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42 - The Controversy Ended - The Great Controversy · Philosophy and Faith

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Speaker 1: Chapter forty two. The controversy ended. At the close of
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Speaker 1: the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He
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Speaker 1: is accompanied by the host of the Redeemed and attended
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Speaker 1: by a retinue of angels. As he descends in terrific majesty,
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Speaker 1: he bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom.
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Speaker 1: They come forth a mighty host, numberless as the sands
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Speaker 1: of the sea. What a contrast to those who are
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Speaker 1: raised at the First Resurrection. The righteous were clothed with
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Speaker 1: immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of
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Speaker 1: disease and death. Every eye in that vast multitude is
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Speaker 1: turned to behold the glory of the Son of God.
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Speaker 1: With one voice, the wicked hosts exclaimed, blessed is he
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Speaker 1: that cometh in the name of the Lord. It is
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Speaker 1: not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force
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Speaker 1: of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the
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Speaker 1: wicked went into their graves, so they come forth with
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Speaker 1: the same enmity to Christ and the same spirit of rebellion.
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Speaker 1: They are to have no new probation in which to
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Speaker 1: remedy the defects of their past. Lives. Nothing would be
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Speaker 1: gained by this. A lifetime of transgression has not softened
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Speaker 1: their hearts. A second probation, were it given them, would
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Speaker 1: be occupied, as was the first, in evading the requirements
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Speaker 1: of God and exciting rebellion against him. Christ descends upon
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Speaker 1: the Mount of Olives, whence, after his resurrection he ascended,
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Speaker 1: and where angels repeated the promise of his return. Says
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Speaker 1: the prophet, the Lord my God shall come, and all
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Speaker 1: the saints with thee and his feet shall stand in
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Speaker 1: that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before
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Speaker 1: Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall
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Speaker 1: cleave in the midst thereof, and there shall be a
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Speaker 1: very great valley, and the Lord shall be king over
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Speaker 1: all the earth. In that day shall there be one
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Speaker 1: Lord and his name one. As the new Jerusalem, in
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Speaker 1: its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests
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Speaker 1: upon the place, purified and made ready to receive it,
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Speaker 1: and Christ, with his people and the angels, enters the
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Speaker 1: Holy City. Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle
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Speaker 1: for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut
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Speaker 1: off from his work of deception, the Prince of evil
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Speaker 1: was miserable and dejected. But as the wicked debtor raised
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Speaker 1: and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his
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Speaker 1: hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy.
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Speaker 1: He will marshal all the armies of the lost under
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Speaker 1: his banner, and through them endeavor to execute his plans.
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Speaker 1: The wicked are Satan's captives. In rejecting Christ, they have
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Speaker 1: accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready
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Speaker 1: to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet,
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Speaker 1: true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself
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Speaker 1: to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who
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Speaker 1: is the rightful owner of the world, and whose inheritance
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Speaker 1: has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to
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Speaker 1: his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his
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Speaker 1: power has brought them forth from their graves, and that
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Speaker 1: he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny.
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Speaker 1: The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders
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Speaker 1: to support his claims. He makes the weak strong and
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Speaker 1: inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes
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Speaker 1: to lead them against the camp of the saints and
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Speaker 1: to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation,
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Speaker 1: he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised
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Speaker 1: from the dead, and declares that as their leader, he
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Speaker 1: is well able to overthrow the city and regain his
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Speaker 1: throne and his kingdom. In that vast throng are multitudes
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Speaker 1: of the long lived race that existed before the flood,
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Speaker 1: Men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to
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Speaker 1: the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and
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Speaker 1: knowledge to the exaltation of themselves. Men whose wonderful works
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Speaker 1: of art led the world to idolize their genius, but
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Speaker 1: whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and to
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Speaker 1: facing the image of God, caused him to blot them
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Speaker 1: from the face of his creation. There are kings and
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Speaker 1: generals who conquered nations, Valiant men who never lost to battle,
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Speaker 1: proud ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death,
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Speaker 1: These experience no change as they come up from the grave.
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Speaker 1: They resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased.
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Speaker 1: They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that
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Speaker 1: ruled them when they fell. Satan consults with his angels,
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Speaker 1: and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men.
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Speaker 1: They look upon the strength at numbers on their side
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Speaker 1: and declare that the army within the city is small
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Speaker 1: in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome.
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Speaker 1: They lay their plans to take possession of the riches
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Speaker 1: and glory of the new Jerusalem. All immediately begin to
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Speaker 1: prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military
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Speaker 1: leaders famed for their success marshal the throngs of warlike
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Speaker 1: men into companies and visions. At last, the order to
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Speaker 1: advance is given, and the countless host moves on. An
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Speaker 1: army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such
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Speaker 1: as the combined forces of all ages since war began
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Speaker 1: on Earth, could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors,
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Speaker 1: leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for
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Speaker 1: this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train,
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Speaker 1: and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its
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Speaker 1: appointed leader. With military precision, the serried ranks advance over
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Speaker 1: the Earth's broken and uneven surface to the City of
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Speaker 1: God by command of Jesus. The gates of the New
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Speaker 1: Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the
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Speaker 1: city and make ready for the onset. Now Christ again
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Speaker 1: appears to the view of his enemies. Far above the city,
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Speaker 1: upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high
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Speaker 1: and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of
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Speaker 1: God God, and around him are the subjects of his kingdom.
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Speaker 1: The power and majesty of Christ. No language can describe,
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Speaker 1: no pen portray the glory of the Eternal Father is
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Speaker 1: enshrouding his son. The brightness of his presence fills the
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Speaker 1: City of God and flows out beyond the gates, flooding
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Speaker 1: the whole earth with its radiance. Nearest the throne are
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Speaker 1: those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan,
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Speaker 1: but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed
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Speaker 1: their Savior with deep intense devotion. Next are those who
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Speaker 1: perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity,
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Speaker 1: those who honored the Law of God when the Christian
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Speaker 1: world declared it void, and the millions of all ages
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Speaker 1: who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the
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Speaker 1: great multitude which no man could number. Of all nations
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Speaker 1: and kindreds, and people and tongues before the Throne and
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Speaker 1: before the Lamb. Clothed with white robes and palms in
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Speaker 1: their hands, their warfare is ended, their victory won. They
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Speaker 1: have run the race and reached the The palm branch
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Speaker 1: in their hands is a symbol of their triumph. The
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Speaker 1: white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ,
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Speaker 1: which is now theirs. Their Redeemed raise a song of
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Speaker 1: praise that echoes and re echoes through the vaults of heaven.
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Speaker 1: Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and
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Speaker 1: unto the Lamb. And Angel and Sarah. Unite their voices
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Speaker 1: in adoration. As the Redeemed have beheld the power and
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Speaker 1: malignity of Satan. They have seen as never before that
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Speaker 1: no power but that of Christ could have made them
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Speaker 1: conquerors in all that shining throng. There are none to
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Speaker 1: ascribe salvation to themselves, as if they had prevailed by
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Speaker 1: their own power and goodness. Nothing is said of what
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Speaker 1: they have done or suffered, but the burden of every song,
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Speaker 1: the keynote of every anthem, is salvation to our God
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Speaker 1: and unto the Lamb. In the presence of the assembled
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Speaker 1: inhabitants of earth and heaven. The final coronation of the
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Speaker 1: Son of God takes place, and, now invested with supreme
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Speaker 1: majesty and power, the King of Kings pronounces sentence upon
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Speaker 1: the rebels against his government, and executes justice upon those
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Speaker 1: who have transgressed his law and oppressed his people. Says
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Speaker 1: the Prophet of God. I saw a great white throne
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Speaker 1: and him that sat on it, from whose face the
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Speaker 1: earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found
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Speaker 1: no place for them. And I saw the dead, small
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Speaker 1: and great, stand before God. And the books are opened,
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Speaker 1: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.
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Speaker 1: And the dead were judged out of those things which
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Speaker 1: were written in the books according to their works. As
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Speaker 1: soon as the books a record are opened, and the
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Speaker 1: eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious
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Speaker 1: of every sin which they have ever committed. They see
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Speaker 1: just where their feet diverged from the path of purity
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Speaker 1: and holiness, just how far pride and rebellion have carried
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Speaker 1: them in the violation of the law of God, the
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Speaker 1: seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in sin. The
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Speaker 1: blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected,
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Speaker 1: the waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant heart.
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Speaker 1: All appear as if written in letters of fire. Above
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Speaker 1: the throne is revealed the Cross, and like a panoramic view,
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Speaker 1: appear the scenes of Adam's temptation and fall, and the
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Speaker 1: successive steps in the great plan of redemption. The Saviour's
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Speaker 1: slowly birth, his early life of simplicity and obedience, his
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Speaker 1: baptism in Jordan, the fast and temptation in the wilderness,
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Speaker 1: his public ministry unfolding to men Heaven's most precious blessings,
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Speaker 1: the days crowded with deeds of love and mercy, the
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Speaker 1: knights of prayer and watching in the solitude of the mountains,
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Speaker 1: The plottings of envy, hate and malice which repaid his benefits.
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Speaker 1: The awful, mysterious agony and gassemine beneath the crushing weight
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Speaker 1: of the sins of the whole world. His betrayal into
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Speaker 1: the hands of the murderous mob, the fearful events of
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Speaker 1: that night of horror, the unresisting prisoner forsaken by his head,
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Speaker 1: best loved disciples, rudely hurried through the streets of Jerusalem,
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Speaker 1: the Son of God exultingly displayed before Ennis arraigned in
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Speaker 1: the High Priest's palace, in the judgment Hall of Pilot,
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Speaker 1: before the cowardly and cruel Herod, mocked, insulted, tortured, and
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Speaker 1: condemned to die. All are vividly portrayed, and now before
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Speaker 1: the swaying multitude a revealed the final scenes. The patient
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Speaker 1: sufferer treading the path to Calvary, the Prince of Heaven
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Speaker 1: hanging upon the cross, the haughty priests and the jeering
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Speaker 1: rabble deriving his expiring agony. The supernatural darkness, the heaving earth,
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Speaker 1: the rent rocks, the open graves, marking the moment when
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Speaker 1: the world's redeemer yielded up his life. The awful spectacle appears,
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Speaker 1: just as it was Satan. His angels and his subjects
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Speaker 1: have no power to turn from the picture of their
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Speaker 1: own work. Each actor recalls the part which he performed.
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Speaker 1: Herod who slew the innocent children of Bethlehem that he
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Speaker 1: might destroy the king of his Liad, the base Herodius,
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Speaker 1: upon whose guilty soul rests the blood of John the Baptist,
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Speaker 1: the weak time serving pilot, the mocking soldiers, the priests
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Speaker 1: and rulers, and the madam Throng who cried his blood
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Speaker 1: be on us and on our children. All behold the
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Speaker 1: enormity of their guilt. They vainly seek to hide from
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Speaker 1: the divine majesty of his countenance, outshining the glory of
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Speaker 1: the sun. While the Redeemed cast their crowns at the
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Speaker 1: Saviour's feet, exclaiming he died for me. Amid the ransomed
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Speaker 1: Throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the
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Speaker 1: ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their true
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Speaker 1: hearted brethren, and with them the vast host of martyrs.
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Speaker 1: While outside the walls, with every vile and abominable thing,
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Speaker 1: are those by whom they were persecuted, imprisoned, and slain.
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Speaker 1: There is Nero, that monster of cruelty and vice, beholding
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Speaker 1: the joy and exaltation of those whom he once tortured,
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Speaker 1: and in whose extremest anguish he found satanic to Diday.
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Speaker 1: His mother is there to witness the result of her
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Speaker 1: own work, to see how the evil stamp of character
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Speaker 1: transmitted to her son, the passions encouraged and developed by
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Speaker 1: her influence and example have borne fruit in crimes that
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Speaker 1: caused the world to shudder. There are papist priests and
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Speaker 1: prelates who claimed to be Christ's ambassadors, yet employed the rack,
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Speaker 1: the dungeon, and the stake to control the consciences of
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Speaker 1: his people. There are the proud pontiffs who exalted themselves
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Speaker 1: above God and presumed to change the law of the
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Speaker 1: most High. Those pretended fathers of the Church have an
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Speaker 1: account to render to God from which they would fain
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Speaker 1: be excused. Too late. They are made to see that
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Speaker 1: the omniscient One is jealous of his law, and that
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Speaker 1: he will in no wise clear the guilty. They learn
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Speaker 1: now that Christ identifies his interest with that of his
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Speaker 1: suffering people, and they feel the force of his own words.
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Speaker 1: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
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Speaker 1: least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
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Speaker 1: The whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of
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Speaker 1: God on the charge of high treason against the government
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Speaker 1: of Heaven. They have none to plead their cause. They
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Speaker 1: are without excuse, and the sentence of eternal deaths pronounced
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Speaker 1: against them. It is now evident to all that the
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Speaker 1: wages of sin is not noble independence and eternal life,
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Speaker 1: but slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they
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Speaker 1: have forfeited by their life of rebellion. The far more
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Speaker 1: exceeding and eternal weight of glory was despised when offered them.
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Speaker 1: But how desirable it now appears. All this Christ, the
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Speaker 1: lost soul, I might have had, But I chose to
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Speaker 1: put these things far from me. Oh, strange infatuation, I
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Speaker 1: have exchanged peace, happiness, and honor for wretchedness, infamy, and despair.
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Speaker 1: All see that their exclusion from heaven is just by
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Speaker 1: their lives. They have declared, we will not have this
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Speaker 1: Jesus to reign over us. As if entranced. The wicked
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Speaker 1: have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God.
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Speaker 1: They see in his hands the tables of the Divine Law,
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Speaker 1: the statutes which they have despised and transgressed. They witness
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Speaker 1: the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved,
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Speaker 1: And as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes
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Speaker 1: without the city, all with one voice exclaim, great and
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Speaker 1: marvelous are thy works, Lord God, Almighty, Just and true
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Speaker 1: are thy ways, Thou King of saints, and falling prostrate,
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Speaker 1: they worship the Prince of Life. Satan seems paralyzed as
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Speaker 1: he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He who
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Speaker 1: was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen
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Speaker 1: a shining seraph, son of the Morning, How changed, how
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Speaker 1: degraded From the council where once he was honoured, he
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Speaker 1: is forever excluded. He sees another now standing near to
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Speaker 1: the Father, veiling his glory. He has seen the crown
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Speaker 1: placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of
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Speaker 1: lofty stature and majestic presence, and he knows that the
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Speaker 1: exalted position of this angel might have been His memory
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Speaker 1: recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace
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Speaker 1: and content that were his until he indulged in murmuring
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Speaker 1: against God and envy of Christ. His accusations, his rebellion,
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Speaker 1: his deceptions to gain the sympathy and support of the angels,
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Speaker 1: his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self recovery
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Speaker 1: when God would have granted him forgiveness. All come vividly
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Speaker 1: before him. He reviews his work among men and its results,
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Speaker 1: the enmity of man toward his fellow man, the terrible
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Speaker 1: destruction of life, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the
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Speaker 1: overturning of thrones, the long succession of tumults, conflicts, and revolutions.
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Speaker 1: He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of
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Speaker 1: Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees
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Speaker 1: that his hellish plots have been powerless to destroy those
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Speaker 1: who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan looks
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Speaker 1: upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees
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Speaker 1: only failure and ruin. He has led the multitudes to
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Speaker 1: believe that the City of God would be an easy prey,
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Speaker 1: but he knows that this is false. Again and again,
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Speaker 1: in the progress of the Great Controversy, he has been
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Speaker 1: defeated and compelled to yield. He knows too well the
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Speaker 1: power and majesty of the Eternal. The aim of the
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Speaker 1: Great Rebel has ever been to justify himself and to
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Speaker 1: prove the divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this
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Speaker 1: end he has spent all the power of his giant intellect.
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Speaker 1: He has worked deliberately and systematically, and with marvelous success,
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Speaker 1: leading vast multitudes to accept his version of the Great Controversy,
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Speaker 1: which has been so long in progress. For thousands of years,
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Speaker 1: this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth.
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Speaker 1: But the time has now come when the rebellion is
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Speaker 1: to be finally defeated, and the history and character of
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Speaker 1: Satan disclosed. In his last great effort to dethrone Christ,
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Speaker 1: destroy his people, and take possession of the City of God,
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Speaker 1: the ark deceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have
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Speaker 1: united with him see the total failure of his cause.
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Speaker 1: Christ's followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent
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Speaker 1: of his machinations against the government of God. He is
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Speaker 1: the object of universal abhorrence. Satan sees that his voluntary
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Speaker 1: rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has trained his
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Speaker 1: powers to war against God. The purity, peace, and harmony
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Speaker 1: of Heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations
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Speaker 1: against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced.
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Speaker 1: The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah
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Speaker 1: rests wholly upon himself, and now Satan bows down and
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Speaker 1: confesses the justice of his sentence. Who shall not fear
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Speaker 1: thee O Lord and glorify thy name, for thou only
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Speaker 1: art holy. For all nations shall common war worship before Thee.
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Speaker 1: For thy judgments are made manifest. Every question of truth
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Speaker 1: and error in the long standing controversy has now been
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Speaker 1: made plain. The results of rebellion, the fruits of setting
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Speaker 1: aside the divine statutes have been laid open to the
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Speaker 1: view of all created intelligences. The working out of Satan's
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Speaker 1: rule in contrast with the government of God has been
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Speaker 1: presented to the whole universe. Satan's own works have condemned him.
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Speaker 1: God's wisdom, his justice, and his goodness stand fully vindicated.
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Speaker 1: It is seen that all his dealings in the Great
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Speaker 1: Controversy have been conducted with respect to the eternal good
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Speaker 1: of his people and the good of all the worlds
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Speaker 1: that He has created. All thy works shall praise THEE,
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Speaker 1: O Lord, and thy saints shall bless THEE. The history
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Speaker 1: of sin will stand to all eternity as a witness
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Speaker 1: that with the existence of God's law is bound up
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Speaker 1: the happiness of all the beings he has created. With
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Speaker 1: all the facts of the Great Controversy, and the whole universe,
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Speaker 1: both loyal and rebellious with one accord, declare just and
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Speaker 1: true are thy ways Thou, King of saints, before the
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Speaker 1: universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made by
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Speaker 1: the Father and the Son in man's behalf. The hour
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Speaker 1: has come when Christ occupies his rightful position and is
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Speaker 1: glorified above principalities and powers and every name that is named.
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Speaker 1: It was for the joy that was set before him,
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Speaker 1: that he might bring many sons unto glory, that he
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Speaker 1: endured the cross and despised the shame. And inconceivably great
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Speaker 1: as was the sorrow and the shame, yet greater is
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Speaker 1: the joy and the glory. He looks upon the Redeemed
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Speaker 1: renewed in his own image, every heart bearing the perfect
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Speaker 1: impress of the Divine, every face reflecting the likeness of
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Speaker 1: their king. He beholds in them the result of the
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Speaker 1: travail of his soul, and he is satisfied. Then, in
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Speaker 1: a voice that reaches the assembled multitudes of the righteous
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Speaker 1: and the wicked, he declares, behold the purchase of my
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Speaker 1: blood for these I suffered, for these, I died that
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Speaker 1: they might dwell in my presence throughout eternal ages. And
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Speaker 1: the song of praise ascends from the white robed ones
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Speaker 1: about the throne. Worthy is the lamb that was slain
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Speaker 1: to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength, and
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Speaker 1: honor and glory and blessing. Notwithstanding that Satan has been
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Speaker 1: constrained to acknowledge God's justice and to bow to the
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Speaker 1: supremacy of Christ, his character remains unchanged. The spirit of rebellion,
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Speaker 1: like a mighty torrent again bursts forth. Filled with frenzy,
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Speaker 1: he determines not to yield the great controversy. The time
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Speaker 1: has come for a last desperate struggle against the King
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Speaker 1: of Heaven. He rushes into the midst of his subjects
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Speaker 1: and endeavors to inspire them with his own fury and
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Speaker 1: arouse them to instant battle. But of all the countless
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Speaker 1: millions whom he has allured into rebellion, there are none
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Speaker 1: now to acknowledge his supremacy. His power is at an end.
21:00
Speaker 1: The wicked are filled with the same hatred of God
21:03
Speaker 1: that inspires Satan. But they see that their case is hopeless,
21:07
Speaker 1: that they cannot prevail against Jehovah. Their rage is kindled
21:11
Speaker 1: against Satan and those who have been his agents in deception,
21:14
Speaker 1: and with the fury of demons, they turn upon them,
21:18
Speaker 1: Saith the Lord, because thou hast set Thine heart is
21:21
Speaker 1: the heart of God. Behold, Therefore, I will bring strangers
21:24
Speaker 1: upon THEE, the terrible of the nations, And they shall
21:28
Speaker 1: draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and
21:30
Speaker 1: they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring THEE down
21:34
Speaker 1: to the pit. I will destroy thee o covering cherub
21:37
Speaker 1: from the midst of the stones of fire. I will
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Speaker 1: cast THEE to the ground. I will lay THEE before kings,
21:43
Speaker 1: that they may behold THEE. I will bring THEE to
21:45
Speaker 1: ashes upon the earth and the sight of all them
21:47
Speaker 1: that behold THEE. Thou shalt be a terror, and never
21:51
Speaker 1: shalt thou be any more. Every battle of the warrior
21:54
Speaker 1: is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood. But
21:58
Speaker 1: this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. The
22:02
Speaker 1: indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his
22:04
Speaker 1: fury upon all their armies. He hath utterly destroyed them.
22:08
Speaker 1: He hath delivered them to the slaughter upon the wicked.
22:12
Speaker 1: He shall reign quick burning coals, fire and brimstone, and
22:15
Speaker 1: a horrible tempest. This shall be the portion of their cup.
22:20
Speaker 1: Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth
22:23
Speaker 1: is broken up, the weapons concealed in its depths are
22:26
Speaker 1: drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The
22:31
Speaker 1: very rocks are on fire. The day has come that
22:35
Speaker 1: shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat.
22:39
Speaker 1: The earth also, and the works that are therein are
22:41
Speaker 1: burned up. The earth's surface seems one molten mass, a vast,
22:46
Speaker 1: seething lake of fire. It is the time of the
22:49
Speaker 1: judgment and perdition of ungodly men, the day of the
22:52
Speaker 1: Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy
22:55
Speaker 1: of Sion. The wicked receive their recompense in the earth.
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Speaker 1: They shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall
23:03
Speaker 1: burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts. Some are
23:07
Speaker 1: destroyed as in a moment, while others suffer many days.
23:10
Speaker 1: All are punished according to their deeds, the sins of
23:14
Speaker 1: the righteous having been transferred to Satan. He is made
23:17
Speaker 1: to suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for
23:19
Speaker 1: all the sins which he has caused God's people to commit.
23:23
Speaker 1: His punishment is to be far greater than that of
23:26
Speaker 1: those whom he has deceived. After all have perished who
23:29
Speaker 1: fell by his deceptions. He is still to live and
23:32
Speaker 1: suffer on in the cleansing flames. The wicked are at
23:36
Speaker 1: last destroyed, root and branch, Satan, the root, his followers
23:40
Speaker 1: the branches. The full penalty of the law has been visited.
23:44
Speaker 1: The demands of justice have been met, and Heaven and
23:47
Speaker 1: Earth beholding declare the righteousness of Jehovah. Satan's work of
23:53
Speaker 1: ruinous forever ended. For six thousand years, he has wrought
23:57
Speaker 1: his will, filling the earth with woe and causing grief
24:00
Speaker 1: throughout the universe. The whole creation has groaned and travailed
24:05
Speaker 1: together in pain. Now God's creatures are forever delivered from
24:09
Speaker 1: his presence and temptations. The whole earth is at rest
24:13
Speaker 1: and is quiet. They the righteous, break forth into singing,
24:18
Speaker 1: and a shout of praise and triumph ascends from the
24:20
Speaker 1: whole loyal universe. The voice of a great multitude is
24:24
Speaker 1: the voice of many waters, and as the voice of
24:26
Speaker 1: mighty thunderings is heard saying alle Luyah for the Lord,
24:30
Speaker 1: God omnipotent reigneth. While the earth was wrapt in the
24:34
Speaker 1: fire of destruction, the Righteous abode safely in the Holy City,
24:39
Speaker 1: upon those that had part in the first resurrection. The
24:42
Speaker 1: second death has no power. While God is to the
24:45
Speaker 1: wicked a consuming fire, he is to his people both
24:48
Speaker 1: a son and a shield. I saw a new heaven
24:52
Speaker 1: and a new earth. For the first heaven and the
24:54
Speaker 1: first earth were passed away. The fire that consumes the
24:58
Speaker 1: wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curses swept away.
25:03
Speaker 1: No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransom to
25:06
Speaker 1: the fearful consequences of sin. One reminder alone remains. Our
25:11
Speaker 1: Redeemer will ever bear the marks of his crucifixion upon
25:16
Speaker 1: his wounded head, upon his side, his hands and feet
25:19
Speaker 1: are the only traces of the cruel work that sin
25:22
Speaker 1: has wrought, says the prophet, beholding Christ in his glory.
25:27
Speaker 1: He had bright beams coming out of his side, and
25:29
Speaker 1: there was the hiding of his power that pierced side
25:33
Speaker 1: whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God.
25:37
Speaker 1: There is the Savior's glory, there the hiding of his power,
25:41
Speaker 1: mighty to save through the sacrifice of redemption. He was
25:45
Speaker 1: therefore strong to execute justice upon them that despised. God's mercy,
25:50
Speaker 1: and the tokens of his humiliation are his highest honor.
25:53
Speaker 1: Through the eternal ages. The wounds of cavalry will show
25:56
Speaker 1: forth his praise and declare his power. O Tower of
26:01
Speaker 1: the Flock, the stronghold of the Daughter of Zion. Unto
26:04
Speaker 1: thee shall it come even the first Dominion. The time
26:08
Speaker 1: has come to which holy men have looked with longing
26:11
Speaker 1: since the flaming sword barred the first Pair from Eden.
26:14
Speaker 1: The time for the redemption of the purchased possession. The earth,
26:18
Speaker 1: originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him
26:21
Speaker 1: into the hands of Satan, and so long held by
26:24
Speaker 1: the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great
26:27
Speaker 1: plan of redemption. All that was lost by sin has
26:31
Speaker 1: been restored. Thus saith the Lord that formed the earth
26:35
Speaker 1: and made it. He hath established it. He created it,
26:38
Speaker 1: not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited. God's
26:42
Speaker 1: original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled,
26:45
Speaker 1: as it has made the eternal abode of the Redeemed.
26:48
Speaker 1: The Righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever.
26:52
Speaker 1: A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material
26:56
Speaker 1: has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which
26:59
Speaker 1: lead us to look upon it as our home. Christ
27:02
Speaker 1: assured his disciples that he went to prepare mansions for
27:05
Speaker 1: them in the Father's house. Those who accept the teachings
27:09
Speaker 1: of God's word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the
27:12
Speaker 1: heavenly abode. And yet ey hath not seen nor ear heard,
27:17
Speaker 1: neither have entered into the heart of man the things
27:19
Speaker 1: which God hath prepared for them that love him. Human
27:23
Speaker 1: language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous.
27:26
Speaker 1: It will be known only to those who behold it.
27:30
Speaker 1: No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the paradise
27:33
Speaker 1: of God. In the Bible, the inheritance of the saved
27:37
Speaker 1: is called a country. There the heavenly shepherd leads his
27:41
Speaker 1: flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of Life
27:44
Speaker 1: yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the
27:47
Speaker 1: tree are for the service of the nations. There are
27:50
Speaker 1: ever flowing streams clear as crystal, and beside them waving
27:54
Speaker 1: trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the
27:57
Speaker 1: ransomed of the Lord. Where the wide spreading plains swell
28:01
Speaker 1: into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear
28:04
Speaker 1: their lofty summits on those peaceful plains beside those living
28:09
Speaker 1: streams God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers shall find
28:13
Speaker 1: a home. My people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation,
28:18
Speaker 1: and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. Violence
28:22
Speaker 1: shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting, nor
28:24
Speaker 1: destruction within thy borders. But thou shalt call thy wall's
28:28
Speaker 1: salvation and thy gates praise. They shall build houses and
28:32
Speaker 1: inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and eat the
28:35
Speaker 1: fruit of them. They shall not build in another inhabit
28:39
Speaker 1: they shall not plant, and another eat mine. Elect shall
28:42
Speaker 1: long enjoy the work of their hands. There the wilderness
28:46
Speaker 1: and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and
28:49
Speaker 1: the desert shall rejoice and blossom, as the rose instead
28:53
Speaker 1: of the thorn, shall come up the fir tree, and
28:55
Speaker 1: instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree.
28:59
Speaker 1: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
29:01
Speaker 1: leopard shall lie down with the kid, and a little
29:04
Speaker 1: child shall lead them. They shall not hurt nor destroy
29:08
Speaker 1: in all my holy mountains, Saith, the Lord, Pain cannot
29:12
Speaker 1: exist in the atmosphere of heaven. There will be no
29:15
Speaker 1: more tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. There
29:20
Speaker 1: shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, For
29:23
Speaker 1: the former things are passed away. The inhabitants shall not
29:27
Speaker 1: say I am sick. The people that dwell therein shall
29:30
Speaker 1: be forgiven their iniquity. There is the new Jerusalem, the
29:34
Speaker 1: metropolis of the glorified New Earth, a crown of glory
29:38
Speaker 1: in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem
29:40
Speaker 1: in the hand of thy God. Her light was like
29:43
Speaker 1: unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone,
29:47
Speaker 1: clear as crystal. The nations of them which are saved
29:51
Speaker 1: shall walk in the light of it, and the kings
29:54
Speaker 1: of the earth to bring their glory and honor into it.
29:58
Speaker 1: Saith the Lord, I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy
30:01
Speaker 1: in my people. The Tabernacle of God is with men,
30:05
Speaker 1: and He will dwell with them, and they shall be
30:07
Speaker 1: His people. And God himself shall be with them and
30:10
Speaker 1: be their God. In the City of God. There shall
30:13
Speaker 1: be no night, none will need or desire repose. There
30:18
Speaker 1: will be no weariness in doing the will of God
30:20
Speaker 1: and offering praise to his name. We shall ever feel
30:24
Speaker 1: the freshness of the morning, and shall ever be far
30:26
Speaker 1: from its close, and they need no candle, neither light
30:30
Speaker 1: of the sun. For the Lord God giveth them light.
30:34
Speaker 1: The light of the sun will be superseded by a
30:36
Speaker 1: radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which immeasurably surpasses
30:41
Speaker 1: the brightness of our noontide. The glory of God and
30:44
Speaker 1: the Lamb floods the Holy City with unfading light. The
30:49
Speaker 1: Redeemed walk in the sunless glory of perpetual day. I
30:53
Speaker 1: saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and
30:56
Speaker 1: the Lamb are the temple of it. The people of
30:59
Speaker 1: God are page to hold open communion with the Father
31:02
Speaker 1: and the Son. Now we see through a glass darkly
31:06
Speaker 1: we behold the image of God reflected as in a mirror,
31:09
Speaker 1: in the works of nature and in his dealings with men.
31:12
Speaker 1: But then we shall see him face to face, without
31:15
Speaker 1: a dimming veil between. We shall stand in his presence
31:19
Speaker 1: and behold the glory of His countenance. There the Redeemed
31:23
Speaker 1: shall know, even as also they are known, the loves
31:27
Speaker 1: and sympathies which God himself has planted in the soul.
31:31
Speaker 1: Shall there find truest and sweetest exercise the pure communion
31:35
Speaker 1: with holy beings, the harmonious social life, with the blessed angels,
31:40
Speaker 1: and with the faithful ones of all ages, who have
31:42
Speaker 1: washed their robes and made them white in the blood
31:44
Speaker 1: of the Lamb. The sacred ties that bind together the
31:48
Speaker 1: whole family in heaven and earth. These help to constitute
31:51
Speaker 1: the happiness of the Redeemed. Their immortal minds will contemplate
31:56
Speaker 1: with never failing delight, the wonders of creative power, the
31:59
Speaker 1: mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving
32:03
Speaker 1: foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will
32:08
Speaker 1: be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will
32:13
Speaker 1: not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the
32:17
Speaker 1: grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached,
32:22
Speaker 1: the highest ambitions realized. And still there will arise new
32:26
Speaker 1: heights to surmount, new wonders, to admire new truths, to
32:29
Speaker 1: comprehend fresh objects, to call forth the powers of mind
32:33
Speaker 1: and soul and body. All the treasures of the universe
32:37
Speaker 1: will be open to the study of God's Redeemed. Unfettered
32:41
Speaker 1: by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar
32:45
Speaker 1: worlds that thrilled with sorrow with the spectacle of human woe,
32:48
Speaker 1: and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of
32:51
Speaker 1: a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight, the children of Earth
32:56
Speaker 1: enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings.
32:59
Speaker 1: They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through
33:02
Speaker 1: ages upon ages, in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision,
33:08
Speaker 1: they gaze upon the glory of creation, suns and stars
33:11
Speaker 1: and systems, all in their appointed order, circling the throne
33:15
Speaker 1: of Deity, upon all things, from the least to the greatest,
33:19
Speaker 1: the Creator's name is written, and in all are the
33:22
Speaker 1: riches of his power displayed. And the years of eternity,
33:26
Speaker 1: as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious
33:29
Speaker 1: revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive,
33:33
Speaker 1: so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men
33:38
Speaker 1: learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of
33:40
Speaker 1: His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of
33:45
Speaker 1: redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan,
33:49
Speaker 1: the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion,
33:53
Speaker 1: and with more rapturous joy, they sweep the harps of gold,
33:56
Speaker 1: and ten thousand times, ten thousand and thousands of thousands
34:00
Speaker 1: of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.
34:04
Speaker 1: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth,
34:07
Speaker 1: and under the earth, and such as are in the sea,
34:10
Speaker 1: and all that are in them, heard, I saying, Blessing
34:13
Speaker 1: and honor, and glory and power be unto Him that
34:16
Speaker 1: sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Forever and ever,
34:20
Speaker 1: the great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more.
34:27
Speaker 1: The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and
34:31
Speaker 1: gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who create it.
34:36
Speaker 1: All flow life and light and gladness throughout the realms
34:39
Speaker 1: of illimitable space, from the minutest atom to the greatest world.
34:45
Speaker 1: All things animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and
34:49
Speaker 1: perfect joy, declare that God is Love. End of Chapter
34:55
Speaker 1: forty two.