saved.—Testimonies For The Church
1:204 (1859).{LDE 255.1}
Many Laid to
Rest Before Time of Trouble
It is not always safe to ask for unconditional
healing.... He knows whether or not those for whom petitions are offered would
be able to endure the trial and test that would come upon them if they lived.
He knows the end from the beginning. Many will be laid away to sleep before the
fiery ordeal of the time of trouble shall come upon our world.—Counsels on
Health, 375 (1897).{LDE 255.2}
The Lord has often instructed me that many little ones
are to be laid away before the time of trouble. We shall see our children
again. We shall meet them and know them in the heavenly courts.—Selected
Messages 2:259 (1899).{LDE 255.3}
Satan’s Goal:
Destroy All Sabbathkeepers
Says the great deceiver: ... “Our principal concern is to
silence this sect of Sabbathkeepers.... We will
finally have a law to exterminate all who will not submit to our
authority.”—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 472, 473 (1884).{LDE 255.4}
It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted
from the earth in order that his supremacy of the world may not be
disputed.—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 37 (1893).{LDE 255.5}
The remnant church will be brought into great trial and
distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will
feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts. Satan numbers the world as his
subjects. He has gained control of the apostate churches; but here is a little
company that are resisting his supremacy. If he could
blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. As he influenced the
heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the
wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God.—Testimonies for the Church
9:231 (1909).{LDE 256.1}
Arguments Used Against God’s People
I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds
until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last
plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought
that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid
the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed.—Early Writings, 36 (1851).{LDE 256.2}
When the angel of mercy folds her wings and departs Satan
will do the evil deeds he has long wished to do. Storm and tempest, war and
bloodshed—in these things he delights, and thus he gathers in his harvest. And
so completely will men be deceived by him that they will declare that these
calamities are the result of the desecration of the first day of the week. From
the pulpits of the popular churches will be heard the statement that the world
is being punished because Sunday is not honored as it should be.—The Review and
Herald, September 17, 1901.{LDE 256.3}
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”.... This argument will appear
conclusive.—The Great Controversy, 615 (1911).{LDE
257.1}
Death for All
Who Do Not Honor Sunday
A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them
to cry day and night for deliverance.—Early Writings, 36, 37 (1851).{LDE 257.2}
As Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon issued a decree
that all who would not bow down and worship this image should be killed, so a
proclamation will be made that all who will not reverence the Sunday
institution will be punished with imprisonment and death.... Let all read
carefully the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, for it concerns every human
agent, great and small.—Manuscript Releases 14:91 (1896).{LDE
257.3}
The time of trouble is about to come upon the people of
God. Then it is that the decree will go forth forbidding those who keep the
Sabbath of the Lord to buy or sell, and threatening them with punishment, and
even death, if they do not observe the first day of the week as the Sabbath.—In
Heavenly Places, 344 (1908).{LDE 257.4}
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” (Revelation 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.—The Great Controversy,
604 (1911). {LDE 257.5}
Especially will the wrath of man be aroused against those
who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and at last a universal
decree will denounce these as deserving of death.—Prophets and Kings, 512 (c.
1914).{LDE 258.1}
Death Decree
Similar to That Issued by Ahasuerus
The decree that will finally go forth against the remnant
people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the
Jews. Today the enemies of the true church see in the little company keeping
the Sabbath commandment, a Mordecai at the gate. The reverence of God’s people
for His law is a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the
Lord and are trampling on His Sabbath.—Prophets and Kings, 605 (c. 1914).{LDE
258.2}
I saw the leading men of the earth consulting together,
and Satan and his angels busy around them. I saw a writing, copies of which
were scattered in different parts of the land, giving orders that unless the
saints should yield their peculiar faith, give up the Sabbath, and observe the
first day of the week, the people were at liberty after a certain time, to put
them to death.—Early Writings, 282, 283 (1858).{LDE 258.3}
If the people of God will put their trust in Him and by
faith rely upon His power, the devices of Satan will be defeated in our time as
signally as in the days of Mordecai.—The Signs of the Times, February 22,
1910.{LDE 259.1}
The Remnant
Make God Their Defense
“And 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 the book” [Daniel 12:1]. When this time of trouble comes, every case
is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer mercy for the impenitent.
The seal of the living God is upon His people.{LDE
259.2}
This small remnant, unable to defend themselves in the deadly
conflict with the powers of earth that are marshaled by the dragon host, make
God their defense. The decree has been passed by the highest earthly authority
that they shall worship the beast and receive his mark under pain of
persecution and death. May God help His people now, for what can they then do
in such a fearful conflict without His assistance!—Testimonies for the Church
5:212, 213 (1882).{LDE 259.3}
God’s People
Flee the Cities; Many Imprisoned
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 villages and associate together in companies, dwelling in
the most desolate and solitary places. Many will find refuge in the strongholds
of the mountains.... But many of all nations and of 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.—The Great Controversy, 626 (1911). {LDE 259.4}
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 powerless as a straw. Others
are defended by angels in the form of men of war.—The Great Controversy, 631
(1911).{LDE 260.1}
The people of God are not at this time all in one place.
They are in different companies and in all parts of the earth; and they will be
tried singly, not in groups. Every one must stand the
test for himself.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 4:1143 (1908).{LDE
260.2}
The faith of individual members of the church will be
tested as though there were not another person in the world.—The S.D.A. Bible
Commentary 7:983 (1890).{LDE 260.3}
Houses and
Lands of No Use
Houses and lands will be of no use to the saints in the
time of trouble, for they will then have to flee before infuriated mobs, and at
that time their possessions cannot be disposed of to advance the cause of
present truth....{LDE 261.1}
I saw that if any held on to their property, and did not
inquire of the Lord as to their duty, He would not make duty known, and they
would be permitted to keep their property, and in the time of trouble it would
come up before them like a mountain to crush them, and they would try to
dispose of it, but would not be able.... But if they desired to be taught, He
would teach them, in a time of need, when to sell and how much to sell.—Early
Writings, 56, 57 (1851).{LDE 261.2}
It is too late now to cling to worldly treasures. Soon
unnecessary houses and lands will be of no benefit to anyone, for the curse of
God will rest more and more heavily upon the earth. The call comes, “Sell that
ye have, and give alms” [Luke 12:33]. This message should be faithfully
borne—urged home to the hearts of the people—that God’s own property may be
returned to Him in offerings to advance His work in the world.—Manuscript
Releases 16:348 (1901).{LDE 261.3}
Like the Time
of Jacob’s Trouble
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. 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.—The Great Controversy, 615, 616 (1911). {LDE 261.4}
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.... 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.—The Great Controversy, 630
(1911).{LDE 262.1}
Jacob’s experience during that night of wrestling and
anguish represents the trial through which the people of God must pass just
before Christ’s second coming. The prophet Jeremiah, in holy vision looking
down to this time, said, “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” (Jeremiah 30:5-7).—Patriarchs and
Prophets, 201 (1890).{LDE 262.2}
The Righteous Have
No Concealed Wrongs to Reveal
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.—The Great Controversy, 620 (1911).{LDE 263.1}
God’s people ... will have a deep sense of their
shortcomings, and as they review their lives their hopes will sink. But
remembering the greatness of God’s mercy, and their own sincere repentance, they
will plead His promises made through Christ to helpless, repenting sinners.
Their faith will not fail because their prayers are not immediately answered.
They will lay hold of the strength of God, as Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and
the language of their souls will be, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless
me.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 202 (1890).{LDE 263.2}
The Saints Will
Not Lose Their Lives
God would not suffer the wicked to destroy those who were
expecting translation, and who would not bow to the decree of the beast or
receive his mark. I saw that if the wicked were permitted to slay the saints,
Satan and all his evil host, and all who hate God,
would be gratified. And oh, what a triumph it would be for his satanic majesty,
to have power, in the last closing struggle, over those who had so long waited
to behold Him whom they loved! Those who have mocked at the idea of the saints’
going up will witness the care of God for His people, and behold their glorious
deliverance.—Early Writings, 284 (1858). {LDE 263.3}
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.—The Great Controversy, 629
(1911).{LDE 264.1}
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.—The Great Controversy, 634 (1911).{LDE
264.2}
God Will
Provide
The Lord has shown me repeatedly that it is contrary to
the Bible to make any provision for our temporal wants in the time of trouble.
I saw that if the saints had food laid up by them or in the field in the time
of trouble, when sword, famine, and pestilence are in the land, it would be
taken from them by violent hands, and strangers would reap their fields.{LDE 264.3}
Then will be the time for us to trust wholly in God, and
He will sustain us. I saw that our bread and water will be sure at that time,
and that we shall not lack or suffer hunger, for God is able to spread a table
for us in the wilderness. If necessary He would send ravens to feed us, as He
did to feed Elijah, or rain manna from heaven, as He did for the
Israelites.—Early Writings, 56 (1851). {LDE 264.4}
I saw that a time of trouble was before us, when stern
necessity will compel the people of God to live on bread and water.... In the
time of trouble none will labor with their hands. Their sufferings will be
mental, and God will provide food for them.—Ms 2,
1858.{LDE 265.1}
The time of trouble is just before us, and then stern
necessity will require the people of God to deny self and to eat merely enough
to sustain life, but God will prepare us for that time. In that fearful hour
our necessity will be God’s opportunity to impart His strengthening power and
to sustain His people.—Testimonies For The Church 1:206 (1859).{LDE 265.2}
Bread and water is all that is promised to the remnant in
the time of trouble.—The Story of Redemption, 129 (1870).{LDE
265.3}
In the time of trouble, just before the coming of Christ,
the righteous will be preserved through the ministration of heavenly
angels.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 256 (1890).{LDE
265.4}
No Intercessor,
but Constant Communion With Christ
Christ has made the atonement for His people and blotted
out their sins. The number of His subjects is made up....{LDE
265.5}
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 Great
Controversy, 613, 614 (1911). {LDE 265.6}
Will the Lord forget His people in this trying hour? ...
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 the rich in faith dwell there, and the
gloomy walls will be lighted up with heavenly light as when Paul and Silas
prayed and sang praises at midnight in the Philippian dungeon.—The Great
Controversy, 626, 627 (1911).{LDE 266.1}
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.... The precious
Saviour will send help just when we need it.—The Great Controversy, 630, 633
(1911).{LDE 266.2}
It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of
the people of God who shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory and a
repetition of the persecutions of the past are blended. They will walk in the
light proceeding from the throne of God. By means of the angels there will be
constant communication between heaven and earth....{LDE
266.3}
In the midst of the time of trouble that is coming—a time
of trouble such as has not been since there was a nation—God’s chosen people
will stand unmoved. Satan and his host cannot destroy them, for angels that
excel in strength will protect them.—Testimonies for the Church 9:16, 17 (1909).{LDE 267.1}
God’s People
Cherish No Sinful Desires
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 the power of temptation. Satan finds in
human hearts some point where he can gain a foothold; 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.”
(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.—The Great
Controversy, 623 (1911).{LDE 267.2}
The Battle Against Self Continues
So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue,
besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no
stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained.
Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience.—The Acts of the Apostles,
560, 561 (1911).{LDE 267.3}
Constant war against the carnal mind must be maintained;
and we must be aided by the refining influence of the grace of God, which will
attract the mind upward and habituate it to meditate upon pure and holy
things.—Testimonies for the Church 2:479 (1870).{LDE 268.1}
We may create an unreal world in our own mind or picture
an ideal church, where the temptations of Satan no longer prompt to evil; but
perfection exists only in our imagination.—The Review and Herald, August 8,
1893.{LDE 268.2}
When human beings receive holy flesh, they will not
remain on the earth, but will be taken to heaven. While sin is forgiven in this
life, its results are not now wholly removed. It is at His coming that Christ
is to “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned
like unto His glorious body.”—Selected Messages 2:33 (1901).{LDE
268.3}
The 144,000
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”
(Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1-5.) “These are they which came out of great
tribulation”; 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.—The Great Controversy, 648, 649 (1911). {LDE 268.4}
It is not His will that they shall get into controversy
over questions which will not help them spiritually, such as, Who is to compose the hundred and forty-four thousand? This
those who are the elect of God will in a short time know without
question.—Selected Messages 1:174 (1901).{LDE 269.1}
God’s People
Delivered
Satan’s host and wicked men will surround them and exult
over them because there will seem to be no way of escape for them. But in the
midst of their revelry and triumph there is heard peal upon peal of the loudest
thunder. The heavens have gathered blackness, and are only illuminated by the
blazing light and terrible glory from heaven, as God utters His voice from His
holy habitation.{LDE 269.2}
The foundations of the earth shake,
buildings totter and fall with a terrible crash. The sea boils like a pot and
the whole earth is in terrible commotion. The captivity of the righteous is
turned, and with sweet and solemn whisperings they say to one another: “We are
delivered. It is the voice of God.”—Testimonies For The Church 1:353, 354
(1862).{LDE 269.3}
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. {LDE 269.4}
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.... 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....{LDE 270.1}
It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the
deliverance of His people.... 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” (Revelation 16:17). That voice shakes the
heavens and the earth....{LDE 270.2}
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.—The Great Controversy, 635-637 (1911).{LDE
270.3}
~rwb