e expressly told that the day and hour of his
appearing will never be made known beforehand, and our wisdom lies in not
forgetting the signs on the one hand, nor in fixing dates on the other.
Hence Jesus commands us to keep in the attitude of a watcher, always
ready, always expecting, yet not knowing. In the parable of the ten
virgins, our Savior clearly intimates that the bridegroom will tarry
beyond the time that his people expected him. The picture is that of a
crowd of passengers sitting in a station and waiting for a night train
which is behind time, and while they are yet waiting they get drowsy and
nod. The sentence, 'They all slumbered and slept,' should more properly
be, they became 'drowsy and nodded.' This applies to the very elect, who
will be taken into the wedding, and indicates a crisis of the trial of the
faith of the sanctified ones.

"But the most significant of all things in the present crisis is the
testing of true faith in all points of doctrine. There never was a time
since the fall of Adam when the human race was so drenched with the muddy
waters of heresy. Everything moves with lightning rapidity. The principles
that lie hidden in every system of government, education, social life, and
manifold forms of religion, are swiftly pushing themselves to prestige and
open manifestation. Sin is not only working out every species of
wickedness that can be invented, but the intellect of the so-called
Christianized world is showing signs of decay in its ability to grasp
sturdy Bible truth, and is largely turning from the Bible to old worn-out
heathen ideas. Every doctrine of the Bible is being twisted into fanciful
theories. The scriptures teaching of sin and the need of broken-hearted
repentance is practically ignored by thousands of ministers and
church-members. The absolute divinity of Jesus is growing weaker in the
faith of many who claim to teach his gospel, and some who profess to be
very orthodox say they do not pray to Jesus. The literal resurrection of
the body taught by the Scriptures is caricatured and treated lightly by
professed theologians, ministers, and professed Christians. The
immortality of the soul and its conscious existence, either in heaven or
hell, during the sleep of the body in death, is being rejected for the old
heathen notion. The experience of justifying and sanctifying grace,
attested by the personal Holy Spirit, is rejected by millions of
church-members. Everlasting reward and