In the plague that follows, power is given to the sun "to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat."(1076) 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 waters 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 G.o.d: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence."(1077)
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, mult.i.tudes will desire the shelter of G.o.d"s mercy which they have so long despised. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord G.o.d, 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."(1078)
The people of G.o.d 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 G.o.d who cared for Elijah, will not pa.s.s 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 G.o.d of Israel will not forsake them."(1079)
"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 G.o.d of their salvation.(1080)
"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."(1081)
Yet to human sight it will appear that the people of G.o.d 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 G.o.d for deliverance. The wicked exult, and the jeering cry is heard, "Where now is your faith? Why does not G.o.d 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."(1082) Like Jacob, all are wrestling with G.o.d. 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 s.n.a.t.c.h them from their peril. But they must wait yet a little longer. The people of G.o.d must drink of the cup, and be baptized with the baptism. The very delay, so painful to them, is the best answer to their pet.i.tions. 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 G.o.d avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him?... I tell you that He will avenge them speedily."(1083) The end will come more quickly than men expect. The wheat will be gathered and bound in sheaves for the garner of G.o.d; the tares will be bound as f.a.gots 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 antic.i.p.ate the decree, and before the time specified, will endeavor to take their lives. But none can pa.s.s the mighty guardians stationed about every faithful soul. Some are a.s.sailed in their flight from the cities and villages; but the swords raised against them break and fall as powerless as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form of men of war.
In all ages, G.o.d 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 G.o.d. 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 of 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 a.s.semblies of the righteous, and they visit the a.s.semblies of the wicked, as they went to Sodom, to make a record of their deeds, to determine whether they have pa.s.sed the boundary of G.o.d"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 mult.i.tudes. Little do sinners against G.o.d 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 r.e.t.a.r.ded the work of G.o.d, 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."(1084)
With earnest longing, G.o.d"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."(1085) Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountain tops. 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 pet.i.tions before G.o.d, 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 G.o.d"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 shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as gra.s.s; 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 G.o.d, 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."(1086)
"Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah, and thy G.o.d 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."(1087)
The eye of G.o.d, 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."(1088) 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 G.o.d.
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."(1089) 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."(1090) Glorious will be the deliverance of those who have patiently waited for His coming, and whose names are written in the book of life.
40. G.o.d"S PEOPLE DELIVERED.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Chapter header.]
When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honor the law of G.o.d, 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.
The people of G.o.d-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. It is now, in the hour of utmost extremity, that the G.o.d of Israel will interpose for the deliverance of His chosen. Saith the Lord: "Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth ... to come into the mountain of Jehovah, to the Mighty One of Israel. And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones."(1091)
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 G.o.d, spans the heavens, and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry mult.i.tudes 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 G.o.d"s covenant, and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness.
By the people of G.o.d a voice, clear and melodious, is heard, saying, "Look up," and lifting their eyes to the heavens, they behold the bow of promise. The black, angry clouds that covered the firmament are parted, and like Stephen they look up steadfastly into heaven, and see the glory of G.o.d, and the Son of man seated upon His throne. In His divine form they discern the marks of His humiliation; and from His lips they hear the request, presented before His Father and the holy angels, "I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am."(1092) Again a voice, musical and triumphant, is heard, saying: "They come! they come!
holy, harmless, and undefiled. They have kept the word of My patience; they shall walk among the angels;" and the pale, quivering lips of those who have held fast their faith, utter a shout of victory.
It is at midnight that G.o.d 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 upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up, and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear s.p.a.ce of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of G.o.d like the sound of many waters, saying, "It is done."(1093)
That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, "such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great."(1094) The firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the throne of G.o.d seems flashing through. The mountains shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming tempest. The sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of the hurricane, like the voice of demons upon a mission of destruction. 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. Babylon the Great has come in remembrance before G.o.d, "to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath."(1095) Great hailstones, every one "about the weight of a talent," are doing their work of destruction. 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 G.o.d"s people, who have been held in bondage for their faith, are set free.
Graves are opened, and "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth ... awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."(1096) All who have died in the faith of the third angel"s message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear G.o.d"s covenant of peace with those who have kept His law. "They also which pierced Him,"(1097) those that mocked and derided Christ"s dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory, and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient.
Thick clouds still cover the sky; yet the sun now and then breaks through, appearing like the avenging eye of Jehovah. Fierce lightnings leap from the heavens, enveloping the earth in a sheet of flame. Above the terrific roar of thunder, voices, mysterious and awful, declare the doom of the wicked. The words spoken are not comprehended by all; but they are distinctly understood by the false teachers. Those who a little before were so reckless, so boastful and defiant, so exultant in their cruelty to G.o.d"s commandment-keeping people, are now overwhelmed with consternation, and shuddering in fear. Their wails are heard above the sound of the elements. Demons acknowledge the deity of Christ, and tremble before His power, while men are supplicating for mercy, and groveling in abject terror.
Said the prophets of old, as they beheld in holy vision the day of G.o.d: "Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty."(1098) "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." "In that day a man shall cast the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth."(1099)
Through a rift in the clouds, there beams a star whose brilliancy is increased fourfold in contrast with the darkness. It speaks hope and joy to the faithful, but severity and wrath to the transgressors of G.o.d"s law.
Those who have sacrificed all for Christ are now secure, hidden as in the secret of the Lord"s pavilion. They have been tested, and before the world and the despisers of truth they have evinced their fidelity to Him who died for them. A marvelous change has come over those who have held fast their integrity in the very face of death. They have been suddenly delivered from the dark and terrible tyranny of men transformed to demons.
Their faces, so lately pale, anxious, and haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love. Their voices rise in triumphant song: "G.o.d is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof."(1100)
While these words of holy trust ascend to G.o.d, the clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial city streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet, "The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for G.o.d is judge Himself."(1101) That holy law, G.o.d"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 superst.i.tion and heresy is swept from every mind, and G.o.d"s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth.
It is impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who have trampled upon G.o.d"s holy requirements. The Lord gave them His law; they might have compared their characters with it, and learned their defects while there was yet opportunity for repentance and reform; but in order to secure the favor of the world, they set aside its precepts and taught others to transgress. They have endeavored to compel G.o.d"s people to profane His Sabbath. Now they are condemned by that law which they have despised. With awful distinctness they see that they are without excuse.
They chose whom they would serve and worship. "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth G.o.d and him that serveth Him not."(1102)
The enemies of G.o.d"s law, from the ministers down to the least among them, have a new conception of truth and duty. Too late they see that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living G.o.d. Too late they see the true nature of their spurious sabbath, and the sandy foundation upon which they have been building. They find that they have been fighting against G.o.d. Religious teachers have led souls to perdition while professing to guide them to the gates of Paradise. Not until the day of final accounts will it be known how great is the responsibility of men in holy office, and how terrible are the results of their unfaithfulness.
Only in eternity can we rightly estimate the loss of a single soul.
Fearful will be the doom of him to whom G.o.d shall say, Depart, thou wicked servant.
The voice of G.o.d is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus" coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to His people. Like peals of loudest thunder, His words roll through the earth. The Israel of G.o.d stand listening, with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked cannot look upon them. And when the blessing is p.r.o.nounced on those who have honored G.o.d by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.
Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, about half the size of a man"s hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour, and which seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of G.o.d know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a "man of sorrows," to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes, victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead. "Faithful and true," "in righteousness He doth judge and make war." And "the armies which were in heaven follow Him."(1103) With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms,-"ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. "His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light."(1104) As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head, but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords."(1105)
Before His presence, "all faces are turned into paleness;" upon the rejecters of G.o.d"s mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. "The heart melteth, and the knees smite together," "and the faces of them all gather blackness."(1106) The righteous cry with trembling, "Who shall be able to stand?" The angels" song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence. Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying, "My grace is sufficient for you." The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher, and sing again, as they draw still nearer to the earth.
The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. "Our G.o.d shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people."(1107)
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"(1108)
The derisive jests have ceased. Lying lips are hushed into silence. The clash of arms, the tumult of battle, "with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood,"(1109) is stilled. Naught now is heard but the voice of prayer and the sound of weeping and lamentation. The cry bursts forth from lips so lately scoffing, "The great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" The wicked pray to be buried beneath the rocks of the mountains, rather than meet the face of Him whom they have despised and rejected.