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40 - God's People Delivered - The Great Controversy · Philosophy and Faith

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Speaker 1: Chapter forty, God's people delivered. When the protection of human
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Speaker 1: laws shall be withdrawn from those who honor the law
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Speaker 1: of God, there will be in different lands a simultaneous
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Speaker 1: movement for their destruction. As the time appointed in the
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Speaker 1: decree draws near, the people will conspire to root out
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Speaker 1: the hated sect. It will be determined to strike in
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Speaker 1: one night a decisive blow which shall utterly silence the
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Speaker 1: voice of descent and reproof the people of God. Some
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Speaker 1: in prison cells, some hidden in solitary retreats, in the
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Speaker 1: forests and the mountains still plead for divine protection, while
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Speaker 1: in every quarter companies of armed men, urged on by
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Speaker 1: hosts of evil angels, are preparing for the work of death.
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Speaker 1: It is now, in the hour of utmost extremity, that
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Speaker 1: the God of Israel will interpose for the deliverance of
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Speaker 1: his chosen saith. The Lord Ye shall have a song
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Speaker 1: as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept,
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Speaker 1: and gladness of heart, as when one goeth to come
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Speaker 1: into the mountain of Jehovah to the Mighty One of Israel.
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Speaker 1: And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard,
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Speaker 1: and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with
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Speaker 1: the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of
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Speaker 1: a devouring fire, with scattering and tempest, and hailstones, with
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Speaker 1: shouts of triumph, jeering and imprecation. Throngs of evil men
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Speaker 1: are about to rush upon their prey when low, a
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Speaker 1: dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night, falls
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Speaker 1: upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory
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Speaker 1: from the throne of God, spans the heavens and seems
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Speaker 1: to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested.
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Speaker 1: Their mocking cries die away, the objects of their murderous
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Speaker 1: rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings, they gaze upon the
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Speaker 1: symbol of God's covenant and long to be shielded from
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Speaker 1: its overpowering brightness by the people of God. A voice,
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Speaker 1: clear and melodious is heard, saying, look up, and lifting
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Speaker 1: their eyes to the heavens, they behold the bow of Promise.
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Speaker 1: The black, angry clouds that covered the firmament are parted,
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Speaker 1: and like Stephen, they look up steadfastly into heaven and
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Speaker 1: see the glory of God and the Son of Man
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Speaker 1: seated upon his throne in his divine form, they discern
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Speaker 1: the marks of his humiliation, and from his lips they
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Speaker 1: hear the request presented before his Father and the holy angels.
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Speaker 1: I will that they also, whom thou hast given me,
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Speaker 1: be with me where I am again. A voice, musical
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Speaker 1: and triumphant is heard, saying, they come. They come, wholly,
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Speaker 1: harmless and undefiled. They have kept the word of my patience.
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Speaker 1: They shall walk among the angels, and the pale, quivering
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Speaker 1: lips of those who have held fast their faith utter
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Speaker 1: a shout of victory. It is at midnight that God
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Speaker 1: manifests his power for the deliverance of his people. The
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Speaker 1: sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow
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Speaker 1: in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement
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Speaker 1: upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy
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Speaker 1: the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned
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Speaker 1: out of its course. The streams cease to flow, dark
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Speaker 1: heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In
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Speaker 1: the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space
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Speaker 1: of indescribable glory. Whence comes the voice of God, like
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Speaker 1: the sound of many waters, saying it is done. That
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Speaker 1: voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a
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Speaker 1: mighty earthquake, such as was not since men were upon
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Speaker 1: the earth. So mighty an earthquake, and so great the
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Speaker 1: firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the
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Speaker 1: throne of God seems flashing through. The mountains shake like
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Speaker 1: a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered
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Speaker 1: on every side. There is a roar as of a
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Speaker 1: coming tempest. The sea is lashed into fury. There is
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Speaker 1: heard the shriek of the hurricane, like the voice of
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Speaker 1: demons upon a mission of destruction. The whole earth heaves
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Speaker 1: and swells like the waves of the sea, its surfaces
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Speaker 1: breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be giving way.
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Speaker 1: Mountain chains are sinking, Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports that
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Speaker 1: have become like sodom for wickedness are swallowed up by
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Speaker 1: the angry waters. Babylon, the Great has come in remembrance
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Speaker 1: before God to give unto her the cup of the
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Speaker 1: wine of the fierceness of his wrath. Great hailstones, every
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Speaker 1: one about the weight of a talent are doing their
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Speaker 1: work of destruction. The proudest cities of the earth are
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Speaker 1: laid low. The lordly palaces upon which the world's great
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Speaker 1: men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves,
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Speaker 1: are crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are
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Speaker 1: rent asunder, and God's people, who have been held in
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Speaker 1: bondage for their faith are set free. Graves are opened,
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Speaker 1: and many of them that sleep in the dust of
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Speaker 1: the earth awake, some to everlasting life and some to
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Speaker 1: shame and everlasting contempt. All who have died in the
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Speaker 1: faith of the Third Angel's message come forth the tomb
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Speaker 1: glorified to hear God's covenant of peace with those who
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Speaker 1: have kept his law. They also which pierced him, those
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Speaker 1: that mocked and derided Christ's dying agonies, and the most
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Speaker 1: violent opposers of his truth and his people are raised
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Speaker 1: to behold Him in his glory and to see the
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Speaker 1: honor placed upon the loyal and obedient. Thick clouds still
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Speaker 1: cover the sky, yet the sun now and then breaks through,
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Speaker 1: appearing like the avenging eye of Jehovah. Fierce lightnings leap
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Speaker 1: from the heavens, enveloping the earth in a sheet of flame.
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Speaker 1: Above the terrific roar of thunder voices, mysterious and awful,
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Speaker 1: declare the doom of the wicked. The words spoken are
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Speaker 1: not comprehended by all, but they are distinctly understood by
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Speaker 1: the false teachers. Those who a little before were so reckless,
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Speaker 1: so boastful, and defiant, so exultant in their cruelty to
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Speaker 1: God's commandment keeping people are now overwhelmed with consternation and
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Speaker 1: shuddering in fear. Their wails are heard above the sound
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Speaker 1: of the elements. Demons acknowledge the deity of Christ and
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Speaker 1: tremble before his power, while men are supplicating for mercy
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Speaker 1: and groveling in abject terror. Set the prophets of old
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Speaker 1: as they beheld in holy vision. The Day of God,
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Speaker 1: how ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand.
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Speaker 1: It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Enter
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Speaker 1: into the rock and hide thee in the dust, for
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Speaker 1: fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty.
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Speaker 1: The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the
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Speaker 1: haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord
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Speaker 1: alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day
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Speaker 1: of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one
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Speaker 1: that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that
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Speaker 1: is lifted up, and he shall be brought low. In
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Speaker 1: that day a man shall cast the idols of his
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Speaker 1: silver and the idols of his gold, which they made,
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Speaker 1: each one for himself to worship, to the moles and
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Speaker 1: to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks,
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Speaker 1: and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear
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Speaker 1: of the load, and for the glory of his majesty.
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Speaker 1: When he ariseth to shake terribly the earth, through a
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Speaker 1: rift in the clouds, there beams a star whose brilliancy
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Speaker 1: is increased fourfold in contrast with the darkness. It speaks
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Speaker 1: hope and joy to the faithful, but severity and wrath
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Speaker 1: to the transgressors of God's law. Those who have sacrificed
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Speaker 1: all for Christ are now secure hidden as in the
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Speaker 1: secret of the Lord's pavilion. They have been tested, and
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Speaker 1: before the world and the despisers of truth, they have
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Speaker 1: evinced their fidelity to Him who died for them. A
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Speaker 1: marvelous change has come over those who have held fast
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Speaker 1: their integrity in the very face of death. They have
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Speaker 1: been suddenly delivered from the dark and terrible tyranny of men,
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Speaker 1: transformed to demons. Their faces so lately pale, anxious, and haggard,
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Speaker 1: are now aglow with wonder, faith and love. Their voices
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Speaker 1: rise in triumphant song. God is our refuge and strength,
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Speaker 1: of very present help and trouble. Therefore, will not we fear,
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Speaker 1: though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be
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Speaker 1: carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters
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Speaker 1: thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with
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Speaker 1: the swelling thereof. While these words of holy trust ascend
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Speaker 1: to God, the clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens
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Speaker 1: are seen unspeakably glorious, in contrast with the black and
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Speaker 1: angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial
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Speaker 1: city streams from the gates Ajar. Then there appears against
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Speaker 1: the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together,
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Speaker 1: says the prophet, the heavens shall declare his righteousness, For
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Speaker 1: God is judge himself. That holy law, God's righteousness, that
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Speaker 1: amid thunder and flame, was proclaimed from Sinai as a
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Speaker 1: guide of life, is now revealed to men as the
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Speaker 1: rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there
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Speaker 1: are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with
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Speaker 1: a pen of fire. The words are so plain that
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Speaker 1: all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of
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Speaker 1: superstition and heresy as swept from every mind, and God's
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Speaker 1: ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the
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Speaker 1: view of all the inhabitants of the earth. It is
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Speaker 1: impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who
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Speaker 1: have trampled upon God's holy requirements. The Lord gave them
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Speaker 1: his law. They might have compared their characters with it
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Speaker 1: and learned their defects while there was yet opportunity for
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Speaker 1: repentance and reform. But in order to secure the favor
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Speaker 1: of the world, they set aside its precepts and taught
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Speaker 1: others to transgress. They have endeavored to compel God's people
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Speaker 1: to profane his Sabbath. Now they are condemned by that
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Speaker 1: law which they have despised. With awful distinctness. They see
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Speaker 1: that they are without excuse. They chose whom they would
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Speaker 1: serve in worship. Then shall you return and descern between
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Speaker 1: the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God
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Speaker 1: and him that serveth Him. Not the enemies of God's
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Speaker 1: love law. From the ministers down to the least among
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Speaker 1: them have a new conception of truth and duty. Too
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Speaker 1: late they see that the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment
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Speaker 1: is the seal of the Living God. Too late they
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Speaker 1: see the true nature of their spurious sabbath and the
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Speaker 1: sandy foundation upon which they have been building. They find
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Speaker 1: that they have been fighting against God. Religious teachers have
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Speaker 1: led souls to perdition while professing to guide them to
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Speaker 1: the gates of paradise. Not until the day of final
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Speaker 1: accounts will it be known how great is the responsibility
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Speaker 1: of men in holy office, and how terrible are the
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Speaker 1: results of their unfaithfulness. Only an eternity can we rightly
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Speaker 1: estimate the loss of a single soul. Fearful will be
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Speaker 1: the doom of him to whom God shall say, depart, thou,
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Speaker 1: wicked servant. The voice of God is heard from Heaven,
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Speaker 1: declaring the day and hour of Jesus coming and delivering
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Speaker 1: the everlasting Covenant to his people. Like peals of loudest thunder,
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Speaker 1: his words roll through the earth. The Israel of God
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Speaker 1: stand listening, with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are
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Speaker 1: lighted up with His glory. And shine, as did the
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Speaker 1: face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The
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Speaker 1: wicked cannot look upon them. And when the blessing is
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Speaker 1: pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping his
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Speaker 1: Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory. Soon
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Speaker 1: there appears in the east a small black cloud, about
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Speaker 1: half the size of a man's hand. It is the
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Speaker 1: cloud which surrounds the Savior, and which seems in the
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Speaker 1: distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God
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Speaker 1: know this to be the sign of the Son of Man.
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Speaker 1: In solemn silence. They gaze upon it as it draws
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Speaker 1: nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it
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Speaker 1: is a great white cloud, its base a glory like
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Speaker 1: consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the Covenant.
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Speaker 1: Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror, not now a
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Speaker 1: man of sorrows to drink the bitter cup of shame
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Speaker 1: and woe. He comes victor in heaven and earth, to
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Speaker 1: the living and the dead. Faithful and true in righteousness,
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Speaker 1: he doth judge and make war. And the armies which
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Speaker 1: were in heaven follow him with anthems of celestial melody.
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Speaker 1: The Holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng attend him on
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Speaker 1: his way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms ten
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Speaker 1: thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. No human
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Speaker 1: pen can portray the scene. No mortal mind is adequate
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Speaker 1: to conceive its splendor. His glory covered the heavens, and
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Speaker 1: the earth was full of his praise, and his brightness
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Speaker 1: was as the light. As the living cloud comes still nearer,
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Speaker 1: every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of
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Speaker 1: thorns now mars that sacred head, but a diadem of
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Speaker 1: glory rests on his holy brow. His countenance outshines the
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Speaker 1: dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. And he hath on
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Speaker 1: his vesture and on his thigh a name written King
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Speaker 1: of Kings and Lord of lords. Before his present, since
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Speaker 1: all faces are turned into paleness, upon the rejectors of
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Speaker 1: God's mercy, falls the terror of eternal despair. The heart melteth,
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Speaker 1: and the knees smite together, and the faces of them
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Speaker 1: all gather blackness. The righteous cry with trembling, who shall
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Speaker 1: be able to stand? The angel's song is hushed, and
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Speaker 1: there is a period of awful silence. Then the voice
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Speaker 1: of Jesus has heard, saying, my grace is sufficient for you.
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Speaker 1: The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy
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Speaker 1: fills every heart, and the angels strike a note higher
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Speaker 1: and sing again. As they draw still nearer to the earth,
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Speaker 1: the King of Kings descends upon the cloud, wrapt in
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Speaker 1: flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll.
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Speaker 1: The earth trembles before him, and every mountain and island
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Speaker 1: is moved out of its place. Our God shall come
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Speaker 1: and shall not keep silence. A fire shall devour before him,
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Speaker 1: and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He
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Speaker 1: shall call to the heavens from above and to the earth,
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Speaker 1: that he may judge his people. And the kings of
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Speaker 1: the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,
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Speaker 1: and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every
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Speaker 1: bond men and every freeman hid themselves in the dens
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Speaker 1: and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to
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Speaker 1: the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us
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Speaker 1: from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne,
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Speaker 1: and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great
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Speaker 1: day of his wrath is come, And who shall be
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Speaker 1: able to stand. The derisive jests have ceased. Lying lips
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Speaker 1: are hushed into silence. The clash of arms, the tumult
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Speaker 1: of battle, with confused noise and garments rolled in blood,
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Speaker 1: is stilled. Nought now is heard but the voice of prayer,
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Speaker 1: and the sound of weeping and lamentation. The cry bursts
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Speaker 1: forth from lips so lately scoffing. The great day of
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Speaker 1: his wrath is come. And who shall be able to stand,
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Speaker 1: though wicked prey to be buried beneath the rocks of
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Speaker 1: the mountains, rather than meet the face of him whom
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Speaker 1: they have despised and rejected. That voice which penetrates the
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Speaker 1: ear of the dead. They know, how often have its plaintive,
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Speaker 1: tender tones called them to repentance. How often has it
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Speaker 1: been heard in the touching entreaties of a friend, a brother,
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Speaker 1: a redeemer to the rejectors of his grace. No other
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Speaker 1: could be so full of condemnation, so burdened with denunciation
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Speaker 1: as that voice which is so long pleaded, Turn ye,
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Speaker 1: turn ye from your evil ways? For why will ye die? Oh?
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Speaker 1: That it were to them the voice of a stranger,
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Speaker 1: says Jesus, I have called and ye refused. I have
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Speaker 1: stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But ye
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Speaker 1: have said it not all my counsel, and would none
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Speaker 1: of my reproof. That voice awakens memories which they would
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Speaker 1: fain blot out, warnings, despised invitations, refused, privileges slighted. There
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Speaker 1: are those who mocked Christ in his humiliation. With thrilling power,
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Speaker 1: come to their minds the sufferer's words. When adjured by
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Speaker 1: the high priest, he solemnly declared, hereafter shall ye see
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Speaker 1: the son of Man sitting on the right hand of power,
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Speaker 1: and coming in the clouds of heaven. Now they behold
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Speaker 1: him in his glory, and they are yet to see
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Speaker 1: him sitting on the right hand of power. Those who
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Speaker 1: derided his claim to be the son of God are speechless.
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Speaker 1: Now there is the haughty herod who jeered at his
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Speaker 1: royal title and bade the mocking soldiers crown him king.
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Speaker 1: There are the very men who with him pious hands
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Speaker 1: placed upon his form, the purple robe, upon his sacred brow,
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Speaker 1: the thorny crown, and in his unresisting hand. The men
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Speaker 1: except and bowed before him in blasphemous mockery. The men
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Speaker 1: who smote and spit upon the Prince of life. Now
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Speaker 1: turn from his piercing gaze and seek to flee from
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Speaker 1: the overpowering glory of his presence. Those who drove the
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Speaker 1: nails through his hands and feet, the soldier who pierced
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Speaker 1: his side, behold these marks with terror and remorse. With
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Speaker 1: awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of
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Speaker 1: cavalry with shuddering horror. They remember how, wagging their heads
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Speaker 1: in satanic exultation, they exclaimed, he saved others himself he
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Speaker 1: cannot save if he be the King of Israel. Let
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Speaker 1: him now come down from the cross, and we will
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Speaker 1: believe him he trusted in God. Let him deliver him now,
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Speaker 1: if he will have him. Vividly they recall the Saviour's
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Speaker 1: parable of the husbandmen who refused to render to their lord,
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Speaker 1: the fruit of the vineyard, who abused his servants and
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Speaker 1: slew his son. They remember too, the sentence which they
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Speaker 1: themselves pronounced. The Lord of the Vineyard will miserably destroy
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Speaker 1: those wicked men. In the sin and punishment of those
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Speaker 1: unfaithful men, the priests and elders see their own course
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Speaker 1: and their own just doom. And now there rise is
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Speaker 1: a cry of mortal agony. Louder than the shout Crucify Him,
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Speaker 1: Crucify Him, which rang through the streets of Jerusalem, swells
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Speaker 1: the awful, despairing wail. He is the son of God,
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Speaker 1: He is the true Messiah. They seek to flee from
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Speaker 1: the presence of the King of kings. In the deep
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Speaker 1: caverns of the earth, rent asunder by the warring of
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Speaker 1: the elements, they vainly attempt to hide in the lives
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Speaker 1: of all who reject truth. There are moments when conscience awakens,
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Speaker 1: when memory presents the torturing recollection of a life of hypocrisy,
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Speaker 1: and the soul is harassed with vain regrets. But what
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Speaker 1: are these compared with the remorse of that day? When
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Speaker 1: fear cometh as desolation, when destruction cometh as a whrowind,
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Speaker 1: those who would have destroyed Christ and his faithful people
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Speaker 1: now witness the glory which rests upon them. In the
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Speaker 1: midst of their terror, they hear the voices of the
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Speaker 1: saints in joyful strains, exclaiming, Lo, this is our God.
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Speaker 1: We have waited for him, and he will save us.
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Speaker 1: Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning
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Speaker 1: and the roar of thunder. The voice of the Son
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Speaker 1: of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon
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Speaker 1: the graves of the righteous. Then, raising his hands to heaven,
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Speaker 1: he cries, Awake, Awake, Awake, ye that sleep in the dust,
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Speaker 1: and arise. Throughout the length and breadth of the earth.
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Speaker 1: The dead shall hear that voice, and they that here
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Speaker 1: shall live, and the whole earth shall ring with the
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Speaker 1: tread of the exceeding great army of every nation, kindred,
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Speaker 1: tongue and people. From the prison house of death. They come,
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Speaker 1: clothed with immortal glory, crying, O death, where is thy
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Speaker 1: sting O grave? Where is thy victory? And the living
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Speaker 1: Righteous and the risen saints unite their voices in a long,
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Speaker 1: glad shout of victory. All come forth from their graves,
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Speaker 1: the same in stature as when they entered the tomb. Adam,
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Speaker 1: who stands among the risen throng, is of lofty height
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Speaker 1: and majestic form in stature, but little below the Son
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Speaker 1: of God. He presents a marked contrast to the people
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Speaker 1: of later generations. In this one respect is shown the
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Speaker 1: great degeneracy of the race. But all arise with the
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Speaker 1: freshness and vigor of eternal youth. In the beginn man
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Speaker 1: was created in the likeness of God, not only in character,
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Speaker 1: but in form and feature. Sin deffaced and almost obliterated
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Speaker 1: the divine image. But Christ came to restore that which
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Speaker 1: had been lost. He will change our vile bodies and
20:15
Speaker 1: fashion them likened to His glorious body. The mortal, corruptible form,
20:20
Speaker 1: devoid of comeliness, once polluted with sin, becomes perfect, beautiful,
20:24
Speaker 1: and immortal. All blemishes and deformities are left in the grave,
20:29
Speaker 1: restored to the tree of life in the long lost Eden,
20:32
Speaker 1: the redeemed will grow up to the full stature of
20:35
Speaker 1: the race in its primeval glory. The last lingering traces
20:39
Speaker 1: of the curse of sin will be removed, and Christ's
20:42
Speaker 1: faithful ones will appear in the beauty of the Lord,
20:45
Speaker 1: our God, in mind and soul and body, reflecting the
20:48
Speaker 1: perfect image of their Lord. Oh wonderful redemption. Long talked of,
20:52
Speaker 1: long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation, but never fully understood.
20:58
Speaker 1: The living righteous are changed in a moment, in the
21:01
Speaker 1: twinkling of an eye at the voice of God. They
21:04
Speaker 1: were glorified. Now they are made immortal, and with the
21:07
Speaker 1: risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord. In
21:09
Speaker 1: the air, Angels gather together the elect from the four winds,
21:14
Speaker 1: from one end of heaven to the other. Little children
21:17
Speaker 1: are borne by holy angels to their mother's arms. Friends
21:21
Speaker 1: long separated by death are united never more to part,
21:25
Speaker 1: and with songs of gladness, ascend together to the City
21:27
Speaker 1: of God. On each side of the cloudy chariot are wings,
21:32
Speaker 1: and beneath it our living wheels. And as the chariot
21:35
Speaker 1: rolls upward, the wheels cry wholly, and the wings, as
21:38
Speaker 1: they move, cry holly. And the retinue of angels cry Holly, Holy,
21:42
Speaker 1: Holy Lord, God Almighty, and the Redeemed shout Allelujah. As
21:47
Speaker 1: the chariot moves on or toward the New Jerusalem. Before
21:51
Speaker 1: entering the City of God, the Savior bestows upon his
21:54
Speaker 1: followers the emblems of victory and invests them with the
21:57
Speaker 1: insignia of their royal state. The glittering ranks are drawn
22:01
Speaker 1: up in the form of a hollow square about their King,
22:04
Speaker 1: whose form rises in majesty high above saint and Angel,
22:07
Speaker 1: whose countenance beams upon them full of benignant love. Throughout
22:12
Speaker 1: the unnumbered host of the Redeemed. Every glance is fixed
22:15
Speaker 1: upon him. Every eye beholds his glory, whose visage was
22:19
Speaker 1: so marred more than any man, and his form more
22:21
Speaker 1: than the sons of men. Upon the heads of the overcomers, Jesus,
22:26
Speaker 1: with his own right hand places the crown of glory.
22:29
Speaker 1: For each there is a crown bearing his own new name,
22:33
Speaker 1: and the inscription holiness to the Lord. In every hand
22:37
Speaker 1: are placed the victor's palm and the shining harp. Then,
22:41
Speaker 1: as the commanding angels strike the note, every hand sweeps
22:44
Speaker 1: the harp strings with skillful touch, awaking sweet music and
22:48
Speaker 1: rich melodious strains rapture unutterable thrills. Every heart and each
22:53
Speaker 1: voice is raised in grateful praise. Unto Him that loved
22:57
Speaker 1: us and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
23:00
Speaker 1: and hath made us kings and priests. Unto God and
23:03
Speaker 1: his Father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
23:07
Speaker 1: Before the ransomed throng is the Holy City. Jesus opens
23:11
Speaker 1: wide the pearly gates, and the nations that have kept
23:14
Speaker 1: the truth enter in. There they behold the Paradise of God,
23:18
Speaker 1: the home of Adam. In his innocency. Then that voice,
23:21
Speaker 1: richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear,
23:24
Speaker 1: is heard, saying your conflict is ended. Come, ye, blessed
23:29
Speaker 1: of my Father inherit. The kingdom prepared for you from
23:32
Speaker 1: the foundation of the world now is fulfilled. The Saviour's
23:36
Speaker 1: prayer for his disciples, I will that they also whom
23:39
Speaker 1: thou hast given me, be with me where I am
23:43
Speaker 1: faultless before the presence of His glory. With exceeding joy,
23:46
Speaker 1: Christ presents to the Father the purchase of his blood, declaring,
23:50
Speaker 1: here am I and the children whom thou hast given me,
23:54
Speaker 1: those that thou gavest me I have kept. Oh, the
23:57
Speaker 1: wonders of redeeming love. The rapture of the hour when
24:00
Speaker 1: the infinite Father, looking upon the ransom, shall behold his image,
24:04
Speaker 1: sins discord banished, its blight removed, and the human once
24:09
Speaker 1: more in harmony with the Divine. With unutterable love, Jesus
24:13
Speaker 1: welcomes his faithful ones to the joy of their Lord.
24:17
Speaker 1: The Saviour's joy is in seeing in the Kingdom of
24:19
Speaker 1: Glory the souls that have been saved by his agony
24:22
Speaker 1: and humiliation, and the redeemed will be shares in His joy.
24:26
Speaker 1: As they behold among the blessed those who have been
24:29
Speaker 1: won to Christ through their prayers, their labors, and their
24:32
Speaker 1: loving sacrifice. As they gather about the great White Throne,
24:36
Speaker 1: gladness unspeakable will fill their hearts when they behold those
24:40
Speaker 1: whom they have won for Christ, and see that one
24:43
Speaker 1: has gained others, and these still others, all brought into
24:46
Speaker 1: the haven of Rest, there to lay their crowns at
24:49
Speaker 1: Jesus feet and praise Him through the endless cycles of eternity.
24:54
Speaker 1: As the ransomed ones are welcomed to the City of God,
24:56
Speaker 1: there rings out upon the air an exultant cry of adoration.
25:00
Speaker 1: The two atoms are about to meet. The Son of
25:03
Speaker 1: God is standing with outstretched arms to receive the Father
25:06
Speaker 1: of our race, the being whom he created, who sinned
25:10
Speaker 1: against his Maker, and for whose sin the marks of
25:13
Speaker 1: the crucifixion are borne upon the Saviour's form. As Adam
25:17
Speaker 1: diserns the Prince of the cruel nails, he does not
25:20
Speaker 1: fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but in humiliation,
25:23
Speaker 1: casts himself at his feet, crying worthy worthy is the
25:26
Speaker 1: lamb that was slain tenderly the Savior lifts him up
25:30
Speaker 1: and bids him luck once more upon the Eden, home
25:33
Speaker 1: from which he has so long been exiled. After his
25:37
Speaker 1: expulsion from Eden, Adam's life on earth was filled with sorrow.
25:41
Speaker 1: Every dying leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon
25:45
Speaker 1: the fair face of nature, every stain upon man's purity
25:49
Speaker 1: was a fresh reminder of his sin. Terrible was the
25:53
Speaker 1: agony of remorse as he beheld iniquity of bounding, and
25:56
Speaker 1: in answer to his warnings, met the reproaches cast upon
25:59
Speaker 1: himself the cause of sin. With patient humility, he bore
26:04
Speaker 1: for nearly a thousand years the penalty of transgression. Faithfully
26:08
Speaker 1: did he repent of his sin and trust in the
26:11
Speaker 1: merits of the promised Savior. And he died in the
26:13
Speaker 1: hope of a resurrection. The Son of God redeemed man's
26:17
Speaker 1: failure and fall. And now, through the work of the Atonement,
26:21
Speaker 1: Adam is reinstated in his first dominion. Transported with joy,
26:25
Speaker 1: he beholds the trees that were once his delight, the
26:28
Speaker 1: very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the
26:31
Speaker 1: days of his innocence. And joy. He sees the vines
26:34
Speaker 1: that his own hands have trained, the very flowers that
26:37
Speaker 1: he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the
26:41
Speaker 1: reality of the scene. He comprehends that this is indeed
26:44
Speaker 1: Eden restored, more lovely now than when he was banished
26:47
Speaker 1: from it. The Savior leads him to the Tree of
26:50
Speaker 1: Life and plucks the glorious fruit and bids him eat.
26:54
Speaker 1: He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his family, redeemed,
26:57
Speaker 1: standing in the paradise of God. Then he casts his
27:01
Speaker 1: glittering crown at the feet of Jesus, and, falling upon
27:05
Speaker 1: his breast, embraces the Redeemer. He touches the golden harp,
27:09
Speaker 1: and the vaults of heaven echo the triumphant song. Worthy, Worthy,
27:13
Speaker 1: Worthy is the lamb that was slain and lives again.
27:17
Speaker 1: The family of Adam take up the strain and casts
27:19
Speaker 1: their crowns at the Saviour's feet as they bow before
27:22
Speaker 1: him in adoration. This reunion is witnessed by the angels,
27:26
Speaker 1: who wept at the fall of Adam and rejoiced when Jesus,
27:29
Speaker 1: after his resurrection, ascended to Heaven, having opened the grave
27:33
Speaker 1: for all who should believe on his name. Now they
27:37
Speaker 1: behold the work of redemption accomplished. And they unite their
27:40
Speaker 1: voices in the song of praise upon the crystal sea
27:43
Speaker 1: before the throne, that sea of glass, as it were
27:46
Speaker 1: mingled with fire, so resplendent is it. With the glory
27:49
Speaker 1: of God. Are gathered the company that have gotten the
27:52
Speaker 1: victory over the beast, and over his image, and over
27:54
Speaker 1: his mark, and over the number of his name, with
27:58
Speaker 1: the Lamb, upon Mount Zion, having the harps of God,
28:01
Speaker 1: they stand the hundred and forty and four thousand that
28:04
Speaker 1: were redeemed from among men. And there is heard, as
28:07
Speaker 1: the sound of many waters, and as the sound of
28:09
Speaker 1: a great thunder, the voice of harpers, harping with their harps,
28:14
Speaker 1: and they sang a new song before the throne, a
28:17
Speaker 1: song which no man can learn save the hundred and
28:19
Speaker 1: forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses
28:23
Speaker 1: and the Lamb, a song of deliverance. None but the
28:26
Speaker 1: hundred and forty four thousand can learn that song, for
28:29
Speaker 1: it is the song of their experience, an experience such
28:32
Speaker 1: as no other company have ever had. These are they
28:36
Speaker 1: which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These, having been
28:39
Speaker 1: translated from the earth from among the living, are counted
28:43
Speaker 1: as the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.
28:46
Speaker 1: These are they which came out of great tribulation. They
28:49
Speaker 1: have passed through the time of trouble such as never
28:51
Speaker 1: was since there was a nation. They have endured the
28:54
Speaker 1: anguish of the time of Jacob's trouble. They have stood
28:57
Speaker 1: without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God's judgments.
29:01
Speaker 1: But they have been delivered, for they have washed their
29:04
Speaker 1: robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
29:08
Speaker 1: In their mouth was found no guile, For they are
29:10
Speaker 1: without fault before God. Therefore are they before the throne
29:14
Speaker 1: of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
29:17
Speaker 1: And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
29:20
Speaker 1: They have seen the earth wasted with famine and pestilence,
29:24
Speaker 1: the sun having power to scorch men with great heat.
29:27
Speaker 1: And they themselves have endured suffering, hunger and thirst. But
29:30
Speaker 1: they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. Neither
29:34
Speaker 1: shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For
29:37
Speaker 1: the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne,
29:39
Speaker 1: shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains
29:42
Speaker 1: of waters. And God shall wipe away all tears from
29:45
Speaker 1: their eyes. In all ages, the saviors chosen have been
29:49
Speaker 1: educated and disciplined in the school of trial. They walked
29:53
Speaker 1: in narrow paths on earth. They were purified in the
29:55
Speaker 1: furnace of affliction. For jesus sake, they endured opposition, hatred, calumny.
30:02
Speaker 1: They followed him through conflicts sore. They endured self denial
30:06
Speaker 1: and experienced bitter disappointments. By their own painful experience, they
30:10
Speaker 1: learned the evil of sin, its power, its guilt, its woe,
30:15
Speaker 1: and they look upon it with abhorrence. A sense of
30:18
Speaker 1: the infinite sacrifice made for its cure humbles them in
30:21
Speaker 1: their own sight and fills their hearts with gratitude and praise,
30:25
Speaker 1: which those who have never fallen cannot appreciate. They love
30:29
Speaker 1: much because they have been forgiven much, Having been partakers
30:33
Speaker 1: of Christ's sufferings, they are fitted to be partakers with
30:36
Speaker 1: him of his glory. The heirs of God have come
30:40
Speaker 1: from garrets, from hovels, from dungeons, from scaffolds, from mountains,
30:44
Speaker 1: from deserts, from the caves of the earth, from the
30:46
Speaker 1: caverns of the sea. On earth, they were destitute, afflicted, tormented.
30:52
Speaker 1: Millions went down to the grave, loaded with infamy. Because
30:55
Speaker 1: they steadfastly refused to yield to the deceptive claims of Satan.
31:00
Speaker 1: By human tribunals, they were adjudged the vilest of criminals.
31:04
Speaker 1: But now God is judge himself. Now the decisions of
31:08
Speaker 1: earth are reversed. The rebuke of his people shall he
31:11
Speaker 1: take away. They shall call them the Holy People, the
31:14
Speaker 1: redeemed of the Lord. He hath appointed to give unto
31:18
Speaker 1: them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
31:21
Speaker 1: the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. They
31:25
Speaker 1: are no longer feeble, afflicted, scattered and oppressed. Henceforth they
31:29
Speaker 1: are to be ever with the Lord. They stand before
31:32
Speaker 1: the throne, clad in richer robes than the most honored
31:35
Speaker 1: of the earth have ever worn. They are crowned with
31:38
Speaker 1: diadems more glorious than were ever placed upon the brow
31:41
Speaker 1: of earthly monarchs. The days of pain and weeping are
31:45
Speaker 1: forever ended. The King of Glory has wiped the tears
31:49
Speaker 1: from all faces. Every cause of grief has been removed.
31:53
Speaker 1: Amid the waving of palm branches, they pour forth a
31:56
Speaker 1: song of praise, clear, sweet and harmonious. Every boy takes
32:00
Speaker 1: up the strain until the anthem swells through the vaults
32:03
Speaker 1: of heaven, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the
32:06
Speaker 1: throne and unto the lamb, and all the inhabitants of
32:10
Speaker 1: heaven respond in the inscription Amen, blessing and glory and
32:15
Speaker 1: wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be
32:18
Speaker 1: unto our God forever and ever. In this life we
32:22
Speaker 1: can only begin to understand the wonderful theme of redemption.
32:26
Speaker 1: With our finite comprehension, we may consider most earnestly the
32:30
Speaker 1: shame and the glory, the life and the death, the
32:33
Speaker 1: justice and the mercy that meet in the Cross. Yet
32:36
Speaker 1: with the utmost stretch of our mental powers we fail
32:39
Speaker 1: to grasp its full significance. The length and the breadth,
32:43
Speaker 1: the depth and the height of redeeming love are but
32:46
Speaker 1: dimly comprehended. The plan of redemption will not be fully
32:49
Speaker 1: understood even when the ransoms see as they are seen
32:53
Speaker 1: and know as they are known. But through the eternal ages,
32:57
Speaker 1: new truth will continually unfold to the wondering and delay
33:00
Speaker 1: delighted mind. Though the griefs and pains and temptations of
33:03
Speaker 1: earth are ended and the cause removed, the people of
33:07
Speaker 1: God will ever have a distinct, intelligent knowledge of what
33:10
Speaker 1: their salvation has cost. The cross of Christ will be
33:14
Speaker 1: the science and the song of the Redeemed through all eternity.
33:18
Speaker 1: In Christ glorified, they will behold Christ crucified. Never will
33:22
Speaker 1: it be forgotten that he whose power created and upheld
33:25
Speaker 1: the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the
33:28
Speaker 1: Beloved of God, the majesty of Heaven, He whom cherub
33:32
Speaker 1: and shining seraph delighted to adore, humbled himself to uplift
33:36
Speaker 1: fallen man, that he bore the guilt and shame of sin,
33:40
Speaker 1: and the hiding of his Father's face, till the woes
33:43
Speaker 1: of a lost world broke his heart and crushed out
33:46
Speaker 1: his life on Calvary's Cross, that the maker of all worlds,
33:50
Speaker 1: the arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside his glory
33:54
Speaker 1: and humiliate himself. From love to man will ever excite
33:57
Speaker 1: the wonder and adoration of the universe, as the nations
34:01
Speaker 1: of the saved look upon their Redeemer and behold the
34:04
Speaker 1: eternal glory of the Father shining in his countenance, as
34:08
Speaker 1: they behold his throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting,
34:12
Speaker 1: and know that his kingdom is to have no end.
34:15
Speaker 1: They break forth in rapturous song. Worthy. Worthy is the
34:19
Speaker 1: lamb that was slain and hath redeemed us to God
34:21
Speaker 1: by his own most precious blood. The mystery of the
34:25
Speaker 1: Cross explains all other mysteries. In the light that streams
34:29
Speaker 1: from Calvary, the attributes of God, which had filled us
34:32
Speaker 1: with fear and awe, appear beautiful and attractive. Mercy, tenderness,
34:37
Speaker 1: and parental love are seen to blend with holiness, justice,
34:40
Speaker 1: and power. While we behold the majesty of his throne
34:44
Speaker 1: high and lifted up, we see his character in its
34:47
Speaker 1: gracious manifestations, and comprehend us never before the significance of
34:52
Speaker 1: that endearing title, our Father. It will be seen that
34:57
Speaker 1: He who is infinite in wisdom, could devise no plan
34:59
Speaker 1: for for our salvation except the sacrifice of his son.
35:04
Speaker 1: The compensation for this sacrifice is the joy of peopling
35:07
Speaker 1: the earth with ransomed beings wholly happy and immortal. The
35:12
Speaker 1: result of the Saviour's conflict with the powers of darkness
35:15
Speaker 1: is joy to the Redeemed, redounding to the glory of
35:18
Speaker 1: God throughout eternity, and such is the value of the soul.
35:22
Speaker 1: That the Father is satisfied with the price paid, and
35:25
Speaker 1: Christ himself beholding the fruits of his great sacrifice, is satisfied.
35:31
Speaker 1: End of chapter forty