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Elijah and the Modern Church, October 11
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Malachi 4:5,
6
.
The closing words of Malachi are a prophecy regarding the work
that should be done preparatory to the first and the second advent of
Christ.
Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ
are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to
prepare the way for Christ’s first advent.
Our message must be as direct as was that of John. He rebuked kings
for their iniquity. Notwithstanding the peril his life was in, he never
allowed truth to languish on his lips....
In this time of well-nigh universal apostasy, God calls upon His
messengers to proclaim His law in the spirit and power of Elias. As
John the Baptist, in preparing a people for Christ’s first advent, called
their attention to the Ten Commandments, so we are to give, with no
uncertain sound, the message: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the
hour of his judgment is come.” With the earnestness that characterized
Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist, we are to strive to prepare the
way for Christ’s second advent.
The hour of God’s judgment has come, and upon the members of
His church on earth rests the solemn responsibility of giving warning to
those who are standing as it were on the very brink of eternal ruin.
All can do something in the work. None will be pronounced guiltless
before God unless they have worked earnestly and unselfishly for the
salvation of souls.
Your duty cannot be shifted upon another. No one but yourself can
do your work. If you withhold your light, someone must be left in
darkness through your neglect.
The Lord has a place for everyone in His great plan.
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