18
Darkness Before Dawn
desires. Too wise in their own conceit to search the Scriptures with
contrition of soul and earnest prayer for divine guidance, they have
no shield from delusion. Satan is ready to supply the heart’s desire,
and he palms off his deceptions in the place of truth. It was thus that
the papacy gained its power over the minds of men; and by rejection
of the truth because it involves a cross, Protestants are following the
same path. All who neglect the word of God to study convenience and
policy, that they may not be at variance with the world, will be left to
receive damnable heresy for religious truth. Every conceivable form
of error will be accepted by those who willfully reject the truth. He
who looks with horror upon one deception will readily receive another.
The apostle Paul, speaking of a class who “received not the love of
the truth, that they might be saved,” declares: “For this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that
they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure
in unrighteousness.”
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
. With such a warning
before us it behooves us to be on our guard as to what doctrines we
receive.
Among the most successful agencies of the great deceiver are
the delusive teachings and lying wonders of spiritualism. Disguised
as an angel of light, he spreads his nets where least suspected. If
men would but study the Book of God with earnest prayer that they
[10]
might understand it, they would not be left in darkness to receive false
doctrines. But as they reject the truth they fall a prey to deception.
The Nature of Jesus Christ
Another dangerous error is the doctrine that denies the deity of
Christ, claiming that He had no existence before His advent to this
world. This theory is received with favor by a large class who profess
to believe the Bible; yet it directly contradicts the plainest statements
of our Saviour concerning His relationship with the Father, His divine
character, and His pre-existence. It cannot be entertained without
the most unwarranted wresting of the Scriptures. It not only lowers
man’s conceptions of the work of redemption, but undermines faith
in the Bible as a revelation from God. While this renders it the more
dangerous, it makes it also harder to meet. If men reject the testimony
of the inspired Scriptures concerning the deity of Christ, it is in vain to