God, and the night of woe settled down upon the
world.
The earth was dark through misapprehension
of God. That the gloomy shadows might be
lightened, that the world might be brought back
to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken.
This could not be done by force. The exercise
of force is contrary to the principles of God’s
government; He desires only the service of love;
and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won
by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened.
To know God is to love Him; His character must be
manifested in contrast to the character of Satan.
This work only one Being in all the universe could
do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the
love of God could make it known. Upon the world’s
dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise,
“with healing in His wings.” (Malachi 4:2).
The Greatest of All Gifts
The plan for our redemption was not an
afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of
Adam. It was a revelation of “the mystery kept
secret since the world began.” (Romans 16:25). It
was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal
ages have been the foundation of God’s throne.