THE LIGHT THAT WILL NOT FAIL.
In the midst of the grossest darkness of earth's history God holds out the promise of the greatest light. The closing days of this world are to be days of intense spiritual darkness. With every wind of doctrine blowing, the winds of strife at work in all quarters of the earth, and clouds of philosophic doubt fairly shutting out the sky, the true children of God will live by faith in the glow of a light which the world will not deign to recognize as light. Because the world has rejected the true light and turned to the philosophies of paganism for its teaching, God permits them to be deceived by the thing to which they have turned. They see darkness as light and light as darkness. The Saviour says: “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” We are living in an age when knowledge is diffused more generally than in any preceding age; but the prince of darkness has used that diffusion of knowledge to serve his ends, and through his masterly deceptions has turned men's minds into myriads of channels that lead away from the truth of God and back to a deeper spiritual darkness than that from which the Reformation taught men to escape. It is greater because it is more hopeless, and because those deceived by it believe they are following greater light than has ever been known before. Nevertheless, God's true light will be shining even in these most trying times, for He says: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.” Isa. 60:1, 2. Those who are willing to throw every selfish desire to the winds, making every inclination subject to the will of God, seeking His glory only—these “shall see light in Thy light.” They will be more anxious for that light of truth than for anything this world has to offer. Christ is the light of the world, the light of His people, “the light of the world,” “the way, the truth, and the life;” and therefore this extraordinary outflow of light of which this scripture speaks is from Him. They who are His are commanded to “Arise,” and give it to the world. As we are living in the last days, we are living in the time when we may expect to see the true children of God giving heed to this command. But, as they give forth the light that is given them, Satan is busy confusing the minds of men and turning their feet into the channels of darkness which he has taught them to believe are highways of the greatest light. He is doing that to-day, and so is bringing darkness into the hearts of men, into the membership of the church, through skeptical criticism of the Word, and into the world through the infidelity and the example of a worldly church. That the scripture above quoted refers to the last days is shown by the closing verses of the same chapter. God's promise to His people in that trying time is a gracious one. He has light for those who seek Him, and He purposes to let His glory be revealed in and through them. Christ Himself is the Sun of Righteousness, and He tells us through the prophet Malachi: “Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings.” Mal. 4:2. That also is spoken of the last days, and His arising in behalf of His people is equivalent to the statement in Dan. 12:1: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince who standeth for the children of Thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” They whose names have been found written in the book of God are they who have been following the light of God and have stood valiantly for His truth in spite of all the opposition of the enemy and his emissaries. Therefore, while the clouds of that fatal darkness are thickening in the world, let us follow the light of God. The night of sin is nearly ended; but the darkest portion of the night is just before the dawn, and we can not afford to be trusting in any light but the light of God. There is much at stake, and there is no other true light.