The Sabbath-school lesson for January 20 deals with “the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the being and attributes of God.” In view of our recent experiences with erroneous teachings upon this fundamental subject, we have thought it advisable to present to our readers some of the late utterances of the spirit of prophecy which point out the dangers, and emphasize the fact that in Christ we have the essential revelation of the being and character of God the Father. The following extracts are taken almost wholly from unpublished manuscripts which have been prepared during the last two or three years:— The sophistries regarding God and nature that are flooding the world with skepticism are the inspiration of the fallen foe, who is himself a Bible student, who knows the truth that it is essential for the people to receive, and whose study it is to divert minds from those great truths relating to what is coming upon the world. Let our teachers beware lest they echo the soothsaying of the enemy of God and man. . . . No human mind can comprehend God. No man hath seen him at any time. We are as ignorant of God as little children. But as little children we may love and obey him. . . . After the passing of the time we had fanaticism of every kind to meet. Testimonies of reproof were given me to bear to some holding theories similar to those against which at this time I am called to bear warning. I am not surprised that I should have to meet these theories again. I have been shown that the experience of the past would be repeated, that most seducing influences would be exerted, that minds would be hypnotized. Satan will bring in his deceiving schemes. Impurity of long standing will be mingled with the presentation of the truth. Corruptions of every type, similar to those existing among the antediluvians, will be brought in to take minds captive. Placing nature as God; the unrestrained license of human will; the counsel of the ungodly,—these Satan uses as his agencies to bring about certain ends. He will employ the power of mind on mind to carry out his designs. The most sorrowful thought of all is that under his influence men will put on a form of godliness without having any real godliness. . . . Who by searching can find out God? The theory that he is an essence, pervading everything, is one of Satan’s most subtle devices. . . . The most spiritual-minded Christians are liable to be deceived by these beautiful, seducing, flattering theories. But in the place of honoring God, these theories, in the minds of those who receive them, bring him down to a low level, where he is nothingness. . . . There is a strain of spiritualism coming in among our people, and it will undermine the faith of those who give place to it, leading them to give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. . . . I am instructed to warn our brethren and sisters not to discuss the nature of God. Many of the curious who attempted to open the ark of the testament, to see what was inside, were punished for their presumption. We are not to say that the Lord God of heaven is in a leaf, or in a tree; for he is not there. He sitteth upon his throne in the heavens. . . . To take the works of God, and represent them as being God, is a fearful misrepresentation of him. This representation I was called upon to meet at the beginning of my work, when in my youth the Lord commissioned me to go forth and proclaim what he should command me to proclaim. And as the Lord shall direct me, I must now do what I can to counterwork all such teaching, and the theories which lead to such views. Those who hold these views do not know God; neither do they know Jesus Christ, whom he sent into the world to save sinners. They do not know whither their feet are tending. . . . Human talent and human conjecture have tried by searching to find out God. Many have trodden this pathway. The highest intellect may tax itself until it is wearied out, in conjectures regarding God, but the effort will be fruitless, and the fact will remain that men by searching can not find out God. This problem has not been given us to solve. All that man needs to know and can know of God has been revealed in the life and character of his Son, the great Teacher. As we learn more and more of what man is, of what we ourselves are, in God’s sight, we shall fear and tremble before him. Let every man, however talented and ingenious he may be, remember that he has a Ruler in the heavens, a God who will not be trifled with by the sophistries of Satan’s devising, which lead men’s minds away from the perils and duties of the hour. The Lord, he is God. He who puts his reasoning to the stretch in an effort to exalt himself and to trace out God, will find that he might far better have stood as a humble penitent before God, confessing himself to be only a finite, sinful man. Guesswork has proved itself to be guesswork. Imagination may go to its furthest stretch, and talk of God being in leaf and tree and flower; but those who talk thus need to know that by searching they can not find out God. There have been professed great men, professed interpreters of God. Rival sects have clamored for the supremacy, but in their wisdom they have become fools, and the result of their arguments is but to belittle God. . . .4 Christ converted all nature into an index to illustrate his greatness, his goodness, his love. Water, air, light, life,—these Christ used to illustrate his work and his character. Pointing to the sun, which had just risen above the Mount of Olives, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” The sun in the heavens represents the Sun of Righteousness. As the sunbeams penetrate to the remotest corners of the earth, so does the light of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon every soul. . . . What God desires us to know of him is revealed in his Word and his works. The beautiful things of nature reveal his character. They are his gift to the race, to show his power and to show that he is a God of love. But no one is authorized to say that God himself in person is in flower or leaf or tree. These things are God’s handiwork, revealing his love for man. . . . God is never to be understood by any human being. His ways and his works are past finding out. In regard to the revelation that he has made of himself in his Word, we may talk. But when it comes to talking or writing of God’s person and presence, let us say, “Thou art God, and thy ways are past finding out.” . . . No man can explain the mysteries of God. His glory is hidden from the world. Of what value are the surmisings and speculations of men concerning his personality? . . . Creation speaks to us of the skill and power of God. In his goodness God has placed on the earth beautiful flowers and trees, wonderfully adapted to the countries and the climate in which they grow. And though sin has marred the form and beauty of the things of nature, though on them may be seen traces of the work of the prince of the power of the air, yet they still speak of God, and still reveal some of the beauty of Eden. In the heavens above, in the earth, in the broad waters of the ocean, we can see the handiwork of God. All creation testifies of his power, his wisdom, his love. Yet not from the stars or the ocean or the cataract can we learn of the personality of God. This Christ came to reveal. God saw that a more powerful revelation than nature was needed to portray his personality and his character. He sent his Son into the world to reveal, so far as could be endured by human sight, the nature and the attributes of the invisible God. Christ came to reveal to a fallen race the love of God. He, the Light of the world, veiled the dazzling splendor of the brightness of his divinity, and came to live on this earth as a man among men, that they might, without being consumed, become acquainted with their Creator. No man has seen God at any time, except as he is revealed through Christ.