APPENDIX A – EG White Support
God Will Work in Unexpected Ways
"Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who Joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world God will use ways and means by which it wtll be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness." TM 300.
"God has revealed what is to take place in the last days, that His people may be prepared to stand against the tempest of opposition and wrath." 5T 452.
"The Savior's prophecy concerning the visitation of judgment upon Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment, of which that terrible desolation was but a faint shadow. In the fate of the chosen city we may behold the doom of the world that has rejected God's mercy and trampled upon His law." GC 36.
"Do you believe that the Lord is coming, and that the last great crisis is about to break upon the world? There will soon come a sudden change in God's dealings. The world in its perversity is being visited by casualties, --by floods, storms, fires, earthquakes, famines, wars and bloodshed. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power;...but His forbearance will not always continue. Who is prepared for the SUDDEN CHANGE that will take place in God's dealings with sinful men?" -Fundamentals of Christian Education, p.356, 357.
"We who know the truth should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise." 8T 28; 7BC 911.
"Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts....God calls for a revival and a reformation." PK 626.
"Last Friday morning, just before I awoke, a very impressive scene was presented before me. I seemed to awake from sleep but was not in my home. From the windows I could behold a terrible conflagration. Great balls of fire were falling upon houses, and from these balls fiery arrows were flying in every direction. It was impossible to check the fires that were kindled, and many places were destroyed. The terror of the people was indescribable." Evangelism, p.29.
I saw an immense ball of fire fall among some beautiful mansions, causing their instant destruction. I heard someone say: "We knew that the judgements of God were coming on the earth, but we did not know that they would come so soon." Others, with agonized voices, said: "You knew! Why then did you not tell us? We did not know." -- 9T 28.
"Last night a scene was presented before me. I may never feel free to reveal all of it, but I will reveal a little.
It seemed that an immense ball of fire came down upon the world, and crushed large houses. From place to place rose the cry, "The Lord has come! The Lord has come!" Many were unprepared to meet Him, but a few were saying, "Praise the Lord!"
'Why are you praising the lord?' inquired those upon whom was coming sudden destruction.
'Because we now see what we have been looking for.'
'If you believed that these things were coming, why did you not tell us?' was the terrible response. 'We did not know about these things. Why did you leave us in ignorance? Again and again you have seen us; why did you not become acquainted with us, and tell us of the judgement to come, and that we must serve God, lest we perish? Now we are lost!"
Reflecting Christ, p.243.
"On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof and they were erected to glorify their owners and builders…
The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fireproof buildings and said: 'They are perfectly safe.' But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable to operate the engines." 9T 12, 13.
"It is in a crisis that character is revealed. When the earnest voice proclaimed at midnight, 'Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,' and the sleeping virgins were roused from their slumbers, it was seen who had made preparation for the event. Both parties were taken unawares; but one was prepared for the emergency, and the other was found without preparation. So now, a SUDDEN AND UNLOOKED FOR CALAMITY, SOMETHING THAT BRINGS THE SOUL FACE TO FACE WITH DEATH, will show whether there is any real faith in the promises of God. It will show whether the soul is sustained by grace. The great final test comes at the close of human probation, when it will be too late for the soul's need to be supplied." Christ's Object Lessons, p.412.
"The tempest is coming, and we must get ready for its fury by having repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail wi11 become more and more frequent; confusion, collision, and death without a moment's warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near!" MYP 89, 90.
"'The commencement of the time of trouble,' here mentioned, does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period Just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary." EW 85.
What mean the awful calamities by sea -- vessels hurled into eternity without a moment's warning? What mean the accidents by land--fire consuming the riches that men have hoarded, much of which has been accumulated by oppression of the poor? The Lord will not interfere to protect the property of those who transgress His law, break His covenant, and trample upon His Sabbath, accepting in its place a spurious rest day.
The plagues of God are already falling upon the earth, sweeping away the most costly structures as if by a breath of fire from heaven. Will not these judgments bring professing Christians to their senses? God permits them to come that the world may take heed, that sinners may be afraid and tremble before Him.--3MR 311 (1902).
God has a purpose in permitting these calamities to occur. They are one of His means of calling men and women to their senses. By unusual workings through nature God will express to doubting human agencies that which He clearly reveals in His Word.--19MR 279 (1902).
How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man, but in them all God's purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.--PK 277 (c. ~1914).
"The mark of the beast is exactly what it has been proclaimed to be. Not all in regard to this matter is yet understood, nor will it be until the unrolling of the scroll." 6T 17; 8T159.
The Sunday Movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue, and many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the under-current is tending. Its professions are mild, and apparently Christian; but when it shall speak, it will reveal the spirit of the dragon. RH Extra 12-11-1888, p.4.
"I saw that God has children who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath mere fully." EW 33.
"God's Sabbath will be trampled under foot, and a false sabbath will be exalted. In a Sunday law there is possibility for great suffering to those who observe the seventh day. The working out of Satan's plans will bring persecution to the people of God. But the faithful servants of God need not fear the outcome of the conflict." 2SM 375.
"The Protestant world today see in the little company keeping the Sabbath a Mordecai in the gate. His character and conduct, expressing reverence for the law of God, are a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord and are trampling upon His Sabbath; the unwelcome intruder must by some means be put out of the way." 5T 450.
"When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held in common, shall influence the state to enforce decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result. GC 445
When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the infuence of this three fold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.--5T 451 (1885).
"This earth has almost reached the place where God will permit the destroyer to work his will upon it. The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal, God will reveal Himself. He will arise in His majesty to shake terribly the earth. He will come out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity, and the earth shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain." 7T 141.
"The substitution of the false for the true is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal, God will reveal Himself. When the laws of men are exalted above the laws of God, when the powers of this earth try to force men to keep the first day of the week, know that the time has come for God to work. He will arise in His majesty, and will shake terribly the earth. He will come out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity." 7BC 980.
"If popery or its principles shall again be legislated into power, the fires of persecution will be rekindled against those who will not sacrifice conscience and the truth in deference to popular errors. This evil is on the point of realization." 5T 712.
"God's people will feel the hand of persecution because they keep holy the seventh day." 7BC 975; 9T 229.
"Sundaykeeping is not yet the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes forth causing men to worship this idol sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test but that time has not come yet." 7BC 977 (1899).
"Satan puts his interpretation on events, and they think, as he would have them, that the calamities which fill the land are a result of Sundaybreaking. Thinking to appease the wrath of God these influential men make laws enforcing Sunday observance." -- 10MR 239.
"As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false Sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example." -- 6T 18 (1900).
"The Sabbath question is to be the issue in the great final conflict in which all the world will act a part." -- 6T 352 (1900).
"Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world." -- 6T 395.
"The substitution of the false for the true is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal God will reveal Himself. When the laws of men are exalted above the laws of God, when the powers of this earth try to force men to keep the first day of the week, know that the time has come for God to work." -- 7BC 980 (1901).
"when the angel of mercy folds her wings and departs, Satan will do the evil deeds he has long wished to do. Storm and tempest, war and bloodshed -- in these things he delights, and thus he gathers in his harvest. And so completely will men be deceived by him that they will declare that these calamities are the result of the desecration of the first day of the week. From the pulpits of the popular churches will be heard the statement that the world is being punished because Sunday is not honored as it should be. And it will require no great stretch of imagination for men to believe this." 9-17-1901.
"Wonderful events are soon to open before the world. The end of all things is at hand. The time of trouble is to come upon the people of God. Then it is that the decree will go forth forbidding those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord to buy or sell, and threatening them with punishment, and even death, if they do not observe the first day of the week as the Sabbath. ‘And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time…’" RH 11-19-1908, p.5.
"I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven. An angel with a writer's inkhorn by his side returned from the earth and reported to Jesus that his work was done, and the saints were numbered and sealed. Then I saw Jesus, who had been ministering before the ark containing the ten commandments, throw down the censer. He raised His hands, and with a loud voice said, 'It is done.' And all the angelic host laid off their crowns as Jesus made the solemn declaration, 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.'" EW 279, 280.
"’And at that time shall Michael stand up.’ …Every case is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer mercy for the impenitent. The seal of the living God is upon His people." 5T 212, 213.
"When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth…The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God's long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one." GC 614.
Satan's Impersonation of Christ
"We are warned that in the last days he [Satan] will work with signs and lying wonders until the close of probation, that he may point to them as evidence that he is an angel of light and not of darkness." 2SM 51; 7BC 911; 5BC 1099.
"In this age antichrist will appear as the true Christ, and then the law of God will be made void in the nations of our world. Rebellion against God’s holy law will be fully ripe. But the true leader of all this rebellion is Satan clothed as an angel of light. Men will be deceived and will exalt him to the place of God, and deify him. But Omnipotence will interpose, and to the apostate churches that unite in exaltation of Satan, the sentence will go forth, ‘Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.’" TM 62.
"The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he wil1 endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his aecepttve power he will make it appear that God's special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world." GC 464.
"There is a limit beyond which Satan cannot go, and here he calls deception to his aid and counterfeits the work which he has not power actually to perform. In the last days he will appear in such a manner as to make men believe him to be Christ come the second time into the world. He will indeed transform himself into an angel of light. But while he will bear the appearance of Christ in every particular, so far as mere appearance goes, it will deceive none but those who, like Pharaoh, are seeking to resist the truth." -- ST 698 (1889).
"As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has 10ng 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 description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation (Rev. 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 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 Savior 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." -- GC 624.
Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit
"Before the final visitation of God’s judgement on the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out on His children." GC 464.
"Before the work is closed up and the sealing of God's people is finished, we shall receive the outpouring of the Spirit of God." 1SM 111.
"’The commencement of the time of trouble,' here mentioned, does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the 'latter rain,' or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out." EW BS, 86.
"This sealing of the servants of God is the same that was shown to Ezekiel in vision [Ezekiel 9]." TMM 45
"'And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. 'When this time of trouble comes, every case is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer mercy for the impenitent. The seal of the living God is upon His people. This small remnant, unable to defend themselves in the deadly conflict with the powers of earth that are marshaled by the dragon host, make God their defense. The decree has been passed by the highest earthly authority that they shall worship the beast and receive his mark under pain of persecution and death. May God help His people now, for what can they then do in such a fearful conflict without His assistance" 5T 212, 213.
"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 strong-holds of the mountains ....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 . The beloved of God pass weary days, bound by chains, shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be slain, some apparently left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome dungeons." GC 626.
"I saw that God will in a wonderful manner preserve His people through the time of trouble. As Jesus poured out His soul in agony in the garden, they will earnestly cry and agonize day night for deliverance. The decree will go forth that they must disregard the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and honor the first day, or lose their lives; but they will not yield, and trample under their feet the Sabbath of the Lord, and honor an institution of the papacy. Satan's host and wicked men will surround them and exult over them because there will seem to be no escape for them. But in the midst of their revelry triumph, there is heard a peal of the loudest Thunder. The heavens have gathered blackness, and are only illuminated the blazing 1ight and terrible glory from heaven, as God utters His voice from His holy habitation.
The Death Decree Happens After the Second Plague
"And 'the rivers and fountains of waters . . . became blood.' Terrible as these inflictions are, God's justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of God declares: 'Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, . . . because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.' By condemning the people of God to death they have as truly incurred the guilt of their blood as if it had been shed by their hands." GC 628.
"God would not suffer the wicked to destroy those who were expecting translation, and who would not bow to the decree of the beast or receive his mark. I saw that if the wicked were permitted to slay the saints, Satan and al1 his evil host, and all who hate God, would be gratified: And oh, what a triumph it would be for his Satanic majesty, to have power, in the last closing struggle, over those who had so long waited to behold Him whom they 1oved. Those who have mocked at the idea of the saints' going up will witness the care of God for His people, and behold their glorious deliverance." EW 284.
"I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus' work was done in the sanctuary, and then wil1 come seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous. They thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob's trouble." EW 36, 37.
"With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness deeper than the darkness of the night falls upon earth. It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people....The proudest cities of the earth are laid low. The lordly palaces, upon which the world's great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves, are crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent asunder, and God's people who have been held in for their faith, are set free." GC 635-637.
"The foundations of the earth shake; buildings totter and fall with a terrible crash. The sea boils like a pot, and the whole earth is In terrible commotion. The captivity of the righteous is turned, and with sweet and solemn whisperings they say to one another, 'We are delivered. It 1s the voice of God.'" 1T 353, 354.
"The Lord has shown me repeatedly that it is contrary to the Bible to make any provision for our temporal wants in the time of trouble. I saw that if the saints had food laid up by them, or in the field in the time of trouble, when sword, famine and pestilence are in the land, it would be taken from them by violent hands, and strangers would reap their fields." EW 56.
"The plagues were falling upon the inhabitants of the earth. Some were denouncing God and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of God and begged to be taught how they might escape His judgments. But the saints had nothing for them. The last tear for sinners had been shed, the last agonizing prayer offered, the last burden borne, the last warning given." EW 281.
"These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgements of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob's trouble." EW 36, 37.
"And 'the rivers and fountains of waters . . . became blood.' Terrible as these inflictions are, God's justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of God declares: 'Thou art righteous, 0 Lord....because Thou has judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.' By condemning the people of God to death, they have as truly incurred the guilt of their blood as if it had been shed by their hands." GC 628.
"With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness deeper than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens, and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their murderous rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God's covenant, and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness." GC 635, 636.
"Two great opposing powers are revealed in the last great battle. On one side stands the creator of heaven and earth. All on His side bear His signet. They are obedient to His commands. On the other side stands the prince of darkness, with those who have chosen apostasy and rebellion." 7BC 982, 983.
"Evil angels unite their powers with evil men, and as they have been in constant conflict and attained an experience in the best modes of deception and battle, and have been strengthening for centuries, they will not yield the last great final contest without a desperate struggle. All the world will be on one side or the other of the question. The battle of Armageddon will be fought, and that day must find none of us sleeping... The power of the Holy Ghost must be upon us, and the Captain of the Lord's host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle." 7BC 982.
"The enmity of Satan against good will be manifested more and more as he brings his forces into activity in his last work of rebellion; and every soul that is not fully surrendered to God, and kept by divine power, will form an alliance with Satan against heaven, and join in battle against the Ruler of the universe." TH 465.
"The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the whole world, to fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite with Satan in his last struggle against the government of heaven." GC 624.
"The Spirit of God is gradually withdrawing from the world. Satan is also mustering his forces of evil, going forth 'unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world,' to gather them under his banner, to be trained for 'the battle of that great day of God Almighty.'" 7BC 983.