disinherited and driven from home . The words of Paul will be literally fulfilled : " All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution ." 2 Timothy 3:12 . As the defenders of truth refuse to honour the Sunday-sabbath , some of them will be thrust into prison , some will be exiled , some will be treated as slaves . To human wisdom all this now seems impossible ; but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men , and they shall be under the control of Satan , who hates the divine precepts , there will be strange developments . The heart can be very cruel when God ' s fear and love are removed .
As the storm approaches , a large class who have professed faith in the third angel ' s message , but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth , abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition . By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit , they have come to view matters in nearly the same light ; and when the test is brought , they are prepared to choose the easy , popular side . Men of talent and pleasing address , who once rejoiced in the truth , employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls . They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren . When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith , these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them , and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them .
In this time of persecution the faith of the Lord ' s servants will be tried . They have faithfully given the warning , looking to God and to His word alone . God ' s Spirit , moving upon their hearts , has constrained them to speak . Stimulated with holy zeal , and with the divine impulse strong upon them , they entered upon the performance of their duties without coldly calculating the consequences of speaking to the people the word which the Lord had given them . They have not consulted their temporal interests , nor sought to preserve their reputation or their lives . Yet when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon them , some , overwhelmed with consternation , will be ready to exclaim : " Had we foreseen the consequences of our words , we would have held our peace ." They are hedged in with difficulties . Satan assails them with fierce temptations . The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to accomplish . They are threatened with destruction . The enthusiasm which animated them is gone ; yet they cannot turn back . Then , feeling their utter helplessness , they flee to the Mighty One for strength . They remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs , but His who bade them give the warning . God put the truth into their hearts , and they could not forbear to proclaim it .
The same trials have been experienced by men of God in ages past . Wycliffe , Huss , Luther , Tyndale , Baxter , Wesley , urged that all doctrines be brought to the test of the Bible and declared that they would renounce everything which it condemned . Against these men persecution raged with relentless fury ; yet they ceased not to declare the truth . Different periods in the history of the church have each been marked by the development of some special truth , adapted to the necessities of God ' s people at that time . Every new truth has made its way against hatred and opposition ; those
384