The Wicked Are Slain

In the mad strife of their own fierce passions, and by the awful outpouring of God's unmingled wrath, fall the wicked inhabitants of the earth--priests, rulers, and people, rich and poor, high and low. "And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried" (Jer. 25:33). {LDE 278.3}

At the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the whole earth--consumed with the spirit of His mouth and destroyed by the brightness of His glory. Christ takes His people to the city of God, and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants.--GC 657 (1911). {LDE 278.4}

To sin, wherever found, "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). In all who submit to His power the Spirit of God will consume sin. But if men cling to sin, they become identified with it. Then the glory of God, which destroys sin, must destroy them.--DA 107 (1898). {LDE 279.1}

The glory of His countenance, which to the righteous is life, will be to the wicked a consuming fire.--DA 600 (1898). {LDE 279.2}

Destruction of the Wicked an Act of Mercy

Could those whose hearts are filled with hatred of God, of truth and holiness, mingle with the heavenly throng and join their songs of praise? Could they endure the glory of God and the Lamb? No, no; years of probation were granted them, that they might form characters for heaven; but they have never trained the mind to love purity; they have never learned the language of heaven, and now it is too late. A life of rebellion against God has unfitted them for heaven. Its purity, holiness, and peace would be torture to them; the glory of God would be a consuming fire. They would long to flee from that holy place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by their own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, and just and merciful on the part of God.--GC 542, 543 (1911). {LDE 279.3}

Daryl, do the passages above answer your question?

Mike,

No they don't as I was referring specifically to the honour and glory part.

Daryl, when you asked - "How does this fit into the picture of God loving the sinner but hating the sin?" - I didn't realize you were asking specifically about the honor and glory of God associated with killing sinners in the lake of fire.

As I see it, throughout eternity God will be credited with honor and glory for being the One who eliminated sin. All the Bible passages posted above describe the honor and glory attributed to God for single handedly defeating sinners when Jesus returns and for eliminating sin in the lake of fire.

We will not praise sin, self or Satan throughout eternity for eliminating sin in the lake of fire. Forever and ever we will recall with joy and rejoicing that God Himself eliminated sin and restored Paradise Lost. No one or nothing can rob God of this honor and glory. When the war is finally over God and God alone will be hailed as a Hero!

Dear Mike, your presentation of the honor and glory of God is very, very sad. That which will occupy the minds and hearts of the saved is not the horrible destruction of the lost. That is not what brings praise in the heart. Certainly not due to such darkness you described. God’s way of dealing with sin is very different.

That which will occupy the minds and hearts of the saved is the glory of God’s character, his righteousness, how marvelous his grace, how great a salvation.

They have seen the degradation of their own hearts. They have realized the vanity of their own mind. They have seen the brutality of sin. They have seen how self-justification accuses and kills. They have seen that the righteousness of sin destroys.

They have seen that God’s righteousness saves, lifts up, restores. They marvel as they behold the vastness and unreachable depth of his love that saved a wretch like them. All their comeliness in themselves has turned to corruption. And they behold the glory of God. They now behold and dwell in righteousness where there is no fear. Therefore there is praise.

Their praises have no part in what you wrote.

Shalom

Dear Mike
After reareading this whole topic from page one I have tried to summarize your understanding. I have found it a painful process. Your presentation of the character of God and his righteousness is disastrous. It establishes the picture of God which asks all the questions that David asked you in his post of March 23, 2003 05:27 AM, which you never answered.

Here is a summary of your thoughts in your own words.

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1. The fact He chose to create free moral agents, who were destined to sin and die, makes God indirectly responsible for the existence of sin and death.

2. "The wrath of God deals with the guilt and shame and eternal separation Jesus experienced on our behalf." This was God's work.

3. the wrath of God meaning giving up sinners to suffer the undiluted guilt and shame associated with their sins during intense physical and emotional agony.

4. The sin was all sin and it was in His flesh.

5. The victory was won when He consumed the contents of the cup - the wrath of God exercised toward the sin in His flesh.

6. He gained the victory by successfully enduring and conquering the cup of God's wrath, by not dying before the cup was finished.

7. So the Devil accuses God of fighting unfairly by protecting man from succumbing to the full force of his sin and guilt. Which is true.

8. Undiluted guilt kills like a nuclear bomb. The fact salvation protects us from the full force of our sin and guilt is cause for contention between Christ and Satan.

9. However, God will not allow the great controversy to end in a stalemate. He cannot allow sin and death to rule and ruin things. He must show Himself in control, otherwise the great controversy would end in a stalemate.

10. The wrath of God is love. If God were to continue shielding us from the reality of sin and its consequences (shame and guilt) He would be guilty as charged. But by allowing Jesus to drink the cup of God's wrath they demonstrated the truth about sin. Had Jesus not done this none of us could learn to hate sin. By suffering the wrath of God Jesus displayed the true nature of sin and the second death.

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Your view is very painful to my mind.

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1. John, I believe Jesus is the lawful owner of sin and the second death for all mankind. I believe He earned the right to own our sin and second death when He consumed the cup of God's wrath beginning in Gethsemane and ending on Golgotha.

2. Because Jesus owns all sin and death, which He accomplished before He laid down His own life, we are able to sin without immediately incurring the consequences of sin, which is eternal death. Our Lord has quarantined sin and death within the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary.

3. He will one day transfer the sin and death of the saved upon the head of Satan, the scapegoat. The devil will die with the sins of the saved in the lake of fire, the second death. This is the final process of the atonement for mankind.

4. Jesus is our substitute in the sense that He earned the right to own our sin and death, and to transfer it upon the head of Satan. Sin and death did not defeat Jesus on the cross, rather He defeated them, and became our substitute, which gives Him the legal right to eliminate them as He sees fit.

5. When we receive Jesus into our hearts and minds we are free from the guilt and condemnation that makes up the cup of God's wrath. It is the truth that sets us free, the truth as it is in Jesus, the truth concerning sin and salvation. There is no freedom if we do not believe that in Jesus we are free from sin.

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Mike you have successfully proven what I have written in my first post, that the religion of today saves people from God and his wrath, and not from sin. Regardless of the slant of your view, it does not change the fundamental substance. Your idea of salvation from sin is but that of transferring the responsibility of sin from the sinner to Christ to Satan. I do not know what you do with the guilt of God himself who in your mind is indirectly responsible for all this. Satan is truly a scapegoat in your view, and the real culprit is God!

Everywhere I turn to look; your theory disintegrates on every side. I mention here just a few points.

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As I see it we bear the sins of our fathers in our sinful flesh natures. We are not guilty of these sins, nor are we guilty of the sinful thoughts and feelings generated and communicated by our fallen flesh natures.
What Jesus experienced beginning in Gethsemane and ending on Golgotha was the wrath of God against the sin He inherited when He assumed Adam's fallen nature.

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How could God's wrath be exercised on Christ for something of which neither Christ nor we are guilty?

Your definitions:

Our guilt and shame = God's wrath = God's love = what Christ overcame = what we are set free from.

These equivalents create such an unpallatable mixture of darkness and light. Since we are to have our heavenly Father's character, then we are to live God's love which is God's wrath which is our guilt and shame which is what we are set free from.?! What predicament! You call it salvation?

The following extension of your thought is fantastical!

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The wages of sin is the second death. But the plan of salvation prevents us from experiencing this reality and the true force of sin, shame and guilt. Thus, it is not evident in our daily lives that sin is the source of all suffering, unrest and unhappiness. The undiluted results of sin have been temporarily suspended until the lake of fire.

In order to compensate for this problem inherent in the plan of salvation God became sin for us and demonstrated the true hideous nature of sin in the life of Jesus Christ. Especially on the cross of Calvary did Jesus expose the undiluted results of sin. Now, by beholding Christ and Him crucified, we can see for ourselves what would be our state if we were allowed to experience the true force of sin the moment we sin.

God made it possible for us to see sin in all of its hideousness, without having to die the second death, so that we can be motivated to trust Jesus with our lives and to set us free from sin. His life and death makes it possible for us to hate sin and to crave Christ and His righteousness. But the suffering and death of Jesus accomplishes more than merely helping us hate sin, it also paid the penalty for our sins. He paid the price of death for our sins so we can be pardoned and rewarded with eternal life.

Jesus earned the right to own our sin and second death when He lived and died the perfect life and death. As the lawful owner of the keys of hell and of death it rests with Jesus to eliminate our sin and second death in the lake of fire. This He will accomplish when He transfers our sins upon the head of Satan, who will perish with them in the lake of fire. Once the flames of hell fire have purified the earth from all traces of sin Jesus will recreate it anew

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Your thought here proposes that for us who are steeped in sin, the problem that God has is that we do not see the true nature of sin. Fair enough. But to think that to dispel this darkness in our minds, God needs to himself commit the ultimate darkness, so that we may see is incredible. Since when does darkness enlighten? What can we think of a God who can do/commit such darkness?

The scripture tells us that Satan through the fear of death is the ruling power of this fallen world. That is, that every sinner is well acquainted with the fear of death; in fact it holds him hostage.

What need does God have to confirm to the uttermost such a fear? And then the fear is of whom? Is it not in such a case that this fear of death which keeps in bondage, is validly directed toward God who wields such dark penalties, and sent his Son into this world to be an example unto us of what he will do to us. And if he spared not his Son who was innocent and without sin, how could we expect any mercy for the sake of whatever belief you think we ought to have about this matter? This concept of God's glory is hideous. Why should we crave Christ and his righteousness if God did that to him?

Matthew 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Mike the problem of sin is that it is darkness and the sinner is rendered blind because of the darkness. Christ came to 'lighten' every man that cometh into the world. While there is a problem of man not seeing the true nature of sin due to the very nature of its darkness; the infinitely greater problem is of man not seeing the glory of God; the problem of man not having light. Satan has misrepresented and maligned God; he has brought fear and distrust. Light is needed to dispel darkness and then all surroundings are seen. It is only when the fullness of light is that those, whose eyes have been opened, will see fully. When man sees the glory of God, then and only then can he realize the true nature of sin.

Please consider this. God's plan of salvation does not and has never posed any problem to truth.

I am sorry Mike I do not mean to be derogatory. I am stunned by the substance of your thought. Though I have presented in my first post here that this is the fundamental reality to the thoughts of many, seldom do most everthink it through to realize their thought, and when they do they are shocked at their own thought. You are the first that has actually spelled it out and seem to think it is fine.

Shalom

Dear Mike

Christ came and brought the light of God's Glory to this world, which is diametrically opposite to your story. I testify that the Father had no part in the work from Gethsemane to Christ's death. The Father had delivered/given his Son over, with great pain and suffering, allowing the enemy the hour of the power of darkness. The Father suffered with his Son. All that was exercised on Christ during that time, both spiritual and physical, was the work of darkness. Christ never succumbed to it; he never owned any of it. That is where the victory is over sin and death.

Satan was not able to cause him to own any sin, though he imposed upon him such horror of darkness with all the lies about his Father that he could conjure (what you call the wrath of God). Christ knew his Father better and would not buy Satan's insinuations. Though Satan disfigured his body with what torture he could muster, in order to support his spiritual insinuations about the Father, by causing him to see his Father as the one who is merciless and is exacting the sins upon him; that it was his Father who was doing it. That the wrath of God is so great towards sin that he is now laden with, that he would never see his Father again. Christ never partook of it. Oh the horror of that darkness that was so foreign to the Son of God who knew his Father differently; who lived in the light of his Fathers presence. Now he was subjected to such great darkness. In this manner he bore and suffered the sin and guilt of the whole world, in such a manner as Satan only can accuse and insinuate. He suffered it both physically and spiritually, but never for one moment did he fall under it, never did he agree with it, never did he own it.

Behold him who sweats blood as the thoughts of that darkness were pressed upon him. How he bid his disciples, pray that ye enter not in this temptation. How glibly and blatantly the religion of today professes that the horror of that darkness is the truth about God. Oh what darkness. What lies, from the Father of lies!

Christ had not fallen to the accusations of Satan. He resisted sin unto death. Satan's power was broken. His spell of darkness was vanquished. The light from Golgotha illuminated the universe, which saw the entire spiritual struggle between Christ and Satan under such adverse circumstances. The heavenly host cried out worthy, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and glory and honor. There was no more room found in heaven for Satan and his angels. The prince of this world was judged. His accusations would never be heard again in heaven. None would listen to him any more. Satan was cast out of heaven. The Father gave all judgement to the Son. This was the victory that was wrought at the cross. Christ destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. All that will let the light of the Glory of God as it is in Jesus into their hearts are set free from that power of darkness.

Behold the thought and mind of his Father coming from the lips of his Son, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. How could one ever think that his Father was a partaker with them in the work of that darkness? The Father suffered with his Son, for HE LOVED, therefore HE GAVE.

The Father's work comes in to resurrect the Son, and bring back to life the shepherd who gave his life in battle with the wolf.

Please Mike consider that there is a light much more glorious in coming to know the truth about your heavenly Father that no darkness can overcome.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Shalom

John, it is very clear you are offended by the idea that Jesus became sin for us in order to set us free from the condemnation of sin and the wrath of God. What you wrote about the love of God is true. But what the Bible says about the wrath of God is true too. No matter how much you detest it - the wrath of God is love.

Jesus incurred the wrath of God on our behalf. He earned the right to own our sin and second death by drinking the cup of God's wrath in our place. Satan will eventually die in the lake of fire with our sin and second death. Thus sin will be eliminated and the honor and glory belongs to God alone. Satan does not walk voluntarily into the lake of fire - he is cast into it, along with everyone else who despised the sacrifice of Jesus.

Please read the following passages and notice how the holy of heaven respond to the destruction of sin and sinners. Do you feel the same way about them as you do about me for believing the honor and glory belongs to God for eliminating sin and sinners in the lake of fire? Why do you think it is so hideous, so reprehensible, that all heaven rejoices at the destruction and elimination of sin and sinners?

Revelation
14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation
16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
16:7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.

Revelation
18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her.

18:20 Rejoice over her, [thou] heaven, and [ye] holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

Revelation
19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
19:2 For true and righteous [are] his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
19:12 His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
19:13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
19:14 And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
19:16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great.
19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Revelation
20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea.
20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

2T pages 209-212
Chapter 29 - The Sufferings of Christ

[Please read this entire passage].

Oh, was there ever suffering and sorrow like that endured by the dying Saviour! It was the sense of His Father's displeasure which made His cup so bitter. It was not bodily suffering which so quickly ended the life of Christ upon the cross. It was the crushing weight of the sins of the world, and a sense of His Father's wrath. The Father's glory and sustaining presence had left Him, and despair pressed its crushing weight of darkness upon Him and forced from His pale and quivering lips the anguished cry: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" {2T 209.1}

Jesus had united with the Father in making the world. Amid the agonizing sufferings of the Son of God, blind and deluded men alone remain unfeeling. The chief priests and elders revile God's dear Son while in His expiring agonies. Yet inanimate nature groans in sympathy with her bleeding, dying Author. The earth trembles. The sun refuses to behold the scene. The heavens gather blackness. Angels have witnessed the scene of suffering until they can look no longer, and hide their faces from the horrid sight. Christ is dying! He is in despair! His Father's approving smile is removed, and angels are not permitted to lighten the gloom of the terrible hour. They can only behold in amazement their loved Commander, the Majesty of heaven, suffering the penalty of man's transgression of the Father's law. {2T 209.2}

Even doubts assailed the dying Son of God. He could not see through the portals of the tomb. Bright hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the tomb a conqueror and His Father's acceptance of His sacrifice. The sin of the world, with all its terribleness, was felt to the utmost by the Son of God. The displeasure of the Father for sin, and its penalty, which is death, were all that He could realize through this amazing darkness. He was tempted to fear that sin was so offensive in the sight of His Father that He could not be reconciled to His Son. The fierce temptation that His own Father had forever left Him caused that piercing cry from the cross: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" {2T 209.3}

Christ felt much as sinners will feel when the vials of God's wrath shall be poured out upon them. Black despair, like the pall of death, will gather about their guilty souls, and then they will realize to the fullest extent the sinfulness of sin. Salvation has been purchased for them by the suffering and death of the Son of God. It might be theirs, if they would accept of it willingly, gladly; but none are compelled to yield obedience to the law of God. If they refuse the heavenly benefit and choose the pleasures and deceitfulness of sin, they have their choice, and at the end receive their wages, which is the wrath of God and eternal death. They will be forever separated from the presence of Jesus, whose sacrifice they had despised. They will have lost a life of happiness and sacrificed eternal glory for the pleasures of sin for a season. {2T 210.1}

Faith and hope trembled in the expiring agonies of Christ because God had removed the assurance He had heretofore given His beloved Son of His approbation and acceptance. The Redeemer of the world then relied upon the evidences which had hitherto strengthened Him, that His Father accepted His labors and was pleased with His work. In His dying agony, as He yields up His precious life, He has by faith alone to trust in Him whom it has ever been His joy to obey. He is not cheered with clear, bright rays of hope on the right hand nor on the left. All is enshrouded in oppressive gloom. Amid the awful darkness which is felt by sympathizing nature, the Redeemer drains the mysterious cup even to its dregs. Denied even bright hope and confidence in the triumph which will be His in the future, He cries with a loud voice: "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit." He is acquainted with the character of His Father, with His justice, His mercy, and His great love, and in submission He drops into His hands. Amid the convulsions of nature are heard by the amazed spectators the dying words of the Man of Calvary. {2T 210.2}

Nature sympathized with the suffering of its Author. The heaving earth, the rent rocks, proclaimed that it was the Son of God who died. There was a mighty earthquake. The veil of the temple was rent in twain. Terror seized the executioners and spectators as they beheld the sun veiled in darkness, and felt the earth shake beneath them, and saw and heard the rending of the rocks. The mocking and jeering of the chief priests and elders were hushed as Christ commended His spirit into the hands of His Father. The astonished throng began to withdraw and grope their way in the darkness to the city. They smote upon their breasts as they went and in terror, speaking scarcely above a whisper, said among themselves: "It is an innocent person that has been murdered. What if, indeed, He is, as He asserted, the Son of God?" {2T 211.1}

Jesus did not yield up His life till He had accomplished the work which He came to do, and exclaimed with His departing breath: "It is finished." Satan was then defeated. He knew that his kingdom was lost. Angels rejoiced as the words were uttered: "It is finished." The great plan of redemption, which was dependent on the death of Christ, had been thus far carried out. And there was joy in heaven that the sons of Adam could, through a life of obedience, be finally exalted to the throne of God. Oh, what love! What amazing love! that brought the Son of God to earth to be made sin for us, that we might be reconciled to God, and elevated to a life with Him in His mansions in glory. Oh, what is man, that such a price should be paid for his redemption! {2T 211.2}

When men and women can more fully comprehend the magnitude of the great sacrifice which was made by the Majesty of heaven in dying in man's stead, then will the plan of salvation be magnified, and reflections of Calvary will awaken tender, sacred, and lively emotions in the Christian's heart. Praises to God and the Lamb will be in their hearts and upon their lips. Pride and self-esteem cannot flourish in the hearts that keep fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary. This world will appear of but little value to those who appreciate the great price of man's redemption, the precious blood of God's dear Son. All the riches of the world are not of sufficient value to redeem one perishing soul. Who can measure the love Christ felt for a lost world as He hung upon the cross, suffering for the sins of guilty men? This love was immeasurable, infinite. {2T 212.1}

Christ has shown that His love was stronger than death. He was accomplishing man's salvation; and although He had the most fearful conflict with the powers of darkness, yet, amid it all, His love grew stronger and stronger. He endured the hiding of His Father's countenance, until He was led to exclaim in the bitterness of His soul: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" His arm brought salvation. The price was paid to purchase the redemption of man, when, in the last soul struggle, the blessed words were uttered which seemed to resound through creation: "It is finished." {2T 212.2}

Dear MSDAOL Members,

Please go back and finish reading the above post. It only takes a few minutes of your time. Okay, now that you have carefully and prayerfully read it, can you honestly say Jesus did not bear our sin and guilt on the Cross? Can you honestly say Jesus did not suffer the wrath of God on our behalf? And can you honestly say we will not appreciate His sacrifice throughout eternity, and praise God for eliminating sin and sinners in the lake of fire? because they despised His love and sacrifice?