Jesus said, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.
“For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Luke 21:34, 35
If you are a student of prophecy, you are aware that the signs of the times are screaming that we are at the very end of earth’s history. (See also Matthew 24, Luke 17 and 21; 2 Timothy 3; 2 Peter 3; Daniel 11, Revelation chapters 7–11, 13, 14, and 17.)
As Eve did, many people are listening to strange voices, and sooner or later they will believe error, following it instead of the truth. We must choose who we listen to.
“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness.” Early Writings, 125, 126
“The time of our educating will soon be over. We have no time to lose in walking through clouds of doubt and uncertainty because of uncertain voices. …
“Humble yourselves under the hand of God, warn all that they do not in stubbornness choose their own way … .
“The Lord would have us answer the prayer of Christ. Seek for unity and oneness. Seek for harmony, then we bear to the world a living testimony of the light of Jesus Christ.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1002–1004