Chapter 83—The Rewards
A Graphic Scene of the Judgment Day—I had a dream once
in which I saw a large company gathered together; and suddenly the
heavens gathered blackness, the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed,
and a voice louder than the heaviest peals of thunder sounded through
the heavens and the earth, saying, “It is done.” Part of the company,
with pallid faces, sprang forward with a wail of agony, crying out, “Oh,
I am not ready.” The question was asked, “Why are you not ready?
Why have you not improved the opportunities I graciously gave you?”
I awoke with the crying ringing in my ears. “I am not ready; I am
unsaved—lost! lost! eternally lost!”
In view of the solemn responsibilities that rest upon us, let us
contemplate the future, that we may understand what we must do in
order to meet it. In that day shall we be confronted with neglect and
contempt of God and His mercy, with rejection of His truth and love?
In the solemn assembly of the last day, in the hearing of the universe,
will be read the reason of the condemnation of the sinner. For the first
time parents will learn what has been the secret life of their children.
Children will see how many wrongs they have committed against their
parents. There will be a general revealing of the secrets and motives
of the heart, for that which is hid will be made manifest. Those who
have made sport of solemn things connected with the judgment will
be sobered as they face its terrible reality.
Those who have despised the Word of God will then face the Au-
thor of the inspired oracles. We cannot afford to live with no reference
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to the day of judgment; for though long delayed, it is now near, even
at the door, and hasteth greatly. The trumpet of the Archangel will
soon startle the living and wake the dead. At that day the wicked will
be separated from the just, as the shepherd divides the goats from the
sheep
When God Asks, “Where Are the Children?”—Parents who
have neglected their God-given responsibilities must meet that neglect
1
The Youth’s Instructor, July 21, 1892
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