*The Great Controversy*
Between Christ and Satan
The Conflict of the Ages in the Christian Dispensation
By Ellen G. White
Review & Herald Publishing Association
Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1888, 1907, 1911, by Mrs. E. G. White
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction.
1. The Destruction Of Jerusalem.
2. Persecution In The First Centuries.
3. The Apostasy.
4. The Waldenses.
5. John Wycliffe.
6. Huss and Jerome.
7. Luther’s Separation From Rome.
8. Luther Before The Diet.
9. The Swiss Reformer.
10. Progress Of Reform In Germany.
11. Protest Of The Princes.
12. The French Reformation.
13. The Netherlands And Scandinavia.
14. Later English Reformers.
15. The Bible And The French Revolution.
16. The Pilgrim Fathers.
17. Heralds Of The Morning.
18. An American Reformer.
19. Light Through Darkness.
20. A Great Religious Awakening.
21. A Warning Rejected.
22. Prophecies Fulfilled.
23. What Is The Sanctuary?
24. In The Holy Of Holies.
25. God’s Law Immutable.
26. A Work Of Reform.
27. Modern Revivals.
28. The Investigative Judgment.
29. The Origin Of Evil.
30. Enmity Between Man And Satan.
31. Agency Of Evil Spirits.
32. Snares Of Satan.
33. The First Great Deception.
34. Spiritualism.
35. Aims Of The Papacy.
36. The Impending Conflict.
37. The Scriptures A Safeguard.
38. The Final Warning.
39. “The Time Of Trouble.”
40. God’s People Delivered.
41. Desolation Of The Earth.
42. The Controversy Ended.
Appendix.
Index of Scripture References.
General Index.
Footnotes
PREFACE
[Illustration: Preface.]
This book, reader, is not published to tell us that there is sin and woe
and misery in this world. We know it all too well.
This book is not published to tell us that there is an irreconcilable
controversy between darkness and light, sin and righteousness, wrong and
right, death and life. In our heart of hearts we know it, and know that we
are participators, actors, in the conflict.
But to every one of us comes at times a longing to know more of the great
controversy. How did the controversy begin? or was it always here? What
elements enter into its awfully complex aspect? How am I related to it?
What is my responsibility? I find myself in this world by no choice of my
own. Does that mean to me evil or good?
What are the great principles involved? How long will the controversy
continue? What will be its ending? Will this earth sink, as some
scientists tell us, into the depths of a sunless, frozen, eternal night?
or is there a better future before it, radiant with the light of life,
warm with the eternal love of God?
The question comes closer still: How may the controversy in my own heart,
the strife between inflowing selfishness and outgoing love, be settled in
the victory of good, and settled forever? What does the Bible say? What
has God to teach us upon this question, eternally important to every soul?
Questions like these meet us from every side. They rise insistent up from
the depths of our own heart. They demand definite answer.
Surely the God who created in us the longing for the better, the desire
for the truth, will not withhold from us the answer to all needed
knowledge; for “the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except He reveal His
secret unto His servants the prophets.”
It is the aim of this book, reader, to help the troubled soul to a right
solution of all these problems. It is written by one who has tasted and
found that God is good, and who has learned in communion with God and the
study of His word that the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him,
and that He will show them His covenant.
That we may better understand the principles of the all-important
controversy, in which the life of a universe is involved, the author has
set it before us in great, concrete object-lessons of the last twenty
centuries.
The book opens with the sad closing scenes of Jerusalem’s history, the
city of God’s chosen, after her rejection of the Man of Calvary, who came
to save. Thence onward along the great highway of the nations, it points
us to the persecutions of God’s children in the first centuries; the great
apostasy which followed in His church; the world-awakening of the
Reformation, in which some of the great principles of the controversy are
clearly manifest; the awful lesson of the rejection of right principles by
France; the revival and exaltation of the Scriptures, and their
beneficent, life-saving influence; the religious awakening of the last
days; the unsealing of the radiant fountain of God’s word, with its
wonderful revelations of light and knowledge to meet the baleful
upspringing of every delusion of darkness.
The present impending conflict, with the vital principles involved, in
which no one can be neutral, are simply, lucidly, strongly set forth.
Last of all, we are told of the eternal and glorious victory of good over
evil, right over wrong, light over darkness, joy over sorrow, hope over
despair, glory over shame, life over death, and everlasting,
long-suffering love over vindictive hate.
Former editions of this book have brought many souls to the True Shepherd;
it is the prayer of the publishers that this edition may be even more
fruitful of eternal good.
THE PUBLISHERS.
INTRODUCTION.
[Illustration: Introduction]
Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with his Maker;
but since man separated himself from God by transgression, the human race
has been cut off from this high privilege. By the plan of redemption,
however, a way has been opened whereby the inhabitants of the earth may
still have connection with heaven. God has communicated with men by His
Spirit, and divine light has been imparted to the world by revelations to
His chosen servants. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21.
During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there was no
written revelation. Those who had been taught of God, communicated their
knowledge to others, and it was handed down from father to son, through
successive generations. The preparation of the written word began in the
time of Moses. Inspired revelations were then embodied in an inspired
book. This work continued during the long period of sixteen hundred
years,—from Moses, the historian of creation and the law, to John, the
recorder of the most sublime truths of the gospel.
The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands;
and in the varied style of its different books it presents the
characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all “given
by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words
of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds
and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions, symbols and
figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed, have themselves
embodied the thought in human language.
The ten commandments were spoken by God Himself, and were written by His
own hand. They are of divine, and not of human composition. But the Bible,
with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a
union of the divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of
Christ, who was the Son of God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the
Bible, as it was of Christ, that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us.” John 1:14.
Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and
occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the Bible
present a wide contrast in style, as well as a diversity in the nature of
the subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are employed by
different writers; often the same truth is more strikingly presented by
one than by another. And as several writers present a subject under varied
aspects and relations, there may appear, to the superficial, careless, or
prejudiced reader, to be discrepancy or contradiction, where the
thoughtful, reverent student, with clearer insight, discerns the
underlying harmony.
As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out in
its varied aspects. One writer is more strongly impressed with one phase
of the subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his experience
or with his power of perception and appreciation; another seizes upon a
different phase; and each, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presents
what is most forcibly impressed upon his own mind—a different aspect of
the truth in each, but a perfect harmony through all. And the truths thus
revealed unite to form a perfect whole, adapted to meet the wants of men
in all the circumstances and experiences of life.
God has been pleased to communicate His truth to the world by human
agencies, and He Himself, by His Holy Spirit, qualified men and enabled
them to do this work. He guided the mind in the selection of what to speak
and what to write. The treasure was intrusted to earthen vessels, yet it
is, none the less, from Heaven. The testimony is conveyed through the
imperfect expression of human language, yet it is the testimony of God;
and the obedient, believing child of God beholds in it the glory of a
divine power, full of grace and truth.
In His word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary for
salvation. The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative,
infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the
revealer of doctrines, and the test of experience. “Every scripture
inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God
may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:16,
17, Revised Version.
Yet the fact that God has revealed His will to men through His word, has
not rendered needless the continued presence and guiding of the Holy
Spirit. On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our Saviour, to open
the Word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its teachings. And since
it was the Spirit of God that inspired the Bible, it is impossible that
the teaching of the Spirit should ever be contrary to that of the Word.
The Spirit was not given—nor can it ever be bestowed—to supersede the
Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God is the
standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. Says the
apostle John, “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they
are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1
John 4:1. And Isaiah declares, “To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them.” Isa. 8:20.
Great reproach has been cast upon the work of the Holy Spirit by the
errors of a class that, claiming its enlightenment, profess to have no
further need of guidance from the word of God. They are governed by
impressions which they regard as the voice of God in the soul. But the
spirit that controls them is not the Spirit of God. This following of
impressions, to the neglect of the Scriptures, can lead only to confusion,
to deception and ruin. It serves only to further the designs of the evil
one. Since the ministry of the Holy Spirit is of vital importance to the
church of Christ, it is one of the devices of Satan, through the errors of
extremists and fanatics, to cast contempt upon the work of the Spirit, and
cause the people of God to neglect this source of strength which our Lord
Himself has provided.
In harmony with the word of God, His Spirit was to continue its work
throughout the period of the gospel dispensation. During the ages while
the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament were being given, the
Holy Spirit did not cease to communicate light to individual minds, apart
from the revelations to be embodied in the Sacred Canon. The Bible itself
relates how, through the Holy Spirit, men received warning, reproof,
counsel, and instruction, in matters in no way relating to the giving of
the Scriptures. And mention is made of prophets in different ages, of
whose utterances nothing is recorded. In like manner, after the close of
the canon of Scripture, the Holy Spirit was still to continue its work, to
enlighten, warn, and comfort the children of God.
Jesus promised His disciples, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and
bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
“When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth:
... and He will show you things to come.” John 14:26; 16:13. Scripture
plainly teaches that these promises, so far from being limited to
apostolic days, extend to the church of Christ in all ages. The Saviour
assures His followers, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world.” Matt. 28:20. And Paul declares that the gifts and manifestations
of the Spirit were set in the church “for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ.” Eph. 4:12, 13.
For the believers at Ephesus the apostle prayed, “That the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the _Spirit of wisdom
and revelation_ in the knowledge of Him: _the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened_; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and
... what is the _exceeding greatness_ of His power to us-ward who
believe.” Eph. 1:17-19. The ministry of the divine Spirit in enlightening
the understanding and opening to the mind the deep things of God’s holy
word, was the blessing which Paul thus besought for the Ephesian church.
After the wonderful manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, Peter exhorted the people to repentance and baptism in the name
of Christ, for the remission of their sins; and he said: “Ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God
shall call.” Acts 2:38, 39.
In immediate connection with the scenes of the great day of God, the Lord
by the prophet Joel has promised a special manifestation of His Spirit.
Joel 2:28. This prophecy received a partial fulfilment in the outpouring
of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost; but it will reach its full
accomplishment in the manifestation of divine grace which will attend the
closing work of the gospel.
The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity to
the very close of time. In all ages the wrath of Satan has been manifested
against the church of Christ; and God has bestowed His grace and Spirit
upon His people to strengthen them to stand against the power of the evil
one. When the apostles of Christ were to bear His gospel to the world and
to record it for all future ages, they were especially endowed with the
enlightenment of the Spirit. But as the church approaches her final
deliverance, Satan is to work with greater power. He comes down “having
great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Rev.
12:12. He will work “with all power and signs and lying wonders.” 2 Thess.
2:9. For six thousand years that master-mind that once was highest among
the angels of God, has been wholly bent to the work of deception and ruin.
And all the depths of satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty
developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear
against God’s people in the final conflict. And in this time of peril the
followers of Christ are to bear to the world the warning of the Lord’s
second advent; and a people are to be prepared to stand before Him at His
coming, “without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:14. At this time the
special endowment of divine grace and power is not less needful to the
church than in apostolic days.
Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the scenes of the
long-continued conflict between good and evil have been opened to the
writer of these pages. From time to time I have been permitted to behold
the working, in different ages, of the great controversy between Christ,
the Prince of life, the Author of our salvation, and Satan, the prince of
evil, the author of sin, the first transgressor of God’s holy law. Satan’s
enmity against Christ has been manifested against His followers. The same
hatred of the principles of God’s law, the same policy of deception, by
which error is made to appear as truth, by which human laws are
substituted for the law of God, and men are led to worship the creature
rather than the Creator, may be traced in all the history of the past.
Satan’s efforts to misrepresent the character of God, to cause men to
cherish a false conception of the Creator, and thus to regard Him with
fear and hate rather than with love; his endeavors to set aside the divine
law, leading the people to think themselves free from its requirements;
and his persecution of those who dare to resist his deceptions, have been
steadfastly pursued in all ages. They may be traced in the history of
patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, of martyrs and reformers.
In the great final conflict, Satan will employ the same policy, manifest
the same spirit, and work for the same end, as in all preceding ages. That
which has been, will be, except that the coming struggle will be marked
with a terrible intensity such as the world has never witnessed. Satan’s
deceptions will be more subtle, his assaults more determined. If it were
possible, he would lead astray the elect. Mark 13:22, Revised Version.
As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great truths of His word,
and the scenes of the past and the future, I have been bidden to make
known to others that which has thus been revealed,—to trace the history of
the controversy in past ages, and especially so to present it as to shed a
light on the fast-approaching struggle of the future. In pursuance of this
purpose, I have endeavored to select and group together events in the
history of the church in such a manner as to trace the unfolding of the
great testing truths that at different periods have been given to the
world, that have excited the wrath of Satan, and the enmity of a
world-loving church, and that have been maintained by the witness of those
who “loved not their lives unto the death.”
In these records we may see a foreshadowing of the conflict before us.
Regarding them in the light of God’s word, and by the illumination of His
Spirit, we may see unveiled the devices of the wicked one, and the dangers
which they must shun who would be found “without fault” before the Lord at
His coming.
The great events which have marked the progress of reform in past ages,
are matters of history, well known and universally acknowledged by the
Protestant world; they are facts which none can gainsay. This history I
have presented briefly, in accordance with the scope of the book, and the
brevity which must necessarily be observed, the facts having been
condensed into as little space as seemed consistent with a proper
understanding of their application. In some cases where a historian has so
grouped together events as to afford, in brief, a comprehensive view of
the subject, or has summarized details in a convenient manner, his words
have been quoted; but in some instances no specific credit has been given,
since the quotations are not given for the purpose of citing that writer
as authority, but because his statement affords a ready and forcible
presentation of the subject. In narrating the experience and views of
those carrying forward the work of reform in our own time, similar use has
been made of their published works.
It is not so much the object of this book to present new truths concerning
the struggles of former times, as to bring out facts and principles which
have a bearing on coming events. Yet viewed as a part of the controversy
between the forces of light and darkness, all these records of the past
are seen to have a new significance; and through them a light is cast upon
the future, illumining the pathway of those who, like the reformers of
past ages, will be called, even at the peril of all earthly good, to
witness “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
To unfold the scenes of the great controversy between truth and error; to
reveal the wiles of Satan, and the means by which he may be successfully
resisted; to present a satisfactory solution of the great problem of evil,
shedding such a light upon the origin and the final disposition of sin as
to make fully manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all His
dealings with His creatures; and to show the holy, unchanging nature of
His law, is the object of this book. That through its influence souls may
be delivered from the power of darkness, and become “partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light,” to the praise of Him who loved us,
and gave Himself for us, is the earnest prayer of the writer.
E. G. W.
[Illustration: Jerusalem From The Mount Of Olives.]
Jerusalem From The Mount Of Olives.
1. THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.
[Illustration: The Destruction Of Jerusalem]
“If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things
which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the
days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about
thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall
lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they
shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not
the time of thy visitation.”(1)
From the crest of Olivet, Jesus looked upon Jerusalem. Fair and peaceful
was the scene spread out before Him. It was the season of the Passover,
and from all lands the children of Jacob had gathered there to celebrate
the great national festival. In the midst of gardens and vineyards, and
green slopes studded with pilgrims’ tents, rose the terraced hills, the
stately palaces, and massive bulwarks of Israel’s capital. The daughter of
Zion seemed in her pride to say, “I sit a queen, and shall see no sorrow;”
as lovely then, and deeming herself as secure in Heaven’s favor, as when,
ages before, the royal minstrel sung, “Beautiful for situation, the joy of
the whole earth, is Mount Zion, ... the city of the great King.”(2) In
full view were the magnificent buildings of the temple. The rays of the
setting sun lighted up the snowy whiteness of its marble walls, and
gleamed from golden gate and tower and pinnacle. “The perfection of
beauty” it stood, the pride of the Jewish nation. What child of Israel
could gaze upon the scene without a thrill of joy and admiration! But far
other thoughts occupied the mind of Jesus. “When He was come near, He
beheld the city, and wept over it.”(3) Amid the universal rejoicing of the
triumphal entry, while palm branches waved, while glad hosannas awoke the
echoes of the hills, and thousands of voices declared Him king, the
world’s Redeemer was overwhelmed with a sudden and mysterious sorrow. He,
the Son of God, the Promised One of Israel, whose power had conquered
death, and called its captives from the grave, was in tears, not of
ordinary grief, but of intense, irrepressible agony.
His tears were not for Himself, though He well knew whither His feet were
tending. Before Him lay Gethsemane, the scene of His approaching agony.
The sheep gate also was in sight, through which for centuries the victims
for sacrifice had been led, and which was to open for Him when He should
be “brought as a lamb to the slaughter.”(4) Not far distant was Calvary,
the place of crucifixion. Upon the path which Christ was soon to tread
must fall the horror of great darkness as He should make His soul an
offering for sin. Yet it was not the contemplation of these scenes that
cast the shadow upon Him in this hour of gladness. No foreboding of His
own superhuman anguish clouded that unselfish spirit. He wept for the
doomed thousands of Jerusalem—because of the blindness and impenitence of
those whom He came to bless and to save.
The history of more than a thousand years of God’s special favor and
guardian care, manifested to the chosen people, was open to the eye of
Jesus. There was Mount Moriah, where the son of promise, an unresisting
victim, had been bound to the altar,—emblem of the offering of the Son of
God.(5) There, the covenant of blessing, the glorious Messianic promise,
had been confirmed to the father of the faithful. There, the flames of the
sacrifice ascending to heaven from the threshing-floor of Ornan had turned
aside the sword of the destroying angel(6)—fitting symbol of the Saviour’s
sacrifice and mediation for guilty men. Jerusalem had been honored of God
above all the earth. The Lord had “chosen Zion,” He had “desired it for
His habitation.”(7) There, for ages, holy prophets had uttered their
messages of warning. There, priests had waved their censers, and the cloud
of incense, with the prayers of the worshipers, had ascended before God.
There, daily the blood of slain lambs had been offered, pointing forward
to the Lamb of God. There, Jehovah had revealed His presence in the cloud
of glory above the mercy-seat. There, rested the base of that mystic
ladder connecting earth with heaven,(8)—that ladder upon which angels of
God descended and ascended, and which opened to the world the way into the
holiest of all. Had Israel as a nation preserved her allegiance to Heaven,
Jerusalem would have stood forever, the elect of God.(9) But the history
of that favored people was a record of backsliding and rebellion. They had
resisted Heaven’s grace, abused their privileges, and slighted their
opportunities.
Although Israel had “mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words,
and misused His prophets,”(10) He had still manifested Himself to them, as
“the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth;”(11) notwithstanding repeated rejections, His mercy
had continued its pleadings. With more than a father’s pitying love for
the son of his care, God had “sent to them by His messengers, rising up
betimes, and sending; because He had compassion on His people, and on His
dwelling-place.”(12) When remonstrance, entreaty, and rebuke had failed,
He sent to them the best gift of heaven; nay, He poured out all heaven in
that one Gift.
The Son of God Himself was sent to plead with the impenitent city. It was
Christ that had brought Israel as a goodly vine out of Egypt.(13) His own
hand had cast out the heathen before it. He had planted it “in a very
fruitful hill.”(14) His guardian care had hedged it about. His servants
had been sent to nurture it. “What could have been done more to My
vineyard,” He exclaims, “that I have not done in it?”(15) Though when He
“looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild
grapes,”(16) yet with a still yearning hope of fruitfulness He came in
person to His vineyard, if haply it might be saved from destruction. He
digged about His vine; He pruned and cherished it. He was unwearied in His
efforts to save this vine of His own planting.
For three years the Lord of light and glory had gone in and out among His
people. He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of
the devil,”(17) binding up the broken-hearted, setting at liberty them
that were bound, restoring sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk
and the deaf to hear, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, and
preaching the gospel to the poor. To all classes alike was addressed the
gracious call, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.”(18)
Though rewarded with evil for good, and hatred for His love,(19) He had
steadfastly pursued His mission of mercy. Never were those repelled that
sought His grace. A homeless wanderer, reproach and penury His daily lot,
He lived to minister to the needs and lighten the woes of men, to plead
with them to accept the gift of life. The waves of mercy, beaten back by
those stubborn hearts, returned in a stronger tide of pitying,
inexpressible love. But Israel had turned from her best Friend and only
Helper. The pleadings of His love had been despised, His counsels spurned,
His warnings ridiculed.
The hour of hope and pardon was fast passing; the cup of God’s
long-deferred wrath was almost full. The cloud that had been gathering
through ages of apostasy and rebellion, now black with woe, was about to
burst upon a guilty people; and He who alone could save them from their
impending fate had been slighted, abused, rejected, and was soon to be
crucified. When Christ should hang upon the cross of Calvary, Israel’s day
as a nation favored and blessed of God would be ended. The loss of even
one soul is a calamity infinitely outweighing the gains and treasures of a
world; but as Christ looked upon Jerusalem, the doom of a whole city, a
whole nation, was before Him,—that city, that nation, which had once been
the chosen of God, His peculiar treasure.
Prophets had wept over the apostasy of Israel, and the terrible
desolations by which their sins were visited. Jeremiah wished that his
eyes were a fountain of tears, that he might weep day and night for the
slain of the daughter of his people, for the Lord’s flock that was carried
away captive.(20) What, then, was the grief of Him whose prophetic glance
took in, not years, but ages! He beheld the destroying angel with sword
uplifted against the city which had so long been Jehovah’s dwelling-place.
From the ridge of Olivet, the very spot afterward occupied by Titus and
his army, He looked across the valley upon the sacred courts and
porticoes, and with tear-dimmed eyes He saw, in awful perspective, the
walls surrounded by alien hosts. He heard the tread of armies marshaling
for war. He heard the voice of mothers and children crying for bread in
the besieged city. He saw her holy and beautiful house, her palaces and
towers, given to the flames, and where once they stood, only a heap of
smouldering ruins.
Looking down the ages, He saw the covenant people scattered in every land,
“like wrecks on a desert shore.” In the temporal retribution about to fall
upon her children, He saw but the first draught from that cup of wrath
which at the final judgment she must drain to its dregs. Divine pity,
yearning love, found utterance in the mournful words: “ ‘O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as
a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’(21) O
that thou, a nation favored above every other, hadst known the time of thy
visitation, and the things that belong unto thy peace! I have stayed the
angel of justice, I have called thee to repentance, but in vain. It is not
merely servants, delegates, and prophets, whom thou hast refused and
rejected, but the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer. If thou art destroyed,
thou alone art responsible. ‘Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have
life.’ ”(22)
Christ saw in Jerusalem a symbol of the world hardened in unbelief and
rebellion, and hastening on to meet the retributive judgments of God. The
woes of a fallen race, pressing upon His soul, forced from His lips that
exceeding bitter cry. He saw the record of sin traced in human misery,
tears, and blood; His heart was moved with infinite pity for the afflicted
and suffering ones of earth; He yearned to relieve them all. But even His
hand might not turn back the tide of human woe; few would seek their only
Source of help. He was willing to pour out His soul unto death, to bring
salvation within their reach; but few would come to Him that they might
have life.
The Majesty of heaven in tears! the Son of the infinite God troubled in
spirit, bowed down with anguish! The scene filled all heaven with wonder.
That scene reveals to us the exceeding sinfulness of sin; it shows how
hard a task it is, even for infinite power, to save the guilty from the
consequences of transgressing the law of God. Jesus, looking down to the
last generation, saw the world involved in a deception similar to that
which caused the destruction of Jerusalem. The great sin of the Jews was
their rejection of Christ; the great sin of the Christian world would be
their rejection of the law of God, the foundation of His government in
heaven and earth. The precepts of Jehovah would be despised and set at
naught. Millions in bondage to sin, slaves of Satan, doomed to suffer the
second death, would refuse to listen to the words of truth in their day of
visitation. Terrible blindness! strange infatuation!
Two days before the Passover, when Christ had for the last time departed
from the temple, after denouncing the hypocrisy of the Jewish rulers, He
again went out with His disciples to the Mount of Olives, and seated
Himself with them upon the grassy slope overlooking the city. Once more He
gazed upon its walls, its towers, and its palaces. Once more He beheld the
temple in its dazzling splendor, a diadem of beauty crowning the sacred
mount.
A thousand years before, the psalmist had magnified God’s favor to Israel
in making her holy house His dwelling-place: “In Salem also is His
tabernacle, and His dwelling-place in Zion.”(23) He “chose the tribe of
Judah, the Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like high
palaces.”(24) The first temple had been erected during the most prosperous
period of Israel’s history. Vast stores of treasure for this purpose had
been collected by King David, and the plans for its construction were made
by divine inspiration.(25) Solomon, the wisest of Israel’s monarchs, had
completed the work. This temple was the most magnificent building which
the world ever saw. Yet the Lord had declared by the prophet Haggai,
concerning the second temple, “The glory of this latter house shall be
greater than of the former.” “I will shake all nations, and the Desire of
all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the
Lord of hosts.”(26)
After the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, it was rebuilt
about five hundred years before the birth of Christ, by a people who from
a life-long captivity had returned to a wasted and almost deserted
country. There were then among them aged men who had seen the glory of
Solomon’s temple, and who wept at the foundation of the new building, that
it must be so inferior to the former. The feeling that prevailed is
forcibly described by the prophet: “Who is left among you that saw this
house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes
in comparison of it as nothing?”(27) Then was given the promise that the
glory of this latter house should be greater than that of the former.
But the second temple had not equaled the first in magnificence; nor was
it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained
to the first temple. There was no manifestation of supernatural power to
mark its dedication. No cloud of glory was seen to fill the newly erected
sanctuary. No fire from heaven descended to consume the sacrifice upon its
altar. The shekinah no longer abode between the cherubim in the most holy
place; the ark, the mercy-seat, and the tables of the testimony were not
to be found therein. No voice sounded from heaven to make known to the
inquiring priest the will of Jehovah.
For centuries the Jews had vainly endeavored to show wherein the promise
of God given by Haggai, had been fulfilled; yet pride and unbelief blinded
their minds to the true meaning of the prophet’s words. The second temple
was not honored with the cloud of Jehovah’s glory, but with the living
presence of One in whom dwelt the fulness of the Godhead bodily—who was
God Himself manifest in the flesh. The “Desire of all nations” had indeed
come to His temple when the Man of Nazareth taught and healed in the
sacred courts. In the presence of Christ, and in this only, did the second
temple exceed the first in glory. But Israel had put from her the
proffered Gift of heaven. With the humble Teacher who had that day passed
out from its golden gate, the glory had forever departed from the temple.
Already were the Saviour’s words fulfilled, “Your house is left unto you
desolate.”(28)
The disciples had been filled with awe and wonder at Christ’s prediction
of the overthrow of the temple, and they desired to understand more fully
the meaning of His words. Wealth, labor, and architectural skill had for
more than forty years been freely expended to enhance its splendors. Herod
the Great had lavished upon it both Roman wealth and Jewish treasure, and
even the emperor of the world had enriched it with his gifts. Massive
blocks of white marble, of almost fabulous size, forwarded from Rome for
this purpose, formed a part of its structure; and to these the disciples
had called the attention of their Master, saying, “See what manner of
stones and what buildings are here!”(29)
To these words, Jesus made the solemn and startling reply, “Verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall
not be thrown down.”(30)
With the overthrow of Jerusalem the disciples associated the events of
Christ’s personal coming in temporal glory to take the throne of universal
empire, to punish the impenitent Jews, and to break from off the nation
the Roman yoke. The Lord had told them that He would come the second time.
Hence at the mention of judgments upon Jerusalem, their minds reverted to
that coming; and as they were gathered about the Saviour upon the Mount of
Olives, they asked, “When shall these things be? and what shall be the
sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?”(31)
The future was mercifully veiled from the disciples. Had they at that time
fully comprehended the two awful facts,—the Redeemer’s sufferings and
death, and the destruction of their city and temple,—they would have been
overwhelmed with horror. Christ presented before them an outline of the
prominent events to take place before the close of time. His words were
not then fully understood; but their meaning was to be unfolded as His
people should need the instruction therein given. The prophecy which He
uttered was twofold in its meaning: while foreshadowing the destruction of
Jerusalem, it prefigured also the terrors of the last great day.
Jesus declared to the listening disciples the judgments that were to fall
upon apostate Israel, and especially the retributive vengeance that would
come upon them for their rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah.
Unmistakable signs would precede the awful climax. The dreaded hour would
come suddenly and swiftly. And the Saviour warned His followers: “When ye
therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.”(32) When the
idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground,
which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of
Christ were to find safety in flight. When the warning sign should be
seen, those who would escape must make no delay. Throughout the land of
Judea, as well as in Jerusalem itself, the signal for flight must be
immediately obeyed. He who chanced to be upon the housetop must not go
down into his house, even to save his most valued treasures. Those who
were working in the fields or vineyards must not take time to return for
the outer garment laid aside while they should be toiling in the heat of
the day. They must not hesitate a moment, lest they be involved in the
general destruction.
In the reign of Herod, Jerusalem had not only been greatly beautified, but
by the erection of towers, walls, and fortresses, adding to the natural
strength of its situation, it had been rendered apparently impregnable. He
who would at this time have foretold publicly its destruction, would, like
Noah in his day, have been called a crazed alarmist. But Christ had said,
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”(33)
Because of her sins, wrath had been denounced against Jerusalem, and her
stubborn unbelief rendered her doom certain.
The Lord had declared by the prophet Micah: “Hear this, I pray you, ye
heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that
abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and
Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the
priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money:
yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none
evil can come upon us.”(34)
These words faithfully described the corrupt and self-righteous
inhabitants of Jerusalem. While claiming to observe rigidly the precepts
of God’s law, they were transgressing all its principles. They hated
Christ because His purity and holiness revealed their iniquity; and they
accused Him of being the cause of all the troubles which had come upon
them in consequence of their sins. Though they knew Him to be sinless,
they had declared that His death was necessary to their safety as a
nation. “If we let Him thus alone,” said the Jewish leaders, “all men will
believe on Him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and
nation.”(35) If Christ were sacrificed, they might once more become a
strong, united people. Thus they reasoned, and they concurred in the
decision of their high priest, that it would be better for one man to die
than for the whole nation to perish.
Thus the Jewish leaders had “built up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with
iniquity.” And yet, while they slew their Saviour because He reproved
their sins, such was their self-righteousness that they regarded
themselves as God’s favored people, and expected the Lord to deliver them
from their enemies. “Therefore,” continued the prophet, “shall Zion for
your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the
mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.”(36)
For nearly forty years after the doom of Jerusalem had been pronounced by
Christ Himself, the Lord delayed His judgments upon the city and the
nation. Wonderful was the long-suffering of God toward the rejecters of
His gospel and the murderers of His Son. The parable of the unfruitful
tree represented God’s dealings with the Jewish nation. The command had
gone forth, “Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?”(37) but divine
mercy had spared it yet a little longer. There were still many among the
Jews who were ignorant of the character and the work of Christ. And the
children had not enjoyed the opportunities or received the light which
their parents had spurned. Through the preaching of the apostles and their
associates, God would cause light to shine upon them; they would be
permitted to see how prophecy had been fulfilled, not only in the birth
and life of Christ, but in His death and resurrection. The children were
not condemned for the sins of the parents; but when, with a knowledge of
all the light given to their parents, the children rejected the additional
light granted to themselves, they became partakers of the parents’ sins,
and filled up the measure of their iniquity.
The long-suffering of God toward Jerusalem only confirmed the Jews in
their stubborn impenitence. In their hatred and cruelty toward the
disciples of Jesus, they rejected the last offer of mercy. Then God
withdrew His protection from them, and removed His restraining power from
Satan and his angels, and the nation was left to the control of the leader
she had chosen. Her children had spurned the grace of Christ, which would
have enabled them to subdue their evil impulses, and now these became the
conquerors. Satan aroused the fiercest and most debased passions of the
soul. Men did not reason; they were beyond reason,—controlled by impulse
and blind rage. They became satanic in their cruelty. In the family and in
the nation, among the highest and the lowest classes alike, there was
suspicion, envy, hatred, strife, rebellion, murder. There was no safety
anywhere. Friends and kindred betrayed one another. Parents slew their
children and children their parents. The rulers of the people had no power
to rule themselves. Uncontrolled passions made them tyrants. The Jews had
accepted false testimony to condemn the innocent Son of God. Now false
accusations made their own lives uncertain. By their actions they had long
been saying, “Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”(38)
Now their desire was granted. The fear of God no longer disturbed them.
Satan was at the head of the nation, and the highest civil and religious
authorities were under his sway.
The leaders of the opposing factions at times united to plunder and
torture their wretched victims, and again they fell upon each other’s
forces, and slaughtered without mercy. Even the sanctity of the temple
could not restrain their horrible ferocity. The worshipers were stricken
down before the altar, and the sanctuary was polluted with the bodies of
the slain. Yet in their blind and blasphemous presumption the instigators
of this hellish work publicly declared that they had no fear that
Jerusalem would be destroyed, for it was God’s own city. To establish
their power more firmly, they bribed false prophets to proclaim, even
while Roman legions were besieging the temple, that the people were to
wait for deliverance from God. To the last, multitudes held fast to the
belief that the Most High would interpose for the defeat of their
adversaries. But Israel had spurned the divine protection, and now she had
no defense. Unhappy Jerusalem! rent by internal dissensions, the blood of
her children slain by one another’s hands crimsoning her streets, while
alien armies beat down her fortifications and slew her men of war!
All the predictions given by Christ concerning the destruction of
Jerusalem were fulfilled to the letter. The Jews experienced the truth of
His words of warning, “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to
you again.”(39)
Signs and wonders appeared, foreboding disaster and doom. In the midst of
the night an unnatural light shone over the temple and the altar. Upon the
clouds at sunset were pictured chariots and men of war gathering for
battle. The priests ministering by night in the sanctuary were terrified
by mysterious sounds; the earth trembled, and a multitude of voices were
heard crying, “Let us depart hence.” The great eastern gate, which was so
heavy that it could hardly be shut by a score of men, and which was
secured by immense bars of iron fastened deep in the pavement of solid
stone, opened at midnight, without visible agency.(40)
For seven years a man continued to go up and down the streets of
Jerusalem, declaring the woes that were to come upon the city. By day and
by night he chanted the wild dirge, “A voice from the east! a voice from
the west! a voice from the four winds! a voice against Jerusalem and
against the temple! a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides! a
voice against the whole people!” This strange being was imprisoned and
scourged, but no complaint escaped his lips. To insult and abuse he
answered only, “Woe, woe to Jerusalem!” “woe, woe to the inhabitants
thereof!” His warning cry ceased not until he was slain in the siege he
had foretold.