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Crime and Natural Disasters to Increase
Worst Sinners? "Nay."
Certainly we aren't as guilty before God as the sinners in New Orleans—are we?
Some might be tempted to think that the party-goers of New Orleans and the casino operators of
Gulfport and Biloxi were worse sinners than anyone else. Not so, suggests Jesus Himself:
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And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans
were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered
such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew
them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt
in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish. (Lk. 13:2-5)
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According to Ellen White, because men do not recognize that God has been mercifully holding
back Satan's destructive power, in a "limited degree" he is being "permitted to destroy":
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The same Hand that kept the fiery serpents of the wilderness from
entering the camp of the Israelites until God's chosen people provoked Him
with their constant murmurs and complaints, is today guarding the honest in
heart. Were this restraining Hand withdrawn, the enemy of our souls would at
once begin the work of destruction that he has so long desired to accomplish.
And because God's long-continued forbearance is not now recognized, the
forces of evil are already, to a limited degree, permitted to destroy. How
soon human agencies will see blotted out of existence their magnificent
buildings, which are their pride!—Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, p. 281, bold added.
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And quite clearly, the "honest in heart" are not always spared. Even some of the followers
of God will perish in the calamities that are beginning to befall our planet:
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How often have those in danger of being destroyed by terrible
outbreakings of winds and waters been mercifully shielded from harm! Do we
realize that we have been spared from destruction only because of the
protecting care of unseen agencies? Although many ships have gone down and
many men and women on board have perished, God has mercifully spared His
people. But we should not be surprised if some of those who love and fear God
were to be engulfed in the tempestuous waters of the ocean. They would sleep
until the Lifegiver comes to give them life. We are not to cast one word of
reflection upon God or upon His manner of working.—Ibid., bold added.
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With all this in mind, the following counsel seems especially pertinent:
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Let us turn our attention away from unimportant things, and give
ourselves to God. We scarcely dream of the destroying angels that already are
permitted to bring disaster and destruction in their path. Shall my life be
spared to act a part in the closing scenes of this earth's history?—Manuscript
Releases, vol. 21, p. 437.
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Mighty sobering.
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