A TEMPEST IS COMING
“The tempest is coming, and we must get ready for its fury by having repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down,
and human lives will be sacrificed by millions.
Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail will be more and more frequent; confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while he may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”
Messages to Young People, 89-90.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES TO LOOK UP
1) Stormy Times Before God’s People. 2 Selected Messages, 246; 1
Testomonies, 211; 5 Testimonies, 546; 9 Testimonies, 167.
2) Stormy Times Coming Rapidly upon God’s People 6 Testimonies 396.
3) Storms arising, will test everyone s spiritual foundation. 5 Testimonies 129.
4) Every man’s faith will be tried by coming storm. Evangelism, 361-2.
5) Storm of God’s wrath is gathering. Prophets and Kings, 278; Testimonies to
Ministers, 182.
6) Storm is coming relentless in its fury. Evangelism, 199; 8 Testimonies 315.
7) Why God leaves His people to encounter storm. Christian Service, 275
8) Peace after Storm. GC, 212.
9) Lessons from the Experience of Christ’s disciples in storm. 4 Testimonies,
430. 10)
GET READY FOR WHAT IS COMING UPON THE EARTH
BY ELLEN G. WHITE
“I saw that the remnant were not prepared for what is coming upon the earth.
Stupidity, like lethargy, seemed to hang upon the minds of most of those who profess to believe that we are having the last message. My accompanying angel cried out with awful solemnity, ’GET READY, GET READY, GET READY, for the fierce anger of the Lord is soon to come. His wrath is to be poured out, unmixed with mercy, and ye are not ready. Rend the heart, and not the garment. A great work must be done for the remnant.
Many of them are dwelling upon little trials.’
“Said the angel, ‘Legions of evil angels are around you, and are trying to press in their awful darkness, that ye may be ensnared and taken. Ye suffer your minds to be diverted too readily from the work of preparation and the all-important truths for these last days. And ye dwell upon little trials and go into minute particulars of little difficulties to explain them to the satisfaction of this one and that.’ Conversation has been protracted for hours between the parties concerned, and not only has their time been wasted, but the servants of God are held to listen to them, when the hearts of both parties are unsubdued by grace. If pride and selfishness were laid aside, five minutes would remove most difficulties. Angels have been grieved and God displeased by the hours which have been spent in justifying self. I saw that God will not bow down and listen to long justifications, and He does not want His servants to do so, and thus precious time be wasted that should be spent in showing transgressors the error of their ways and pulling souls out of the fire.
“I saw that God’s people are on the enchanted ground, and that some have lost nearly all sense of the shortness of time and the worth of the soul. Pride has crept in among Sabbath-keepers-pride of dress and appearance. Said the angel, ‘Sabbath-keepers will have to die to self, die to pride and love of approbation.’ ... Said the angel, ‘those who profess His name are not ready.’
I saw that the seven last plagues were coming upon the shelterless heads of the wicked, and then those who have stood in their way will hear the bitter reproaches of sinners, and their hearts will faint within them”— EW 119-121.
COMING EVENTS IN THE HANDS OF THE LORD
“The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of-nations, as well as the concerns of His church, in His own charge.”— 5 Testimonies, 753-754.
“God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands.” —Testimonies to Ministers, 300.
THE LAST CRISIS
“We are living in the time of the end. The fast fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. 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 forcast approaching events of great 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.
“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.”
9 Testimonies, 11.
“Not all in this world have taken sides with the enemy against God. Not all have become disloyal. There are a faithful few who are true to God: for John writes. ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ Rev. 14:12. Soon the battle will be waged fiercely between I those who serve God and those who serve Him not. Soon everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those things o that can not be shaken may remain.”
9 Testimonies 15-16.
THOSE WHO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS
OF GOD
AND HAVE THE
FAITH OF JESUS
It is this very class of people that Brother W. E. Ross was telling about in the vision that Ellen White had which she related to the three mentioned at the railroad depot in Loma Linda. For it said: “They then united went forth ‘As an army with banners’ fearlessly and fully to give the message to all the world.’ “
Some twenty-five years before this time, Ellen White called the attention of the Adventist people to a similar vision that she had which reads as follows:
“In the mighty sifting soon to take place we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when The Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor.
“The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those who have rendered supreme homage to ‘science falsely so called’ will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated-blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior that the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the daytime we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.
“The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness
will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we had admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness.
“When trees without fruit are cut down as cumberers of the ground, when
multitudes of false brethren are distinguished from the true, then the hidden ones will be revealed to view, and with hosannas range under the banner of Christ. Those who have been timid and self-distrustful will declare themselves openly for Christ and His truth.
The most weak and hesitating in the church will be as David-willing to do and dare. The deeper the night for God’s people, the more brilliant the stars. Satan will sorely harass the faithful; but, in the name of Jesus they will come off more than conquerors. Then will the church of Christ appear ‘fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.’ “-5 Testimonies 80’- 82. (Please read the entire chapter in 5 Testimonies 62-84).
MESSAGE TO THE LOMA LINDA PEOPLE
Some time ago, a mother who had gone to visit friends in St. Helena, California, called up her daughter long distance in Loma Linda, telling her of a very unusual experience that she heard about in St. Helena. She said “During our Sabbath school Class this morning I heard a woman relate a very unusual experience that she had while coming to church with another lady in the car with her. They saw two men walking down the road with Bibles in their hand. So naturally they thought. these men must be on their way to Sabbath-school, so we stopped to pick them up. They accepted the invitation and got in the back seat of our car. As we were driving along, one of the two men leaned
forward and said “The Loma Linda people do not realize how close the coming of the Lord is. They are not getting ready for the coming of the Lord.”
“In amazement we looked at each other. As I turned around to ask further
questions, the two men had disappeared out of our car. We were both convinced that it must have been angels who delivered this message to us as a solemn warning for us to get ready for the coming of our Lord.”
This incident should remind us of the ministry of angels. Just as God has wrought through holy angels in the past in all ages for the deliverance of His people, just so it is in our day. God is anxious for His people to get ready, so in His mercy He sends these angels on their mission to warn us of the coming events that are to take place. I am reminded of a statement given in the Great Controversy pages 631-632, which reads like this:
MINISTRY OF THE ANGELS
“In all ages, God has wrought through holy angels for the succor and deliverance of His people. Celestial beings have taken an active part in the affairs of men. They have appeared clothed in garments that shone as the li
ghtning; they have come as men in the garb of wayfarers. Angels have appeared in human form to men of God. They have
rested, as if weary, under the oaks at noon. They have accepted the hospitalities of human homes. They have acted as guides to be
nighted travelers.- They have, with their own hands, kindled fires of the altar. They have opened prison doors, and set free the servants of the Lord. Clothed with the panoply of heaven, they came to roll away the
stone from the Saviour’s tomb. “In the form of men, angels are often in the assemblies of the righteous, and they visit the assemblies of the wicked, as they went to Sodom, to make a record of their deeds, to determine whether they have passed the boundary of God’s forbearance. The Lord delights in mercy; and for the sake of a few who really serve Him, He restrains calamities, and prolongs the tranquility of multitudes. Little do sinners against God realize that they are indebted for their own livesto the faithful few for whom they delight to ridicule and oppress.”—Great Controversy 631 - 632.
NO PROTECTION OF HOLY ANGELS
WHILE LIVING IN NEGLECT OF KNOWN DUTY
“In His mission to Pharaoh, Moses was to be placed in a position of great peril; his life could be preserved only through the protection of Holy angels. But while living in neglect of a known duty, he would not be secure; for he could not be shielded by the angels of God. .
“In the time of trouble just before the coming of Christ, the righteous will be
preserved through the ministration of heavenly angels; but there will be no security for the transgressor of God’s law. Angels cannotthen protect those who are disregarding one of the divine precepts.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 256.
“Satan is busily at work in our crowded cities. His work is to be seen in the
confusion, the strife and discord between labor and capital, and the hypocrisy that has come into the churches. That men may not take time to meditate, Satan leads them into a round of gayety and pleasure-seeking, of eating and drinking. He fills them with ambition to make an exhibition that will exalt self. Step by step, the world is reaching the conditions that existed in the days of Noah.
Every conceivable crime is committed. The lust of the flesh, the pride of the eyes, the display of selfishness, the misuse of power, the cruelty, and the force used to cause men to unite with confederacies and binding themselves up in bundles for the burning of the great fires of the last days—all these are
the working of Satanic agencies. This round of crime and folly men call `life.’ . .
“The world, who act as though there were no God, absorbed in selfish pursuits, will soon experience sudden destruction, and shall not escape. Many continue in the careless gratification of self until they become so disgusted with life that they kill themselves. Dancing and carousing, drinking and smoking, indulging their animal passions, they go as an ox to the slaughter. Satan is working with all his art. and enchantments to keep men marching blindly onward until the Lord arises out of His place to punish the inhabitants of earth for their iniquities, when the earth shall disclose her blood and no
more cover her slain. The whole world appears to be in the march to death.” Manuscript 139, 1903.
“Men and women living in these cities are rapidly becoming more and still more entangled in their business relations. They are acting wildly in the erection of buildings whose towers reach high into the heavens. Their minds are filled with schemes and ambitious devisings.” Manuscript 154, 1902.
“I am bidden to declare the message that the cities full of transgression, and
sinful in the extreme, will be destroyed by earthquakes, by fire, by flood. All the world will be warned that there is a God who will display His authority as God. His unseen agencies will cause destruction, devastation, and death. All the accumulated riches will be a nothingness. .
“Calamities will come-calamities most awful, most unexpected; and these
destructions will follow one after another. If there will be a heeding of the warnings that God has given, and if churches will repent, returning to their allegiance, then other cities may be spared for a time. But if men who have been deceived continue in the same way in which they have been walking, disregarding the law of God and presenting falsehoods before the people, God allows them to suffer calamity, that their senses may be awakened. .
“The Lord will not suddenly cast off all transgressors or destroy entire nations;
but He will punish cities and places where men have given themselves up to the possession of Satanic agencies. Strictly will the cities of the nations be dealt with, and yet they will not be visited in the extreme of God’s indignation, because some souls will yet break away from the delusions of the enemy, and will repent and be converted, while the mass will be treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.”-Manuscript 35, 1906.
“While at Loma Linda, California, April 16, 1906, there passed before me a most wonderful representation. During a vision of the night, I stood on an eminence, from which I could see houses shaken like a reed in the wind. Buildings, great and small, were falling to the ground. Pleasure resorts, theaters, hotels, and the homes of the wealthy were shaken and shattered. Many lives were blotted out of existence, and the air was filled with the shrieks of the injured and the terrified.
“The destroying angels of God were at work. One touch, and buildings so
thoroughly constructed that men regarded them as secure against every danger, quickly became heaps of rubbish. There was no assurance of safety in any place. I did not feel in any special peril, but the awfulness of the scenes that passed before me I cannot find words to describe. It seemed that the forbearance of God was exhausted, and that the judgment day had come.
“The angel that stood by my side then instructed me that but few have any
conception of the wickedness existing in our world today, and especially the wickedness in the large cities. He declared that the Lord has appointed a time when He will visit transgressors in wrath for persistent disregard of His law.
“Terrible as was the representation that passed before me, that which impressed itself most vividly upon my mind was the instruction given in connection with it. The angel that stood by my side declared that God’s supreme rulership, and the sacredness of His law, must be revealed to those who persistently refuse to render obedience to the King of kings. Those who choose to remain disloyal must be visited in mercy with judgments, in order that, if possible, they may be aroused to a realization of the sinfulness of their course.”—Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 92. (1909)
“Last Friday morning, just before I awoke, a very impressive scene was
presented before me. I seemed to awake from sleep but was not in my home. From the windows I could behold a terrible conflagration. Great balls of fire were falling upon houses, and from these balls fiery arrows were flying in every direction. It was impossible to check the fires that were kindled, and many places were being destroyed.
The terror of the people was indescribable. After a time I awoke and found myself at home. “—Letter 278, 1906.
“Everywhere there are men who should be out in active ministry, giving the last message of warning to a fallen world. The work that should long ago have been in active operation to win souls to Christ has not been done. The inhabitants of the ungodly cities so soon to be visited by calamities have been cruelly neglected. The time is near when large cities will be swept away, and all should be warned of these coming judgments.
But who is giving to the accomplishment of this work the wholehearted service that God requires?
“At the present time there is not a thousandth part being done in working the
cities, that should be done, and that would be done if men and women would do their whole duty.” —Manuscript 53, 1910.
“0 that God’s people had a sense of the impending destruction of thousands of cities, now almost given to idolatry. “—Review and Herald, September 10, 1903.
“As I consider the conditions in the cities that are so manifestly under the power of Satan, I ask myself the question, What will be the end of these things? The wickedness in many cities is increasing. Crime and iniquity are at work on every hand.
New species of idolatry are continually being introduced into society. In every nation the minds of men are turning to the invention of some new thing. Rashness of deed and confusion of mind are everywhere increasing. Surely the cities of the earth are becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah.”
—Review. Jan. 25, 1912.
PILGRIMS’ REST - BEERSHEBA SPRINGS, TN 37305
Now the great work from which the mind should not be diverted is the consideration of our personal safety in the sight of God. Are our feet on the rock of ages? Are we hiding ourselves in our only refuge? The storm is coming, relentless in its fury. Are we prepared to meet it? Are we one with Christ as He is one with the Father? Are we heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ? Are we working in copartnership with Christ?—Manuscript 32a, 1896.
Ev 199