a peg in a sure place

[rainbowinthesky]

Some question as to why it is that Satan brings destruction upon his own subjects and kingdoms, when it would appear that he would do better to make a happier and cleaner world in which men could live. But Satan is not concerned so much with making a better world for anyone as he is in saving his own skin. The only way he can do this now is to prove that God is wrong. To do this he must prevent God from doing what He would do, "finish the work and cut it short in righteousness." Rom.9:28.

Already, Satan has succeeded in greatly extending the finishing of the work in the past and, if he could finally detroy the work of God out of the earth, then he would succeed in proving God wrong, that God could not keep His word, that the power of sin was so great that it was impossible for created beings to be victorious over its power and that God was demanding too much in expecting created beings to obey His law. Should he succeed in doing this, then he would take away the power of God to punish him with eternal destruction and would win the fight for reinstatement into Heaven on his own terms.

As a means to this end, there is a calculated purpose in his destructive activity in the world which brings him a two-fold divident. In the first case, he causes men to charge God with his work. "It is thus that the great deceiver seeks to conceal his own work," (G.C.35), thus leading men to hate God and join him in his fearful rebellion against the Creator who destroys no one.(Rev.18:24)

"God destroys no man." C.O.L.84.

In the second case, "the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God's commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors." The Great Controversy,590.

Thus the devil is able to provide himself with an instrument with which to accomplish his long cherish ambition of destroying the people of God, for "If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete." Testimonies, 5:473.

This is the awful truth. All the devil has to do is to prevent the formation of the 144,000 by slaying all those who would be numbered among them, and he has won the great controversy and will have proved his point. He does not even have to wait till then, for if today he could destroy every faithful child of God, then his triumph right now would be complete. But let us praise the God of Heaven that "the Angel of the Lord emcampeth around about them that fear Him and delivereth them," (Ps.34:7), and will do so until the very end.

sky

 

[rainbowinthesky]

"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 Caiphas,'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... The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress dscribed by the prophet as the time of Jacob's trouble." The Great Controversy,615-6.

We are witnesses to the wrath of the people and what that can do in rioting and the like in this present time, even when this is limited by the restraining power of the ruling class over the rioters, and from this we can imagine something of the wrath of a people who have been deprived of homes, lands, loved ones, health, food and the comforts of life, by, as they imagine, a STUBBORN MINORITY who refuse to bow to the will of the majority, the church and the state, when the wwhole of the world is united in their hatred against A CLASS SO SMALL that it would seem but the work of a moment to blot them out of existence.

They cannot do it while probation still lingers because the four angels are still holding the four winds of strife.

"While Jesus had been standing between God and guilty man, a RESTRAINT was upon the people; but when He stepped out from between man and the Father, the RESTRAINT was REMOVED, and Satan had ENTIRE CONTROL of the finally impenitent." Early Writings,280.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

This is to say that from that moment when probation closes, the devil has unrestricted and unconstrained control of the masses of mankind who have rejected the truth of God. Therefore he can do just as he pleases with them. "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 passions, all the elements of strife will be let loose." The Great Controversy,614.

Inasmuch as they share his hatred of the true and the faithful, he and they are joined in a common desperate and consuming anxiety to rid the earth of this pestilential minority. Is it reasonable to conclude in the light of all these facts that he and they are going to wait for almost a whole year before they carry out the plan to execute the death decree? Why of course not. Both the devil and his followers will seek to have this done as soon as it is possible to have it done.

At the same time Satan does not want to make any mistake about it. He knows that to be too hasty can spoil the matter too so he plans the whole scheme with the most careful and thorough finesse so that not one of the righteous will be left to perpetuate the truth of God and guarantee his destruction.

So it will be as it was in the days of Esther, that the death decree will be drawn up by the leading men of the earth at some meeting place acceptable to them all. It will be first the work of the ecclesiastical authorities who must then have it ratified by the powers of the earth, just as the Jezabel of old wrote out letters, the death warrant of Naboth the faithful, obedient servant of God, "in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal." 1 King 21:8.

This decree, as we read above will give the people the right to be the executioners, which conferring of legal power must be legally done by transmitting copies of the decree in every part of the world, just as the writings of the decree in the days of Esther had to be sent first to every part of the realm before the actual plan of slaughtering of the people of God could take place.

Knowing as we do that the experience of the people of God in the days of Esther was a type or a preview of how it will be in the last days, we can know how it will be again, and this fact is confirmed in the following statement:

"Then I saw the leading men of the earth consulting together, and Satan and his angels busy around them. I saw a writing, copies of which were scattered in different parts of the land, giving orders that unless the saints should yield their peculiar faith, give up the Sabbath and observe the first day of the week, the people were at liberty after a certain time, to put them to death." Early Writings,282-3.

Such will not require a great deal of time. Under present conditions, once the decree had been drawn up and passed,(due allowance must be made for the fact that considerable disruption to world communications at that time because of the heavy hand of blight and destruction upon the world so that it might take a little longer but by no means a year) would be all accomplished in a matter of a few days. At the most it could only take a week or two.

Therefore it is most reasonable to conclude that the time will be of relatively short duration, and for this we can well be thankful for one would really wonder as to how human nature could possibly endure twelve months of the agony of Jacob's trouble without total desintegration, mentally and spiritually!

 

[rainbowinthesky]

A statement which is worth some consideration on this question of the length of the duration of the time of trouble is this one from A Word to the Little Flock, p.12.

"The Lord has shown me in vision, that Jesus rose up, and shut up the door, and entered the Holy of Holies at the seventh month, 1844; but Michael's standing up (Daniel 12:1) to deliver His people, is in the future. This will not take place until Jesus has finished HIs priestly office in the Heavenly Sanctuary, and lays off His priestly attire, and puts on His most kingly robes, and crown, to ride forth on the cloudy chariot... Then Jesus will have the sharp sickle in His hand,(Rev.14:14) and then the saints will cry day and night to Jesus on the cloud, to thrust in His sickle and reap. This will be the time of Jacob's trouble,(Jer.30:5-8) out of which the saints will be delivered by the voice of God." See also, Spiritual Gifts, Vol.1:206; 2:32; Early Writings,285; The Great Controversy,636-640.

This statement tells us that as soon as Jesus has completed the work in the sanctuary as the High Priest, He changes His priestly garments for the kingly robes immediately following which He rides forth on the journey from Heaven to this earth to deliver His people.

While He is thus riding forth, the saints upon the earth will be calling upon Him to thrust in the sickle and reap the harvest. Then we are told that the time of Jacob's trouble is the time when this is going on, by which we would instantly know that duration of the time of trouble if we knew how long it will take Jesus to lay off the priestly attire, put on the kingly garments and fly down from Heaven to the earth.

Now nowhere are we told just how much time will be occupied on this journey though we certainly do know that it can be accomplished in seven days and even possibly less for that is the length of time it will take to make the return journey. The evidence for this is given in Early Writings, 16. "We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass."

That much then is clear that the journey need occupy but the seven days. However, we cannot take the definite position from this that there will be exactly the same length of time in coming. There may well be other factors not revealed to us which may extend the period a little, but it does indicate to us that the length of time will be a great deal less than one whole year.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

In reading of the experience of the saints during the time of Jacob's trouble, we find the following in The Great Controversy, 630-1:

"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.(Rev.14:12) With sympathising 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 baptised with the baptism. The very delay, so painful to them, is the best answer to their petitions. As they endeavour 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.' The end will come more quickly than men expect."

The evidence available then is that though of fearful intensity, the time of Jacob's trouble will certainly be much less than a year in length and will in fact be of quite short duration. To those who have to pass through it, it will seem like a thousand years while it is going on, but terrible and trying though it will be and seemingly beyond the power of human endurance, the strength of the Lord will be the victory of His people and in that time they shall come off more than conquerors.

sky

 

[rainbowinthesky]

Having determined from the study in our last posts that the actual times of truble will be much, much shorter than has been generally supposed, it is time to study just what is to happen during that period. To do this, it will be necessary to study the sequence of events for the people of God, and then finally, the sequence of events for the finally impenitent.

It should already be clear from what we have studied, that the close of probation marks the very beginning of this time of trouble such as never was. Nevertheless, we would do well to establish this point from the evidences of the word of God. The fact we shall see is that the time will come when Jesus will bring to an end the high priestly ministry in the Most Holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, will step out from that position so that there will be no Mediator for man. When that point of time comes, then the wicked are left fully exposed to the power of Satan which will then plunge the whole world into such trouble as would never have been thought possible.

The cessation of the ministry of Christ in the Most Holy place of the heavenly sanctuary will mark the point when the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit shall be entirely withdrawn, with the result that the time of trouble will begin in full and earnest. Satan will have entire control of all those who are not sheltered by divine grace. See The Great Controversy,627-8; Early Writings,36,280.

Until the ministry of Jesus is completed in the Most Holy place of the sanctuary in Heaven, the seven last plagues cannot and will not be poured out on the guilty inhabitants of the earth, but that they will be, just as soon as that mediation comes to its end. There will be no delay in the matter whatsoever. Therefore we are established on this truth that the ministration of Jesus ceases in the Most Holy place, Jesus puts on the kingly robes and at once the seven last plagues begin to fall upon the unprotected heads of the wicked while at the same time the people of God are plunged into the experience of the time of Jacob's trouble. This much is clear.

sky

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The true and accurate understanding of the word of God is not for the careless and superficial reader of it, but for the careful, thoughtful reader who is prepared to compare Scripture with Scripture and Statement with Statement and let every word have its true and proper weight. Thus it is that the first reading of the statements above would give the impression that the beginning of the seven last plagues will be a dramatic entry introducing a situation so vastly different from that which went before, that all will have not the slightest difficulty in seeing that the seven last plagues have begun. A careful study of the related events of the time show that this will not be so, but rather the seven last plagues will be but the final intensification of plagues in the world, which are already there as a result of the apostasy in the world.

So terrible will be these plagues which shall fall before the close of probation, that the coming of the seven last plagues will not be anything new and strange to the people of the earth, but rather the same things in greater severity. The ones which come before the close of probation will blend into those which come after, and no man will be able to tell when those which come before give place to those which come after, no matter how good a Bible student he may be. In fact, not even Satan will know when probation has closed.

The evidences for all of this we must now search out and study.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

In the very first case, the expression used over and again in the Spirit of Prophecy, "the seven last plagues," is in itself very meaningful. They are not called simply the seven plagues but the seven last plagues. If these are the last, then there must be the former, because something can only be last if there is a first to go before it.

Now we have learned from the statements quoted above that the seven last plagues come entirely after the close of probation, and, inasmuch as they begin the moment that human probation closes, then the first plagues must all be located before the close of probation. Furthermore, we are plainly told that these seven last plagues are the antitype of the plagues which fell on Egypt when God was about to deliver His people from the power of the oppressor back in those days.

"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." The Great Controversy,627-8.

In both cases the death decree had been passed upon the people of God with the intention of destroying them from the face of the earth. Of this death decree we read in Exodus 1:15-22. Pharaoh was then the highest earthly power and so again it will be the highest earthly powers who will make a decree designed to exterminate the people of God. But just as God back there sent those ten terrible plagues before He delivered His people, so He will again sent the plagues of the last days before the final deliverance of His people. AS it was then, so it will be, which would lead us to the conclusion that if there were ten plagues back then, there will again be ten plagues in the last days. If this is so and if, as we know, the seven last of them are located after the close of probation, the first three must come before the close of probation.

We are not aware of any plan where we can find three exact plagues listed as coming before the close of probation, but we can find abundant evidence to show that the earth will be plagues with disasters and calamities of staggering proportions before that time shall come. In fact, such troubles are already in the land and becoming worse as the years go by.

Let us trace this through once again in the chapter entitled "The Impending Warning," from The Great Controversy, 582-592. As we have spent some time on this previously, we will but touch the high points here as the introduction to the truth we need to see in regard to the seven last plagues.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Since the year 1844, the great truth of Sabbath reform and the true keeping of the law of God, had been somewhat held in power before the people and the churches of the world. But the call has not only gone unheeded but it has been flatly rejected and strongly resisted by these churches. Now the simple fact is that it is quite impossible to resist the call of God without suffering terribly as a result. Cause is followed by effect. Every action has its equal and opposite reaction. These churches have sown to the wind and they will as surely reap the whirlwind. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"As the work of Sabbath reform extends, this rejection of the divine law to avoid the claims of the fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal. The teachings of religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to spiritualism and to contempt for God's holy law; and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists in the Christian world." The Great Controversy,587.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It is of the utmost importance that these leaders hide from the people the real cause of the troubles which are coming upon them with mounting severity, so they turn and blame the desecration of Sunday for it, which act on their part is a still further rejection of the claims of God upon them as they seek to set up the false day of worship. So we read, "Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called 'Christian sabbath,' and that the enforcement of Sunday observation would greatly improve the morals of society." p.587.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Such an act only serves further to open the doors to the entrance of infidelity and spiritualism, and as spiritualism is the power through which Satan works, this then gives the evil one greater power to work his will in the earth. It is the plan and the work of this wicked one to appear to men as the benefactor of the race while in actual fact he comes as its destroyer. Thus we read:[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to [/FONT]present[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer. While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is [/FONT]exercising[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] his power. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous." The Great Controversy,589-0.[/FONT]

 

[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]There are two points which bear notice in this statement. First of all we are told that "Even now he is at work." Those words were written more than a hundred years ago. Not only were we told that he was then at work but that "These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous." [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Those who are living today are witnesses of the truth of these words. These visitations are indeed becoming more and more frequent and disastrous. The last few years were certainly marked by a fearful train[/FONT][FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] of disasters of awful magnitude. Yet, so inured has the world become of such things because of their repeated severity and frequency, that it hardly took more than passing notice of the events.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]But the serious Bible student notes that these things are becoming more frequent and disastrous as the moral and spiritual tone of the world descends to ever lower and still lower depths. That descent has never been more rapid than it has been in the past few years. It seems that men are casting off all restraints and abandoning themselves to the pursuit of all and every kind of wickedness, using their bodies in the performance of the vilest lusts and pleasures. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Inevitably now, this situation must become worse and worse, the result being that the restraining power of God is being withdrawn more and more from the earth, while the power of spiritualism will become more and more manifest, until these things assume plague proportions.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This reveals that a state of things is coming when the power of Spiritualism will be far greater than it is today. Then the church will have become the very habitation of devils and will be the hold of every foul spirit[/FONT][FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif], things being so serious that her sins will have reached clear up to heaven. This means that Satan will then have unlimited power within those churches through whom he will exercise to the fullest extent the malignant and destructive power of spiritualism.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Today, things have not yet come to quite that point and will not until the churches have all become united in one purpose against the truth of God. But that time is coming and if the destruction in the world is as bad it is today with Satan not yet possessing full power in the churches, then what will it be like when he does exercise unlimited power in and through the churches? [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It is frightening to even think about.[/FONT]

 

[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]But this will be by no means the worst of it for that will be, as we have learned previously, only the beginning of the loud cry period. At that time the devil will have full control of the churches but not yet of the world. Therefore, there will still be one limitation on the power of spiritualism. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The contest during the loud cry period will be for the souls of men generally. At the beginning of that time the churches will be fully committed for the devil, and the people of God will be committed to the Lord, but there will be the masses of the earth who will not yet have made their final decision the one way or the other. But during the loud cry period such decisions must be made and we know that the vast majority will make their decision on the wrong side.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The point is that every man who makes his decision on the wrong side thereby increases the power of Satan which is the power of spiritualism. The greater the power of spiritualism then the more that the enemy of souls is able to make it appear that he is a benefactor of the race, while at the same time the more he is able to work as a destroyer. The whole thing is in direct proportion so that, as the loud cry progresses and more and more make their final decision for wrong, then the greater becomes the power of spiritualism, and the more extensive and terrible the destructions which will fall upon the earth.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]If the destruction which we see in the earth today are as extensive and disastrous as they are, while the power of Satan is still held in check, then what must they be like during the loud cry as he gains greater and greater power in his steady climb to the climax of that power to be realized as the time of probation ends. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The whole world will stagger from blow after terrible blow, as the calamities on the earth reach plague proportions before probation finally closes. Then, as the devil gains the final and complete control over all the earth apart from those who names are written in the Lamb's book of life, spiritualism will reach the full and final height of its destructive power as probation closes, and that power will be manifest in the seven last plagues. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Thus it is to be seen that the plagues which fall upon the earth just prior to the close of probation are scarcely less terrible than those which fall immediately after probation closes and therefore those who are living at the time will be unable to tell the difference between the one or the other or to know when the one ends and when the other begins. This is a very important point and one which we need to keep in mind as we proceed further.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The same is true of the withdrawal of the restraining power of God from the earth. This also is progressive. So far as Babylon the Great herself is concerned, that withdrawal is already complete at the very beginning of the loud cry period quite some time before the final close of probation, but for the world generally that final withdrawal is not complete until the close of probation.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Thus we can know that things are going to become worse and worse as time goes by until we reach the great time of trouble the like of which this world has never known. Knowing what is coming calls forth from every intelligent Christian the determination to make the most thorough and careful preparation for what is before us, for only those who have really set their hearts to serve the Lord will stand in that day.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"The storm is coming, relentless in its fury. Are we prepared to meet it? Are we one with Christ as He is one with the Father?" E.G. White, Review & Herald, Vol.4,242.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]to be continued[/FONT]

 

[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The close of human probation, which comes with the ending of the ministration of Christ in the sanctuary above, and ushers in the seven last plagues, is an event of the most momentous proportions to the human family. Then the fate of every human being will have been decided for eternity; some for everlasting life and the remainder to eternal destruction.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Most of the human race is unaware of the definite coming of such a day, but many who are actually believe that the day will not pass without their knowing exactly when the event will take place. It is generally believed that some sign will be given whereby the saints on earth will be made aware that probation has closed and that the time of trouble has come upon mankind. But will this be so? We need to carefully examine the evidences to see if there will be an indication to the living that the time of probation has passed and that there is no furter opportunity for salvation.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]In the first case, let us look and see if the wicked people of the earth will be aware that their probation has passed on to eternity. To find the answer we have but to read The Great Controversy,615, where, in the plainest of terms, we are told that the wicked will not know that mercy's voice is no longer pleading with them to repent and that their fate is forever settled.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"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."[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]To this plain and clear testimony may be added these further words from the same source, page 490-1:[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. PROBATION IS ENDED A SHORT TIME BEFORE THE APPEARING OF THE LORD IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. Christ in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares:'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. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.' The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state--men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, ALL UNCONSCIOUS that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above." Revelation 22:11, 12.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]These statements clarify the question as to the wicked in that great day. They will not know that the great day of investigative judgment has concluded in the sanctuary above and that there is no longer probation for the guilty inhabitants of the earth.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Next: Will Satan know? Will the righteous know?[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]sky[/FONT]

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The enemy of God and man is a very diligent student of prophecy and of the Bible generally. In this he displays some wisdom, as do the generals of the armies of this world who study most carefully the writings of their enemies and become as closely acquainted with the plans of the enemy as they possibly can. The Bible in which God has revealed His movements in advance is a book which is freely available to all, and Satan does not miss the opportunity. The following statements will clearly show, that not only is Satan a Bible student, but that he understands clearly and accurately what he is reading and studying.

"Let the son of deceit and false witness be entertained by a church that has had great light, great evidence, and that church will discard the message the Lord has sent, and receive the most unreasonable assertions and false suppositions and false theories. Satan laughs at their folly, for HE KNOWS WHAT TRUTH IS." Testimonies to Ministers,409.

"Satan excited the evil passions of men, in order to fasten his rule upon them. When God's written word was given, Satan studied the prophecies of the Saviour's advent. From generation to generation he worked to blind the people to these prophecies, that they might reject Christ at His coming." Desire of Ages,115.

"He still appears as an angel of light, and he makes it evident that he is acquainted with the Scriptures, and understands the import of what is written." D.A.124.

"Satan is a diligent Bible student. He knows that his time is short, and he seeks at every point to counterwork the work of God upon this earth." Testimonies, Vol.9,16.

One might expect, therefore, that if there was anyone who would know when the time of human probation was ended, it would be Satan, and yet we find that he does not know it either. This is stated clearly in the following statement:

"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." The Great Controversy,618.

Next: Will the righteous know?

sky

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The question, then, is plainly settled as to whether the wicked and their master will know if probation has actually closed at the time when this event takes place. The answer is, that they will not.

We need now to study the question as to whether the saints themselves will yet know if this event has passed in the sanctuary above. This at once raises the question: If they will know it, then how will they know it?

The event itself takes place in Heaven wherein all that happens there is hidden from the sight of men. We can only know what is happening there by the fulfillment of a prophesied event down here on the earth or by some God-given sign that is designed to tell us that the event has taken place above.

As an illustration of this, we have the prophecy of the two thousand and three hundred days, the termination of which declared to the people of God on earth that an event had taken place in Heaven--the ending of the ministry of Christ in the first apartment and the beginning of His ministry in the second. Thus it was, that when the appointed time came, then, by the sure word of prophecy, the people of God knew what had taken place in the Heaven above.

But there is no time in prophecy to tell the righteous when the end of probation will come. This time, for very good reasons, has not been revealed to them either.

"The righteous and the wicked will be still living upon the earth in their mortal state--men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, ALL UNCONSCIOUS that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above." The Great Controversy.491.

"God has not revealed to us the time when the message (loud cry) will close or when probation will have an end." 1 S.M.191; 7 B.C.989.*parenthesis supplied

At once some may raise the question as to how this can be when the beginning of the seven last plagues marks the beginning of the time of trouble, which can, in turn, only begin with the closing of probation. It is argued that, as the plagues cannot come until the ministry of Jesus in the sanctuary above has come to its end, then the appearance of the plagues will be a certain sign that the time of probation is ended.

If it were a case of the seven last plagues appearing upon a plague-free earth, then the argument would be of some weight, but as we saw in the study of the plagues and last plagues, the seven last plagues come as the culmination of a mounting plague-ridden situation. To such proportions will the former plagues have developed that the coming of the first of the seven last plagues will appear as nothing new or out of the ordinary.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The whole story[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] of the great time of trouble, which follows the close of probation and sees the coming of the plagues in their order, is the story of two parallel experiences; the experience of the wicked as they suffer the judgments of God, and the experience of the righteous as they go through the agony and the uncertainty of that terrible time.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It is impossible to trace through the experiences of either party without reference to the other, and yet it is not possible to cover them fully both at the same time. The falling of the plagues do have some effect upon the experience of the righteous but they are fully felt by the rejectors of the truth.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]However, during this time the righteous will not be merely spectators of the drama, but will be passing over some difficult and trying ground themselves. The fifth plague marks the end of troublous times for the righteous, for thereafter, they will have been released from all struggle and agony to watch spellbound the final fate of their enemies

[/FONT][FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It would be well to go back again to the close of probation and trace through the experience of the people of God up till the beginning of the seventh plague.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]sky[/FONT]

 

[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Just as the close of human probation is the point of time when the seven last plagues shall begin to fall, so it will also be the time when Jacob's trouble will begin. This is made quite clear in the following quotation:[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"Jacob's experience during that night of wrestling and anguish represents the trial through which the people of God must pass just before Christ's second coming. The prophet Jeremiah, in holy vision looking down to this time, said, '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.' When Christ shall cease His work as Mediator in man's behalf, then this time of trouble will begin." P.P.201.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This will be the time for the flight of the people of God to the most solitary and desolate hiding places on the face of the earth. Before this time, they will, to a large extent, have withdrawn from society, for the decree enforcing the papal sabbath-which is the setting up of the beast and his image--will be the sign to leave the large cities in preparation for the final flight. This is made clear in the following statement:[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"It is no time for God's people to be fixing their affections or laying up their treasure in the world. The time is not far distant, when, like the early disciples, we shall be forced to seek a refuge in desolate and solitary places. As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains." 5 T 464-5.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]to be continued[/FONT]

 

[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The making of the image will be the indication of very troublous times ahead for the people of God, and they will completely abandon the large cities at that point of time. Of course, those who are well aware of the directions of the Lord will have sought country homes long before that, for the people of God should today be living out of the large cities altogether. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Those who cannot immediately extricate themselves from their work and businesses should be planning, for their own sakes, to do this as soon as possible. Otherwise they will lose all as did Lot in Sodom, and subject themselves to trials far in excess of that which they would have to bear in the country.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That coming out of the large cities will be but the first movement toward ultimate flight. As the death decree is imposed upon them so that the entire protection of human laws is removed, then they will take their flight into the most remote and solitary places on the earth.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Of this flight it is written, "I saw the saints leaving the cities and villages, and associating together in companies, and living in the most solitary places. Angels provided them with food and water, while the wicked were suffering from hunger and thirst." Early Writings, 282.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This flight will not pass unnoticed by the enemies of God's people, who will by this time be keeping a very close watch over them. Because of the opposition which they have manifested to the Sunday decree and because of the absolute refusal to enter in the keeping of the Sunday, they are marked men and women upon whom the whole blame will be resting for all the troubles in the world. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The wicked, therefore, will be thirsting for revenge and ever watchful and suspicious that the righteous may be plotting some new scheme to further increase their suffering. So it will be, that "As the saints left the cities and villages, they were pursued by the wicked, who sought to slay them." Early Writings,284.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]to be continued[/FONT]

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The blood of the martyrs was seed from which sprang up an abundant harvest of precious souls and a strong and powerful protestantism, but in the time of Jacob's trouble no such good fruits from the death of the righteous are any longer possible, for all who can be saved will be saved, and the harvest will be complete.

Furthermore, it would be entirely a victory to the devil if he could have power over the lives of the faithful few in that time. Therefore, just as the three faithful Hebrew youth who refused to either eat the king's meat or to bow before his image, were delivered from death, so the true and the faithful will not be permitted to fall under the enemy's power at this time.

"I was pointed back to faithful Noah. When the rain descended and the flood came, Noah and his family had entered the ark, and God shut them in. Noah had faithfully warned the inhabitants of the antediluvian world, while they had mocked and derided him. And as the waters descended upon the earth, and one after another were drowning, they beheld that ark, of which they had made so much sport, riding safely upon the waters, preserving the faithful Noah and his family. So I saw that the people of God, who had faithfully warned the world of His coming wrath, would be delivered. God would not suffer the wicked to destroy those who were expecting translation and who would not bow to the decrees of the beast or receive his mark. I saw that if the wicked were permitted to slay the saints, Satan and all his host, and all who hate God, would be gratified. And oh, what a triumph it would be for his Satanic majesty to have power, in the last closing struggle, over those who had so long waited to behold Him whom they loved! Those who have mocked at the idea of the saint's going up will witness the care of God for His people and behold their glorious deliverance." Early Writings,284.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

So it will be, then, that as the saints leave the cities and villages to find their hiding places in the mot desolate places of the earth, and as the wicked rush after them to cut off their escape and destroy them, then and there, even before the date for the execution of the decree. the angels will intervene to protect them fron this fate. Of this it is written,

"But the swords that were raised to kill God's people broke and fell as powerless as a straw. Angels of God shielded the saints. As they cried day and night for deliverance, their cry came up before the Lord." Early Writings,285.

This experience is something which occurs before the delivrance when the darkness falls upon the earth, for here we see that the people of God continue their agonizing cries for deliverance, whereas the other experience is followed by the great shout of victory and thankfulness of the deliverance which has come in answer to their prayers.

It would appear that the first attempts to destroy the fleeing saints are prevented by supernatural power, and the wicked, ascribing, as they will, this power to the power of the devil, will determine to plan more thoroughly and securely the death of the saints. For this reason a certain night will be chosen to strike that decisive blow by which the voice of reproof will be forever silenced. They plan by sheer weight of numbers to overpower the people of God, despite the great and mighty power which has been working on their behalf. No greater mistake could they make, as they will learn to their endless sorrow.

The fact that the wicked do seek to destroy the saints before the official time for it, is further established in this statement:

"In some places, before the time for the decree to be executed, the wicked rushed upon the saints to slay them, but angels in the form of men of war fought for them. Satan wished to have the privilege of destroying the saints of the Most High; but Jesus bade His angels watch over them. God would be honored by making a covenant with those who had kept His law in the sight of the heathen round about them; and Jesus would be honored by translating, without them seeing death, the faithful, waiting ones who had so longed expected Him." Early Writings,283.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

It is during this time, from the close of probation right through until the voice of God delivers them from the power of the enemy forever, that the believers pass through the time prophetically described as the time of Jacob's trouble.(Jer.30:5-7)

This is a type of Jacob's experience when he returned to his own land after the long exile in a strange land. Just so, the people of God will be returning to their own land, the land of the heavenly Canaan when they will pass through the same experience. In fact, just as they will be on the very borders of that heavenly land, so it was that Jacob had reached the borders of the earthly land of Canaan.

But Jacob was not allowed to enter the land of his fathers without the fearful threat of total destruction at the hand of his twin brother. This was the brother who had been born with identical opportunities as himself, and with him should have possessed the fullness of a true connection with God and have inherited the spiritual birthright. But Esau had sold it for the things of the flesh and, thus, had lost it forever.

He had chosen the transitory things of this world instead, and now, with the prospect of the return of Jacob, he was fearful that even this was to be taken from him. Therefore in order to preserve that which to him was of prime value, he determined to slay his brother.

So it will be, that in these last days the wicked will be those who had the same opportunities to enjoy the spiritual blessings as had the true people of God, but they will have chosen to cherish the things of this world being of the first value. In the time of trouble, they will see these things passing away from them in drought, disaster, and pestilence, and they will be as convinced as Esau was, that it is the righteous who are depriving them of all their earthly possessions. So it will be, that they will determine to destroy them just as Esau determined to destroy Jacob.

to be continued