37 . The Only Safeguard
" To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word , it is because there is no light in them ." Isaiah 8:20 . The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness . Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible ; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions . At every revival of God ' s work the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity ; he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers . The last great delusion is soon to open before us . Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight . So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures . By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested .
Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided . They can stand only in God . In order to endure the trial before them , they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word ; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character , government , and purposes , and act in accordance with them . None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict . To every soul will come the searching test : Shall I obey God rather than men ? The decisive hour is even now at hand . Are our feet planted on the rock of God ' s immutable word ? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus ?
Before His crucifixion the Saviour explained to His disciples that He was to be put to death and to rise again from the tomb , and angels were present to impress His words on minds and hearts . But the disciples were looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke , and they could not tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes centered should suffer an ignominious death . The words which they needed to remember were banished from their minds ; and when the time of trial came , it found them unprepared . The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them . So in the prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by the words of Christ . The events connected with the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble , are clearly presented .
But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had never been revealed . Satan watches to catch away every impression that would make them wise unto salvation , and the time of trouble will find them unready . When God sends to men warnings so important that they are represented as proclaimed by holy angels flying in the
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