Jonah had a very distinct message for the people of Nineveh. “And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ ” (Jon. 3:4, NKJV). It seems pretty clear: the place was doomed. After all, was that not a word directly from a prophet of the Lord?
Yet, what happened to Nineveh?
Read Jonah 3:5–10. Why was this prophecy not fulfilled?
Yes, the whole city repented, and the prophesied doom was averted, at least for a time. “Their doom was averted, the God of Israel was exalted and honored throughout the heathen world, and His law was revered. Not until many years later was Nineveh to fall a prey to the surrounding nations through forgetfulness of God and through boastful pride.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 271.
Can we expect something like this in the last days, with the final message to the fallen world? Yes—and no. That is, there will be, all over the world, many people who heed the call, “ ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues’ ” (Rev. 18:4, NKJV). All over the world, people will take their stand and, in defiance of the beast, will “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). These people, like those in Nineveh, will be spared the judgment that falls upon the lost.
Some prophecies, such as God’s announcement that Nineveh would be destroyed, are conditional. (Ninevah would be destroyed unless the people turned away from their evil [see Jer. 18:7–10].) Yet, some prophecies don’t come with these conditions. They are going to be fulfilled, no matter the human response. The Messianic prophecies of Christ’s first and second comings, the mark of the beast, the outpouring of the plagues, end-time persecution—these are not conditional; they will take place regardless of what humans do. What humans do, and the choices they make, will determine instead what side they will be on as final events, foretold by the prophets, unfold.
What choices are you making now that could help determine what choices you will make when the issue of worshiping God or the image breaks upon the world?
Supplemental EGW Notes
The forbearance of God has been very great—so great that when we consider the continuous insult to His holy commandments, we marvel. The Omnipotent One has been exerting a restraining power over His own attributes. But He will certainly arise to punish the wicked, who so boldly defy the just claims of the Decalogue.
God allows men a period of probation; but there is a point beyond which divine patience is exhausted, and the judgments of God are sure to follow. The Lord bears long with men, and with cities, mercifully giving warnings to save them from divine wrath; but a time will come when pleadings for mercy will no longer be heard, and the rebellious element that continues to reject the light of truth will be blotted out, in mercy to themselves and to those who would otherwise be influenced by their example.—Prophets and Kings, p. 276.
God’s message for the inhabitants of earth today is, “Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:44. The conditions prevailing in society, and especially in the great cities of the nations, proclaim in thunder tones that the hour of God’s judgment is come and that the end of all things earthly is at hand. We are standing on the threshold of the crisis of the ages. In quick succession the judgments of God will follow one another—fire, and flood, and earthquake, with war and bloodshed. We are not to be surprised at this time by events both great and decisive; for the angel of mercy cannot remain much longer to shelter the impenitent.
“Behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:21. The storm of God’s wrath is gathering; and those only will stand who respond to the invitations of mercy, as did the inhabitants of Nineveh under the preaching of Jonah, and become sanctified through obedience to the laws of the divine Ruler. The righteous alone shall be hid with Christ in God till the desolation be overpast.—Prophets and Kings, p. 278.
Yet Nineveh was not wholly given over to evil. In that city many were reaching out after something better, and, if granted opportunity to learn of the living God, they would put away their evil deeds. And so God revealed Himself to them in an unmistakable manner to lead them to repentance.—From Splendor to Shadow, p. 144.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.