WHO MAY HEAR THE TRUTH?
By Editor
Answer. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," Rev. iii, 13. This verse immediately precedes the call to the Laodiceans to buy "gold tried in the fire," "white raiment" and "eye-salve," and the exhortation to them to be "zealous" and "repent." If, therefore, we are living in the period of the Laodicean church, then he that now hath an ear to hear may hear. The Prophet speaks of those [Jer. vi, 10] whose "ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken." "The word of the Lord is unto them a reproach: they have no delight in it." The condition of the Jewish Church, as a body, after they had rejected the first advent of Christ is described as follows by the prophet Isaiah: "Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive. For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Acts xxviii, 26, 27. The mass of the present generation, having rejected the doctrine of the Second Advent, are in a similar condition, having ears, but have no disposition to hear the truth. The condition of those who once rejoiced in the advent faith, and have since pronounced their past experience the work of some unclean spirit, is no better. As the large mass of mankind have not an ear to hear the word of God, the Spirit of God, gives us no message for them. But, thank Heaven, there are those who have an ear to hear the truth, and we say of such, "let them hear." Those whose hearts are not hardened in sin, who have not wickedly trampled on offered mercy, who have not understandingly rejected the glad tidings of the coming kingdom, and who can feel the power of truth, "let them hear." We never felt greater liberty in pointing out the way of life to sinners in past years, than to such now. Many of our brethren in this state, who are fully with us in our views of the message of the third angel, had no part in the messages of the first and second angels. And quite a number of young people are fully with us, who have recently found Jesus, and experienced his pardoning love. The Lord is at work converting the children of believing parents to Christ and the whole truth, in almost every family where the parents receive the present message. "He that hath an ear to hear let him hear," the truth, and the whole truth. God forbid that we should lower the standard of truth to suit the unbelief of any one. We fully believe that the plain truth of the present message will draw out the real children of the Lord, and separate the precious from the vile.