THE CITIES

Judgments Coming on the Cities

Terrible shocks will come upon the earth, and the lordly palaces erected at great expense will certainly become heaps of ruins.--3MR 312 (1891). {LDE 110.5}

When God's restraining hand is removed, the destroyer begins his work. Then in our cities the greatest calamities will come.--3MR 314 (1897). {LDE 111.1}

The Lord gives warnings to the inhabitants of the earth, as in the Chicago fire and the fires in Melbourne, London, and the city of New York.--Ms 127, 1897. {LDE 111.2}

The end is near and every city is to be turned upside down every way. There will be confusion in every city. Everything that can be shaken is to be shaken and we do not know what will come next. The judgments will be according to the wickedness of the people and the light of truth that they have had.--1MR 248 (1902). {LDE 111.3}

O that God's people had a sense of the impending destruction of thousands of cities, now almost given to idolatry.--Ev 29 (1903). {LDE 111.4}

The time is near when large cities will be swept away, and all should be warned of these coming judgments.--Ev 29 (1910). {LDE 111.5}

Catastrophe-proof
Buildings Will Become Ashes


I have seen the most costly structures in buildings erected and supposed to be fireproof, and just as Sodom perished in the flames of God's vengeance so will these proud structures become ashes. . . . The flattering monuments of men's greatness will be crumbled in the dust even before the last great destruction comes upon the world.--3SM 418 (1901). {LDE 111.6}

God is withdrawing His Spirit from the wicked cities, which have become as the cities of the antediluvian world and as Sodom and Gomorrah. . . . Costly mansions, marvels of architectural skill, will be destroyed without a moment's notice when the Lord sees that the owners have passed the boundaries of forgiveness. The destruction by fire of the stately buildings, supposed to be fireproof, is an illustration of how in a short time earth's architecture will lie in ruins.--TDG 152 (1902). {LDE 112.1}

Men will continue to erect expensive buildings, costing millions of money. Special attention will be called to their architectural beauty and the firmness and solidity with which they are constructed, but the Lord has instructed me that despite the unusual firmness and expensive display, these buildings will share the fate of the temple in Jerusalem.--5BC 1098 (1906). {LDE 112.2}

New York City

God has not executed His wrath without mercy. His hand is stretched out still. His message must be given in Greater New York. The people must be shown how it is possible for God, by a touch of His hand, to destroy the property they have gathered together against the last great day.--3MR 310, 311 (1902). {LDE 112.3}

I have no light in particular in regard to what is coming on New York, only that I know that one day the great buildings there will be thrown down by the turning and overturning of God's power. . . . Death
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will come in all places. This is why I am so anxious for our cities to be warned.--RH July 5, 1906. {LDE 112.4}

On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify their owners and builders. . . . {LDE 113.1}

The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fireproof buildings and said: "They are perfectly safe." But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable to operate the engines.--9T 12, 13 (1909). {LDE 113.2}

Chicago and Los Angeles

Scenes that would soon take place in Chicago and other large cities also passed before me. As wickedness increased and the protecting power of God was withdrawn there were destructive winds and tempests. Buildings were destroyed by fire and shaken down by earthquakes. . . . {LDE 113.3}

Some time after this I was shown that the vision of buildings in Chicago and the draft upon the means of our people to erect them, and their destruction, was an object lesson for our people, warning them not to invest largely of their means in property in Chicago, or any other city, unless the providence of God should positively open the way and plainly point out duty to build or buy as necessary in giving the note of warning.
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A similar caution was given in regard to building in Los Angeles. Repeatedly I have been instructed that we must not invest means in the erection of expensive buildings in cities.--PC 50 (1906). {LDE 113.4}

San Francisco and Oakland

San Francisco and Oakland are becoming as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord will visit them. Not far hence they will suffer under His judgments.--Ms 30, 1903. {LDE 114.1}

The terrible earthquake that has visited San Francisco [THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE OF APRIL 18-19, 1906, LEFT 503 DEAD AND RESULTED IN AN ESTIMATED $350 MILLION IN PROPERTY DAMAGE.] will be followed by other manifestations of the power of God. His law has been transgressed. Cities have become polluted with sin. Study the history of Nineveh. God sent a special message by Jonah to that wicked city. . . . Many such messages as his would be given in our age, if the wicked cities would repent as did Nineveh.--Ms 61a, June 3, 1906. {LDE 114.2}

Even in the cities where the judgments of God have fallen in consequence of such transgression there is no sign of repentance. The saloons are still open, and many temptations are kept before the people.--Letter 268, Aug. 20, 1906. {LDE 114.3}

Other Wicked Cities

As we near the close of this earth's history, we shall have the scenes of the San Francisco calamity repeated
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in other places. . . . These things make me feel very solemn because I know that the judgment day is right upon us. The judgments that have already come are a warning, but not the finishing, of the punishment that will come on wicked cities. . . . {LDE 114.4}

[Hab. 2:1-20; Zeph. 1:1-3:20; Zech. 1:1-4:14; Mal. 1:1-4, quoted.] These scenes will soon be witnessed, just as they are clearly described. I present these wonderful statements from the Scriptures for the consideration of everyone. The prophecies recorded in the Old Testament are the word of the Lord for the last days, and will be fulfilled as surely as we have seen the desolation of San Francisco.--Letter 154, May 26, 1906. {LDE 115.1}

I am bidden to declare the message that cities full of transgression, and sinful in the extreme, will be destroyed by earthquakes, by fire, by flood.--Ev 27 (April 27, 1906). {LDE 115.2}

All the warnings of Christ regarding the events that will occur near the close of this earth's history are now being fulfilled in our large cities. God is permitting these things to be brought to light that he who runs may read. The city of San Francisco is a sample of what the whole world is becoming. The wicked bribery, the misappropriation of means, the fraudulent transactions among men who have power to release the guilty and condemn the innocent--all this iniquity is filling other large cities of the earth and is making the world as it was in the days that were before the Flood.--Letter 230, 1907. {LDE 115.3}

The Signal for Flight From the Cities

The time is not far distant when, like the early disciples, we shall be forced to seek a refuge in desolate and solitary places. As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation, in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath, will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains.--5T 464, 465 (1885). {LDE 121.1}

Last Day Events, Ellen G. White, pp.110-115, 121.