CONFUSION AMONG ADVENTISTS.
By W. H. Blaisdell
Oh, what a variety of sentiments among those who are looking for the soon coming of the Saviour! Some believe he will come this year; others, that he will come next year. Some believe that when he does come, we shall know the precise day in which that event will take place; others, that we can only know when he is near, even at the doors. Some Adventists believe in the immortality of the soul; others do not. Some believe that all the dead will be raised; others, that only the righteous dead will be raised. Some believe that the seventh day is the Sabbath, some that the first day is the Sabbath; and others, that there is no Sabbath. Some believe that the mark of the beast will be in regard to the immortality of the soul, which will be enforced by Spiritualists; some believe that it is received by holding a claim on real estate, in the form of deeds, mortgages, &c.; and others, that it will be received by yielding obedience to laws which will yet be made in regard to Sunday-keeping. And this is but a small part of their different opinions. Thus we see, that even Adventists are not free from doubt and uncertainty in regard to the truths of God's word. Still, we read, that we are to be sanctified through the truth, John xvii, 17, and that our souls are to be purified by obeying the truth, 1 Pet. i, 22, and that we ought to have our loins girt about with truth, Eph. vi, 14, in order to stand against the wiles of the Devil. It is very evident that all have not the truth; it is also very evident that if God's people ever have needed the whole armor to protect them against the wiles of the Devil, it is needed by those who stand amid the perils of the last days. It therefore seems that if ever, in any age of the world, God's people needed much help from above, to pilot them through the dangers to which they have been exposed, it is especially needed by those who are living in the last days, to guide them safely through the breakers and dangers that are so numerous just before entering the harbor, and to keep them in the channel of truth, that they may glide safely on amid the fury of the angry waves that are dashing around them, until they reach the port and cast their anchor in the harbor of eternal rest. May the Lord give his people just such help as they need, and make them willing to receive it in just that manner, and from just that source, that may best please him. Oh, how much faith and patience are needed by those living in the days immediately preceding the coming of the Son of man! May we be found among the class spoken of in Rev. xiv, 12; for they are called the saints, and their peculiar characteristic is, that they have faith and patience, and keep the commandments of God and faith of Jesus. Of all the different classes of Adventists, this is the one among which it will be safe to be found when the Son of man shall be seen coming on the great white cloud. North Leeds, Me., March 4, 1867.