“In the time of trouble, just previous to the Coming of Christ, the lives of the righteous will be preserved through the ministration of holy angels.”  1SP:176; 3SG:196; ST, February 26, 1880 par. 22.

 

“Had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life.  So in the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance.  But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they have no concealed wrongs to reveal.  Their sins have gone beforehand to Judgment, and have been blotted out; and they cannot bring them to remembrance.”  4SP:437.2.

 

“The time of trouble such as never was, is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too indolent to obtain.  It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us.  The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal.  And now, while the precious Saviour is making an atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ.”  4SP:440.2.

 

“The wrath of Satan increases as his time grows short, and his work of deceit and destruction reaches its culmination in the time of trouble.  God’s long-suffering has ended [CLOSE OF PROBATION].  The world has rejected His mercy, despised His Love, and trampled upon His Law.  The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation [CLOSE OF PROBATION], and the Lord withdraws His protection, and leaves them to the mercy of the leader they have chosen.  Satan will have power over those who have yielded themselves to his control, and he will plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble.  As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose.  The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.”  4SP:440.3.

 

“Could men see with Heavenly vision, they would behold companies of angels that excel in strength stationed about those who have kept the Word of Christ’s patience.  With sympathizing tenderness, angels have witnessed their distress, and have heard their prayers.  They are waiting the Word of their Commander to snatch them from their peril.  But they must wait yet a little longer.  The people of God must drink of the cup, and be baptized with the baptism.  The very delay, so painful to them, is the best answer to their petitions.  As they endeavor to wait trustingly for the Lord to work, they are led to exercise faith, hope, and patience, which have been too little exercised during their religious experience.  Yet for the elect’s sake, the time of trouble will be shortened.  The end will come more quickly than men expect.  The wheat will be gathered and bound in sheaves for the garner of God; the tares will be bound as fagots for the fires of destruction.

 

“The Heavenly sentinels, faithful to their trust, continue their watch.  In some cases, before the time specified in the decree [DEATH DECREE], enemies will rush upon the waiting ones to put them to death.  But none can pass the mighty guardians stationed about every faithful soul.  Some are assailed in their flight from the cities and villages; but the swords raised against them break and fall as powerless as a straw.  Others are defended by angels in the form of men of war.”  4SP:447.1-2.

 

“But in the time of trouble none will labor with their hands.  Their sufferings will be mental, and God will provide food for them.”  21MR:375.3; Ms 2, 1858 (LDE:265.1). 

 

So in the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance.  But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they will have no concealed wrongs to reveal.  Their sins will have been blotted out by the atoning blood of Christ, and they cannot bring them to remembrance.”  CC:69.2.

 

In the time of trouble just before the Coming of Christ, the righteous will be preserved through the ministration of Heavenly angels; but there will be no security for the transgressor of God’s Law.  Angels cannot then protect those who are disregarding one of the Divine Precepts.”  CC:87.6.

 

“The Lord has shown me repeatedly that it is contrary to the Bible to make any provision for our temporal wants in the time of trouble.  I saw that if the saints had food laid up by them or in the field in the time of trouble, when sword, famine, and pestilence are in the land, it would be taken from them by violent hands and strangers would reap their fields.  Then will be the time for us to trust wholly in God, and He will sustain us.  I saw that our bread and water will be sure at that time, and that we shall not lack or suffer hunger; for God is able to spread a table for us in the wilderness.  If necessary He would send ravens to feed us, as He did to feed Elijah, or rain manna from Heaven, as He did for the Israelites.

 

“Houses and lands will be of no use to the saints in the time of trouble, for they will then have to flee before infuriated mobs, and at that time their possessions cannot be disposed of to advance the cause of present truth.  I was shown that it is the will of God that the saints should cut loose from every encumbrance before [57]

 

“the time of trouble comes, and make a covenant with God through sacrifice.  If they have their property on the altar and earnestly inquire of God for duty, He will teach them when to dispose of these things.  Then they will be free in the time of trouble and have no clogs to weigh them down.

 

“I saw [EGW IN VISION] that if any held on to their property and did not inquire of the Lord as to their duty, He would not make duty known, and they would be permitted to keep their property, and in the time of trouble it would come up before them like a mountain to crush them, and they would try to dispose of it, but would not be able.”  Cch:281; EW:56-57.

 

“I saw [EGW IN VISION] that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath.  They have not rejected the light upon It.  And at the commencement [SEE HER EXPLANATION BELOW; for the time of trouble marks the close of probation] of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.  This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth.  And at this time God’s chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution [95]

 

“with us.  I saw [EGW IN VISION] the sword, famine, pestilence, and great confusion in the land.  The wicked thought that we had brought the judgments upon them, and they rose up and took counsel to rid the earth of us, thinking that then the evil would be stayed.

 

“In the time of trouble we all fled from the cities and villages, but were pursued by the wicked, who entered the houses of the saints with a sword. They raised the sword to kill us, but it broke, and fell as powerless as a straw. Then we all cried day and night for deliverance, and the cry came up before God. . . God spoke the day and hour of Jesus’ Coming. . .” CET:94-95; EW:33-34.

 

“On page 33 is given the following:  ‘I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question to unite the hearts of God’s dear, waiting saints.  I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath.  They have not rejected the light upon it.  And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.’

 

“This view was given in 1847 when there were but very few of the Advent brethren observing the Sabbath, and of these but few supposed that its observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers.  Now the fulfilment of that view is beginning to be seen.  ‘The commencement of that time of trouble,’ here mentioned does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the Sanctuary.  At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the [86]

 

“third angel.  At that time the ‘latter rain,’ or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.”  EW:85-86.

 

“The wrath of Satan increases as his time grows short, and his work of deceit and destruction [SATAN’S PLAGUES] will reach its culmination in the time of trouble.”  DD:41.2.

 

“Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth and to cause them to waver.  I saw a covering that God was drawing over His people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth and was pure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty.”  EW:43.2.

 

“I also saw [EGW IN VISION] that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a High Priest in the Sanctuary through the time of trouble.  Those who receive the seal of the Living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully.

 

“I saw [EGW IN VISION] that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ and the ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the Day of the Lord and to live in His sight.  Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter!  They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a Holy God.  Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues [time of trouble], and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building.  But there will be no time then to do it and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father.”  EW:71.

 

“As Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the wicked to destroy God's people in the time of trouble.  And as he accused Jacob, he will urge his accusations against the people of God.  He numbers the world as his subjects; but the little company who keep the Commandments of God are resisting his supremacy.  If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete.  He sees that holy angels are guarding them, and he infers that their sins have been pardoned; but he does not know that their cases have been decided in the Sanctuary above.  He has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these before God in the most exaggerated light, representing this people to be just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God.  He declares that the Lord cannot in justice forgive their sins, and yet destroy him and his angels.  He claims them as his prey, and demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.

 

“As Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the Lord permits him to try them to the uttermost.  Their confidence in God, their faith and firmness, will be severely tested.  As they review the past, their hopes sink; for in their whole lives they can see little good.  They are fully conscious of their weakness and unworthiness.  Satan [619]

 

“endeavors to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away.  He hopes to so destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations, and turn from their allegiance to God.

 

“Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth's sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they shall fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise, ‘I will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world.’ [Revelation 3:10] If they could have the assurance of pardon, they would not shrink from torture or death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of character, then God’s Holy Name would be reproached.”  GC88:618-619.1.

 

“Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory.  He had kept His Father’s Commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage.  This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.”  GC88:622.4.