“He that loveth his life shall lose it” (John 12:25). When a man loses the shield of a good conscience, he knows that he has lost the cooperation of heavenly angels. God is not working in him. Another spirit inspires him. And to be an apostate, a traitor to the cause of God, is much more serious than death; it means the loss of eternal life.—Manuscript 87, August 19, 1897, “All That Will Live Godly in Christ Jesus Shall Suffer Persecution.” (TDG 240.5) MC VC