PRESENT TRUTH, AND PRESENT CONFLICTS:
By James White
By the Duties and Dangers of Our Time. The present is a period of interest, especially to the close student of prophecy. History is being made rapidly. Those who attentively note the signs of the times, as manifested in the political world, and in the religious world, can hardly fail to see that we are hastening to the final consummation. The great lines of prophecy of the book of Daniel, which so very distinctly represent the entire line of earthly governments, from the time of the prophet down to the destruction of all earthly powers, have been fulfilled, excepting the final stroke of their utter destruction. The several chains of prophecy of the book of Revelation, relating to the fourth of the four great empires noticed in the book of Daniel, have also been fulfilled, link by link, excepting that portion which belongs to the period of the last message, relative to the “commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,” and the action of the two-horned beast, of the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of that book. The length of time necessary to fulfill these, we may not be able to determine. But no one can prove that the time will be long. We repeat: History is making rapidly. And while those who feel that they have a personal interest in these matters of vast importance, discard the theory of definite time, they must regard it the safer and the wiser course to view the accomplishment of these remaining unfulfilled specifications of prophecy as near at hand, rather than at a distance. While it may not be possible to show how soon the remaining specifications of prophecy will be fulfilled, no one can prove that their fulfillment may not be very soon. The present is the waiting, watching time. The great prophetic times of Daniel and John have served their purpose in bringing us to this position at this time. All Scripture, given by inspiration of God, being profitable, the periods of Daniel and John have their place, and accomplish their work in God's great plan. But they have terminated. And we have been brought by them to the waiting time, which demands patience, attention, watchfulness and much prayer. This is clearly and briefly expressed in these words of our Lord: “Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is.” Mark 13: 33. The signs of the end, in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, have appeared, and the prophetic descriptions of the last days are finding distinct fulfillments at the present time, in the political, scientific, and religious world. And in accordance with God's dealing with men and nations in past ages, in ever warning them of coming judgments, before they were executed, he has sent forth the great three-fold warning relative to the last Judgment, prophetically described in the fourteenth chapter of the Revelation. The three parts of this last warning are each represented by an angel, flying in the midst of heaven, each delivering a solemn and earnest message to the inhabitants of this world. The first pertains not only to the last Judgment, but to the period of that Judgment. The second relates to the moral fall of the great city of confusion, the Babylon of all corrupted Christianity. And how natural and forcible the application. The third is a terrible warning, threatening the unmingled vengeance of Jehovah, upon all who accept a worship and a mark opposed to that of the living God. And not stopping here to explain what that worship and that mark may be, we are happy to learn that those who accept the warning; and flee from the threatened wrath, find a refuge, safe and complete, in the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ. And among the numerous signs of the times, showing the day of wrath nigh at hand, the present movement relative to the observance of the entire moral code, leading to the Sabbath reform, as existing with Seventh-day Adventists, is one of no small importance. And what gives this subject point, and great force, is the fact that the very next event following this terrific warning, and this movement relative to the commandments of God, is the gathering of the final harvest, symbolized by the Son of Man, having exchanged his priestly robes and mitre for his kingly crown and royal robes, and having cast the golden censer into the earth, now holds the sharp sickle in his hand, ready to reap, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth into the wine-press of the wrath of God. Thank God, the time has not yet come for that fearful petition, symbolized by the cry of the angel to Him that shall ere long be seated on the white cloud, “Thrust in thy sickle and reap; for the time has come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Thank God that it is not yet too late for wrongs to be made right. Jesus is still clad in priestly garments, and offers his blood for sinners in and out of the churches. And the sweet voice of mercy is heard in the last message. “The spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” But the present message of fearful warning is the last. This message ripens the harvest of the earth. It is, therefore, a testing message. This is also evident from the terrific language employed: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.” And while this message contains a warning to flee the rival worship of Satan, it bears upon its very front the law of the great God. In it is the test for the people. And, certainly, if any revealed truth can constitute a test, or if anything can exist of the nature of a test, by which the destiny of man may be decided, it is the holy law of God. This law in every respect is a proper test. It is brief and comprehensive. It contains all that is necessary as a moral code, and is not cumbered with a single word that can be dispensed with. It is elevated in style, and grand in thought, so as to commend itself to the greatest and the best minds. And, at the same time, it is so simple, plain, and explicit, as to be understood by all who will be held accountable at the bar of God. Who will be loyal and true to the God of Heaven? is the grand question for our time. And who will shake off the traditions of men, and refuse the rival mark and worship of the beast? is one that will agitate, and will shake the religious world, from center to circumference. It never has been the Lord's plan to send literal angels from Heaven to preach to men. He never will warn the world by such agencies. He has chosen men to preach his gospel to their fellow-men. A vast work remains to be done, and the time is short for its accomplishment. And who will be the honored instruments in the Lord's hand to do this work. Ministers who doubt, and who oppose, this work, will not engage in it. And men who have no love for this cause will not use their means to spread the light by means of the living preacher, and by our publications. This will be a work of sacrifice, on the part of men who preach the truth of God, and on the part of those who have means to sustain the work, from this time on to the close of the work. Those who profess the faith are the very men, and the very women, upon whom the responsibilities of this work rests. God demands our efforts, and our sacrifices. If we are willing, and faithful, and true, ours will be a great reward. But if we refuse to do the work Providence has appointed to us, we shall be removed from the work, and others will be raised up to do it faithfully and willingly, and they will receive the reward we might have received, while we shall sustain an eternal loss. Our greatest danger, whether we be ministers or people, is the benumbing influence of this world. The minister of God's truth, and of the people, of this time, should go forth in the dense moral darkness of our time, like a flaming fire, burning his way through, and shedding light all around him. In order for this, he must not entangle himself in the things of this life. The very hour he lets the love of money into his heart, and seeks to increase his property beyond a humble competency, that very hour he is a fallen man. One such minister, with his influence of traffic, of covetousness, of stinginess toward the poor, and of laying up treasures on the earth, will do more harm in this last work, which calls for sacrifices all along the way to its close, than two consecrated ministers can counteract. The true minister of the last message will hate covetousness, and will set an example of sacrifice. He will deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with his God. As he passes through the moral darkness of our time, it will not adhere to him like loam to a rusty plow. But if he be right with God, and the spirit and power of truth be with him, he will pass through the spirit of error like the polished steel plow through the soil of the Western prairies. If he be humble, and right with God, though he be a small man, God can make him large in him. There are men among us, who entered the ministry with handsome properties; and there are others who have been the pets of our people, and have received from their hands donations, favors, and presents, until they are raised in property above a humble competency, who cannot be the honored instruments in the hands of God of much good, until they cherish a love to sacrifice in the Lord's cause, and set a proper example to our people. When calls are made for means to advance the cause, these should be the very first to respond. They should, in this respect, be examples to the flock. With such an example before them, our people generally, with hardly an exception, would come up to the work of responding liberally to any proper call for help. But the covetousness, and love of this world, manifested by too many of our preachers, and the lack of interest on the part of some of them who have been raised above want, and especially by those who have, by the liberal donations of our people, been raised far above a humble competency, are having a tendency to wither the liberality of our people, and lead them to withhold their surplus means from the cause of God. This is a fearful evil which must be put away before God can bless the efforts of our people in every department of the work. Covetousness in a man who takes upon himself the fearful responsibilities of proclaiming the last message, is a sin of that magnitude which common sinners seldom commit. Covetousness in any man is a great sin. In a minister of Jesus, at any time, the sin becomes tenfold greater. But the increased sinfulness of covetousness in that minister who professes that the present is the period of the last message, and dares to proclaim it to the world, can hardly be expressed by multiplied numbers, or the strongest terms. He is not only selling his own soul for money, but is casting the strongest influence possible to destroy the spirit of sacrifice among our people. God's cause calls for means. Many of our people have only an indistinct and faint idea of their duty. The world has a strong hold upon them. Satan joins his influence to keep them from using their surplus means to the glory of God. And then, as a most powerful influence to completely wither what may exist of the spirit of sacrifice among our people, come up facts, undeniable facts, relative to the covetousness of some of our ministers, and the selfishness and recklessness of some who have stood at the head of our institutions, in handling the means donated to those institutions, made sacred by being a free-will offering to the Lord. He who steals his neighbor's purse is a sinner in the eyes of law, human and divine. But he who, while wearing the awfully sacred professional garment of giving to the world the last message, which is to seal the believing for an eternity of bliss, and165doom those who disbelieve to the vials of God's unmingled vengeance, dares to covetously take from God's treasury that which does not rightfully belong to him, in view of his labors in the cause of God, and consequent wants, commits a crime in the sight of Heaven as much higher than the man who steals his neighbor's purse, as the work of God in the salvation of man is higher and more sacred than the common interests of men. May God have mercy. Hamilton, Mo., Nov. 1, 1870.