Latter Rain

"The more simple the education of our workers, the less connection they have with the men whom God is not leading, the more will be accomplished. Work will be done in the simplicity of true godliness, and the old, old times will be back when, under the Holy Spirit's guidance, thousands were converted in a day. When the truth in its simplicity is lived in every place, then God will work through His angels as He worked on the day of Pentecost, and hearts will be changed so decidedly that there will be a manifestation of the influence of genuine truth, as is represented in the descent of the Holy Spirit."

"The most of those who compose our congregations are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins....The sweetest melodies that come from God through human lips--justification by faith, and the righteousness of Christ--do not bring forth from them a response of love and gratitude. Though the heavenly Merchantman displays before them the richest jewels of faith and love, though His voice invites them to buy of Him `gold tried in the fire,' and `white raiment that they may be clothed,' and `eyesalve that they may see,' they steel their hearts against Him, and fail to exchange their lukewarmness for love and zeal; but fold their hands in complacency, make a profession, but deny the power of true godliness. (see 2 Tim 3:5)....

"When professed Christians feel no burden to enlighten the minds of those who are in darkness; when they fail to make use of the rich grace of Christ, and cease to impart the knowledge they have received, they become selfish, narrow, bigoted, and their capacity to receive more and more heavenly illumination decreases rather than increases. They become less discerning, lose their appreciation of the richness of the heavenly endowment, and failing to value it themselves, they fail to present it to others. It is only as God sees His professed people eager to be laborers together with Him, that He can impart to them light and grace; for then they will make every interest secondary to the interest of His work and cause. With such workers the heavenly intelligences will co-operate. Jesus says, `Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me.' It is the union of the Holy Spirit and the testimony of the living witness that is to warn the world. The worker for God is the agent through which the heavenly communication is given, and the Holy Spirit gives divine authority to the word of truth....

"The truth for this time has been presented from the holy oracles, and has been witnessed by the power of the Holy Spirit. It has been clearly shown that in the righteousness of Christ is our only hope of gaining access to the Father....Those who reject the evidence already presented would not be convinced by more abundant proof....Unless the transforming grace of Christ cleanses and purifies the soul, they will go on from darkness to greater darkness.

"If we would see light in God's light, we must abide in Christ....But stubbornness effectually bars the way of the Spirit of God....But without the aid of the Spirit of God the soul cannot be renewed, a new heart cannot be created within. The Lord is at work seeking to purify His people, and this great work is retarded y unbelief and stubbornness....Light has been shining upon the church of God, but many have said by their indifferent attitude, `We want not Thy way, O Lord, but our own way.' The kingdom of heaven has come very near, and they have caught glimpses of the Father and the Son, but they have barred the door of the heart, and have not received the heavenly guests; for as yet they know not the love of God.

"Think how great was the light that was given to the Jews, and yet they rejected the Lord of life and glory....The light became brighter and brighter, until there was no escaping the conclusion that Christ was no ordinary teacher; but when conviction is disregarded, when evidence is rejected, men are forced to take a position of active opposition and stubborn resistance. The Spirit of God followed the impenitent, with warnings and entreaties, the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness illuminated the mind; but many refuse the compassion of a loving Saviour, and would not permit their hearts to break and melt under the beams of His love. They refused the message of mercy, refused to do what God required in the way that God required, and their offerings were as devoid of merit as were the offerings of Cain...

"Under the mighty impulse of His (Jesus's) love, He took our place in the universe, and invited the ruler of all things to treat Him as a representative of the human family. He identified Himself with our interests, bared His breast for the stroke of death, took man's guilt and its penalty, and offered in man's behalf a complete sacrifice to God. By virtue of this atonement, He has power to offer to man perfect righteousness and full salvation. Whosoever shall believe on Him as a personal Saviour shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

"Oh, how my heart was drawn out in wrestling prayer to God that He would manifest His power on the Sabbath day and greatly bless His people. He did all this and far more than I had asked. It seemed that a tidal wave of the glory of the Lord swept over the congregation, and many, many souls were filled with a rich blessing of God, and this occasion to them was one never to be forgotten. They bore testimony that the power of God thrilled through and through them....Others bore testimony of the power of the Holy Spirit that came upon them."

"When you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then you will understand more of the joys of salvation than you have known all your life hitherto. `Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses to Me...unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

"I know that He (the Lord) has a blessing for us. He had it at Minneapolis, and He had it for us at the time of the General Conference (1889) here. But there was no reception. Some received the light for the people, and rejoiced in it. Then there were others that stood right back."

"I rejoiced when I heard that the Holy Ghost had been poured out upon our people in America, and I have been anxiously waiting new developments in America as was seen after the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost. I thought similar fruits would be seen, that the missionary spirit of God would burn in the hearts of all upon whom the Spirit of God was manifestly moving."

"The glory of God came into that meeting. It seemed at times at the commencement of the meeting that the glory of God was about to drop upon us, but it did not come only to a few, but at this time like a tidal wave it swept through that congregation, and what a time of rejoicing....But the Spirit of God has an influence upon the human heart that shows itself in the countenance, and the shining of the very face reveals Jesus within....The light of the glory of God was there."

"Many precious testimonies were borne, but yet there is not that fullness of faith that reaches out for a fullness of the blessing of God, as it is our privilege and duty to have. I fear many will go away from this meeting greatly in need of the very blessings that it is their privilege to receive, just now."

"Now brethren I want to tell you when the Spirit of God comes into our midst it will strike the minds that are ready to receive it. But if their minds are not open to receive it, they are all ready to pass judgment upon the messenger and the words spoken, and in the place of coming to God and asking Him to give them a new heart and a new mind, and that the transforming influence of the grace of God shall be upon them, they commence to find fault and pick flaws."

"...the Lord was to revive His people and give them light in clear distinct rays that would lead to the magnifying of Christ. The Lord's command to His people through His messengers was, `Go forward.' And now Satan determined to hold the people away from the light that the rich blessing of God should now come upon the delegates."

" Now our meeting is drawing to a close and not one confession has been made, there has not been a single break so as to let the Spirit of God in. Now I was saying what was the use of our assembling here together and for our ministering brethren to come in if they are here only to shut out the Spirit of God from the people?"

"It was after one week had passed away before there was a break (in the prejudice against the message) and the power of God, like a tidal wave, rolled over that congregation. I tell you, it was to set men free; it was to point them to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world....the mighty movings of the Spirit of God were there....God revealed His glory."

"I saw that the power of God attended the message wherever it was spoken. You could not make the people believe in South Lancaster that it was not a message of light that came to them....it was a week before there was a break in the meetings. But like a wave of glory, the blessing of God swept over us as we pointed men to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The Lord revealed His glory, and we felt the deep movings of His Spirit."

"...those who have set themselves against my message, and have not been moved to change their position of resistance notwithstanding all the Lord has given me to say in demonstration of the Spirit and power, I have no hope could be helped by anything I should say further. They have resisted the appeals of the Spirit of God. I have no hope that the Lord has a reserve power to break down their resistance. I leave them in the hands of God, and unless the Lord places upon me a decided burden to speak words in the Tabernacle I shall not attempt to say anything until those who have acted a part to hedge up my way shall clear my path. If they have not recognized the Spirit of the Lord in the messages I have borne they will recognize it less now...

"At the time of the loud cry of the third angel those who have been in any measure blinded by the enemy, who have not fully recovered themselves from the snare of Satan, will be in peril, because it will be difficult to discern the light from heaven, and they will be inclined to accept falsehood....The evidences that God has given will be no evidence to those who have blinded their eyes by choosing darkness rather than light. After rejecting the light, they will originate theories which they will call `light,' but which the Lord calls sparks of their own kindling, by which they will direct their steps."

"According to the light that has been given me--and just how it is to be accomplished I cannot say--greater strength must be brought into the managing force of the Conference. But this will not be done by intrusting responsibilities to men who have had light poured upon them year after year for the last ten or fifteen years, and yet have not heeded the light that God has given them."

"You need greater light, you need clearer understanding of the truth which you carry to the people. If you do not see light yourselves, you will close the door, if you can, you will prevent the rays of light from coming to the people....No one must be permitted to close the avenue whereby the light of truth shall come to the people. As soon as this shall be attempted, God's Spirit will be quenched....Let the love of Christ reign in hearts here....When the Spirit of God comes in, love will take the place of variance, because Jesus is love; if His Spirit were cherished here, our meeting would be like a stream in the desert...

"There are but few, even of those who claim to believe it, that comprehend the third angel's message; and yet this is the message for this time. It is present truth. But how few take up this message in its true bearing and present it to the people in its power. With many it has but little force. Said my guide, `There is much light yet to shine forth from the law of God and the gospel of righteousness. This message understood in its true character, and proclaimed in the spirit will lighten the earth with its glory."

"The rebuke of the Lord will be upon those who would be guardians of the doctrine, who would bar the way that greater light shall not come to the people....Let no one run the risk of interposing himself between the people and the message of heaven. The message of God will come to the people; and if there were no voice among men to give it, the very stones would cry out."

"You may encase yourselves in pride, and continue to reject Christ in the person of His messengers. If these men do this, the words of the apostle will find an application in their case, as in the time of the Jews: `He came to His own, and His own received Him not....You reject Christ by rejecting the message He sends; in so doing, you place yourselves under the control of the prince of darkness. Your spiritual discernment has been blunted. God has sent messages of light to His people which would have been as healing balm had they received them...

"It is a grievous sin in the sight of God for men to place themselves between the people and the message that He would have come to them as some of our brethren are now doing. There are some who, like the Jews, are doing their utmost to make the message of God of none effect....From Christ, the light of the world, shone forth the clear, bright beams of His Father's glory. Yet the Jews comprehended it not.

"There is an alarming condition of things in our churches. Says the word of God, `Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among My people are found wicked men; they lay in wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men....The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so, and what will ye do in the end thereof?' `They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, peace, peace; when their is no peace.' `And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh, and I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren.' God will surely fulfill His word to those who will not hear, will not see and refuse the light which He sends them.

"If the church refuses to hear the voice of the heavenly Merchantman, refuses to open the door, then Christ will pass on, and it will be left destitute of His presence, destitute of true riches, but saying in self-righteousness, `I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.' (Rev 3:17)

"Many who refuse the message which the Lord sends them are seeking to find pegs on which to hang doubts, to find some excuse for rejecting the light of heaven....When men close their eyes to the light that God sends them, they will reject the most evident truth, and believe the most foolish errors. It is Satan that leads men to take false positions....

"God has sent message upon message to His people, and it has nearly broken my heart to see those who, we thought, were taught and led by God, fall under the bewitching power of the enemy, who led them to reject the truth for this time.....However, truth will move on, passing by those who despise and reject it. Although apparently retarded, it cannot be extinguished. When the message of God meets with opposition, He gives it additional force that it may exert greater influence. Endowed with vital, heavenly energy, it will cut its way through the thickest barriers, dispel darkness, refute error, gain conquests, and triumph over every obstacle....

"There are many who have heard the message for this time and have seen its results, and they cannot but acknowledge that the work is good, but from fear that some will take extreme positions, and that fanaticism may arise in our ranks, they have permitted their imagination to create many obstacles to hinder the advance of the work, and they have presented these difficulties to others, expatiating on the dangers of accepting the doctrine. They have sought to counteract the influence of the message of truth....Men will catch at words and statements that they suppose to be faulty, and will magnify and falsify these utterances....

"The message of God has been presented to the people with clearness and force; it is the very message which God means that His church shall have at this time. Your refusal to listen to it, your rejection of it, while it will not stop the work, will result in great loss to your souls. Every ray of light that God has given to His people is necessary for them in the emergency that is to come; but is the rays of heaven's light are not discerned, if they are not appreciated, accepted, and acted upon, you will lose the heavenly benefit yourselves, and keep the light from others whom God designed should receive it through you....

"In this time of danger, if Satan can work upon the unconsecrated elements of men's characters, so as to keep them quibbling and questioning, until it is too late to rescue souls who are rapidly getting beyond the reach of help, he will do it. I have been shown that this is just what he is doing....

"With the glorious light of truth emanating from God, with abundant evidence that the work for this time is ordained of heaven, beware that you do not harden your hearts and ask for further proof...`If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'"

"The time of trouble is before us. The angels are, as it were, just loosening the four winds, but they cannot loose them yet. The church is too far behind her privileges....The question is, How long will God wait for our tardy movements? Instead of lying before God in humility, man has exalted himself and has indulged in high ideas of his own importance and loftiness, and his eyes have been closed to the glory of Christ. When Christ beams forth upon the soul, all glory is rendered unto Him who is seen to be the only One full of grace and truth. His glory alone should fill the soul....

"As never before we should pray not only that laborers may be sent forth into the great harvest field, but that we may have a clear conception of truth, so that when the messengers of truth shall come we may accept the message and respect the messenger. Oh, that darkness may not settle upon any soul, but that the illuminating Spirit of Christ shall fall upon His people. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and the glory of our Redeemer is His character; this we must behold with spiritual vision....

"The message which the messengers have been proclaiming is the message to the Laodicean church....The church of God is to shine as a light to the world, but Jesus is the illuminator, and He is represented as moving among His people. No one shines by his own light. The Lord God almighty and the Lamb are the lights thereof. The message given us by A. T. Jones, and E. J. Waggoner is the message of God to the Laodicean church, and woe be unto anyone who professes to believe the truth and yet does not reflect to others the God-given rays....

"The Laodicean message has been sounding. Take this message in all its phases and sound it forth to the people wherever Providence opens the way. Justification by faith and the righteousness of Christ are the themes to be presented to a perishing world....The voice of Jesus, the great vendor of heavenly treasures, is calling to you, `I counsel thee to buy of Me Gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed.'"

"The atmosphere of the church is so frigid, its spirit is of such an order, that men and women cannot sustain or endure the example of primitive and heaven-born piety. The warmth of their first love is frozen up, and unless they are watered over by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, their candlestick will be removed out of its place..."

"I inquire of those in responsible positions in Battle Creek, What are you doing? You have turned your back, and not your face, to the Lord. (see Ezekiel 8:16)...What is the message to be given at this time? It is the third angel's message. But that light which is to fill the whole earth with its glory has been despised by some who claim to believe the present truth. Be careful how you treat it. Take off the shoes from off your feet; for you are on holy ground. Beware how you indulge the attributes of Satan, and pour contempt upon the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. I know not but some have even now gone too far to return and to repent.

"I state truth. The souls who love God, who believe in Christ, and who eagerly grasp every ray of light, will see light, and rejoice in the truth. They will communicate the light. They will grow in holiness. Those who receive the Holy Spirit will feel the chilling atmosphere that surrounds the souls of others by whom these great and solemn realities are unappreciated and spoken against....

"The Spirit of God is departing from many among His people. Many have entered into dark, secret paths, and some will never return. They will continue to stumble to their ruin. They have tempted God, they have rejected light. All the evidence that will ever be given them they have received, and have not heeded. They have chosen darkness rather than light, and have defiled their souls....many have listened to the truth spoken in demonstration of the Spirit, and they have not only refused to accept the message, but they have hated the light. These men are parties to the ruin of souls. They have interposed themselves between the heaven-sent light and the people. They have trampled upon the word of God and are doing despite to His Holy Spirit.

"The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure....

"Now, it has been Satan's determined purpose to eclipse the view of Jesus and lead men to look to man, and trust to man, and be educated to expect help from man. For years the church has been looking to man and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel's message, in clear, distinct lines....

"Those who received the message were greatly blessed, for they saw the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness, and life and hope sprang up in their hearts. They were beholding Christ....The Sun of Righteousness shines into our hearts to give the knowledge of the glory of Jesus....the Lord would manifest His great grace unto His chosen ones...

"I would speak in warning to those who have stood for years resisting light and cherishing the spirit of opposition. How long will you hate and despise the messengers of God's righteousness? God has given them His message. They bear the word of the Lord. There is salvation for you, but only through the merits of Jesus Christ. The grace of the Holy Spirit has been offered you again and again. Light and power from on high have been shed abundantly in the midst of you. Here was evidence, that all might discern whom the Lord recognized as His servants. But there are those who despised the men and the message they bore. They have taunted them with being fanatics, extremists, and enthusiasts....

"I have no smooth message to bear to those who have been so long as false guideposts, pointing the wrong way. If you reject Christ's delegated messengers, you reject Christ. Neglect this great salvation, kept before you for years, despise this glorious offer of justification through the blood of Christ and sanctification through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. I entreat you now to humble yourselves and cease your stubborn resistance of light and evidence."

"In the manifestation of the power that lightens the earth with its glory, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears and they will brace themselves against it. Because the Lord does not work according to their expectations and ideas, they will oppose the work."

"I was shown in vision, and I still believe, that there was a shut door in 1844. All who saw the light of the first and second angels' messages and rejected that light, were left in darkness. And those who accepted it and received the Holy Spirit which attended the proclamation of the message from heaven, and who afterward renounced their faith and pronounced their experience a delusion, thereby rejected the Spirit of God, and it no longer pleaded with them.

"Those who did not see the light, had not the guilt of its rejection....These two classes are brought to view in the vision--those who declared the light which they had followed a delusion, and the wicked of the world who, having rejected the light, had been rejected of God."

"When the third angel's message is preached as it should be, power attends its proclamation, and it becomes an abiding influence. It must be attended with divine power, or it will accomplish nothing. I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise, and five foolish....In the parable, the ten virgins had lamps (Bibles), but only five of them had the saving oil with which to keep their lamps burning. The wise and foolish have their Bibles, and are provided with all the means of grace; but many do not appreciate the fact that they must have the heavenly unction. They do not heed the invitation, `Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me,...and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.'..

"If you have been permitted to stand in the presence of the Son of Righteousness, it is not that you may absorb and conceal the bright beams of Christ's righteousness, but that you may become a light to others....There are persons who have received the precious light of the righteousness of Christ, but they do not act upon it; they are foolish virgins. They prefer the sophistry of the enemy rather that the plain `Thus saith the Lord.' When the blessing of God rested upon them in order that they might become channels of light, they did not go forward from light to greater light; they permitted doubt and unbelief to come in, so that the truth which they had seen, became an uncertainty to them....They are foolish virgins indeed, choosing darkness rather than light, and dishonoring God."

"The first, second, and third angels' messages are to be repeated. The call is to be given to the church: `Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird....Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.'....

"Every specification of this parable (10 virgin) should be carefully studied. We are represented either by the wise or by the foolish virgins....They (foolish) have heard and assented to the truth, but they have never brought it into their practical life. The oil of grace is not feeding their lamps, and they are not prepared to enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb. The oil is the holy grace that is sent down from heaven; and there must be an inward adorning with that grace, if we would stand when He appears."

"I know that a work must be done for the people, or many will not be prepared to receive the light of the angel sent down from heaven to lighten the whole earth with his glory. Do not think that you will be found as vessels unto honor in the time of the latter rain, to receive the glory of God, if you are lifting up your souls unto vanity, speaking perverse things, in secret cherishing roots of bitterness brought from the conference at Minneapolis....

"When the lips of the watchman are touched with a live coal from off the altar by the Lord of hosts, the trumpet will give a certain sound, very different from the sound we have hitherto heard. God has a living testimony for the world....He who understands the dignity of our calling, the sacredness of our work, commands that we declare the message with unshrinking heart....

"Infidelity to God has been making its inroads in our ranks; for it is the fashion to depart from Christ, and give place to skepticism. The cry of the heart has been, `We will not have this man to reign over us.' Baal, Baal, is the choice. The religion of many among us will be the religion of apostate Israel, because they love their own way, and forsake the way of the Lord. The true religion, the only religion of the Bible, that teaches forgiveness only through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, that advocates righteousness by the faith of the Son of God, has been slighted, spoken against, ridiculed, and rejected. It has been denounced as leading to enthusiasm and fanaticism. Take it back while it is not too late for wrongs to be righted; for you have sinned against God. But it is the life of Jesus Christ in the soul, it is the active principle of love imparted by the Holy Spirit, that alone will make the soul fruitful unto good works. The love of Christ is the force and power of every message that ever fell from human lips."

"But not all are following the light. Some are moving away from the safe path, which at every step is a path of humility. God has committed to His servants a message for this time; but this message does not in every particular coincide with the ideas of all the leading men, and some criticize the message and the messengers. They dare even to reject the words of reproof sent to them from God through His Holy Spirit....

"The prejudices and opinions that prevailed at Minneapolis are not dead by any means; the seeds sown there in some hearts are ready to spring into life and bear a like harvest. The tops have been cut down, but the roots have never been eradicated, and they still bear their unholy fruit to poison the judgment, pervert the perceptions, and blind the understanding of those with whom you connect, in regard to the message and the messengers....

"Infidelity has been making its inroads into our ranks; for it is the fashion to depart from Christ, and give place to skepticism. With many the cry of the heart has been, `We will not have this man to reign over us.' Baal, Baal, is the choice. The religion of many among us will be the religion of apostate Israel, because they love their own was, and forsake the way of the Lord. The true religion, the only religion of the Bible, that teaches forgiveness only through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, that advocates righteousness by the faith of the Son of God, has been slighted, spoken against, ridiculed, and rejected. It has been denounced as leading to enthusiasm and fanaticism. But it is the life of Jesus in the soul, it is the active principle of love imparted by the Holy Spirit, that alone will make the soul fruitful unto good works. The love of Christ is the force and power of every message for God that ever fell from human lips....

"I know that a work must be done for the people, as many will not be prepared to receive the light of the angel sent down from heaven to lighten the whole earth with his glory. Do not think that you will be found as vessels unto honor in the time of the latter rain, to receive the glory of God, if you are lifting up your souls unto vanity, speaking perverse things, in secret cherishing roots of bitterness....

"This is the danger to which the church is now exposed--that the inventions of finite men shall mark out the precise way for the Holy Spirit to come....And because the Spirit is to come, not to praise men or to build up their erroneous theories, but to reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, many turn away from it. They are not willing to exchange their own righteousness, which is unrighteousness, for the righteousness of Christ, which is pure, unadulterated truth. The Holy Spirit flatters no man, neither does it work according to the devising of any man....When it shall come as a reprover, through any human agent whom God shall choose, it is man's place to hear and obey its voice."

"Those whom God has sent with a message are only men, but what is the character of the message they bear? Will you dare to turn from, or make light of, the warnings, because God did not consult you as to what would be preferred? God calls men who will speak, who will cry aloud and spare not. God has raised up His messengers to do His work for this time. Some have turned from the message of the righteousness of Christ to criticize the men and their imperfections...and the message that would bring healing and life and comfort to many weary and oppressed souls, is, in a measure, excluded; for just in proportion as men of influence close their own hearts and set up their own wills in opposition to what God has said, will they seek to take away the ray of light from those who have been longing and praying for light and for vivifying power. Christ has registered all the hard, proud, sneering speeches spoken against His servants as against Himself.

"The third angel's message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory....We entreat of you who oppose the light of truth, to stand out of the way of God's people. Let Heaven-sent light shine forth upon them in clear and steady rays....Messages bearing the divine credentials have been sent to God's people; the glory, the majesty, the righteousness of Christ, full of goodness and truth, have been presented; the fullness of the Godhead in Jesus Christ has been set forth among us with beauty and loveliness, to charm all whose hearts were not closed with prejudice. We know that God has wrought among us....Shall we be like the lepers that were cleansed who went on their way, and only one returned to give glory to God?...

"If, through the grace of Christ, you have caught some beams of the light of truth as it is in Jesus, do not place yourself upon the pinnacle; do not think that you have caught all the rays of light, and that there is no increased illumination to come to our world.

"We are to be constantly receiving and giving. We are to be living channels of light. The transforming grace of Christ must come to every minister...There must be a living testimony borne, pointing out the necessity of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God upon every church-member, that light may shine forth to others that are in darkness."

"Why is it that men do not believe upon sufficient evidence?--Because they do not want to be convinced. They have no disposition to give up their own will for God's will. They are unwilling to acknowledge that they have cherished sinful unbelief in resisting the light that God has given them. They have been hunting for doubts, for pegs upon which to hang their unbelief. They have been ready to accept testimony which is weak and insufficient, testimony which God has not given them in His word, but which pleases them because it agrees with their ideas, and is in harmony with their disposition and will. These souls are in great peril. If they will bow their proud will, and put it on God's side of the question; if they will with humble, contrite hearts seek for the light, believing that there is light for them, then they will see light, because the eye is single to discern the light which comes from God. They will acknowledge the evidence of divine authority. Spiritual truths will shine forth from the divine page. But the heart must be open for the reception of light, for Satan is ever ready to obscure the precious truth which would make them wise unto salvation. If any do not receive it, it will forever remain a mystery of mysteries to them....

"There is a lack of moral and spiritual power throughout our Conferences. Many churches to not have light in themselves....There Redeemer has withdrawn His light, the inspiration of His Holy Spirit, from their assemblies...The deep movings of the Spirit of God are not with them; the glorious presence of the King of saints, and His power to cleanse from all moral defilement, are not manifest among them....

"There is to be in the churches a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but it will not move upon those who have not humbled themselves before the Lord, and opened the door of the heart by confession and repentance. In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it....Talent, long experience, will not make men channels of light, unless they place themselves under the bright beams of the Son of righteousness, and are called, and chosen, and prepared by the endowment of the Holy Spirit....

"Light is to shine forth from God's people in clear, distinct rays, bringing Jesus before the churches and before the world....These are God's agencies for communicating the knowledge of truth to the world. If through the grace of Christ His people will become new bottles, He will fill them with the new wine....And every ray of light received is to be communicated to other. One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every other,--Christ our righteousness....

"Christ says, speaking of the Comforter, `He shall not speak of Himself;' `He shall testify of Me;' `He shall glorify Me.'...As the Saviour came to glorify the Father by the demonstration of His love, so the Spirit came to glorify Christ by revealing to the world the riches of His love and grace. If the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our work will testify to the fact,--we shall lift up Jesus. Not one can afford to be silent now; the burden of the work is to present Christ to the world. All who venture to have their own way, who do not join the angels who are sent from heaven with a message to fill the whole earth with its glory, will be passed by. The work will go forward to victory without them, and they will have no part in its triumph."

"The peculiar work of the third angel has not been seen in its importance....It is not in the order of God that light has been kept from our people,--the very present truth which they needed for this time....The third angel's message comprehends more than many suppose. What interpretation do they give to the passage which says an angel descended from heaven, and the earth was lightened with his glory? This is not a time when we can be excused for inactivity. If this work, which was so essential, had been taken up by our ministers, there would be today a far different state of things in all our churches....

"We should especially seek God for grace and power to be given to His people now....But every conceivable thing that the enemy can bring against the people of God, to hinder them in their work, will be employed. The Lord, on the other hand, bids all to be awake and to watch; for it was while men slept, that the enemy sowed tares."

"In 1888 in the General Conference held at Minneapolis, Minn., the angel of Revelation 18 came down to do his work, and was ridiculed, criticized and rejected. And when the message he brings again, swells into a loud cry, it will again be ridiculed, spoken against and be rejected by the majority."

"There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. Our Heavenly Father is more willing to give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. But it is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us His blessing....While the people are so destitute of God's Holy Spirit, they cannot appreciate the preaching of the word; but when the Spirit's power touches their hearts, then the discourses given will not be without effect. Guided by the teachings of God's word, with the manifestation of His Spirit, in the exercise of sound discretion, those who attend our meetings will gain a precious experience, and returning home will be prepared to exert a healthful influence....We must enter upon the work individually....

"The attention of the people must be gained; unless this can be done, all effort is useless; though an angel from heaven should come down and speak to them, his words would do no more good than if he were speaking into the cold ear of death. The church must arouse to action. The Spirit of God can never come in until she prepares the way....

"O my brethren, will you grieve the Holy Spirit, and cause it to depart? will you shut out the blessed Saviour, because you are unprepared for His presence? Will you leave souls to perish without the knowledge of the truth, because you love your ease too well to bear the burden that Jesus bore for you? Let us awake out of sleep. `Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

"After the outpouring of the Spirit of God in Battle Creek it was proved in the college that a time of great spiritual light is also a time of corresponding spiritual darkness. Satan and his legions of satanic agencies are on the ground, pressing their powers upon every soul to make of none effect the showers of grace that have come from heaven to revive and quicken the dormant energies into decided action to impart that which God has imparted. Had all the many souls, then enlightened, gone to work at once to impart to others that which God have given to them for that very purpose, more light would have been given, more power bestowed. God does not give light merely for one person but that he may diffuse light, and God be glorified. Its influence is felt....The aggressive power of the truth of God is dependent upon the cooperation of the human agent with God in piety, in zeal, in unselfish efforts to get the light of truth before others."

"There have been things written to me in regard to the movings of the Spirit of God at the last conference {1893}, and at the college, which clearly indicate that because these blessings were not lived up to, minds have been confused, and that which was light from heaven has been called excitement....We must be very careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in pronouncing the ministration of His Holy Spirit a species of fanaticism....That God did abundantly bless the students in the school and the church, I have not one doubt; but a period of great light and the outpouring of the Spirit is quite generally followed by a time of great darkness. Why? Because the enemy works with all his deceiving energies to make of none effect the deep movings of the Spirit of God on the human subject....The fact is evident that they did not appreciate or walk in the light or follow the Light of the world....

"The results after the working of the Spirit of God in Battle Creek are not because of fanaticism, but because those who were blessed did not show forth the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light, and when the earth is lightened with the glory of God, some will not know what it is, and from whence it came, because they misapplied and misinterpreted the Spirit shed upon them. God is a jealous God of His own glory. He will not honor those who dishonor Him."

"Has the Lord graciously opened to you the windows of heaven and poured you out a blessing? Oh! Then, that was the very time to educate the teachers and students how to retain the precious favor of God by working in accordance with increased light, and send its precious rays to others. Has Heaven's light been given? And for what purpose has it been given? That the light should shine forth in practical works of righteousness....

"When the Lord gave to Battle Creek the riches of His grace, were there those in responsibility who could have directed these souls as to how to improve upon the endowment given...They need to pray much more and consider that the convictions which flow out from a well-ordered life and a godly conversation, from a living, decided Christianity, are the preparation of the garden of the heart for the seeds of truth to be planted for a fruitful harvest, and for the Sun of Righteousness when He comes with healing in His beams. Let your righteousness so shine before men, `that they may see your good work, and glorify your Father which is in heaven' (Matthew 5:16)....The church illuminates the world, not by their profession of godliness, but by their manifestation of the transformating, sanctifying power of the truth on life and character."

"The Lord has condescended to give you an outpouring of His Holy Spirit. At the camp meetings, and in our various institutions, a great blessing has been showered upon you. You have been visited by the heavenly messengers of light and truth and power...How does Christ subdue His chosen people to Himself?--It is by the power of His Holy Spirit; for the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures, speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the hearts of men....`He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.'...

"Through the deep movings of the Spirit of God, I have had opened before me the character of the work of the visitation of the Spirit of God. I have had opened before me the danger in which souls would be placed who had been thus visited; for afterward, they would have to meet fiercer assaults of the enemy, who would press upon them his temptations to make of none effect the workings of the Spirit of God, and cause that the momentous truths presented and witnessed by the Holy Spirit, should not purify and sanctify those who had received the light of heaven, and thus cause that Christ should not be glorified in them. The period of great spiritual light, if that light is not sacredly cherished and acted upon, will be turned into a time of corresponding spiritual darkness. The impression made by the Spirit of God, if men do not cherish the sacred impression, and occupy holy ground, will fade from the mind. Those who would advance in spiritual knowledge must stand by the very fount of God, and drink again and again from the wills of salvation so graciously opened to them. They must never leave the source of refreshment; but with hearts swelling with gratitude and love at the display of the goodness and compassion of God, they must be continually partakers of the living water....

"`But I said unto you, That ye also have seen Me, and believed not.' This has been literally fulfilled in the cases of many; for the Lord gave them a deeper insight into truth, into His character of mercy and compassion and love; and yet after being thus enlightened, they have turned from Him in unbelief. They saw the deep movings of the Spirit of God; but when the insidious temptations of Satan came in, as they always will come after a season of revival, they did not resist unto blood, striving against sin; and those who might have stood on vantage-ground, had they made a right use of the precious enlightenment that they had, were overcome by the enemy. They should have reflected the light that God gave to them upon the souls of others; they should have worked and acted in harmony with the sacred revealings of the Holy Spirit; and in not doing so, they suffered loss....

"There is certainly great need of a change in the present order of experience; for the sacredness of present truth is not realized as it should be, but the change we need is a change of heart, and can only be obtained by seeking God individually for His blessing, by pleading with Him for His power, by fervently praying that His grace may come upon us, and that our characters may be transformed....We too have failed to take in the greatness, to perceive the beauty of the truth which God has entrusted to us today....

"...the third angel's message...will go with mighty power, and do its work, and will be cut short in righteousness....Do you have an appreciation of the work and mission of the Holy Spirit? Do you realize that the Holy Spirit is the agency whereby we are to reach the souls of those around us? When this meeting shall close, will you go from here and forget the earnest appeals that have been made to you? Will the messages of warning be left unheeded, and the truth you have heard leak out of your heart as water leaks out of a broken vessel?...

"The third angel's message is swelling into a loud cry, and you must not feel at liberty to neglect the present duty, and still entertain the idea that at some future time you will be the recipients of great blessing...Today you are to have your vessel purified that it may be ready for the heavenly dew, ready for the showers of the latter rain; for the latter rain will come, and the blessing of God will fill every soul that is purified from every defilement. It is our work today to yield our souls to Christ, that we may be fitted for the time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord--fitted for the baptism of the Holy Spirit."

"An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord's message through Brethren {E.J.} Waggoner and {A.T.} Jones. By exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world....

"The Holy Spirit exalts and glorifies the Saviour. It is His office to represent Christ, the purity of His righteousness, and the great salvation that we have through Him. Jesus says, `He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.' John 16:14. The Spirit of truth is the only effectual teacher of divine truth....

"Our heavenly Father waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love....yet the children of earth, who need so much the help that God only can give, seem satisfied to walk without the light of His Spirit, the companionship of His presence....Prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven's storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence....

"God intends that even in this life the truths of His word shall be ever unfolding to His people. There is only one way in which this knowledge can be obtained. We can attain to an understanding of God's word only through the illumination of that Spirit by which the word was given. `The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God;' `for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.' 1 Corinthians 2:11, 10. And the Saviour's promise to His followers was, `When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth....For He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.' John 16:13, 14."

"The Lord God of heaven will not send upon the world His judgment for disobedience and transgression until He has sent His watchmen to give the warning. He will not close up the period of probation until the message shall be more distinctly proclaimed. The law of God is to be magnified; its claims must be presented in their true, sacred character, that the people may be brought to decide for or against the truth. Yet the work will be cut short in righteousness. The message of Christ's righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other to prepare the way of the Lord. This is the glory of God, which closes the work of the third angel."

"Soon I heard a voice like many musical instruments all sounding in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard, seeming to be full of mercy, compassion, and elevating, holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being. Said the angel, `Look ye!' My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. ...their features, marked with severe internal anguish, now shown with the light and glory of heaven....

"I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. Many had been bound; some wives by their husbands, and some children by their parents. The honest who had been prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold upon it....I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, `It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.'

"Then I say another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory. The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mightily, with a strong voice, `Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen...The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel's message as it swells to a loud cry. And the people of God are thus prepared to stand in the hour of temptation, which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united to fearlessly proclaim the third angel's message....

"The light that was shed upon the waiting ones penetrated everywhere, and those in the churches who had any light, who had not heard and rejected the three messages, obeyed the call and left the fallen churches....the light shone upon them, and they were privileged to choose life or death....A compelling power moved the honest, while the manifestation of the power of God brought a fear and restraint upon their unbelieving relatives and friends so that they dared not, neither had they the power to, hinder those who felt the work of the Spirit of God upon them....

"I was pointed down to the time when the third angel's message was closing. The power of God had rested upon His people; they had accomplished their word and were prepared for the trying hour before them. They had received the latter rain, or the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and the living testimony had been revived. The last great warning had sounded everywhere, and it had stirred up and enraged the inhabitants of the earth who would not receive the message....The plan of salvation had been accomplished, but few had chosen to accept it....Loud, wailing cries were heard in every direction, `It was you who kept me from receiving the truth that would have saved me from this awful hour."

"Now we have the precious opportunity of making our calling and election sure. Every soul is to proclaim the truth because it is the truth. There must not be with any of us a betrayal of sacred trusts....Let us raise high the standard of victory, proclaiming in the strength of Jehovah, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, while believing with all the heart that `the Lord our righteousness' will be our defense in that day....

"At this time the Lord has precious truth to open to us. It is not new truth, but old, old truth, although to the receiver it is new, grand, inspiring, and glorious truth. It has been rescued from the companionship of error, and has been placed in the framework of truth. Long enough have the Lord's precious words of truth been perverted to serve the purpose of the enemy.

"Christ was the great Teacher of truth, and to Him we must come to learn of the great doctrine of justice, grace, and mercy. His words are as seeds that germinate and take root, and are again to be sown and cultivated by His delegated ambassadors. The disciples were put in close connection with eternal, essential truth; for it was laid open to their understanding; but they failed to comprehend it in its fullness, and although the living oracles are in our hands, although we have some understanding of the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments, there is much that even in our day we do not see and comprehend....

"The promise of the gift of the Spirit of God is left as a matter to be little considered by the church. It is not impressed upon the people, and the result is only that which might be expected,--spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death. Minor matters occupy the mind and soul, but divine power which is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, which would, if possessed, bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, although it is offered to us in infinite plentitude....But why do we not hunger and thirst after the gift of the Holy Spirit, since it is the means whereby the heart may be kept pure? The Lord designs that divine power shall co-operate with human effort. It is all-essential for the Christian to understand the meaning of the promise of the Holy Spirit just prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus the second time....

"The Lord will hold both ministers and people responsible for the light which shines in our day. God calls upon all who claim to believe present truth, to work diligently in gathering up the precious jewels of truth, and placing them in their position in the framework of the gospel. Let them shine in all their divine beauty and loveliness, that the light may flash forth amid the moral darkness. This cannot be accomplished without the aid of the Holy Spirit, but with the aid of the Spirit we can do all things. When we are endowed with the Holy Spirit, we by faith take hold of infinite power....The Saviour of the world sends His divine messenger to the soul, that men may dig for the truth, that by its revelation they may dispel the multitude of errors. This is the Christian work."

"When God's people humble the soul before Him, individually seeking His Holy Spirit with all the heart, there will be heard from human lips such a testimony as is represented in this scripture, `After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.' There will be faces aglow with the love of God; there will be lips touched with holy fire, saying, `The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.'...

"Those who profess to believe the special truths for this time need to be converted, and sanctified by the truth. As Christians we are made depositories of sacred truth, and we are not to keep the truth in the outer court, but bring it into the sanctuary of the soul. Then the church will possess divine vitality throughout. The weak shall be as David, and David as the angel of the Lord. One question will be all absorbing,--who shall approach nearest the likeness of Christ? Who shall do most to win souls to righteousness? When this is the ambition of believers, contention is at an end; the prayer of Christ is answered.

"Jesus longs to bestow the heavenly endowment in large measure upon His people. Prayers are ascending to God daily for the fulfillment of the promise, and not one of the prayers put up in faith is lost....When, after Christ's ascension, the Spirit came down as promised, like a rushing, mighty wind, filling the whole place where the disciples were assembled, what was the effect? Thousands were converted in a day. We have taught, we have expected, that an angel is to come down from heaven, that the earth will be lightened with his glory. Then we shall behold an ingathering of souls similar to that witnessed on the day of Pentecost.

"But this mighty angel comes bearing no soft, smooth message, but words that are calculated to stir the hearts of men to their very depths. That angel is represented as crying mightily with a strong voice, saying, `Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.' `Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.' Are we indeed as human agencies, to cooperate with the divine instrumentalities in sounding the message of this mighty angel who is to lighten the earth with his glory?

"How great and widespread must be the power of the prince of evil, which can be subdued only by the mighty power of the Spirit. ...If those who have had great light have not corresponding faith and obedience they soon become leavened with the prevailing apostasy; another spirit controls them....Others who have not had so great light, who have never identified themselves with the truth, will under the influence of the Spirit, respond to the light when it shines upon them....The Spirit sets home the truth in such a manner as to arouse the conscience to discern and acknowledge the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Men see themselves as transgressors of the law of God. By faith they behold the infinite love of God in the gift of Jesus to our world. By faith they see the sentence of condemnation erased, and their names recorded in the book of life. They see the robe of Christ's righteousness presented to them, preparing them for the mansions above, that they may stand spotless before the Father....

"We have absolute need of the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit....We have need of divine illumination....His transforming grace upon human hearts will lead to unity that has not yet been realized; for all who are assimilated to Christ will be in harmony with one another. The Holy Spirit will create unity.

"`He shall glorify Me.' `This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.' The Holy Spirit glorifies God by so revealing His character to His people that He becomes the object of their supreme affections, and by making manifest His character in them. They see clearly that there was never any righteousness in the world but His, no excellence in the world but that derived from Him. When the Spirit was poured out from on high, the church was flooded with light, but Christ was the source of that light; His name was on every tongue, His love filled every heart. So it will be when the angel that comes down from having great power, shall lighten the whole earth with His glory. May the Lord help His people to see and understand what is truth."

"As the members of the body of Christ approach the period of their last conflict, `the time of Jacob's trouble,' they will grow up into Christ, and will partake largely of His Spirit. As the third message swells to a loud cry, and as great power and glory attend the closing work, the faithful people of God will partake of that glory. It is the latter rain which revives and strengthens them to pass through the time of trouble. Their faces will shine with the glory of that light which attends the third angel."

"The whole earth is to be lightened with the glory of God's truth. The Lord will not close up the period of probation until the warning shall be more distinctly proclaimed. The trumpet must give a certain sound. The law of God is to be magnified, its claims must be presented in their true, sacred character, that the people may be brought to decide for or against the truth. Yet the work will be cut short in righteousness. The message of Christ's righteousness is to sound from one end of the world to the other. This is the glory of God which closes the work of the third angel....

"You have long expected the wonderful startling events that are to take place just prior to the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Now I ask, are you prepared to give the trumpet a certain sound?...We have been waiting in anxious expectancy for the cooperation of the human agency in advancing the work. All heaven, if I may use the expression, is impatiently waiting for men to cooperate with the divine agencies in working for the salvation of souls."

"God cannot glorify His name through His people while they are leaning upon man and making flesh their arm....Words have been given me to speak to the people of God: `Lift Him up, the Man of Calvary. Let humanity stand back, that all may behold Him in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered....

"It is to the thirsting soul that the fountain of living waters is open. God declares: `I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.' To souls that are earnestly seeking for light and that accept with gladness every ray of divine illumination from His holy word, to such alone light will be given. It is through these souls that God will reveal that light and power which will lighten the whole earth with His glory."

"Before the close of this world's history, those who are willing to accept the evidence will have the dark veil removed from their minds. Hearts will be cleansed through accepting Christ during the time that the whole world is lightened by the glory of the angel that comes down from heaven."

"God has a work for His people to do for the world, and if they will work in harmony with one another and with heaven, He will demonstrate His power in their behalf as He did for His first disciples on the day of Pentecost. Those days in which the disciples prepared themselves by prayer and putting away of all disunion, brought them into such close relation to God that He could work for them and through them in a marvelous manner."

"We invite you to come to Jesus, to believe in Him, and receive from Him the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. He will give you this if you ask in faith believing. Then work in harmony with Him to disseminate truth. If you will seek individually to answer in your lives Christ's prayer for His disciples, you will follow on to know the Lord. (see Hosea 6:3) This is not like the fading strength and glory of the setting sun, but like the morning, the rising sun, which is ever increasing in warmth and light and power."

"The Lord desires to see the work of the third angel's message carried forward with increasing efficiency. As He has worked in all ages to give courage and power to His people, so in this age He longs to carry to triumphant fulfillment His purposes for His church. He bids the saints advance unitedly, going from strength to greater strength, from faith to increased faith in the righteousness and truth of His cause."

"Christ's presence means advance. He imbues men, women, and children with a sense of individual responsibility. We need to feel the sacred, sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit, that we may hear Christ saying to us, `Follow Me.' `He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' (John 8:12)."

"Place yourself where the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness can shine into all the chambers of your mind and into the soul-temple. Ye are the light of the world, God says. He will make those who are faithful in the church radiant with the word of God. His Spirit will be communicated to human instrumentalities, giving them light before which moral darkness must flee away."

"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. It can then be said: `Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost.' It is the Holy Spirit that draws men to Christ; for He takes the things of God, and shows them unto the sinner. Jesus said: `He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.'

"The work of the Holy Spirit is immeasurable 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....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....

"When the earth is lightened with the glory of God, we shall see a work similar to that which was wrought when the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the power of a risen Saviour. The light of heaven penetrated the darkened minds of those who had been deceived by the enemies of Christ, and the false representation of Him was rejected; for through the efficiency of the Holy Spirit they now saw Him exalted to be a prince and Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and remission of sins. They saw Him encircled with the glory of heaven, with infinite treasures in His hands to bestow upon those who turn from their rebellion. As the apostles set forth the glory of the only begotten of the Father, 3,000 souls were pricked to the heart, and they were made to see themselves as they were, sinful and polluted, and Christ as their Saviour and Redeemer. Christ was lifted up, Christ was glorified, through the power of the Holy Spirit resting upon men....As they looked upon His spotless righteousness, they saw their own deformity and pollution, and were filled with godly fear, with love and adoration for Him who gave His life a sacrifice for them. They humbled their souls to the very dust, and repented of their wicked works, and glorified God for His salvation....

"The revelation of Christ by the Holy Spirit brought to them a realizing sense of His power and majesty, and they stretched forth their hands unto Him by faith, saying, `I believe.' 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....

"It is Christ in His fullness as a sin-pardoning Saviour, that the sinner must see; for the unparalleled love of Christ, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, will bring conviction and conversion to the hardened heart. It is the divine influence that is the savor of the salt in the Christian. Many present the doctrines and theories of our faith; but their presentation is as salt without savor; for the Holy Spirit is not working through their faithless ministry. They have not opened the heart to receive the grace of Christ; they know not the operation of the Spirit; they are as meal without leaven; for there is no working principle in all their labor, and they fail to win souls to Christ. They do not appropriate the righteousness of Christ; it is a robe unworn by them, a fullness unknown, a fountain untouched."

"Those who had been confused in their belief, and longed for some intelligent doctrine to relieve their uncertainty, found their darkness dispelled by the beams of righteousness from the presence of Christ, and were charmed with the simplicity of the truths He taught."

"I have laid out the matter as it has been presented to me. The third angel's message, in the place of swelling into a loud cry, is being smothered. It is to increase in the power of the Spirit of God. The time has come when the whole earth is to be lightened with the glory of the angel which came down from heaven. A decided work is to be done in presenting the truth for this time, the truth that will sanctify the soul; for we are in that age of the world's history which Christ declared should be as the days of Noah were."

"Never has there been a time when man has been so responsible to God as he is at the present hour. Never has there been a time when man's position has been so critical as it is now. All things in nature and in the world at large are charged with intense earnestness. Satan, in co-operation with his angels and with evil men, will put forth every effort to gain the victory, and will appear to succeed. But from this conflict, truth and righteousness will come forth triumphant in victory. Those who have believed a lie will be defeated; for the days of apostasy will be ended."

"I saw that many who enjoyed the truth of the first and second angel's messages and felt the power and glory of the messages have since rejected the light that came from heaven, called it of the devil, and there was more hope of sinners than of such. Many that know nothing of the first two messages saw not their effects and their glory, that have not hardened their hearts, will be brought to the light of truth. As they see one precious link of the chain, they could understand and see the whole chain and joyfully acknowledge the first and second messages. But those who have called the power of the Holy Ghost that attended these messages of the devil, and will not hear the third, are those who will be shut out."

"How my heart yearned for souls to be converted. We must have a burden for those that are ready to perish. We should in their behalf hunger and thirst after righteousness. Who will wake up? Who will arise and shine because their light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon them?"

"We need now to arise and shine, for our light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us. We have no time to talk of self, no time to become like the sensitive plant, that cannot be touched without shrinking. In Jesus Christ is our sufficiency. Will we talk of faith? Will we talk of the glorious hope, of the full and abundant righteousness of Jesus Christ, provided for every soul? I tell you in the name of the Lord God of Israel that all injurious, discouraging influences are held in control by unseen angel hands, until every one that works in the fear and love of God is sealed in his forehead....

"Let us work as we have never done before. Let us put self aside, and lay hold of Jesus Christ by faith. Let us reveal Him to the world as the one altogether lovely and the chiefest among ten thousand....`and they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.' Let us take up the praise of God here below. Let us unite with the heavenly company above. Then we shall represent the truth as it is, a power to all who believe."

"Isaiah was permitted in vision to look into the holy place, and into the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary. The curtains of the innermost sanctuary were drawn aside, and a throne high and lifted up, towering as it were to the very heavens, was revealed to his gaze. An indescribable glory emanated from a personage on the throne, and His train filled the temple, as His glory will finally fill the earth. Cherubim were on either side of the mercy-seat, as guards round the great King, and they glowed with the glory that enshrouded them from the presence of God. As their songs of praise resounded in deep, earnest notes of adoration, the pillars of the gate trembled, as if shaken by an earthquake. These holy beings sang forth the praise and glory of God with lips unpolluted with sin....