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and arouse suspicion in the minds of the inexperienced. In every
conceivable ma
righteous to be regarded as foul and deceptive. And in this work the
agents of Satan have their master and his angels to help them.
But none need be deceived concerning them. It may be readily
seen whose children they are, whose example they follow, and whose
work they do. “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” [Matthew 7:16.]
They closely resemble Satan, the envenomed slanderer, the accuser
of the brethren.
It is Satan’s plan to bring into the church insincere, unregenerate
elements that will encourage doubt and unbelief, and hinder all
who desire to see the work of God advance, and to advance with it.
Many who have no real faith in God or in his word, assent to some
Snares of Satan
229
principles of truth, and pass as Christians; and thus they are enabled
to introduce their errors as scriptural doctrines.
The position that it is of no consequence what men believe, is
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one of Satan’s most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth,
received in the love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore
he is constantly seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another
gospel. From the begi
against false teachers, not merely as vicious men, but as inculcators
of falsehoods that were fatal to the soul. Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul,
firmly and fearlessly opposed those who were turning men from
the word of God. That liberality which regards a correct religious
faith as unimportant, found no favor with these holy defenders of
the truth.
The vague and fanciful interpretations of Scripture, and the many
conflicting theories concerning religious faith, that are found in the
Christian world, are the work of our great adversary to so confuse
minds that they shall not discern the truth. And the discord and
division which exists among the churches of Christendom is in a
great measure due to the prevailing custom of wresting the Scriptures
to support a favorite theory. Instead of carefully studying God’s word
with humility of heart to obtain a knowledge of his will, many seek
only to discover something odd or original.
In order to sustain erroneous doctrines or unchristian practices,
they seize upon passages of Scripture separated from the context,
perhaps quoting half of a single verse as proving their point, when the
remaining portion would show the meaning to be quite the opposite.
With the cu
disco
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do many willfully pervert the word of God. Others, who have an
active imagination, seize upon the figures and symbols of Holy Writ,
interpret to suit their fancy, with little regard to the testimony of
Scripture as its own interpreter, and then they present their vagaries
as the teachings of God’s word.
Whenever the study of the Scriptures is entered upon without
a prayerful, humble, teachable spirit, the plainest and simplest as
well as the most difficult passages will be wrested from their true
meaning. The papal leaders select such portions of Scripture as best
serve their purpose, interpret to suit themselves, and then present
230
The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4
these to the people, while they deny them the privilege of studying
the Bible, and understanding its sacred truths for themselves. Unless
the whole Bible is given to the people just as it reads, it would be
better for them not to have it at all.
The Bible was designed to be a guide to all who wish to become
acquainted with the will of their Maker. God gave to men the sure
word of prophecy; angels and even Christ himself came to make
known to Daniel and John the things that must shortly come to pass.
Those important matters that concern our salvation were not left
involved in mystery. They were not revealed in such a way as to
perplex and mislead the honest seeker after truth. Said the Lord by
the prophet Habakkuk, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon
tables, that he may run that readeth it.” [Habakkuk 2:2, 3.] The word of God is plain to all who study it with a prayerful heart. Every truly
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honest soul will come to the light of truth. “Light is sown for the
righteous.” [Psalm 97:11.] No church can advance in holiness unless its members are earnestly seeking for truth as for hid treasure.
By the cry of liberality, men are blinded to the devices of their
adversary, while he is all the time working steadily for the accom-
plishment of his object. As he succeeds in supplanting the word of
truth by human speculations, the law of God is set aside, and the
churches are under the bondage of sin while they claim to be free.
To many, scientific research has become a curse; their finite
minds are so weak that they lose their balance. They ca
nize their views of science with Scripture statements, and they think
that the Bible is to be tested by their standard of “science falsely
so called.” Thus they err from the faith, and are seduced by the
devil. Men have endeavored to be wiser than their Creator; human
philosophy has attempted to search out and explain mysteries which
will never be revealed, through the eternal ages. If men would but
search and understand what God has made known of himself and his
purposes, they would obtain such a view of the glory, majesty, and
power of Jehovah, that they would realize their own littleness, and
would be content with that which has been revealed for themselves
and their children.
It is a masterpiece of Satan’s deceptions to keep the minds of
men searching and conjecturing in regard to that which God has not
made known, and which he does not intend that we shall understand.
Snares of Satan
231
It was thus that Lucifer himself was cast out of Heaven. He became
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dissatisfied because all the secrets of God’s purposes were not con-
fided to him, and he entirely disregarded that which was revealed
concerning his own work in the lofty position assigned him. By
arousing the same discontent in the angels under his command, he
caused their fall. Now he seeks to imbue the minds of men with the
same spirit, and to lead them also to disregard the direct commands
of God.
Those who are unwilling to accept the plain, cutting truths of
the Bible, are continually seeking for pleasing fables that will quiet
their consciences. The less spiritual, self-denying, and humiliating
the doctrines presented, the greater the favor with which they are
received. These persons degrade the intellectual powers to serve