“This work of opposition to the Law of God had its beginning in the courts of Heaven, with Lucifer, the covering cherub.  Satan determined to be first in the councils of Heaven, and equal with God.  He began his work of rebellion with the angels under his command, seeking to diffuse among them the spirit of discontent.  And he worked in so deceptive a way that many of the angels were won to his allegiance before his purposes were fully known.  Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his character, nor see to what his work was leading.  When Satan had succeeded in winning many angels to his side, he took his cause to God, representing that it was the desire of the angels that he occupy the position that Christ held.”  1SM:222.2; 7BC:972.6.

 

“. . .he {Satan} had led others to rebellion and to the same lost condition with himself -- angels, who had [29] never thought to question the will of Heaven, or refuse obedience to the Law of God till he had put it into their minds, presenting before them that they might enjoy a greater good, a higher and more glorious liberty.  This had been the sophistry whereby he had deceived them.”  1SP:28-29. 

 

“When Satan became fully convinced that there was no possibility of his being re-instated in the favor of God, he manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence.”  1SP:30.2.

 

“God knew that such determined rebellion would not remain inactive.  Satan would invent means to annoy the Heavenly angels, and show contempt for His authority.  As he could not gain admission within the gates of Heaven, he would wait just at the entrance, to taunt the angels and seek contention with them as they went in and out.  He would seek to destroy the happiness of Adam and Eve.  He would endeavor to incite them to rebellion, knowing that this would cause grief in Heaven.”  1SP:30.2-30.3.

 

“He {Satan} decided that cunning and deceit would do what might, or force, could not.”  1SP:32.2. 

 

“But if they disobeyed the Command of God, then Satan would have power to ever annoy, perplex, and trouble, them.”  1SP:34.1.

 

“Satan would convey the idea that by eating of the forbidden tree, they would receive a new and more noble kind of knowledge than they had hitherto attained.  This has been his special work with great success ever since his fall, to lead men to pry into the secrets of the Almighty, and not to be satisfied with what God has revealed, and not careful to obey that which He has Commanded.”  1SP:36.

 

“He [Satan} has succeeded in making the world believe the theory he presented in Heaven before his fall, tha the Law of God was faulty, and needed revising.”  2SM:107.

 

“Satan, after compassing the fall of Adam and Eve, had boasted that he was monarch of the earth, and it was true that in all ages of the world he had found many followers.  But he had failed to unite fallen man with him as he had hoped to do, and thus reign supreme over the whole earth. . .

 

The hope of salvation through Christ led fallen man to be exceedingly faithful in the matter of sacrifices.  Satan watched with intense interest every circumstance connected with these sacrificial ceremonies, and soon learned that they typified a future atonement for the human race.  This caused him great uneasiness, as it threatened to frustrate his cherished plan of gaining dominion over the whole world and its inhabitants.  But, instead of desponding under his discouragements, he redoubled his efforts to accomplish his purpose, and the ages were marked with his hellish triumphs.  Indulgence of appetite and [87]

 

“passion, war, intoxication, and crime spread over the earth as its inhabitants increased.  God destroyed the people with the waters of a great flood, and rained fire and death upon the wicked cities; but the great adversary was still free to pursue his scheme of demoralization.

 

“Satan is a diligent student of the Bible, and much better acquainted with the prophecies than many religious teachers.  He has ever kept well-informed concerning the revealed purposes of God, that he might defeat the plans of the Infinite.  It was plain to Satan that the sacrificial offerings were typical of a Coming Redeemer Who was to ransom man from the powers of darkness, and that this Redeemer was the Son of God.  Therefore he laid deep plans to control the hearts of men from generation to generation, and to blind their understanding of the prophecies, that when Christ should Come the people would refuse to accept Him as their Saviour.

 

“From the time when Christ was born in Bethlehem, Satan had never lost sight of Him.  He had set on foot various plans to destroy Him, in all of which he was unsuccessful, as the Son of God was upheld by the strong arm of His Father.  Well-aware of Christ’s position in Heaven, Satan was filled with apprehension when this powerful Prince of light left the royal courts of His glory and became a simple Man on earth.  Satan now feared that, not only would he fail in his cherished purpose of reigning supreme over the whole earth, but that the power he already possessed would be wrested from him.  Therefore when he went out into the wilderness to beset Christ with temptations, he brought every force and artifice [88] at his command to bear upon the Son of God that he might allure Him from His allegiance.”  2SP:86-88.

 

“Through appetite, Satan had accomplished the [90] ruin of Adam and Eve, and through all succeeding generations, this had been his strongest weapon in corrupting the human race.”  2SP:89-90.

 

“Satan is today deceiving many as he attempted to deceive Christ, claiming that he is Heaven-sent and doing a good work for humanity.  And the masses of the people are so blinded by sophistry that they cannot discern his true character, and they honor him as a messenger of God, while he is working their eternal ruin.”  2SP:90.2.

 

“If the children of men would follow the example of their Saviour, and hold no converse with Satan, they would be spared many a defeat at his hands.  Six thousand years has this arch-enemy been warring against the government of God, and continued practice has increased his skill to deceive and allure.”  2SP:93.2.

 

“Hatred and revenge are instigated by Satan, and bring only remorse to him who cherishes them.”  2SP:207.

 

“Satan is the god of the world; his influence is to pervert the senses, control the human mind for evil, and drive his victims to violence and crime.  He sows discord and darkens the intellect.”  2SP:317.1.

 

“He watches the indications of moral corruption, and introduces his specious temptations, carefully leading men into worse and worse evils, till utter depravity is the result.”  2SP:317.2.

 

“He [Christ] remembered the persistence and malice of Satan, who had boldly contended with the angels in Heaven that his sentence was unjust, maintaining that there was no self-denial with God, and that Satan, in struggling to carry out his purposes and have his own way, was only imitating the example of God.  If God followed His Own Will perfectly and continually, why should not the first sons created in His image do so?  By this argument Satan deceived many of the holy angels.  He complained continually of God’s severity, just as children sometimes complain of their parents’ severity in restraining them from carrying out plans destructive to the family government.  Rather than submit to the Will of God he turned from the light of reason, and set himself in opposition to the Divine plans.

 

“In the warfare ensuing, Satan for a time seemed to hold the advantage.  He could lie; God could not lie.  He could move in a thousand crooked and deceiving ways to gain a desired object; God must pursue the straightforward course of truth and righteousness.  For a time Satan triumphed in an apparent victory.  But God would unmask the enemy and reveal him in his true character.  Christ, in taking the nature of man, was Divinity clothed in humanity.”  3SP:77.

 

“Satan, knowing that the empire he had usurped would in the end be wrested from him, determined to spare no pains to destroy as many as possible of the creatures whom God had created in His image.  He hated man because Christ had manifested for him such forgiving Love and pity, and he now prepared to practice upon him every species of deception by which he might be lost; he pursued his course [195] with more energy because of his own hopeless condition.”  3SP:194-195.

 

“The Christian world is not sufficiently acquainted with the history of Satan, and the terrible power that he wields.  Many look upon him as a mere imaginary being.  Meanwhile he has crept into the popular mind; he sways the people -- he assumes the character of an angel of light -- he marshals his trained forces like a skilled general -- he has gained profound knowledge of human nature, and can be logical, philosophical, or hypocritically religious.”  3SP:195.2.

 

SDA’s note the ORIGINAL:  “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions.  While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome.  Protestantism will yet stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; she will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, our country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.”  4SP:405.1.

 

{{{HERE IS THE CHANGED WRITINGS (BOLD & UNDERLINED ARE THE ADDED OR CHANGED WORDS)}}}:  “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions.  While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome.  The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, {THIS IMPLIES THAT ALL CHRISTIANS WILL TAKE PART} this country {YET “this country,” or “our country” in the original, implies government control over “Protestants” that comply with it; not “all Christendom”} will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” GC:588. }}}.

 

“Leaving his place in the immediate presence of God, Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels.  Working with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealing his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God, he endeavored to excite dissatisfaction concerning the Laws that governed Heavenly beings, intimating that They imposed an unnecessary restraint.”  4SP:326.2; GC:495.

 

“And the apostle John, describing the miracle-working power that will be manifested in the last days, declares: ‘He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do.’  Revelation 13:13, 14.  No mere impostures are here foretold. Men are deceived by the miracles which Satan's agents have power to do, not which they pretend to do.”  4SP:472.1; DD:19.4; GC88:553.2; GC:553; LDE:168.

 

“Before he fell, Satan wanted Christ’s position.  Because he could not have it, he became desperate, rebelled, and was cast out of Heaven.  Because he was restrained from carrying out his plans, he decided that he would be his own god.  He came to this world, and here he determined to do a great work through commercialism.  He laid his plans to turn the world into a place where he could carry out his strange devisings.”  19MR:395.3.

 

“The hearts of those who had been converted under the labors of the apostles, were softened and united by Christian love.  Despite former prejudices, all were in harmony with one another.  Satan knew that so long as this union continued [88] to exist, he would be powerless to check the progress of Gospel truth; and he sought to take advantage of former habits of thought, in the hope that thereby he might be able to introduce into the Church elements of disunion.”  AA:87-88.

 

“Not without a struggle does Satan allow the kingdom of God to be built up in the earth.  The forces of evil are engaged in unceasing warfare against the agencies appointed for the spread of the Gospel, and these powers of darkness are especially active when the truth is proclaimed before men of repute and sterling integrity.”  AA:167.2.

 

“It is a dangerous thing to form a worldly alliance.  Satan well knows that the hour that witnesses the marriage of many young men and women closes the history of their religious experience and usefulness.  They are lost to Christ.  They may for a time make an effort to live a Christian life, but all their strivings are made against a steady influence in the opposite direction.  Once it was a privilege and joy to them to speak of their faith and hope; but they become unwilling to mention the subject, knowing that the one with whom they have linked their destiny takes no interest in it.  As the result, faith in the precious truth dies out of the heart, and Satan insidiously weaves about them a web of skepticism.”  AH:66.2.

 

“Satan has woven his meshes about them in unwise attachments and poor marriages.  This he saw would be the most successful way he could allure them from the path of holiness.”  AH:80.5.

 

“Parents should be careful not to allow the spirit of dissension to creep into the home; for this is one of Satan's agents to make his impression on the character.  If parents will strive for unity in the home by inculcating the principles that governed the life of Christ, dissension will be driven out, and unity and love will abide there.  Parents and children will partake of the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  AH:178.3.

 

“The sophistries regarding God and nature that are flooding the world with skepticism are the inspiration of the fallen foe, who is himself a Bible student, who knows the truth that it is essential for the people to receive, and whose study it is to divert minds from the great truths given to prepare them for what is coming upon the world.”  CCh:323.3.

 

“Riches, power, genius, eloquence, pride, perverted reason, and passion are enlisted as Satan's agents in doing his work in making the broad road attractive, strewing it with tempting flowers.”  Con:87.1.

 

“Satan's agents are constantly working under his direction to establish his authority and build up his kingdom in opposition to the government of God.  To this end they seek to deceive Christ’s followers, and allure them from their allegiance.  Like their leader, they misconstrue and pervert the Scriptures to accomplish their object.  As Satan endeavored to cast reproach upon God, so do his agents seek to malign God's people.”  GC88:507.1.

 

“From the very beginning of the great controversy in Heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the Law of God.  It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of Heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth.  To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s Law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued.  Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the Law altogether, or by rejecting one of Its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same.”  GC:582.

 

“In consenting to do Satan's bidding, Christ would be venturing into Satan's ways, not in ways that God had devised for His Son.  That was a dare, and Satan’s agents are full of presumptuous dares to get a chance to work his will with those who will accept his dare. But Christ would not accept the dare of Satan.”  HP:255.3.

 

“In the future Satan’s superstitions will assume new forms.  Errors will be presented in a pleasing and flattering manner.  False theories, clothed with garments of light, will be presented to God’s people.  Thus Satan will try to deceive, if possible, the very elect.  Most seducing influences will be exerted; minds will be hypnotized.”  Mar:59.2.

 

“Corruptions of every type, similar to those existing among the antediluvians, will be brought in to take minds captive.  The exaltation of nature as God, the unrestrained license of the human will, the counsel of the ungodly -- these Satan uses as his agencies to bring about certain ends.  He will employ the power of mind over mind to carry out his designs. The most sorrowful thought of all is that under his deceptive influence men will have a form of godliness, without having a real connection with God.  Like Adam and Eve, who ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, many are even now feeding upon the deceptive morsels of error.”  Mar:59.2-59.3. 

 

“The human family was presented before me, enfeebled.  Every generation has been growing weaker; and disease of every form visits the human race.  Thousands of poor mortals are dragging out a miserable existence.  Some with deformed, sickly bodies, shattered nerves, and gloomy minds.  Satan’s power upon the human family increases.  If the Lord should not soon come and destroy his power, the earth would soon be depopulated.

 

“I was shown that Satan’s power is especially exercised upon the people of God.  Many were presented before me in a doubting, despairing condition.  The infirmities of the body affect the mind.  A cunning and powerful enemy attends our steps, and employs his strength and skill in trying to turn us out of the right way.  And it is too often the case that the people of God are not on their watch; therefore are ignorant of his devices.  He works by means which will best conceal himself from view.  And he often gains his object.”  RH, April 22, 1862.

 

“Satan, who was once an honored angel in Heaven, had been ambitious for the more exalted honors which God had bestowed upon his Son.  He became envious of Christ, and represented to the angels who honored him as covering cherub that he had not the honor conferred upon him which his position demanded.  He asserted that he should be exalted equal in honor with God. . .

 

“Satan made his exulting boasts to Christ and to loyal angels that he had succeeded in gaining a portion of the angels in Heaven to unite with him in his daring rebellion.  And now that he had succeeded in overcoming Adam and Eve, he claimed that their Eden home was his.  He proudly boasted that the world which God had made was his dominion.  Having conquered Adam, the monarch of the world, he had gained the race as his subjects, and he should now possess Eden, and make that his head-quarters.  And he would there establish his throne, and be monarch of the world. . .

 

“Satan knew that if Christ was indeed the Son of God, the world’s Redeemer, it was for no good to himself. . .

 

“But these words at the time they were spoken were not fully understood by Satan.  He knew that they contained a curse for him, because he had seduced the holy pair.  And when Christ was manifested on the earth, Satan feared that he was indeed the One promised which should limit his power and finally destroy him. . .

 

“It was Satan’s design that the state of man should be the same with that of the fallen angels in rebellion against God, uncheered by a gleam of hope.  He reasoned that if God pardoned sinful man whom He had created, He would also pardon and receive into favor him and his angels. . .

 

“The angels who were rebellious were dealt with according to the light and experience they had abundantly enjoyed in Heaven.  Satan, the chief of the fallen angels, once had an exalted position in Heaven.  He was next in honor to Christ.  The knowledge which he, as well as the angels who fell with him, had of the character of God, of His goodness, His mercy, wisdom, and excellent glory, made their guilt unpardonable.

 

“There was no possible hope for those ever to be redeemed, who had witnessed and enjoyed the inexpressible glory of Heaven and had seen the terrible majesty of God, and, in presence of all this glory, had rebelled against Him.  There were no new and more wonderful exhibitions of God’s exalted power that could ever impress them as deeply as those they had already experienced.  If they could rebel in the very presence of the weight of glory inexpressible, they could not be placed in any more favorable condition to be proved.  There was no reserve force of power, nor were there any greater heights and depths of infinite glory to overpower their jealous doubts and rebellious murmuring.  Their guilt and their punishment must be in proportion to their exalted privileges in the Heavenly courts.”  RH, February 24, 1874.

 

“Through Satan’s devices, each generation was becoming more feeble in physical, mental, and moral power.  This gave him courage to think that he might succeed in his warfare against Christ in person when He should be manifested.  He has the dominion of death.”  RH, March 3, 1874.

 

“If men and women of intelligence have their moral powers benumbed through intemperance of any kind, they are, in many of their habits, elevated but little above the heathen.  Satan is constantly drawing the people from saving light, to custom and fashion, irrespective of physical, mental, and moral health.  The great enemy knows that if appetite and passion predominate, health of body and strength of intellect are sacrificed upon the altar of self-gratification, and man is brought to speedy ruin.  If enlightened intellect holds the reins, controlling the animal propensities, keeping them in subjection to the moral powers, Satan well knows that his power to overcome with his temptations is very small. . . The adversary of souls is working in these last days with greater power than ever before to accomplish the ruin of man through the indulgence of appetite and passions.  And many who are held by Satan under the power of slavish appetite are the professed followers of Christ.  They profess to worship God, while appetite is their god.”  RH, September 8, 1874.

 

“The reason why Satan has so great control over the minds and hearts of men, is that they have not made the Word of God the man of their counsel, and all their ways have not been tried by the true test.”  RH, January 4, 1881.

 

“Satan will come with his temptations to every Christian as he came to Christ.  ‘Be not overscrupulous,’ he whispers, ‘in regard to honor and honesty.  If you would succeed in getting gain, you must look out sharply for your own interests.’  Many listen to these suggestions, and blindly peril their hope of eternal life for worldly, temporal gain.”  RH, September 6, 1881 par. 7.

 

“From the beginning, it has been the special doctrine of the adversary of God and man, that the Law of God was faulty and objectionable.  He has ever represented the Royal Law of Liberty, as oppressive and unendurable.  He has denoted it ‘a yoke of bondage.’  He has declared that it was impossible for man to keep the Precepts of Jehovah.  This has been, and still is, the work of Satan.  This is the seductive doctrine that devils are seeking to spread throughout the world.  ‘No Law’ is the cry of the enemy of God.”  RH, July 31, 1888, par. 3.

 

“The spirit of Satan and his works had taken deep root in the affections of the children of men; but the holy angels were horror-stricken that one of their number could fall so far as to be capable of such cruelty as had been manifested toward the Son of God on Calvary.  Every sentiment of pity and sympathy which they had ever felt for Satan in his exile was quenched in their hearts.  That his envy should be manifested in such a revenge upon an innocent person was enough to strip him of his assumed robe of celestial light, and to reveal the hideous deformity beneath; but to manifest such malignity toward the Divine Son of God, Who had with unprecedented self-denial and Love for the creatures formed in His image, come from Heaven and assumed their fallen nature, was such a heinous crime against Heaven that it caused the angels to shudder with horror, and severed the last tie of sympathy existing between Satan and the Heavenly world.”  ST, September 23, 1889 par. 1.

 

“The sinner cannot contradict or answer the charge of Satan against him, but our Advocate presents His wounded hands, and makes an effectual plea in behalf of the repenting one who has placed his case in the hands of Jesus.  Our Saviour silences this bold accuser by the unanswerable argument of the cross.  Jesus stands to plead His Own blood in behalf of the sinner.  He has unveiled the disguised tempter, and shown him in his true light, as a malignant enemy to Christ and man.  The condemnation and murder of the Son of God were brought about by Satan’s false accusations, and that against One Who was pure, holy, and undefiled.  This work has forever alienated from Satan the affections and sympathy of the Heavenly world.  Not one thought of sympathy remained in their hearts for him who had been an exalted angel.”  RH, September 22, 1896 par. 8.

 

“What is sin? -- It is the result of Satan’s administration.  It is his work to make of no effect the Law of God.  He is determined that man shall do what God has forbidden him to do.  By his deceptive, artful temptations, he strives to make men disobey.”  RH, August 9, 1898, par. 2.

 

“God in His wisdom did not use measures of force to suppress Satan’s rebellion.  Such measures would have aroused sympathy for Satan, strengthening his rebellion rather than changing his principles.  If God had summarily punished him, many would have looked upon him as one who had been dealt with unjustly, and he would have carried a much larger number with him in his apostasy.”  ST, July 23, 1902 par. 7; CTr:289.4.

 

“The battle going on in this world was witnessed by the Heavenly universe, and by the worlds unfallen.  They saw the purposes of hate cherished by the wily foe against the only-begotten Son of God.  Satan’s enmity against truth and righteousness was seen.  By his treatment of Christ, Satan demonstrated the falsity of his own attributes, and of his deceiving, crooked pretensions as the friend of God.  He showed himself to be the enemy of God and of man.  The sacrificial offering upon the cross of Calvary sounded the death knell of Satan and of all who choose him as their leader.  He fell forever from the sympathy of the Heavenly angels.

 

“When Christ, dying upon the cross, cried with a loud voice, ‘It is finished,’ Satan and the angels that sympathized with him in Heaven, and fell with him, were vanquished.”  ST, June 17, 1897 par. 11-12.