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The Parting Of The Roads
After the Lord had taken the boys and girls through most wonderful and systematic lessons in the Holy Spirit they nearly all came at last to the parting of the roads.
In this vision, repeated until it seemed the impression could never be forgotten, the one in vision seemed to be standing by the cross at the parting of the two great roads. The one was the narrow way of life that leads to heaven and glory; the other was the broad way to hell and destruction.
Great, busy, hurrying multitudes—multitudes hustling with business, carrying great loads of sin and rushing along with the affairs of life -- were passing by in endless streams and countless numbers. The child was the preacher at the cross roads. Again we heard one side of the conversation: "Hello! my friend! Please wait a minute; I want to speak to you. Say, do not go down that broad road; it leads to hell and ruin. I have been down that way and have seen hell for myself. Stop here by the cross and let Jesus wash all your sins away. From the Cross of Christ here you can start up this other road that will lead you to heaven and everlasting life and joy. Oh! that fellow does not believe it. There he goes on down the broad road. What a pity! I will stop this other man and see if he will believe. Hey there! Just a minute! Say, do not follow that crowd. They do not know where they are going. That road leads to destruction; that is the road to the lake of fire. Please don't go on. I came out here to stop as many of you as possible and give you fair warning. Better turn aside here, let Jesus wash your sins away, and go with us up the road to heaven where God is. Oh, there he goes, too!
"Here is another. Wait a moment! Say, come out of that crowd. Cannot you see there is no one traveling back this way? They all go down that road; no one ever comes back. That is the broad road to hell. Stop here by the cross, believe the gospel of salvation through Jesus' blood, and you will be safe. There is no other road further on. This is the only road to heaven. Turn in here or you will be lost too.
"Oh, what a pity he does not believe me. There he goes with the others."
Sometimes the youthful preacher would decide that if no one believed him he would follow the wilful crowd to see what happened. When he arrived with the crowd at the brink of the lake of fire in hell, we heard him say, "Look at that crowd falling into hell! Not one escapes. Everyone goes in." Slowly drawing near the edge of the pit and leaning over and looking down into the lake with its suffering multitudes, the preacher said: "I cannot help you now. I told you all about this back there at 'the gospel cross roads,' but you would not believe. No, you would not believe, even if I could help you out. No, I am helpless now. If you had listened when I warned, the Lord would have saved you; you came on and fell in because you would not take advice. No, I can't. I am going back to the cross roads to see if I can find someone who will listen, and stop a few at any cost."
He was occasionally successful in persuading one to listen. Then he would say, "Now, you get down there at the foot of the cross of Jesus and pray. Oh, you don't know how to pray? Well, you say what I tell you. 'Jesus, I am a sinner! I was on my road to hell. I am only fit for hell. The big load I carry is only sin. Forgive my sins and teach me to live only for your glory. Amen'." There was rejoicing then as the sinner was saved and started up the narrow road, while the preacher went out to try to rescue another deluded traveler.
These visions, with some variations, were repeated many times, making it clear that salvation was only by repentance and belief in the blood of Christ, through the preaching of the gospel; that the many were called; that few were saved; that the road to destruction is broad and multitudes pass that way; that the way of life is narrow and few there be that find it. [6] It was made equally clear that the Christian is to stand in the gap at the parting of the ways and persuade and warn to the limit of his ability.
We have told how the boys, even the small boys, went out at that time and preached on the streets with unction of the Holy Spirit, sometimes under direct inspiration such as we had never before witnessed.
The Story Of The University Student
I will close this chapter with the story of the university student who went by the cross roads.
Opposite our front gate lived a university student who was to have graduated from the university that year. After moving here I talked with him, asking him to come over and discuss the Bible and Christianity in a friendly way. He came a few days, and I felt certain he was convinced of the truth of what I said. The questions he raised seemed to be answered to his full satisfaction.
Through him I managed to get a chance to talk with some of the other university students during their vacation. I had been going to their rooms ten days, when there came the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Adullam. The students were friendly, and I felt that the student I have mentioned saw clearly the truth of the gospel. I could see that, although he was polite, he was not disposed to accept the truth and did not seem to like the friendly way the other students responded to the Bible discussions.
One morning when one of our girls was out at our front gate it happened that this young university student was out there too. The girl began telling him he ought to be a Christian, in a simple way urging him to believe in Jesus to save him from his sins, make him a good man, save him from hell, and lead him to heaven.
"What's the use of my being a Christian? I do not need to be saved."
"You might die suddenly in your sins, and you would go to hell."
"Who are you?" scoffed the student. "You are a little snip of an ignorant girl, just a sort of useless beggar. What do you suppose you are trying to do? You are trying to teach me something when you are not worthy to even talk to me. I am a university student. I am wise. I have read many books. I have been many years in Peking. I can speak and read English as well as Chinese." He then spat in her face and told her to mind her own business.
Two weeks later hearing a funeral commotion in the front alley, I was surprised to learn that they were carrying this university student to his burial; I had seen him on the street a few days before. One of the boys said that as we were going out to preach, a few days previous, he had offered this young man a tract, but he would not take it.
I knew nothing of this conversation with the girl. About a month later this girl was in a trance under the power of the Spirit. After seeing visions of heaven and the glories of the redeemed she stood still and bent over as though looking into hell. This is what I heard: "Ah! There is hell. No, I cannot; I have no power to help you now. You certainly are in an awful plight. It is you who are worse than a beggar now, all dirty, all filthy, and suffering in the lake of fire. In fact, you look worse now than any beggar I ever saw. I thought you told me you were rich and that you had a great education. Where is your education now? Well, I cannot help you now even if you do apologize. That may be, but I have no power. No, only Jesus can save you, but when I told you about Him you made fun of Him and cursed me."
"Look what we beggars who believe in Jesus have received in heaven: all is joy, all is happiness; all is love in the city of golden streets with its wonderful Paradise of God."
Then the girl seemed to be crossing the lake of fire over a narrow bridge. We saw her walking as though she were walking a rope, placing one foot carefully in front of the other while extending her arm on either side until she recovered her balance. With a sigh of relief she said, "My! this is dangerous! But the Lord will help me. I will get across to the other side." Then she carefully brought the other foot forward and nearly lost her balance again. She praised the Lord until she recovered her balance and proceeded as before. In this way having crossed the room, she seemed to be safely in heaven, past every danger of ever falling into the lake of fire.
Whatever the effect of relating these visions may have on others, these things have taught us in Adullam to believe more assuredly than ever in the reality of heaven and the Kingdom of God and the reality of hell and the Kingdom of the devil. More positively than ever do we assert that the way through this life that leads over the dangers of the lake of fire, the way that "overcomers" must travel, is like walking a rope which must be traveled step by step with fear and trembling. [7] Only the Lord Jesus can sustain us in the balance so that we may not topple in to the right, or escaping that, fall to the left. We are surer than ever that God means for us to stand by the cross at the cross roads to point sinners to the narrow, little-traveled road that starts at the cross and leads by it on up to heaven and the life the Lord has prepared for them who love Him. How can any be saved without this salvation; how can any escape who neglect this salvation? "For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Heb. 2:2,3)
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