Digging For Truth

       s e v e n    l a s t    P l a g u e s   and  the  wicked     

               the   v i a l s    Of   g O d's    w r a t h    w i l l   b e    p o u r e d    o u t                          

Quotation in SM3:    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. { 3SM 426.1} 

Original Quotation is 3 paragraphs: [same as 3SM]  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. Wide-awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our vessels with our lamps. What is this? Grace, Grace. { 14MR 286.3 } 

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. { 14MR 287.1 } 
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, [the One] 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. { 14MR 287.2 } 

Similar quotation worth reading:  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. Wide awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our vessels with our lamps. What is this?—Grace. Grace! { 8MR 347.1 } 
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.—Letter 112, 1890, pp. 3, 4. (To Edson and Emma, and Willie White, December 22, 1890.) { 8MR 347.2 } 

Original Quotation:    The world is soon to be left by the angel of mercy, and the seven last plagues are to be poured out. Sin, shame, sorrow, and darkness are on every side; but God still holds out to the souls of men the precious privilege of exchanging darkness for light, error for truth, sin for righteousness. But God’s patience and mercy will not always wait. Let not one soul think that he can hide from God’s wrath behind a lie, for God will strip from the soul the refuge of lies. The bolts of God’s wrath are soon to fall, and when He shall begin to punish the transgressors, there will be no period of respite until the end. The storm of God’s wrath is gathering, and those only will stand who are sanctified through the truth in the love of God. They shall be hid with Christ in God till the desolation shall be overpast. He shall come forth to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity, and “the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Let the language of the soul be —  { TM 182.2} 
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide!  Till the storm of life is past;  Safe into the haven guide,  Oh, receive my soul at last! { TM 183.1} 
Other refuge have I none, Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;  Leave, oh, leave me not alone!  Still support and comfort me. { TM 183.2} 

Note:  EGW quotes 2nd stanza of Hymn by Charles Wesley ( Click for music and lyrics )

     the    n a t i o n s    i n    c o n f l i c t      

Original Quotation:   11 (chs. 7:1-3; 16:13-16; Hebrews 1:14; see EGW on Hebrews 9:24). Angel Hands Linked About the World—John writes, “I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne.” Angels were united in the work of Him who had broken the seals and taken the book. Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the world are eager for conflict; but they are held in check by the angels. When this restraining power is removed, there will come a time of trouble and anguish. Deadly instruments of warfare will be invented. Vessels, with their living cargo, will be entombed in the great deep. All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of satanic agencies. But they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon.  { 7BC 967.8 }

Additional Quotation found:    Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the world are eager for conflict; but they are held in check by the angels. When this restraining power is removed, there will come a time of trouble and anguish. Deadly instruments of warfare will be invented. Vessels, with their living cargo, will be entombed in the great deep. All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of Satanic agencies. But they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon. { 1MR 145.3 } 
Angels are belting the world, refusing Satan his claim to supremacy, made because of the vast multitude of his adherents. We hear not the voices, we see not with the natural sight the work of these angels, but their hands are linked about the world, and with sleepless vigilance they are keeping the armies of Satan at bay till the sealing of God’s people shall be accomplished. Letter 79, 1900, pp. 12, 13. (To William Kerr, May 10, 1900.) { 1MR 145.4 } 

  the    w h o l e    w o r l d    w i l l    b e   i n v o l v e d   i n    r u i n      

Original Quotation:    Angels are now restraining the winds of strife, that (p. 180) they may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth; and when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture. { Education, 179.6}   Read entire Chapter 19

Original Quotation:    The Saviour’s prophecy concerning the visitation of judgments upon Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment, of which that terrible desolation was but a faint shadow. In the fate of the chosen city we may behold the doom of a world that has rejected God’s mercy and trampled upon His law.  Dark are the records of human misery that earth has witnessed during its long centuries of crime. The heart sickens, and the mind grows faint in contemplation. Terrible have been the results of rejecting the authority of Heaven. But a scene yet darker is presented in the revelations of the future. The records of the past,—the long procession of tumults, conflicts, and revolutions, the “battle of the warrior ... with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood” ( Isaiah 9:5),— what are these, in contrast with the terrors of that day when the restraining Spirit of God shall be wholly withdrawn from the wicked, no longer to hold in check the outburst of human passion and satanic wrath! The world will then behold, as never before, the results of Satan’s rule. { Great Controversy 36.2}  Read entire Chapter 1

Original Quotation:    When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn.  Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old. { Great Controversy, page 614.1}   Read entire Chapter 39 ( Time of Trouble )

  g o d    i s    j u s t,   a s    w e l l    a s    m e r c i f u l      

Original Quotation:    What was God’s answer to Moses?—“I will make all my goodness pass before thee.... And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” { RH March 10, 1904, par. 2 }
It is the glory of God to be merciful, full of forbearance, kindness, goodness, and truth. But the justice shown in punishing the sinner is as verily the glory of the Lord as is the manifestation of his mercy. { RH March 10, 1904, par. 3 }

Original Quotation:    This is riches beyond estimate. This faith must be the great element in the power which rules the characters of God’s people. He displayed great signs and wonders in Egypt, showing His command over all the natural world and over the powers which the Egyptian oppressors worshiped. Once again the Lord God of Israel is to execute judgment upon the gods of this world, as upon the gods of Egypt. With fire and flood, plagues and earthquakes, He will spoil the whole land. Then His redeemed people will exalt His name and make it glorious in the earth. Shall not those who are living in the last remnant of this earth’s history become intelligent in regard to God’s lessons?  { 10MR 240.2 } 

Original Quotation:    We feel deeply over the present state of the church whose members have long possessed a knowledge of those events which are to transpire near the close of time in fulfillment of prophetic history. Christ is coming in power and great glory, and the dead are to be “judged out of those things which are written in the books, according to their works.” The One who has stood as our intercessor; who hears all penitential prayers and confessions; who is represented with a rainbow, the symbol of grace and love, encircling his head, is soon to cease his work in the heavenly sanctuary. Grace and mercy will then descend from the throne, and justice will take their place. He for whom his people have looked will assume his right,—the office of Supreme Judge. “The Father ... hath committed all judgment unto the Son.... And he hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” It was he, says Peter, who was ordained to “judge the quick [the living] and the dead.” “He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.” { RH January 1, 1889, par. 1 }

Original Quotation:    Again, more wonderful than his mercy toward Israel is the love which Christ has manifested in his infinite sacrifice to redeem a lost race. His earthly life was filled with deeds of divine tenderness and compassion. And yet Christ himself plainly declares, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” While he tells us of the love of God, he also pictures the awful scenes of the Judgment and the retribution that shall be visited upon the wicked. In all the Bible, God is presented not only as a being of mercy and benevolence, but as a God of strict and impartial justice. { ST March 24, 1881, par. 2 }

  the    c e r t a i n t y    o f    g o d's    j u d g m e n t s          

Original Quotation:    God’s love is represented in our day as being of such a character as would forbid His destroying the sinner. Men reason from their own low standard of right and justice. “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself” ( Psalm 50:21). They measure God by themselves. They reason as to how they would act under the circumstances and decide God would do as they imagine they would do. { 12MR 207.2 } 
  God’s goodness and long forbearance, His patience and mercy exercised to His subjects, will not hinder Him from punishing the sinner who refused to be obedient to His requirements. It is not for a man—a criminal against God’s holy law, pardoned only through the great sacrifice He made in giving His Son to die for the guilty because His law was changeless—to dictate to God. After all this effort on the part of God to preserve the sacred and exalted character of His law, if men, through the sophistry of the devil, turn the mercy and condescension of God into a curse, they must suffer the penalty. Because Christ died they consider they have liberty to transgress God’s holy law that condemns the transgressor, and would complain of its strictness and its penalty as severe and unlike God. They are uttering the words Satan utters to millions, to quiet their conscience in rebellion against God. { 12MR 208.1 } 

  In no kingdom or government is it left to the lawbreakers to say what punishment is to be executed against those who have broken the law. All we have, all the bounties of His grace which we possess, we owe to God. The aggravating character of sin against such a God cannot be estimated any more than the heavens can be measured with a span. God is a moral governor as well as a Father. He is the Lawgiver. He makes and executes His laws. Law that has no penalty is of no force. { 12MR 208.2 } 
The plea may be made that a loving Father would not see His children suffering the punishment of God by fire while He had the power to relieve them. But God would, for the good of His subjects and for their safety, punish the transgressor. God does not work on the plan of man. He can do infinite justice that man has no right to do before his fellow man. Noah would have displeased God to have drowned one of the scoffers and mockers that harassed him, but God drowned the vast world. Lot would have had no right to inflict punishment on his sons-in-law, but God would do it in strict justice. — Manuscript 5, 1876, 1-3.  { 12MR 208.3 } 

Original Quotation:    Coming Delayed to Allow a Larger Span for Repentance — Who will say God will not do what He says He will do? “Let God be true, but every man a liar” ( Romans 3:4). The Lord is coming in flaming fire to take vengeance on those sinners who know not God and obey not His gospel. And because, in His infinite mercy, He delays His coming to give the world a larger span for repentance, sinners flatter themselves [that] He will never come. { 10MR 265.2 } 
Next paragraph on 10MR:   In the public press, in the haunts of sin, as well as in the schools of science so-called, there is one sentiment: They curl the lips with scorn and jest and ridicule at the warnings given them, and look upon the thousands who will not believe. Jests are uttered, witty paragraphs published at the expense of those who wait and look for His appearing, and [who] with fear, like Noah, prepare for the event. This is not new, but as old as sin. It is as false as the father of lies. { 10MR 265.3 } 

  j u d g m e n t s    c o m e    w h e n   g o d    removes   his    protection   

Original Quotation:    I was shown that the judgments of God would not come directly out from the Lord upon them, but in this way: They place themselves beyond His protection. He warns, corrects, reproves, and points out the only path of safety; then if those who have been the objects of His special care will follow their own course independent of the Spirit of God, after repeated warnings, if they choose their own way, then He does not commission His angels to prevent Satan’s decided attacks upon them.  [See also  Great Controversy, 614, [Chapter 39] where Ellen White states, “A single angel destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians and filled the land with mourning. When David offended against God by numbering the people, one angel caused that terrible destruction by which his sin was punished. The same destructive power exercised by holy angels when God commands, will be exercised by evil angels when he permits.”]  It is Satan’s power that is at work at sea and on land, bringing calamity and distress, and sweeping off multitudes to make sure of his prey. And storm and tempest both by sea and land will be, for Satan has come down in great wrath. He is at work. He knows his time is short and, if he is not restrained, we shall see more terrible manifestations of his power than we have ever dreamed of. { 14MR 3.1 } 

Original Quotation:    I am writing this letter by lamp light, sitting upon my bed. I could not sleep longer than half past two A.M. The Lord lives and reigns. There is to be such a time of trouble as there never was since there was a nation. Already nations are angry, already Satan is working with signs and lying wonders, and this will increase until the end. God will use his enemies as instruments to punish those who have followed their own pernicious ways whereby the truth God has been misrepresented, misjudged, and dishonored. These enemies of God are living evidences of the truth of His word; they are fulfilling that which holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. God does not forewarn His people of trifles; the repetition of caution and warnings shows that there is importance in that which was spoken. Do those who claim to want light, treat the light with the respect which is due? { PC 136.3 } 

Original Quotation:    At this late hour shall the work of saving souls be retarded? Shall but little be done when the curse of sin has grown to such proportions that already the Spirit of God, insulted, refused, abused, is being withdrawn from the earth? Just as fast as God’s Spirit is taken away, Satan’s cruel work will be done upon land and sea. The air is filled with the poison of malaria. Judgments by fire and flood will increase in fearfulness, for Satan claims his harvest of souls in the destruction. { Letters &Ms, Vol. 13, Ms 134, 1898, par. 19 }

Original Quotation:    When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one.   [ quoted in 239.3 > ] Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old. { GC 614.1}  Read entire chapter 39

 at  times   h o l y   a n g e l s    e x e r c i s e    d e s t r u c t i v e   p o w e r

Original Quotation:    The city of Jericho was devoted to the most extravagant idolatry. The inhabitants were very wealthy, but all the riches that God had given them they counted as the gift of their gods. They had gold and silver in abundance; but, like the people before the Flood, they were corrupt and blasphemous, and insulted and provoked the God of heaven by their wicked works. God’s judgments were awakened against Jericho. It was a stronghold. But the Captain of the Lord’s host Himself came from heaven to lead the armies of heaven in an attack upon the city. Angels of God laid hold of the massive walls and brought them to the ground. God had said that the city of Jericho should be accursed and that all should perish except Rahab and her household. These should be saved because of the favor that Rahab showed the messengers of the Lord. The word of the Lord to the people was: “And ye, in anywise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.” “And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.” { 3T 264.1} 

Original Quotation:    The angels of heaven witnessed every movement made against their loved Commander. They longed to deliver Christ. Under God the angels are all-powerful. On one occasion, in obedience to the command of Christ, they slew of the Assyrian army in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand men. How easily could the angels, beholding the shameful scene of the trial of Christ, have testified their indignation by consuming the adversaries of God!  But they were not commanded to do this. He who could have doomed His enemies to death bore with their cruelty. His love for His Father, and His pledge, made from the foundation of the world, to become the Sin Bearer, led Him to endure uncomplainingly the coarse treatment of those He came to save. It was a part of His mission to bear, in His humanity, all the taunts and abuse that men could heap upon Him. The only hope of humanity was in this submission of Christ to all that He could endure from the hands and hearts of men. { DA 700.5} 

Original Quotation:    The same angel who had come from the royal courts to rescue Peter, had been the messenger of wrath and judgment to Herod. The angel smote Peter to arouse him from slumber; it was with a different stroke that he smote the wicked king, laying low his pride and bringing upon him the punishment of the Almighty. Herod died in great agony of mind and body, under the retributive judgment of God. { AA 152.1}   Also appears in { RH May 4, 1911, par. 15 }

Original Quotation:    A single angel destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians and filled the land with mourning. When David offended against God by numbering the people, one angel caused that terrible destruction by which his sin was punished. The same destructive power exercised by holy angels when God commands, will be exercised by evil angels when He permits. There are forces now ready, and only waiting the divine permission, to spread desolation everywhere. { GC 614.2}  also appears { 4SP 441.1 } 

     the   f i r s t    t w o    p l a g u e s   

Original Quotation:    When Christ ceases His intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled wrath threatened against those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark ( Revelation 14:9, 10), will be poured out. The plagues upon Egypt when God was about to deliver Israel were similar in character to those more terrible and extensive judgments which are to fall upon the world just before the final deliverance of God’s people. Says the revelator, in describing those terrific scourges: “There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.” The sea “became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” And “the rivers and fountains of waters ... became blood.” Terrible as these inflictions are, God’s justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of God declares: “Thou art righteous, O Lord, ... because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” Revelation 16:2-6. By condemning the people of God to death, they have as truly incurred the guilt of their blood as if it had been shed by their hands. In like manner Christ declared the Jews of His time guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the days of Abel; for they possessed the same spirit and were seeking to do the same work with these murderers of the prophets. { GC 627.3}  Read entire chapter 39 [ Time of Trouble ]

Original Quotation:    Then I saw Jesus lay off His priestly attire and clothe Himself with His most kingly robes. Upon His head were many crowns, a crown within a crown. Surrounded by the angelic host, He left heaven. The plagues were falling upon the inhabitants of the earth. Some were denouncing God and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of God and begged to be taught how they might escape His judgments. But the saints had nothing for them. The last tear for sinners had been shed, the last agonizing prayer offered, the last burden borne, the last warning given. The sweet voice of mercy was no more to invite them. When the saints, and all heaven, were interested for their salvation, they had no interest for themselves. Life and death had been set before them. Many desired life, but made no effort to obtain it. They did not choose life, and now there was no atoning blood to cleanse the guilty, no compassionate Saviour to plead for them, and cry, “Spare, spare the sinner a little longer.” All heaven had united with Jesus, as they heard the fearful words, “It is done. It is finished.” The plan of salvation had been accomplished, but few had chosen to accept it. And as mercy’s sweet voice died away, fear and horror seized the wicked. With terrible distinctness they heard the words, “Too late! too late!” { EW 281.1} 

   the    t h i r d      p l a g u e   

Original Quotation:    I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob’s trouble. Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The 144,000 triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God. Then I was shown a company who were howling in agony. On their garments was written in large characters, “Thou art weighed in the balance, and found wanting.” I asked who this company were. The angel said, “These are they who have once kept the Sabbath and have given it up.” I heard them cry with a loud voice, “We have believed in Thy coming, and taught it with energy.” And while they were speaking, their eyes would fall upon their garments and see the writing, and then they would wail aloud. I saw that they had drunk of the deep waters, and fouled the residue with their feet—trodden the Sabbath underfoot—and that was why they were weighed in the balance and found wanting. { EW 36.2}  ( Read entire section about The Sealing )  Also see RH, Aug. 1, 1849

Original Quotation:    [ see 244.1 above >  When Christ ceases His intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled wrath threatened against those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark ( Revelation 14:9, 10), will be poured out. The plagues upon Egypt when God was about to deliver Israel were similar in character to those more terrible and extensive judgments which are to fall upon the world just before the final deliverance of God’s people. Says the revelator, in describing those terrific scourges: “There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.” The sea “became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” Revelation 16: 2, 3 ]   And “the rivers and fountains of waters ... became blood.” Terrible as these inflictions are, God’s justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of God declares: “Thou art righteous, O Lord, ... because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” Revelation 16:2-6. By condemning the people of God to death, they have as truly incurred the guilt of their blood as if it had been shed by their hands. In like manner Christ declared the Jews of His time guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the days of Abel; for they possessed the same spirit and were seeking to do the same work with these murderers of the prophets. { GC 627.3}  Read entire Chapter 39

    the    f o u r t h      p l a g u e   

Original Quotation:    In the plague that follows, power is given to the sun “to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat.” Verses 8, 9. The prophets thus describe the condition of the earth at this fearful time: “The land mourneth; ... because the harvest of the field is perished.... All the trees of the field are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” “The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate.... How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture.... The rivers of water are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.” “The songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.” Joel 1:10-12, 17-20; Amos 8:3. { GC 628.1} 
These plagues are not universal, or the inhabitants of the earth would be wholly cut off. Yet they will be the most awful scourges that have ever been known to mortals. All the judgments upon men, prior to the close of probation, have been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood of Christ has shielded the sinner from receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in the final judgment, wrath is poured out unmixed with mercy. { GC 628.2}  Read entire Chapter 39

   the    f i f t h      p l a g u e   

Original Quotation:  With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their murderous rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God’s covenant and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness. { GC 635.3 }

By the people of God a voice, clear and melodious, is heard, saying, “Look up,” and lifting their eyes to the heavens, they behold the bow of promise. The black, angry clouds that covered the firmament are parted, and like Stephen they look up steadfastly into heaven and see the glory of God and the Son of man seated upon His throne. In His divine form they discern the marks of His humiliation; and from His lips they hear the request presented before His Father and the holy angels: “I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.” John 17:24. Again a voice, musical and triumphant, is heard, saying: “They come! they come! holy, harmless, and undefiled. They have kept the word of My patience; they shall walk among the angels;” and the pale, quivering lips of those who have held fast their faith utter a shout of victory. { GC 636.1} 
It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying: “It is done.” Revelation 16:17. { GC 636.2}   Read entire Chapter 40

   g o d' s    l a w    a p p e a r s    i n    t h e   s k y   

Original Quotation:    While these words of holy trust ascend to God, the clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial city streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet: “The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself.” Psalm 50:6. That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth.  { GC 639.1}   Read entire Chapter 40  'God's People Delivered'

   the    l o s t    c o n d e m n    t h e i r    f a l s e    s h e p h e r d s      

Original Quotation:     Upon those who have taken upon them the work of shepherds of the flock, will be visited the heaviest judgments, because they have presented to the people fables instead of truth. Children will rise up and curse their parents. Church members, who have seen the light and been convicted, but who have trusted the salvation of their souls to the minister, will learn in the day of God that no other soul can pay the ransom for their transgression. A terrible cry will be raised, “I am lost, eternally lost.” Men will feel as though they could rend in pieces the ministers who have preached falsehoods and condemned the truth. The pure truth for this time requires a reformation in the life, but they separate themselves from the love of the truth, and of them it can be said, “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.” The Lord sends a message to the people, “Set a trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law” (Letter 30, 1900).  { 4BC 1157.2 } 

Same quote in MR vol. 19:   With His own finger God wrote His commandments on two tables of stone. These tables were not left in the keeping of men, but were placed in the ark; and in the great day when every case is decided, these tables, inscribed with the commandments, will be placed so that all the world will see and understand. The witness against them will be unanswerable. And upon those who have taken upon them the work of shepherds of the flock, will be visited the heaviest judgments, because they have presented to the people fables instead of truth. Children will rise up and curse their parents. Church members, who have seen the light and been convicted, but who have trusted the salvation of their souls to the minister, will learn in the day of God that no other soul can pay the ransom for their transgression. A terrible cry will be raised, “I am lost, eternally lost.” Men will feel as though they could rend in pieces the ministers who have preached falsehoods and condemned the truth. The pure truth for this time requires a reformation in the life, but they separate themselves from the love of the truth, and of them it can be said, “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.” The Lord sends a message to the people, “Set a trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed My covenant and trespassed against My law.”—Letter 30, 1900. { 19MR 265.3 } 

Original Quotation:     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. { GC 655.4}   Read entire Chapter 41

Original Quotation:     Here we see that the church— the Lord’s sanctuary —was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God’s power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus “Peace and safety” is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together. { 5T 211.2} 

Original Quotation:    It is coming now to be seen that the false shepherds have turned men away from the laws of the kingdom of God to exault their own theories and suppervisions. The prevailing impiety in the world, the wickedness which has been growing to such fearful proportions, is the result of their own man-made theories in opposition to God's law. Their work will soon react upon themselves. Then will be witnessed the scenes described in Revelation 18 when the judgments of God shall fall upon mystical Babylon.— { 15LtMs, Ms 60, 1900, par. 17 }

   the     s i x t h      p l a g u e   

Original Quotation:  Fearful sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed in the heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons. The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the whole world, to fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite with Satan in his last struggle against the government of heaven. By these agencies, rulers and subjects will be alike deceived. [ Quoted p. 157.3 > Persons will arise pretending to be Christ Himself, and claiming the title and worship which belong to the world’s Redeemer. They will perform wonderful miracles of healing and will profess to have revelations from heaven contradicting the testimony of the Scriptures. ]  { GC 624.1 }   Read entire chapter 39

Original Quotation:   ( Revelation 12:12.)  Satan Mustering His Forces for Last Battle — The present is a solemn, fearful time for the church. The angels are already girded, awaiting the mandate of God to pour their vials of wrath upon the world. Destroying angels are taking up the work of vengeance; for the Spirit of God is gradually withdrawing from the world.  Satan is also mustering his forces of evil, going forth “unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world,” to gather them under his banner, to be trained for “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Satan is to make most powerful efforts for the mastery in the last great conflict. Fundamental principles will be brought out, and decisions made in regard to them. Skepticism is prevailing everywhere. Ungodliness abounds. The faith of individual members of the church will be tested as though there were not another person in the world (Manuscript 1a, 1890). { 7BC 983.1 } 

Original Quotation is same:      After John’s description in Revelation 16 of that miracle-working power which was to gather the world to the last great conflict, the symbols are dropped, and the trumpet voice once more gives a certain sound. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” [Revelation 16:15].  After the transgression of Adam and Eve, they were naked, for the garment of light and security had departed from them. The world will have forgotten the admonition and warnings of God, as did the inhabitants of the Noatic world; as did also the dwellers in Sodom. They awoke with all their plans and inventions of iniquity; but suddenly the shower of fire came from heaven and consumed the godless inhabitants. “Thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” [Luke 17:30]. { 14MR 96.2 } 

Continue to the enxt paragraph:    The world full of rioting, full of godless pleasure, is asleep, asleep in carnal security, putting afar off the coming of the Lord, laughing at warnings, calling those who try to arouse their attention, almost fanatics, enthusiasts, not levelheaded. The lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God are taken unawares. This is the proud boast that is made, “All things remain as they were from the beginning. Tomorrow shall be as this day, only much more abundant.” We will go deeper into pleasure loving. But, said Christ, “Behold I come as a thief.” When the scorner, the rejecter of truth has become presumptuous, when the routine of work in the various money-making lines is being carried on without regard to principle, when the student is fully engaged in ambitious aims to obtain knowledge of everything but the Bible, Christ comes as a thief. The warning has been given, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up” [Matthew 24:42, 43]. Every hour that passes is one hour less for you to make preparation of character for this great event.—Manuscript 7a, 1896. { 14MR 97.1 } 

  the   l a s t    g r e a t     b a t t l e    between   good   and   evil

Bible Commentary on Rev. 16:   verse 14-16 ( Ephesians 6:12; see EGW comment on Revelation 5:11). Two Opposing Powers — Two great opposing powers are revealed in the last great battle. On one side stands the Creator of heaven and earth. All on His side bear His signet. They are obedient to His commands. On the other side stands the prince of darkness, with those who have chosen apostasy and rebellion ( Review and Herald, May 7, 1901). { 7BC 982.8 } 

Original quote in RH is the same:  There are only two classes in the world today, and only two classes will be recognized in the Judgment,—those who violate God’s law, and those who keep His law. Two great opposing powers are revealed in the last great battle. On one side stands the Creator of heaven and earth. All on His side bear His signet. They are obedient to His commands. On the other side stands the Prince of darkness, with those who have chosen apostasy and rebellion. { RH May 7, 1901, Art. A, par. 10 }

Continuing in RH:  When the judgment shall sit, and every one shall be judged by the things written in the books, the authority of God’s law will be looked upon in a light altogether different from that in which it is now regarded by the Christian world. Satan has blinded their eyes and confused their understanding, as he blinded and confused Adam and Eve, and led them into transgression. The law of Jehovah is great, even as its Author is great. In the Judgment it will be recognized as holy, just, and good in all its requirements. Those who transgress this law will find that they have a serious account to settle with God; for His claims are decisive. { RH May 7, 1901, par. 11 }
Christ has borne our sins in His own body, and those who accept Him as a personal Saviour are free from the penalty of the law. Jesus has been made the propitiation for our sin, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” { RH May 7, 1901, par. 12 }

Original Quotation is the same:    A terrible conflict is before us. We are nearing the battle of the great day of God Almighty. That which has been held in control is to be let loose. The angel of mercy is folding her wings, preparing to step down from the throne, and leave the world to the control of Satan. The principalities and powers of earth are in bitter revolt against the God of heaven. They are filled with hatred against those who serve him, and soon, very soon, will be fought the last great battle between good and evil. The earth is to be the battlefield—the scene of the final contest and the final victory. Here, where for so long Satan has led men against God, rebellion is to be forever suppressed. { RH May 13, 1902, par. 13 }

Continuing in RH:   God’s people are to bear a hold, decided testimony for the truth, unfolding the purposes of God by the witness of pen and voice. In place after place, they are to proclaim the message of God’s word. By converted, sanctified, holy men and women the message of warning is to be proclaimed, that the prayer may be answered, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” { RH May 13, 1902, par. 14 }
All heaven is in activity, and the angels of God are waiting to co-operate with those who will devise plans by which the souls for whom Christ died may hear the glad tidings of salvation. Angels who minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, are saying to every true saint, “There is work for you to do. Go, stand and speak to the people all the words of this life.” { RH May 13, 1902,  par. 15 }

Original Quotation:    To us, as to Peter, the word is spoken, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” Luke 22:31, 32. Christ will never abandon those for whom He has died. We may leave Him and be overwhelmed with temptation, but Christ can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom of His own life. Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves, and ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying quickly to the aid of these tempted ones, forcing back the hosts of evil that encompass them, and placing their feet on the sure foundation. The battles waging between the two armies are as real as those fought by the armies of this world, and on the issue of the spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend. { Prophets and Kings, page 175.3}   Read entire Chapter 13

  all   the   world   will   be   gathered   on   one   side   or   the   other

Selected Quotation in Vol. 3:     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 and all the world will be on one side or the other of the question. { 3SM 425.5} 

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. [see 238.1 above > 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. < end 238.1]  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. { 3SM 426.1} 

Original Quotation:  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. Wide awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our vessels with our lamps. What is this?—Grace. Grace! { 8MR 347.1 } 
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.— Letter 112, 1890, pp. 3, 4. (To Edson and Emma, and Willie White, December 22, 1890.) { 8MR 347.2 } 

Original Quotation:   Since 1845 the dangers of the people of God have from time to time been laid open before me, and I have been shown the perils that would thicken about the remnant in the last days. These perils have been revealed to me down to the present time. Great scenes are soon to open before us. The Lord is coming with power and great glory. And Satan knows that his usurped authority will soon be forever at an end. His last opportunity to gain control of the world is now before him, and he will make most decided efforts to accomplish the destruction of the inhabitants of the earth. Those who believe the truth must be as faithful sentinels on the watchtower, or Satan will suggest specious reasonings to them, and they will give utterance to opinions that will betray sacred, holy trusts. The enmity of Satan against good will be manifested more and more as he brings his forces into activity in his last work of rebellion; and every soul that is not fully surrendered to God, and kept by divine power, will form an alliance with Satan against heaven, and join in battle against the Ruler of the universe. { TM 464.3} 

Original Quotation:   The great conflict that Satan created in the heavenly courts is soon, very soon, to be forever decided. Soon all the inhabitants of the earth will have taken sides, either for or against the government of heaven. Now, as never before, Satan is exercising his deceiving power to mislead and to destroy every unguarded soul. We are called upon to arouse the people to prepare for the great issues before them. We must give warning to those who are standing on the very brink of ruin. God’s people are to put forth every power in combating Satan’s falsehoods and pulling down his strongholds. To every human being in the wide world who will give heed, we are to make plain the principles at stake in the great controversy—principles upon which hangs the eternal destiny of the soul. To the people far and near we are to bring home the question: “Are you following the great apostate in disobedience to God’s law, or are you following the Son of God, who declared, ‘I have kept My Father’s commandments’?” { 7T 141.2} 

    the     s e v e n t h     p l a g u e    

Bible Commentary on Rev. 16:     14-17 ( Revelation 18:1). The Armies of God Take the Field— We need to study the pouring out of the seventh vial. The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of Armageddon. When the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel of Revelation eighteen, the religious elements, good and evil, will awake from slumber, and the armies of the living God will take the field  (Manuscript 175, 1899). { 7BC 983.2 } 

Original Quotation:   We need to study the pouring out of the seventh vial. The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of Armageddon. When the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel of Revelation eighteen, the religious elements, good and evil, will awake from slumber, and the armies of the living God will take the field. { Mar 257.2} 

Bible Commentary on Rev. 16:      13-16 ( Revelation 13:13, 14}    The battle of Armageddon is soon to be fought. He on whose vesture is written the name, King of kings and Lord of lords, leads forth the armies of heaven on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean and white (Manuscript 172, 1899). { 7BC 982.5 } 

Appears in Testimonies, Vol. 7:   The battle of Armageddon is soon to be fought. He on whose vesture is written the name, King of kings, and Lord of lords, is soon to lead forth the armies of heaven. { 6T 406.3} 
It cannot now be said by the Lord’s servants, as it was by the prophet Daniel: “The time appointed was long.” Daniel 10:1. It is now but a short time till the witnesses for God will have done their work in preparing the way of the Lord. { 6T 406.4} 

Original Quotation:    That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, “such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” Verses 17, 18. The firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the throne of God seems flashing through. The mountains shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming tempest. The sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of a hurricane like the voice of demons upon a mission of destruction. The whole earth heaves and swells like the waves of the sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain chains are sinking. Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports that have become like Sodom for wickedness are swallowed up by the angry waters. Babylon the great has come in remembrance before God, “to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” Great hailstones, every one “about the weight of a talent,” are doing their work of destruction. Verses 19, 21. The proudest cities of the earth are laid low. The lordly palaces, upon which the world’s great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves, are crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent asunder, and God’s people, who have been held in bondage for their faith, are set free. { GC 636.3}  Read entire Chapter 40  [ God's People Delivered ]

          Session # 13 on Nov. 23, 2021        The floor was open to favorites from Chapter 17 about  Seven Last Plagues on the Wicked.            Favorites:  238.2  --  240.1  --  241.2  --  242.5  --  243.2  --  246.2  --  247.3  --  250.3  --  251.2 

      Internet radio audience was 156,920 people worldwide.