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As a Snare

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 15, 1902

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 79, No. 28.

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As a Snare

By Editor

Editorial

Suddenly

THE warnings in the Word of God indicate that to many the coming of the Lord will be a terrible surprise. “Watch ye therefore: . . . lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.” Having refused the message of preparation, and having raised the cry of the scoffers, “Where is the promise of his coming?” they have become so completely absorbed in the things of this world that the revelation of the Lord from heaven is wholly unexpected by them. And so he comes suddenly.

As a Snare

IT is the purpose of Satan to occupy men’s minds so fully with the cares and pleasures of this life that there shall be neither room nor inclination for the affairs of the heavenly kingdom. And so the Lord has given us this warning: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” “The solemn fact is to be kept not only before the people of the world, but before our own churches also, that the day of the Lord will come suddenly, unexpectedly. The fearful warning of the prophecy is addressed to every soul. Let no one feel that he is secure from the danger of being surprised. Let no one’s interpretation of prophecy rob you of the conviction of the knowledge of events which show that this great event is near at hand.”

As a Thief

THOSE who have given heed to the instruction in the Word of God know perfectly, as did the believers at Thessalonica, “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.” If the lights in the house were burning, and the people were all on the watch, the thief would make no effort to enter. It is only when the lights are extinguished, and all the members of the family are locked in slumber, that the thief has confidence that he will be able to accomplish his purpose. “If the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” Those who have responded to the message, “Behold your God,” will not be overwhelmed in this fatal surprise. “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.” Watchfulness and sobriety should be the constant experience of the people of God in these last days. “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”

A World-Wide Message

WE must never lose sight of the fact that this message is to go to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” The whole world is to be warned of the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. To us is given the inestimable privilege of being used as the Lord’s helping hand to minister his salvation to the ends of the earth. The command comes now with renewed force, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The spirit of colonizing is a hindrance to this work. The spirit of settling down and taking things easy is a snare of the devil. Those who preach that increasing wealth is now a sign of the Lord’s favor are sounding the wrong note. Can those who really believe that the Lord is coming in this generation, and that the message of the third angel is to be carried to all the world by those now living, meet the demands of the hour by increasing their bank accounts and their investments in worldly enterprises? A new spirit of consecration to the work needs to come upon us all. There is no time now for a compromise. It is no time to preach one thing and to practice another. The world estimates our faith in the reality of the message which we bear by the spirit of sacrifice which is shown in the effort to make it known to all men. Is our watchword, “The advent message to all the world in this generation,” a mere rallying cry? Or does it express our sincere conviction of a great truth? Doors are open everywhere. Means and workers are needed. Who will help to send this message quickly throughout the countries of the earth? It is no time now to slacken our hands. The work is great, and the time is short. Let all come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. So shall the way of the Lord be prepared, and we shall see the King in his beauty.