From Exalted to Cast Down

Memory Text: “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezekiel 28:15).

“Scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION”. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Used by Permission.

Sabbath Afternoon

Sunday

The Creator of All That’s Been Made

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Colossians 1:16-17 (New King James Version)

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Monday

A Beautiful and Perfect Being

Read Ezekel 28

Ezekiel 28:12-19 (New King James Version)

12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “ You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “ You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “ By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “ Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground,

I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. 18 “ You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.”’”

Isaiah 14:12 (New King James Version)

12 “ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,[a] son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!

Ezekiel 28:12 (New King James Version)

12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “ You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

Isaiah 14:12 (New King James Version)

12 “ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,[a] son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!

Tuesday

The Fall of a Perfect Being

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

Ezekiel 28:17 (New King James Version)

17 “ Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.

Deuteronomy 8:1-18 (New King James Version)

Deuteronomy 8

1 “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. 6 “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Wednesday

Wanting to Be God

14 “ You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

Exodus 19:20 (New King James Version)

20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Matthew 17:1-2 (New King James Version)

1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

Exodus 24:10 (New King James Version)

10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.

Isaiah 14:12-14 (New King James Version)

12 “ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,[a] son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

Thursday

Satan on Earth

14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

Revelation 12:7-12 (New King James Version)

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them[a] in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

1 Peter 5:8 (New King James Version)

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[a] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Friday

Ellen G. White, “Why Was Sin Permitted?” in Patriarchs and Prophet

"God is love." 1 John 4:16. His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; it ever will be. "The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity," whose "ways are everlasting," changeth not. With Him "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Isaiah 57:15; Habakkuk 3:6; James 1:17. {PP 33.1}

Every manifestation of creative power is an expression of infinite love. The sovereignty of God involves fullness of blessing to all created beings. The psalmist says:

"Strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand.

Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of Thy throne:

Mercy and truth go before Thy face.

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound:

They walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance.

In Thy name do they rejoice all the day:

And in Thy righteousness are they exalted.

For Thou art the glory of their strength: . . .

For our shield belongeth unto Jehovah,

And our king to the Holy One."

Psalm 89:13-18, R.V. [ IN THIS

TEXT AND IN SOME OTHER BIBLE

QUOTATIONS USED IN THIS BOOK THE

WORD "JEHOVAH" IS EMPLOYED INSTEAD

OF "LORD," AS RENDERED IN THE

AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT TO THE REVISED

VERSION.] {PP 33.2}

The history of the great conflict between good and evil, from the time it first began in heaven to the final overthrow of rebellion and the total eradication of sin, is also a demonstration of God's unchanging love.{PP 33.3}

The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate--a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father--one in nature, in character, in purpose--the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6. His "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: "The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him." Proverbs 8:22-30. {PP 34.1}

The Father wrought by His Son in the creation of all heavenly beings. "By Him were all things created, . . . whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him." Colossians 1:16. Angels are God's ministers, radiant with the light ever flowing from His presence and speeding on rapid wing to execute His will. But the Son, the anointed of God, the "express image of His person," "the brightness of His glory," "upholding all things by the word of His power," holds supremacy over them all. Hebrews 1:3. "A glorious high throne from the beginning," was the place of His sanctuary (Jeremiah 17:12); "a scepter of righteousness," the scepter of His kingdom. Hebrews 1:8. "Honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." Psalm 96:6. Mercy and truth go before His face. Psalm 89:14. {PP 34.2}

The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all intelligent beings depends upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love--service that springs from an appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced obedience; and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service.{PP 34.3}

So long as all created beings acknowledged the allegiance of love, there was perfect harmony throughout the universe of God. It was the joy of the heavenly host to fulfill the purpose of their Creator. They delighted in reflecting His glory and showing forth His praise. And while love to God was supreme, love for one another was confiding and unselfish. There was no note of discord to mar the celestial harmonies. But a change came over this happy state. There was one who perverted the freedom that God had granted to His creatures. Sin originated with him who, next to Christ, had been most honored of God and was highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Lucifer, "son of the morning," was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. He stood in the presence of the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God rested upon him. "Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering. . . . Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." Ezekiel 28:12-15. {PP 35.1}

Little by little Lucifer came to indulge the desire for self-exaltation. The Scripture says, "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." Ezekiel 28:17. "Thou hast said in thine heart, . . . I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will be like the Most High." Isaiah 14:13, 14. Though all his glory was from God, this mighty angel came to regard it as pertaining to himself. Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due alone to the Creator. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of all created beings, it was his endeavor to secure their service and loyalty to himself. And coveting the glory with which the infinite Father had invested His Son, this prince of angels aspired to power that was the prerogative of Christ alone. {PP 35.2}

Now the perfect harmony of heaven was broken. Lucifer's disposition to serve himself instead of his Creator aroused a feeling of apprehension when observed by those who considered that the glory of God should be supreme. In heavenly council the angels pleaded with Lucifer. The Son of God presented before him the greatness, the goodness, and the justice of the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law. God Himself had established the order of heaven; and in departing from it, Lucifer would dishonor his Maker and bring ruin upon himself. But the warning, given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a spirit of resistance. Lucifer allowed his jealousy of Christ to prevail, and became the more determined. {PP 35.3}

To dispute the supremacy of the Son of God, thus impeaching the wisdom and love of the Creator, had become the purpose of this prince of angels. To this object he was about to bend the energies of that master mind, which, next to Christ's, was first among the hosts of God. But He who would have the will of all His creatures free, left none unguarded to the bewildering sophistry by which rebellion would seek to justify itself. Before the great contest should open, all were to have a clear presentation of His will, whose wisdom and goodness were the spring of all their joy. {PP 36.1}

The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. The Son of God shared the Father's throne, and the glory of the eternal, self-existent One encircled both. About the throne gathered the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng--"ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" (Revelation 5:11.), the most exalted angels, as ministers and subjects, rejoicing in the light that fell upon them from the presence of the Deity. Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will. The Son of God had wrought the Father's will in the creation of all the hosts of heaven; and to Him, as well as to God, their homage and allegiance were due. Christ was still to exercise divine power, in the creation of the earth and its inhabitants. But in all this He would not seek power or exaltation for Himself contrary to God's plan, but would exalt the Father's glory and execute His purposes of beneficence and love. {PP 36.2}

The angels joyfully acknowledged the supremacy of Christ, and prostrating themselves before Him, poured out their love and adoration. Lucifer bowed with them, but in his heart there was a strange, fierce conflict. Truth, justice, and loyalty were struggling against envy and jealousy. The influence of the holy angels seemed for a time to carry him with them. As songs of praise ascended in melodious strains, swelled by thousands of glad voices, the spirit of evil seemed vanquished; unutterable love thrilled his entire being; his soul went out, in harmony with the sinless worshippers, in love to the Father and the Son. But again he was filled with pride in his own glory. His desire for supremacy returned, and envy of Christ was once more indulged. The high honors conferred upon Lucifer were not appreciated as God's special gift, and therefore, called forth no gratitude to his Creator. He gloried in his brightness and exaltation and aspired to be equal with God. He was beloved and reverenced by the heavenly host, angels delighted to execute his commands, and he was clothed with wisdom and glory above them all. Yet the Son of God was exalted above him, as one in power and authority with the Father. He shared the Father's counsels, while Lucifer did not thus enter into the purposes of God. "Why," questioned this mighty angel, "should Christ have the supremacy? Why is He honored above Lucifer?" {PP 36.3}

Leaving his place in the immediate presence of the Father, Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. He worked with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealed his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God. He began to insinuate doubts concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, intimating that though laws might be necessary for the inhabitants of the worlds, angels, being more exalted, needed no such restraint, for their own wisdom was a sufficient guide. They were not beings that could bring dishonor to God; all their thoughts were holy; it was no more possible for them than for God Himself to err. The exaltation of the Son of God as equal with the Father was represented as an injustice to Lucifer, who, it was claimed, was also entitled to reverence and honor. If this prince of angels could but attain to his true, exalted position, great good would accrue to the entire host of heaven; for it was his object to secure freedom for all. But now even the liberty which they had hitherto enjoyed was at an end; for an absolute Ruler had been appointed them, and to His authority all must pay homage. Such were the subtle deceptions that through the wiles of Lucifer were fast obtaining in the heavenly courts. {PP 37.1}

There had been no change in the position or authority of Christ. Lucifer's envy and misrepresentation and his claims to equality with Christ had made necessary a statement of the true position of the Son of God; but this had been the same from the beginning. Many of the angels were, however, blinded by Lucifer's deceptions. {PP 38.1}

Taking advantage of the loving, loyal trust reposed in him by the holy beings under his command, he had so artfully instilled into their minds his own distrust and discontent that his agency was not discerned. Lucifer had presented the purposes of God in a false light--misconstruing and distorting them to excite dissent and dissatisfaction. He cunningly drew his hearers on to give utterance to their feelings; then these expressions were repeated by him when it would serve his purpose, as evidence that the angels were not fully in harmony with the government of God. While claiming for himself perfect loyalty to God, he urged that changes in the order and laws of heaven were necessary for the stability of the divine government. Thus while working to excite opposition to the law of God and to instill his own discontent into the minds of the angels under him, he was ostensibly seeking to remove dissatisfaction and to reconcile disaffected angels to the order of heaven. While secretly fomenting discord and rebellion, he with consummate craft caused it to appear as his sole purpose to promote loyalty and to preserve harmony and peace. {PP 38.2}

The spirit of dissatisfaction thus kindled was doing its baleful work. While there was no open outbreak, division of feeling imperceptibly grew up among the angels. There were some who looked with favor upon Lucifer's insinuations against the government of God. Although they had heretofore been in perfect harmony with the order which God had established, they were now discontented and unhappy because they could not penetrate His unsearchable counsels; they were dissatisfied with His purpose in exalting Christ. These stood ready to second Lucifer's demand for equal authority with the Son of God. But angels who were loyal and true maintained the wisdom and justice of the divine decree and endeavored to reconcile this disaffected being to the will of God. Christ was the Son of God; He had been one with Him before the angels were called into existence. He had ever stood at the right hand of the Father; His supremacy, so full of blessing to all who came under its benignant control, had not heretofore been questioned. The harmony of heaven had never been interrupted; wherefore should there now be discord? The loyal angels could see only terrible consequences from this dissension, and with earnest entreaty they counseled the disaffected ones to renounce their purpose and prove themselves loyal to God by fidelity to His government. {PP 38.3}

In great mercy, according to His divine character, God bore long with Lucifer. The spirit of discontent and disaffection had never before been known in heaven. It was a new element, strange, mysterious, unaccountable. Lucifer himself had not at first been acquainted with the real nature of his feelings; for a time he had feared to express the workings and imaginings of his mind; yet he did not dismiss them. He did not see whither he was drifting. But such efforts as infinite love and wisdom only could devise, were made to convince him of his error. His disaffection was proved to be without cause, and he was made to see what would be the result of persisting in revolt. Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong. He saw that "the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works" (Psalm 145:17); that the divine statutes are just, and that he ought to acknowledge them as such before all heaven. Had he done this, he might have saved himself and many angels. He had not at that time fully cast off his allegiance to God. Though he had left his position as covering cherub, yet if he had been willing to return to God, acknowledging the Creator's wisdom, and satisfied to fill the place appointed him in God's great plan, he would have been reinstated in his office. The time had come for a final decision; he must fully yield to the divine sovereignty or place himself in open rebellion. He nearly reached the decision to return, but pride forbade him. It was too great a sacrifice for one who had been so highly honored to confess that he had been in error, that his imaginings were false, and to yield to the authority which he had been working to prove unjust. {PP 39.1}

A compassionate Creator, in yearning pity for Lucifer and his followers, was seeking to draw them back from the abyss of ruin into which they were about to plunge. But His mercy was misinterpreted. Lucifer pointed to the long-suffering of God as an evidence of his own superiority, an indication that the King of the universe would yet accede to his terms. If the angels would stand firmly with him, he declared, they could yet gain all that 0

they desired. He persistently defended his own course, and fully committed himself to the great controversy against his Maker. Thus it was that Lucifer, "the light bearer," the sharer of God's glory, the attendant of His throne, by transgression became Satan, "the adversary" of God and holy beings and the destroyer of those whom Heaven had committed to his guidance and guardianship. {PP 39.2}

Rejecting with disdain the arguments and entreaties of the loyal angels, he denounced them as deluded slaves. The preference shown to Christ he declared an act of injustice both to himself and to all the heavenly host, and announced that he would no longer submit to this invasion of his rights and theirs. He would never again acknowledge the supremacy of Christ. He had determined to claim the honor which should have been given him, and take command of all who would become his followers; and he promised those who would enter his ranks a new and better government, under which all would enjoy freedom. Great numbers of the angels signified their purpose to accept him as their leader. Flattered by the favor with which his advances were received, he hoped to win all the angels to his side, to become equal with God Himself, and to be obeyed by the entire host of heaven. {PP 40.1}

Still the loyal angels urged him and his sympathizers to submit to God; and they set before them the inevitable result should they refuse: He who had created them could overthrow their power and signally punish their rebellious daring. No angel could successfully oppose the law of God, which was as sacred as Himself. They warned all to close their ears against Lucifer's deceptive reasoning, and urged him and his followers to seek the presence of God without delay and confess the error of questioning His wisdom and authority. {PP 40.2}

Many were disposed to heed this counsel, to repent of their disaffection, and seek to be again received into favor with the Father and His Son. But Lucifer had another deception ready. The mighty revolter now declared that the angels who had united with him had gone too far to return; that he was acquainted with the divine law, and knew that God would not forgive. He declared that all who should submit to the authority of Heaven would be stripped of their honor, degraded from their position. For himself, he was determined never again to acknowledge the authority of Christ. The only course remaining for him and his followers, he said, was to assert their liberty, and gain by force the rights which had not been willingly accorded them. {PP 40.3}

So far as Satan himself was concerned, it was true that he had now gone too far to return. But not so with those who had been blinded by his deceptions. To them the counsel and entreaties of the loyal angels opened a door of hope; and had they heeded the warning, they might have broken away from the snare of Satan. But pride, love for their leader, and the desire for unrestricted freedom were permitted to bear sway, and the pleadings of divine love and mercy were finally rejected. {PP 41.1}

God permitted Satan to carry forward his work until the spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt. It was necessary for his plans to be fully developed, that their true nature and tendency might be seen by all. Lucifer, as the anointed cherub, had been highly exalted; he was greatly loved by the heavenly beings, and his influence over them was strong. God's government included not only the inhabitants of heaven, but of all the worlds that He had created; and Lucifer had concluded that if he could carry the angels of heaven with him in rebellion, he could carry also all the worlds. He had artfully presented his side of the question, employing sophistry and fraud to secure his objects. His power to deceive was very great. By disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood, he had gained an advantage. All his acts were so clothed with mystery that it was difficult to disclose to the angels the true nature of his work. Until fully developed, it could not be made to appear the evil thing it was; his disaffection would not be seen to be rebellion. Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his character or see to what his work was leading. {PP 41.2}

Lucifer had at first so conducted his temptations that he himself stood uncommitted. The angels whom he could not bring fully to his side, he accused of indifference to the interests of heavenly beings. The very work which he himself was doing, he charged upon the loyal angels. It was his policy to perplex with subtle arguments concerning the purposes of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest statements of Jehovah. And his high position, so closely connected with the divine government, gave greater force to his representations. {PP 41.3}

God could employ only such means as were consistent with truth and righteousness. Satan could use what God could not--flattery and deceit. He had sought to falsify the word of God and had misrepresented His plan of government, claiming that God was not just in imposing laws upon the angels; that in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, He was seeking merely the exaltation of Himself. It was therefore necessary to demonstrate before the inhabitants of heaven, and of all the worlds, that God's government is just, His law perfect. Satan had made it appear that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the universe. The true character of the usurper and his real object must be understood by all. He must have time to manifest himself by his wicked works. {PP 42.1}

The discord which his own course had caused in heaven, Satan charged upon the government of God. All evil he declared to be the result of the divine administration. He claimed that it was his own object to improve upon the statutes of Jehovah. Therefore God permitted him to demonstrate the nature of his claims, to show the working out of his proposed changes in the divine law. His own work must condemn him. Satan had claimed from the first that he was not in rebellion. The whole universe must see the deceiver unmasked. {PP 42.2}

Even when he was cast out of heaven. Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since only the service of love can be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of the worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately blotted out of existence, some would have served God from fear rather than from love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages, he must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, and that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might be forever placed beyond all question. {PP 42.3}

Satan's rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages--a perpetual testimony to the nature of sin and its terrible results. The working out of Satan's rule, its effects upon both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of God's government is bound up the well-being of all the creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy beings, to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression, to save them from committing sin, and suffering its penalty. {PP 42.4}

He that ruleth in the heavens is the one who sees the end from the beginning--the one before whom the mysteries of the past and the future are alike outspread, and who, beyond the woe and darkness and ruin that sin has wrought, beholds the accomplishment of His own purposes of love and blessing. Though "clouds and darkness are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne." Psalm 97:2, R.V. And this the inhabitants of the universe, both loyal and disloyal, will one day understand. "His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." Deuteronomy 32:4. {PP 43.1}

Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 349

Above the mercy seat was the Shekinah, the manifestation of the divine Presence; and from between the cherubim, God made known His will. Divine messages were sometimes communicated to the high priest by a voice from the cloud. Sometimes a light fell upon the angel at the right, to signify approval or acceptance, or a shadow or cloud rested upon the one at the left to reveal disapproval or rejection. {PP 349.1}

The law of God, enshrined within the ark, was the great rule of righteousness and judgment. That law pronounced death upon the transgressor; but above the law was the mercy seat, upon which the presence of God was revealed, and from which, by virtue of the atonement, pardon was granted to the repentant sinner. Thus in the work of Christ for our redemption, symbolized by the sanctuary service, "mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Psalm 85:10. {PP 349.2}

No language can describe the glory of the scene presented within the sanctuary--the gold-plated walls reflecting the light from the golden candlestick, the brilliant hues of the richly embroidered curtains with their shining angels, the table, and the altar of incense, glittering with gold; beyond the second veil the sacred ark, with its mystic cherubim, and above it the holy Shekinah, the visible manifestation of Jehovah's presence; all but a dim reflection of the glories of the temple of God in heaven, the great center of the work for man's redemption. {PP 349.3}

A period of about half a year was occupied in the building of the tabernacle. When it was completed, Moses examined all the work of the builders, comparing it with the pattern shown him in the mount and the directions he had received from God. "As the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them." With eager interest the multitudes of Israel crowded around to look upon the sacred structure. While they were contemplating the scene with reverent satisfaction, the pillar of cloud floated over the sanctuary and, descending, enveloped it. "And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." There was a revealing of the divine majesty, and for a time even Moses could not enter. With deep emotion the people beheld the token that the work of their hands was accepted. There were no loud demonstrations of rejoicing. A solemn awe rested upon all. But the gladness of their hearts welled up in tears of joy, and they murmured low, earnest words of gratitude that God had condescended to abide with them. {PP 349.4}

Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 464

By one who listened to these words, they were long afterward re-echoed in that sublime passage, "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not." "That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:4, 5, R. V., 9. And long after Jesus had ascended to heaven, Peter also, writing under the illumination of the divine Spirit, recalled the symbol Christ had used: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19. {DA 464.1}

In the manifestation of God to His people, light had ever been a symbol of His presence. At the creative word in the beginning, light had shone out of darkness. Light had been enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, leading the vast armies of Israel. Light blazed with awful grandeur about the Lord on Mount Sinai. Light rested over the mercy seat in the tabernacle. Light filled the temple of Solomon at its dedication. Light shone on the hills of Bethlehem when the angels brought the message of redemption to the watching shepherds. {DA 464.2}

God is light; and in the words, "I am the light of the world," Christ declared His oneness with God, and His relation to the whole human family. It was He who at the beginning had caused "the light to shine out of darkness." 2 Cor. 4:6. He is the light of sun and moon and star. He was the spiritual light that in symbol and type and prophecy had shone upon Israel. But not to the Jewish nation alone was the light given. As the sunbeams penetrate to the remotest corners of the earth, so does the light of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon every soul. {DA 464.3}

"That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." The world has had its great teachers, men of giant intellect and wonderful research, men whose utterances have stimulated thought, and opened to view vast fields of knowledge; and these men have been honored as guides and benefactors of their race. But there is One who stands higher than they. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God." "No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." John 1:12, 18. We can trace the line of the world's great teachers as far back as human records extend; but the Light was before them. As the moon and the stars of the solar system shine by the reflected light of the sun, so, as far as their teaching is true, do the world's great thinkers reflect the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Every gem of thought, every flash of the intellect, is from the Light of the world. In these days we hear much about "higher education." The true "higher education" is that imparted by Him "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." Col. 2:3; John 1:4. "He that followeth Me," said Jesus, "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." {DA 464.4}

Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 169.

The Lord's people cannot of themselves answer the charges of Satan. As they look to themselves they are ready to despair. But they appeal to the divine Advocate. They plead the merits of the Redeemer. God can be "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Rom. 3:26. With confidence the Lord's children cry unto Him to silence the accusations of Satan, and bring to naught his devices. "Do me justice of mine adversary," they pray; and with the mighty argument of the cross, Christ silences the bold accuser. {COL 168.2}

"The Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" When Satan seeks to cover the people of God with blackness, and ruin them, Christ interposes. Although they have sinned, Christ has taken the guilt of their sins upon His own soul. He has snatched the race as a brand from the fire. By His human nature He is linked with man, while through His divine nature He is one with the infinite God. Help is brought within the reach of perishing souls. The adversary is rebuked. {COL 169.1}

"Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel: and he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments." Then with the authority of the Lord of hosts the angel made a solemn pledge to Joshua, the representative of God's people: "If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by"--even among the angels that surround the throne of God. (Zech. 3:3-7.) {COL 169.2}

Notwithstanding the defects of the people of God, Christ does not turn away from the objects of His care. He has the power to change their raiment. He removes the filthy garments, He places upon the repenting, believing ones His own robe of righteousness, and writes pardon against their names on the records of heaven. He confesses them as His before the heavenly universe. Satan their adversary is shown to be an accuser and deceiver. God will do justice for His own elect. {COL 169.3}

Ellen G. White, The General Conference Daily Bulletin, March 2, 1897.

March 2, 1897 Testimony Dated Jan. 11, 1897

Bread should never have the slightest taint of sourness. It should be cooked until it is most thoroughly done. Thus all softness and stickiness will be avoided. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 1}

For those who can use them, good vegetables, prepared in a healthful manner, are better than soft mushes or porridge. Fruits used with thoroughly cooked bread, two or three days old, which is more healthful than fresh bread, with slow and thorough mastication, will furnish all that the system requires. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 2}

"As a man thinketh, so is he." If the appetite is allowed to rule, then the mind will be brought under its control. When the stomach is educated to discard that which will prove only an injury to it, the simplest kinds of food will satisfy the hunger. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 3}

It is not well to take a great variety of foods at one meal. When fruit and bread, together with a variety of other foods that do not agree, are crowded into the stomach at one meal, what can we expect but that a disturbance will be created? {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 4}

The mixing largely of white or brown flour bread with milk in the place of water, is not a healthful preparation. If the bread thus cooked is allowed to stand over and is then broken open, there will be frequently seen long strings like cobwebs; and this, in warm weather, soon causes fermentation to take place in the stomach. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 5}

Milk should not be used in place of water in bread-making. All this is extra expense, and is not wholesome. The taste may be educated so that it will prefer bread prepared in this way, but the more simple it is made, the better it will satisfy the hunger, and the more natural will be the appetite to enjoy the plainest diet. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 6}

Every housekeeper should feel it her duty to educate herself to make good, sweet bread, and in the most inexpensive manner; and the family should refuse to have upon the table bread that is heavy and sour; for it is injurious. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 7}

There are a large number of poor families who buy the common baker's bread, which is often sour, and is not healthful for the stomach. In every line of cooking, the question that should be considered is, How shall the food be prepared in the most natural and inexpensive manner? And there should be a careful study that the fragments of food left over from the table be not wasted. Study how that in some way these fragments of food shall not be lost. This skill, economy and tact is a fortune. In the warmer part of the season prepare less food. Use more dry substances. There are many poor families who, although they have scarcely enough to eat, can often be enlightened as to why so many jots and tittles are wasted. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 8}

The meat diet is the serious question. Shall human beings subsist on the flesh of dead animals? The answer, from the light that God has given, is, No; decidedly no. Health reform institutions should educate on this question. Physicians who claim to understand the human organism ought not to encourage their patients to subsist on the flesh of dead animals. They should point out the increase of disease in the animal kingdom. The testimony of examiners is, that very few animals are free from disease, and that the practice of eating largely of meat is contracting diseases of all kinds,--cancers, tumors, scrofula, tuberculosis, and numbers of other like affections. If man would subsist upon the food which God has so abundantly provided, without having it first pass into the animal organism and become sinew and muscle, and then take it second-hand by eating of the corpse, his health would be much better insured. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 9}

The ministers in our land should become intelligent upon health reform. They need to become acquainted with the science of physiology. They will be intelligent in regard to the laws that govern physical life, and their bearings upon the health of mind and soul. They will be able to speak correctly upon this subject. In their obedience to physical laws, they are to hold forth the word of life to the people, and lead up higher and still higher in the work of reform. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 10}

"'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.' 'Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas, they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.' All who claim to be teachers should urge, both by precept and example, the necessity of abstaining from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 11}

"What shall arouse those who claim to be walking in the light that is shining upon the people of God in these last days? A lethargy of unconscious sensualism through indulgence of perverted appetite, a constant submitting of soul and body and spirit to moral defilement, is upon the people. Under the marriage vow, which our Creator has instituted, appetite has been perverted and indulged. And these lustful appetites, with their destroying power, has been transmitted from parents to children, and so intensified that their names are recorded in the books of heaven as transgressors of God's law. Upon their very countenances is imparted the sin of Sodom. And continuance in these sins will bring the sure and terrible results. They will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. They will receive the sentence, 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.' {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 12}

"This is the final judgment. Let the senses of all be aroused: for many whose names now appear on the church books are not the children of God. In the books of heaven it is recorded of them. 'Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.' Let every church in our land arouse to the importance of studying the Word of God, and with much earnest prayer, not stand afar off, but 'draw nigh to God.' The promise is, 'He will draw nigh to you.' Then you may keep life in your souls, and obtain a sound experience. Then you will not be of that class of whom it is written, 'And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.' {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 13}

"Let the Lord Jesus come into your houses and into your hearts. Every talent entrusted to us is to be used and approved in accordance with the will of the Giver. Days, months, and years are added to our existence that we may improve our opportunities and advantages for working out our own individual salvation, and promoting the well-being of others by our unselfish life. Thus may we build up the kingdom of Christ, and make manifest the glory of God. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 14}

"Human exertion, physical and intellectual ability, will be taxed to the utmost to keep the feet of the youth in the path where we can trace the footprints of Jesus. The young have not had all the attention that they should have had in order to develop their talents. The arrangements made in the missionary line of work are far in the rear. Councils have been corrupted, and board meetings have been conducted by inefficient members who felt not the necessity of having the constraining power of the Holy Spirit upon the youth, to help them to choose the illumination from above. The youth need sanctified example, an acknowledgment of Omnipotence in the grand work of becoming home and foreign missionaries. They need to behold in the cross of Christ the only true power to sustain the human agent in his continuous struggle against temptation, amid disappointments and reverses. How many of the General Conference have said, 'Go,' but have left many to make brick without straw, have given them no facilities or help. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 15}

"The malarious, poisonous atmosphere which surrounds the souls of those who are dead in trespasses and sins, is causing us to become like the inhabitants of the Noachian world, who, because they chose to follow the imaginations of their own corrupt minds, and dishonor God by their wicked inventions, became corrupt in body and soul, and hated the God who made them. God sent them a message that they should not live, but should be destroyed because of their wicked works. And whole families today are in need of being terribly alarmed. They have been, and still are, corrupting their way before God. They are so steeped in licentiousness that they do not discern the difference between the pure affection given them of God, the attributes of human nature, and the destructive lusts which by indulgence and wicked inventions, make them as sinful as were those before the flood, and the inhabitants of Sodom. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 16}

"In assuming human nature, that he might reach to the very depths of human woe and misery and lift man up, Christ has shown what estimate he places upon the human race. In this work everything was at stake. Satan claimed to be the lawful owner of the fallen race; and with what persistent effort did he seek to overthrow Christ through his subtilty! It was only by the most desperate conflict with the powers of Satan that Christ could accomplish his purpose of restoring the almost obliterated image of God in man, and place his own signature upon his forehead. It was a desperate battle; for Satan had so long worked in league with human intelligencies as to almost completely intercept every ray of light shining from the throne of God upon the human mind. The cross of Calvary alone could destroy the works of the devil. In that wondrous sacrifice all eyes were called to 'behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' The love of Christ kindles in the heart of all who continue to behold him. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 17}

"Satan's ear caught the words spoken by John the Baptist,--'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,'--and he determined to unite all the power of his army, and of the human beings with himself, to accomplish the ruin of the race. He would commence with the appetite. He would bring his temptation to bear upon this point, and by a perverted appetite destroy the mental and physical force, and make man appear a revolting, polluted being before his Maker. And Satan has carried out his purpose. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 18}

"All nature makes manifest the work of God. Man is fearfully and wonderfully made, and if man had obeyed the laws of Jehovah in his natural laws, the image of God would have been revealed in him. But by sinning against his own body; by indulging his natural appetite and disturbing the action of the human machinery; by the use of alcoholic drinks, narcotics, and the flesh of diseased animals, man has distorted and crippled the Lord's divine arrangements. Nature does her best to expel the poisonous drug, tobacco, but frequently she is overborne. She gives up her struggle to expel the intruder, and the life is sacrificed in the conflict. Every pernicious drug placed in the human stomach, whether by prescription of physician, or by man himself doing violence to the human organism, injures the whole machinery. Every intemperate indulgence or lustful appetite is at war with natural instinct, and the healthful condition of every nerve and muscle and organ of the wonderful human machinery which through the Creator's power possesses organic life. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 19}

"Nature would do her work wisely and well if the human agent would, in his treatment of the body, co-operate with the divine purpose. But how Satan and his whole confederacy rejoice to see how easily his power of deception and art can persuade man to form an appetite for most unpleasant stimulants and narcotics. And then when nature has been overborne, enfeebled in all her working force, there is the drug medication to come from the physician, to kill the remaining vital force, and leave men miserable wrecks of suffering, of imbecility, of insanity, and of loathsome disease. God is hidden from the human observation by the hellish shadow of Satan. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 20}

"In Luke 4:16-19, Christ announces his mission and work for the world: 'And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.' Jesus himself became man's ransom, his liberator from the oppressive power of Satan. 'Ye are not your own,' he says, 'for ye are bought with a price.' We are bought from a power whose slaves we were. And the price our ransom cost was the only begotten Son of God. His blood alone could ransom guilty man. 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 21}

"O, if every one could discern these matters as they have been presented to me, those who are so careless, so indifferent in regard to their character-building; those who plead for indulgence in a flesh-meat diet, would never open their lips in justification of an appetite for the flesh of dead animals. Such a diet contaminates the blood in the veins, and stimulates the lower animal passions. It enfeebles keen perception and vigor of thought to the understanding of God and the truth, and a knowledge of themselves. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 22}

"Christ gave his life a ransom for many. Christ was to come under the cruel power of Satan. Satan hoped if he could once gain the supremacy he would overcome Christ. He had obtained mastery over the human family, and through disobedience to God's holy law, had brought them under his jurisdiction. He unjustly claimed them as his own subjects. But Christ takes the prey from the enemy. Satan was to be overcome by the Son of Man. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 23}

"Christ removed every obstruction that man might return to his allegiance to God. Christ became subject to suffering in behalf of man. And yet man, by his selfish indulgence, is willing to place himself in slippery places, and through unnatural appetite obliterate the moral image of God. Man, who has been endowed with physical, mental, and moral power, has placed himself where he is a weakling. Satan knows that he cannot overcome man unless he can control his will. He can do this by deceiving man so that he will co-operate with him in transgressing the laws of nature in eating and drinking, which is transgression of the law of God. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 24}

Here is where the subject of intemperance grows into importance. Here is where Satan works to so confuse minds by a perverted appetite that man cannot discern sacred things from common. Cheap things are placed on a level with the sacred. Animalism is strengthened, the higher powers weakened. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 25}

"God calls for reform in our churches. Satan is playing the game of life for every soul. He is seeking to brutify humanity whom God values. But when the appetite is held under the control of an intelligent, God-fearing mind, there will be a cultivation of pure, spiritual attributes. There will be a refusal to be led into a slavery that kills both physical, mental, and moral worth, and leaves the human agent, for whom Christ has paid so high a price, crippled, worthless, and tossed about with temptation. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 26}

"Benumb not the faculties that God has given for wise improvement, by intemperate habits. Touch not, taste not, handle not spirituous liquors in any form. But intemperance does not stop there. There are manufactured appetites which the Author of our being has never created, and every departure from the simple natural laws which he has established in our being, is a departure from the law of God. This law embraces the treatment of the entire being. Every nerve and fiber and muscle of the body has been constructed by God, and so arranged as to minister happiness to the human agent. But man has sought out many inventions. He has treated the body as if its laws had no such thing as penalty, and in this sin against the body he has dishonored his Maker. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 27}

Satan has carried out his plans in this respect. Man's appetite has become perverted, his organs and powers enfeebled, crippled, and diseased. And these results which he has through his vicious temptations brought about, he uses to taunt God with. He presents before God the appearance of a human being which God has purchased as his property. And what an unsightly representation he is of his Maker. God is dishonored, because man has corrupted his ways before the Lord. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 28}

"The Creator of man has arranged the living machinery of our bodies. Every function is wonderfully and wisely made. And God has pledged himself to keep this machinery in healthful action, if the human agent will obey his laws and co-operate with God. Every law governing the human machinery is to be considered just as truly divine in origin, in character and importance, as the work of God. Every careless, inattentive action, any abuse put upon the Lord's wonderful mechanism, by disregarding his specified laws in the human habitation, is a violation of God's law. We may behold and admire the work of God in the natural world, but the human habitation is the most wonderful. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 29}

"From the first dawn of reason, the human mind should become intelligent in regard to the physical structure. Here Jehovah has given a specimen of himself; for man was made in the image of God. It is Satan's determined work to destroy the image of God in man. He would make the intelligence of man, his highest, noblest gift, the most destructive agent, to pollute with sin everything he touches. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 30}

"Not only the human, but the brute creation are made to suffer through Satan's attributes brought out through the human agent. One human being becomes Satan's co-partner to tempt, allure, and deceive his fellow-men to vicious practices. And the sure result is diseased bodies, because of the violation of the moral law. 'Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.' It is Satan's determined purpose to deceive the human family to such an extent that he can bring them as a mass on his side to work with him in making man believe that the law of God is no longer obligatory upon the human race. Then he will find agencies which will multiply his efficiency in leading man to ignore the law of God. When they do this, then he rules them with a rod of iron. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 31}

"The only definition of sin given in God's Word, is transgression of the law. It is not excusable, and has no defense or justification. It will be the final and eternal condemnation of the originator of sin, and all the angels who united with him in the heavenly courts, who joined the confederacy of evil, identifying themselves with the great apostate. When the question comes, 'Why have ye done thus?' every tongue will be silent; the rebellious world will stand speechless before God. Of Satan, God has said, 'Thou wast perfect in all thy ways from the day that thou wast created, until iniquity was found in thee.' {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 32}

"Sin entered the world by the defection of one who stood at the head of the holy angels. What was it that wrought so great a change, transforming a royal, honored subject into an apostate? The answer is given, 'Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.' Had not the Lord made the covering cherub so beautiful, so closely resembling his own image; had not God awarded him special honor; had anything been left undone in the gift of beauty and power and honor, then Satan might have had some excuse. But God declares: 'Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering. . . . Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned; therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 33}

"'Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.' {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 34}

"Why, O why, cannot the world see where they are drifting, and the sure result! The Lord has wrought in sending the living preacher with the word of life. It is the Word of God to a people who through Satan's devices know him not. When the Lord's ministers in sincerity hold forth the word of life, there should be those connected with him to help him in his work. The sowing of the gospel seed will not be a success unless the seed is quickened into life by the dew of heaven. {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 35}

"Before one book of the New Testament was written, the Holy Spirit came upon the praying apostles, and the testimony of their enemies was, 'Ye have filled all Jerusalem with your doctrine.' {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 36}

"The teacher himself must be the living embodiment of truth. His self-denial and charity is his witness that he bears the message of heaven. He has himself eaten of the flesh and drank of the blood of the Son of God, and this is eternal life. Taught by the Spirit, he will not be satisfied with less than the salvation of souls." {GCDB, March 2, 1897 par. 37}

Revelation 12:7-12 (New King James Version)

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them[a] in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”