Great Controversy-
Chapter XLI
-Desolation of the Earth
“Her sins have
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” “In the cup which she hath filled, fill to her
double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much
torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am
no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,
death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for
strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have
committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and
lament for her, ... saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty
city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.” [Revelation 18:5-10, 3, 15-17.]
“The merchants of
the earth,” that have “waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies,”
“shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and
saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple,
and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one
hour so great riches is come to naught.” [Revelation 18:5-10, 3, 15-17.]
Such are the
judgments that fall upon Babylon in the day of the visitation of God’s wrath.
She has filled up the measure of her iniquity; her time has come; she is ripe
for destruction. When the voice of God turns the captivity of his people, there
is a terrible awakening of those who have lost all in the great conflict of
life. While probation continued, they were blinded by Satan’s deceptions, and
they justified their course of sin.
The rich prided
themselves upon their superiority to those who were less favored; but they had
obtained their riches by violation of the law of God. They had neglected to
feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to deal justly, and to love mercy. They
had sought to exalt themselves, and to obtain the homage of their
fellow-creatures. Now they are stripped of all that made them great, and are
left destitute and defenseless. They look with terror upon the destruction of
the idols which they preferred before their Maker. They have sold their souls
for earthly riches and enjoyments, and have not sought to become rich toward
God. The result is, their lives are a failure; their pleasures are now turned
to gall, their treasures to corruption. The gain of a life-time is swept away
in a moment. The rich bemoan the destruction of their grand houses, the
scattering of their gold and silver. But their lamentations are silenced by the
fear that they themselves are to perish with their idols. The wicked are filled
with regret, not because of their sinful neglect of God and their fellow-men,
but because God has conquered. They lament that the result is what it is; but
they do not repent of their wickedness. They would leave no means untried to
conquer if they could.
The world see the
very class whom they have mocked and derided, and desired to exterminate, pass
unharmed through pestilence, tempest, and earthquake. He who is to the
transgressors of his law a devouring fire, is to his people a safe pavilion.
The minister who has
sacrificed truth to gain the favor of men, now discerns the character and
influence of his teachings. It is apparent that an omniscient eye was following
him as he stood in the desk, as he walked the streets, as he mingled with men
in the various scenes of life. Every emotion of the soul, every line written,
every word uttered, every act that led men to rest in a refuge of falsehood,
has been scattering seed; and now, in the wretched, lost souls around him, he
beholds the harvest.
Saith the Lord:
“They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying,
Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” “With lies ye have made the heart of the
righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the
wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him
life.” [Jeremiah8:11; Ezekiel 13:22.]
“Woe be unto the
pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! ... Behold, I will
visit upon you the evil of your doings.” “Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and
wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock; for your days for slaughter and your
dispersions are accomplished;... And the shepherds shall have no way to flee,
nor the principal of the flock to escape.” [Jeremiah 23:1, 2; 25:34, 35
(Margin).] Ministers and people see that they have not sustained the right
relation to God. They see that they have rebelled against the Author of all
just and righteous law. The setting aside of the divine precepts gave rise to
thousands of springs of evil, discord, hatred, iniquity, until the earth became
one vast field of strife, one sink of corruption.
This is the view
that now appears to those who rejected truth and chose to cherish error. No
language can express the longing which the disobedient and disloyal feel for
that which they have lost forever,—eternal life. Men whom the world has
worshiped for their talents and eloquence now see these things in their true
light. They realize what they have forfeited by transgression, and they fall at
the feet of those whose fidelity they have despised and derided, and confess
that God has loved them. The people see that they have been deluded. They
accuse one another of having led them to destruction; but all unite in heaping
their bitterest condemnation upon the ministers. Unfaithful pastors have
prophesied smooth things; they have led their hearers to make void the law of
God and to persecute those who would keep it holy. Now, in their despair, these
teachers confess before the world their work of deception. The multitudes are
filled with fury.
“We are lost!” they
cry, “and you are the cause of our ruin;” and they turn upon the false
shepherds. The very ones that once admired them most, will pronounce the most
dreadful curses upon them. The very hands that once crowned them with laurels
will be raised for their destruction. The swords which were to slay God’s
people are now employed to destroy their enemies. Everywhere there is strife
and bloodshed. “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord
hath a controversy with the nations: he will plead with all flesh; he will give
them that are wicked to the sword.” [Jeremiah 25:31.]
To be continued…
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