unpopular truths plainly brought to view in the Scriptures , and in combating them they have adopted interpretations and taken positions which have sown broadcast the seeds of scepticism .
Clinging to the papal error of natural immortality and man ' s consciousness in death , they have rejected the only defense against the delusions of spiritualism . The doctrine of eternal torment has led many to disbelieve the Bible . And as the claims of the fourth commandment are urged upon the people , it is found that the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is enjoined ; and as the only way to free themselves from a duty which they are unwilling to perform , many popular teachers declare that the law of God is no longer binding . Thus they cast away the law and the Sabbath together . As the work of Sabbath reform extends , this rejection of the divine law to avoid the claims of the fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal . The teachings of religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity , to spiritualism , and to contempt for God ' s holy law ; and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists in the Christian world .
Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called " Christian sabbath ," and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society . This claim is especially urged in America , where the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been most widely preached . Here the temperance work , one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms , is often combined with the Sunday movement , and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as labouring to promote the highest interest of society ; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform . But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good , is not an argument in favour of the error . We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food , but we do not change its nature . On the contrary , it is rendered more dangerous , as it is more likely to be taken unawares . It is one of Satan ' s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility . The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need , principles which are in harmony with the Bible ; yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God ' s law , His servants cannot unite with them . Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men .
Through the two great errors , the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness , Satan will bring the people under his deceptions . While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism , the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome . The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism ; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power ; and under the influence of this threefold union , this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience .
As spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day , it has greater power to deceive and ensnare . Satan himself is converted , after the modern order of things . He will appear
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