Regarding #99442, you said that it is only literal fire from heaven that stops the wicked from advancing upon the city. But this is wrong. It is the uplifting of Jesus Christ which stops them.

What caused rebellion in the first place was confusion regarding the character of God. The revelation of the God's character stops it.

That the wicked choose death is stated in DA 764. GC 543 also tells us that their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, while DA 759, and many other passages, tell us that force is not a principle of God's government, but rather of Satan's, and that the rebellion is not overcome by force.

At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed and attended by a retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty He bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands of the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease and death. {GC 662.1}

Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!" It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into their graves, so they come forth with the same enmity to Christ and the same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation in which to remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by this. A lifetime of transgression has not softened their hearts. A second probation, were it given them, would be occupied as was the first in evading the requirements of God and exciting rebellion against Him. {GC 662.2}

Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. Says the prophet: "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee." "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, . . . and there shall be a very great valley." "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one." Zechariah 14:5, 4, 9. As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City. {GC 662.3}

Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan's captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny. The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his claims. He makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints and to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead and declares that as their leader he is well able to overthrow the city and regain his throne and his kingdom. {GC 663.1}

In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation. There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell. {GC 664.1}

Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions. {GC 664.2}

At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on--an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision the serried ranks advance over the earth's broken and uneven surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city and make ready for the onset. {GC 664.3}

Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance. {GC 665.1}

TE: How can God communicate spiritual truths in a vision? He does so by physical symbols. It's up to us to interpret these symbols. God has certainly given us more than an ample amount of material to do so.

MM: There is nothing symbolic about the light that radiates from God's physical person. Neither was there anything symbolic about the light that radiated from Moses' face. Light is real; it is not symbolic.

I was responding to what you wrote, not to the SOP. Here's what you posted:

"See, this is speaking of Jesus Christ [in the time of John the Baptist, DA 108] as the revealer of the character of God. He is the light of the glory of God that gives life to the righteous but slays the wicked, because He is the revealer of God's character. Notice it says that only the pure in heart could abide in His presence."

The way you worded things it made me think you were saying only the pure in heart could abide Jesus' presence without being slain by the light of His glory and brightness. But now you are making it clear this didn't happen while Jesus was here in the flesh. And, of course, I agree.

God didn't "show" His character to Moses on the mount; instead, God expressed it in words.

And, it wasn't the words that God spoke that made the skin on Moses' face shine so brightly that it hurt people around him; rather, it was light radiating from His physical person that caused Moses' skin to shine.

The light of the glory of God, which imparts life to the righteous, will slay the wicked.

In the time of John the Baptist, Christ was about to appear as the revealer of the character of God.

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.

Regarding #99468, from DA 108 we read:



The principle is right here. Note:

1.What slays the wicked gives life to the righteous.
2.Christ is the revealer of the character of God.

Conclusion:
1.Jesus Christ is the light of the glory of God.
2.Jesus Christ reveals the character of God.
3.This revelation is life to the righteous but death to the wicked.

One is reminded of John 17, where Jesus explained that to know God is life eternal. In ST 1/20/90 EGW explained that the "whole purpose" of Christ's mission was "the revelation of God." He did so in order "to set men right with God." This setting man right with God is what gives them life. How does He do so? By the revelation of God, because to know God is life eternal.

Regarding the choice of the wicked, in GC 543, EGW explains that the exclusion of the wicked from heaven is voluntary with themselves. In DA 764 she explains that their death is the result of their own choice, and quotes Christ who says that those who "hate" Him love (choose) death. The choice is between Christ, who is life, and death. The wicked prefer death to Christ. This is brought out in GC 543.



Their choice is very clear.

Tom, if it is as you say, why, then, is not reflected in the GC passage I quoted above? Why is totally different than you are describing?

Please notice that the wicked behold the glory of Jesus, and that the force of the truth causes their unwilling lips to proclaim, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!" Neither the revelation of the truth, nor the glory of Christ causes them to desire death. The instant Jesus withdraws from their view, Satan is able to motivate them to try and take the city by force. Far from wanting to die, as you are asserting, they are eager to gain control of New Jerusalem.

Just before they attack the city, the glory of Christ sweeps out over the earth. "The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance." Again, the radiant brightness of Jesus' physical person engulfs the wicked without killing them or causing them to desire death.

Even after the Great White Throne judgment is ended, they do not desire to die; instead, they turn upon one another to vent their rage and anger. In the midst of such mayhem, Jesus rains down fire from above and raises up fire from below to punish each one in duration and inn proportion to their sinfulness. So, not once do the wicked desire to die. They fight tooth and nail to the bitter end.

No, Tom, I do not agree with you regarding the light of the glory of God. You perceive it in a light totally different than I do. I agree there is a spiritual application of the expression, but, unlike you, I also believe there is a physical aspect.

PS - It seems though as we both agree Jesus will not change our character when He returns.

In the case of the thief on the cross, he confessed and crucified any and all sinful traits and habits that would have barred against him the pearly gates. There were no unconfessed traits or habits that were overlooked that would have to be dealt with later on in heaven.

TE: Sometimes EGW is writing down what she saw. Sometimes she writes down the meaning of what she saw. One needs to put these things together to come up with a right understanding. It's not a simple thing to do, or else there wouldn't be so many different ideas. Spiritual things are spiritually understood. As we grow spiritually, our understanding of spiritual things grows as well.

MM: Tom, are you saying we cannot take literally what Sister White wrote in GC 662-665?

Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!" It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips.

GC 662-665
At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed and attended by a retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty He bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands of the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease and death. {GC 662.1}

Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!" It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into their graves, so they come forth with the same enmity to Christ and the same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation in which to remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by this. A lifetime of transgression has not softened their hearts. A second probation, were it given them, would be occupied as was the first in evading the requirements of God and exciting rebellion against Him. {GC 662.2}

Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. Says the prophet: "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee." "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, . . . and there shall be a very great valley." "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one." Zechariah 14:5, 4, 9. As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City. {GC 662.3}

Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan's captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny. The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his claims. He makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints and to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead and declares that as their leader he is well able to overthrow the city and regain his throne and his kingdom. {GC 663.1}

In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation. There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell. {GC 664.1}

Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions. {GC 664.2}

At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on--an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision the serried ranks advance over the earth's broken and uneven surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city and make ready for the onset. {GC 664.3}

Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance. {GC 665.1}

Four observations based on the sequence of events described above:

1) the resurrected wicked see the glory of God without being consumed by it,

2) the force of truth causes them to acknowledge Jesus without it causing them to seek death,

3) they prepare to take the New Jerusalem by force, and

4) the brightness of God's glory encompasses the earth without causing them to die.