“WE are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. IX, page 11.
There can be no question as to the fact that we have entered the perils of the last days. A mighty conflict is in progress. The time is now when Satan is putting forth his last great effort before the close of probation, working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. The many lines of prophecy that have so faithfully delineated the events leading to the close of this world’s history have been minutely fulfilled. The special signs outlined by our Lord and his apostles have also taken place. The great prophetic period of two thousand14three hundred years, reaching to the closing work of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, in the heavenly sanctuary, has long since terminated. The conditions now existing in our world, politically, morally, socially, and religiously, give unmistakable evidence that the very end is right upon us; and that “we are standing upon the threshold of great and solemn events.”
“God has called his church in this day, as he called ancient Israel, to stand as a light in the earth. . . . The three angels of Revelation 14 represent the people who accept the light of God’s messages, and go forth as his agents to sound the warning throughout the length and breadth of the earth. Christ declares to his followers, ‘Ye are the light of the world.’”—Id., Vol. V, pages 455, 456.
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Now is to be fulfilled the prophecy of Rev. 18:1: “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.”
“All heaven is represented to me as watching the unfolding of events. A crisis is to be revealed in the great and prolonged controversy in the government of God on earth. Something great and decisive is to take place, and that right early.”—“Special Testimony for Our Ministers,” page 67.
Such a time as this and such a position call for corresponding zeal, earnestness, devotion, and whole-souled consecration. Never before did people live under conditions like these; never before was a people placed under such tremendous responsibility to the world as those to whom is committed the last warning message of God to the world. Well may we ask, And who is sufficient for these things? But the same God who provided for the efficiency of his servants in the past, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is ready to bestow the same power on his people at this time.
This is no time for ease and indifference. No ordinary nor common effort will meet these extraordinary conditions. There is an urgent call for a decided awakening commensurate with the situation. Our present attitude is not what it should be, while “intensity is taking possession of every earthly element; and as a people who have had great light and wonderful knowledge, many of them are represented by the five sleeping virgins with their lamps, but no oil in their vessels; cold, senseless, with a feeble, waning piety.”—Id., page 68.
This is certainly a very serious message, and should call for most heartfelt and careful self-examination on the part of every individual. We quote again:—
“Our position in the world is not what it should be. We are far from where we should have been had our Christian experience been in harmony with the light and the opportunities given us, had we from the beginning constantly pressed onward and upward. Had we walked in the light that has been given us, had we followed on to know the Lord, our path would have grown brighter and brighter. But many of those who have had special light are so conformed to the world that they can scarcely be distinguished from worldlings. They do not stand forth as God’s peculiar people, chosen and precious. It is difficult to discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VIII, page 247.
Still another quotation:—
“It is a solemn and terrible truth that many who have been zealous in proclaiming the third angel’s message are now becoming listless and indifferent. ‘The line of demarcation between worldlings and many professed Christians is almost indistinguishable. Many who once were earnest Adventists are conforming to the world,—to its practises, its customs, its selfishness. Instead of leading the world to render obedience to God’s law, the church is uniting more and more closely with the world in transgression. Daily the church is becoming converted to the world. . . . There is a stupor, a paralysis, upon many of the people of God, which prevents them from understanding the duty of the hour.’”—Id., pages 118, 119.
These statements are startling and saddening, and should stir every soul to its very depth. That they are true, none who have a knowledge of the situation will deny. Many are being carried away by the spirit of the world. This is seen among the older members and among the youth; and, sad to say, in some of our oldest churches in both country and city the worldly element is the most prominent.
It is this state of things that is so vividly outlined in the message to the Laodicean church (Rev. 3:14-17), and because of this there comes the call to repent. While the church is in this state, God can not reveal his power in the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit; hence the call, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19.
The refreshing is promised, but it is to be preceded by repentance and conversion. God can not pour out his Holy Spirit in power while we as a people or individuals are conforming to the world. The conditions outlined in the foregoing quotations from the spirit of prophecy are startling indeed, and call for deep and heartfelt repentance.
We are now in the time when the investigative judgment is about to finish its work; the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads is in progress. But “not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost.”—Id., Vol. V, page 214.
Intensity has taken possession of every earthly element. Satan is working every agency at his command in opposing the work of the Lord in the earth, and this warfare is directed against those “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” We are certainly in the midst of a mighty conflict with the forces of darkness; and instead of conforming to the world in any way, instead of parleying with sin in any shape or form, instead of yielding to any besetting habit or pet indulgence in wrong, let there be a whole-souled repentance, a decided turning away from every evil besetment. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:17, 18.
Have we become negligent in prayer, neglecting to study the Bible, neglecting the family altar in the home? Have we become careless in the observance of the Sabbath at its beginning or its ending? Have we indulged in light, frivolous, and worldly conversation on God’s holy day? Let us repent and change our course. Have we given way to worldly amusement, and fashionable attire? Let us remember we are called to be Christ’s representatives here on the earth. Have15we been robbing God in tithes and offerings, as many are doing? We must heartily repent and render to God his own. By indulging in these and many other things that are wrong, we have brought leanness to our own souls, and been a hindrance to the work of God in the earth. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Rev. 3:19.
God has thus faithfully sent his warning message that his people shall not be left in darkness, nor be deceived. Here we are, standing as it were on the very threshold of eternity, connected with the closing work of probation on the earth. How can any one remain indifferent? How can any one continue in uncertainty as to his standing before God?
“The ‘time of trouble, such as never was,’ is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too indolent to obtain.” “Jacob’s night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau, represents the experience of God’s people in the time of trouble.”—“Great Controversy,” pages 622, 616.
“Had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life. So, in the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins have gone beforehand to judgment, and have been blotted out; and they can not bring them to remembrance.”—Id., page 620.
Now is the time to prepare for what is coming. Now is the time to confess our sins, that they may go before to judgment and be blotted out, so that in the time of trouble, which is so close at hand, nothing shall stand against us then.
“The Lord calls upon his people to arouse out of sleep. . . . God desires to refresh his people by the gift of the Holy Spirit, baptizing them anew in his love. There is no need for a dearth of the Spirit in the church. After Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon the waiting, praying, believing disciples with a fulness and power that reached every heart. In the future, the earth is to be lightened with the glory of God. A holy influence is to go forth to the world from those who are sanctified through the truth. The earth is to be encircled with an atmosphere of grace. The Holy Spirit is to work on human hearts, taking the things of God and showing them to men.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IX, page 40.
“Christ has made provision that his church shall be a transformed body, illumined with the light of heaven, possessing the glory of Immanuel. It is his purpose that every Christian shall be surrounded with a spiritual atmosphere of light and peace. There is no limit to the usefulness of the one who, putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God.”—Id., Vol. VIII, page 19.
“Why has the history of the work of the disciples, as they labored with holy zeal, animated and vitalized by the Holy Spirit, been recorded, if it is not that from this record the Lord’s people to-day are to gain an inspiration to work earnestly for him? What the Lord did for his people in that time, it is just as essential, and more so, that he do for his people to-day. All that the apostles did, every church-member to-day is to do. And we are to work with as much more fervor, to be accompanied by the Holy Spirit in as much greater measure, as the increase of wickedness demands a more decided call to repentance.”—Id., Vol. VII, page 33.
“In visions of the night representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among God’s people. Many were praising God. The sick were healed, and other miracles were wrought. A spirit of intercession was seen, even as was manifested before the great day of Pentecost. Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families, and opening before them the Word of God.”—Id., Vol. IX, page 126.
That is what we are all desirous to see. We have been looking for it, waiting for it; now and then we have had indications of its nearness, but still it has not come in the fulness that the promise indicates. And why? Surely the fault is not with God. No, no! It is we who are at fault; we have not set ourselves to the task of repentance and reform in real earnest. Instead, we have rested self-satisfied with our profession, feeling we had the truth. We have allowed selfishness and worldliness and other evil traits to mold the life, and thus have grieved the Spirit of God, and as a result we have been left destitute of the power and grace that would have brought victory over every evil besetment. What efforts we have made have been so desultory! They have lacked continued perseverance and whole-hearted earnestness, they have lacked the “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” This easy, half-hearted course of action will never bring the victory. “When the reproach of indolence and slothfulness shall have been wiped away from the church, the Spirit of the Lord will be graciously manifested. Divine power will be revealed. The church will see the providential working of the Lord of hosts. The light of truth will shine forth in clear, strong rays, and as in the time of the apostles, many souls will turn from error to truth. The earth will be lighted with the glory of the Lord.”—*Id., Vol. IX, page 46.
O then let us arise to the task and cast off this ease and sloth, and give ourselves no rest till we have the victory! “A great reformatory movement!” Who will have a part in it? Who will put himself to the task in decided earnest? That is the question. My brother, my sister, will you be one? Shall we not arise as one man to a deeper and fuller consecration than ever in the past, and with deep repentance put away every sin, that we may receive the refreshing of the Holy Spirit? The time in which we live calls for this. The things that are soon to come upon the earth call for this. The work to be done in our large cities calls for this. The message to be carried to all foreign nations and peoples of earth, as well as to the people in the home land, calls for this. The preparation that will enable a people to stand amid the closing scenes of this earth’s history, and be prepared to meet the Lord with joy, calls for just such a whole-hearted consecration.
May this week of prayer witness such a refreshing from the presence of the Lord, such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, whereby the people of God will rise as one man to hasten the finishing of the work, and usher in the great and glorious victory at the coming of our Lord and Saviour.
