124 Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists
before governors and kings for my sake.” “Ye shall be hated of all men
for my name’s sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another.” “The
disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord.”
Such is the treatment which the servants of Christ receive because
they teach truths that are not in harmony with the doctrines of a world-
loving church. And have not some of our brethren, even in this place,
felt the force of these words of Christ? Have they not met, in the priests
of the church, the same spirit that Christ encountered in the Pharisees?
They have been forbidden to preach the truth. They have been brought
before councils, and scourged in the synagogues, subjected to the
stripes of reproach and falsehood, presented to the people as heretics,
men not fit to be at large. The church authorities, like the chief priests
and scribes of the Jews, have brought them to Pilate, to pronounce
sentence against them, and have caused them to be thrust into prison.
But all this is only a small matter in comparison with what is to be.
The most bitter and cruel persecution always comes from those who
have the form of religion without the spirit and power of godliness.
There is nothing at which religious prejudice will hesitate.
That which especially excites the enmity of the world in our day is
the presentation of the claims of the fourth commandment. And this is
the special work for the people of God at this time. The prophet John,
looking down to the last days, saw that the temple of God was open
in heaven, and the ark of his testament was seen. That ark contains
God’s holy law, and John sees a people whose eyes are directed to
the temple; their attention is fixed upon the law contained in the ark.
“Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus.” Heaven is watching this work with the deepest interest. Angels
are watching the development of character, and are weighing moral
worth. They are bidden to place a mark upon those who are loyal to
God’s commandments; such will have special help from God to endure
the test and proving of the time of trouble.
If we are seeking earnestly for the truth, we shall find it. The
Saviour’s promise is, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of
the doctrine.” “The entrance of Thy words giveth light;” and we shall
know, “if we follow on to know the Lord, his going forth is prepared
as the morning.” As the sun, rising higher and higher in the heavens,
sends forth its rays with ever-increasing brightness to the noontide