The Time of Trouble
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“At that time
shall Michael stand up, the great
Prince which standeth for the
children of thy people; and there
shall be a time of trouble, such as
never was since there was a nation
even to the same time; and at that
time thy people shall be delivered,
everyone that shall be written in the
book.” Daniel 12:1.
When the third
angel’s messages closes, mercy
no longer pleads for the guilty
inhabitants of the earth. The people
of God have accomplished their work.
They have received “the latter
rain,” “the refreshing from
the presence of the Lord,” and
they are prepared for the trying hour
before them. Angels are hastening to
and fro in heaven. An angel returning
from the earth announces that his
work is done; the final test has been
brought upon the world, and all who
have proved themselves loyal to the
divine precepts have received
“the seal of the living
God.” Then Jesus ceases His
intercession in the sanctuary above.
He lifts His hands and with a loud
voice says, “It is done,”
and all the angelic host lay off
their crowns as He makes the solemn
announcement: “He that is
unjust, let him be unjust still: and
he which is filthy, let him be filthy
still: and he that is righteous, let
him be righteous still: and he that
is holy, let him be holy still.”
Revelation 22:11. Every case has been
decided for life or death. Christ has
made the atonement for His people and
blotted out their sins. The number of
His subjects is made up; “the
kingdom and dominion, and the
greatness of the kingdom under the
whole heaven,” is about to be
given to their heirs of salvation,
and Jesus is to reign as King of
kings and Lord of lords.
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 a
intercessor. The restraint that 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last withdrawn.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 that
that which came upon Jerusalem of
old.
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
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.
Those who honor the
law of God have been accused of
bringing judgments upon the world,
and they will be regarded as the
cause of the fearful convulsions of
nature and the strife and bloodshed
among men that are filling the earth
with woe. The power attending the
last warning has enraged the wicked;
their anger is kindled against all
who have received the message, and
Satan will excite to still greater
intensity the spirit of hatred and
persecution.
When God’s
presence was finally withdrawn form
the Jewish nation, priests and people
knew it not. Though under the control
of Satan, and swayed by the most
horrible and malignant passions, they
still regarded themselves as the
chosen of God. The ministration in
the temple continued; sacrifices were
offered upon its polluted altars, and
daily the divine blessing was invoked
upon a people guilty of the blood of
God’s dear Son and seeking to
slay His ministers and apostles. So
when the irrevocable decision of the
sanctuary has been pronounced and the
destiny of the world has been forever
fixed, the inhabitants of the earth
will know it not. The forms of
religion will be continued by a
people whom the Spirit of God has
been finally withdrawn; and the
satanic zeal with which the prince of
evil will inspire them for the
accomplishment of his malignant
designs, will bear the semblance zeal
for God.
As the Sabbath has
become the special point of
controversy throughout Christendom,
and religious and secular authorities
have combined to enforce the
observance of Sunday, the persistent
refusal of a small minority to yield
to the popular demand will make them
objects of universal execration. It
will be urged that the few who stand
in opposition to an institution of
the church and a law of the state
ought not be tolerated; that it is
better for them to suffer than for
whole nations to be thrown into
confusion and lawlessness. The
“rulers of the people”
brought the same argument eighteen
hundred years ago against Christ.
“It is expedient for us,”
said the wily Caiaphas, ‘that
one man should die for the people,
and that the whole nation perish
not.” John 11:50. This argument
will appear conclusive, and a decree
will finally be issued against those
who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth
commandment, denouncing them as
deserving of the severest punishment
and giving the people liberty, after
a certain time, to put them to death.
Romanism in the Old World and
apostate Protestantism in the New
will pursue a similar course toward
those who honor all the divine
precepts.
The people of God will
then be plunged into those scenes of
affliction and distress described by
the prophet as the time of
Jacob’s trouble. “Thus
saith the Lord: We have heard a voice
of trembling, of fear, and not of
peace….All faces are turned in
paleness. Alas! For that day is
great, so that none is like it; it is
even the time of Jacob’s
trouble; but he shall be saved out of
it.” Jeremiah 30: 5-7.
Jacob’s night of
anguish, when he wrestled in prayer
for deliverance from the hand of Esau
(Genesis 32: 24-30), represents the
experience of God’s people in
the time of trouble. Because of the
deception practiced to secure his
father’s blessing, intended for
Esau, Jacob had fled for his life,
alarmed by his brother’s deadly
threats. After remaining for many
years an exile, he had set out, at
God’s command, to return with
his wives and children, his flocks
and herds, to his native country. On
reaching the borders of the land, he
was filled with terror by the tidings
of Esau’s approach at the head
of a band of warriors, doubtless bent
on revenge. Jacob’s company,
unarmed and defenseless, seemed about
to fall helpless victims of violence
and slaughter. And to the burden of
anxiety and fear was added the
crushing weight of self-reproach, for
it was his own sin that had brought
this danger. His only hope was in the
mercy of God; his only defense must
be prayer. Yet, he leaves nothing
undone on his part to atone for the
wrong to his brother and to avert the
threatened danger. Therefore, should
the followers of Christ, as they
approach the time of trouble, make
every exertion to place themselves in
a proper light before the people, to
disarm prejudice, and to avert the
danger that threatens liberty of
conscience.
Having sent his family
away, that they may not witness his
distress, Jacob remains alone to
intercede with God. He confesses his
sin and gratefully acknowledges the
mercy of God toward him while with
deep humiliation he pleads the
covenant made with his fathers and
the promises to himself in the night
vision at Bethel and in the land of
his exile. The crisis in his life has
come; everything is at stake. In the
darkness and solitude he continues
praying and humbling himself before
God. Suddenly a hand is laid upon his
shoulder. He thinks that an enemy is
seeking his life, and with all the
energy of despair, he wrestles with
his assailant. As the day begins to
break, the stranger puts forth his
supernatural power; at his touch, the
strong man seems paralyzed, and he
falls, a helpless, weeping suppliant,
upon the neck of his mysterious
antagonist. Jacob knows now that it
is the Angel of the covenant with
whom he has been in conflict. Though
disabled and suffering the keenest
pain, he does not relinquish his
purpose. Long has he endured
perplexity, remorse, and trouble for
his sin; now he must have the
assurance that it is pardoned. The
divine visitant seems about to
depart; but Jacob clings to Him,
pleading for a blessing. The Angel
urges, “Let Me go, for the day
breaketh;” but the patriarch
exclaims, “I will not let Thee
go, except Thou bless me.” What
confidence, what firmness and
perseverance, are here displayed! Had
this been a boastful, presumptuous
claim, Jacob would have been
instantly destroyed; but his was
assurance of one who confesses his
weakness and unworthiness, yet trusts
the mercy of a covenant-keeping God.
“He had the power
over the Angel, and prevailed.”
Hosea 12:4. Through humiliation,
repentance, and self-surrender, this
sinful, erring mortal prevailed with
the Majesty of heaven. He had
fastened his trembling grasp upon the
promises of God, and the heart of
Infinite Love could not turn away the
sinner’s plea. As an evidence of
his triumph and an encouragement to
others to imitate his example, his
name was changed from one that was a
reminder of his sin, to one that
commemorated his victory. Moreover,
the fact that Jacob had prevailed
with God was an assurance that he
would prevail with men. He no longer
feared to encounter his
brother’s anger, for the Lord
was his defense.
Satan had accused
Jacob before the angels of God,
claiming the right to destroy him
because of his sin; he had moved upon
Esau to march against him; and during
the patriarch’s long night of
wrestling, Satan endeavored to force
upon him a sense of his guilt in
order to discourage him and break his
hold upon God. Jacob was driven
almost to despair; but he knew that
without help from heaven he must
perish. He had sincerely repented of
his great sin, and he appealed to the
mercy of God. He would not be turned
from his purpose, but held fast the
Angel and urges his petition with
earnest, agonizing cries until he
prevailed.
As Satan influenced
Esau to march against Jacob, so he
will stir up the wicked to destroy
God’s people in the time of
trouble. As he accused Jacob, he will
urge his accusations against the
people of God. He numbers the world
as his subjects; but the little
company who keep the commandments of
God is resisting his supremacy. If he
could blot them from the earth, his
triumph would be complete. He sees
that holy angels are guarding them,
and he infers that their sins have
been pardoned; but he does not know
that their cases have been decided in
the sanctuary above. He has an
accurate knowledge of the sins that
he has tempted them to commit, and he
presents these before God in the most
exaggerated light, representing this
people to be just as deserving as
himself of expulsion from the favor
of God. He declares that the Lord
cannot in justice forgive their sins
and yet destroy him and his angels.
He claims them as his prey and
demands that they be given into his
hands to destroy.
As Satan accuses the
people of God on account of their
sins, the Lord permits him to try
them to the uttermost. Their
confidence in God, their faith and
firmness, will be severely tested. As
they review the past, their hopes
sink; for in their whole lives they
can see little good. They are fully
conscience of their weakness and
unworthiness. Satan endeavors to
terrify them with the thought that
their cases are hopeless, that the
stain of their defilement will never
be washed away. He hopes so to
destroy their faith that they will
yield to his temptations and turn
from their allegiance to
God.
Though God’s
people will be surrounded by enemies
who are bent upon their destruction,
yet the anguish which they suffer is
not a dread of persecution for the
truth’s sake; they fear that
every sin has not been repented of,
and that through some fault in
themselves they will fail to realize
the fulfillment of the Savior’s
promise: I “will keep thee from
the hour of temptation, which shall
come upon all the world.”
Revelation 3:10. If they could have
the assurance of pardon, they would
not shrink from torture or death; but
should they prove unworthy, and lose
their lives because of their own
defeats of character, then God’s
holy name would be reproached.
On every hand, they
hear the plottings of treason and see
the active working of rebellion; and
there is aroused within them an
intense desire, an earnest yearning
of soul, that this great apostasy may
be terminated and the wickedness of
the wicked may come to an end.
However, while they plead with God to
stay the work of rebellion, it is
with a keen sense of self-reproach
that they themselves have no more
power to resist and urge back the
mighty tide of evil. They feel that
had they always employed all their
ability in the service of Christ,
going forward from strength to
strength, Satan’s forces would
have less power to prevail against
them.
They afflict their
souls before God, pointing to their
past repentance of their many sins,
and pleading the Savior’s
promise: “Let him take hold of
My strength, that he may make peace
with Me; and he shall make peace with
Me.” Isaiah 27: 5. Their faith
does not fail because their prayers
are not immediately answered. Though
suffering the keenest anxiety,
terror, and distress, they do not
cease their intercessions. They lay
hold of the strength of God as Jacob
laid hold of the Angel; and the
language of their souls is: “I
will not let Thee go, except Thou
bless me.”
Had not Jacob
previously repented of his sin in
obtaining the birthright by fraud,
God would not have heard his prayer
and mercifully preserved his life.
Therefore, in the time of trouble, if
the people of God had unconfessed
sins to appear before them while
tortured with fear and anguish, they
would be overwhelmed; despair would
cut off their faith, and they could
not have a confidence to plead with
God for deliverance. However, while
they have a deep sense of their
unworthiness, they have no concealed
wrongs to reveal. Their sins have
gone beforehand to judgment and have
been blotted out, and they cannot
bring them to remembrance.
Satan leads many to
believe that God will overlook their
unfaithfulness in minor affairs of
life; but the Lord shows in His
dealings with Jacob that He will in
no wise sanction or tolerate evil.
Satan will overcome all who endeavor
to excuse or conceal their sins, and
permit them to remain upon the books
of heaven, unconfessed and
unforgiven. The more exalted their
profession and the more honorable the
position that they hold, the more
grievous is their course in the sight
of God and the more sure the triumph
of their great adversary. Those who
delay a preparation for the days of
God cannot obtain it in the time of
trouble or at any subsequent time.
The case of all such is hopeless.
Those professed
Christians who come up to the last
fearful conflict unprepared will, in
their despair, confess their sins in
words of burning anguish, while the
wicked exult over their distress.
These confessions are of the same
character as was that of Esau or of
Judas. Those who make them, lament
the result of transgression,
but not its guilt. They feel no true
contrition, no abhorrence of evil.
They acknowledge their sin, through
fear of punishment; but, like Pharaoh
of old, they would return to their
defiance of Heaven should the
judgments be removed.
Jacob’s history
is also an assurance that God will
not cast off those who have been
deceived and tempted and betrayed
into sin, but who have returned unto
Him with true repentance. While Satan
seeks to destroy this class, God will
send His angels to comfort and
protect them in the time of peril.
The assaults of Satan are fierce and
determined, his delusions are
terrible; but the Lord’s eye us
upon His people, and His ear listens
to their cries. Their affliction is
great, the flames of the furnace seem
about to consume them; but the
Refiner will bring them forth as gold
tried in the fire. God’s love
for His children during the period of
their severest trial is as strong and
tender as in the days of their
sunniest prosperity; but it is
needful for them to be placed in the
furnace of fire; their earthliness
must be consumed, that the image of
Christ may be perfectly reflected.
The season of distress
and anguish before us will require a
faith that can endure weariness,
delay, and hunger – a faith that
will not faint though severely tried.
The period of probation is granted to
all to prepare for that time. Jacob
prevailed because he was persevering
and determined. His victory is an
evidence of the power of importunate
prayer. All who will lay hold of
God’s promises, as he did, and
be as earnest and persevering as he
was, will succeed as he succeeded.
Those who are unwilling to deny self,
to agonize before God, to pray long
and earnestly for His blessing, will
not obtain it. Wrestling with God
– how few know what it is! How
few have ever had their souls drawn
out after God with intensity of
desire until every power is on the
stretch. When waves of despair that
no language can express sweep over
the suppliant, how cling with
unyielding faith to the promises of
God.
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