Bible Study Guides – The Sealed Scroll

June 1, 2014 – June 7, 2014

The Lord Has Spoken

Key Text

“One of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” Revelation 5:5.

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 646–652.

Introduction

“The fifth chapter of Revelation needs to be closely studied. It is of great importance to those who shall act a part in the work of God for these last days. There are some who are deceived. They do not realize what is coming on the earth.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 267.

1 THE SEALED BOOK

  • John the apostle, while in vision, saw God the Father holding a sealed book. Revelation 5:1–3. What are the contents of that book?

Note: “There in His [God’s] open hand lay the book, the roll of the history of God’s providences, the prophetic history of nations and the church. Herein was contained the divine utterances, His authority, His commandments, His laws, the whole symbolic counsel of the Eternal, and the history of all ruling powers in the nations.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 7.

  • Why are we unable to open the sealed book? Deuteronomy 29:29. How did the prophet react when none was found to open it? Revelation 5:4. What help must we receive from God before we can understand what He wants to reveal to us? John 16:12, 13; I Corinthians 2:12–16.

Note: “As we contemplate the great things of God’s word, we look into a fountain that broadens and deepens beneath our gaze. Its breadth and depth pass our knowledge.” Education, 171.

2 THE SEALED BOOK IS OPENED

  • What does God want us to study—especially today? Revelation 1:1–3.

Note: “Let us give more time to the study of the Bible. We do not understand the word as we should. The book of Revelation opens with an injunction to us to understand the instruction that it contains. … When we as a people understand what this book means to us, there will be seen among us a great revival. We do not understand fully the lessons that it teaches, notwithstanding the injunction given us to search and study it. …

“The veil whose apparent mystery has kept many from lifting it, God’s own hand has withdrawn from these portions of His word. The very name ‘Revelation’ contradicts the statement that it is a sealed book. ‘Revelation’ means that something of importance is revealed. The truths of this book are addressed to those living in these last days. We are standing with the veil removed in the holy place of sacred things. We are not to stand without. We are to enter, not with careless, irreverent thoughts, not with impetuous footsteps, but with reverence and godly fear. We are nearing the time when the prophecies of the book of Revelation are to be fulfilled.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 113.

  • Study alone does not guarantee our salvation. What attitude and experience do we need in order to be on that sea of glass for eternity? Revelation 1:3; Matthew 7:21–27; John 15:1–5.

Note: “What part will you act in the closing scenes of this world’s history? Are you awake to these solemn realities? Do you realize the grand work of preparation that is going on in heaven and on earth? Let all who have received the light, who have had the opportunity of reading and hearing the prophecy, take heed to those things that are written therein; ‘for the time is at hand’ (Revelation 22:10). Let none now tamper with sin, the source of every misery in our world. No longer remain in lethargy and stupid indifference. Let not the destiny of your soul hang upon an uncertainty. Know that you are fully on the Lord’s side. Let the inquiry go forth from sincere hearts and trembling lips, ‘Who shall be able to stand’ (Revelation 6:17)? Have you, in these last precious hours of probation, been putting the very best material into your character building? Have you been purifying your souls from every stain? Have you followed the light? Have you works corresponding to your profession of faith?” Testimonies, vol. 6, 404, 405.

3 THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

  • Who “hath prevailed to open the book”? Revelation 5:5–7. What two characters are combined in the “Root of David”? And how (or under what circumstances) are these two characters manifested?

Note: “The Saviour is presented before John under the symbols of ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’ and of ‘a Lamb as it had been slain’ (Revelation 5:5, 6). These symbols represent the union of omnipotent power and self-sacrificing love. The Lion of Judah, so terrible to the rejecters of His grace, will be the Lamb of God to the obedient and faithful. The pillar of fire that speaks terror and wrath to the transgressor of God’s law is a token of light and mercy and deliverance to those who have kept His commandments. The arm strong to smite the rebellious will be strong to deliver the loyal.” The Acts of the Apostles, 589.

“When we study the divine character in the light of the cross we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice. We see in the midst of the throne One bearing in hands and feet and side the marks of the suffering endured to reconcile man to God. We see a Father, infinite, dwelling in light unapproachable, yet receiving us to Himself through the merits of His Son. The cloud of vengeance that threatened only misery and despair, in the light reflected from the cross reveals the writing of God: Live, sinner, live! ye penitent, believing souls, live! I have paid a ransom.” Ibid., 333.

  • Why is Jesus called “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”? Revelation 13:8. What was Paul able to proclaim in the light of Romans 5:8? I Corinthians 2:2, 7.

Note: “The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth; for Christ is ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Revelation 13:8); yet it was a struggle, even with the King of the universe, to yield up His Son to die for the guilty race. … Oh, the mystery of redemption! the love of God for a world that did not love Him!” Patriarchs and Prophets, 63, 64.

4 A HOLY PRIESTHOOD

  • What are the fruits of the ministry exercised by the true followers of Christ to whom the sealed book has been opened? I Peter 2:5, 9–12; 3:8–17.

Note: “The Lord Jesus is making experiments on human hearts through the exhibition of His mercy and abundant grace. He is effecting transformations so amazing that Satan, with all his triumphant boasting, with all his confederacy of evil united against God and the laws of His government, stands viewing them as a fortress impregnable to his sophistries and delusions. They are to him an incomprehensible mystery. The angels of God, seraphim and cherubim, the powers commissioned to cooperate with human agencies, look on with astonishment and joy, that fallen men, once children of wrath, are through the training of Christ developing characters after the divine similitude, to be sons and daughters of God, to act an important part in the occupations and pleasures of heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 142.

  • What is the greatest joy of Christ, “the Root of David,” and when will He share His joy with the redeemed? Revelation 21:3, 4; Romans 8:16–18; Galatians 3:29.

Note: “The Saviour’s joy is in seeing, in the kingdom of glory, the souls that have been saved by His agony and humiliation. And the redeemed will be sharers in His joy, as they behold, among the blessed, those who have been won to Christ through their prayers, their labors, and their loving sacrifice. As they gather about the great white throne, gladness unspeakable will fill their hearts, when they behold those whom they have won for Christ, and see that one has gained others, and these still others, all brought into the haven of rest.” The Great Controversy, 647.

  • What song will the redeemed, including the 24 elders, be able to sing? Revelation 5:9, 10.

Note: “It will be seen that He who is infinite in wisdom could devise no plan for our salvation except the sacrifice of His Son. The compensation for this sacrifice is the joy of peopling the earth with ransomed beings, holy, happy, and immortal.” The Great Controversy, 652.

5 ETERNAL GLORY AND PRAISE

  • How will the 24 elders and all the redeemed continue praising the Lord for His love and sacrifice? Revelation 5:11–14.

Note: “Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing’ (Revelation 5:12).” The Desire of Ages, 131.

  • What will the universe be like when the controversy is ended? Isaiah 11:9; 32:17; Romans 14:11.

Note: “The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” The Great Controversy, 678.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Why is the opening of the “sealed book” very important in our days?

2 What help will enable us to understand some of the hidden things in connection with the plan of God?

3 Why is Jesus able to unveil future events?

4 Who is associated with Jesus’ ministration in the heavenly sanctuary?

5 When we have a better understanding of the plan of redemption, how will we express our joy and gratitude to the Lord?

© 2010 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

The Final Letter

Have you ever received a letter from someone that you knew would be their last? It may be that they were dying and had something important to say while they still could write.

Back in the days of the Civil War, among my wife’s relatives, was a man in the Union Army who was captured by the Confederate forces. In retaliation for the Union’s having killed one of their prominent soldiers, he was told that he would be executed. The date was set and the night before he was to be executed he was allowed to write one last letter to his family.

There are several letters in the Bible that were the last testament of the writers. The apostle John, while a prisoner, banished to the Island of Patmos, wrote the book of Revelation. He was totally separated, living with criminals and did not expect to ever be reunited with his family or his church again. While in his lonely state, the Lord gave him visions and dreams which he recorded as his last will and testament to be sent to the church he loved. Although it cannot be absolutely proven, it appears that John’s work was really the last book of the Bible that was written. It has been placed at the very end of the Bible and concludes the inspired record that God gave to man.

The Greek word for revelation is apocalypse, meaning something that is revealed. The Roman Catholic Bible as well as some other Bibles call the book The Apocalypse.

It has been said that the book of Revelation puts the finishing touches on a perfect book that reveals to man the eternal purpose of the Most High. It is the capstone of divine revelation and inspiration. Almost everything that you read in the Apocalypse can be traced to some other part of the Bible. The book of Revelation is a special book for people who are living in the last days and because we are living in that time period it is a book that requires us to give it special attention. The Lord is in the process of opening up to us more truth from this book than we have ever understood before, but new truth cannot be understood unless first there is an understanding of the old truth.

More than two-thirds of all the verses in the book of Revelation are either a paraphrase or direct quotation from the Old Testament. In fact, in the first five chapters of the book, the Old Testament is referred to or quoted 85 times. It is not only a conclusion, but it is a summary of what the Lord has already told us in both the Old and New Testaments.

Every subject from the word of God has a seed that can be found in the book of Genesis. Martin Luther made a special study of Genesis and preached on the book every day for a whole year. Genesis is like a prologue to the whole Bible. In the first two chapters there is a description of paradise and the third chapter describes how it was lost because of sin.

The book of Revelation is like an epilogue or conclusion to the whole Bible. The last two chapters reveal a picture of paradise restored. It would be well to read them often. Revelation 20 makes it clear that not everyone from this world will be in the paradise restored. Revelation chapters 21 and 22 describe a place where there is no sin and no sinners.

In The Acts of the Apostles, 585, it says, “In the Revelation, all the books of the Bible meet and end.” Throughout the book of Revelation we find all of the different symbols, types, shadows, figures, and fundamental principles of the Bible recapitulated. It embodies in itself, in a short space, the entire volume of the Scriptures. Revelation is a book that is written specifically for the last generation to prepare them for the second coming of Christ. If you are not ready for that event, you need to begin an intense study of the book, which is not only a revelation but words of prophecy. (See Revelation 1:3.) Revelation 22:18 and 19 also talk about “the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Prophecy is history that is written in advance. The book of Revelation has several singularities. It is the only book in the Bible that begins with a blessing to anyone who will read it. Revelation 1:3 says, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it.” Incidentally, as well as the blessing at the beginning of the book, there is a benediction at the end. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21.

Though it is true that Revelation is the only book with a blessing at the beginning and benediction at the end, it is very unfortunate that few know anything about.

We are living in the last days, and this book was especially written for today. Yet it is little understood. In fact, many Christians don’t understand anything at all about it. Many people believe it to be a sealed book and not able to be understood. For that reason they do not even read it. But how much has the church lost because of neglecting its study? In addition to a blessing that’s pronounced on those who read and keep what is written there, the most severe threatenings in all the Bible are also pronounced, of which we must be aware.

It is not the purpose of God to scare, curse, or hurt anyone, but the book of Revelation makes it very clear that we live in a moral universe and there are consequences for doing what is wrong. The book ends with a threat to anyone who tampers with its message. “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18, 19. The original text reads that God would take away from him his part from the tree of life. Notice that we are warned not to add anything to this book.

There have indeed been attempts to add to the books of the Bible. For instance, the history of Susanna, the song of the three holy children and the story of Bel and the dragon were all added to the book of Daniel. Scholars said they were not actually written by Daniel and were apocryphal, false books.

At one time, it was proposed to include in the New Testament a letter called the Epistle of Barnabas. Barnabas was an associate with the apostle Paul. There were some early church leaders that believed that the Epistle of Barnabas was a canonical book. But when studied very carefully it was found to be written by an unknown fictitious author and not the associate of the apostle Paul. This caused a huge problem for the church.

There were some letters that surfaced in New Testament times that afterward claimed to be written by the apostle Peter, but a careful study of those letters revealed that they were not written by him at all. All theologians, both Catholic and Protestant, agree that the apostle Peter wrote the books of first and second Peter that are recorded in the Bible and that the other letters claiming Peter’s authorship are called pseudepigrapha, which means false writings that claim to be from the apostles.

The early church had a problem with some who claimed to be apostles who wrote something and put an apostle’s name on it. Every letter the apostle Paul wrote was signed a certain way so that the people would know if it was from him. God knew that it would be imperative for future generations to know the doctrines. Therefore, right at the end of the Holy Scriptures is the admonition that if anyone adds or subtracts from the Word, He would deal with them in the most severe way. A curse would be added and blessing would be subtracted. This is not to be taken lightly.

The book of Revelation is one that should be looked at with reverence and awe. It does not need to have anything added to it; it does not need to have anything subtracted from it. A problem mankind has had down through the ages is wanting to add to what God has said, which is fanaticism, or wanting to subtract from what God has said, which is apostasy.

In Revelation 1:1 we are told where this book came from: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him.” God the Father is the source of this information. Because of sin the people of this world cannot communicate directly with God the Father. Jesus said in John 14:6, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus Christ is the spokes-person between God the Father and this world. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He (Jesus Christ) sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.” This is not just any angel. If you study the book of Daniel you know that in heaven there are millions and millions of angels around the throne of God. Daniel said in chapter seven there were ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, which would be one hundred million plus many other millions. Of all the millions of angels, there is a certain angel that is the angel of Jesus Christ. It is this angel that He sends to His servants the prophets. And we know this angel’s name, because this very same angel was sent to the prophet Daniel.

Daniel 9:21 says, “Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.” The angel is Gabriel. His name means the mighty one of God. Gabriel spoke to Daniel again in Daniel 10. And notice what he says to him in Daniel 10:21: “But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. No one upholds me (stands with me) against these except Michael your prince.” Michael means the One who is like God. It is another name for Jesus Christ. Gabriel said the only other person that is with me in this affair is Jesus Christ. This one, Gabriel, is His angel. His name is also mentioned in the New Testament. In Luke 1:19 it says, “And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.’ ”

If you are saved, the time is coming soon when you will get to meet Gabriel, the mighty one of God. This is the angel that descended from heaven early Sunday morning on the day of the resurrection and said, “Son of God, Your Father calls You.” And when he said that, Jesus arose.

Gabriel was the one sent from heaven to give to the disciple John these visions and revelations that he wrote down in this book. At least four times the writer simply designates himself as John. In Revelation 1:9 he says, “I, John… .” He refers to himself that way also in the end of the book in Revelation 22:8 “I, John … .” John did not need to make any other reference, as the people knew who he was. There was no other John who was that well known. Similarly, the apostle Paul just needed to say, “I’m Paul,” and the people knew who he was. The early church did not question who was the author of this book. They agreed that it was John the apostle.

For many years there has been a disagreement as to when the book was written. Some have believed that it was written during the terrible time of the persecution of the Christians by Nero. However, that is not the opinion of the majority. There is the testimony of several early Christian church fathers who testify that the book was written during the 14th year of Domitian. Domitian was a Roman Emperor who ruled the Roman Empire from A.D. 81 to A.D. 96. The study of these Roman Emperors is a great help in understanding some of the things we find in the New Testament, which includes the book of Revelation.

Before Domitian, there was a Roman Emperor in the late 30’s, early 40’s called Claudius. Before that time, the people believed that the Roman Emperor was a representative of God and when he died, he became divine. But Claudius asserted that no one needed to wait till he was dead to think that he was divine. He claimed to be divine while still living. And he therefore commanded the people to worship him.

At that time before A.D. 40, this command did not cause a lot of trouble for the Christians because the Christian church was still small. But Domitian, the second Roman Emperor who openly proclaimed to be divine, commanded the people to worship him, creating a big problem for the Christians who refused. They could give respect and honor to the Roman Emperor, but never kneel down and worship him as a god. Christians have one God. Paul says we have “One God and Father of all.” Ephesians 4:6. We have one Lord, Jesus Christ.

As a young man I heard a preacher speak about some things in the Roman Empire. He mentioned that many American cities are patterned after Roman cities. In the middle of the county seat there is a courthouse and a square around the courthouse. In the middle of these Roman cities an altar would be erected, a fire would be lit in it, and then everybody in town would be commanded to get in line and pass by the altar. All that was required as they passed the fire was to take a little pinch of incense and throw it on the fire and say, “Kaiser es Kuriors” which is Greek for “Caesar is lord.” In this way they were able to spot the Christians so that they could be killed. A Christian would say, “Christos es Kuriors” which means, Christ is Lord. They would then be shuffled off to one side and taken to be cast to the lions, have their head chopped off, be crucified, stretched on the rack, be burned or whatever the rulers decided to do to them at that time.

When John refused to worship the emperor it was decided to kill him. He was cast into a big caldron of boiling oil. His life should have ended quickly but, miraculously, he did not die. Finally, just as it was in Nebuchadnezzar’s time when he threw the three worthies into the fiery furnace, when John was pulled out of the oil pot there was no evidence of burning. Realizing that they could not kill this man of God, it was decided to banish him. It was very common among the Romans to banish their worst criminals to desolate islands where it was impossible for them to escape. Though the Romans thought to banish him, God had another purpose. Revelation 1:9 says he was “… on the island that was called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

The Isle of Patmos is in the Aegean Sea and is approximately 50 miles south-west of Ephesus, which is on the southwestern tip of what we call today Turkey. Even today the island is absolutely desolate. They say there are no trees on this island and it is like being in a desert. There is a cave or grotto at a high part on one side of the island and according to long-standing tradition it was in that cave where John had his visions and wrote the book of Revelation. A few thousand people still live on the island, mostly fishermen and miners. It is believed that John was banished to work in the marble mines on the island.

Speaking to the Jewish leaders just a few days before His crucifixion, Jesus predicted that His followers would be persecuted. He said, “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” Matthew 23:34, 35.

This prediction was literally fulfilled. For example, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist was beheaded. Jesus Christ Himself was scourged and crucified. But that was just the beginning. During the first century, prominent leaders in the Christian church were aggressively persecuted. Steven was stoned. James was beheaded. Philip was scourged, imprisoned and crucified. Matthew was killed with a halberd. James the less was stoned and his brains were dashed out with a fuller’s club. Matthias was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded. Andrew was crucified at Odessa. Mark was dragged to pieces by an infuriated mob on the streets of Alexandria. Peter was crucified head downward at his own request. Paul was beheaded. Jude, the brother of James, and who was also called Thaddeus, was crucified. Bartholomew was beaten and crucified. Thomas was thrust through with a spear. Luke was hanged on an olive tree in Greece. Simon Zelotes was crucified in Britain. They tried to kill John the beloved by casting him into a caldron of boiling oil, but he didn’t die. So they banished him on an island. He was the only one that died a natural death. However, remember that persecution for Christ’s sake has always been a blessing in disguise.

Some people today are very troubled by this historical account. Some people say that if God is all powerful, and if He really loves us, why does He allow us to go through such terrible suffering? Some people have lost their faith in the Christian religion because of the suffering, not wanting a religion that involves suffering. Wanting a religion that is a little easier, they search and find that there are plenty of options available.

The book Foxes Book of Martyrs records the ten major pagan Roman Empire persecutions against the Christians. In spite of the fact that the Romans, as early as Nero, tried to destroy the Christians, it was during that period of time of terrible persecutions that the Christian church made its greatest growth. By the end of the first century it is estimated that there were at least 6 million Christians in the Roman Empire. That might become a little bit more meaningful if you remember that in the whole Roman Empire at that time there were only about 120 million people. Roughly 1 out of 20 people in the whole Roman Empire at that time were Christians.

When Christians were banished, they shared the lot of common prisoners. John says that he was their companion in tribulation. He had no hope of ever seeing his family, his church family, or his loved ones again. He was an elderly man by then and thought he would die on the island, never expecting that he would be given an opportunity to return home and that the book he wrote would be his last will and testament.

Suddenly, on September 18, A.D. 96, Domitian, the emperor who claimed that he was God, was assassinated. As soon as the new emperor, Nerva, came to power, he set all the prisoners who had refused to worship the emperor free. John was also set free. At a time when you think that everything is lost and your life is so dark and awful, when you commit your way to God, He can turn everything around, and sometimes it can happen quite suddenly.

The book of Revelation, written by God’s faithful servant while a prisoner on the lonely island, comes to us from heaven. It comes with a blessing on anybody who will read it and keep what it says. Much of the most wonderful literature and music written was during very trying times. The Bible has many examples of this.

While he was in exile, Jacob, in his extremity, finally found God. In fact, he was so transformed by the experience he had during that 20 year period that the Lord changed his name. He said, You will no longer be called Jacob. You are going to be called a prince of God.

Then there was Joseph, exiled from his family to be a slave, never to see his family again, he thought. During that time of exile, God so transformed his character that he became a saviour of his nation and of the whole world at that time. Ellen White says that Joseph is a type of Christ.

Moses was a fugitive after killing a man. After 40 years enduring poverty in a strange land, God used him to deliver his people from the mighty nation of Egypt and write the books of Genesis and Job.

David was a fugitive fleeing from cave to cave to escape the wrath of Saul. It was during the time that he was on the run and scared for his life that he produced some of his best and most spiritual psalms.

It was while he was fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel, in a mountain cave, that Elijah heard the still small voice of God giving him directions to finish his ministry on earth. Today he is alive in heaven.

Ezekiel and Daniel both wrote from their captivity. Daniel had been separated from his family as a young man and was never allowed to return.

It has happened that way since Bible times, too. The most popular Bible versions during the Protestant Reformation were the English translation by Tyndale and the German translation by Martin Luther. These men produced their translations while fugitives, fleeing from the wrath and power of the papal Roman Empire. Approximately ninety percent of the King James Version is directly from Tyndale’s translation.

The book Pilgrims Progress was written by John Bunyan while he was incarcerated in an English jail because of his professed Christianity. That book has led multitudes of young people to Jesus Christ and the Christian religion. Then there was a woman by the name of Ellen White, who just before the turn of the 20th century, while in Australia, suffered terribly for months, day and night, because of rheumatoid arthritis. By then she was already a widow and in her pain and suffering she produced one of the greatest masterpieces that has ever been written on the life of Jesus Christ, The Desire of Ages.

Don’t give up and lose your faith because of the suffering you are going through. Commit your life to God. Say, “Lord, what do you want me to learn from this? What do you want me to do as a result of this experience that would be a blessing to my fellow men?” The Lord wants to deliver you. The book of Revelation makes it very clear that the pain and suffering that we’re going through in this world is all temporary. For the Christian, there is coming a time when there will be no more pain. Soon the things that cause us grief will end and a wonderful new future will be opened up to those who are faithful.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at 316-788-5559.

The Battle of Armageddon

by Ellen G. White

Armageddon is the name given in Revelation 16 to the scene of the final conflict between the forces of evil and the forces of good. It is apparently derived from the Hebrew word for mountain and the word Megiddo, an ancient city near Mount Carmel and was the site of many battles in the history of Israel.

Much speculation concerning this battle by many authors, statesmen and others has occurred in the twentieth century. At the time of World War I many started talking about Armageddon. Many believed that World War I would be Armageddon and be a war to end all wars. But it did not turn out that way. World War II became an even worse tragedy. But World War II was not Armageddon either. Armageddon will be even worse than that. A well-known woman writer has described not only the battle of Armageddon in its physical sense, but also its spiritual ramifications which affect the destiny of all mankind. A brief synopsis which she wrote concerning the final outcome of the battle of Armageddon is below.

Death and Mourning

“Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.… In the cup, which she hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, … saying, ‘Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.’” Revelation 18:5-10.

“The merchants of the earth,” that have “waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies,” “shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to naught.’” Revelation 18:11, 9, 10, 15-17. Such are the judgments that fall upon Babylon in the day of the visitation of God’s wrath. She has filled up the measure of her iniquity; her time has come; she is ripe for destruction. When the voice of God turns the captivity of His people, there is a terrible awakening of those who have lost all in the great conflict of life. While probation continued they were blinded by Satan’s deceptions, and they justified their course of sin. The rich prided themselves upon their superiority to those who were less favored; but they had obtained their riches by violation of the law of God. They had neglected to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to deal justly, and to love mercy. They had sought to exalt themselves and to obtain the homage of their fellow creatures. Now they are stripped of all that made them great and are left destitute and defenseless. They look with terror upon the destruction of the idols, which they preferred before their Maker. They have sold their souls for earthly riches and enjoyments, and have not sought to become rich toward God. The result is their lives are a failure; their pleasures are now turned to gall, their treasures to corruption. The gain of a lifetime is swept away in a moment. The rich bemoan the destruction of their grand houses, the scattering of their gold and silver. But their lamentations are silenced by the fear that they themselves are to perish with their idols. The wicked are filled with regret, not because of their sinful neglect of God and their fellow men, but because God has conquered. They lament that the result is what it is; but they do not repent of their wickedness. They would leave no means untried to conquer if they could. The world sees the very class whom they have mocked and derided, and desired to exterminate, pass unharmed through pestilence, tempest, and earthquake. He who is to the transgressors of His law a devouring fire, is to His people a safe pavilion. The minister who has sacrificed truth to gain the favor of men now discerns the character and influence of his teachings. It is apparent that the omniscient eye was following him as he stood in the desk, as he walked the streets, as he mingled with men in the various scenes of life. Every emotion of the soul, every line written, every word uttered, every act that led men to rest in a refuge of falsehood, has been scattering seed; and now, in the wretched, lost souls around him, he beholds the harvest. Saith the Lord: “They have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace;’ when there is no peace.” “With lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life.” Jeremiah 8:11; Ezekiel 13:22. ”Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! …Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings.” “Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for your days for slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; … and the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.” Jeremiah 23:1, 2; 25:34, 35, margin. Ministers and people see that they have not sustained the right relation to God. They see that they have rebelled against the Author of all just and righteous law. The setting aside of the divine precepts gave rise to thousands of springs of evil, discord, hatred, iniquity, until the earth became one vast field of strife, one sink of corruption. This is the view that now appears to those who rejected truth and chose to cherish error. No language can express the longing which the disobedient and disloyal feel for that which they have lost forever—eternal life. Men whom the world has worshiped for their talents and eloquence now see these things in their true light. They realize what they have forfeited by transgression, and they fall at the feet of those whose fidelity they have despised and derided, and confess that God has loved them. The people see that they have been deluded. They accuse one another of having led them to destruction; but all unite in heaping their bitterest condemnation upon the ministers. Unfaithful pastors have prophesied smooth things; they have led their hearers to make void the law of God and to persecute those who would keep it holy. Now, in their despair, these teachers confess before the world their work of deception. The multitudes are filled with fury. ‘We are lost!’ they cry, ‘and you are the cause of our ruin;’ and they turn upon the false shepherds. The very ones that once admired them most will pronounce the most dreadful curses upon them. The very hands that once crowned them with laurels will be raised for their destruction. The swords which were to slay God’s people are now employed to destroy their enemies. Everywhere there is strife and bloodshed. “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword.” Jeremiah 25:31.

The Great Controversy

For six thousand years the great controversy has been in progress; the Son of God and His heavenly messengers have been in conflict with the power of the evil one, to warn, enlighten, and save the children of men. Now all have made their decisions; the wicked have fully united with Satan in his warfare against God. The time has come for God to vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law. Now the controversy is not alone with Satan, but with men. “The Lord hath a controversy with the nations;” “He will give them that are wicked to the sword.” The mark of deliverance has been set upon those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done.” Now the angel of death goes forth, represented in Ezekiel’s vision by the men with the slaughtering weapons, to whom the command is given: “Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” Says the prophet: “They began at the ancient men which were before the house.” Ezekiel 9:1-6. The work of destruction begins among those who have professed to be the spiritual guardians of the people. The false watchmen are the first to fall. There are none to pity or to spare. Men, women, maidens, and little children perish together. “The Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:21. “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.” Zechariah 14:12, 13. In the mad strife of their own fierce passions, and by the awful outpouring of God’s unmingled wrath, fall the wicked inhabitants of the earth—priests, rulers, and people, rich and poor, high and low. “And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried.” Jeremiah 25:33.

Blotted Out

At the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the whole earth—consumed with the spirit of His mouth and destroyed by the brightness of His glory. Christ takes His people to the City of God, and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.” “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.” “Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned.” Isaiah 24:1, 3, 5, 6. The whole earth appears like a desolate wilderness. The ruins of cities and villages destroyed by the earthquake, uprooted trees, ragged rocks thrown out by the sea or torn out of the earth itself, are scattered over its surface, while vast caverns mark the spot where the mountains have been rent from their foundations.

Now the event takes place foreshadowed in the last solemn service of the Day of Atonement. When the ministration in the holy of holies had been completed, and the sins of Israel had been removed from the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, then the scapegoat was presented alive before the Lord; and in the presence of the congregation the high priest confessed over him “all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” Leviticus 16:21. In like manner, when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God’s people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit. And as the scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, so Satan will be banished to the desolate earth, an uninhabited and dreary wilderness. The Revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years.

Bound For a Thousand Years

After presenting the scenes of the Lord’s Second Coming and the destruction of the wicked, the prophecy continues: “I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” Revelation 20:1-3. That the expression “bottomless pit” represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth “in the beginning,” the Bible record says that it “was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Genesis 1:2. [THE HEBREW WORD HERE TRANSLATED “DEEP” IS RENDERED IN THE SEPTUAGINT (GREEK) TRANSLATION OF THE HEBREW OLD TESTAMENT BY THE SAME WORD RENDERED “BOTTOMLESS PIT” IN REVELATION 20:1-3.] Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back, partially at least, to this condition. Looking forward to the great day of God, the prophet Jeremiah declares: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” Jeremiah 4:23-26. Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand years. Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that he is bound: there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise his power. He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin which for so many centuries has been his sole delight. The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to the time of Satan’s overthrow, exclaims: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! …Thou hast said in thine heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the Most High.’ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, ‘Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?’” Isaiah 14:12-17. For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has “made the earth to tremble.” He had “made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof.” And he “opened not the house of his prisoners.” For six thousand years his prison house has received God’s people, and he would have held them captive forever; but Christ had broken his bonds and set the prisoners free. Even the wicked are now placed beyond the power of Satan, and alone with his evil angels he remains to realize the effect of the curse which sin has brought. “The kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house [the grave]. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch..…Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people.” Isaiah 14:18-20

For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his sufferings are intense. Since his fall his life of unceasing activity has banished reflection; but he is now deprived of his power and left to contemplate the part which he has acted since first he rebelled against the government of heaven, and to look forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future when he must suffer for all the evil that he has done and be punished for the sins that he has caused to be committed. To God’s people the captivity of Satan will bring gladness and rejoicing. Says the prophet: “It shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon [here representing Satan], and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! …Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers; that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.” Verses 3-6, R.V.

Judgment Meted Out

During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place. The apostle Paul points to this judgment as an event that follows the Second Advent. “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5. Daniel declares that when the Ancient of Days came, “judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” Daniel 7:22. At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” “They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4, 6. It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, “the saints shall judge the world.” 1 Corinthians 6:2. In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death. Satan also and evil angels are judged by Christ and His people. Says Paul: “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” Verse 3. And Jude declares that “the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 6.

Jesus Comes Again

At the close of the thousand years the second resurrection will take place. Then the wicked will be raised from the dead and appear before God for the execution of “the judgment written.” Thus the Revelator, after describing the resurrection of the righteous, says: “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:5. And Isaiah declares, concerning the wicked: “They shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.” Isaiah 24:22. At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed and attended by a retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty He bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands of the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease and death. Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim: “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!” It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into their graves, so they come forth with the same enmity to Christ and the same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation in which to remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by this. A lifetime of transgression has not softened their hearts. A second probation, were it given them, would be occupied as was the first, in evading the requirements of God and exciting rebellion against Him. Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. Says the prophet: “The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee.” “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, …and there shall be a very great valley.” “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one.” Zechariah 14:5, 4, 9.

The New Jerusalem

As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City. Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan’s captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny. The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his claims. He makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints and to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead and declares that as their leader he is well able to overthrow the city and regain his throne and his kingdom.

The Final Thrust

In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation. There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell. Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions. At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on—an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision the serried ranks advance over the earth’s broken and uneven surface to the City of God.

The Brightness of His Presence

By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city and make ready for the onset. Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.

Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the “great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,…before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs. The redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes and re-echoes through the vaults of heaven: “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Revelation 7:10. And angel and seraph unite their voices in adoration. As the redeemed have beheld the power and malignity of Satan, they have seen, as never before, that no power but that of Christ could have made them conquerors. In all that shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to themselves, as if they had prevailed by their own power and goodness. Nothing is said of what they have done or suffered; but the burden of every song, the keynote of every anthem, is: “Salvation to our God and unto the Lamb.”

The Final Coronation

In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels against His government and executes justice upon those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people. Says the prophet of God: “I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:11, 12. As soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law of God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in sin, the blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected, the waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant heart—all appear as if written in letters of fire.

Panoramic View

Above the throne is revealed the cross; and like a panoramic view appear the scenes of Adam’s temptation and fall, and the successive steps in the great plan of redemption. The Saviour’s lowly birth; His early life of simplicity and obedience; His baptism in Jordan; the fast and temptation in the wilderness; His public ministry, unfolding to men heaven’s most precious blessings; the days crowded with deeds of love and mercy, the nights of prayer and watching in the solitude of the mountains; the plottings of envy, hate, and malice which repaid His benefits; the awful, mysterious agony in Gethsemane beneath the crushing weight of the sins of the whole world; His betrayal into the hands of the murderous mob; the fearful events of that night of horror—the unresisting prisoner, forsaken by His best-loved disciples, rudely hurried through the streets of Jerusalem; the Son of God exultingly displayed before Annas, arraigned in the high priest’s palace, in the judgment hall of Pilate, before the cowardly and cruel Herod, mocked, insulted, tortured, and condemned to die—all are vividly portrayed. And now before the swaying multitude are revealed the final scenes—the patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of heaven hanging upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble deriding His expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving earth, the rent rocks, the open graves, marking the moment when the world’s Redeemer yielded up His life. The awful spectacle appears just as it was.

Satan, his angels, and his subjects have no power to turn from the picture of their own work. Each actor recalls the part which he performed. Herod, who slew the innocent children of Bethlehem that he might destroy the King of Israel; the base Herodias, upon whose guilty soul rests the blood of John the Baptist; the weak, timeserving Pilate; the mocking soldiers; the priests and rulers and the maddened throng who cried, “His blood be on us, and on our children!”—all behold the enormity of their guilt. They vainly seek to hide from the divine majesty of His countenance, outshining the glory of the sun, while the redeemed cast their crowns at the Saviour’s feet, exclaiming: “He died for me!”

Arraigned at the Bar of God

Amid the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their truehearted brethren, and with them the vast host of martyrs; while outside the walls, with every vile and abominable thing, are those by whom they were persecuted, imprisoned, and slain. There is Nero, that monster of cruelty and vice, beholding the joy and exaltation of those whom he once tortured, and in whose extremest anguish he found satanic delight. His mother is there to witness the result of her own work; to see how the evil stamp of character transmitted to her son, the passions encouraged and developed by her influence and example, have borne fruit in crimes that caused the world to shudder. There are papist priests and prelates who claimed to be Christ’s ambassadors, yet employed the rack, the dungeon, and the stake to control the consciences of His people. There are the proud pontiffs who exalted themselves above God and presumed to change the law of the Most High. Those pretended fathers of the church have an account to render to God from which they would fain be excused. Too late they are made to see that the Omniscient One is jealous of His law and that He will in no wise clear the guilty. They learn now that Christ identifies His interest with that of His suffering people; and they feel the force of His own words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Matthew 25:40.

The whole wicked world stands arraigned at the bar of God on the charge of high treason against the government of heaven. They have none to plead their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is pronounced against them. It is now evident to all that the wages of sin is not noble independence and eternal life, but slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they have forfeited by their life of rebellion. The far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory was despised when offered them; but how desirable it now appears. “All this,” cries the lost soul, “I might have had; but I chose to put these things far from me. Oh, strange infatuation! I have exchanged peace, happiness, and honor for wretchedness, infamy, and despair.” All see that their exclusion from heaven is just. By their lives they have declared: “We will not have this Man [Jesus] to reign over us.” As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. They see in His hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, “Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints” Revelation 15:3; and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life.

The Arch-deceiver Unmasked

Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining seraph, “son of the morning;” how changed, how degraded! From the council where once he was honored, he is forever excluded. He sees another now standing near to the Father, veiling His glory. He has seen the crown placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence, and he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his. Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace and content that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of Christ. His accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness—all come vividly before him. He reviews his work among men and its results—the enmity of man toward his fellow man, the terrible destruction of life, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the overturning of thrones, the long succession of tumults, conflicts, and revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees that his hellish plots have been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin. He has led the multitudes to believe that the City of God would be an easy prey; but he knows that this is false. Again and again, in the progress of the great controversy, he has been defeated and compelled to yield. He knows too well the power and majesty of the Eternal. The aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself and to prove the divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this end he has bent all the power of his giant intellect. He has worked deliberately and systematically, and with marvelous success, leading vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy which has been so long in progress. For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the City of God, the archdeceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause. Christ’s followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the government of God. He is the object of universal abhorrence. Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence. “Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15:4. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy has now been made plain. The results of rebellion, the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes, have been laid open to the view of all created intelligences. The working out of Satan’s rule in contrast with the government of God has been presented to the whole universe. Satan’s own works have condemned him. God’s wisdom, His justice, and His goodness stand fully vindicated. It is seen that all His dealings in the great controversy have been conducted with respect to the eternal good of His people and the good of all the worlds that He has created. “All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord; and Thy saints shall bless Thee.” Psalm 145:10.

The history of sin will stand to all eternity as a witness that with the existence of God’s law is bound up the happiness of all the beings He has created. With all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal and rebellious, with one accord declare: “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.” Before the universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made by the Father and the Son in man’s behalf. The hour has come when Christ occupies His rightful position and is glorified above principalities and powers and every name that is named. It was for the joy that was set before Him—that He might bring many sons unto glory—that He endured the cross and despised the shame. And inconceivably great as was the sorrow and the shame, yet greater is the joy and the glory. He looks upon the redeemed, renewed in His own image, every heart bearing the perfect impress of the divine, every face reflecting the likeness of their King. He beholds in them the result of the travail of His soul, and He is satisfied. Then, in a voice that reaches the assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, He declares: “Behold the purchase of My blood! For these I suffered, for these I died, that they might dwell in My presence throughout eternal ages.” And the song of praise ascends from the white-robed ones about the throne: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.

Notwithstanding that Satan has been constrained to acknowledge God’s justice and to bow to the supremacy of Christ, his character remains unchanged. The spirit of rebellion, like a mighty torrent, again bursts forth. Filled with frenzy, he determines not to yield the great controversy. The time has come for a last desperate struggle against the King of heaven. He rushes into the midst of his subjects and endeavors to inspire them with his own fury and arouse them to instant battle. But of all the countless millions whom he has allured into rebellion, there are none now to acknowledge his supremacy. His power is at an end. The wicked are filled with the same hatred of God that inspires Satan; but they see that their case is hopeless, that they cannot prevail against Jehovah. Their rage is kindled against Satan and those who have been his agents in deception, and with the fury of demons they turn upon them. Saith the Lord: “Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit.” “I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire….I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee….I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee….Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.” Ezekiel 28:6–8, 16–19. “Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.” “The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them to the slaughter.” “Upon the wicked He shall rain quick burning coals, fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” Isaiah 9:5; 34:2; Psalm 11:6, margin.”

“Every form of evil is to spring into intense activity. Evil angels unite their powers with evil men, and as they have been in constant conflict and attained an experience in the best modes of deception and battle, and have been strengthening for centuries, they will not yield the last great final contest without a desperate struggle. All the world will be on one side or the other of the question. The battle of Armageddon will be fought, and that day must find none of us sleeping.The battle of Armageddon will be fought, and that day must find none of us sleeping. Wide awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our vessels with our lamps. The power of the Holy Ghost must be upon us and the Captain of the Lord’s host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle. Solemn events before us are yet to transpire. Trumpet after trumpet is to be sounded; vial after vial poured out one after another upon the inhabitants of the earth. Scenes of stupendous interest are right upon us and these things will be sure indications of the presence of Him who has directed in every aggressive movement, who has accompanied the march of His cause through all the ages, and who has graciously pledged Himself to be with His people in all their conflicts to the end of the world. He will vindicate His truth. He will cause it to triumph. He is ready to supply His faithful ones with motives and power of purpose, inspiring them with hope and courage and valor in increased activity as the time is at hand.”

The End of Sin

“Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are burned up. Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:10. The earth’s surface seems one molten mass—a vast, seething lake of fire. It is the time of the judgment and perdition of ungodly men—”the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” Isaiah 34:8. The wicked receive their recompense in the earth. Proverbs 11:31. They “shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 4:1. Some are destroyed as in a moment, while others suffer many days. All are punished “according to their deeds.” The sins of the righteous having been transferred to Satan, he is made to suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused God’s people to commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that of those whom he has deceived. After all have perished who fell by his deceptions, he is still to live and suffer on. In the cleansing flames the wicked are at last destroyed, root and branch—Satan the root, his followers the branches. The full penalty of the law has been visited; the demands of justice have been met; and heaven and earth, beholding, declare the righteousness of Jehovah.”

“Satan’s work of ruin is forever ended. For six thousand years he has wrought his will, filling the earth with woe and causing grief throughout the universe. The whole creation has groaned and travailed together in pain. Now God’s creatures are forever delivered from his presence and temptations. “The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they [the righteous] break forth into singing.” Isaiah 14:7. And a shout of praise and triumph ascends from the whole loyal universe. “The voice of a great multitude,” “as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings,” is heard, saying: “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:6.”

Resources

  • Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 470–488.
  • Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 286–287.
  • The Great Controversy, 673.

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