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| Event 3 - Probation Closes |
| Time of Trouble |
Key Text
"Yea,
the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle
and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming;
but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” Jeremiah
8:7 |
"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,
everyone that shall be found written in the book." Daniel 12:1.
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." 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." Revelation 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 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God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn.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 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." 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.
Key Text
"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 |
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.
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 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." Hosea 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.
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 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 so to 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 will 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." Revelation 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." Isaiah
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. 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 no wise 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 result 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.
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 of
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 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." Genesis 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." Ezekiel
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 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.
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." Revelation
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 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. Revelation 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." 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 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." Matthew 24:24-27, 31; 25:31; Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians
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
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." Isaiah
33:16. 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.
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, The Lord 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." Isaiah 49:14-16. The Lord
hosts has said: "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye." Zechariah
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 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.
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 nonetheless 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." Isaiah 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." Ezekiel 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." Exodus 34:6, 7; Nahum 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.
Key Text
"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.” Psalm
91:5- 8
|
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." 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. 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." Verses 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.
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 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." 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." Isaiah 33:15, 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. Habakkuk 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 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. 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 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." 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 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 at 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
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." Psalm 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.' Isaiah 21:11,
12. Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops. 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 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 footprints. 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 shouldest 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." Isaiah 51:11-16.
"Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people,
Behold, I have 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." Verses 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." Malachi 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." Psalm 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." Isaiah 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. |
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