Gods Sabbath

AF INAL O PPORTUNITY

505

But unbelievable as it is, Satan succeeded again in diverting God’s people from the task and they fell into the Laodicean con dition. Without the righteousness of Christ (white raiment), the faith which works by love (gold) and the necessary spiritual dis cernment (eye salve), they were unable to finish the work. (See Revelation 3:18.) “... If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844, had received the third angel’s message and proclaimed it in the pow er of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people. “... In like manner, it was not the will of God that the com ing of Christ should be so long delayed, and His people should remain so many years in this world of sin and sorrow. But un belief separated them from God. As they refused to do the work which He had appointed them, others were raised up to pro claim the message.” The Great Controversy , 458. Thus another day of opportunity, the fifth, passed into history without being appropriated. Before things went too far, the Lord was able to provide an other day of opportunity for His people. In 1888, He called to Minneapolis, Minnesota, two dedicated messengers, Elders Waggoner and Jones, through whom He presented the third an gel’s message in verity, the gospel message divinely designed to quickly finish the work. Had God’s people recognized the mes sage for what it was and accepted it, laying aside all their own plans and placing themselves under the direction of the Master Architect, they would have seen the work finished very quickly and, long before this, would have entered into the rest of God’s finished work. “In Minneapolis God gave precious gems of truth to His people in new settings. This light from heaven by some was rejected with all the stubbornness the Jews manifested in re jecting Christ, and there was much talk about standing by the old landmarks. But there was evidence they knew not what the old landmarks were. There was evidence and there was reasoning from the word that commended itself to the