A Last-Day Peril by L. A. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Apr 19, 1906

A Last-Day Peril

By L. A. S.

Among the perils of the last days, as prophetically described, one of the greatest is the prevalence of iniquity. It is stated that “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

All persons are more or less susceptible to the influence of the example set by their associates. This is true in the matter of one’s religious belief and practise; for it is a sad but true commentary on the weakness of human nature that it is a common thing for a person to cease the service of God and lose his religious faith because of an erratic course pursued by some fellow mortal. The tendency to man-worship is inherent in human nature, and the short-sightedness of human nature causes us to fail to look beyond the human leader and teacher to the Creator, from whom alone comes all the truth and wisdom that any being can possess.

As Christians, we are directed to look steadfastly unto Jesus; and we have the infallible word of God given us, that we may not be dependent upon the word of any man, even of the greatest and wisest. If it could be proper to look to any other being than God, we would be justified in looking to Satan and being influenced by his example, for of all created beings he was the highest, standing next to the Creator, and being “full of wisdom.” No other created being could be so fully entitled to confidence as a leader possessed of inherent wisdom and uprightness, as was Lucifer. Yet without God, he is what the Christian knows him to be,—the father of lies, the instigator of all fraud, the author of every delusion that prevails in the world.

We know that the Christian faith rests not upon the word and example of men, but upon God’s word alone; yet we are not safe from the danger of being wrongly influenced by the example of men. We are not safe from the dangerous influence of abounding error and iniquity. But the chief danger lies not in the fact that iniquity abounds in the world. The world has always been full of iniquity, and Christians do not expect it to be in any other condition. It is in the church that the most dangerous iniquity is to be found. It is by those who depart from the truth that the most dangerous influence will be exerted. It is when those who have been prominent in the work of God, who may perhaps have stood as leaders and teachers in the camp of Israel, forsake the accustomed path, that the faith of others is most likely to wane and their love of God and his truth to wax cold.

This danger is to be met in the last days,—the days of this generation,—and we must be prepared to meet it without surprise and without for a moment losing sight of the true foundation of faith, which “standeth sure.” L. A. S.