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God Remembers His Own, December 29
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come
down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but
a short time.
Revelation 12:12
.
In all ages God’s appointed witnesses have exposed themselves to reproach
and persecution for the truth’s sake. Joseph was maligned and persecuted....
David, the chosen messenger of God, was hunted like a beast of prey by his
enemies.... Stephen was stoned because he preached Christ and Him crucified.
Paul was imprisoned, beaten with rods, stoned, and finally put to death.... John
was banished to the Isle of Patmos “for the word of God, and for the testimony
of Jesus Christ.”
These examples of human steadfastness bear witness to the faithfulness of
God’s promises—of His abiding presence and sustaining grace. They testify to
the power of faith to withstand the powers of the world
The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can
endure weariness, delay, and hunger—a faith that will not faint though severely
tried
Many of all nations and of all classes, high and low, rich and poor, black and
white, will be cast into the most unjust and cruel bondage. The beloved of God
pass weary days, bound in chains, shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be slain,
some apparently left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome dungeons.... No
human hand is ready to lend them help.
Will the Lord forget His people in this trying hour? Did He forget faithful
Noah when judgments were visited upon the antediluvian world? Did He forget
Lot when the fire came down from heaven to consume the cities of the plain? ...
Did He forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel threatened him with the fate of
the prophets of Baal? Did He forget Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his
prison house? Did He forget the three worthies in the fiery furnace? or Daniel in
the den of lions? ...
Though enemies may thrust them into prison, yet dungeon walls cannot cut
off the communication between their souls and Christ. One who sees their every
weakness, who is acquainted with every trial, is above all earthly powers; and
angels will come to them in lonely cells, bringing light and peace from heaven
[370]
48
The Acts of the Apostles, 575
.
49
The Great Controversy, 621
.
50
Ibid., 626, 627
.
384