The World Drama
The world is a theater; the actors, its inhabitants, are preparing to act their
part in the last great drama. With the great masses of mankind, there is no
unity, except as men confederate to accomplish their selfish purposes. God is
looking on. His purposes in regard to His rebellious subjects will be fulfilled.
The world has not been given into the hands of men, though God is permitting the
elements of confusion and disorder to bear sway for a season. A power from
beneath is working to bring about the last great scenes in the drama,--Satan
coming as Christ, and working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in
those who are binding themselves together in secret societies. Those who are
yielding to the passion for confederation are working out the plans of the
enemy. The cause will be followed by the effect.--Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 27,
28. {ChS 50.1}
Last Act of the Drama
Never did this message apply with greater force than it applies today. More and
more the world is setting at naught the claims of God. Men have become bold in
transgression. The wickedness of the inhabitants of the world has almost filled
up the measure of their iniquity. This earth has almost reached the place where
God will permit the destroyer to work his will upon it. The substitution of the
laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of
Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama. When this
substitution becomes universal, God will reveal Himself. He will arise in His
majesty to shake terribly the earth. He will come out of His place to punish the
inhabitants of the world for their iniquity, and the earth shall disclose her
blood, and shall no more cover her slain.--Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 141.
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{ChS 50.2}
The Crisis of the Ages
We are standing on the threshold of the crisis of the ages. In quick succession
the judgments of God will follow one another,--fire, and flood, and earthquake,
with war and bloodshed. We are not to be surprised at this time by events both
great and decisive; for the angel of mercy cannot remain much longer to shelter
the impenitent.-- Prophets and Kings, p. 278. {ChS 51.1}
The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing
over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are
still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in
marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against
another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to
theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet
probation's hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally
decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work
that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied, and entranced until the day of
probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy forever shut.--Southern
Watchman, Oct. 3, 1905. {ChS 51.2}
Transgression has almost reached its limit. Confusion fills the world, and a
great terror is soon to come upon human beings. The end is very near. We who
know the truth should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as
an overwhelming surprise.--Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 28. {ChS 51.3}
In this time of prevailing iniquity we may know that the last great crisis is at
hand. When the defiance of God's law is almost universal, when His people are
oppressed and afflicted by their fellow men, the Lord will interpose.-- Christ's
Object Lessons, p. 178. {ChS 51.4}
We are standing upon the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecies are
fulfilling. Strange, eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven.
Everything in our world is in agitation. There are wars, and rumors of wars. The
nations are angry, and the time of the dead has come, that they should be
judged. Events are changing
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to bring about the day of God which hasteth greatly. Only a moment of time, as
it were, yet remains. But while already nation is rising against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom, there is not now a general engagement. As yet the four
winds are held until the servants of God shall be sealed in their foreheads.
Then the powers of earth will marshal their forces for the last great battle.--
Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 14. {ChS 51.5}
Restraining Spirit of God Being Withdrawn
The restraining Spirit of God is even now being withdrawn from the world.
Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow
each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs
thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are
attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel
angels restraining the four winds that they shall not blow until the servants of
God are sealed; but when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there shall
be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 408. {ChS
52.1}
The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is
gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are
already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land
and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They
forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude. The agencies of evil are
combining their forces, and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last
great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final
movements will be rapid ones.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 11. {ChS 52.2}
The time is at hand when there will be sorrow in the world that no human balm
can heal. The Spirit of God is being withdrawn. Disasters by sea and by land
follow one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes
and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and
property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized,
unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control
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of man; but in them all, God's purpose may be read. They are among the agencies
by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.--Prophets
and Kings, p. 277. {ChS 52.3}
The World a Pesthouse
Men in their blindness boast of wonderful progress and enlightenment; but the
heavenly watchers see the earth filled with corruption and violence. Because of
sin the atmosphere of our world has become as the atmosphere of a pesthouse.--Testimonies,
vol. 6, pp. 10, 11. {ChS 53.1}
An Epidemic of Crime
We are living in the midst of an "epidemic of crime," at which thoughtful,
God-fearing men everywhere stand aghast. The corruption that prevails, it is
beyond the power of the human pen to describe. Every day brings fresh
revelations of political strife, bribery, and fraud. Every day brings its
heart-sickening record of violence and lawlessness, of indifference to human
suffering, of brutal, fiendish destruction of human life. Every day testifies to
the increase of insanity, murder, and suicide. Who can doubt that satanic
agencies are at work among men with increasing activity to distract and corrupt
the mind, and defile and destroy the body?--Ministry of Healing, pp. 142, 143. {ChS
53.2}
The spirit of anarchy is permeating all nations, and the outbreaks that from
time to time excite the horror of the world are but indications of the pent-up
fires of passion and lawlessness that, having once escaped control, will fill
the earth with woe and desolation. The picture which Inspiration has given of
the antediluvian world, represents too truly the condition to which modern
society is fast hastening. Even now, in the present century, and in professedly
Christian lands, there are crimes daily perpetrated, as black and terrible as
those for which the old-world sinners were destroyed. Before the flood, God sent
Noah to warn the world, that the people might be led to repentance, and thus
escape the threatened destruction. As the time of Christ's second appearing
draws near, the Lord sends His servants
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with a warning to the world to prepare for that great event. Multitudes have
been living in transgression of God's law, and now He in mercy calls them to
obey its sacred precepts. All who will put away their sins by repentance toward
God and faith in Christ, are offered pardon.--Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 102. {ChS
53.3}
The condition of things in the world shows that troublous times are right upon
us. The daily papers are full of indications of a terrible conflict in the near
future. Bold robberies are of frequent occurrence. Strikes are common. Thefts
and murders are committed on every hand. Men possessed of demons are taking the
lives of men, women, and little children. Men have become infatuated with vice,
and every species of evil prevails.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 11. {ChS 54.1}
The Archdeceiver at Work
At the present time, when the end of all things earthly is rapidly approaching,
Satan is putting forth desperate efforts to ensnare the world. He is devising
many plans to occupy minds, and to divert attention from the truths essential to
salvation. In every city his agencies are busily organizing into parties those
who are opposed to the law of God. The archdeceiver is at work to introduce
elements of confusion and rebellion, and men are being fired with a zeal that is
not according to knowledge.--The Acts of the Apostles, p. 219. {ChS 54.2}
Satan is a diligent Bible student. He knows that his time is short, and he seeks
at every point to counterwork the work of the Lord upon this
earth.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 16. {ChS 54.3}
Satan is now seeking to hold God's people in a state of inactivity, to keep them
from acting their part in spreading the truth, that they may at last be weighed
in the balance and found wanting.--Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 260. {ChS 54.4}
World Stirred With the Spirit of War
The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecy of the eleventh
chapter of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment. Soon the scenes
of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p.
14.
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{ChS 54.5}
I was shown the inhabitants of the earth in the utmost confusion. War,
bloodshed, privation, want, famine, and pestilence were abroad in the land. . .
. My attention was then called from the scene. There seemed to be a little time
of peace. Once more the inhabitants of the earth were presented before me; and
again everything was in the utmost confusion. Strife, war, and bloodshed, with
famine and pestilence, raged everywhere. Other nations were engaged in this war
and confusion. War caused famine. Want and bloodshed caused pestilence. And then
men's hearts failed them for fear, "and for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth."--Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 268. {ChS 55.1}
Spiritual Darkness
This is a time of spiritual darkness in the churches of the world. Ignorance of
divine things has hidden God and the truth from view. The forces of evil are
gathering in strength. Satan flatters his coworkers that he will do a work that
will captivate the world. While partial inactivity has come upon the church,
Satan and his hosts are intensely active. The professed Christian churches are
not converting the world; for they are themselves corrupted with selfishness and
pride, and need to feel the converting power of God in their midst before they
can lead others to a purer or higher standard.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 65. {ChS
55.2}
In our day, as of old, the vital truths of God's word are set aside for human
theories and speculations. Many professed ministers of the gospel do not accept
the whole Bible as the inspired word. One wise man rejects one portion; another
questions another part. They set up their judgment as superior to the Word; and
the Scripture which they do teach rests upon their own authority. Its divine
authenticity is destroyed. Thus the seeds of infidelity are sown broadcast; for
the people become confused, and know not what to believe. There are many beliefs
that the mind has no right to entertain.--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 39. {ChS
55.3}
Wickedness is reaching a height never before attained, and yet many ministers of
the gospel are crying, "Peace
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and safety." But God's faithful messengers are to go steadily forward with their
work. Clothed with the panoply of heaven, they are to advance fearlessly and
victoriously, never ceasing their warfare until every soul within their reach
shall have received the message of truth for this time.--The Acts of the
Apostles, p. 220. {ChS 55.4}
There is a cause for alarm in the condition of the religious world today. God's
mercy has been trifled with. The multitude make void the law of Jehovah,
"teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Infidelity prevails in many of
the churches in our land; not infidelity in its broadest sense,--an open denial
of the Bible,--but an infidelity that is robed in the garb of Christianity,
while it is undermining faith in the Bible as a revelation from God. Fervent
devotion and vital piety have given place to hollow formalism. As the result,
apostasy and sensualism prevail. Christ declared, "As it was in the days of Lot,
. . . even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." The
daily record of passing events testifies to the fulfillment of His words. The
world is fast becoming ripe for destruction. Soon the judgments of God are to be
poured out, and sin and sinners are to be consumed.--Patriarchs and Prophets, p.
166. {ChS 56.1}
Separating the Wheat From the Tares
The time of God's destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have
had no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon
them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand is still stretched out to save,
while the door is closed to those who would not enter.-- Testimonies, vol. 9, p.
97. {ChS 56.2}
Soon the battle will be waged fiercely between those who serve and those who
serve Him not. Soon everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those
things that cannot be shaken may remain.--Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 15, 16. {ChS
56.3}
In the time of distress and perplexity of nations there will be many who have
not given themselves wholly to the corrupting influences of the world and the
service of Satan, who will humble themselves before God, and turn to Him
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with their whole heart and find acceptance and pardon.-- Testimonies, vol. 1, p.
269. {ChS 56.4}
There are many who are reading the Scriptures who cannot understand their true
import. All over the world men and women are looking wistfully to heaven.
Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace,
for the Holy Spirit. Many are on the verge of the kingdom, waiting only to be
gathered in.--The Acts of the Apostles, p. 109. {ChS 57.1}
Lessons From Elijah's Experience
From Elijah's experience during those days of discouragement and apparent
defeat, there are many lessons to be drawn,--lessons invaluable to the servants
of God in this age, marked as it is by general departure from right. The
apostasy prevailing today is similar to that which in the prophet's day
overspread Israel. In the exaltation of the human above the divine, in the
praise of popular leaders, in the worship of mammon, and in the placing of the
teachings of science above the truths of revelation, multitudes today are
following after Baal. Doubt and unbelief are exercising their baleful influence
over mind and heart, and many are substituting for the oracles of God the
theories of men. It is publicly taught that we have reached a time when human
reason should be exalted above the teachings of the Word. The law of God, the
divine standard of righteousness, is declared to be of no effect. The enemy of
all truth is working with deceptive power to cause men and women to place human
institutions where God should be, and to forget that which was ordained for the
happiness and salvation of mankind. Yet this apostasy, widespread as it has come
to be, is not universal. Not all in the world are lawless and sinful; not all
have taken sides with the enemy. God has many thousands who have not bowed the
knee to Baal, many who long to understand more fully in regard to Christ and the
law, many who are hoping against hope that Jesus will come soon to end the reign
of sin and death. And there are many who have been worshiping Baal ignorantly,
but with whom the Spirit of God is still striving.--Prophets and Kings, pp. 170,
171. {ChS 57.2}
By E.G.WHITE. THE YEAR 1925.
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