Then Shall the Sanctuary Be Cleansed - Donald K. Short
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left; and Satan, pleased with <strong>the</strong> deception,<br />
assumes a religious character, and leads <strong>the</strong> minds<br />
of <strong>the</strong>se professed Christians to himself. . . . He<br />
also comes as an angel of light, spreading his<br />
influence over <strong>the</strong> land by means of false<br />
reformations. The churches are elated, and consider<br />
that God is working marvelously for <strong>the</strong>m, when it<br />
is <strong>the</strong> work of ano<strong>the</strong>r spirit.<br />
The warning of <strong>the</strong> third angel about rendering<br />
worship to <strong>the</strong> beast presents a critical situation. If<br />
<strong>the</strong> nominal churches do not know what Christ is<br />
doing now and consequently accept "false<br />
reformations" as being genuine and offer up<br />
"useless prayers" and have <strong>the</strong>ir minds led by Satan<br />
himself, surely <strong>the</strong> deception approaches <strong>the</strong><br />
climax and <strong>the</strong> "very elect" stand in danger. But<br />
more seriously, if <strong>the</strong> nominal churches "cannot be<br />
benefited," it means that without compunction and<br />
completely content, <strong>the</strong>y go on in <strong>the</strong><br />
sinning/forgiveness cycle so that God's plan "to<br />
cleanse" and to "blot out" sin is thwarted. They are<br />
willing to invoke <strong>the</strong> gospel as <strong>the</strong>y understand it to<br />
insulate <strong>the</strong>mselves from <strong>the</strong> consequences of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
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