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The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, January 14, 1868

FromReview and Herald, Vol. XXXI, No. 5

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DEVIL'S DENS!—GAMBLING HELLS!

“He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity; and the rod of his anger shall fail. Prov. xxii, 8.
Friend, you saw that gambling hell in Saratoga, and were horrified as you gazed upon it, stood aghast! And did you call to mind the originator of this work of darkness, death and damnation?
Did you think for a moment, that you were the guilty one that set this devilish machinery in motion? That you were one of the chief instruments in making these devil's dens, of kindling these fires that burn to the lowest hell? “Thou art the man,” and God holds you responsible for these souls lost eternally, through your instrumentality. We lay the sin at your door and so does God.
“The soul that sinneth it shall die,”
“Who sows to the winds, the whirlwind reaps.”
You are the guilty one that commences games of chance, worldly, sinful amusements—amusements that lull time, dissipate thought, mind and soul, turn away the heart from God, from Christ the ever blessed!
What is time? “Ask death-beds?” Ask that queen in her last moments who cried millions—millions! for an hour, an inch of time!
Time, what is it?
“I asked a dying sinner, ere the stroke Of ruthless death life's golden bowl had broke I asked him, what is time? ‘Time’ he replied, ‘I’ve lost it, ah, the treasure!’ and he died. I asked a spirit lost, but oh, the shriek! That pierced my soul, I shudder while I speak! It cried, ‘a particle! a speck! a mite Of endless years, duration infinite!’”
You are horrified at “whist.” What is the difference, pray, between “whist” and other traps of Satan? What more bewitching, and more sure to lead to these devil’s dens, than chess, checkers, fox and geese, and dominoes, which you commend publicly; these are stepping stones to the gambling table! Many of the most dissolute, degraded, wretched, abandoned, date their first wooing ruinward to these games, which you term innocent! How then, can you, how dare you, with Bible in hand, as a professed minister of Christ, put hand to this iniquity! Shameful!
And how we ask can parents, especially religious parents, consistently permit their children to engage in them? Time is lost, worst than lost, precious, golden moments, for which God will call them to account. A seared conscience, a callous heart, a turning away from the path of life to the path of death, is sure to accompany these games sooner or later.
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away.” Prov. i, 10, also iv, 14, 15.
“There is no remedy for time misspent; Oh! hours of indolence and discontent Not now to be redeemed! ye sting not less Because I know this span of life was lent For lofty duties, not for selfishness.”
Be in haste. “Time is short.” Redeem it. There is but a step between you and the eternal state. The Judge is at the door. Stop and think before you take another step at these foolish games. As you sow so shall you reap. To-day is yours; to-morrow never comes. “Arise and depart, for this is not your rest.” Be in haste. Prepare for death.
“There is a time, we know not when, A point, we know not where, That marks the destiny of men, To glory or despair.”
Gambling! Let every man avoid all sorts of gambling as he would poison. A poor man or boy should not allow himself even to toss up for a half penny, for this is often the beginning of a habit of gambling, and this ruinous crime comes on by slow degrees.
“A little theft, a small deceit Too often leads to more.”
AUTHOR OF “SHINING LIGHT.”