Nature and Extent of Coming Judgments
By Editor
Now that there is to be, at some period of time, an utter destruction of all the inhabitants of the earth, no one who reads the prophecies can deny. Had we the privilege of framing the testimony to our own liking, it would be impossible to present it in language more clear and emphatic. I will now notice a few points in these passages which will serve the twofold purpose of showing the identity of these with certain events spoken of in the New Testament, and of locating the chronology of these judgments, or fixing the time of their execution. 1. This warning is to be given—not because the day of the Lord is nearly expired, nor yet because it is come, but—because the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, and hasteth greatly. The people are to be warned of those events which are to transpire when that day is ushered in. And this shows that these judgments are identical with those spoken of in the Revelation, which will be inflicted in close connection with the coming of the Son of man. See the promise to the church of Philadelphia. "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Rev. 3 : 10, 11. 2. This alarm is sounded when a great battle, or universal war, is pending. It is said in the time of the sixth plague, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." And that this coincides with the others in time, and is fulfilled at the second advent, is proved by the next verse, "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth." Rev. 16 : 13, 15. 3. The kings and nations shall certainly drink of the wrath of God. Even if they refuse, their refusal is of no avail; it is too late. This threatening must be identical with that of the third angel's message of Rev. 14 : 9-12, which refers to the plagues (under which the great battle will be fought), in which it is said they "shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation." By comparison, we learn that Eze. 9 : 5, 6, is parallel with these, where this order is given to them that have the slaughter weapons: "Let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity. Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women." These all refer directly to the time when the Saviour ceases to plead with the Father in behalf of sinful men, and judgment without mercy is made manifest. 4. The voice of God is heard from on high in the midst of these awful scenes. In the description quoted from Jer. 25, it is said, "The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation;" "he shall give a shout as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth." When Joel foretold the gathering of all nations, and all the heathen to the valley of Jehoshaphat, he said, "The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake." Joel 3 : 15, 16. In the book of Revelation, we are informed that this takes place at the closing of the plagues. "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done." Rev. 16 : 17. Jesus says, as quoted, when the sixth vial is poured out, under which the nations are gathered to battle, "Behold, I come quickly." Therefore all must admit that the pouring out of the seventh and last plague, when the voice of God is heard, is in immediate connection with the coming of Christ. And of this time, the Saviour said, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven." Matt. 24 : 29, 30. But the prophet says it is the voice of God from on high that shakes "the powers of the heavens," and with this agree the words of Paul, "For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." Heb. 12 : 25, 26. Again, the prophet says, "They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Isa. 2 : 19. See verses 10-12, 17-21; also chap. 13 : 6-13. And with these agree the words of John, "And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand." Rev. 6 : 14-17. And Paul shows that the wrath of the Lamb is manifested at his coming, 2 Thess. 1 : 7, 8. And thus it is clearly proved that all these judgments come on the earth at the second advent, and not afterward. 5. When these judgments come, God's people will be delivered. It has been claimed that there are exceptions to these general declarations, which is true only if the righteous can be said to form an exceptional class. But I think the claim is not just; instead of the righteous being exceptions to these declarations, they are a separate class, to whom these declarations will not apply. And there are no exceptions of the wicked. There can be only two classes—the righteous and the wicked. The Scriptures do not teach that there is a class between those who are under the law, and those under grace. There is no recognized middle ground between condemnation and justification and there is no justification except through faith in Christ. And if vengeance be taken "on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," of course they only will escape who know God and obey the gospel. When the Lord says "he will plead with all flesh," it is to "give them that are wicked to the sword." Jer. 25 : 31. He will "lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isa. 13 : 9. Again, when the earth is utterly emptied, "the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." Isa. 24 : 6. Those these few men are, may be learned from verses 13, 14. When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice; they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord. The righteous will sing for the majesty of the Lord when the judgments of God are made manifest upon the nations. Rev. 15 : 1-3. The few men are not "left" upon the earth, else the earth would not be made waste and "utterly emptied," but they are left from the burning. The prophet Joel says, "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and earth shall shake." Jeremiah, speaking of the same time and event, says, he shall "shout against all the inhabitants of the land." But Joel adds, "But the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Daniel had a view of the same overthrow of theudgment, and to him the angel said, "There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Dan. 12 : 1. This is when Michael stands up, or reigns. It is therefore evident that this deliverance takes place at the coming of Christ, and not at any future time. Proof on this point might be greatly enlarged from the New Testament, but it cannot be necessary.