When the spiritual history of the Western world during the 21st century comes to be written, it is likely to be seen as an age of spiritual torpor. Eternal realities seemed hazy and distant from daily life, and conformity to the world manifested itself in the neglect and abandonment of spiritual matters. That is why it is no anachronism to re-issue a book from an age when people had a deeper awareness of the world to come, written by a servant of God whose preaching and written work were used to sound the alarm and awaken many to the concerns of life and death. Such is the prevailing climate among many contemporary Christians that these pages can primarily serve as an instrument to stir believers and enable them to apply themselves to their evangelistic task. It will not be the first time Joseph Alleine has produced such an effect.
