p. 597 | Condition of the Earth by Elder J. H. Durland

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 31, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 38.

Condition of the Earth

By Elder J. H. Durland

THE MILLENNIAL REIGN. NO. 3.

Condition of the Earth.

LOOKING forward to the great day of the Lord, the prophet declares, "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down." Jer. 4:23-26. When is this to take place? - "At the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger." Never but once since God spake the world into existence has it been utterly desolated. At the flood the earth was drowned. The foundations of the deep were broken up, and desolation reigned. Of this time the apostle says, "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." 2 Peter 3:6. But he who spake to the earth in the beginning, when it was void and without form, and brought it into an organized state, will speak again, and it will be again without form and void. When he drowned it, he left the few that trusted him upon the face of the deep until he brought it forth again. But when he again destroys it, he will remove his people to the mansions prepared for them. Then will the earth be like a desolate wilderness. The trees will be uprooted, cities and villages destroyed by great earthquakes, great rugged rocks are thrown out of the sea, or hurled from the mountains, leaving vast caverns to mark the spot where once was order and beauty. Instead of light, darkness reigns. The "strong man" has marred the work of God by sin, and has boasted that he will possess it forever as his kingdom. The long-suffering of God has waited for six thousand years, but now he ariseth and girdeth himself for the battle. The faithful High priest now does his last work in the heavenly sanctuary.

He has uttered the decree, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." He who has borne the sins of his people so long, now throws down the censer, and casts aside the priestly robe, ready to cast the sins he has so long borne back upon the head of the antitypical scapegoat, Satan. He who has brought sin into the world must bear it in the wilderness. The strong man must be bound and his house spoiled.

Satan Bound.

"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him." Rev. 20:2, 3.

"Bottomless pit" in this passage is synonymous with the expression "without form and void" in Gen. 1:2. This earth in its desolate condition becomes the home of Satan for one thousand years. He cannot tempt the righteous, for they are with Jesus in the New Jerusalem. He cannot deceive the wicked, for they are all dead. Thus he is bound. He cannot appear at the gates of the city of God, for he is shut up and a seal is set upon his prison house. When he had Christ in his prison house, he had a seal set upon him that no man might steal his body. Now Jesus, who has come to destroy the mighty one, casts him into his own prison house and sets a seal that no power but his own can break. He must remain a prisoner for one thousand years. Here he will have the privilege of counseling with those angels that joined him in his rebellion, and were cast out of heaven. They are wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin, which for so many centuries has been their delight.

To this time the prophet looked and exclaimed, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! . . . Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" Isa. 14:12-17.

For six thousand years Satan's power "made the earth to tremble." He it is that brought death into the world, and was glad when he could hold God's creatures in his prison house. For six thousand years his prison house has received God's people, and it was his will to hold them forever, but Christ has broken his bonds, unlocked the prison house, and set the captives free. Even the wicked are beyond his power. "The kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house [the grave]. But thou art cast out of the grave like an abominable branch. . . . Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou

hast destroyed thy land and slain thy people." Isa. 14: 18-20.

During the thousand years Satan will bear the sins of the righteous in the wilderness. Here he will suffer intense anguish and suffering, on account of being deprived of his power and activity. It will be wandering, wandering, with nothing to think of but the terrible wickedness of the past and the awful doom of the future.