The Book of Job

Innocent Blood

Lesson #8 for November 19, 2016

Scriptures: [Job1:18-20; 10; 15:14-16; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:10-20; Matthew 6:34[1]].

1.    Read Hebrews 11:1 (GNB): “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.”

Algerian-born writer Albert Camus struggled with the question of human suffering. In his book The Plague, he used a plague as a metaphor for the ills that bring pain and suffering upon humanity. He depicted a scene in which a little boy, afflicted with the pestilence, dies a horrific death. Afterward a priest, who had been a witness to the tragedy, said to a doctor who had been there too: “That sort of thing is revolting because it passes our human understanding. But perhaps we should love what we cannot understand.”

The doctor, enraged, snapped back: “No, Father. I’ve a very different idea of love. And until my dying day, I shall refuse to love a scheme of things in which children are put to torture.”—Albert Camus, The Plague (New York: First Vintage International Edition, 1991), p. 218.—Quoted in Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Sabbath, November 12.

In what ways did Job suffer? Guilt about causing the deaths of his children? His pain? The loss of friendship of his “friends”? The accusations of his friends?

2.    Is it possible to make sense of the world in which we live? Is it fair that thousands of children are dying in war-ravaged Syria and other countries at war? Is it fair that billions of people are being born in countries with little or no access to the truth about God?

3.    In much of the book of Job, we find that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were doing their best under the inspiration of the Devil to break down Job. Much of what they said might actually have been true. It is true that we are all sinners. But, in Job’s case, he was not suffering because of his sins. In fact, he was suffering because according to God’s righteous judgment he was “blameless and upright”! Was that fair? Elsewhere in the Bible, we find numerous examples of people who did die because of their own sins, beginning with many in the flood; then proceeding on to Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and others. But, what about some who may not have died because of their own sins such as the firstborn in Egypt who died in the 10th plague and the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers who died outside Jerusalem. We could mention many other people who probably died because of their own rebellion. But, the book of Job is troubling because Job did not suffer and Job’s children did not die because of their own sin(s) or Job’s sin(s) although his three friends were certain that it must have been because of their sins. Imagine how Job felt, being accused by them when he knew he did not deserve it.

4.    Read Job 9&10[2]. Job was beginning to feel that God was the One punishing him-or at least allowing him to be punished. Do you agree with the general principle that, ultimately, nothing can happen without God’s approval? Job proceeded to discuss his own case by saying: “Why did You create me if You were just planning to destroy me later?” At that point in the story, Job was convinced that he had only a short time to live, and he asked God just to leave him alone!

5.    Look specifically at Job 9:24 (GNB): “God gave the world to the wicked. He made all the judges blind. And if God didn’t do it, who did?” [Bold type is added.] Is that the critical question in the book of Job? Did Job know about Genesis 3 and the Devil? Why wasn’t the Devil mentioned in any of the discussions after Job 2?

6.    See handout: “If God Didn’t Do It, Who Did?”at: www.theox.org under “Teacher’s Guides,” then “Writings.”

7.    In his suffering, even Job wished that he had never been born. Or, perhaps, if he was born, to die before he took his first breath. Can you blame him? I am sure that he could not even get a good night’s sleep!

8.    Can you think of others who might have been suffering because of their righteousness or good deeds? Jesus, of course. And what about Joseph? And Daniel? Did Paul suffer because he was good? Paul, writing to Timothy not long before his own beheading, said in 2 Timothy 3:12: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Do you think that is true even today? At least on occasion?

9.    There are a couple of facts which make this whole discussion difficult:

1)    We are all sinners and, thus, ultimately, all deserve to die. But, Job knew that he had not done some horrendously awful sin that was responsible for his suffering. So, why did all that happen to him? As we have stated on several occasions, we believe it is impossible to explain what was happening in this story or in much of the evil events in the history of our world without an understanding of the great controversy over God’s character and government.

2)    We must also remember that we are in the middle of that great controversy but that the great controversy itself will only last for a brief period of time in contrast to the eternity which God promises to give all His faithful people.

10.    If we believe that the righteous are going to end up living with God in a perfect environment for the rest of eternity, why do they need to go through a lot of suffering to be given a place there? Are there people suffering in Job-like experiences even today?

11.    Read [Deuteronomy 29:19; Isaiah 59:7; Jeremiah 22:17; and Joel 3:19][3]. These verses explain that bad things will happen even to innocent people. We must remember, of course, our first point above. As someone once said: “Your birth certificate is proof of your guilt.” Why do the news agencies follow the general principle which says: “If it bleeds, it leads”? Our news is just full of murders, crime, and other disasters.

12.    Do Seventh-day Adventists believe in Original Sin? Before you answer that question, you must determine what Original Sin or Original Guilt means. If you mean by Original Sin that just as Adam and Eve sinned we all have followed their example, it is true. (Romans 5:12) But, if you mean by Original Sin that we are somehow sinful or guilty because of Adam’s Original Sin, as taught by Augustine, that is not true. We are guilty because of our own sins. (Romans 5:12) However, it is true that because of their sin, we no longer have the option of living in the Garden of Eden. So, Adam and Eve’s sin has condemned us to live in a world filled with unfairness, sin, tragedies, and suffering.

13.    There are a number of passages in the Bible that clearly say that we are all sinners. That includes [1 Kings 8:46; Psalm 51:5; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 53:6; and Romans 3:10-20,23][4].

Romans 3:23 (GNB): “Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence.”

14.    In light of all the above, wouldn’t life be hopeless without knowing about the life and death of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us through the cross? At the same time, as we look at the Pattern, we each must realize how far we have fallen from that Pattern.

15.    Read Job 15:14-16[5]. In these verses Eliphaz was repeating a portion of what he received in that night vision from the Devil himself as recorded in Job 4:12-21[6]. While it is true that we are all frail creatures of clay and could die at any moment and also that sin and suffering are universal facts of life on this earth, we can look beyond all of that to God’s promise of a future, better life. Have you ever talked to someone who really believes in the “Big Bang” and asked him/her what hope s/he has for the future? S/he might say as others have said, “I try not to think about it!” Does God need to refine the lives even of His chosen children?

God has always tried His people in the furnace of affliction. It is in the heat of the furnace that the dross is separated from the true gold of the Christian character.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets 129.3; Compare 4T 18.2; RH, June 16, 1885, par. 12; April 17, 1894, par. 3.

16.    Having read the entire book of Job on more than one occasion, you might be able to say that many people have learned important lessons from this book. It is one of the clearest places in Scripture for us to view what goes on in the great controversy. But, there are many instances of suffering for which-from our limited perspective-we can see no reason. How do we explain the death of those apparently innocent Christians who have been killed in one way or another down through the ages? What about those who are suffering, having never known anything about God? And what about those whose terrible experiences have only made them more angry and hateful toward God? Have they learned anything?

17.    What about the suffering of animals who die in a forest fire? What about animals who are mercilessly beaten by their masters? What about the thousands of people who have died in natural disasters or who were civilians caught in the midst of war? Think of Syria! Would those people somehow fit into the same category as Job’s first 10 children?

18.    When considering such cases, we must never forget that every single one of those people will be raised either at the second coming or the third coming and will see the part they played in the great controversy when that fantastic panorama which God is preparing appears in the sky. (See John 5:28-29[7] and Great Controversy 666-668.)

19.    Let me go on! The children who die of cancer, young college women who are sexually assaulted and killed, and the over-19,000 Japanese killed in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Were all of those people guilty of some horrendous sin? When we first went to Africa in 1970, around 50% of children died before they reached the age of 5!

20.    Think of the people pictured in the following verses: Job 1:18-20[8] - Job’s first family; Genesis 4:8[9] - Abel; Exodus 12:29-30[10] - the firstborn in Egypt; 2 Samuel 11:17[11] - Uriah, the Hittite; Jeremiah 38:6[12] - Jeremiah when he was thrown into the pit; Matthew 14:10[13] - John the Baptist being beheaded; and Hebrews 11:35-38[14] - where brief mention is made of many who suffered in various ways in the Old Testament. The Devil is the one who is constantly arguing with God: “How can you save all of these sinners and still destroy me?”

21.    Those who believe that if we are faithful to God, we will avoid suffering can only support their teachings by a very selective collection of a few verses in the Bible. But, 2 Timothy 3:12[15] does not support their ideas.

22.    Jesus Himself suggested that every day has enough evil on its own. (Matthew 6:34[16]) The Greek word evil in that verse means badness, depravity, even malignity.

23.    Read Proverbs 3:5[17] (GNB): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.” But, we do not need to go to ancient stories in the Bible to recognize the evil that surrounds every one of us. And it affects us in many ways. One of the arguments that people have repeatedly used to support their views is the idea that “everyone knows that.”

Job 14:1-2: 1 We are all born weak and helpless.

All lead the same short, troubled life.

2 We grow and wither as quickly as flowers;

we disappear like shadows.—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed., Job 14:1-2). New York: American Bible Society.

24.    Job is the one who said those words. The brevity of this life was one thing that both sides seemed to agree upon.

25.    After studying even this first part of the book of Job, it should be impossible to deny the existence of a personal Satan. (See especially Job 1&2[18].) Without an understanding of the great controversy, it is virtually impossible to rationally explain the existence of evil. Even with an understanding of the great controversy, there are still some things which seem so unfair.

26.    However, as Christians we still have hope because we have faith in that relationship with God on which we must rely. What happened to the disciples between crucifixion Friday and Pentecostal Sunday? They realized the truth about the future life and that Jesus was God.

27.    Hebrews 11:1 (GNB): “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.”

28.    Based on the experiences we have had and that we have seen, is it easy to learn how to trust God for the things we cannot see? Or, do our current surroundings make it very difficult to trust God?

29.    Albert Camas who we mentioned at the beginning of this lesson was an atheist. In another location he stated:

There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.—The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays (New York: Vintage Books, 1955), p. 3.

30.    Having read Job 1&2, we are alerted to a source of trouble that we could not have dreamed of otherwise. Suffering becomes a universe-wide issue. And our world becomes the theater of that universe. (1 Corinthians 4:9)

31.    But, what assurance do we have of what the final result of this conflict will be? Read Revelation 21:1-4[19]. No matter how many evil things attack us or affect us, we must hold firmly to the promise of these verses. Isn’t that worth looking forward to?

32.    There are many Christians in our world who believe that Christ’s judgment consists of His holding up scales on which He places our good deeds on one side and our bad deeds on the other. If the good deeds outweigh the bad deeds, we can be saved; but, if the bad deeds outweigh the good deeds, we are sent to suffer in hell.

German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer used a powerful example to debunk that whole notion of some sort of balance between good and evil in this world now. “The pleasure in this world,” he wrote, “it has been said, outweighs the pain; or, at any rate, there is an even balance between the two. If the reader wishes to see shortly whether this statement is true, let him compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is engaged in eating the other.” How would you respond to the idea that good somehow balances out the evil?—Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Friday, November 18.

33.    We know very well that in the Garden of Eden and in the future in the earth made new, there were/will be no carnivorous animals. When and how did those carnivorous creatures get started?

34.    Do all cases of suffering cause us to trust God more? Or, should we just grow more bitter toward God? How can a knowledge of suffering-either our own or that of others-help to strengthen our faith? How much of the time does our own sinful condition contribute to our suffering?

35.    In light of the fact that so many wars have been started because of religious intolerance toward others whose beliefs are different, how should we feel about the undeserved suffering resulting from war, terrorism, etc. Is your natural reaction to be angry at God for allowing all of that?

36.    Ellen White spoke of a group of people that she saw in vision in heaven with red borders on their garments. She was told that those people will be especially honored because they died martyrs’ deaths. Is that enough reason for us to say that the suffering should be tolerated?

As we were traveling along, we met a company who also were gazing at the glories of the place. I noticed red as a border on their garments; their crowns were brilliant; their robes were pure white. As we greeted [19] them, I asked Jesus who they were. He said they were martyrs that had been slain for Him.

With them was an innumerable company of little ones; they also had a hem of red on their garments.—Ellen White, The Day Star (January 24, 1846, par. 1); A Word to the Little Flock 17.1 (1847); Experience and Views 14.1 (1850); Early Writings 18.2-19.0.

37.    Read Matthew 2:13-18[20]. Surely, this story should tear at the hearts of all rational beings. Satan desperately wanted to destroy the Messiah that he knew was coming. He had tried to do it by killing the baby boys in Egypt at the time of Moses. (Exodus 1:15-18[21]) He had tried to do it by destroying all the Jewish people in the days of Esther. (Esther 3) He knew that if the Messiah Jesus could live a sinless life and die that cruel death illustrating the true consequence of sin, it would guarantee his-Satan’s-ultimate destruction.

38.    And what about the people who are wrongly convicted of crimes? Recently, a gentleman was released from prison where he had spent 25 years of his life for a crime that he did not commit. What would you say to him about the fairness of God?

39.    Why do you think God felt it was necessary to call Job “blameless and upright” before the entire group of representatives from around the universe? Remember that God, of course, knew what the result would be.

40.    In Job 10 where we started our lesson, Job effectively said to God, “Please let me alone so that I can suffer in peace.” “Isn’t my life almost over? Leave me alone! Let me enjoy the time I have left.” (Job 10:20, GNB) Isn’t that a reasonable request?

41.    How would you answer Job with his arguments that the God who formed him perfect in his mother’s womb should have let him die in infancy?

Both the Old and New Testaments are clear on the sinful nature of humanity.

Paul, in Romans 3:10-20[22], quotes the Old Testament directly at least eight times, mostly from the book of Psalms [(Ps. 5:9, 10:7, 14:1-3, 36:1, 53:1-3, 140:3, Prov. 1:16, Isa. 59:7)][23], embedding his theology of the sinful nature of humankind deeply into the Old Testament worldview. God created Adam and Eve in His image (Gen. 1:26-28[24]), but with the Fall, the image in the first human couple was marred and all their descendants share the fallen nature, born with weaknesses and tendencies to sin (Ps. 51:5, Rom. 5:12-17)[25].—Adult Teacher’s Sabbath School Bible Study Guide 109.

42.    In light of these speeches that we have considered, including the accusations of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar as well as Job’s responses, do you see any reason for hope? Any comfort? Or, do they promote confusion and questions about the character of God? As we have mentioned in previous lessons, God places a very high value on every single human soul. He would have sent His Son to die for just one of us. Such a thing seems unimaginable to us.

43.    What questions would you like to ask Christian martyrs when you meet them in heaven? What questions would you have for groups like the Waldensees who lived under very difficult circumstances between the 12th and the 16th centuries A.D.? In this series of lessons so far, do you feel that you are coming closer to understanding what was going on in the case of Job? Or, are you still puzzled by it all?

© 2016, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged.    Info@theox.org

1-Job1:18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship

Job 10:“I loathe my very life;

therefore I will give free rein to my complaint

and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

2 I say to God: Do not declare me guilty,

but tell me what charges you have against me.

3 Does it please you to oppress me,

to spurn the work of your hands,

while you smile on the plans of the wicked?

4 Do you have eyes of flesh?

Do you see as a mortal sees?

5 Are your days like those of a mortal

or your years like those of a strong man,

6 that you must search out my faults

and probe after my sin—

7 though you know that I am not guilty

and that no one can rescue me from your hand?

8 “Your hands shaped me and made me.

Will you now turn and destroy me?

9 Remember that you molded me like clay.

Will you now turn me to dust again?

10 Did you not pour me out like milk

and curdle me like cheese,

11 clothe me with skin and flesh

and knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,

and in your providence watched over my spirit.

13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,

and I know that this was in your mind:

14 If I sinned, you would be watching me

and would not let my offense go unpunished.

15 If I am guilty—woe to me!

Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,

for I am full of shame

and drowned in[a] my affliction.

16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion

and again display your awesome power against me.

17 You bring new witnesses against me

and increase your anger toward me;

your forces come against me wave upon wave.

18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?

I wish I had died before any eye saw me.

19 If only I had never come into being,

or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

20 Are not my few days almost over?

Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy

21 before I go to the place of no return,

to the land of gloom and utter darkness,

22 to the land of deepest night,

of utter darkness and disorder,

where even the light is like darkness.”

Job 15:14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,

or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?

15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,

who drink up evil like water!

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

Romans 3:10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

11     there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”[a]

13 “Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”[b]

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[c]

14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[d]

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16     ruin and misery mark their ways,

17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[e]

18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[f]

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

2-Job 9:1 Then Job replied:

2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.

But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?

3 Though they wished to dispute with him,

they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.

4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.

Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?

5 He moves mountains without their knowing it

and overturns them in his anger.

6 He shakes the earth from its place

and makes its pillars tremble.

7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;

he seals off the light of the stars.

8 He alone stretches out the heavens

and treads on the waves of the sea.

9 He is the Maker of the Bear[a] and Orion,

the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,

miracles that cannot be counted.

11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;

when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?

Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

13 God does not restrain his anger;

even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.

14 “How then can I dispute with him?

How can I find words to argue with him?

15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;

I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.

16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,

I do not believe he would give me a hearing.

17 He would crush me with a storm

and multiply my wounds for no reason.

18 He would not let me catch my breath

but would overwhelm me with misery.

19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!

And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him[b]?

20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;

if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.

21 “Although I am blameless,

I have no concern for myself;

I despise my own life.

22 It is all the same; that is why I say,

‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

23 When a scourge brings sudden death,

he mocks the despair of the innocent.

24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,

he blindfolds its judges.

If it is not he, then who is it?

25 “My days are swifter than a runner;

they fly away without a glimpse of joy.

26 They skim past like boats of papyrus,

like eagles swooping down on their prey.

27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,

I will change my expression, and smile,’

28 I still dread all my sufferings,

for I know you will not hold me innocent.

29 Since I am already found guilty,

why should I struggle in vain?

30 Even if I washed myself with soap

and my hands with cleansing powder,

31 you would plunge me into a slime pit

so that even my clothes would detest me.

32 “He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,

that we might confront each other in court.

33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,

someone to bring us together,

34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,

so that his terror would frighten me no more.

35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,

but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

Job 10:1 “I loathe my very life;

therefore I will give free rein to my complaint

and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

2 I say to God: Do not declare me guilty,

but tell me what charges you have against me.

3 Does it please you to oppress me,

to spurn the work of your hands,

while you smile on the plans of the wicked?

4 Do you have eyes of flesh?

Do you see as a mortal sees?

5 Are your days like those of a mortal

or your years like those of a strong man,

6 that you must search out my faults

and probe after my sin—

7 though you know that I am not guilty

and that no one can rescue me from your hand?

8 “Your hands shaped me and made me.

Will you now turn and destroy me?

9 Remember that you molded me like clay.

Will you now turn me to dust again?

10 Did you not pour me out like milk

and curdle me like cheese,

11 clothe me with skin and flesh

and knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,

and in your providence watched over my spirit.

13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,

and I know that this was in your mind:

14 If I sinned, you would be watching me

and would not let my offense go unpunished.

15 If I am guilty—woe to me!

Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,

for I am full of shame

and drowned in[a] my affliction.

16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion

and again display your awesome power against me.

17 You bring new witnesses against me

and increase your anger toward me;

your forces come against me wave upon wave.

18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?

I wish I had died before any eye saw me.

19 If only I had never come into being,

or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

20 Are not my few days almost over?

Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy

21 before I go to the place of no return,

to the land of gloom and utter darkness,

22 to the land of deepest night,

of utter darkness and disorder,

where even the light is like darkness.”

3-Deuteronomy 29:19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

Isaiah 59:7 Their feet rush into sin;

they are swift to shed innocent blood.

They pursue evil schemes;

acts of violence mark their ways.

Jeremiah 22:17 “But your eyes and your heart

are set only on dishonest gain,

on shedding innocent blood

and on oppression and extortion.”

Joel 3:19 But Egypt will be desolate,

Edom a desert waste,

because of violence done to the people of Judah,

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

4-1 Kings 8:46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near;

Psalm 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;

I am clean and without sin”?

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,

no one who does what is right and never sins.

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

Romans 3:10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

11     there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”[a]

13 “Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”[b]

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[c]

14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[d]

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16     ruin and misery mark their ways,

17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[e]

18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[f]

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

5-Job 15:14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,

or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?

15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,

who drink up evil like water!

6-Job 4:12 “A word was secretly brought to me,

my ears caught a whisper of it.

13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,

when deep sleep falls on people,

14 fear and trembling seized me

and made all my bones shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face,

and the hair on my body stood on end.

16 It stopped,

but I could not tell what it was.

A form stood before my eyes,

and I heard a hushed voice:

17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?

18 If God places no trust in his servants,

if he charges his angels with error,

19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundations are in the dust,

who are crushed more readily than a moth!

20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;

unnoticed, they perish forever.

21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,

so that they die without wisdom?’

7-John 5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Great Controversy 666-668

In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels against His government and executes justice upon those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people. Says the prophet of God: “I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:11, 12. {GC 666.1}

As soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law of God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in sin, the blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected, the waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant heart—all appear as if written in letters of fire. {GC 666.2}

Above the throne is revealed the cross; and like a panoramic view appear the scenes of Adam’s temptation and fall, and the successive steps in the great plan of redemption. The Saviour’s lowly birth; His early life of simplicity and obedience; His baptism in Jordan; the fast and temptation in the wilderness; His public ministry, unfolding to men heaven’s most precious blessings; the days crowded with deeds of love and mercy, the nights of prayer and watching in the solitude of the mountains; the plottings of envy, hate, and malice which repaid His benefits; the awful, mysterious agony in Gethsemane beneath the crushing weight of the sins of the whole world; His betrayal into the hands of the murderous mob; the fearful events of that night of horror—the unresisting prisoner, forsaken by His best-loved disciples, rudely hurried through the streets of Jerusalem; the Son of God exultingly displayed before Annas, arraigned in the high priest’s palace, in the judgment hall of Pilate, before the cowardly and cruel Herod, mocked, insulted, tortured, and condemned to die—all are vividly portrayed. {GC 666.3}

And now before the swaying multitude are revealed the final scenes—the patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of heaven hanging upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble deriding His expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving earth, the rent rocks, the open graves, marking the moment when the world’s Redeemer yielded up His life. {GC 667.1}

The awful spectacle appears just as it was. Satan, his angels, and his subjects have no power to turn from the picture of their own work. Each actor recalls the part which he performed. Herod, who slew the innocent children of Bethlehem that he might destroy the King of Israel; the base Herodias, upon whose guilty soul rests the blood of John the Baptist; the weak, timeserving Pilate; the mocking soldiers; the priests and rulers and the maddened throng who cried, “His blood be on us, and on our children!”—all behold the enormity of their guilt. They vainly seek to hide from the divine majesty of His countenance, outshining the glory of the sun, while the redeemed cast their crowns at the Saviour’s feet, exclaiming: “He died for me!” {GC 667.2}

Amid the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their truehearted brethren, and with them the vast host of martyrs; while outside the walls, with every vile and abominable thing, are those by whom they were persecuted, imprisoned, and slain. There is Nero, that monster of cruelty and vice, beholding the joy and exaltation of those whom he once tortured, and in whose extremest anguish he found satanic delight. His mother is there to witness the result of her own work; to see how the evil stamp of character transmitted to her son, the passions encouraged and developed by her influence and example, have borne fruit in crimes that caused the world to shudder. {GC 667.3}

There are papist priests and prelates, who claimed to be Christ’s ambassadors, yet employed the rack, the dungeon, and the stake to control the consciences of His people. There are the proud pontiffs who exalted themselves above God and presumed to change the law of the Most High. Those pretended fathers of the church have an account to render to God from which they would fain be excused. Too late they are made to see that the Omniscient One is jealous of His law and that He will in no wise clear the guilty. They learn now that Christ identifies His interest with that of His suffering people; and they feel the force of His own words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Matthew 25:40. {GC 668.1}

The whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God on the charge of high treason against the government of heaven. They have none to plead their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is pronounced against them. {GC 668.2}

It is now evident to all that the wages of sin is not noble independence and eternal life, but slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they have forfeited by their life of rebellion. The far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory was despised when offered them; but how desirable it now appears. “All this,” cries the lost soul, “I might have had; but I chose to put these things far from me. Oh, strange infatuation! I have exchanged peace, happiness, and honor for wretchedness, infamy, and despair.” All see that their exclusion from heaven is just. By their lives they have declared: “We will not have this Man [Jesus] to reign over us.” {GC 668.3}

As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. They see in His hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, “Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints” (Revelation 15:3); and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life. {GC 668.4}

8-Job 1:18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship

9-Genesis 4:8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[a] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

10-Exodus 12:29 At midnight the LORD killed all the first-born sons in Egypt, from the king's son, who was heir to the throne, to the son of the prisoner in the dungeon; all the first-born of the animals were also killed. 30 That night, the king, his officials, and all the other Egyptians were awakened. There was loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home in which there was not a dead son.

11-2 Samuel 11:17 The enemy troops came out of the city and fought Joab's forces; some of David's officers were killed, and so was Uriah.

12-Jeremiah 38:6 So they took me and let me down by ropes into Prince Malchiah's well, which was in the palace courtyard. There was no water in the well, only mud, and I sank down in it.

13-Matthew 14:10 So he had John beheaded in prison.

14-Hebrews 11:35 Through faith women received their dead relatives raised back to life.

Others, refusing to accept freedom, died under torture in order to be raised to a better life. 36 Some were mocked and whipped, and others were put in chains and taken off to prison. 37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were killed by the sword. They went around clothed in skins of sheep or goats—poor, persecuted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not good enough for them! They wandered like refugees in the deserts and hills, living in caves and holes in the ground.

15-2 Timothy 3:12 Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted;

16-Matthew 6:34 So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

17-Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.

18-Job 1:1 There was a man named Job, living in the land of Uz,[a] who worshiped God and was faithful to him. He was a good man, careful not to do anything evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand head of cattle, and five hundred donkeys. He also had a large number of servants and was the richest man in the East.

4 Job's sons used to take turns giving a feast, to which all the others would come, and they always invited their three sisters to join them. 5 The morning after each feast, Job would get up early and offer sacrifices for each of his children in order to purify them. He always did this because he thought that one of them might have sinned by insulting God unintentionally.

6 When the day came for the heavenly beings[b] to appear before the LORD, Satan[c] was there among them. 7 The LORD asked him, “What have you been doing?”

Satan answered, “I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.”

8 “Did you notice my servant Job?” the LORD asked. “There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil.”

9 Satan replied, “Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it? 10 You have always protected him and his family and everything he owns. You bless everything he does, and you have given him enough cattle to fill the whole country. 11 But now suppose you take away everything he has—he will curse you to your face!”

12 “All right,” the LORD said to Satan, “everything he has is in your power, but you must not hurt Job himself.” So Satan left.

Job's Children and Wealth Are Destroyed

13 One day when Job's children were having a feast at the home of their oldest brother, 14 a messenger came running to Job. “We were plowing the fields with the oxen,” he said, “and the donkeys were in a nearby pasture. 15 Suddenly the Sabeans[d] attacked and stole them all. They killed every one of your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

16 Before he had finished speaking, another servant came and said, “Lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

17 Before he had finished speaking, another servant came and said, “Three bands of Chaldean[e] raiders attacked us, took away the camels, and killed all your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

18 Before he had finished speaking, another servant came and said, “Your children were having a feast at the home of your oldest son, 19 when a storm swept in from the desert. It blew the house down and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

20 Then Job got up and tore his clothes in grief. He shaved his head and threw himself face downward on the ground. 21 He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The LORD gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!”

22 In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Job 2:2 When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the LORD again, Satan was there among them. 2 The LORD asked him, “Where have you been?”

Satan answered, “I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.”

3 “Did you notice my servant Job?” the LORD asked. “There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil. You persuaded me to let you attack him for no reason at all, but Job is still as faithful as ever.”

4 Satan replied, “A person will give up everything in order to stay alive. 5 But now suppose you hurt his body—he will curse you to your face!”

6 So the LORD said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power, but you are not to kill him.”

7 Then Satan left the LORD's presence and made sores break out all over Job's body. 8 Job went and sat by the garbage dump and took a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. 9 His wife said to him, “You are still as faithful as ever, aren't you? Why don't you curse God and die?”

10 Job answered, “You are talking nonsense! When God sends us something good, we welcome it. How can we complain when he sends us trouble?” Even in all this suffering Job said nothing against God.

11 Three of Job's friends were Eliphaz, from the city of Teman, Bildad, from the land of Shuah, and Zophar, from the land of Naamah. When they heard how much Job had been suffering, they decided to go and comfort him. 12 While they were still a long way off they saw Job, but did not recognize him. When they did, they began to weep and wail, tearing their clothes in grief and throwing dust into the air and on their heads. 13 Then they sat there on the ground with him for seven days and nights without saying a word, because they saw how much he was suffering.

19-Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished. 2 And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: “Now God's home is with people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. 4 He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared.”

20-Matthew 2:13 After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”

14 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

16 When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger—this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.

17 In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true:

18 “A sound is heard in Ramah,

the sound of bitter weeping.

Rachel is crying for her children;

she refuses to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

21-Exodus 1:15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women. 16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live.” 17 But the midwives were God-fearing and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live. 18 So the king sent for the midwives and asked them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?”

22-Romans 3:10 As the Scriptures say:

“There is no one who is righteous,

11     no one who is wise

or who worships God.

12 All have turned away from God;

they have all gone wrong;

no one does what is right, not even one.

13 Their words are full of deadly deceit;

wicked lies roll off their tongues,

and dangerous threats, like snake's poison, from their lips;

14     their speech is filled with bitter curses.

15 They are quick to hurt and kill;

16     they leave ruin and destruction wherever they go.

17 They have not known the path of peace,

18     nor have they learned reverence for God.”

19 Now we know that everything in the Law applies to those who live under the Law, in order to stop all human excuses and bring the whole world under God's judgment. 20 For no one is put right in God's sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make us know that we have sinned.

23-Ps. 5:9 What my enemies say can never be trusted;

they only want to destroy.

Their words are flattering and smooth,

but full of deadly deceit.

10:7 Their speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats;

they are quick to speak hateful, evil words.

14:1 Fools say to themselves,

“There is no God!”

They are all corrupt,

and they have done terrible things;

there is no one who does what is right.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven at us humans

to see if there are any who are wise,

any who worship him.

3 But they have all gone wrong;

they are all equally bad.

Not one of them does what is right,

not a single one.

36:1 Sin speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts;

they reject God and do not have reverence for him.

53:1 Fools say to themselves,

“There is no God.”

They are all corrupt,

and they have done terrible things;

there is no one who does what is right.

2 God looks down from heaven at people

to see if there are any who are wise,

any who worship him.

3 But they have all turned away;

they are all equally bad.

Not one of them does what is right,

not a single one.

140:3 Their tongues are like deadly snakes;

their words are like a cobra's poison.

Prov. 1:16 They can't wait to do something bad. They're always ready to kill.

Isa. 59:7 You are always planning something evil, and you can hardly wait to do it. You never hesitate to murder innocent people. You leave ruin and destruction wherever you go,

24-Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild,[a] large and small.” 27 So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, 28 blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.

25-Ps. 51:5 I have been evil from the day I was born;

from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.

Rom. 5:12 Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned. 13 There was sin in the world before the Law was given; but where there is no law, no account is kept of sins. 14 But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, death ruled over all human beings, even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam did when he disobeyed God's command.

Adam was a figure of the one who was to come. 15 But the two are not the same, because God's free gift is not like Adam's sin. It is true that many people died because of the sin of that one man. But God's grace is much greater, and so is his free gift to so many people through the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. 16 And there is a difference between God's gift and the sin of one man. After the one sin, came the judgment of “Guilty”; but after so many sins, comes the undeserved gift of “Not guilty!” 17 It is true that through the sin of one man death began to rule because of that one man. But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ! All who receive God's abundant grace and are freely put right with him will rule in life through Christ.

Table of Contents

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

1-

2-

3-

4-

5-

6-

7-

8-

9-

10-

11-

12-

13-

14-

15-

16-

17-

18-

19-

20-

21-

22-

23-

24-

25-