A GREAT BATTLE IN THE SKY BY HENRY SHULTZ

In the month of September, in the year 1870-I do not remember the exact day of the month, but it was in the dark of the moon-I was visiting with my uncle in northwestern Illinois, in the locality then known as Green Vale, now Stockton Post-office. One evening my uncle and I were up until nearly midnight, and before retiring went out-of-doors, and noticed a great red light, lighting up all things lighter than a bright moonlight. The sky was perfectly clear, and as we looked into the heavens to see what caused this great light, we saw a large bright circle of golden red, with streaks of red from the edge of it all around. These outer circles seemed to be moving upward, and finally the object we were viewing assumed the form of a beautiful crown, apparently as large as a good sized wash-tub. From the body of the crown there went up sharp prongs about eighteen inches in length. All was vivid red. There were no jewels on this crown, but all was of one color. This view lasted about ten minutes after we first saw it. I do notLDT 100.1

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know how long it may have been in the heavens before we noticed it. It opened up as it appeared and disappeared from view, leaving all in dense darkness for a moment. Then it was immediately replaced by a streak of red light about four feet wide, extending over the entire heavens from east to west, with prongs out on the lower or south side of the band. These prongs were about two feet long, all pointing to the southwest. The prongs were also of deep red. The band then looked much like a timber saw, as all of these sharp points were pointed one way.LDT 107.1

While we were looking wonderingly upon this, there arose from the north, as far up as the sun would be when two hours high, a perfect army composed of thousands of men, fully equipped, arms shouldered; and then, from the south, another army just like the first arose. Both of these armies were clad in deep red, and marched toward one another. When they reached the red band-and that extended, as I said, from east to west-they leveled their guns, and both sides fired at once. We heard no report, but saw the blast of the fire from the guns, and the smoke rolling upward. Then all at once they seized their guns by the barrels, and with the breech of the guns began beating one another, using their guns as clubs. I was in the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, and saw skirmishes where this very mode of warfare was resorted to, but this scene in the heavens was the most awful battle one could ever want to witness. It was immensely greater than anything I ever witnessed in the war. In this sky battle the clubbing went on until there was not a person left standing. All were killed and prostrate on the ground. We heard no noise, as before stated, but saw the thick smoke and confusion of the battle.LDT 107.2

The battle being thus over, the whole scene again disappeared, but only for a short time, when there arose from the east a bright flaming red light, extending from east to west across the whole heavens. This band of light was about one rod wide, and went from the east to the western horizon over the zenith of the heavens. This wave of light lasted about five minutes, revealing a terrible scene of dead bodies and broken guns, covering the whole earth as far as the eye could extend. This whole scene, with its varied changes, lasted from thirty to forty-five minutes.LDT 108.1

When I was in Missouri some years later, hunting land, I met a man to whom, in the course of our conversation, I quoted from Scripture the text about there being “signs in the heavens,” when he at once described to me the very scene which I have here related, he having also seen it in Missouri at the same time I saw it in Illinois ^{1[Since receiving this description, as related by Pastor Schultz, I have met parties who witnessed the same scene at the same time in Ohio, in Wisconsin, in Iowa, and those who saw the same in the same year in Sweden.}.LDT 108.2

Oakland, Cal., June 13, 1901.LDT 108.3

The above phenomenon in the heavens seems at least to be strikingly significant of the last great battle, described by the prophet Jeremiah, where he says: “Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:32, 33.-J. N. L.]LDT 108.4