e and destroy the work of God. The
people had been greatly stirred by the Advent Movement, thousands of
sinners had been converted, and faithful men were giving themselves to the
work of proclaiming the truth, even in the tarrying time. The prince of
evil was losing his subjects; and in order to bring reproach upon the
cause of God, he sought to deceive some who professed the faith, and to
drive them to extremes. Then his agents stood ready to seize upon every
error, every failure, every unbecoming act, and hold it up before the
people in the most exaggerated light, to render Adventists and their faith
odious. Thus the greater the number whom he could crowd in to make a
profession of faith in the second advent while his power controlled their
hearts, the greater advantage would he gain by calling attention to them
as representatives of the whole body of believers.

Satan is "the accuser of the brethren," and it is his spirit that inspires
men to watch for the errors and defects of the Lord's people, and to hold
them up to notice, while their good deeds are passed by without a mention.
He is always active when God is at work for the salvation of souls. When
the sons of God come to present themselves before the Lord, Satan comes
also among them. In every revival he is ready to bring in those who are
unsanctified in heart and unbalanced in mind. When these have accepted
some points of truth, and gained a place with believers, he works through
them to introduce theories that will deceive the unwary. No man is proved
to be a true Christian because he is found in company with the children of
God, even in the house of worship and around the table of the Lord. Satan
is frequently there upon the most solemn occasions, in the form of those
whom he can use as his agents.

The prince of evil contests every inch of ground over which God's people
advance in their journey toward the heavenly city. In all the history of
the church, no reformation has been carried forward without encountering
serious obstacles. Thus it was in Paul's day. Wherever the apostle raised
up a church, there were some who professed to receive the faith, but who
brought in heresies, that, if received, would eventually crowd out the
love of the truth. Luther also suffered great perplexity and distress from
the course of fanatical persons who claimed that God had spoken directly
through them, and who therefore set their own ideas and opinions above the
testimony o