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Counsels for the Church
the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the
Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been
wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye
have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”
James
5:3-6
.
But who reads the warnings given by the fast-fulfilling signs of the
times? What impression is made upon worldlings? What change is
seen in their attitude? No more than was seen in the attitude of the
inhabitants of the Noachian world. Absorbed in worldly business and
pleasure, the antediluvians “knew not until the Flood came, and took
them all away.”
Matthew 24:39
. They had heaven-sent warnings, but
they refused to listen. And today the world, utterly regardless of the
warning voice of God, is hurrying on to eternal ruin.
The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecy of the
eleventh chapter of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment.
Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place.
“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and
turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof....
Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, bro-
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ken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the
earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate.... The mirth of tabrets
ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp
ceaseth.”
Isaiah 24:1-8
.
“Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a
destruction from the Almighty shall it come....”
Joel 1:15
.
“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and
the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo,
they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there
was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and,
lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were
broken down.”
Jeremiah 4:23-26
.
“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the
time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”
Jeremiah 30:7
.
Not all in this world have taken sides with the enemy against God.
Not all have become disloyal. There are a faithful few who are true
to God; for John writes: “Here are they that keep the commandments
of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Revelation 14:12
. Soon the battle will
be waged fiercely between those who serve God and those who serve