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The Judgments of God and Their Significance

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 28, 1906

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 83, No. 26.

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The Judgments of God and Their Significance

By L. H. PROCTOR

L. H. PROCTOR
“For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Isa. 26:9. A short time prior to the pouring out of the plagues and the coming of Christ, God will visit the earth with judgments, which are intended to cause the wicked to fear and tremble before him, and which will result in the salvation of some souls who would otherwise be lost.
These judgments will yet be so terrible and destructive as to lay cities low, even to the ground, as recorded in verse 2. A description of their severity is given in Isa. 27:17, 18, from which there will be no earthly deliverance. This will cause some in their distress to seek the Lord, for in verse 16 it is said of them, “Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.” We see from the above texts that those who will not be saved in prosperity, God is now trying to save under adversity and chastisement, as stated in verse 10. “Let favor be showed the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness.” In verse 9 we read, “For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” We are now living in the time of these judgments or calamities, for they are to take place in the last days, as signs of Christ’s coming, and they will be so terrible as to cause the people of the earth to be in great perplexity and distress, their hearts even failing them for fear, “for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Luke 21:25-27. The judgments God is especially sending on the earth at present are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, floods, and destructive storms. God has for the last thirty-five years, given his people warning and instruction with reference to these things. I quote from the “Spirit of Prophecy,” Vol. I, pages 81-85 (written in 1870), as follows:
“Before the flood there were immense forests. The trees were many times larger than any trees which we now see. . . .
At the time of the flood, these forests were torn up or broken down and buried in the earth. . . . They have since petrified and become coal, which accounts for the large coal beds which are now found. This coal has produced oil. God causes large quantities of coal and oil to ignite and burn. Rocks are intensely heated, limestone is burned, and iron ore melted. Water and fire under the surface of the earth meet. The action of water upon the limestone adds fury to the intense heat, and causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and fiery issues.
“The action of the fire and water upon the ledges of rocks and ore causes loud explosions which sound like muffled thunder. These wonderful exhibitions will be more numerous and terrible just before the second coming of Christ and the end of the world, as signs of its speedy destruction. . . . When fire and water under the surface of the earth meet, the fiery issues can not give sufficient vent to the heated elements beneath.
“The earth is convulsed, the ground heaves, and rises into swells or waves, and there are heavy sounds like thunder under ground. The air is heated and suffocating. The earth quickly opens, and I saw villages, cities, and burning mountains carried down together into the earth. . . . Greater wonders than have yet been seen will be witnessed by those upon the earth a short period previous to the coming of Christ. . . . Since the flood, God has used both water and fire in the earth as his agents to destroy wicked cities.”
How plainly we can see the predictions, made so long ago by the servant of God, fulfilled before our eyes. We will notice a few scriptures which have special reference to earthquakes and the volcanic disturbances. In Luke 21:11 and Isa. 29:6 special mention is made of the earthquakes, as being sent by the Lord, and in Num. 16:1-34 we find that the Lord has punished wicked persons in times past by earthquakes, for their rebellion and wickedness.
The earthquake was followed by fire (verse 35), the same as the San Francisco earthquake, a few days ago. The volcanoes, or molten hills or mountains, are described in the following texts: Ps. 144:5, 6; 104:31, 32; Isa. 64:1-3; Nahum 1:3-6. These calamities are sent as a punishment for the wickedness of the people as recorded by Micah 1:3-6, where he says, “For the transgression of Jacob and Israel is all this.” Isaiah tells us that these destructions will yet be so great as to cause all hands to faint and every man’s heart to melt. Isa. 13:6, 7. This work of destruction will continue until the Lord shall lay the whole land desolate. Verse 9.
These judgments are an indication that the “time of trouble, such as never was” (Dan. 12:1), is just upon us. What do they mean to the world?—They mean that God is soon to take his Spirit from the world, never to return. They mean that the world has nearly reached the limit of God’s forbearance, and that he is now trying to save under adversity those who would not be saved under prosperity, by showing them the uncertainty of the things of this world. God will, in their need, send them something better and more substantial, and yet he sends these things in love (Rev. 3:19), which will result in the salvation of souls; “for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”
We have already found that the breaking of God’s law is the cause of these judgments and disasters. The people, of course, do not understand this. Will not God’s people, who do understand these things, who know that the world is reaping the result of breaking God’s law, be held responsible for the world’s not knowing it? Let us be faithful in giving the message.
Brooklyn, N. Y.