Chapter XVI: Part VII: Coming Events and Signs of the Times (3)

“After that _he must be loosed a little season_.” Verse 3.

NOTE.—At the close of the one thousand years, Christ, accompanied
by the saints, comes to the earth again, to execute judgment upon
the wicked, and to prepare the earth, by a re-creation, for the
eternal abode of the righteous. At this time, in answer to the
summons of Christ, the wicked dead of all ages awake to life. This
is the second resurrection, the resurrection unto damnation. The
wicked come forth with the same rebellious spirit which possessed
them in this life. Then Satan is loosed from his long period of
captivity and inactivity.

15. As soon as the wicked are raised, what does Satan at once proceed to do?

“When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to _deceive the nations_ which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, _to gather them together to battle_: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” Verses 7, 8.

16. Against whom do the wicked go to make war, and what is the outcome?

“They went up on the breadth of the earth, and _compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city_; and _fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them_.” Verse 9.

NOTES.—This is the last act in the great controversy between
Christ and Satan. The whole human race meet here for the first and
last time. The eternal separation of the righteous from the wicked
here takes place. At this time the judgment of God is executed
upon the wicked in the lake of fire. This is the second death.
This ends the great rebellion against God and His government. Now
is heard the voice of God as He sits upon His throne, speaking to
the saints, and saying, “Behold, I make all things new;” and out
of the burning ruins of the old earth there springs forth before
the admiring gaze of the millions of the redeemed, “a new heaven
and a new earth,” in which they shall find an everlasting
inheritance and dwelling-place.

The millennium is a great sabbath of rest, both for the earth and
for God’s people. For six thousand years the earth and its
inhabitants have been groaning under the curse of sin. The
millennium, the seventh thousand, will be a sabbath of rest and
release; for, says the prophet concerning the land, “as long as
she lay desolate she kept _sabbath_.” 2 Chron. 36:21. “There
remaineth therefore a _rest_ [margin, _keeping of a sabbath_] to
the people of God.” Heb. 4:9. This precedes the new earth state.

Length Of The Day Of The Lord

The Last Great Earthquake. "For the great day of His wrath is come." Rev.
6:17.

1. What is the character of the “day of the Lord”?

“The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. _That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress._” Zeph. 1:14, 15.

2. Under which of the seven seals does this day begin?

“And I beheld _when He had opened the sixth seal_, and, lo, there was a great earthquake, ... for _the great day of His wrath is come_; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. 6:12-17.

3. What signs were to appear under this seal?

“The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” Verses 12, 13.

NOTE.—For dates and fulfilment of these signs, see readings on
pages 311, 319. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 (page 286) should
not be confounded with that to take place under the seventh
plague. Rev. 16:18.

4. Under which seal will the Lord come?

“And when He had _opened the seventh seal_, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” Rev. 8:1.

NOTE.—This silence in heaven is the result of Christ and the
angels leaving heaven to come to this earth. See page 288.

5. With what is the day of wrath to open?

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having _the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God_.” Rev. 15:1.

NOTE.—These plagues immediately precede Christ’s coming. See Rev.
16:12-15, and reading on page 301.

6. What great event will take place at Christ’s coming?

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven: ... and _the dead in Christ shall rise first_.” 1 Thess. 4:16.

7. How long after this will the wicked dead be raised?

“But _the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished_.” Rev. 20:5.

8. As they gather around the holy city, what will take place?

“And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Verse 9.

9. What is this destruction called?

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is _the second death_.” Rev. 21:8.

10. Unto what are the present heavens and earth reserved?

“But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved _unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men_.” 2 Peter 3:7.

NOTE.—When the fire from heaven destroys the wicked, the earth
itself will also be burned and purified.

11. Does the day of the Lord include this burning day?

“But _the day of the Lord_ will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and _the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also_ and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Verse 10.

NOTE.—The day of the Lord, therefore, begins with the seven last
plagues and the coming of Christ, and continues for one thousand
years, or till the wicked are destroyed, and the earth is renewed
and given to the saints.

Elijah The Prophet

Mt. Carmel. "How long halt ye between two opinions?" 1 Kings 18:21.

1. What promise, through the prophet Malachi, does the Lord make concerning Elijah?

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Mal. 4:5.

2. What will this prophet do when he comes?

“And he shall _turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers_, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Verse 6.

3. Whom did Christ indicate as fulfilling this prophecy?

“And His disciples asked Him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That _Elias is come already_, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of _John the Baptist_.” Matt. 17:10-13.

4. When John the Baptist was asked if he were Elijah, what did he say?

“And he said, _I am not_.” John 1:21.

5. Who did he say he was?

“He said, _I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness_. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” Verse 23.

Translation Of Elijah. "Behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, ... and
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2 Kings 2:11.

6. In what sense does the angel Gabriel explain John the Baptist to be the Elijah of Mal. 4:5?

“Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him [Christ] _in the spirit and power of Elias_, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:16, 17.

NOTE.—John went forth “_in the spirit and power of Elias_,” and,
in preparing a people for Christ’s first advent, did a work
similar to that done by Elijah the prophet in Israel centuries
before. See 1 Kings 17 and 18. In this sense, and in this sense
only, he was the Elijah of Mal. 4:5.

7. Near the close of the three and one-half years’ drought in Israel, brought about as a judgment through the intercessions of Elijah (James 5:17) in consequence of Israel’s apostasy, what accusation did King Ahab bring against Elijah?

“And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, _Art thou he that troubleth Israel?_” 1 Kings 18:17.

8. What answer did Elijah make?

“And he answered, _I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim_.” Verse 18.

NOTE.—Israel had departed from God, forsaken His commandments, and
gone off into idolatry. Jezebel, Ahab’s wicked and idolatrous
wife, had “cut off the prophets of the Lord” (verse 4), was
supporting hundreds of the prophets of Baal, and was seeking
Elijah to slay him. Elijah called for a famine on the land, and
said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according
to my word.” 1 Kings 17:1. Elijah’s message was a call to
repentance and obedience to God’s commandments.

9. What plain proposition did he submit to all Israel?

“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, _How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him_.” 1 Kings 18:21.

NOTE.—The result of the test by fire which followed on Mt. Carmel,
can be read in the remainder of this wonderful chapter. There was
a great turning to God, the people saying, “The Lord, He is the
God; the Lord, He is the God.” Verse 39.

10. What was the burden of the message of John the Baptist?

“_Repent ye_: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” “Bring forth therefore _fruits_ meet for repentance.” Matt. 3:2, 8.

11. What was the result of this message?

“Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and _were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins_.” Verses 5, 6.

NOTE.—There was a genuine work of repentance and reform. John was
not satisfied with a mere profession of religion. He told the
Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism, to “bring forth
fruits” answerable to an “amendment of life.” He wished to see
religion in the life, the heart, the home. Thus he prepared a
people for Christ’s first advent.

12. But when, according to the prophecy, was Elijah to be sent?

“Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Mal. 4:5.

13. How is this great and dreadful day described in this same prophecy?

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Verse 1.

NOTE.—This day is yet future. It cannot be, therefore, that the
work done by John the Baptist at Christ’s first advent is all that
was contemplated in the prophecy concerning the sending of Elijah
the prophet. It must be that there is to be another and greater
fulfilment of it, to precede Christ’s _second advent_, and to
prepare, or “make ready,” a people for that great event.

14. What is the burden of the threefold message of Rev. 14:6-10?

“Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.... Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.... If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.” Rev. 14:6-10.

NOTE.—Like the messages of Elijah and John, this is a call to
repentance and reform,—a call to forsake false, idolatrous
worship, and to turn to God, and worship Him, and Him alone. The
first part of this threefold message points out the true God, the
Creator, in language very similar to that found in the fourth, or
Sabbath, commandment. This is the message now due the world, and
that is now being proclaimed to the world. See readings on pages
251-263. Those who are proclaiming these messages constitute the
Elijah for this time, as John and his colaborers did at the time
of Christ’s first advent.

15. How are the people described who are developed by the threefold message here referred to?

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Verse 12.

NOTE.—These will be the ones who will be ready to meet Jesus when
He comes. They have heeded the Elijah-call to repentance and
reform. They have become concerned, not only for their own
individual salvation, but for the salvation of their friends and
relatives. By this message the hearts of the fathers are turned to
the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.
Each becomes burdened for the conversion and salvation of the
other. There can be little religion in the heart of one who cares
not for the eternal interests of his loved ones. When this message
has done its work, God will smite the earth with a curse; the
seven last plagues will fall, and usher in the great day of the
Lord described in the preceding reading.

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Light is beaming, day is coming!
Let us sound aloud the cry;
We behold the day-star rising
Pure and bright in yonder sky!
Saints, be joyful;
Your redemption draweth nigh.

We have found the chart and compass,
And are sure the land is near;
Onward, onward, we are hasting.
Soon the haven will appear;
Let your voices
Sound aloud your holy cheer.