Gods Sabbath

504

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

they had made this fatal mistake, only one outcome was possi ble—fearful apostasy attended by deepening weaknesses which left them so exposed to the might of the heathen that they had no choice but to come under Rome’s iron-fisted dominion. Thus the “day of opportunity” passed to the apostolic church. How well those Spirit-filled, dedicated people began. Free from any political affiliation, divested of the sword, charged with the power of God, and radiant with His selfless love, they went forth conquering and to conquer. Swiftly, the gospel was conveyed to every nation on earth and the church was poised to decimate the last strongholds of human and satanic rebellion. But, within her ranks were leaders determined to control their fellow-workers despite the lessons the Lord had worked so hard to teach them. When their course effected the untimely removal of Paul, and they were able to establish their wills as the ruling power in the church, the world was doomed to suffer the galling oppression of the Dark Ages. Another day of opportunity was lost. But God, the patient though frustrated Architect, set to work to provide yet another day of opportunity. It took a very long time for Him to accomplish it. Centuries passed during which the apostolic church departed further and further from the truth until the papacy had wrapped the world in midnight darkness. During these desperate years, the truth was barely upheld by faithful souls who often paid for their loyalty with their lives. Finally the tide turned. One reformer after another arose in the Holy Spirit’s power to attack the bastions of antichrist, and the long climb back into the full light of truth began. With the breaking of the papal power in 1798, the stage was finally set for another day of opportunity. The three angels began to sound, and a people were gathered to rebuild the lost treasures of the sanctuary message. By 1844, the church was again standing on the threshold of the eternal world. They had the truth, they were free from the controlling Babylonian power of the papacy, the Spirit of Prophecy was restored to them, and it required only a short work to initiate them into the eternal rest of the Lord’s fin ished work. After centuries of effort, the Lord had appointed yet another day, pleading, as ever, that they harden not their hearts in unbelief.