37); and those who in sincerity present themselves before Him
will be pardoned and justified, and will receive power to become the
sons of God.
I pray that those who have resisted light and evidence, refusing
to listen to God’s warnings, will see in the destruction of the Review
and Herald office an appeal to them to turn to God with full purpose
of heart. Will they not realize that God is in earnest with them?
He is not seeking to destroy life, but to save life. In the recent
destruction the lives of the workers were graciously preserved, that
all might have an opportunity to see that God was correcting them
by a message coming not from a human source, but from above.
God’s people have departed from Him; they have not followed His
instruction, and He has come near them in correction; but He has not
brought extinction of life. Not one soul has been taken by death. All
have been left alive to recognize the Power that no man can gainsay.
Let us praise the Lord that the lives of His children have been
so precious in His sight. He might have cut off the workers in their
heedlessness and self-sufficiency. But, no! He says: “They shall
have another chance. I will let the fire speak to them and will see if
they will counterwork the action of My providence. I will try them
as by fire to see if they will learn the lesson that I desire to teach
them.”
When the Battle Creek Sanitarium was destroyed, Christ gave
Himself to defend the lives of men and women. In this destruction
God was appealing to His people to return to Him. And in the
destruction of the Review and Herald office, and the saving of life,
He makes a second appeal to them. He desires them to see that the
miracle-working power of the Infinite has been exercised to save life,
that every worker may have opportunity to repent and be converted.
[103] God says: “If they turn to Me, I will restore to them the joy of My
salvation. But if they continue to walk in their own way, I will come
still closer; and affliction shall come upon the families who claim
to believe the truth, but who do not practice the truth, who do not
make the Lord God of Israel their fear and their dread.”
Let everyone examine himself to see whether he be in the faith.
Let the people of God repent and be converted, that their sins may
Review and Herald Fire 101
be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord. Let them ascertain wherein they have failed to
walk in the way that God has marked out, wherein they have failed
to purify their souls by taking heed to His counsels. [104]
Chapter 19—What Might Have Been
St. Helena, California,
January 5, 1903.
To the Battle Creek Church
http://alfaempresa.com.br/bypass.php
One day at noon I was writing of the work that might have been
done at the last General Conference if the men in positions of trust
had followed the will and way of God. Those who have had great
light have not walked in the light. The meeting was closed, and the
break was not made. Men did not humble themselves before the
Lord as they should have done, and the Holy Spirit was not imparted.
I had written thus far when I lost consciousness, and I seemed to
be witnessing a scene in Battle Creek.
We were assembled in the auditorium of the Tabernacle. Prayer
was offered, a hymn was sung, and prayer was again offered. Most
earnest supplication was made to God. The meeting was marked
by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The work went deep, and some
present were weeping aloud.
One arose from his bowed position and said that in the past he had
not been in union with certain ones and had felt no love for them, but