a peg in a sure place

[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]As Jacob approached the land of Canaan under the leadership and guidance of the Lord, he heard the news that Esau was approaching at the head of a band of armed men with the intention of slaughtering his whole company. Jacob could well have met this danger without fear, but for the consciousness that his own sin had brought this threatened disaster upon his head. This filled him with unspeakable dread that because of this sin, he could not possibly escape his impending fate.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]He had no army to defend him, carried no weapons of his own, and, therefore, to all earthly appearances, he was doomed. This did not worry him so much, so far as his own person was concerned, but he was terribly burdened for the honor of God's name and the future of God's cause. He understood that the righteous Seed by which all men should be saved was to come down through the royal line of Judah, his son, and should he be destroyed, then the whole plan and promise of God would come to nothing, and all would be lost.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]God had spoken and declared that the righteous Seed should come and that He would come as the Son of Abraham. The power of God is in that Word, and the devil has labored right down the stream of time to make that Word of none effect. If Satan could cut off the sons of Abraham so that the promise could not be fulfilled through them, then he would have proved that he had power to break the Word of God, and this would have been but to assure to him the whole victory in the contest. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]For Jacob to realize that his own sin had brought about this threat to the whole plan of God was that which filled him with the greatest soul agony. This fact is clearly stated as follows:[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"On reaching the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the tidings of Esau's approach at the head of a band of warriors, doubtless bent upon revenge. Jacob's company, unarmed and defenseless, seemed about to fall helpless victims of violence and slaughter. And to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the crushing weight of self-reproach, for it was his own sin that had brought this danger." Great Controversy,616.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]There was but the one place to which he could now turn, and it was to the pardoning love of his great Redeemer. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"His only hope was in the mercy of God; his only defence must be prayer. Yet he leaves nothing undone on his own part to atone for the wrong to his brother and to avert the threatened danger. So should the followers of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger which threatens liberty of conscience." ibid.[/FONT]

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[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Little do we realize today how things, which may seem even innocent in themselves, will be taken up in those days and used as an occasion against us. If innocent enough matters will be thus used, then how much more those things which have been mistakes and sins. It will be with an intensity never reached before that the devil will appear at this time as "the accuser of the brethren."[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Through the agency of his servants upon the earth, whom he will endow with marvelously sharp memories, he will recall all the sins and mistakes of the people of God and heap these upon them to cause them to despair that the Lord could ever deliver them. This grim experience begins with the judgment of the living. It does not stop there, but carries right on through into the time of Jacob's trouble. [/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Then, as it was with Jacob, so with them it will be that "their only hope is in the mercy of God; their only defense will be prayer. As Joshua was pleading before the Angel, so the remnant church, with brokenness of heart and earnest faith, will plead for pardon and deliverance through Jesus their Advocate. They are fully conscious of the sinfulness of their lives, they see their weakness and unworthiness, and as they look upon themselves they are ready to despair. The tempter stands to accuse them, as he stood by to resist Joshua. He points to their filthy garments, their defective characters. He presents their weakness and folly, their sins of ingratitude, their unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer. He endeavors to affright the soul with the thought that their case is hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes to destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations, turn from their allegiance to God, and receive the mark of the beast.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"Satan urges before God his accusations against them, declaring that they have by their sins forfeited the divine protection, and claiming the right to destroy them as transgressors. He pronounces them just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God.'Are these,' he says,'the people who are to take my place in heaven and the place of the angels who united with me? While they profess to obey the law of God, have they kept its precepts? Have they not been lovers of self more than lovers of God? Have they not placed their own interests above His service? Have they not loved the things of the world? Look at the sins which have marked their lives. Behold their selfishness, their malice, their hatred toward one another?'" Testimonies, Vol.5,473,474.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This will be indeed a terrible time for the people of God, as Satan thus casts all the sins of their past lives before them. This will provide added fuel to the fury of the wicked against them, providing them with what they will regard as more than ample justification to destroy them.[/FONT][FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]
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[rainbowinthesky]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The consciousness that the sins of their past lives will be the occasion for the wicked to justify themselves in their bid to exterminate them from the face of the earth, and thus gain the victory for the devil in the long standing controversy, will be a trial to the righteous of considerable proportions, but it will not be the only burden which they will have to bear during that period. They will also be living with the fear that they themselves have not yet been cleansed of every sin.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It is important that we understand that by this time the saints will in fact be reflecting Christ's character fully. They will have to be in order to pass through this time without a Mediator in the sanctuary, which is to pass through this time with the sanctuary closed to the receiving of anymore sin of any kind whatsoever. Probation will have closed when the time of Jacob's trouble begins. This tells us that the sanctuary will have been cleansed of all the defilement which had been taken into it as a result of the confessions of God's people, and we know that the Lord will never admit any further sin into the sanctuary after its cleansing so that it becomes defiled again.[/FONT]

[FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Therefore any sin that has not been confessed or any sin that has not been overcome when probation shall close, must remain within the sinner forever, that wherever he goes, that sin must also go. Inasmuch as that sin will then be forever inseparable from him, and inasmuch as no sin can ever go into Heaven, such a person cannot be numbered among the people of God at that time.

to be continued
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[rainbowinthesky]

Anyone who is to be numbered as a child of God then, must be cleansed of all sin. But God will have a people at this time, and as surely as He will, then just as surely will that people be "more than conquerors." Rom.8:37; Rev.3:21. At that time there will be no halfway mark. Either we will be holy or we will be unholy, righteous or unrighteous, clean or unclean. (1 Peter 1:16) It will be at the close of human probation when Jesus ends His work as Mediator for the human family that He will stand up and say:

"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.

Thus when probation closes there will be the two classes of people: those who are righteous and those who are unclean and unholy.

"Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to live in the sight of a holy God without a Mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil." The Great Controversy,425.

These words are clear, yet there are those who hold the view that the people of God will not be cleansed from all sin until the day when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven. Such a view is refuted, not only by the fact of the closing of the sanctuary at the close of human probation some time prior to the actual appearing of the Saviour in the clouds of heaven, but also by the plain words of the following statement:

"We are preparing to meet Him who, escorted by a retinue of holy angels, is to appear in the clouds of heaven to give the faithful and just the finishing touch of immortality. When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy will remain so forver. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us." Testimonies, Vol.2,355.

In no plainer words could it be shown that Jesus will not cleanse us from sin when He comes in the clouds of heaven. All such cleansing work must be done before that time, during the hours of probation. This limits the time, then, in which this work can be done; that limitation being while probation lasts. This is to clearly say that when probation closes, if the work is not completed then, all opportunity for it to be completed will be forever past, and we will then have to perish in our sins.

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The saints at this time still have sinful flesh but their characters have been perfected after the divine similitude. They will have, during the latter rain and loud cry, grown up into Christ until the full corn of Christ's character is in the ear.(Mark 4:26-29) They will have received the final seal. Their sins have been blotted out from the sanctuary above and placed upon the scapegoat and they are prepared to go through the time of Jabob's trouble.

They are clothed with the full armour of God, with the glistening vesture of Christ's righteousness, the fullness of divine light and love and power.(Eph.3:19)

 

[rainbowinthesky]

"Had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life. SO IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured by fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they have no concealed wrong to reveal. Their sins have gone beforehand to judgment and have been blotted out, and they cannot bring them to remembrance." Great Controversy, 620.

Thus the period of Jacob's trouble will be the period of the final contest between truth and error, between righteousness and unrighteousness. For his part the devil will be doing his uttermost to break the faith of God's people in the cause of God so that he can have them also on his side. If he can do this, then he can prevent his final exposure before the eyes of men, thus preventing the fulfillment of the purpose of the long standing controversy, which purpose, as we have seen, is to bring things to that PLACE where Satan is fully and truly seen to be what he is. Only a people who under the utmost pressure can maintain the fullness of righteousness at its best, can expose sin at its very worst and thus remove all support from Satan.

It is essential, then, that during this period the people of God live by faith and by faith alone. Never will there be a time when the people of God will have been so fully deprived of any witness of sight and circumstances in favor of their faith, nor found piled against them such a formidable mountain of sight and circumstances calculated to deny their faith. Every appearance within them and around them will testify that the Lord's cause is a failure, and that only defeat and destruction await them if they stay faithful to God.

Under the fearful pressure of that hour, that alone which will bring them through, will be the fact that through the gospel they will have lost all self-interest, and will be interested only in the cause and the work of God. If this were not so, then they could never stand at that time, for self-interest would cause them to abandon God in order to save their own lives.

In the light of this, we can understand why it is that the Lord will not reveal the time when the close of probation has taken place. If He did, then the people of God would not need to live by faith but by sight. They would know that the fate of each one of them was unalterably sealed and that it would be pointless to search their hearts or give any ear to Satan's arguments and pressures.

It is for this reason that we must learn to live by faith today and to become very strong in this experience. When the time comes for us to live by faith in the absolute sense of the word, then it will be too late to develop the kind of faith which alone will see us trhough.

"The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger--a faith that will not faint though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time. Jacob prevailed beause he was persevering and determined. His victory is an evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God's promises, as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God--how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch. When waves of despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant, how few cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God." Great Controversy, 621.

Today the kingdom of God suffers violence (wrestling with God: spiritual violence) and the violent (those who in agony pray long and earnestly for God's blessing) take it by force. See Matt.11:12.

This will be, to all intents and purposes, the battle of Armageddon.

The battle of Armageddon of these last days will not be fought in a geographical location in the Middle East. It is a spiritual battle which will be fought all over the world.

When the true nature of the battle of Armageddon is understood, it is seen with startling clarity that there will not be a man, woman, or child upon the face of the entire earth who will not be involved in that struggle when it comes. That it is coming is beyond doubt.

When it comes it will try to the uttermost the characters of each. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that all thoroughly understand this topic, so that the correct preparations can be made for the struggle when it does come.

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[rainbowinthesky]

The exact nature of the kingdom which Satan sought to set up in Heaven is the exact nature of the kingdom which he has endeavored to set up on this earth. The battle of Armageddon represents his final effort to achieve this before the second coming of Christ.

"He has planted the tabernacles of his palaces between the seas and the glorious holy mountain." Dan.11:45.

The "seas" are the multitudes of this earth.(Rev.17:15) The "glorious holy mountain" is where God is.

In other words, "Satan has planted his satanic throne between the human worshiper and the divine Father." MR 7,215.

"In this world he has set up a kingdom of darkness, of which he, the leader in guilt, is prince. He desired to usurp the throne of God. Failing in this, he has worked in darkness, in crookedness, in deception, to usurp his place in the hearts of men. He has set up his throne between God and man, to appropriate the adoration that belongs to God alone." E.G. White, 6 B.C.1119.

Only as we go back into the past will it be possible for us to understand the future. Before us lies the great battle of Armageddon. It is the battle of the great day of God, and it is the last and final conflict to be waged upon the earth before Christ appears again. Because all the world will be on the one side or the other of the question, it is a battle in which we shall be personally involved. In that battle we shall stand on the one side or the other. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that we understand what that battle will be, the issues over which it will be fought, the principles which guide each side, and just what course we are to pursue.

We must go back to the very beginning of things to obtain the picture of the purpose of the king of Babylon in his rebellion against God.

We need to establish certain points in order to proceed to a clear understanding of the great battle of Armageddon.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The idea that the battle of Armageddon will be a political battle between the eastern and the western nations to be fought in the valley of Meguido in the Middle East is based on the geographical method of interpretation of this passage of Scripture, "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Rev.16:16.

But the battle of Armageddon will not be fought in the valley of Meguido in the Middle East but in the valley of decision in these last days.

It is a spiritual battle and a spiritual place.

"Two great opposing powers are revealed in the last great battle. On one side stands the Creator of heaven and earth. All on His side bear His signet. They are obedient to His commands. On the other side stands the prince of darkness, with those who have chosen apostasy and rebellion." Manuscript 175, 1899; 7 B.C.982,983.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The final battle of the great day of God which is called the battle of Armageddon will not be something new but will be the repeating of that which has happened before. It will be the final struggle in the long-standing controversy between good and evil.

The final battle involves the drying up of the River Euphrates so that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(Rev.16:12)

So it was in the fall of ancient Babylon. She sat astride the great River Euphrates exactly as the final Babylon the Great will sit astride Euphrates. Against the ancient city came the Kings of the East who found the way of entrance to the city barred by the waters of the river; so they dried up the waters so that their way might be prepared.

As a result, Babylon was overthrown, as a city and as a nation, so totally that it never rose again.

The outcome of Babylon the Great will be precisely the same. Rev.18:21.

At the time of her fall, the people of God, which was the church of God, were in captivity in the land of Babylon. It is to be seen though that, while they were in physical captivity, the true ones were not in spiritual captivity. Daniel was as free a man could ever be in this respect.

To Babylon had been given the final calls to repentance, and she had made her final decisions.

With a never failing water supply in the great river which flowed through the city; with sufficient land within the walls to assure them of a perpetual food supply; with walls so thick that it was possible to hold chariot races around the top of them; the king felt assured that the city was invincible and would certainly stand forever.

What need was there to fear the kings of the east of whose approach he had heard tidings? He was safe and Babylon would last forever. His great ancestor, Nebuchadnezzar, had been right when he built the image of gold. Babylon was forever.

But this very time and place where he thought himself to have ultimately arrived, as king of kings and lord of lords, was the very time and place where he came to his sudden and utter end, with none to help him at all. From the ruin inflicted that night, Babylon fell, never to rise again forever.

So it will be in the final time. (Daniel 11:45)

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

Once again Babylon will have control of the whole world and will have the physical ascendancy over the people of God. Once again she will have come to the pinnacle of supreme self-exaltation. The whole world will be at her feet.

She will see herself as king of kings and lord of lords, and, as the death decree is in the very moment of being put into effect, it will be that only an instant of time remains before the total annihilation of the people of God. Should she achieve this, then she will emerge the winner in the battle. Satan will be the triumphant in the great controversy, for, "If at this time he could blot them (the faithful people of God) from the earth, his triumph would be complete." Great Controversy,618.

It will be at this point that she will see herself as being in complete command. The whole world will be at her feet and doing her bidding, and the people of God are about to be destroyed. It is then that she will proudly say, "I am a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow." Rev.18:7.

But, exactly as it was in the days of ancient Babylon, the moment of greatest apparent security and triumph is the moment of total and sudden destruction. It will be a desctruction so absolute that from it she will never rise again forever.

The change in her position will be from the one extreme of power and glory and unanimous support, to the opposite extreme of shame, defeat, and utter desertion from her of all those who had a moment before stood so loyally for her. Never will there have been a fall so great and so terrible as the fall of Babylon in the last days.

The history of the past is to receive so striking a fulfillment in the events of the future that it will be esential to keep these things in mind as we enter now into a detailed study of the verses in the Scripture which describe the coming battle of the great day of God Almighty.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And they (spirits of devils) gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armegeddon." Rev.16:12-16.

The geographical interpretation counts for nothing in the identification of the powers listed in those verses.

The first act in the drama of the sixth plague is the drying up of the River Euphrates that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. No reference is made to Babylon directly in this passage, but there is but little need, for the picture is so clearly a repetition of what happened in that ancient city that it is self-evident.

The sixth and the seventh plagues are expressly the description of the fall and destruction of modern Babylon. Failure to realize this is to miss the whole message contained in these verses.

We know that the River Euphrates was in the fall of the first Babylon. It was a physical river of literal water which flowed under the walls and through the city of Babylon.

The question arises as to what the River will be in the final scenes.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

The River Euphrates was that river which the Babylonians considered to be their river of life, and it was such up to a given point of time. Then the very waters which had been up till that time, a life support for them became the channel by which the enemy entered the city and caused its complete, final, and eternal overthow.

In one night the role of the river was changed from that of life to that of death.

So it will be in the very last days when the last Babylon comes to her final and everlasting end. In Revelation 17, it is so clearly revealed that the very powers of the earth which had given their support to the woman and the kingdom which was hers and is symbolized by the image beast (second beast of Rev.13) turn upon the harlot (first beast of Rev.13) and destroy her. Thus they occupy first of all the role of a supporter and life sustainer, and then turn to the opposite role of destroyer of the very power they firstly upheld.

So it is written: "And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Rev.17:16.

Thus Babylon will fall at the hand of her supporters. They will turn upon one another as did the enemies of Israel every time they went forth in faith and allowed the Lord to gain the victory for them. When Gideon and his tiny band appeared before the Midianites, when Jonathan and his armor bearer went up against the Philistines, and when Jehoshaphat went forth against the Edomites, their enemies turned their weapons one against the other and destroyed themselves, so that when the people of God came upon the scene, the battle was over and finished.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

To Babylon, Euphrates was indeed the river of life. It flowed with unfailing certainty throughout the entire year, bringing them all the water they needed for vegetation, for drinking, for bathing, and for their animals. The city was dependent upon that river, not only for the continuance of the life processes, but also as a protection from their enemies, for it kept the moat around the city walls continually full. While that river ran, the city was secure and could not fall. The walls were impenetrable and unscalable, and the water supply ensured that they could never be starved into submission.

So it will be with modern Babylon. The peoples of the earth will be the modern Euphrates which provides the life support for that great city.(Rev.17:15) The time is coming when this Scripture will be fulfilled: "And all the world wondered after the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?... And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev.13:3,4,8.

In that day there will be but the two classes of people. There will be the kings of the earth and the people under their command who will give their unqualified allegiance to the woman, who is Babylon the Great, and there will be the faithful few who will give their loyalty to the God of Heaven and will stand upon His side in the conflict.

From the great masses of the earth, the final Babylon will draw her vast financial and material support. She will feed from this river, which is a river of life to her. Furthermore, they will provide her with the protection which she needs against any possible foes, who, once the whole world is at her feet, can only be the powers of Heaven. Not only will they be her supposed protection from the powers of Heaven, but they will join with her in her direct warfare againt the God of Heaven.

So it is written, "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful." Rev.17:14.

These kings are symbolized by the ten horns upon the head of the beast. As such then, they make up the sum of the peoples who are symbolized by the beast at the time when the woman rides upon it in the last times. These people give their powers to the woman in her struggle against the Lamb, but they will be defeated utterly and entirely.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

In the erroneous view of Armageddon, which depends so heavily upon geographical interpretation, the picture is that the eastern nations of Japan, China, Russia and so on gather together against the western nations on the plains of Esdraelon in Palestine. As the western nations are the supporters of the papacy, the day of judgment against Babylon is accomplished by the attack made upon her and her supporters by the powers of the east. They are, it is argued, the instruments in the hands of God to destroy Babylon the Great and her supporters.

However in Revelation 17:12-17 it is clearly written that those powers of the entire world, which firstly give their support to Babylon the Great, are the very ones who suddenly reverse their allegiance and turn upon her and destroy her. Thus she is not destroyed by those against whom she goes forth to war, but by those with whom she goes forth to war.

This turning of the enemies of God against each other is the work of the Lamb. He does it not with the weapons of carnal warfare, but by the presentation of righteousness at its best, through the lives of the 144,000. Of this there will be more to say.

Thus the word of God makes it clear as to what the great River Euphrates in the last days is. The name is very significant, and there will will be more to learn about this river.

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[rainbowinthesky]

It is to be seen with great clarity that the River Euphrates, as that river is seen in relation to the events of the last days, is symbolic of the people of the whole world who give their support to Babylon the Great.(Rev.16 & 17)

But to gain something of the full significance of the symbolism of this river, it is necessary to find the earliest river called by that name. It is found in Genesis 2:10-14;

"... and the fourth river is Euphrates."

The original Garden of Eden is to find its counterpart in the Eden restored in the eternity yet to come. In the Eden yet to come there will be the tree of life, the very same tree of life which was in the original Garden of Eden.

"After the entrance of sin, the heavenly Husbandman transplanted the tree of life to the paradise of God." E.G. White, 7 B.C.989.

Not only was the tree of life transplanted to Heaven, but the entire garden was:

"When the tide of iniquity overspread the world, and the wickedness of men determined their destruction by a flood of waters, the hand that had planted Eden withdrew it from the earth. But in the final restitution, when there shall be 'a new heaven and a new earth,' it will be restored more gloriously than at the beginning." P.P.62.

Just as the tree of life is an inseparable part of the Garden of Eden, so is the river of life. In the Eden restored it will flow forth from the throne of God to water the world with life. The tree of life will stand on either bank to bear its life-giving fruit.

So there has to be a river of life in the original Garden, and there was. While it is not directly called the river of life there, yet it is clear that this is indeed what it was, for this river in an inseparable part of the Garden of Eden. The Eden to come is but a restoration of the original.

As that river flowed as a single stream from the original Garden, it divided into four branches so that its life could be distributed to the four corners of the earth. This river of life had its fountain in God, who alone is the Source of all life and therefore the only One who can give life. One of the four branches of the river was called Euphrates.

But it was not upon this River Euphrates that the city of Babylon was built. That was another Euphrates which did not find its source in the Garden of Eden, and, while it was a river of life of a kind and was certainly regarded by the Babylonians as being such, it was not the river of life in fact. Rather, it proved to be a river of death.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

In order to appreciate what is the drying up of the River Euphrates in the context of the battle of Armageddon, we need to study the fifth and the sixth plagues.

The day will have come when the time for the death decree will be drawing very near and, the peoples of the earth will have decided to exterminate in one night the hated ones whom they imagine have brought all the trouble upon them. It is at this point that the chapter "God's People Delivered" in The Great Controversy, opens:

"When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honour the law of God, 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." p.635.

It is important to understand that the people of God are not at this time gathered into one place on the earth, but are scattered throughout the length and breadth of it. This is further verified by this statement from the Review & Herald, Nov.19,1908:

"Then in the day of fierce trial he will say 'Come, My people, enter into your chambers, and shut your doors about you; hide yourself as it were for a little moement, until the indignation be over past.' What are the chambers in which they are to hide?--They are the protection of Christ and holy angels. The people of God are not all in one place at this time. They are in different companies, and in all parts of the earth; and they will be tried singly, not in groups. Every one must stand the test for himself."

So it will be, that all over the world in different places, the wicked will be preparing for the work of death planned to sweep the righteous out of existence. Thus the stage is set for the final attempt by the forces of evil to win the battle against truth and righteousness. In this dark hour of temptation the Lord will interpose to deliver His people. The moment agreed upon by the wicked comes, and they rush madly on to destroy the righteous entirely.

"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." G.C.635.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

It is to be noted that the wicked have conspired to strike the blow at night. No doubt they had determined the hiding places of the saints previously, and surrounded them in the daylight hours to wait impatiently until the hour agreed upon by them for the slaughter. Then in the mid-night hour they rush upon their prey; no doubt carrying lighted torches to illuminate the work of death and destruction.

The whole plan goes successfully forward until that moment when the weapons are raised to cut down the people of God, at which instant the darkness of the fifth plague falls upon the earth. It is a darkness so dense that everything is blotted from view, despite the lights they carry, and it will be so sudden that the upraised weapons will never fall on their intended victims to destroy. This absolutely unexpected event will serve to completely upset the plan of the wicked to destroy the people of God. That is what will make it a plague of fearful proportions and significance for Babylon the Great.

The devil, the real king of Babylon, knows at this time that everything now depends on his being able to destroy the people of God from off the face of the earth.

For six thousand years he will have been battling for such a situation as this, and here he will have come to the very point when success is but the blow of a weapon away, when the darkness stops the whole thing, with the saints still living--by being safely hidden from view in the depths of an impenetrable darkness; far deeper than the darkness of the night itself.

Can we even begin to imagine the agony of frustration, the terror occasioned by the implications of this defeat, and the horror which will overspread the wicked and their leaders as they see what this is all going to mean to them? It is no small wonder the Bible says: "And they gnawed their tongues for pain." Rev.16:10.

to be continued

 

[mmksparbud]

Well, one of the many things that I do not understand about Satan is this---He knows what the bible says--he believes there is a God as he was in His company for eons before sin was found in him. He knows Revelation--He has to know that he can not win, no way no how--so how come he keeps trying? Why doesn't he just give up?? Does he really believe he has a chance of winning despite all that the bible says?? He was God's crowning achievement, till we came along--he has an enormous intellect---HOW CAN HE BE SO STUPID??????

 

[E.T.Elijah]

I think it comes down to not so much as He is trying to win, but that he is trying to take as many as possible with him. He knows how much God loves us, and knows how much it hurts Him when even one of us is lost.

 

[asiyreh]

Yeh it's his nature you see MMk, have you ever heard the argument that Christ cannot lie?
He is the way, THE TRUTH and the life. His very nature is truth, therefore it's impossible for him to lie.

Christ accused Satan of being The Father of Lies, thus his nature is a liar, a deceiver and his hates us because we are made in the image of God.

Lets take a look at this verse.

Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44

He can't escape his own nature, when he made his choice he actually spiritually became what he is. His very essence is what he does. Thus logically we might ask the question, what does a lie do, well it lies... what does murder do, it murders. He is the very lie, the very deception. He is murder and he will try to kill as many of us as he can because it's what he is.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

It is to be noted that the wicked have conspired to strike the blow at night. No doubt they had determined the hiding places of the saints previously, and surrounded them in the daylight hours to wait impatiently until the hour agreed upon by them for the slaughter. Then in the mid-night hour they rush upon their prey; no doubt carrying lighted torches to illuminate the work of death and destruction.

The whole plan goes successfully forward until that moment when the weapons are raised to cut down the people of God, at which instant the darkness of the fifth plague falls upon the earth. It is a darkness so dense that everything is blotted from view, despite the lights they carry, and it will be so sudden that the upraised weapons will never fall on their intended victims to destroy. This absolutely unexpected event will serve to completely upset the plan of the wicked to destroy the people of God. That is what will make it a plague of fearful proportions and significance for Babylon the Great.

The devil, the real king of Babylon, knows at this time that everything now depends on his being able to destroy the people of God from off the face of the earth.

For six thousand years he will have been battling for such a situation as this, and here he will have come to the very point when success is but the blow of a weapon away, when the darkness stops the whole thing, with the saints still living--by being safely hidden from view in the depths of an impenetrable darkness; far deeper than the darkness of the night itself.

Can we even begin to imagine the agony of frustration, the terror occasioned by the implications of this defeat, and the horror which will overspread the wicked and their leaders as they see what this is all going to mean to them? It is no small wonder the Bible says: "And they gnawed their tongues for pain." Rev.16:10.

to be continued

asiyreh and E.T. Elijah. I agree. Thanks.

The wicked servants of the woman Jezebel, the great apostate system of ecclesiastical oppression, have been thoroughly convinced by the priests and leaders that the plagues which have swept away all they have and reduced them to such terrible straits, are caused by the refusal of the hated minority to yield to the Sunday sabbath, and that there is no hope of any relief and return to temporal prosperity until these are destroyed. Glad anticipation of this relief will spur them on to the work of murder, only to find in the last moment that their prey eludes them in the dense darkness.

On the other hand the leaders know that all hope for final supremacy rests in the destroying of the people of God, as does also their master, the devil, and likwise they are dismayed to desperation and horror by this development.

For the people of God, the experience is equally terrible at first. There they are bowed in prayer, pleading the merits of Christ for deliverance (P.P.203) with every appearance telling them that their last moment has come. They are aware of the uplifted weapons, and they brace themselves for the blow. The wicked are screaming in their hatred and rage. All is terror and confusion with bright lights flashing on them. They are expecting death in the next instant, and in that next instant they are plunged into impenetrable darkness in which everythign is blotted out of sight.

That is exactly the experience of the martyrs of old. They were hunted and pursued until the weapons were raised aloft above their heads. The next instant there descended upon them the impenetrable darkness of death. Thus the one hundred and forty-four thousand will experience death without actually dying. In fact, it will be worse than that which the martyrs experienced, for the darkness for them was the cessation of consciousness and, therefore, of experience, but for these last martyrs, they will retain consciousness in the midst of the darkness.

Therefore they will think that they are dead, and at the same time experience the fearful sense of horror at the thought of it. It will mean to them that all is lost, for they, too, understand that everything in that final victory depends upon their retaining life till the very end.

Thus the fifth plague of dreadful suffocating darkness is a terrible experience for all concerned. But it does mark the turning point for the people of God and the beginning of the great awakening for the wicked, which leads to their completely withdrawing their support from Babylon the Great, whereby her total and final fall is accomplished. But, while Babylon's suffering is the coming to the end of her existence, for the righteous, the suffering is but the birth agonies into the life eternal.

How important and needful it is, then, that today, while it is called today, we make our calling and election sure so that we escape the plagues which are to fall upn Babylon the Great.

sky