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Time of Trouble
297
of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin
more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.
A single angel destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians, and
filled the land with mourning. When David offended against God by
numbering the people, one angel caused that terrible destruction by
which his sin was punished. The same destructive power exercised
by holy angels when God commands, will be exercised by evil angels
when he allows. There are forces now ready, and only waiting the
divine permission, to spread desolation everywhere.
Fearful sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed
in the heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons.
The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the
whole world. Rulers and subjects will be alike deceived. Persons
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will arise pretending to be Christ, and claiming the title and the
worship which belong to the world’s Redeemer. They will perform
wonderful miracles of healing, and will profess to have revelations
from Heaven contradicting the testimony of the Scriptures.
As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan him-
self will attempt to personate Christ. The church has long professed
to look to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes.
Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In
different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men
as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the descrip-
tion of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. [
Revelation
1:13-15
.] The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything
that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out
upon the air, “Christ has come! Christ has come!” The people
prostrate themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his
hands, and pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed his
disciples when he was personally upon the earth. His voice is soft
and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones
he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the
Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his
assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath
to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed.
He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day
are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to
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them with light and truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering