"This [the plagues] was regarded by Pharaoh, not
as a work of Gods power, but as a result of magic."Patriarchs
and Prophets, 264.
"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."Great Controversy, 614.
" All the wicked will He destroy . . The
power and authority of the divine government will be employed to put
down rebellion."Great Controversy, 541.
"Although loath to punish, nevertheless He
will punish, and that speedily."5 Testimonies, 209.
"The long-suffering of God is wonderful, because
He puts constraint on His own attributes; but punishment is
nonetheless certain . . and when the time comes, and the iniquity is
full, then God will do His strange work."2 Selected
Messages, 372-373 (Isa 28:21; PP 628).
"It is God who holds in His hands the destiny
of souls. He will not always be mocked; He will not always be trifled
with."5 Testimonies, 234.
"God has given in His Word decisive evidence
that He will punish transgressors of His law. Those who flatter
themselves that He is too merciful to execute justice upon the sinner,
have only to look to the cross of Calvary."Great Controversy,
539-540.
"He will destroy them [the wicked] utterly
and cause them to be as if they had not been; then His justice will be
satisfied."Early Writings, 221.
"In mercy to the world, God blotted out
its wicked inhabitants in Noahs time. In mercy He destroyed
the corrupt dwellers in Sodom . . It is in mercy to the universe
that God will finally destroy the rejecters of His grace."Great
Controversy, 543.
"Abraham had seen in his guests only three tired
wayfarers, little thinking that among them was One whom he might worship
without sin. But the true character of the heavenly messengers was now
revealed . . They were on their way as ministers of wrath . . God is
strict to mark iniquity and to punish transgression . . The work of
destruction is a strange work to Him who is infinite in
love."Patriarchs and Prophets, 138-139.
"While angels drew near on their mission of
destruction, men were dreaming of prosperity and pleasure . . They
rushed upon him [Lot], and would have torn him in pieces had he not been
rescued by the angels of God. The heavenly messengers put forth
their hand, and pulled lot into the house . . The inhabitants of Sodom
had passed the limits of divine forbearancethe hidden boundary
between Gods patience and His wrath. The fires of His vengeance
were about to be revealed in the vale of Siddim. The angels revealed to
Lot the object of their mission: We will destroy this place,
because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and
the Lord hath sent us to destroy it [Gen 19:13] . . Lot went
out to warn his children. He repeated the words of the angels,
Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this
city [Gen 19:14]. He did not realize the terrible necessity
for Gods judgments to put a check on sin . . But for the angels
of God, they would all have perished in the ruin of Sodom. The
heavenly messengers took him . . out of the city. Here the angels left
them, and turned back to Sodom to accomplish their work of
destruction."Patriarchs and Prophets, 157, 159-160.
"For we will destroy this place, because the cry
of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath
sent us to destroy it . . Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and
Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven."Genesis
19:13, 24.
" . . like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger, and in
His wrath."Deuteronomy 29:23 (Eze 16:49-50; Jude 7).
"The judgment which God brought upon the
antediluvian world declared it incurable. The destruction of Sodom
proclaimed the inhabitants of the most beautiful country in the world
incorrigible in sin."Testimonies to Ministers, 75.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually . . And the Lord said, I will destroy
man whom I have created from the face of the earth."Genesis
6:5, 7.
"In Noahs day, men had disregarded the law of
God until almost all remembrance of the Creator had passed away from the
earth. Their iniquity reached so great a height that the Lord brought
a flood of waters upon the earth, and swept away its wicked
inhabitants."Christs Object lessons, 178.
"A hundred and twenty years before the Flood, the Lord by a holy
angel declared to Noah His purpose, and directed him to build an ark.
While building the ark he was to preach that God would bring
a flood of water upon the earth to destroy the wicked. [The
antitype of the Third Angels Warning. Read Revelation 14:9-12]. By
faith Noah, warned of God of things not seen as yet [still future],
moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the
which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which
May we not have a part in lulling them in that fatal
security.
"The day of wrath to the enemies of
God is the day of final deliverance to His church."Prophets
and Kings, 727.
"When the heathen Amorites had set themselves
to resist His purposes, God interposed, casting down great
stones from heaven upon the enemies of Israel. We are told of a
greater battle to take place in the closing scenes of earths
history. [The seven last plagues are then spoken of.]"Patriarchs
and Prophets, 509.
"Revelation 6 and 7 are full of meaning. Terrible
are the judgments of God revealed. The seven angels stood before
God to receive their commission . . when the plagues of God shall come
upon the earth."Maranatha, 284 (Manuscript 59, 1895).
" The Lord cometh out of His place to
punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. "Great
Controversy, 656-657.
"The wrath of God in the seven last plagues
had been visited upon the inhabitants of the earth."Early
Writings, 289.
"For six thousand years the great controversy
has been in progress; the Son of God and His heavenly messengers have
been in conflict with the power of the evil one, to warn, enlighten,
and save the children of men. Now all have made their decisions; the
wicked have fully united with Satan in his warfare against God. The
time has come for God to vindicate the authority of His
downtrodden law. Now the controversy is not alone with Satan, but with
men. The Lord hath a controversy with the nations . . The Lord
cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for
their iniquity. "Great Controversy, 656-657.
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel."Patriarchs
and Prophets, 339-340.
"More terrible manifestations than the world
has ever yet beheld, will be witnessed at the Second Advent of Christ
. . Bow Thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains,
and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot
out Thine arrows, and destroy them . . The earth will be convulsed;
everywhere there will be dreadful earthquakes and eruptions. Thus
God will destroy the wicked from off the earth [at the Second
Advent]."Patriarchs and Prophets, 109-110.
"God went through the proud land of Egypt as He will go through
the earth in the last days. With fire and tempest, earthquake, and
death, the great I AM redeemed His people."Christs Object
lessons, 287.
God is deepest love, mercy, and compassion. This is
part of His character. He is also a God of justice. This is another aspect
of His character. Properly understood, His justice is always a mercy; for
He mercifully executes judgments upon the wicked, just as earlier He
justly extended mercy to them.
Throughout the history of the world, from Cain to just
prior to the Second Advent of Christ, all of the problems in this world
have been caused because of sin; and nearly all of the disasters have been
inflicted by the wicked or directly by Satan. But this does not negate the
fact that God also can and will step in, from time to time, and will
Himself punish incorrigible sinners.
The Bible and Spirit of Prophecy always attributes the
final Second Death to fire sent by God.
It is not wrong for God to kill the incorrigibly
wicked. It is never evil of Him to do this. It is just, fair, right,
and good. And it is not murder. It is never wrong for God to slay the
incorrigibly wicked. But it should be understood that, whenever it occurs,
the sinner was responsible for the result, not God. He only executed the
judgment. In relation to cause and effect, the sinner slew himself.
A terrible storm of Gods wrath against sin and incorrigible sinners
is just before usthe worst storm of this kind in human history. Men
have to be warned of this storm; for it is about to break upon our
world in fullest measure. Before the Flood, God called Noah to warn
mankind of the approaching storm. Today, He calls upon His remnant people
to give the Third Angels Message. This message is the most solemn
warning ever given
to the world. We dare not muffle that message nor turn
from it.
At His first advent, Christ lived a life of mercy. At
His second coming and beyond, down to the final destruction of the wicked,
He will bring justice. The present mercy was shown in His life and the
future judgments in many of His parables (Matt 25, for example).
Remember: It is never wrong for God to be mercifulor
to be just. It is never wrong for God to punish the incorrigibly
wicked by slaying them. Their probation is past. A continuation of their
life would only bring added misery to themselves and everyone around them.
In mercy, they are given death.
It is always dangerous to twist Gods Word in order
to vindicate a personal theory. Yet, in this case, the dangerous part
may not be the theory but the training of the mind in wresting Scripture.
One is thereby emotionally prepared and intellectually trained to tackle
additional wrestings in order to support later erroneous theories,
presented by itinerant preachers or tapesters.
God is wonderful in His love and care. He yearns for
His children to return the strong love that He feels toward them. This
love surpasses that of any creature that He has made. Throughout eternity
we will be studying into the depths of this marvelous compassion and
continually be awed by its immensity. Christs sacrifice on Calvary, His
mediation in the heavenly Sanctuary, and His ministry to fallen beings
through the Holy Spirit will be subjects of special thought through all
time to come. These are topics that angels examine closely. And all the
beings on a thousand worlds will do the same through eternal ages.
In this life there are also trials, perplexities, and
problems. These are permitted by God in order to keep us close by His side
and to help develop in us those attributes that we need. God does not send
them, but He permits them.
But in the case of those who are running from God and,
amid the enchantments of Satan, refuse to acknowledge the blessings or, in
gratitude, return because of themthen God must send judgments.
These judgments are sent to awaken men to their danger
before it is too late. To bring the sinner home or to call straying
children backthese judgments are necessary. And they come by a more
direct intervention of Gods providence.
But there is also a third level of judgments. These are
the judgments upon those hardened in wickedness that come as a punishment
in this life. Such judgments do take place and are necessary. They have
occurred in the past, they are taking place today, and they will increase
in the future.
The Third Angels Message is a direct warning to our
time, that terrible judgments are to increase and a massive fallout of
judgments is soon to deluge earths inhabitants if they do not repent,
return to God, and obey His holy law.
In this present study, we are going to examine the
judgments of God. Our attention will not be on the minor trials and
perplexities of life. We are considering the judgments.
It is a striking fact that, at the very time in human
history when men most need to be warned in regard to these judgments from
God, Satan has arranged matters so that our Western culture is rapidly
moving toward the erroneous concept that wrong should not be punished
and the wicked should not be hurt or killed. It is very clear from
Scripture that this idea is un-Biblical. It is at this very time that
many of the people of God are turning from this important aspect of the
final message and are teaching the opposite, that no judgments or
punishments from God need be expected; for none will take place. There
have never been any in the past and there will be none in the future.
While the world begs for leniency for hardened thieves, rapists, and
murderers, a growing number of Christians are urging toleration and
compromise for the sake of peace; and many among the remnant are viewing
with favor the idea that God has no commanding qualities, no push, and no
punishmentonly a passive love able to be stepped on, and little more.
This error teaches that, if the wicked are ever
punished, someone else will have to decide to do it. God surely wont;
for, though He has mercy, He has no justice.
Some new kind of fire will have to be invented to
destroy the wicked after the millennium because, contrary to Scripture,
none is going to come from God out of heaven for that purpose. Such a view
of haphazard management of affairs is considered quite loving; with the
thought that, instead of a mercifully brief punishment and death of the
wicked by a just God, it is far better to let Satan start the fire and be
placed in charge of hellfire. He will give them excruciating suffering for
a time far longer than God would; but, according to the theory, this will
better show the love of God. It is said that the final fire will
eventually burn out by itself when Satan in the ages to come tires of his
task; then God will step forward and make a new heaven and a new earth.
The center of the Adventist message should be the Third
Angels Message. And here is how this message from God to the world in
our time is described:
"The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals is
contained in the Third Angels Mes
the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. Men are not to
be left in darkness concerning this important matter; the warning
against this sin is to be given to the world before the visitation of
Gods judgments, that all may know why they are to be inflicted, and
have opportunity to escape them. Prophecy declares that the first angel
would make his announcement to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,
and people. The warning of the Third Angel, which forms a part of the
same threefold message, is to be no less widespread. It is represented
in the prophecy as being proclaimed with a loud voice, by an angel
flying in the midst of heaven; and it will command the attention of the
world.
"In the issue of the contest all Christendom
will be divided into two great classesthose who keep the commandments
of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his
image and receive his mark. Although church and state will unite their
power to compel all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond (Rev 13:16), to receive the mark of the beast, yet
the people of God will not receive it."Great Controversy,
449-450.
The truth is that the judgments of God upon sinners is
an act of mercy on His part toward the wicked, the righteous, and the
unfallen worlds.
The truth about the judgments and the wrath of God is a
clear vindication of His character of love and mercy. By a better
understanding of His justice, the great depths of the mercy that
accompanies it is more clearly grasped. God is, indeed, love. And His
justice combined with His mercy is the fullest representation of it. His
love is too mature to permit Satan to be in charge of hellfire. There is
no natural event of nature nor act of man or devil that can mercifully
limit to the very least the amount of suffering that hellfire shall bring
to each one who shall experience itunless God steps in and actively is
in charge of the entire affair.
The burning question is this: Who executes the
judgment? Does God do it? Or does Satan, man, or natural events? The
Inspired Word consistently tells us that Christ alone will be in charge of
hellfire. He who died in painful agony to redeem men from Satan, who
followed men with pleading for most of their lifetime, is the One
qualified to blot from existence those men and angels who have chosen to
live only to hate and mutilate the existence of man and beast.
We all know that any parent who manifests mercy without
justice will ruin his child and cannot really love its best good. Just as
sentimental yielding love, without correction and punishment, by a parent
is not genuine love, so such love on Gods part would not be genuine
either.
It is time that the full character of Godin both of
its aspectswere vindicated in the sight of all men. The Three Angels
Messages of Revelation 14:6-12 was designed for this purpose. We are not
now to turn from this message to unite with the worldlings in their
erroneous concepts.
The last message of mercy to a dying world is a message
of Gods love. We must call people to Calvary and to obedience to His
law. We must urge upon them the truths and standards given by Inspiration.
We must warn them that terrible judgments are soon to fall on the
unrepentant!
It is the height of Gods mercy that He asks
the remnant to give this warning message about His justice. It is the
fullness of His love that urges His children to call men back to obedience
before it is too late.
Here, now, is the truth about the mercy, the justice, and the wrath of
God:
BOOKSTORE