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.”(1131)
“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.”(1132)
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 see 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.”(1133)
“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 your dispersions are
accomplished; ... and the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the
principal of the flock to escape.”(1134)
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.”(1135) 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 decision;
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.”(1136) Says the prophet, “They began at
the ancient men which were before the house.”(1137) 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.”(1138) “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 every one on
the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of
his neighbor.”(1139) 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.”(1140)
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.”(1141)
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 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.”(1142) 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 host 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. 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.”(1143)
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.”(1144) 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.”(1145)
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_?”(1146)
For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has “made the earth to
tremble.” He has “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 has 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,
every one 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.”(1147)
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 the Lord 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
proverb against the king of Babylon [here representing Satan], and say,
How hath the oppressor ceased!... The Lord 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.”(1148)
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.”(1149) Daniel declares that when the Ancient of days came,
“judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.”(1150) 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.”(1151) It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul,
“the saints shall judge the world.”(1152) 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 angel?”(1153) 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.”(1154)
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.”(1155) 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_.”(1156)
42. THE CONTROVERSY ENDED.
[Illustration: Chapter header.]
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.”(1157) 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.
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. Skilful 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. 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.”(1158) 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.