Time of Trouble
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and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be.”
Matthew 24:24-27, 31
;
25:31
;
Revelation 1:7
;
1 Thessaloni-
ans 4:16, 17
. This coming there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It
will be universally known—witnessed by the whole world.
Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and
who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the
powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony
these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time
will come. By the sifting of temptation the genuine Christian will be
revealed. Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His
word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would
they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan will,
if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand in that
day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up their way, entangle them
with earthly treasures, cause them to carry a heavy, wearisome burden,
that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of this life and the
[626]
day of trial may come upon them as a thief.
As the decree issued by the various rulers of Christendom against
commandment keepers shall withdraw the protection of government
and abandon them to those who desire their destruction, the people
of God will flee from the cities and villages and associate together in
companies, dwelling in the most desolate and solitary places. Many
will find refuge in the strongholds of the mountains. Like the Christians
of the Piedmont valleys, they will make the high places of the earth
their sanctuaries and will thank God for “the munitions of rocks.”
Isaiah 33:16
. But 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 ear is
open to hear their moans; 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 Joseph surrounded by
idolaters in Egypt? Did He forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel
threatened him with the fate of the prophets of Baal? Did He forget