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the wisdom which excited the wonder and admiration of the world.
But when he turned from the Source of his strength, and went for-
ward relying upon himself, he fell a prey to temptation. Then the
marvelous powers bestowed on this wisest of kings, only rendered
him a more efficient agent of the adversary of souls.
While Satan is constantly seeking to blind their minds to the
fact, let Christians never forget that they “wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits [margin]
in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12.] The inspired warning is sounding down the centuries to our time: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour.” [1 Peter 5:8.] “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” [Ephesians
6:11.]
From the days of Adam to our own time, our great enemy has
been exercising his power to oppress and destroy. He is now prepar-
ing for his last campaign against the church. All who seek to follow
Jesus will be brought into conflict with this relentless foe. The more
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nearly the Christian imitates the divine Pattern, the more surely will
he make himself a mark for the attacks of Satan. All who are actively
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engaged in the cause of God, seeking to unveil the deceptions of
the evil one and to present Christ before the people, will be able to
join in the testimony of Paul, in which he speaks of serving the Lord
with all humility of mind, with many tears and temptations.
Satan assailed Christ with his fiercest and most subtle tempta-
tions; but he was repulsed in every conflict. Those battles were
fought in our behalf; those victories make it possible for us to con-
quer. Christ will give strength to all who seek it. No man without
his own consent can be overcome by Satan. The tempter has no
power to control the will or to force the soul to sin. He may distress,
but he ca
The fact that Christ has conquered should inspire his followers with
courage to fight manfully the battle against sin and Satan.
Chapter 26—Agency of Evil Spirits
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The existence of Satan and the agency of evil spirits are facts
fully established by both the Old and the New Testament. From the
days of Adam to Moses, and through all the succeeding ages to John,
the latest gospel writer, Satan is recognized as an active, personal
agent, the originator of evil, the enemy of God and man. It is true
that imagination and superstition have given their own coloring to
these facts, and have linked them with legends and traditions of
heathen, Jewish, and even Christian nations; but as revealed in the
word of God they are of the utmost solemnity and importance. The
co
of angels of God, and the agency of evil angels, are inseparably
interwoven with human history. We are told of the fall of the angels
from their purity, of Lucifer their leader, the instigator of rebellion,
of their confederacy and government, of their various orders, of
their great intelligence and subtlety, and of their malicious designs
against the i
mightier than the fallen foe,—One by whose authority Satan’s power
is limited and controlled; and we are told, also, of the punishment
prepared for the originator of iniquity.
During the time when Christ was upon the earth, evil spirits
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manifested their power in a most striking ma
this?—Christ had come to enter upon the plan devised for man’s
redemption, and Satan therefore determined to assert his right to
control the world. He had succeeded in establishing idolatry in every
part of the earth except the land of Palestine. To the only land that
had not fully yielded to the tempter’s sway, Christ came to shed
upon the people the light of Heaven. Here two rival powers claimed
supremacy. Jesus was stretching out his arms of love, inviting all
who would to find pardon and peace in him. The hosts of darkness
understood that if his mission should be successful, their rule was
soon to end. Satan raged like a chained lion, and defiantly exhibited
his power over the bodies as well as the souls of men.
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The fact that men have been possessed with demons is clearly
stated in the New Testament. The persons thus afflicted were not
merely suffering with disease from natural causes. Christ had perfect
understanding of that with which he was dealing, and he recognized
the direct presence and agency of evil spirits.
A striking example of their number, power, and malignity, and
also of the power and mercy of Christ, is given in the Scripture
account of the healing of the demoniacs at Gadara. Those wretched
maniacs, spurning all restraint, writhing, foaming, raging, were
filling the air with their cries, doing violence to themselves, and
endangering all who should approach them. Their bleeding and
disfigured bodies and distracted minds presented a spectacle well-
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pleasing to the prince of darkness. One of the demons controlling
the sufferers declared, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” [Mark
5:9.] In the Roman army a legion consisted of from three to five thousand men. Satan’s hosts also are marshaled into companies, and
the single company to which these demons belonged numbered no
less than a legion.
At the command of Jesus, the evil spirits departed from their
victims, leaving them calmly sitting at the Saviour’s feet, subdued,
intelligent, and gentle. But the demons were permitted to sweep a
herd of swine into the sea; and to the dwellers of Gadara their loss
outweighed the blessings which Christ had bestowed, and the divine
Healer was entreated to depart. This was the result which Satan
designed to secure. By casting the blame upon Jesus, he aroused the
selfish fears of the people, and prevented them from listening to his
words. Satan is constantly accusing Christians as the cause of loss,
misfortune, and suffering, instead of allowing the reproach to fall
where it belongs, upon himself and his agents.
But the purposes of Christ were not thwarted. He allowed the
evil spirits to destroy the herd of swine as a rebuke to those Jews,
who, by raising these unclean beasts for the sake of gain, had trans-
gressed the command of God. Had not Christ restrained the demons,
they would have plunged into the sea, not only the swine, but also
their keepers and owners. The preservation of both the keepers and