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Spiritual Gifts, Volume 3
At the end of one thousand years, Jesus, the king of glory, descends
from the holy city, clothed with brightness like the lightning, upon
the mount of olives—the same mount from whence he ascended after
his resurrection. As his feet touch the mountain, it parts asunder, and
becomes a very great plain, and is prepared for the reception of the
holy city in which is the paradise of God, the garden of Eden, which
was taken up after man’s transgression. Now it descends with the
city, more beautiful, and gloriously adorned than when removed from
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the earth. The city of God comes down and settles upon the mighty
plain prepared for it. Then Jesus leaves the city surrounded by the
redeemed host, and is escorted on his way by the angelic throng. In
fearful majesty he calls forth the wicked dead. They are wakened from
their long sleep. What a dreadful waking! They behold the Son of
God in his stern majesty and resplendent glory. All, as soon as they
behold him, know that he is the crucified one who died to save them,
whom they had despised and rejected. They are in number like the
sand upon the sea-shore. At the first resurrection all come forth in
immortal bloom, but at the second, the marks of the curse are visible
upon all. All come up as they went down into their graves. Those
who lived before the flood, come forth with their giant-like stature,
more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and well
proportioned. The generations after the flood were less in stature.
There was a continual decrease through successive generations, down
to the last that lived upon the earth. The contrast between the first
wicked men who lived upon the earth, and those of the last generation,
was very great. The first were of lofty height and well proportioned—
the last came up as they went down, a dwarfed, feeble, deformed race.
A mighty host of kings, warriors, statesmen and nobles, down to the
most degraded, came up together upon the
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desolate earth. When they behold Jesus in his glory they are affrighted,
and seek to hide from his terrible presence. They are overwhelmed
with his exceeding glory, and with one accord are compelled to exclaim
in anguish, “Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord.”
Jesus and the saints return to the city. Satan goes forth among the
vast multitude of resurrected wicked, and makes the feeble strong. He
then points them to the countless millions who have been raised, and
makes them believe that he, by his power, had brought them up from
[their] graves. He points to the powerful race who lived before the