Editorial – Are You Ready?

At 7 o’clock all 10 virgins were ready for the wedding; and probably still at 8 o’clock. But as 9 o’clock came around, the watch became too much for some, and by 10 o’clock several more were wearying. Eleven o’clock came and went, with the number still dwindling, and by 12 o’clock all had lost watch. Jesus said, “And at midnight a cry was made, Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him.” Matthew 25:6. We are living just moments before the midnight hour. Are you ready?

“The coming of the bridegroom was at midnight—the darkest hour. So the coming of Christ will take place in the darkest period of this earth’s history. The days of Noah and Lot pictured the condition of the world just before the coming of the Son of man. The Scriptures pointing forward to this time declare that Satan will work with all power and ‘with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. …’ II Thessalonians 2:9. The great apostasy will develop into darkness deep as midnight, impenetrable as sackcloth of hair.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 414. “The uncontrolled indulgence and consequent disease and degradation that existed at Christ’s first advent will again exist, with intensity of evil, before His second coming. … Every imagination of the thoughts of the heart will be evil continually. Upon the very verge of that fearful time we are now living.” The Desire of Ages, 122.

The final crisis is fast approaching. “It is in a crisis that character is revealed. When the earnest voice proclaimed at midnight, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,’ and the sleeping virgins were roused from their slumbers, it was seen who had made preparation for the event. Both parties were taken unawares; but one was prepared for the emergency, and the other was found without preparation. So now, a sudden and unlooked-for calamity, something that brings the soul face to face with death, will show whether there is any real faith in the promises of God. It will show whether the soul is sustained by grace.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 412. [Emphasis added.]

What will happen when the church awakens? “It is the love of God continually transferred to man that enables him to impart light.”

“The religion of Christ means more than the forgiveness of sin; it means taking away our sins, and filling the vacuum with the graces of the Holy Spirit. It means divine illumination, rejoicing in God. It means a heart emptied of self, and blessed with the abiding presence of Christ. When Christ reigns in the soul, there is purity, freedom from sin. …

“The revelation of His own glory in the form of humanity will bring heaven so near to men that the beauty adorning the inner temple will be seen in every soul in whom the Saviour dwells. Men will be captivated by the glory of an abiding Christ. …

“While all the world is plunged in darkness, there will be light in every dwelling of the saints.” Ibid., 419, 420.