"The Light Is Shining Now"
Soon after arriving in Australia in early 1892, Ellen White would write to S. N. Haskell one of the most ardent letters she had yet written on the implications of the most precious message of righteousness by faith sent to God's people. After considering all that was taking place in the world and in the church, which pointed to a culmination of last-day events, she expressed her desire for an enlightened and empowered people from the light of Revelation 18 which was then shining:
My heart is yearning for the people of God to awaken and see how the work has been hindered even in this country, by want of brotherly love. Envy and jealousy and self-uplifting will drive Jesus from the heart I want them to realize that they are on trial; God is proving them to see if they can become members of His family in Heaven...
What more can I say? My heart is filled to overflowing. Only those are fit for this work who are imbued with the Holy Spirit. The light has come; the light which will enlighten the whole earth with its bright rays, has been shining from the throne of God. Shall we fail to appreciate the most precious privileges that are brought within our reach? Shall we go on in our own weakness? Shall we walk in the sparks of our own kindling? The Lord means that these privileges and opportunities shall do a special work for us. Will we walk in the light? Will we let this light flash upon the pathway of others? How long will we disappoint Jesus by a cold, half hearted life destitute of love? Must the candlestick be removed out of its place? Christ declares that it will be unless we 'repent and do our first work'...
Oh, that the Lord would convict and convert souls, that the light now shining may not be removed from us because we do not walk in the light and lead others out of darkness. I feel intensely over this deadness and frivolity of God's people. I beg of them, rest not until their souls shall be all aglow with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Those who make no use of the light which they have will not only fail to receive greater light, but they will lose that which now shines upon them. Like Capernaum they have been exalted to heaven in point of privileges; unless they respond to the light they will be left in complete darkness, and will not know at what they stumble.
I tell you God is testing us now, just now. The whole earth is to be lighted with the glory of God. The light is shining now, and how hard it is for proud hearts to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour; how hard to get out of the rut of legal religion; how hard to grasp the rich, free gift of Christ.
Those who have not accepted this offering will not understand anything of the light which fills the whole earth with its glory. Let every heart now seek the Lord. Let self be crucified, for rich and glorious blessings are waiting all who will maintain contrition of soul. With them Jesus can abide." [1]*
No less than seven times in this single letter Ellen White used present-tense language indicating that the loud cry message of Revelation 18 had already begun, and this could only be possible through the special endowment of the Holy Spirit. Writing only a few weeks later to S. N. Haskell, Ellen White continued this same theme:
Will the church arise and put on her beautiful garments, the righteousness of Christ? Soon it is to be seen who are the vessels unto honor. 'After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory [Rev. 18:1, 2]' '... But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall [Malachi 4:1, 2].' Here are brought plainly to view those who will be vessels unto honor; for they will receive the latter rain. Every soul who in the light now shining upon our pathway continues in sin will be blinded, and will accept the delusions that come from Satan. We are now nearing the close of this earth's history....
Those who have not accepted this offering will not understand anything of the light which fills the whole earth with its glory. Let every heart now seek the Lord. Let self be crucified, for rich and glorious blessings are waiting all who will maintain contrition of soul. With them Jesus can abide. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church is looked forward to, as in the future; but it is the privilege of the church to have it now. Seek for it, pray for it, believe for it. We must have it, and Heaven is waiting to bestow it. [2]
Following Ellen White's admonition to Haskell--that these thoughts were shared with him that he might "present it to others" [3]--he wrote a six-part series for the Review titled: "Watchman, What of the Night?" In these articles Haskell quoted largely from Ellen White's recent letters to him, which called the attention of his readers to the events taking place in the world, evidences of heaven's outpouring of light and the Spirit of God, and the beginning of the loud cry.
In his first article Haskell summarized "three events that would stand in immediate connection with the coming of Christ," which Seventh-day Adventists had looked forward to for more than forty years. The first was "the spreading of the truth in all the nations of the earth as a witness." The second was "the loud cry of the third angel's message ... clothing the word of God with special power," which would fulfill the prophecy of Revelation 18:1. Third, "a time would come when persecution would begin" in the United States because commandment keepers "would not worship the beast or his image." Haskell then asked the question: "Have we any indication that these events are now transpiring?" [4] He would answer that question over the next several articles published in the weeks to come.
In his second article Haskell covered the spreading of the third angel's message primarily through the publishing and canvassing work. [5] In his third article Haskell took up his second point covering the loud cry and the latter rain. He pointed out that the prophecy of Revelation 18:1 "refers to special light and power to attend this proclamation in its closing work; and as this light would come upon the people, success would be given to the preaching of the message, so that its closing work would be accomplished in a brief period of time." But rather than come "like a mighty, rushing wind, as on the day of Pentecost, and by some special miraculous interference of God's providence," men and women had a duty themselves in obtaining "an experience in the things of God that will fit them to receive the outpouring of his Holy Spirit." Just as the disciples had to be "enlightened as to the nature of the work" and have their hearts "in a condition to receive the Spirit of God," so it was with the remnant church. Haskell showed that the then-current message coming to the church was meant to accomplish this very work, and based on Ellen White's recent letters to him, which he quoted largely from, they were a sign of the beginning of the loud cry and the time of the latter rain:
The first movement necessary to fit the people to receive the outpouring of the Spirit of God is to realize that Christ is our personal Saviour, to make to ourselves a personal application of his promises, and to realize that the testimonies of inspiration are addressed to us personally; and in thus making a personal application of the promises of God, we are bringing Christ into the heart, which will fit us to take a part in the closing work; consequently, when our attention is more particularly turned to this phase of the work, and a personal application of the promises is made, it is really the beginning of the loud cry of the third angel's message. In a late testimony from sister White, she says:
"What more can I say? My heart is filled to overflowing. Only those are fit for this work who are imbued with the Holy Spirit. The light has come; the light which will enlighten the whole earth with its bright rays, has been shining from the throne of God.... I tell you God is testing us now, just now. The whole earth is to be lighted with the glory of God. The light is shilling now, and how hard it is for proud hearts to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour; how hard to get out of the rut of legal religion; how hard to grasp the rich, free gift of Christ!..." [6]
It is evident, therefore, that none but those who experience this incoming of the Saviour into their hearts will be in a condition to receive and take part in the loud cry which is to be given in the immediate future. This is really the beginning of it, and is not this now taking place? Has not our attention been called more especially to this part of the work? It does not lessen the importance of any of the points of the truth which have been preached for the last fifty years, but it gives to the individual a living experience and vitality in the truth that has not been experienced by many in the past. Our experience has become too legal and formal. There has been altogether too much of the Pharisaical spirit and too little of the tender, melting Spirit of Christ. Self-righteousness has been too prominent. We therefore conclude that even in this, evidences are not wanting that we have reached the beginning of the loud cry of the third angel's message. Is there no limit to the time of the closing work? Do we not read that the work will be cut short in righteousness?... Who cannot discern even in this movement of especially calling the attention of our people to Christ as a personal Saviour, imparting present salvation, the "sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees"? if so, should we not "ask of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain"? which, if we do, he has promised to "make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field." Zech. 10:1. Has not the time come for this?--We verily believe it has. [7]
Haskell continued his series, covering America's reversion to the persecuting ways of Romanism thus setting up an image to the beast, [8] and a review of the three angels' messages in the history of Adventism. [9] His series ended with a summary of the third angel's message, showing that the world was on the very verge of the Second Coming. He confidently proclaimed that the "mighty angel has come down from heaven, and the light has begun to shine which will enlighten the earth with the glory of God." With such awesome realities in mind, Haskell declared: "It is now high time that the watchman should lift his warning voice, and give the trumpet a certain sound, that the people may prepare for the final conflict." [10]
Camp-meeting Revivals
Such solemn thoughts could not help but make their way into the camp-meetings and conference meetings throughout the summer. Writing of their 1892 camp-meeting experiences, many church leaders and members ex-pressed thoughts of gratitude for the blessings that God was showering upon them. O. A. Olsen, W. W. Prescott, A. T. Jones, and others were cheered by what they were seeing in the camp-meetings that season: "We see very plain evidence that the message is rising. While we are glad for what we have seen of the Lord's working among his people, we are sure that it is our privilege to experience even more copious showers of divine grace." [11]
Following the Wichita, Kansas, camp-meeting in August, O. S. Ferren reported that "the power of God was manifested" and that "almost the entire congregation rejoiced that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." The praise meetings that followed led him to believe that truly "a shower of the latter rain fell upon us." [12]
O. J. Mason praised the Lord after the September camp-meeting in southern Illinois. As they were favored by the preaching of J. N. Loughborough and A. T. Jones, "many doubting, discouraged ones began to grasp the promises of God, and they began to realize that they are accepted in the Beloved." Seventeen were baptized following the camp-meeting, which led Mason to "praise the Lord for these droppings of the 'latter rain' which we have enjoyed, and expect more copious showers, as our faith grasps his promises more fully." [13]
The Michigan camp-meeting at Lansing was "such a one as has never before been witnessed by Seventh-day Adventists." Not only was it the largest gathering and the greatest number encamped on the ground, "but in many other features." J. N. Loughborough reported that the "mighty power of the Lord was there in a more marked degree than I have ever seen since the time I attended the advent meetings in 1843-44." They felt "truly that the 'times of refreshing' were beginning to 'come from the presence of the Lord," and that we were having a few drops of the latter rain." [14] Some of the other "old hands like Bro. Gurney and Bro. Whipple and others said that this was more like 1844 than anything they had seen since that time." [15]
Mrs. Peebles wrote poetically of her experience at the same camp-meeting: "With wonder we look about us, glad to see the same joy shilling from the countenances of others, that we feel in our own hearts, and we say to ourselves. What can it be? Is it a little shower of the latter rain, a little foretaste of the refreshing that is soon to come from the presence of the Lord? And we wonder if there has been a meeting like this since the Pentecost, and try to think what God has still in store for his people." [16]
But what was it that brought forth such descriptions from those who attended the camp-meeting? M. E. Kellogg gives us some insight. The preaching of O. A. Olsen, A. T. Jones, W. W. Prescott, J. O. Corliss, and others "was not done to please the ear or to exalt self, but to hold up Jesus Christ before the people, and to declare His gospel which is the 'power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.'" The rapid fulfilling of prophecy, and the duty in view of the "solemnity of this time was faithfully presented." But there was something else which moved the people along in their experience: "While this was the case all through the meeting, especially on the Sabbath, there was great searching of heart. From half-past tell in the morning, the meeting continued five hours, without intermission. The first part of the time was occupied by a discourse by Elder Olsen; then an invitation was given for those to come forward who wished to seek the Lord anew. Hundreds responded to the invitation. Ministers and people came forward together; confessions were made, and tears of humble penitence and of holy joy were mingled together." [17]
O. A. Olsen described the Sabbath meeting by saying that "when an opportunity was given to sinners, backsliders, and all who wished to seek God anew, to come forward to the front seats, about six hundred responded. The power of God rested upon the congregation. Excellent confessions were made. It did seem to me that we had at this meeting some of the droppings of the latter rain." [18] Olson acknowledged that he had never been "in a meeting where the power of God was so manifest, yet" he exclaimed, "there was no excitement." Among those who came forward in this "long to be remembered" meeting were "several ministers." [19]
One of the most prominent ministers to come forward and make confession was H. Miller, who had played a notice able part in the dissension and unbelief following the Minneapolis meetings. Olsen described to Ellen White what happened: "First he spoke a while, and made some acknowledgements, and was quite broken; but it was evident that he did not reach the point. We were glad for this of course. He took his seat; but he had been there only a moment of time until he got up again, and said that he was not free. Then he took up the testimony that you gave him ... and he acknowledged it." [20] Ellen White had sent two Testimonies to Miller three years earlier, confronting him with the rejection of heaven-sent light at Minneapolis and declaring that because of his Pharisaism, had he lived in the time of Christ he would have joined those in rejecting Him. [21] She had told him that "those who accept the message given, will heed the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans." [22] Now Brother Miller acknowledged it all.
But this was not the end of his confession. Now, in front of nearly 3,000 people, Adventists and visitors alike, Miller turned and "spoke to Bro. Jones and acknowledged the feelings that he had toward him. He was very much broken. He said that his great trouble was Miller. By the grace of God, he would get Miller out, and get Christ in." Such a confession, Olsen declared, "had a wonderful effect upon the congregation.... It rejoiced us all to hear this. I must say that I have never seen a Miller so broken before.... But Sr. White, the Spirit of God is at work, and the Lord's power is mighty." [23]
O. A. Olsen went on to describe to Ellen White how A. T. Jones had spoken twice on both Sundays, "setting forth the present situation, and the present developments. I do not know how to describe it only to say the Power of God was upon him; and again, this expression. He spake as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
Nearly 2,000 people attended the closing meeting held Sunday evening, October 2. Olsen stated he had "never attended such a meeting before, and never before saw such manifestations of the Lord's power." Yet, once again he declared that "there was no excitement."[24] As with earlier meetings, the closing meeting ended with a time for attendees to share their personal testimonies of praise. The congregation "just rose up en masse all over the tent and began to speak." Olsen requested the ministers that were present to go out in the congregation "and receive the testimonies, and so they did, and the result was that there were probably fifteen or twenty speaking at the same time. And while this might appear like confusion, yet there was no confusion there, but the spirit of praise was heard all over the tent as one voice."[25]
M. E. Kellogg shared his eyewitness account as well: "The farewell praise-meeting held Sunday evening after the close of the preaching service, was unlike anything we ever saw before. The great pavilion was filled with brethren and sisters, and nearly every one was full of praise to God. The ministers scattered through the congregation, and for about an hour and a half the speaking was continuous, many being upon their feet speaking at the same time, the only interruption being a verse of sacred song, which would for a moment blend all voices and hearts together. It was good to be there, and Elder Loughborough said that he had seen nothing like it since 1844." [26]
But while Olsen could rejoice about the results of the Lansing camp-meeting among the people, there was still a heavy burden on his heart-his burden for the ministry. Writing to Ellen White halfway through the meetings, Olsen described the situation: "As far as the people are concerned, they are doing all I could ask for in a general way. They are receiving the word with all cheerfulness. There is not the least opposition in any way. That which burdens me is the condition of the ministry. I feel greatly burdened for the fact is that the people are away in advance of the ministry."[27] Olsen's assessment was the same when the meetings came to a close: "My greatest anxiety is the ministry. The people are going ahead of the ministers in many instances." Prominent among those whom Olsen was concerned about was Uriah Smith, who although he lived close by, had "not been present at the meeting at all." [28]
Olsen shared similar thoughts with S. N. Haskell: "That which burdens me the most is that here are some of the leading brethren, especially these at Battle Creek that are not receiving the benefits the Lord would have them receive from the outpouring of His Spirit at present. How I wish that Elder Smith and many others were here to take in this good camp-meeting."[29] Unfortunately, it was many of these same prominent leaders who had chosen not to attend, who would later decide the revivals of 1892 and 1893 were nothing but the results of excitement, extremism, and fanaticism. [30]*
The Loud Cry and the Righteousness of Christ
Preaching to the many church members at the heart of the work in Battle Creek in late October, O. A. Olsen rejoiced for the "seasons of great refreshing" from the summer's meetings, and sought to inspire his hearers with the thought that the loud cry had begun: "We have long been talking about the loud cry of the third angel's message.... Well, has the time come for that loud voice to be heard? Has the time come when that warning should be given with earnestness and power?--It certainly has.... Then don't be looking forward to it any longer; don't be expecting it at some place away off; realize that it is here, and that it means something."[31]
Others expressed the same earnestness for the work to be done and confidence that the loud cry had begun. Brother P. L. Hill, writing from New Zealand on October 16, 1892, acknowledged that "the development which this work has assumed now impresses me that we are in the loud cry or just entering it." [32] A. P. Heacock, writing from the south in early November, where the work moved slowly, rejoiced "that God by his Spirit has been with us, and that even here we have been permitted to feel and see some of the droppings of the latter rain." [33] Being blessed by the preaching of A. T. Jones during the summer camp-meetings, W. A. Colcord, secretary of the General Conference, believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the loud cry had already begun. [34]
Finally, in late November, a two-part article from Ellen White was published in the Review on the perils and privileges of the last days. Here, amidst warnings of Satan's attempts to squelch Bible truth and its practice, Ellen White confirmed the beginning of the loud cry and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit:
The days in which we live are eventful and full of peril.... Let everyone who claims to believe that the Lord is soon coming, search the Scriptures as never before; for Satan is determined to try every device possible to keep souls in darkness, and blind the mind to the perils of the times in which we are living.... The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth.
For it is the work of every one to whom the message of warning has come, to lift up Jesus, to present him to the world as revealed in types, as shadowed in symbols, as manifested in the revelations of the prophets, as unveiled in the lessons given to his disciples and in the wonderful miracles wrought for the sons of men. Search the Scriptures; for they are they that testify of him.
If you would stand through the time of trouble, you must know Christ, and appropriate the gift of his righteousness, which he imputes to the repentant sinner. [35]
One may be able to quote from the Old and the New Testament, may be familiar with the commands and promises of the word of God; but unless the holy Spirit sends the truth home to the heart, enlightening the mind with divine light, no soul falls upon the Rock and is broken; for it is the divine agency that connects the soul with God. Without the enlightenment of the Spirit of God, we shall not be able to discern truth from error, and shall fall under the masterful temptations and deceptions that Satan will bring upon the world....
But though the prince of darkness will work to cover the earth with darkness, and with gross darkness the people, the Lord will manifest his converting power. A work is to be accomplished in the earth similar to that which took place at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the days of the early disciples, when they preached Jesus and him crucified. Many will be converted in a day; for the message will go with power....
The work of the Holy Spirit is immeasurably great. It is from this source that power and efficiency come to the worker for God; and the Holy Spirit is the comforter, as the personal presence of Christ to the soul. He who looks to Christ in simple, childlike faith, is made a partaker of the divine nature through the agency of the Holy Spirit. When led by the Spirit of God, the Christian may know that he is made complete in him who is the head of all things. As Christ was glorified on the day of Pentecost, so will he again be glorified in the closing work of the gospel, when he shall prepare a people to stand the final test, in the closing conflict of the great controversy....
Thus it was in the time of the early rain; but the latter rain will be more abundant. The Saviour of men will be glorified, and the earth will be lightened with the bright shining of the beams of his righteousness. He is the fountain of light, and light from the gates ajar has been shining upon the people of God, that they may lift him up in his glorious character before those who sit in darkness....
O that we as a people might humble our hearts before God, and plead with him for the endowment of the holy Spirit! If we came to the Lord in humility and contrition of soul, he would answer our petitions; for he says that he is more willing to give us the holy Spirit than are parents to give good gifts to their children. [36]
Writing in response to Ellen White's declaration, O. A Tait reported on the mounting conviction of the great work to be done during the loud cry under the outpouring of the Holy Spirit: "The impression seems to rest upon the brethren present with a great deal of force, that we have reached an important crisis in the history of the message, and that every individual that is now connected with Christ will feel a burden to labor for souls.... The message is rising, brethren and sisters, and the last week's Review informs us in no uncertain language that the 'loud cry' is already begun. We are told, also, in recent testimonies, that the Holy Spirit 'awaits our demand and reception.' Who cannot see that the latter rain is about to be poured out upon us in great measure? Are we ready to receive it?" [37]
O. A. Tait not only referred to Ellen White's recent Review article, which stated that the loud cry had already begun, but he also referred to "recent testimonies" which specified that the Holy Spirit "awaits our demand and reception." Tait was obviously referring to a recent pamphlet compiled by O. A. Olsen in which several heretofore unpublished statements from Ellen White were quoted. Under the heading of "The Power of the Holy Spirit Awaits Our Demand and Reception," the following Testimony was quoted:
Just prior to his leaving his disciples for the heavenly courts, Jesus encouraged them with the promise of the Holy Spirit. This promise belongs as much to us as it did to them, and yet how rarely it is presented before the people, and its reception spoken of in the church.... This subject has been set aside, as if some time in the future would be given to its consideration. Other blessings and privileges have been presented before the people until a desire has been awakened in the church for the attainment of the blessing promised of God; but the impression concerning the Holy Spirit has been that this gift is not for the church now, but that at some time in the future it would be necessary for the church to receive it. This promised blessing, if claimed by faith, would bring all other blessings in its train, and it is to be given liberally to the people of God....
The church has long been contented with little of the blessing of God; they have not felt the need of reaching up to the exalted privileges purchased for them at infinite cost.... The power of God awaits their demand and reception. [38]*
The fact that Adventist believed generally that the loud cry was the immediate effect of the latter rain would naturally lead them to believe that if the loud cry had begun the inseparable latter rain must also have begun as well. But like the rising sun, the beginning is not to be compared with the full measure, and thus the counsel to seek for the full outpouring.
Based on Bible study, historical research, Ellen White's testimonies over the previous four years, accelerating world events during the same time period, and the same growing conviction as many of his brethren, A. T. Jones had arrived at the same conclusions. Following Ellen White's November 22 Review article, which confirmed that which they already suspected, Jones preached "two stirring and profitable discourses" to an overflow audience in the Battle Creek Tabernacle. "The first was on the 'Latter rain' (Zech. 10:1), showing that, as 'the loud cry of the third angel has already begun,' as stated by sister White in her article in last week's Review, so it is 'the time of the latter rain,' and it is now the duty and privilege of the church to ask of the Lord rain in this time, and he will make bright clouds, and pour down copious showers of spiritual blessings, which he is waiting to shed upon his people. The second discourse was upon 'The Righteousness of Christ,' which the Christian secures by faith in him." [39]
Just as the Bible, Spirit of Prophecy, and other Adventist pioneers had taught, the loud cry and latter rain were inseparably connected, and Jones presented them correctly together with the message of righteousness by faith. [40]*
One day after her November 22 article was published in the Review, Ellen White wrote the most earnest letter to President O. A. Olsen, primarily in regard to the ministry. The illustration of the ten virgins was an appropriate symbol for that time, she stated: "Five of them were wise, five of them were foolish. The grand, life-giving truth of the Bible, if practiced, would make men wise unto salvation; but the acceptancy of the Holy Spirit is not felt to be a positive necessity." Many in the ministry had enjoyed the privilege of the Ministerial Institutes over the past few years, yet they had not absorbed the truth and could not therefore give the truth to others: "Some speak in commendation, as though it were a horse or a cow they were inspecting with a view to purchasing, if the terms suited them. The truth needs to be brought into their very life experience, the Holy Spirit to be an abiding power in the life, sanctifying the soul day by day, and preparing, moulding, and fashioning the character after the divine model." Men were satisfied with their own citizens' garments instead of "robe of Christ's righteousness, a free gift made to all," and by such action they could not have offended Jesus in any more of a marked a manner:
But it is essential that the great and grand truth,--the imparting of the Holy Spirit, should be brought into contact with, and impregnate little things, and supply the powerful motive to holiness, and lay out in clear lines, broad principles for the regulation of the character and conduct of every day, revealing Christ to the world.... Unless the Holy Spirit is with the worker, his efforts are without avail. Why! Have we not had the most ennobling, elevating truths? What more can we have than that we have had? And they are presented to us in the simplest form, that the ignorant and unlearned may grasp them....
The forgiveness of sins and iniquities and transgressions, belongs in a special sense to this time. We are in the anti-typical day of atonement, and every soul should now be humbling himself before God, seeking pardon for his transgressions and sins, and accepting the justifying grace of Christ, the sanctifying of the soul by the operations of the Holy Spirit of Christ;... Oh, what truths we have--full of power, and it is not possible to controvert these Bible doctrines. There is no truth in heaven or in earth that would affect some characters, although it might be presented in all power and matchless purity and loveliness, because the heart does not love the practice of these holy sentiments. The truth we have set before us for the past few years, is immense in its importance, reaching into heaven and compassing eternity. [41]* Satan and his confederacy of evil have made every effort to cover up, to confuse minds, to make of none effect the precious, glorious truths of God's word. We are living in strangely solemn times, and at the very time when the people of God should be wide awake, and many are asleep or dead spiritually....
We are now on the very borders of the heavenly Canaan. You know how it was with ancient Israel. Satan, through his agents, worked with his temptations, and licentiousness came into the camp in a very bold defiant attitude. The very harshest punishments alone could stop the bold advance of impurity and crime. Well, we are now on the borders of the heavenly Canaan, and those who are not now with all the advantages, all the light and evidences of truth shining upon us as a people, purifying their souls by living up to these advantages, are like the inhabitants of Sodom and the antediluvian world, walking in the imaginations of their own hearts. What guilt rests upon those who make this choice!...
O, why do they delay? Why not lay hold now, without one moment's delay? Why are they not seized by a terrific fear that it will be too late for them,--too late, no oil in their vessels with their lamps!... The end is near. We are on the very borders of the eternal world, and O, how tardy, how dilatory to secure the oil of grace to replenish the lamps that are going out! God help the sinners in Zion. [42]
Consequently, while the loud cry had begun as the result of the outpouring of the beginning of the latter rain, Satan was seeking to turn away God's people from the boarders of Canaan. His most effective means was through some in the ministry. But once again God would seek every possible means to reach His people.
Notes: