The Great
Controversy - Chapter XXXIX- “The Time
of Trouble”
“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 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withdrawn.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.
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