And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Matthew 24:37-39). Society today is fast approaching the condition of the world before the flood. As children grow up to youth, and youth to manhood and womanhood, they are becoming full of self-sufficiency, maturing rapidly in the knowledge of evil. Many, through constantly associating with thieves, with the depraved, dissolute, disobedient characters of society, learn to be cunning in avoiding detection, and become experts in deception and fraud. The youth of today are educated in crime by reading the stories which fill the popular publications. Having no regard for the right because it is right, as they read stories of theft, murder, and every other species of crime, they are led to devise means by which they could improve upon the criminals methods, and escape detection. Foul publications assist in perfecting the education of the youth in the way that leads to perdition. The youth of our cities breathe in the tainted, polluted atmosphere of crime; the evil influence is then communicated to the country, and the whole community becomes contaminated. Some of the rulers of the earth are not men of moral worth. They have no desire to check the publication of this foul literature which is increasing year by year, and which feeds the passion for crime and evil. Stories of criminal life such as are found in the papers of the day, and so-called revelations of the future, are treated as realities. Revolutions are predicted, and many catch the evil spirit lurking in these representations of future horrors; and they feed upon these things until they are filled with the same spirit, and are led to do even worse, were it possible, than these sensational writers depict. Christ saw the conflict that is approaching, and has sent us word to watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation. He has warned us that as it was in the days of Noeh, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. . . . Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. We are not warned against properly participating in business transactions, but against carrying to excess that which is lawful in itself, against allowing our minds to be so absorbed in earthly things that we shall not discern the important things that concern our eternal interest. We are warned against indulging perverted appetite, against surfeiting and drunkenness. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jude describes the condition of our world as we approach the close of earths history, and lifts the danger-signal, that we may understand the perils of our time. But even in the corrupt condition in which the society of today is, there are souls capable of better things,--souls represented by Christ under the symbol of the lost pearl. Christ gave up everything, that he might seek and save that which was lost, that he might recover the pearl that he valued at infinite cost. What are we ready to do to co-operate with him in this work? What sacrifice are we ready to make, that we may find the lost pearl, and place it in the hands of our Saviour? The cities are teeming with iniquity, and Satan suggests that it is impossible to do any good within their borders; and so they are sadly neglected. But there are lost pearls there, whose value you cannot realize until you earnestly seek to find them. There might be one hundred workers where there is but one, who might be seeking diligently, prayerfully, and with intense interest, to find the pearls that are buried in the rubbish of these cities. How can we find language to express our deep interest, to describe our desire that every soul should awake and go to work in the Masters vineyard? Christ says, Occupy till I come. (Luke 19:13). It may be but a few years until our lifes history shall close; but we must occupy till then. The fiat will go 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, (Revelation 22:11) and then there will be no more occasion to labor for souls. Every case will be decided. Are you carrying no burden for lost souls? Are you not afraid some trust has been committed unto you for which you will be held accountable? Are you sensible of the responsibility imposed by the talents entrusted to you? Have you misused your time, your strength, your influence? The despised privileges, the wasted hours, the neglected duties, are all registered in the books of heaven; and every individual must meet this record in the judgment, just as it stands. Now what are you going to do? Will you heed the admonition, Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die? (Revelation 3:2). But have you yoked up with Christ? are you laboring in his way? O, let it no longer be a source of grief to the heavenly intelligences and to Him who has paid such an infinite price for souls, that you refuse to be channels of light, that you refuse to co-operate with the heavenly agencies for the salvation of souls! But let us awake out of sleep, and put all our Yahuwah-given abilities into the work, that it may be written in the books that we are redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16). If we keep our talents inactive, we lose all ability to make use of them. The mind is a gift of God, designed to be improved and developed, that we may be able to enlighten others; but it may be perverted and misused in doing Satans work.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 12:47:16 +0000
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