Concluding
our study on the book - The Atonement.
'In
examining the type of the scape-goat, we found the devil confined in the abyss
for one thousand years. At the end of that period, all the inhabitants of the
grave are called forth; the wicked of all ages stand up in life, and the great
enemy of God and man is once more among the victims of his deceptions. He has
borne the heavy burden of many sins placed upon his head, but his punishment
yet awaits him. The Judgment has been sitting, and its decisions remain to be
executed. But with the certainty of destruction before him, his malignity is
not abated. His hatred to the ever-glorious Son of God
The
Atonement - 224
and to the
saints, who, through the blood of their Master, have overcome his deceptions
and his power, leads him to instigate the risen nations to raise their arms
once more against their Maker. Vain effort! Those who now think they can oppose
his power with success, find then how fatally they have been mistaken.
“And fire
came down from God out of Heaven and devoured them.” Rev. 20:9.
As once
this earth was overflowed with water, then it will be overspread with fire.
This is that “day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men,” to which this
sin-cursed earth is “kept in store.” This is that terrible day “that shall burn
as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble;
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it
shall leave them neither root nor branch.”
High
ascends “the smoke of their torment,” who have often mocked at the judgments of
God; for “the wicked shall perish and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the
fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.” Ps.
37:20.
And as it
is written that the Lord “smote Egypt in their first-born, and overthrew
Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; for his mercy endureth forever;” Ps.
136:10, 15; so in the terrors of that great, that burning day, we behold the
power of Jesus’ blood; for he suffered “that through death he might destroy him
that had the power of death, that is the devil.” Heb. 2:13.
And with
him all his works are destroyed. 1 John 3:8.
This ends
the world’s great controversy. When “everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of his power,” is visited upon the wicked; when
the righteous are introduced “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that fadeth not away,” the record of the great future is briefly given. No
elaborate description of that eternity of joy is offered; for words cannot
describe all its glories; nor could our minds, always having associated with
meaner things, appreciate the description. But we are permitted by faith in the
sacred revelation, to look beyond the scene of terror, which we have been
considering. The fury of the crackling flames exhausts itself; where the
seething fires burned deep and fierce they languish for want of prey. As the
smoke rolls up from the earth, there is revealed to our view a scene both grand
and lovely; its surpassing beauty words cannot express; but above it all a
voice is heard, “Behold I make all things new!” And
- 225 - J.
H. Waggoner
now awakes
the universal chorus: “And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth,
and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,
heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”
The
universe again is free from sin. Redemption’s work is done. Beyond lies the
vast ocean of eternity, all radiant with glory. Here the mind gladly rests in
contemplation of the heavenly scene.
And now,
while yet the scoffer, who has never had a thought of the eternal and infinite
justice of God, declares that the Atonement is unnecessary, what fitting words
of wisdom shall I choose to persuade him of its truth, and check his irreverent
railing? How weak the effort a mortal puts forth to frame an argument worthy of
the theme. From that dying agony; from that precious flowing blood; from that
interceding grace; from that bright resurrection morn; from the earth made new;
from that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, I turn and look at my
own heart; and looking there, O man, your scoffing is vain. That glory I long
to possess; that blood, that grace, that love, I need to fit me for the
presence of my God. And shall I, a worthless worm of earth, defiled by sin,
behold that glory and enjoy forever? Then truly God is love. Nothing but love
divine can perfect a work so great. And to him alone, the God of grace, I look
for “victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Reader, may you and I find it
there.
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
(The End)
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