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Editorial

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Sep 21, 1905

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 82, No. 38.

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Editorial

By Editor

A Time of Test

It is evident that the times to which we have looked forward for many years are now here. This is the time of peril and of test. The very atmosphere seems to be charged with questioning and unbelief, and the whole tendency is to repudiate all that has been regarded as established beyond doubt, including the fundamental truths of Christianity. We need not expect that we shall be exempt from the assaults of the enemy merely because we have heard and accepted the special message of present truth, or that no effort will be made to fill our minds with skepticism and doubt. We are in the time when Satan is to work “with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish,” and when he will “lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” We may therefore be sure that we shall be tested upon every phase of present truth, and that doubts and questionings concerning the fundamental features of this movement will be urged upon us. In view of these things we earnestly exhort each one to a prayerful study of the Scriptures, and especially those portions of the Word of God which foretell the condition of things in this last generation, and which provide the proper setting for the saving gospel message to be given to the world at this time. “Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided. They can stand only in God. In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in his Word; they can honor him only as they have a right conception of his character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.” We must not follow men, even those who have brought us to the knowledge of the truth, when they begin to depart from those principles which they have themselves advocated and to follow the lead of the doubters. In this time of test we must be true to the foundation principles of truth as given to us in the Word of God, and as brought together in the third angel’s message—the final message to the world. “Let no man deceive you by any means.”