Only
One Reminder of Sin
Behold,
the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and
the sinner. Prov. 11:31.
The wicked receive their recompense in the earth. Proverbs 11:31. They “shall
be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of
hosts.” Malachi 4:1. Some are destroyed as in a moment, while others
suffer many days. All are punished “according to their deeds.”
The sins of the righteous having been transferred to Satan, he is made to
suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused
God’s people to commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that
of those whom he has deceived. After all have perished who fell by his deceptions,
he is still to live and suffer on. In the cleansing flames the wicked are
at last destroyed, root and branch—Satan the root, his followers the
branches.
Satan and
all who have joined him in rebellion will be cut off. . . . Then “the
wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it
shall not be”; “they shall be as though they had not been.”
Ps. 37:10; Obadiah 16.
The justice
of God is satisfied, and the saints and all the angelic host say with a loud
voice, Amen.
While the
earth is wrapped in the fire of God’s vengeance, the righteous abide
safely in the Holy City. Upon those that had part in the first resurrection,
the second death has no power. (Rev. 20:6.) While God is to the wicked a consuming
fire, He is to His people both a sun and a shield. (Ps. 84:11.)
The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse
is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the
fearful consequences of sin.
One reminder
alone remains: our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. .
. .
All that
was lost by sin has been restored. . . . God’s original purpose in the
creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made the eternal abode of the
redeemed. “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for
ever.” Psalm 37:29.
From Devotional:
Our Father Cares, pp. 340, 341.