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Standing Firm in Days of Peril, December 12
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch
unto prayer.
1 Peter 4:7
.
The signs of the times tell us that the end of all things is at hand.
Prophecies fulfilled have become facts of history, clearly defining our
position. We are standing upon the verge of the eternal world.... Our
Lord forewarned His people that iniquity would abound in the last days
and would have a paralyzing influence upon true godliness. Wickedness
is seen and heard and felt all around us. It seems to permeate the very
atmosphere, and affects the faith and love of God’s professed people. It is
difficult to hold fast Christian integrity. The fact is, much which is current
in our day as Christianity is indebted for its very existence to the absence of
persecution. When the test of fiery trial comes, a great proportion of these
who profess the faith will show that their religion was hollow formalism....
The days in which we live are days of peril. Carelessness, levity, love
of pleasure and selfish gratification, are seen in the lives of very many
professed Christians. Is this the time for Seventh-day Adventists to lose
their faith and grow cold and formal? God forbid! Shall we turn traitor
at the very moment when God would be most glorified by our steadfast
adherence to principle? Shall we turn from the heavenly attractions now,
when we can almost see the glories on the other shore? We are living in
the most important period of earth’s history. By maintaining our allegiance
to God, we may bear the noblest testimony for Christ and the truth.
The true Christian will cling to the promises of God more firmly now
than ever before. His heart is where he has laid up his treasure—in heaven.
When right principles are despised and forsaken, then the true and loyal
will show their warmest zeal and deepest love; then they will stand most
firmly for truth, unpopular though it be....
The Lord is coming.... Let us be consistent; let our works correspond
with our profession of faith
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The Review and Herald, November 29, 1881
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