PERILOUS TIMES by E. Goodrich

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 29, 1859

PERILOUS TIMES.

By E. Goodrich

BY E. GOODRICH.

In every age of the world God's people have been a tried people. This has been their portion, a kind of heir-loom inherited by all the sons and daughters of probation.

That man is a probationer is argued from every part and point of the divine economy, whether it be of law or grace. There is no point of observation contained in the revealed will of God from which we may look, but what we shall see that man is a probationer, and that the present is a preparatory state, the object of which is a preparation for a higher state of existence. Without the doctrine of probation the doctrine of rewards and punishment is an absurdity, and the idea of a final judgment must forever disappear.

And there can be no probation without trial, and trial demands the existence of opposing or conflicting circumstances. This is the only satisfactory answer that can be given why evil exists in the government and under the immediate jurisdiction of a holy and righteous God.

The answer is that evil is temporary; and that to all that are the called according to his purpose, all things shall work together for good; and that our light afflictions here, are but for a moment, and they work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. And though our faith be tried like gold that is tried in the fire, yet it is more precious because it will be found to glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus.

These things have ever been present truth, meat in due season for the house-hold of faith; and yet the testimony of the word of God, both by prophets, the Saviour, and the apostles, is that the last days are days of peculiar trial to the church of God—days in which many are to be purified, made white and tried; yes to that extent that if it were possible the very elect would be deceived and consequently lost.

The apostle Paul, speaking of the same matter, said , "This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come." And as the term peril signifies danger, and perilous full of danger, the language and doctrine of the apostle is, that in the last days times shall come that are full of dangers to the saint of God; or (to use a figure) to the christian mariner that is homeward bound for the harbor of eternal rest.

Now as anything that opposes, diverts or threatens to render abortive any measure or design is a peril, the perils through which the christian is called to pass may be divided into two distinct classes. (1) Violent force. (2) Seductive influence.

Under the former may be enumerated all those bloody persecutions that have wasted the church of God, and by which millions of the saints have been put to death in the most cruel and torturing manner that wicked men and devils could invent. And time would fail to speak of the multitude of innocent sons and daughters, helpless mothers, and god-like fathers that have been led like lambs to the slaughter, and like sheep dumb before their shearers, submitting to the dungeon, the rack, the slow torture, the fiery fagot, yea death in every form (thus sealing their testimony with their blood), yet crying, How long O Lord holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth!

Under the latter may be enumerated all those allurements, enchantments, and carnal devices that find a ready response in the human heart because of their congeniality to the carnal mind, or because their exterior is apparently good while the interior is full of deceit and death.

These perils though they act slowly, yet they act stealthily and surely, because while they act they divert the attention, deceive and darken the understanding and drive out moral sensibility, thus leaving their victim unconscious of his true position, and the danger to which he is exposed.

The number that will finally fail of the kingdom of God in consequence of the latter perils will be undoubtedly far greater than those that fail in consequence of the former. The last days are perilous, not because they are days of violent opposition and bloody persecution, but because Satan has brought into the field of action, and has filled the world with every enticement, enchantment, deception, and seductive influence of which hell is master.

The danger is even greater on this account than though persecution raged. Not because men can be coaxed easier than driven where the danger is seen; for when the enemy comes with exterior indicative of the dark design that reigns within, we at once understand his motive and immediately prepare to repel the attack. But when the seducer comes, it is with self-enticing words, the words of a fond brother, and ere we are aware of the fatal designs that lurk under a fair exterior, the dagger is drawn, we are thrust under the fifth rib and die—die as did Abner the son of Ner by the hand of Joab; for he died as the fool dieth, neither bound nor in battle.

Virtue encounters no dangers so great as seductive influence, because the motto is, A little at a time, and keep the design hid. There is no suddenly great transition from heat to cold, or from good to bad. The person thus assailed is made to believe that the first step is perfectly harmless, that the second can be taken with perfect safety, and the third may be retraced at any time, while the fourth is by no means fatal; and he is led on from one degree in vice to another degree in crime; every step taken rendering him less sensible of his danger, and less able to resist the same, until he is so completely enthralled in the snare of the fowler, as to be unable to extricate himself. Every strong hold of virtue is demolished and he has nothing to return to but misspent time and a life of shame. Nothing remains but to enjoy what little he can in a life of vice. And as the last resort he embarks boldly on the voyage of dissipation and crime, having no hope of ever returning to the innocence of youth, the home of his childhood.

This is the way that Satan works, and this is the system adopted in the last days. He has come down to earth clothed as an angel of light in the garb of heaven. Every sin and iniquity is sweetened to suit the taste of his worshipers. And since the world began, the opportunities for gratifying the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life, yea every carnal desire, never were so great as now, and that too with the flattering promise of future final happiness. Hence the mind is engrossed in things of time and sense and diverted from present truth and the dangers to which we are exposed; and certain destruction is almost sure.

Modern Spiritualism comes in as the last work, the final crowning deception, confirming the rest and and making ruin sure; for she comes claiming to be the legitimate daughter of an established godly faith. She comes with soft enticing words, claiming to speak through spirits, dear departed wives, lost husbands and beloved parents; and the unwary are captivated by the allurements. Happy are those who escape the meshes of her net, and stand approved of Jesus when he shall appear.

Edinboro Pa., Dec. 1859.