Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

easily the second time. Every time this is repeated it lessens the
power to resist, blinds the eyes, and stifles conviction. God does not
work a miracle to prevent the harvest. "Whatever a man sows, that
he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). This is the way that many people
start listening with cold indifference to the truths that once warmed
their hearts. They sowed neglect and resistance to the truth, and this
is the harvest they reap.
Some people quiet a guilty conscience with the thought, "I can
change my evil course whenever I choose." They think that after
putting their influence on the side of the great rebel, they will
change leaders when danger surrounds them. But this is not easily
done. A life of sinful indulgence has so molded the character that
they cannot then receive the image of Jesus. If no light had shone on
their pathway, mercy might intervene. But after light has been
despised for a long time, it will finally be taken away.
Next a plague of hail was threatened upon Pharaoh. "Therefore
send now and gather your livestock ... for the hail shall come down
on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not
brought home, and they shall die." No one had ever seen such a
storm as this would be. The report spread rapidly, and everyone who
believed the word of the Lord gathered in their cattle, while those
who despised the warning left them in the field. So in the midst of
judgment the mercy of God was displayed, and it was shown how
many had been led to respect God.
The storm came--thunder and hail, and fire mingled with it, "so
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