Chapter 43—Limits to God’s Forbearance
It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.
Psalm 119:126
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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.... 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 at 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.... God’s supreme rulership and the sacredness of His law must
be revealed to those who persistently refused 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.... While the divine Ruler
bears long with perversity, He is not deceived and will not always keep
silence. His supremacy, His authority as Ruler of the universe, must finally
be acknowledged and the just claims of His law vindicated.
There are limits even to the forbearance of God, and many are exceeding
these boundaries. They have overrun the limits of grace, and therefore God
must interfere and vindicate His own honor....
When the Lord comes forth as an avenger, He will also come as a
protector of all those who have preserved the faith in its purity and kept
themselves unspotted from the world.
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