DARKNESS AND LIGHT by W. M. Healey

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 10, 1881

DARKNESS AND LIGHT.

By W. M. Healey

BY ELD. W. M. HEALEY.

The Bible is given to us for a light. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalms 119:105. Daniel said the vision which king Nebuchadnezzar had, was given "for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king." Dan. 2:30. Verse 45 says it was for the purpose of making known what would come to pass after that time. Thus it was to be a light that would cast its rays into the dark future, and light it up before those who may believe and understand this word. The book of Revelation was given to be a light. It is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass." Rev. 1:1. It was to show, to cast light upon, the future; but it is not said that any but His servants will see anything by it.

The word of God that came to Noah, lighted up the future before him, and he saw that a flood was coming upon the earth; but it shed no light for the great mass of human beings then living. They spent their time in ways most agreeable to their feelings, "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away." Matt. 24:39. The Bible is so written that those who are seeking for light can find it, while those who prefer darkness can find something upon which to hang their doubts.

We have the power of choice, and God will help us to light or darkness, according to the choice we make. When Jesus was here upon earth, he taught the people so that some saw great light in his words, but others beheld nothing but darkness. This might be so, he taught the multitudes in parables; and the disciples asked him, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given." Matt. 13:10, 11.

Verse 15 tells why it was not given to them to know: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." The people here spoken of were to blame for their condition, as they had shut their own eyes and ears. They had fully decided against the teachings of Christ before they had heard them. In fact, this spirit of truth, is probably what Jesus referred to in verse 12: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not [this spirit of truth], from him shall be taken away even that [what truth] he hath."

When God sent Moses to Pharaoh, he told him that he would harden the king's heart. As Moses and Aaron came into the presence of the king, with their request for him to let the people go three days' journey into the wilderness, to offer sacrifice unto the Lord, he said that he did not know the Lord; and proposed to them that they show some miracle as a sign of the power of their God. Aaron casts down his rod before the king, and behold it becomes a serpent. The sorcerers and magicians are sent for, and each man casts down his rod, and it becomes a serpent. This was enough for the king, and his heart was hardened. Set against the God of Israel and his people, here his unfairness and lack of the spirit of truth was clearly shown. He had made his own choice of the proofs to be given of the power of the Israelites' God; he would test it by miracles, and now the evidence is all in favor of Aaron's God, for "Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."

When the plague of frogs was upon the land, the magicians had power to work the same miracle and bring them up out of the river; but here their power ended, for they could not destroy them, nor cause them to return to the river. And Pharaoh was obliged to request Moses to entreat his God to remove this plague from them. This was done, and the frogs died.

Even the magicians admitted the plague of lice to be caused by the finger of God. Pharaoh was just the man to occupy the throne at this time, and give God a chance to punish this wicked nation for the manner in which they had treated his people. And God says of him, "For this purpose have I raised thee up." That is, up in power, raised thee to the throne. He rejected the overwhelming evidence of God's power, and clung to the little which the magicians were permitted to have, and his heart was hardened. He was a bad man at the first, and as he rejected evidences of truth he grew worse, his "heart was hardened." And so it ever is; the more a person rejects of the truths of God, the harder he becomes. Paul says in the second chapter of his second epistle to the Thessalonians that just previous to the coming of Christ, Satan shall work with "signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And with this cause,"—because they have not received a love of the truth,—"God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Surely it is a dangerous thing to turn away from truths which God has given us, for in so doing we may expect God to send us all the darkness we want. What a fearful thing it will be to be shut out of the kingdom of God, when we have fully expected to enter there, but find at last that we have been laboring under a delusion sent us because we have neglected some duty, have turned away from some truth. And yet Jesus says that "many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" Matt. 7:22. This class of persons are those who have professed Christ, and taught in his name, and evidently expect to be among the saved; but Jesus says, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Verse 23.

In verse 21, Jesus says that they who do "the will of my Father which is in Heaven," are the ones who enter the kingdom. Where will those appear who reject the will of the Father, and talk of Christ as the only one with whom we have anything to do, and claim that he has abolished his Father's will, or law, and established a different will, one of his own? Read and ponder well these words of Jesus; and I pray, dear reader, do not reject any of the light from God's word, lest he reject you and send you strong delusion, and you believe a lie, and at last be damned. It will not avail to cry Lord, Lord, if you have neglected to do the will of the Father.

Those who are deceived may go on breaking the law of God, and have very little trouble with their conscience about the matter, because they are deluded. But like those unbelievers in the time of our Saviour's sojourn upon the earth, if they are deluded they must have made their choice, closed their own eyes to some point of truth, turned away from some duty. We need not reject all of the Bible to be rejected of God. If God makes one duty known to us and we refuse it, is he not justified in turning from us? Those spoken of in Matt. 7:21-23, had not thrown away all the Bible; they taught Christ, and expected to be saved by him; but they did not receive and do the will of the Father. Dear reader, does it mean you?