THE PERILS OF THE LAST DAYS
By E. B. Saunders
Do not consist altogether of persecution and trouble to the saints, but in the danger of being led away from the truth and being turned unto fables. The great apostle to the Gentiles in describing the perils of the last days, speaks of men "having a form of godliness." It is this form of godliness that entraps the unwary; and how often we hear the remark, "I would like to know which are right." "How can we tell who has the truth?" &c.114 Satan has succeeded in dividing the professed followers of Jesus into a multitude of factions, and then has arrayed these factions against each other till a complete babel of confusion exists. No wonder that some are blinded and confused amid all this uproar, and walk like blind men seeking to be led, till Satan's own professed ministers of light lead them whither they know not. One of the great perils of these days is the danger of being led away from the true light by the false ones of Satan. He places so many false beacons on the rocky coast that only a close prayerful study of the pilot-book, the Bible, will enable those who are homeward bound to discern the genuine among the false. But the careless mariner who continues to allow his ship to drift with the waves of popular opinion, will awake only to die hungry and thirsty for the word of the Lord, while the siren song of evil angels will be changed to derisive taunts and cruel mockings. It is a notable fact that the most of those who have only a form of godliness also "deny the power thereof." The gifts of the Holy Spirit, those present blessings which the church was to enjoy till made perfect are almost universally denied. If we speak to such professors of the gift of tongues, of prophecy, or healing, we are told that such things used to be, but now we have no longer need of them; that since men have by the aid of the printing press, translated the Bible into so many languages, the gift of tongues has been abolished. This pitiful reasoning is no better than that which denies the gift of healing because physicians are numerous; or of prophecy because we have the Bible. Another device of Satan is to inspire many with a feeling of sanctification. One writer in Canada in 1857 says, "We should speak at a low computation, should we express it as our belief that we had seen one thousand souls sanctified, and from fifteen hundred to two thousand souls justified during the past summer and autumn." Guide to Holiness, vol. xxxiii, page 39. This was during the great revival in 1857-58. When a person becomes thus in his own estimation, sanctified, he is clad in a truth-proof armor, and is able to quench the truth when hurled at him by saying "The Lord would not bless me so if I was in error." Thus we see them go on in error, deceived, ignorant of God's law, of the ministration of our Lord, our great High Priest in heaven, and of their own condition. They claim to be sanctified but it is not through the truth. They all with one accord unite with the Man of sin in casting down the truth to the ground, and in taking pleasure in unrighteousness; while over all they throw the cloak of sanctification. Brethren let us have charity for such and pity their blindness, but let us speak out against their errors. It is right to exercise charity towards individuals but not toward their errors. And while you pity such as are caught in the net of self-deception, do not falter or look back as though the way was too narrow or the hill too steep; neither envy those who are trying to go "through" by railroad, but toil on and soon the Captain of our salvation will come and deliver us out of these perils. Eagle Harbor N. Y. Feb. 1860.