The Last Days by M. WOOD

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 13, 1874

The Last Days.

By M. WOOD

“THIS know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1–5.

The last days here alluded to by the apostle Paul, evidently include the very last day of probation and of time. And every thoughtful, candid reader must freely admit that the Scripture above quoted is a correct representation of the times in which we live. There never was a time when people loved the pleasures of this world more than at the present time, especially the professed followers of Jesus. Talk to them about the soon coming of Jesus, and they scout the idea of such a thing. Talk stocks to them and they know what you mean. Talk of parties, festivals, fashions, theaters, horse-racing, &c., and they are at home with you on these subjects. The real life of God in the soul is not there. They may have the form, but the power is wanting. They are strangers in very many cases, to the pure and undefiled religion. How much of self, and how little of God! How much of open infidelity, cheating, and lying one against another!

It is useless to deny these things, humbling as they may be to proud human nature. But facts are facts. Strange as it may appear to the pleasure-seeking people of this world, the end of all things is at hand. 1 Pet. 4:7. Scientific men promise them a thousand years of peace and safety, which is but another evidence of the soon coming of Christ. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thess. 5:3. “They cry, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.”

Though our friends may ridicule the idea of the speedy advent of our absent Lord, it is nevertheless true; and mockings and scoffings are only additional evidences of the nearing Judgment. 2 Pet. 3:3. But the nearer the world are to God’s awful judgments, the more difficult it is to arouse them to a true sense of their condition. The nearer they are to the coming of the Lord, the less inclined are they to believe that he is near. Satan appears to control the mind, and men act as though bereft of reason in overlooking the riches and glories of the immortal kingdom, confining their interest to the things of time and sense.

The last days, here spoken of by the apostle, do not mean simply the last days of individual existence, but a thorough overturning of the whole earth. When it shall reel to and fro like a drunkard. Isa. 24:20. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.” Isa. 24:1.

1. The privilege which we now enjoy of seeking God, and finding pardon for all our sins through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, will soon be past. We shall be left to stand or fall upon the characters which we are now forming. Why will ye slumber and sleep upon the brink of eternity? Why parley with sin and iniquity? And why, dear brother, become lukewarm in the service of Christ, and drift back into the world, and finally be lost? Ask yourself these solemn questions as in the light of the Judgment. Is the word of God as reliable to-day as in former ages? Is your Heavenly Father less kind and gracious than when you first knew the Lord? Is your Saviour less needful? Is the divine Spirit less holy and comforting to the tried believer? Is sin less hateful in the sight of God, and less destructive to the soul? Is Satan less watchful and subtle against the church of Christ? Is the world less vain and deceitful? Is the heart less vile and treacherous in its inward workings? Is the home over there less glorious and desirable to the weary pilgrim? Has the third angel’s message lost its power, or changed its nature, since the light of God’s truth first broke in upon your mind? If not, why begin now to change your feelings respecting the work of the Lord? What says Paul? “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you; for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thess. 5:1–6. M. WOOD.