As Communications of esteemed Brethren sometimes contain expressions which we choose not to use, and sentiments which we would not advance, we would say, that we are not responsible for what appears under this head.
From Bro. Belden.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I fear that some of our dear brethren are in danger of being drawn into the snare and condemnation of the Devil, by the false reformations that are going on around us. A great work is now going forward here in Berlin and Kensington, Ct., among the Methodists and Congregationalists. Meetings have been held by day and by night for weeks, and large numbers are being gathered in.
Some are reasoning and doubting about this so-called work of God, feeling unprepared to deny that it is such; others believe there are true converts among them; some think they have nothing to do there; others have a mind to go and see; and a few take a firm stand against it as the work of Satan: thus I believe.
I believe the churches, as bodies, have fallen to rise no more, for the reason that they have rejected the testimony of Jesus in relation to his second coming; and he that will not hear this Prophet shall be cut off from his (the Lord's) people. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest unto me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hos. iv, 6. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.
. . . They have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. Hos. v, 6, 7. Thus we see that this is a deceptive work.
And again: Isa. xvii, 10. Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants and set it with strange slips, &c. From what follows in this connection we learn that this strange work is near the harvest, and the rush of nations, when they shall become as the chaff of the mountains before the wind.
As we come into the New Testament, this work of deception is clearly brought to view and described, that God's people may not be deceived by it. In 2 Thess. ii, we find Paul instructing his brethren at what point of time they might expect their Lord to come; that it was to be after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness on them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. By receiving the truth then we are saved, and for rejecting it, they are rejected of God, and left to strong delusions, that they should believe a lie. Here then is something that compares with Hosea.
Again: 1 Tim. iii, 13. Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Thus we see there is a class of teachers, deceived and deceiving others also. 2 Pet. ii, 1. But there were false prophets also among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. Then here is the same class that Hosea and Paul have spoken of, who rejected and denied the truth, and in so doing have denied the Lord; for Jesus says, I am the truth and the light; and they shall bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. If we will open our eyes can we not see that there is a perfect fulfillment of these things in our day. We are shown that it is at a time when their destruction is right upon them, and their judgment does not linger. Compare this with 1 Thess. v, 1-3. Here the same class are evidently referred to, who raise the cry of peace and safety, with which the majority are lulled to sleep and made to rest down upon a false hope of security; but sudden destruction is to come upon them, from which there is to be no escape. Jer. vi, 14, is to the point. It shows where the deception lies: in not declaring the truth as to their real and true position; but in dealing falsely, and healing the hurt, or wound, slightly, saying peace, peace, when there is no peace.
Jude in speaking of the same class, calls them the ungodly, and refers to them as trees whose fruit withers, without fruit; that is, their converts soon wither away and bear no fruit. A month devours them, a little while and they are gone: the stump from which they sprung being twice dead and plucked up by the roots. Now I would ask, Can any living sprout come from a tree thus dealt with? plucked up by the roots and twice dead: rejected of God and forsaken of him because they have rejected the truth, the fountain of living waters.
Satan is doing up his last work of deception; and may it not be expected that all the wonders of past ages will be exhibited before his final work closes. May the Lord help us to gird on the whole armor, that we may stand against the wiles of the Devil, and be able to discern between the righteous and the wicked, between them that serve God and them that serve him not; that we may escape all those things that are coming on the earth, and be prepared to stand before the Son of man at his appearing.