Chapter 39 : “The Time of Trouble”


“At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which
standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same
time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book.” [Daniel 12:1.]
When the third angel’s message closes, mercy no longer pleads
for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have
accomplished their work. They have received “the latter rain,” “the
refreshing from the presence of the Lord,” and they are prepared

for the trying hour before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in
Heaven. An angel returning from the earth announces that his work
is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who
have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received
“the seal of the living God.” [See Appendix, note 13.] Then Jesus
ceases his intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts his hands,
and with a loud voice says, “It is done;” and all the angelic host lay
off their crowns as he makes the solemn announcement: “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.] Every case
has been decided for life or death. Christ has made the atonement
for his people, and blotted out their sins. The number of his subjects
is made up; “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven,” is about to be given to the heirs
of salvation, and Jesus is to reign as King of kings, and Lord of [614]
lords.

When he leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants
of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight
of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been
upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the
finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has
rejected his mercy, despised his love, and trampled upon his law.
The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of
God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered
by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. 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 passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The
whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which
came upon Jerusalem of old.

A single angel destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians, and
filled the land with mourning. When David offended against God by
numbering the people, one angel caused that terrible destruction by
which his sin was punished. The same destructive power exercised
by holy angels when God commands, will be exercised by evil angels
when he permits. There are forces now ready, and only waiting the
divine permission, to spread desolation everywhere.

Those who honor the law of God have been accused of bringing
judgments upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of
the fearful convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among
men that are filling the earth with woe. The power attending the last
warning has enraged the wicked; their anger is kindled against all
who have received the message, and Satan will excite to still greater
intensity the spirit of hatred and persecution.

When God’s presence was finally withdrawn from the Jewish
[615] 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.
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 Caiaphas, “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. Romanism in the
Old World, and apostate Protestantism in the New, will pursue a
similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts.
The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of [616]
affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob’s
trouble. “Thus saith the Lord: 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.” [Jeremiah 30:5-7.]

Jacob’s night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance
from the hand of Esau, [Genesis 32:24-30.] represents the
experience of God’s people in the time of trouble. Because of the
deception practiced to secure his father’s blessing, intended for Esau,
Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother’s deadly threats.
After remaining for many years an exile, he had set out, at God’s
command, to return with his wives and children, his flocks and herds,
to his native country. 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. His only hope was in the mercy of
God; his only defense 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.
Having sent his family away, that they may not witness his
distress, Jacob remains alone to intercede with God. He confesses
his sin, and gratefully acknowledges the mercy of God toward him,
while with deep humiliation he pleads the covenant made with his
[617] fathers, and the promises to himself in the night vision at Bethel and

in the land of his exile. The crisis in his life has come; everything
is at stake. In the darkness and solitude he continues praying and
humbling himself before God. Suddenly a hand is laid upon his
shoulder. He thinks that an enemy is seeking his life, and with all the
energy of despair he wrestles with his assailant. As the day begins
to break, the stranger puts forth his superhuman power; at his touch
the strong man seems paralyzed, and he falls, a helpless, weeping
suppliant, upon the neck of his mysterious antagonist. Jacob knows
now that it is the Angel of the covenant with whom he has been
in conflict. Though disabled, and suffering the keenest pain, he
does not relinquish his purpose. Long has he endured perplexity,

remorse, and trouble for his sin; now he must have the assurance
that it is pardoned. The divine visitant seems about to depart; but
Jacob clings to him, pleading for a blessing. The Angel urges,“Let
me go; for the day breaketh;” but the patriarch exclaims, “I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me.” What confidence, what firmness
and perseverance, are here displayed! Had this been a boastful,
presumptuous claim, Jacob would have been instantly destroyed;
but his was the assurance of one who confesses his weakness and
unworthiness, yet trusts the mercy of a covenant-keeping God.
“He had power over the Angel, and prevailed.” [Hosea 12:4.]
Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful,
erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of Heaven. He had fastened
his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of
Infinite Love could not turn away the sinner’s plea. As an evidence of
his triumph, and an encouragement to others to imitate his example,
his name was changed from one which was a reminder of his sin,
to one that commemorated his victory. And the fact that Jacob had
prevailed with God was an assurance that he would prevail with men.

He no longer feared to encounter his brother’s anger; for the Lord
was his defense.

Satan had accused Jacob before the angels of God, claiming [618]
the right to destroy him because of his sin; he had moved upon
Esau to march against him; and during the patriarch’s long night of
wrestling, Satan endeavored to force upon him a sense of his guilt,
in order to discourage him, and break his hold upon God. Jacob was
driven almost to despair; but he knew that without help from Heaven
he must perish. He had sincerely repented of his great sin, and he
appealed to the mercy of God. He would not be turned from his
purpose, but held fast the Angel, and urged his petition with earnest,
agonizing cries, until he prevailed.

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. He has an accurate knowledge
of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents
these before God in the most exaggerated light, representing this
people to be just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor
of God. He declares that the Lord cannot in justice forgive their sins,
and yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as his prey, and
demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.

As Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the
Lord permits him to try them to the uttermost. Their confidence in
God, their faith and firmness, will be severely tested. As they review
the past, their hopes sink; for in their whole lives they can see little
good. They are fully conscious of their weakness and unworthiness.
Satan endeavors to terrify them with the thought that their cases [619]
are hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed
away. He hopes to so destroy their faith that they will yield to his
temptations, and turn from their allegiance to God.
Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are
bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not

a dread of persecution for the truth’s sake; they fear that every sin
has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves
they shall fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise, “I
will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon
all the world.” [Revelation 3:10.] If they could have the assurance of
pardon, they would not shrink from torture or death; but should they
prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of
character, then God’s holy name would be reproached.

On every hand they hear the plottings of treason, and see the
active working of rebellion; and there is aroused within them an
intense desire, an earnest yearning of soul, that this great apostasy
may be terminated, and the wickedness of the wicked may come to
an end. But while they plead with God to stay the work of rebellion,
it is with a keen sense of self-reproach that they themselves have no
more power to resist and urge back the mighty tide of evil. They
feel that had they always employed all their ability in the service
of Christ, going forward from strength to strength, Satan’s forces
would have less power to prevail against them.

They afflict their souls before God, pointing to their past repentance
of their many sins, and pleading the Saviour’s promise, “Let
him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and
he shall make peace with me.” [Isaiah 27:5.] Their faith does not
fail because their prayers are not immediately answered. Though
suffering the keenest anxiety, terror, and distress, they do not cease
[620] their intercessions. They lay hold of the strength of God as Jacob
laid hold of the Angel; and the language of their souls is, “I will not
let thee go, except thou bless me.”

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 with
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 wrongs to reveal. Their sins have gone
beforehand to Judgment, and have been blotted out; and they cannot
bring them to remembrance.

Satan leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness
in the minor affairs of life; but the Lord shows in his
dealings with Jacob that he will in nowise sanction or tolerate evil.
All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them
to remain upon the books of Heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven,
will be overcome by Satan. The more exalted their profession, and
the more honorable the position which they hold, the more grievous
is their course in the sight of God, and the more sure the triumph
of their great adversary. Those who delay a preparation for the day
of God cannot obtain it in the time of trouble, or at any subsequent
time. The case of all such is hopeless.

Those professed Christians who come up to that last fearful
conflict unprepared, will, in their despair, confess their sins in words
of burning, anguish, while the wicked exult over their distress. These
confessions are of the same character as was that of Esau or of Judas.
Those who make them lament the result of transgression, but not
its guilt. They feel no true contrition, no abhorrence of evil. They
acknowledge their sin, through fear of punishment; but, like Pharaoh
of old, they would return to their defiance of Heaven, should the
judgments be removed.

Jacob’s history is also an assurance that God will not cast off [621]
those who have been deceived, and tempted, and betrayed into sin,
but who have returned unto him with true repentance. While Satan
seeks to destroy this class, God will send his angels to comfort and
protect them in the time of peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and
determined, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord’s eye is upon his
people, and his ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is great, the
flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner
will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God’s love for his
children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and
tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful
for them to be placed in the furnace fire; their earthliness must be
consumed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.
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 because 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.

Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger
of falling under the power of Satanic delusions and the decree to
compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test, they will
be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble,
[622] because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons
of faith which they have neglected, they will be forced to learn under
a terrible pressure of discouragement.
We should now acquaint ourselves with God by proving his
promises. Angels record every prayer that is earnest and sincere.

We should rather dispense with selfish gratifications than neglect
communion with God. The deepest poverty, the greatest self-denial,
with his approval, is better than riches, honors, ease, and friendship
without it. We must take time to pray. If we allow our minds to
be absorbed by worldly interests, the Lord may give us time by
removing from us our idols of gold, of houses, or of fertile lands.
The young would not be seduced into sin if they would refuse to
enter any path, save that upon which they could ask God’s blessing.
If the messengers who bear the last solemn warning to the world
would pray for the blessing of God, not in a cold, listless, lazy
manner, but fervently and in faith, as did Jacob, they would find
many places where they could say, “I have seen God face to face,
and my life is preserved.” [Genesis 32:30.] They would be accounted
of Heaven as princes, having power to prevail with God and with
men.

The “time of trouble such as never was,” is soon to open upon
us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess,
and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that
trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true
of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach
“The Time of Trouble” 527
the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must
stand for himself before God. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were
in the land, “as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither
son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their
righteousness.” [Ezekiel 14:20.]

Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us,
we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought
could our Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Sa- [623]
tan finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a foot-hold;
some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations
assert their power. But Christ declared of himself, “The prince of
this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” [John 14:30.] Satan
could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain
the victory. He had kept his Father’s commandments, and there was
no sin in him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the
condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time
of trouble.

It is in this life that we are to separate sin from us, through faith
in the atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Saviour invites us to
join ourselves to him, to unite our weakness to his strength, our
ignorance to his wisdom, our unworthiness to his merits. God’s
providence is the school in which we are to learn the meekness and
lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting before us, not the way
we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the
true aims of life. It rests with us to co-operate with the agencies
which Heaven employs, in the work of conforming our characters
to the divine model. None can neglect or defer this work but at the
most fearful peril to their souls.

The apostle John in vision heard a loud voice in Heaven exclaiming,
“Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil
is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time.” [Revelation 12:12.] Fearful are the
scenes which call forth this exclamation from the heavenly voice.
The wrath of Satan increases as his time grows short, and his work
of deceit and destruction will reach its culmination in the time of
trouble.
Fearful sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed
in the heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons.

The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the
whole world, to fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite
with Satan in his last struggle against the government of Heaven. By
[624] these agencies, rulers and subjects will be alike deceived. Persons
will arise pretending to be Christ himself, and claiming the title and
worship which belong to the world’s Redeemer. They will perform
wonderful miracles of healing, and will profess to have revelations
from Heaven contradicting the testimony of the Scriptures.

As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan
himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look
to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the
great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different
parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a
majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of
the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. [Revelation 1:13-
15.] The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that
mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon

the air., “Christ has come! Christ has come!” The people prostrate
themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands, and
pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed his disciples
when he was upon the earth. His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of
melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same
gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the
diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ,
he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands
all to hallow the day which he has blessed. He declares that those
who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his
name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and
truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion. Like the
Samaritans who were deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes,
from the least to the greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying,
This is “the great power of God.” [Acts 8:10.]
But the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this
false Christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures His blessing
[625] is pronounced upon the worshipers of the beast and his image,—
the very class upon whom the Bible declares that God’s unmingled
wrath shall be poured out.


And, furthermore, Satan is not permitted to counterfeit the manner
of Christ’s advent. The Saviour has warned his people against
deception upon this point, and has clearly foretold the manner of his
second coming. “There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect.... Wherefore if they shall
say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is
in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out
of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming
of the Son of man be.” [Matthew 24:24-27, 31; 25:31; Revelation
1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.] This coming, there is no possibility
of counterfeiting. It will be universally known—witnessed by the
whole world.

Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures,
and who have received the love of the truth, will be shielded from
the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible
testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all, the
testing time will come. By the sifting of temptation, the genuine
Christian will be revealed. Are the people of God now so firmly
established upon his Word that they would not yield to the evidence
of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible, and
the Bible only? Satan will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining
a preparation to stand in that day. He will so arrange affairs as
to hedge up their way, entangle them with earthly treasures, cause
them to carry a heavy, wearisome burden, that their hearts may be
overcharged with the cares of this life, and the day of trial may come
upon them as a thief.

As the decree issued by the various rulers of Christendom against
commandment-keepers shall withdraw the protection of government,
and abandon them to those who desire their destruction, the people
of God will flee from the cities and villages, and associate together [626]
in companies, dwelling in the most desolate and solitary places.
Many will find refuge in the strongholds of the mountains. Like the
Christians of the Piedmont valleys, they will make the high places of
the earth their sanctuaries, and will thank God for the “munitions of
rocks.” [Isaiah 33:16.] But many of all nations, and all classes, high
and low, rich and poor, black and white, will be cast into the most
unjust and cruel bondage. The beloved of God pass weary days,

bound in chains, shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be slain, some
apparently left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome dungeons.
No human ear is open to hear their moans; no human hand is ready
to lend them help.

Will the Lord forget his people in this trying hour? Did he forget
faithful Noah when judgments were visited upon the antediluvian
world? Did he forget Lot when the fire came down from Heaven to
consume the cities of the plain? Did he forget Joseph surrounded
by idolaters in Egypt? Did he forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel
threatened him with the fate of the prophets of Baal? Did he forget
Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his prison-house? Did he
forget the three worthies in the fiery furnace? or Daniel in the den
of lions?

“Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten
me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet
will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of
my hands.” [Isaiah 49:14-16.] The Lord of hosts has said, “He that
toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye.” [Zechariah 2:8.]
Though enemies may thrust them into prison, yet dungeon walls
cannot cut off the communication between their souls and Christ.
One who sees their every weakness, who is acquainted with every
trial, is above all earthly powers; and angels will come to them in
lonely cells, bringing light and peace from Heaven. The prison will
[627] be as a palace; for the rich in faith dwell there, and the gloomy walls

will be lighted up with heavenly light, as when Paul and Silas prayed
and sung praises at midnight in the Philippian dungeon.
God’s judgments will be visited upon those who are seeking
to oppress and destroy his people. His long forbearance with the
wicked emboldens men in transgression, but their punishment is
none the less certain and terrible because it is long delayed. “The
Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the
valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and
bring to pass his act, his strange act.” [Isaiah 28:21.] To our merciful
God the act of punishment is a strange act. “As I live, saith the Lord
God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,” [Ezekiel 33:11.]
The Lord is “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant
in goodness and truth,” “forgiving iniquity and transgression and

sin.” Yet he will “by no means clear the guilty.” “The Lord is slow
to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.”
[Exodus 34:6, 7; Nahum 1:3.] By terrible things in righteousness he
will vindicate the authority of his downtrodden law. The severity
of the retribution awaiting the transgressor may be judged by the
Lord’s reluctance to execute justice. The nation with which he bears
long, and which he will not smite until it has filled up the measure
of its iniquity in God’s account, will finally drink the cup of wrath
unmixed with mercy.

When Christ ceases his intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled
wrath threatened against those who worship the beast and his
image and receive his mark, [Revelation 14:9, 10.] will be poured
out. 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. Says the Revelator, in describing these
terrific scourges, “There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the
men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which wor- [628]
shiped his image.” The sea “became as the blood of a dead man, and

every living soul died in the sea.” And “the rivers and fountains of
waters became blood.” [Revelation 16:2-6, 8, 9.] Terrible as these
inflictions are, God’s justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of
God declares, “Thou art righteous, O Lord, ... because thou hast
judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and
thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. [Revelation
16:2-6, 8, 9.] By condemning the people of God to death they have
as truly incurred the guilt of their blood, as if it had been shed by
their hands. In like manner Christ declared the Jews of his time
guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the
days of Abel; for they possessed the same spirit, and were seeking
to do the same work, with these murderers of the prophets.

In the plague that follows, power is given to the sun “to scorch
men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat.” [Revelation
16:2-6, 8, 9.] The prophets thus describe the condition of the earth at
this fearful time: “The land mourneth;... because the harvest of the
field is perished.” “All the trees of the field are withered; because joy
is withered away from the sons of men.” “The seed is rotten under
their clods, the garners are laid desolate.” “How do the beasts groan!

the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture.... The
rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures
of the wilderness.” “The songs of the temple shall be howlings in
that day, saith the Lord God; there shall be many dead bodies in
every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.” [Joel 1:10-12,
17-20; Amos 8:3.]

These plagues are not universal, or the inhabitants of the earth
would be wholly cut off. Yet they will be the most awful scourges
that have ever been known to mortals. All the judgments upon men,
prior to the close of probation, have been mingled with mercy. The
[629] pleading blood of Christ has shielded the sinner from receiving the
full measure of his guilt; but in the final Judgment, wrath is poured
out unmixed with mercy.

In that day, multitudes will desire the shelter of God’s mercy
which they have so long despised. “Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of
bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to
the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and
shall not find it.” [Amos 8:11, 12.]

The people of God will not be free from suffering; but while
persecuted and distressed, while they endure privation, and suffer
for want of food, they will not be left to perish. That God who
cared for Elijah will not pass by one of his self-sacrificing children.
He who numbers the hairs of their head will care for them, and in
time of famine they shall be satisfied. While the wicked are dying
from hunger and pestilence, angels will shield the righteous, and
supply their wants. To him that “walketh righteously” is the promise,
“Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” “When the poor
and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for
thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake
them.” [Isaiah 33:16; 41:17.]

“Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in
the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no
meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no
herd in the stalls;” yet shall they that fear him “rejoice in the Lord,”
and joy in the God of their salvation. [Habakkuk 3:17, 18.]

“The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right
hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul.”
“He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the
noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under [630]

his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that
flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for
the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh
thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of
the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” [Psalm 121:5-7;
91:3-10.]

Yet to human sight it will appear that the people of God must
soon seal their testimony with their blood, as did the martyrs before
them. They themselves begin to fear that the Lord has left them to
fall by the hand of their enemies. It is a time of fearful agony. Day
and night they cry unto God for deliverance. The wicked exult, and
the jeering cry is heard. “Where now is your faith? Why does not
God deliver you out of our hands if you are indeed his people?” But
the waiting ones remember Jesus dying upon Calvary’s cross, and
the chief priests and rulers shouting in mockery, “He saved others;
himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come
down from the cross, and we will believe him.” [Matthew 27:42.]
Like Jacob, all are wrestling with God. Their countenances express
their internal struggle. Paleness sits upon every face. Yet they cease
not their earnest intercession.

Could men see with heavenly vision, they would behold companies
of angels that excel in strength stationed about those who have
kept the word of Christ’s patience. With sympathizing tenderness,
angels have witnessed their distress, and have heard their prayers.
They are waiting the word of their Commander to snatch them from
their peril. But they must wait yet a little longer. The people of
God must drink of the cup, and be baptized with the baptism. The [631]
very delay, so painful to them, is the best answer to their petitions.
As they endeavor to wait trustingly for the Lord to work, they are

led to exercise faith, hope, and patience, which have been too little
exercised during their religious experience. Yet for the elect’s sake,
the time of trouble will be shortened. “Shall not God avenge his
own elect, which cry day and night unto him? ... I tell you that he
will avenge them speedily.” [Luke 18:7, 8.] The end will come more
quickly than men expect. The wheat will be gathered and bound in
sheaves for the garner of God; the tares will be bound as fagots for
the fires of destruction.

The heavenly sentinels, faithful to their trust, continue their
watch. Though a general decree has fixed the time when commandment-
keepers may be put to death, their enemies will in some cases
anticipate the decree, and, before the time specified, will endeavor
to take their lives. But none can pass the mighty guardians stationed
about every faithful soul. Some are assailed in their flight from the
cities and villages; but the swords raised against them break and fall
as powerless as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form
of men of war.

In all ages, God has wrought through holy angels for the succor
and deliverance of his people. Celestial beings have taken an active
part in the affairs of men. They have appeared clothed in garments
that shone as the lightning; they have come as men, in the garb of
wayfarers. Angels have appeared in human form to men of God.
They have rested, as if weary, under the oaks at noon. They have
accepted the hospitalities of human homes. They have acted as
guides to benighted travelers. They have, with their own hands,

kindled the fires of the altar. They have opened prison doors, and set
free the servants of the Lord. Clothed with the panoply of Heaven,
they came to roll away the stone from the Saviour’s tomb.
[632] In the form of men, angels are often in the assemblies of the
righteous, and they visit the assemblies of the wicked, as they went
to Sodom, to make a record of their deeds, to determine whether they
have passed the boundary of God’s forbearance. The Lord delights
in mercy; and for the sake of a few who really serve him, he restrains
calamities, and prolongs the tranquillity of multitudes. Little do
sinners against God realize that they are indebted for their own lives
to the faithful few whom they delight to ridicule and oppress.
Though the rulers of this world know it not, yet often in their
councils angels have been spokesmen. Human eyes have looked

upon them; human ears have listened to their appeals; human lips
have opposed their suggestions and ridiculed their counsels; human
hands have met them with insult and abuse. In the council hall
and the court of justice, these heavenly messengers have shown
an intimate acquaintance with human history; they have proved
themselves better able to plead the cause of the oppressed than
were their ablest and most eloquent defenders. They have defeated
purposes and arrested evils that would have greatly retarded the work
of God, and would have caused great suffering to his people. In the
hour of peril and distress, “the angel of the Lord encampeth round
about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” [Psalm 34:7.]

With earnest longing, God’s people await the tokens of their
coming King. As the watchmen are accosted, “What of the night?”
the answer is given unfalteringly, “‘The morning cometh, and also
the night.’ [Isaiah 21:11, 12.] Light is gleaming upon the clouds
above the mountain tops. Soon there will be a revealing of His glory.
The Sun of Righteousness is about to shine forth. The morning
and the night are both at hand,—the opening of endless day to the
righteous, the settling down of eternal night to the wicked.”

As the wrestling ones urge their petitions before God, the veil
separating them from the unseen seems almost withdrawn. The [633]
heavens glow with the dawning of eternal day, and, like the melody
of angel songs, the words fall upon the ear, “Stand fast to your
allegiance. Help is coming.” Christ, the almighty victor, holds out
to his weary soldiers a crown of immortal glory; and his voice
comes from the gates ajar: “Lo, I am with you. Be not afraid. I am
acquainted with all your sorrows; I have borne your griefs. You are
not warring against untried enemies. I have fought the battle in your
behalf, and in my name you are more than conquerors.”

The precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The
way to Heaven is consecrated by his foot-prints. Every thorn that
wounds our feet has wounded his. Every cross that we are called to
bear, he has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare
the soul for peace. The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God’s
people; but it is the time for every true believer to look up, and by
faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him.
“The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing
unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall

obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I,
even I, am he that comforteth you; who art thou, that thou shouldst
be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall
be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker; ... and hast
feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as
if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should
not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the Lord
thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared. The Lord of
hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have
covered thee in the shadow of mine hand.”

“Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not
with wine: Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah, and thy God that pleadeth
[634] the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the
cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt
no more drink it again. But I will put it into the hand of them that
afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go
over; and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to
them that went over.” [Isaiah 51:11-16, 21-23.]

The eye of God, looking down the ages, was fixed upon the
crisis which his people are to meet, when earthly powers shall be
arrayed against them. Like the captive exile, they will be in fear of
death by starvation or by violence. But the Holy One who divided
the Red Sea before Israel, will manifest his mighty power and turn
their captivity. “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that
day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man

spareth his own son that serveth him.” [Malachi 3:17.] If the blood
of Christ’s faithful witnesses were shed at this time, it would not,
like the blood of the martyrs, be as seed sown to yield a harvest
for God. Their fidelity would not be a testimony to convince others
of the truth; for the obdurate heart has beaten back the waves of
mercy until they return no more. If the righteous were now left to
fall a prey to their enemies it would be a triumph for the prince of
darkness. Says the psalmist, “In the time of trouble he shall hide
me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me.”
[Psalm 27:5.] Christ has spoken: “Come, my people, enter thou
into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as
it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For,


behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants
of the earth for their iniquity.” [Isaiah 26:20, 21.] Glorious will be
the deliverance of those who have patiently waited for his coming,
and whose names are written in the book of life.

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