Preparation
for what Lies Ahead
Seek
ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the
Lord's anger. Zeph. 2:3.
Transgression has almost reached its limit. Confusion fills the world, and
a great terror is soon to come upon human beings. The end is very near. God's
people should be preparing for what is to break upon the world as an overwhelming
surprise.
The "time
of trouble, such as never was," is soon to open upon us; and we shall
need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent
to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than
in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation
cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul
must stand for himself before God. "Though Noah, Daniel, and Job"
were in the land, "as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver
neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their
righteousness." Ezekiel 14:20.
The last
great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing
controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering--a
battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion
of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition. We should study the
great waymarks that point out the times in which we are living. . . .
We should now pray most earnestly that we may be prepared for the struggles
of the great day of God's preparation.
Those who
place themselves under God's control, to be led and guided by Him, will catch
the steady tread of the events ordained by Him to take place. Inspired with
the Spirit of Him who gave His life for the life of the world, they will no
longer stand still in impotency, pointing to what they cannot do. Putting
on the armor of heaven, they will go forth to the warfare, willing to do and
dare for God, knowing that His omnipotence will supply their need.
