Part 2:

At last, the two groups came face to face—Esau, a desert chief leading his warriors, and Jacob, approaching with his wives, children, shepherds, and handmaidens, followed by long lines of flocks and herds. The patriarch, leaning on his staff, moved forward to meet Esau’s soldiers. Weakened from his recent struggle, he was pale and limped with every step, his movements slow and painful. Yet his face shone with the light of joy and peace.

At the sight of his crippled brother, “Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” Genesis 33:4. Even the hearts of Esau’s rugged soldiers were moved by the scene before them. Though Esau had told them of his dream, they could not fully comprehend the transformation that had taken place in their leader. They saw Jacob’s weakness, but they did not understand that through this weakness, he had gained his greatest strength.

During his night of agony beside the Jabbok, as destruction loomed before him, Jacob had learned how futile human help truly is and how fragile trust in earthly power can be. He now understood that his only hope lay in the One against whom he had sinned so grievously. Helpless and unworthy, he clung to God’s promise of mercy to the repentant sinner. That promise became his assurance that God had pardoned and accepted him.

Heaven and earth might sooner pass away than for God’s word to fail; and it was this certainty that upheld Jacob through his agonizing struggle.

Jacob’s experience that night of wrestling and distress represents the trial that God’s people will endure just before Christ’s second coming. Looking ahead to this time in a prophetic vision, Jeremiah declared, “We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace… All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:5-7.

When Christ ceases His work as mediator for humanity, this time of trouble will begin. By then, the fate of every soul will have been decided, and there will no longer be atoning blood to cleanse from sin. Once Jesus leaves His position as intercessor before God, the solemn proclamation will be made: “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11. Then the restraining Spirit of God will be withdrawn from the earth. Just as Jacob faced the threat of death from his enraged brother, so will God’s people be in danger from the wicked, who seek their destruction. And as Jacob wrestled through the night for deliverance from Esau’s hand, so will the righteous cry out to God day and night for deliverance from the enemies surrounding them.

Satan had accused Jacob before the angels of God, insisting on his right to destroy him because of his sin. He had also influenced Esau to march against his brother. During that long night of wrestling, Satan sought to overwhelm Jacob with guilt, to break his confidence and cause him to let go of God. When, in his desperation, Jacob clung to the Angel and wept in supplication, the heavenly Messenger—seeking to test his faith—reminded him of his sin and attempted to withdraw. But Jacob refused to be turned away. He had come to understand the depth of God’s mercy, and he threw himself upon it completely. He pointed to his repentance and pleaded for deliverance. As he reflected on his life, despair nearly overtook him; but he held on to the Angel, and with fervent, agonizing cries, he pressed his petition until he prevailed.

So will it be with God’s people in their final struggle against the forces of evil. Their faith, perseverance, and confidence in God’s power to save will be tested. Satan will attempt to terrify them, convincing them that their cases are hopeless—that their sins are too great to be forgiven. They will feel a deep sense of unworthiness, and as they look back on their lives, their hopes will waver. But remembering God’s boundless mercy and their own genuine repentance, they will claim His promises of grace through Christ for repentant sinners. Though their prayers may not be answered immediately, their faith will not fail. They will seize hold of God’s strength just as Jacob clung to the Angel, and the cry of their souls will be, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” Genesis 32:26.

Had Jacob not previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright through deceit, God could not have heard his prayer nor mercifully preserved his life. Likewise, in the time of trouble, if God’s people were to face unconfessed sins while being tormented with fear and distress, they would be overcome. Despair would extinguish their faith, and they would be unable to plead with God for deliverance.

Yet, though they will have a deep awareness of their unworthiness, they will have no hidden wrongs to confess. Their sins will have been wiped away by the atoning blood of Christ, and they will no longer recall them.

Satan deceives many into believing that God will overlook unfaithfulness in the small matters of life. However, in His dealings with Jacob, the Lord makes it clear that He can never condone or tolerate evil. Those who try to justify or conceal their sins, allowing them to remain unconfessed and unforgiven in the books of heaven, will fall under Satan’s power. The greater their profession of faith and the more honorable their position, the more grievous their course is before God, and the more certain is the triumph of their adversary.

Yet, Jacob’s story assures us that God does not cast away those who have fallen into sin but have returned to Him with sincere repentance. It was through self-surrender and unwavering faith that Jacob obtained what he had failed to secure by his own struggle. God taught His servant that only divine grace and power could grant him the blessing he longed for. The same will be true for those who live in the last days. As dangers close in around them and despair threatens their souls, they must rely entirely on the merits of Christ’s atonement. On our own, we can do nothing. In our helplessness and unworthiness, we must trust in the merits of the crucified and risen Savior. No one who does this will ever be lost.

Before the eye of the Infinite, the full record of our failures is laid bare. Nothing has been overlooked. Yet the same God who heard the cries of His faithful servants in the past will also hear the prayers of faith today and will forgive our transgressions. He has given His word, and He will fulfill it.

Jacob prevailed because he was persistent and determined. His story testifies to the power of earnest, persevering prayer. It is now that we must learn this lesson of prevailing prayer—of faith that refuses to yield. The greatest victories for Christ’s church or for an individual believer are not won through talent, education, wealth, or the favor of men. They are won in the secret place of prayer, where deep, agonizing faith lays hold of the mighty arm of God.

Those who are unwilling to give up every sin and sincerely seek God’s blessing will not receive it. But all who cling to God’s promises as Jacob did, and pursue them with the same perseverance and intensity, will find success just as he did. “Shall not God avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.” Luke 18:7-8.