At Oswego, New York, September 7, 1850, the Lord showed me that
a great work must be done for His people before they could stand
in the battle in the day of the Lord. I was pointed to those who
claim to be Adventists, but who reject the present truth, and
saw that they were crumbling and that the hand of the Lord was
in their midst to divide and scatter them now in the gathering
time, so that the precious jewels among them, who have formerly
been deceived, may have their eyes opened to see their true state.
And now when the truth is presented to them by the Lord's messengers,
they are prepared to listen, and see its beauty and harmony, and
to leave their former associates and errors, embrace the precious
truth and stand where they can define their position.
I saw that those who oppose the Sabbath of the Lord could not
take the Bible and show that our position is incorrect; therefore
they would slander those who believe and teach the truth and would
attack their characters. Many who were once conscientious and
loved God and His Word have become so hardened by rejecting the
light of truth that they do not hesitate to wickedly misrepresent
and falsely accuse those who love the holy Sabbath, if by so doing
they can injure the influence of those who fearlessly declare
the truth. But these things will not hinder the work of God. In
fact, this course pursued by those who hate the truth will be
the very means of opening the eyes of some. Every jewel will be
brought out and gathered, for the hand of the Lord is set to recover
the remnant of His people, and He will accomplish the work gloriously.
We who believe the truth should be very careful to give no occasion
for our good to be evil spoken of. We should know that every step
we take is in accordance with the Bible; for those who hate the
commandments of God will triumph over our missteps and faults,
as the wicked did in 1843.
May 14, 1851, I saw the beauty and loveliness of Jesus. As I beheld
His glory, the thought did not occur to me that I should ever
be separated from His presence. I saw a light coming from the
glory that encircled the Father, and as it approached near to
me, my body trembled and shook like a leaf. I thought that if
it should come near me I would be struck out of existence, but
the light passed me. Then could I have some sense of the great
and terrible God with whom we have to do. I saw then what faint
views some have of the holiness of God, and how much they take
His holy and reverend name in vain, without realizing that it
is God, the great and terrible God, of whom they are speaking.
While praying, many use careless and irreverent expressions, which
grieve the tender Spirit of the Lord and cause their petitions
to be shut out of heaven.
I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order
to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the
sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal
of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must
reflect the image of Jesus fully.
I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and
were looking to the time of "refreshing" and the "latter
rain" to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to
live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without
a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore
they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit
them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be
hewed by the prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying
the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition
is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the
falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed
and squared for the building. But there will be no time then to
do it and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father.
Before this time the awfully solemn declaration has gone forth,
"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which
is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous,
let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy
still." I saw that none could share the "refreshing"
unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride,
selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and
action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to
the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to
enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all
remember that God is holy and that none but holy beings can ever
dwell in His presence.