r should they profess holiness
and yet not live a true holy life they are classed with the great dark
apostasy.

"Without natural affection." Many times the love of self, the love of
pleasure, the love of the world, and sin in general destroys the natural
affection. Mothers in their heart regret their children were born, because
it prevents their entering society as they would like. They bewail the
state of pregnancy for the same reason, and resort to murderous means for
the privilege of enjoying more of the pleasures of sin and the world.
Children also often betray a great lack of natural affection by their
treatment of parents and one another.

"Truce-breakers." Having but little regard for a promise or obligation;
violating obligations and promises to God and to man.

"False accusers." Slandering those who do live and obey the whole Word of
God.

"Incontinent." Those who are living in the lust of the flesh; controlled
by a depraved appetite.

"Fierce." Getting angry and becoming quarrelsome; all that is the opposite
of gentleness and kindness.

"Despisers of those that are good." Because a man lives a good, pure,
consistent Christian life it puts a rebuke upon the hypocrite, and for
this reason he despises the good man.

"Traitors." Actually denying and renouncing portions of the Holy Bible,
which they profess to believe. They are traitors to God and to
Christianity.

"Heady." They are unteachable. No matter what the Bible says, they know
they are all right if they do indulge in things that are wrong.

"High-minded." So lifted up in themselves that the humble doctrines of the
Savior are beneath their observance. These humble truths of the Bible are
considered as nonessentials by the heady and high-minded.

"Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Take more real comfort and
delight in the party or festival than they do in worship. A sermon of
thirty minutes is about as long as they can endure. Reading the Bible is
an unpleasant task, therefore the good old book lies unused; but they can
spend hours in the place of revelry.

Where do we have to look for such doings and characters as we have
described? They abound in great numbers in the various denominations of
to-day. Adam Clarke in his commentary in speaking of this prophecy, says:
"This description the papists apply to the Protestants. The Protestants in
their turn apply it to the papists. There have been both teachers and
people in every age of t