sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions . We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils . Just before us is " the hour of temptation , which shall come upon all the world , to try them that dwell upon the earth ." Revelation 3:10 .
All whose faith is not firmly established upon the word of God will be deceived and overcome . Satan " works with all deceivableness of unrighteousness " to gain control of the children of men , and his deceptions will continually increase . But he can gain his object only as men voluntarily yield to his temptations . Those who are earnestly seeking a knowledge of the truth and are striving to purify their souls through obedience , thus doing what they can to prepare for the conflict , will find , in the God of truth , a sure defense . " Because thou hast kept the word of My patience , I also will keep thee " ( verse 10 ), is the Saviour ' s promise . He would sooner send every angel out of heaven to protect His people than leave one soul that trusts in Him to be overcome by Satan .
The prophet Isaiah brings to view the fearful deception which will come upon the wicked , causing them to count themselves secure from the judgments of God : " We have made a covenant with death , and with hell are we at agreement ; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through , it shall not come unto us : for we have made lies our refuge , and under falsehood have we hid ourselves ." Isaiah 28:15 . In the class here described are included those who in their stubborn impenitence comfort themselves with the assurance that there is to be no punishment for the sinner ; that all mankind , it matters not how corrupt , are to be exalted to heaven , to become as the angels of God . But still more emphatically are those making a covenant with death and an agreement with hell , who renounce the truths which Heaven has provided as a defense for the righteous in the day of trouble , and accept the refuge of lies offered by Satan in its stead--the delusive pretensions of spiritualism .
Marvelous beyond expression is the blindness of the people of this generation . Thousands reject the word of God as unworthy of belief and with eager confidence receive the deceptions of Satan . Skeptics and scoffers denounce the bigotry of those who contend for the faith of prophets and apostles , and they divert themselves by holding up to ridicule the solemn declarations of the Scriptures concerning Christ and the plan of salvation , and the retribution to be visited upon the rejecters of the truth . They affect great pity for minds so narrow , weak , and superstitious as to acknowledge the claims of God and obey the requirements of His law . They manifest as much assurance as if , indeed , they had made a covenant with death and an agreement with hell-- as if they had erected an impassable , impenetrable barrier between themselves and the vengeance of God . Nothing can arouse their fears . So fully have they
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