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SAVED BY A THREAD

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Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 29, 1880

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 29.

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SAVED BY A THREAD.

A BOLD adventurer went alone into the catacombs of Rome. Few men with a guide even, dare to tread those hideous caverns of darkness and the dead. Fastening a thread at the entrance, and taking a spool in one hand and a lamp in the other, he plunged into those subterranean solitudes. Impelled by a passion for historic lore, his excited curiosity found ample gratification. Around him were scattered, in confusion, the ruins of Roman magnificence and art. Imagination was busy in rebuilding, from those fragments, the grand structures of Rome's faded splendor. Self-forgetful, in his intense interest, and heeding not his steps, he stumbled and fell. Instantly his light was extinguished. The spool flew from his hand, and was lost. A horror of darkness surrounded him. In vain he searched for the lost thread. Overcome with the strange oppression of fear, he fainted. When he revived he found the spool in his hand, which he must have found before, and held unconsciously during his swoon. Following the thread, he soon saw glimmerings of light, and came forth from the catacombs, saved by a thread!
Our planetary world is a vast catacomb. Around us are strewn the ruins of former ages. Beneath our feet is the dust of past generations. Human experience seems a very uncertain light to guide us, judging from the constantly occurring failures of men. We cannot penetrate with certain vision one moment into the future. We know not the hidden mysteries of a coming hour.
One eye alone penetrates the future. He dwelleth in the light. He knows all the intricate paths and hidden events of coming time. His word and Spirit are our guides. They never mislead. It may require careful stepping, anxious watching and confiding trust; but they will lead our fainting souls through the chilling gloom of earthly darkness to the open portals of endless day. The thread of divine truth, carefully followed, will lead our bewildered feet to unfailing light.—Domestic Journal.