Chapter 39—The Time of Trouble

“At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1). 5TC 353.2

When the third angel's message closes, the people of God have finished their work. They have received “the latter rain” and are prepared for the difficult time ahead of them. The final test has come on the world, and all who have proved loyal to the divine law have received “the seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ends His ministry in the sanctuary in heaven and with a loud voice says, “It is done!” “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:11). Christ has made the atonement for His people and blotted out their sins. “The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven” (Daniel 7:27) is about to be given to the heirs of salvation, and Jesus is to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. 5TC 353.3

When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers those living on the earth. The righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint on the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the unrepentant. They have resisted the Spirit of God persistently, and He has been finally withdrawn. Then Satan will plunge the earth's population into one great, final trouble. Angels of God stop holding back the fierce winds of human evil. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which ancient Jerusalem experienced. There are forces now ready, only waiting the divine permission, to spread destruction everywhere. 5TC 354.1

People will think that those who honor the law of God are the cause of the fearful conflict and bloodshed that fill the earth with misery. The power that accompanies the last warning has enraged the wicked, and Satan will stir up the spirit of hatred and persecution against all who have received the message. 5TC 354.2

When God withdrew His presence from the Jewish nation, priests and people still thought of themselves as the chosen of God. The services in the temple continued, and every day the priests pronounced the divine blessing on those who were guilty of the blood of God's Son. Similarly, when the final decision of the heavenly sanctuary has been pronounced and the destiny of the world has been decided permanently, the inhabitants of the earth will not know it. People from whom the Spirit of God has been withdrawn will continue the forms of religion. The prince of evil will inspire them to accomplish his wicked plans. 5TC 354.3

As the Sabbath becomes the special point of controversy throughout the Christian world, people will claim that the few who stand in opposition to the church and the state should not be tolerated, that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same argument was brought against Christ. Caiaphas said, “It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50). This argument will appear conclusive. A decree will finally be issued against those who honor the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them and giving the people permission after a certain time to kill them. Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who keep all of God's commandments. The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of distress that the Bible calls “the time of Jacob's trouble” (Jeremiah 30:5-7; see Genesis 32:24-30). 5TC 354.4

The Time of Jacob's Trouble

Because Jacob had deceived his father in order to get the blessing intended for Esau, he had to flee for his life to escape his brother's deadly threats. After remaining an exile for many years, he had set out to return to his native country. When he reached the border, he was filled with terror at the news that Esau was coming, no doubt intending to get revenge. Jacob's only hope was in the mercy of God; his only defense must be prayer. 5TC 355.1

Alone with God, he confessed his sin with deep repentance. The crisis in his life had come. In the darkness he continued praying. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He thought an enemy was going to kill him. With all the energy of despair he wrestled with his attacker. When the day began to break, the stranger used his superhuman power. Jacob seemed paralyzed. He fell, helpless and weeping, on the neck of his mysterious enemy. He knew then that it was the Angel of the covenant with whom he had been struggling. For years he had endured remorse for his sin; now he must have the assurance that it was forgiven. The Angel urged him, “Let Me go, for the day breaks,” but Jacob exclaimed, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” Jacob confessed his weakness and unworthiness, yet he trusted the mercy of a covenant-keeping God. Through repentance and self-surrender, this sinful mortal received what he wanted most from the Majesty of heaven. 5TC 355.2

Satan had accused Jacob to God because of his sin, and he had moved Esau to march against him. During Jacob's night of wrestling, Satan tried to discourage him and break his hold on God. Jacob was driven almost to despair, but he had sincerely repented of his sin. He held the Angel tightly and urged his request with earnest cries until he prevailed. 5TC 355.3

Just as Satan accused Jacob, he will bring his accusations against the people of God, but those who keep the commandments of God resist his supremacy. He sees that holy angels are guarding them, and he concludes that their sins have been pardoned. He has an accurate knowledge of the sins he has tempted them to commit, and he declares that it is unjust for the Lord to forgive their sins and yet destroy him and his angels. He demands that God give these people into his hands to destroy. 5TC 356.1

The Lord permits him to test them to the limit. Their confidence in God, their faith, will be severely tested. Satan tries to terrify them. He hopes to destroy their faith so that they will yield to temptation and turn from their loyalty to God. 5TC 356.2

Anguish That God Will Be Dishonored

Yet the anguish that God's people suffer is not because they dread persecution. They fear that through some fault in themselves they will fail to experience the Savior's promise: I “will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world” (Revelation 3:10). If they prove to be unworthy because of their own defects of character, then God's holy name would be dishonored. 5TC 356.3

They point to their past repentance for their many sins and plead the Savior's promise, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me” (Isaiah 27:5). Though they are suffering anxiety and distress, they do not stop their earnest praying. They lay hold of God as Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and the language of their souls is, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 5TC 356.4

Sins Blotted Out

In the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while they were tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed. Despair would cut off their faith, and they could not plead with God to deliver them. But they have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins have gone beforehand to judgment and have been blotted out, and they cannot bring them to mind. 5TC 356.5

In His dealings with Jacob, the Lord shows that He will not tolerate evil. Satan will overcome all who excuse or conceal their sins and allow them to remain on the books of heaven unconfessed and unforgiven. The more honorable the position they hold, the more sure is their adversary's triumph. Those who delay their preparation cannot get it in the time of trouble, or at any later time. Their case is hopeless. 5TC 357.1

Jacob's history is also an assurance that God will not reject those who, lured into sin, have returned to Him with true repentance. God will send angels to comfort them in danger. The Lord's eye is on His people. The flames of the furnace seem about to consume them, but the Refiner will bring them through as gold tried in the fire. 5TC 357.2

A Faith That Endures

The time of distress and anguish ahead of us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger, a faith that will not crumble even though it is tested severely. Jacob's victory is an evidence of the power of persistent prayer. All who will lay hold of God's promises, as Jacob did, will succeed as he succeeded. Wrestling with God—how few know what it is! When waves of despair sweep over the needy, praying ones, how few cling with faith to the promises of God. 5TC 357.3

Those who exercise very little faith now are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of Satan's delusions. And even if they endure the test, they will be plunged into deeper distress because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. We should gain experience now in relying on His promises. 5TC 357.4

Often we anticipate worse trouble than what actually comes, but this is not true of the crisis ahead of us. The most vivid description cannot reach the level of the ordeal. In that time of trial every believer must stand for himself before God. 5TC 357.5

Now, while our High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our Savior be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Satan finds some point in human hearts where he can gain a foothold. People cherish some sinful desire, and his temptations use that desire to assert their power. But Christ declared about Himself, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory. There was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition needed by those who will stand in the time of trouble. 5TC 358.1

It is in this life that we are to separate sin from us, through faith in the atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Savior invites us to join ourselves to Him, to unite our weakness to His strength, our unworthiness to His merits. It is up to us to cooperate with Heaven in the work of conforming our characters to the divine model. 5TC 358.2

Fearful sights of a supernatural kind will soon appear in the heavens, in support of the power of miracle-working demons. Spirits of demons will go out to the “kings of the earth” and to the whole world, to urge them to unite with Satan in his last struggle against the government of heaven. People will come forward, pretending to be Christ Himself. They will perform miracles of healing and profess to have revelations from heaven that contradict the Scriptures. 5TC 358.3

The Crowning Act

As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will appear as if he were Christ. The church has long looked for the Savior's coming as the fulfillment of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. Satan will show himself as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God in the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:13-15). 5TC 358.4

The glory that surrounds him is greater than anything that mortal eyes have yet seen. The shout of triumph rings out, “Christ has come!” The people bow down before him. He lifts up his hands and blesses them. His voice is soft, yet full of melody. In compassionate tones he presents some of the same heavenly truths the Savior spoke. He heals diseases, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday. He declares that those who keep holy the seventh day are showing contempt for him. This is the strong, almost overpowering delusion. Vast numbers believe his sorceries, saying, This is “the great power of God” (Acts 8:10). 5TC 359.1

God's People Not Misled

But the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false christ are not in harmony with the Scriptures. He pronounces his blessing on the worshipers of the beast and his image, the very class on whom the Bible says that God will pour out His undiluted wrath. 5TC 359.2

Furthermore, God does not permit Satan to counterfeit the manner of Christ's coming. The Savior warned His people against being deceived on this point. “False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.... Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:24, 26, 27; see also Matthew 25:31; Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). This coming is impossible to counterfeit. The whole world will witness it. 5TC 359.3

Only those who have studied the Scriptures diligently and have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful deception that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony, they will detect the deceiver in his disguise. Are the people of God now so firmly established on His Word that they would not give in to the evidence of their senses? In such a crisis, would they cling to the Bible, and the Bible only? 5TC 359.4

The decree from the various Christian rulers against commandment keepers withdraws the protection of government and abandons them to those who want their destruction. At that time, the people of God will flee from the cities and villages and associate together in small groups, living in the most desolate and lonely places. Many will find safety in the strongholds of the mountains, like the Christians of the Piedmont valleys (see chapter 4). But many of all nations and of all classes, high and low, rich and poor, black and white, will be thrown into the most unjust and cruel bondage. Those whom God loves pass weary days shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be killed, apparently left to die in dark, disgusting dungeons. 5TC 360.1

Will the Lord forget His people in this difficult hour? Did He forget faithful Noah, Lot, Joseph, Elijah, Jeremiah, or Daniel? Though enemies may put them into prison, yet dungeon walls cannot cut off communication between their hearts and Christ. Angels will come to them in lonely cells. The prison will be like a palace, and the gloomy walls will be lighted up as when Paul and Silas sang at midnight in the Philippian dungeon. 5TC 360.2

God Sends His Plagues

God's judgments will fall on those who are trying to destroy His people. To God, punishment is a “strange act” (Isaiah 28:21, KJV; see also Ezekiel 33:11). The Lord is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ... forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,” yet “by no means clearing the guilty” (Exodus 34:6, 7; see also Nahum 1:3). He bears long with the nations, but when they have filled up their measure of iniquity, they will finally drink the cup of wrath unmixed with mercy. 5TC 360.3

When Christ ends His ministry in the sanctuary, God will pour out the unmingled wrath threatened against those who worship the beast. The plagues on Egypt were similar to the more widespread judgments that will fall on the world just before the final deliverance of God's people. John the revelator says: “A foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.” The sea “became blood as of a dead man.” And “the rivers and springs of water ... became blood.” The angel declares: “You are righteous, O Lord, ... because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” (Revelation 16:2-6.) By condemning the people of God to death, they have become guilty of their blood as truly as if they had shed it with their own hands. Christ declared the Jews of His time guilty of all the blood of holy men shed since the days of Abel (Matthew 23:34-36), for they possessed the same spirit as those murderers of the prophets. 5TC 360.4

In the plague that follows, God gives power to the sun “to scorch men with fire.” The prophets describe this fearful time: “The harvest of the field has perished.... All the trees of the field are withered; surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.” “How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture.... The water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures.” (Joel 1:11, 12, 18, 20.) 5TC 361.1

These plagues are not universal, yet they will be the most awful afflictions ever known. All judgments before the close of probation have been mingled with mercy. The blood of Christ has shielded the sinner from the full impact of his guilt. But in the final judgment, wrath is unmixed with mercy. Many will want the shelter of God's mercy which they have despised. 5TC 361.2

While the people of God will be persecuted and distressed and will suffer for lack of food, God will not leave them to die. Angels will supply their needs. “Bread will be given him, his water will be sure.” “I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.” (Isaiah 33:16; 41:17.) 5TC 361.3

Yet to human sight it will seem that the people of God must soon die for their faith, as the martyrs did before them. It is a time of dreadful agony. The wicked boast, “Where now is your faith? Why does not God deliver you out of our hands if you are indeed His people?” But the waiting ones remember Jesus dying on Calvary's cross. Like Jacob, all are wrestling with God. 5TC 361.4

Companies of Angels Watch

God stations angels around those who have kept Christ's command to persevere. They have witnessed the faithful ones’ distress and heard their prayers. They wait for word from their Commander to snatch them from their danger. But they must wait a little longer. The people of God must drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism (Matthew 20:20-23). Yet for their sake the time of trouble will be shortened. The end will come more quickly than people expect. 5TC 362.1

Though a general decree has set the time when commandment-keepers may be killed, in some cases their enemies will rush ahead of the decree and try to take their lives. But none can pass the guardians stationed around every faithful believer. Some are attacked as they flee from the cities, but the weapons raised against them break like straw. Others are defended by angels in the form of soldiers. 5TC 362.2

In all ages heavenly beings have taken an active part in human affairs. They have accepted hospitality in people's homes, acted as guides to confused travelers, opened prison doors and set free the servants of the Lord. They came to roll away the stone from the Savior's tomb. 5TC 362.3

Angels visit the assemblies of the wicked for the same reason that they went to Sodom, to determine whether they have passed the boundary of God's leniency. For the sake of a few who really serve Him, the Lord restrains disasters and prolongs the peace of the population. Little do sinners realize that they are indebted for their lives to the faithful few whom they love to oppress. 5TC 362.4

Often in the councils of this world, angels have spoken out. Human ears have listened to their appeals, human lips have ridiculed their counsels. These heavenly messengers have proved themselves better able to plead the cause of the oppressed than their most eloquent defenders. They have defeated and stopped evils that would have caused great suffering to God's people. 5TC 362.5

With earnest longing, God's people wait for the approach of their coming King. As the wrestling ones plead with God, the heavens glow with the dawn of eternal day. Like the melody of angel songs the words fall on the ear, “Help is coming.” Christ's voice comes from the gates ajar: “Lo, I am with you. Do not be afraid. I have fought the battle on your behalf, and in My name you are more than conquerors.” 5TC 362.6

The precious Savior will send help just when we need it. The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God's people, but by faith every true believer may see the rainbow of promise encircling him. “The ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11). 5TC 363.1

If the blood of Christ's witnesses were shed at this time, their faithfulness would not be a witness to convince others of the truth, because the stubborn heart has beaten back the waves of mercy until they do not come any more. If the righteous were now to be killed by their enemies, it would be a triumph for the prince of darkness. Christ has spoken: “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity” (Isaiah 26:20, 21). 5TC 363.2

How glorious will be the deliverance of those who have patiently waited for His coming and whose names are written in the book of life! 5TC 363.3