"So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
"And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
"And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."[[1]]
The inference is, that they were "compelled to come in," but not against their own freedom of choice.
Fishers and Hunters.—The God of Israel has set his hand to gather his elect and prepare the world for the sanctifying reign of righteousness. He will accomplish what he has undertaken, using for that purpose every means consistent and available. Christ died to save the souls of men, and save them He will—by mild measures whenever these will avail; but by stern methods, if necessary, after the mild have proved ineffectual. First, the "fishers," with gentle, kind persuasion. Then the "hunters"—war, commotion and destruction. Such is the divine program.[[2]]
The Day of Wrath—A Refuge From the Storm.—Joseph the Seer prophesied that war would "be poured out upon all nations." Zion, the pure in heart, are to "be the only people that shall not be at war one with another."[[3]] "And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety."[[4]] To provide against these and other perils, the Church of Christ was founded—"a standard for the nations," "that the gathering together upon the land of Zion and upon her stakes," might be "for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth."[[5]]
Other Judgments.—But war is not the only expression of divine wrath. The strife of nation against nation is but one of many turmoils that the last days are destined to witness. Epidemics of sickness are to play a part in the great retribution.[[6]] John on Patmos heard a voice from Heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, that ye receive not of her plagues."[[7]] Through Joseph in America, the same dread oracle proclaimed "a desolating scourge," that "shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time if they repent not, until the earth is empty and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming."[[8]]
Divine Participation.—And who, after reading what follows, can doubt divine participation in these troubles:
"For I the Almighty have laid my hand upon the nations to scourge them for their wickedness; and plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in righteousness. Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord and shall see eye to eye."[[9]]
After Testimony, Indignation.—The Lord's servants were "to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time," "to bind up the law and seal up the testimony," and "prepare the Saints for the hour of judgment."