A Time for Self-Examination

TimeWatch Editorial
July 06, 2016

Testimonies for the Church Volume nine was authored by Ellen G White. The approximate year of its completion was 1909. The very first chapter of that volume is entitled “The last Crisis.” The Trustees of the White Estate describe the time in which the nine volumes of testimonies for the church were written as a period of fifty-five years. During this period the church continually grew and prospered. The counsel given in the Testimonies provided safe guidance. The reproof and correction led many straying feet back to the paths of righteousness and the words of cheer and encouragement revived many a faint heart, and the picture of the reward of the faithful spurred thousands to the determination to reach the goal set before us. But volume nine begins with a specific description of the times in which we find ourselves.

“We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude.” {Testimonies for the Church Volume nine, page 11, paragraph 1}

Notice, this is how she begins the book. This is Section One. The section is introduced with the text found in Hebrews 10:37. "Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Continuing the very first chapter of the first section she says the following.

“The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.” {Testimonies for the Church Volume nine, page 11, paragraph 2}

The vision concerning the times in which we live is crystal clear. The accuracy of the description leaves little room for doubt regarding true inspiration.

“The daily papers are full of indications of a terrible conflict in the near future. Bold robberies are of frequent occurrence. Strikes are common. Thefts and murders are committed on every hand. Men possessed of demons are taking the lives of men, women, and little children. Men have become infatuated with vice, and every species of evil prevails.” {Testimonies for the Church Volume nine, page 11, paragraph 3}

It is not necessary to give examples of the accuracy of the above statement. What is perhaps the most shocking is that these warnings have been overlooked, and continue to be overlooked on a consistent basis. It is as if with open eyes we purposefully ignore the obvious even when we are the victims of the incredible monstrosity of evil. This apparent desire to ignore the horror of our times speaks to our apparent conviction that we can protect ourselves amidst any catastrophy. We seem surprised when the standards of mannerly coexistence are abandoned. We anxiously discuss the next horrific event that clearly reveals the depravity of society. We support, follow and elect professional liars, apparently under the impression that even though they might lie to others, they will take care of us. We continue to build upon an inaccurate, rewritten past, while investing in an impossible future. We completely disregard the counsel which says:

“The enemy has succeeded in perverting justice and in filling men's hearts with the desire for selfish gain.”Justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter." Isaiah 59:14. In the great cities there are multitudes living in poverty and wretchedness, well-nigh destitute of food, shelter, and clothing; while in the same cities are those who have more than heart could wish, who live luxuriously, spending their money on richly furnished houses, on personal adornment, or worse still, upon the gratification of sensual appetites, upon liquor, tobacco, and other things that destroy the powers of the brain, unbalance the mind, and debase the soul. The cries of starving humanity are coming up before God, while by every species of oppression and extortion men are piling up colossal fortunes.” {Testimonies for the Church Volume nine, page 11, paragraph 4}

Without doubt it is time to take seriously the fulfilling events of the prophecies. It is also without doubt to examine ourselves, less we fall short of the standard that God has set.

Cameron A. Bowen