The day of apostasy is hastening on with rapid strides, and the day is approaching when the Lord will snatch His own away. Godly men everywhere, who watch the signs of the times, see the moment approaching which shall terminate the present day of God’s grace. There has never been in the world’s history such a time as the present, and Satan is occupied as never before with believers who seek to be faithful. His occupation is the more to be feared because of the subtlety of his operations. His object is to withdraw our attention from Christ, while we suppose we are on safe ground and have nothing to fear. He would destroy us with the very truth itself, for we are on safe ground only while Christ is our all in all. If anything is interposed between our souls and Christ, our Philadelphia becomes Laodicea. Our safe ground becomes unsafe, our strength is gone, and we become weak, like any ordinary mortal.
Satan has his eye on us for the purpose of interposing the world in some form between our souls and Christ. He does not care how little or in what form. If we knew how little answers his purpose, we would be alarmed. It is not by anything glaring that he seeks to ruin us, but by small and seemingly harmless trifles that would not shock or offend anyone, yet these constitute the insidious poison that is destined to ruin our testimony. It must be Christ or the world; it cannot be Christ and the world.
J. N. Darby, adapted