"LET THERE BE LIGHT" Ministries     |   home   |   Special 144,000   |   1335 Days of Daniel   |   3 Unclean Spirits Like Frogs   |   Apostasy with Satan   |   Armageddon   |   Cannot Sin Theory   |   Christs Prayer   |   Confederacy   |   Corrupt Harmony   |   Dreams   |   Establishing Gospel Order   |   Feast Days   |   Fire from Heaven   |   Firm Foundation   |   Firm Platform   |   Held Accountable   |   Held Guilty   |   Held Responsible   |   Hypnosis   |   Laodiceanism   |   Latter Rain   |   Line of Separation   |   New Age   |   Obedience   |   Pillars   |   Satan Uniting   |   Satan's Actual Words   |   Second Resurrection   |   Spiritualism   |   Study for Yourself   |   Successful Marriage   |   Timing of Loud Cry   |   True Church   |   Unite & Unity CONFEDERACY  OF  EVIL Bible Commentary, vol 4, p 1142      The question has been asked, What do you mean by a confederacy?  Who have formed confederacies?  You know what a confederacy is,--a union of men in a work that does not bear the stamp of pure, straightforward, unswerving integrity.--Manuscript 29, 1911. Signs of the Times, 05-28-94      The confederacy of evil will not stand.  The Lord says: "Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces....Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us.  For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.  Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.  And he shall be for a sanctuary." 1888 Materials, p 1581-1582      Christ came to announce to our world that he had brought to men the donation of eternal life.  "To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name."  But so constantly had Satanic hatred against the law of God been cherished in the heart, and so widely had it spread throughout the entire race, that at the time of Christ's advent, every human agent who showed friendship to God, and advocated the law, was accounted as a traitor to the common cause.  A wakeful impiety was exercised by the enemies of God, and those who departed from evil made themselves a prey, and were treated as enemies.  The principles of injustice and fraud were wide spread, and a master power was constantly at work, seeking to bring into confederacy the forces of evil.  This contemptible confederacy boasted of its power in the very face of heaven. Manuscript Releases, vol 19, p 260      My Instructor slowly and solemnly spoke the following words: "Form a confederacy; to whom they shall say, 'Form a confederacy'; and they shall be broken in pieces."  Three times were these words spoken.  "Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.  Take counsel together, land it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us" [Isa.  8:9,10]. Signs of the Times, 09-02-97      This scheme, devised in the counsel of Satan, was made in order to compel the three Hebrew children to obey human laws in direct opposition to the laws of Jehovah.  The most learned of the nation, men who were noted for their aptness and educational advantages, thus worked to form a confederacy that would exalt the king of Babylon and excite enmity against the Hebrew captives.  They prevailed upon the king to enact certain laws which these youth could not consent to respect. Youth's Instructor, 10-11-94      The Lord says, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman."  The enmity does not exist as a natural fact.  As soon as Adam sinned, he was in harmony with the first great apostate and at war with God; and if God had not interfered in man's behalf, Satan and man would have formed a confederacy against heaven, and would have carried on united opposition against the God of hosts.  There is no natural enmity between evil angels and evil men; both are evil through transgression of the law of God, and evil will always league against good.  Fallen men and fallen angels enter into a desperate companionship.  The prophecy of enmity between the serpent and the seed of the woman, was the first intimation that Satan had that God would provide a way of salvation for the fallen race.  Satan had made his calculation that he would induce men to ally themselves with him as he had induced angels; and by this desperate confederacy, he would not hesitate to war against heaven, and seek to dethrone the Lord of hosts. Signs of the Times, 05-28-94      Satan will use his agencies to carry out diabolical devices, to overpower the saints of God, as in times past he used the Roman power to stay the course of Protestantism; yet the people of God can look calmly at the whole array of evil, and come to the triumphant conclusion that because Christ lives we shall live also.  The people of God are to advance in the same spirit in which Jesus met the assaults of the prince of darkness in the past.  The evil confederacy can advance only in the course which Jesus has marked out before them; every step of their advance brings the saints of God nearer the great white throne, nearer the successful termination of their warfare.  The confederacy of evil will finally be destroyed; for the prophet says, "Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."  Even of him whose heart was lifted up because of his beauty, who corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness, the Lord says: "I will 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." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 07-18-07      God has given me this message to bear to those who are out of line: "Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.  Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.  For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 10-11-92      Jesus fought our battles during his life upon this atom of a world, and all the heavenly intelligences are enlisted on our side in every battle in this warfare.  We have no power to war with principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places, except as we draw strength from Christ.  Jesus calls upon you to behold the confederacy of evil, to behold the conflicts which you must meet.  He bids us count the cost of standing under the blood-stained banner; for he does not flatter us that we shall have no difficulties in this life.  But although we have a confederacy of evil to meet, Jesus assures us that the whole army of heaven is enlisted to fight our battles for us, to work out for us a glorious victory, and Jesus is the Captain of our salvation. General Conference Daily Bulletin, 04-13-91      There is to be no compromise with those who make void the law of God.  It is not safe to rely upon them as counselors.  Our testimony is not to be less decided now than formerly; our real position is not to be cloaked in order to please the world's great men.  They may desire us to unite with them and accept their plans, and may make propositions in regard to our course of action which may give the enemy an advantage over us.  "Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy."  While we should not seek for controversy, and should not needlessly offend, we must present the truth clearly and decidedly, and stand firm to what God has taught us in his word.  You are not to look to the world in order to learn what you shall write and publish or what you shall speak.  Let all your words and works testify, "We have not followed cunningly devised fables."  "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." Bible Commentary, vol 7, p 983 (Maranatha, p 187; Manuscript Releases, vol 1, p 297; Selected Messages, book 3, p 392)      "These have one mind."  There will be a universal bond of union, one great harmony, a confederacy of Satan's forces.  "And shall give their power and strength unto the beast."  Thus is manifested the same arbitrary, oppressive power against religious liberty, freedom to worship God according to the dictates of conscience, as was manifested by the papacy, when in the past it persecuted those who dared to refuse to conform with the religious rites and ceremonies of Romanism. Kress Collection, p 1 (Bible Commentary, vol 1, p 1092; Reveiw and Herald, 12-10-03; Pacific Union Recorder, 11-19-03)      This confederacy was born of rebellion against God.  The dwellers on the plains of Shinar established their kingdom for self-exaltation, and not for the glory of God.  Had they succeeded, a mighty power would have borne away, banishing righteousness, and inaugurating a new religion.  The mixture of certain religious ideas with a mass of erroneous theories would have resulted in closing the door of peace, happiness, and security.  These suppositions, erroneous theories, carried out and perfected, would have banished a  knowledge of the law of Jehovah from the minds of men, who would not think it necessary to obey the divine statutes.  These statutes, which are holy, just, and good, would have been ignored.  Determined men, inspired by the first great rebel, would have urged on by him, and would have permitted nothing to interfere with their plans, or to stop them in their evil course.  In the place of the divine precepts they would have substituted laws framed in accordance with the desires of their selfish hearts in order that they might carry out their purposes. Patriarchs and Prophets, p 123      The men of Babel had determined to establish a government that should be independent of God.  There were some among them, however, who feared the Lord, but who had been deceived by the pretensions of the ungodly and drawn into their schemes.  For the sake of these faithful ones the Lord delayed His judgments and gave the people time to reveal their true character.  As this was developed, the sons of God labored to turn them from their purpose; but the people were fully united in their Heaven-daring undertaking.  Had they gone on unchecked, they would have demoralized the world in its infancy.  Their confederacy was founded in rebellion; a kingdom established for self-exaltation, but in which God was to have no rule or honor.  Had this confederacy been permitted, a mighty power would have borne sway to banish righteousness--and with it peace, happiness, and security --from the earth.  For the divine statutes, which are "holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12), men were endeavoring to substitute laws to suit the purpose of their own selfish and cruel hearts. Publishing Ministry, p 142      You know what a confederacy is--a union of men in a work that does not bear the stamp of pure, straightforward, unswerving integrity.--Manuscript 29, 1911. Publishing Ministry, p 147-148      The Pattern, Jesus Christ, must ever be kept before us.  The Lord Jesus says, "Follow me."  He that would "come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."  This was not done, but a new order of things was introduced into the office.  The counsels of God were too often ruled out of your assemblies.  How?  With some by an unholy confederacy.  "We will stand together," they said.  "You give me your support, and I will give you my support."  This was the principle that controlled some of the workers in the office.  God calls it an unholy confederacy.  His grace and His spirit had nothing to do with this human policy. Reflecting Christ, p 356      We are to watch.  Christ said, Watch unto prayer.  He does not deceive any of us.  He takes us to an eminence, shows us the confederacy of evil and the strength of the powers of darkness that are arrayed against all who would have faith in Jesus Christ, and tells us to count the cost; but He does more for us; He does not leave us there without still further encouragement.  He does not show us trials and conflicts and leave us without help to fight the battles.  But He tells us that God has His angels that minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation.  Round about His throne are thousands and thousands and ten times ten thousands of angels. Patriarchs and Prophets, p 119      When the tower had been partially completed, a portion of it was occupied as a dwelling place for the builders; other apartments, splendidly furnished and adorned, were devoted to their idols.  The people rejoiced in their success, and praised the gods of silver and gold, and set themselves against the Ruler of heaven and earth.  Suddenly the work that had been advancing so prosperously was checked.  Angels were sent to bring to naught the purpose of the builders.  The tower had reached a lofty height, and it was impossible for the workmen at the top to communicate directly with those at the base; therefore men were stationed at different points, each to receive and report to the one next below him the orders for needed material or other directions concerning the work.  As messages were thus passing from one to another the language was confounded, so that material was called for which  120  was not needed, and the directions delivered were often the reverse of those that had been given.  Confusion and dismay followed.  All work came to a standstill.  There could be no further harmony or co-operation.  The builders were wholly unable to account for the strange misunderstandings among them, and in their rage and disappointment they reproached one another.  Their confederacy ended in strife and bloodshed.  Lightnings from heaven, as an evidence of God's displeasure, broke off the upper portion of the tower and cast it to the ground.  Men were made to feel that there is a God who ruleth in the heavens. Selected Messages, book 2, p 131      In the revelation of His righteous judgments, God will break up all these associations; and when the judgment shall sit and the books be opened, there will be revealed the un-Christlikeness of the whole confederacy.  Those who choose to unite with these secret societies are paying homage to idols as senseless and as powerless to bless and save the soul as are the gods of the Hindus. Spirit of Prophecy, vol 4, p 331      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 connection of the visible with the invisible world, the ministration 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 innocence and happiness of men.  We are told of One 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. Selected Messages, book 2, p 367      The Word of God plainly declares that His law is to be scorned, trampled upon, by the world; there will be an extraordinary prevalence of iniquity.  The professed Protestant world will form a confederacy with the man of sin, and the church and the world will be in corrupt harmony. Bible Commentary, vol 4, p 1141 (Review and Herald, 10-21-02)      The satanic agencies are constantly at work, sowing and watering the seeds of rebellion against the law of God, and Satan is gathering souls under his black banner of revolt.  He forms a confederacy with human beings to contend against purity and holiness.  He has worked diligently, perseveringly, increasing the number who will confederate with him.  By his representations he seeks to widen the distance between heaven and earth, and he grows into the conviction that he can wear out the patience of God, extinguish His love for man, and bring condemnation upon the whole human family. Ministry of Healing, p 439      The mastermind in the confederacy of evil is ever working to keep out of sight the words of God, and to bring into view the opinions of men.  He means that we shall not hear the voice of God, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it."  Isaiah 30:21.  Through perverted educational processes he is doing his utmost to obscure heaven's light. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 03-19-95 (Bible Commentary, vol 4, p 1142)      The gospel is now resolutely opposed on every hand.  Never was the confederacy of evil greater than at the present time.  The spirits of darkness are combining with human agencies to set them firmly against the commandments of God.  Traditions and falsehoods are exalted above the Scriptures: reason and science above revelation; human talent above the teachings of the Spirit; forms and ceremonies above the vital power of godliness.  We need the divine touch. Bible Commentary, vol 6, p 1119      Satan instigated others to rebel, and after they were cast out of heaven he bound them together in a confederacy to do all the evil possible to man, as the only means of striking God.  Excluded from heaven, he resolved to be avenged by injuring the workmanship of God.  Around the standard of rebellion that he planted, evil workers of all generations have rallied.  Evil angels have united with evil men in a warfare against Christ's kingdom. Sons and Daughters of God, p 307      He who came to redeem the lost world, was opposed by the united forces of the adversaries of God and man.  In an unpitying confederacy, evil men and evil angels arrayed themselves against the Prince of peace.  Though His every word and act breathed of divine compassion, His unlikeness to the world provoked the bitterest hostility.  Because He would give no license for the exercise of the evil passions of our nature, He aroused the fiercest opposition and enmity.  So it is with all who will live godly in Christ Jesus.  Between righteousness and sin, love and hatred, truth and falsehood, there is an irrepressible conflict.  When one presents the love of Christ and the beauty of holiness, he is drawing away the subjects of Satan's kingdom, and the prince of evil is aroused to resist it.  Persecution and reproach await all who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ.  The character of the persecution changes with the times; but the principle--the spirit that underlies it--is the same that has slain the chosen of the Lord ever since the days of Abel. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 03-16-11 (Testimonies, vol 8, p 241)      I am pained when I see the sharp thrusts which appear in the "American Sentinel."  I speak to my brethren who are communicating with the people through that paper: It is best for you to be as wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves.  We should carefully and severally examine our ways and our spirits, and see in what manner we are doing the work given us of God, which involves the destiny of souls.  The very highest obligation is resting upon us.  Satan is standing ready, burning with zeal to inspire the whole confederacy of satanic agencies, that he may cause them to unite with evil men, and bring upon the believers of truth speedy and severe suffering.  Every unwise word that is uttered by our brethren will be treasured up by the prince of darkness. Testimonies to Ministers, p 19-20      Jesus sees His true church on the earth, whose greatest ambition is to cooperate with Him in the grand work of saving souls.  He hears their prayers, presented in contrition and power, and Omnipotence cannot resist their plea for the salvation of any tried, tempted member of Christ's body.  "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."  Jesus ever liveth to make intercession for us.  Through our Redeemer what blessings may not the true believer receive?  The church, soon to enter upon her most severe conflict, will be the object most dear to God upon earth.  The confederacy of evil will be stirred with power from beneath, and Satan will cast all the reproach possible upon the chosen ones whom he cannot deceive and delude with his satanic inventions and falsehoods.  But exalted "to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins," will  Christ, our representative and head, close His heart, or withdraw His hand, or falsify His promise?  No; never, never. Testimonies to Ministers, p 36-37      Satanic agencies have been moved from beneath, and they have inspired men to unite in a confederacy of evil, that they may perplex, harass, and cause of the people of God great distress.  The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power.  It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in  order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Testimonies to Ministers, p 38-39      In the scene representing the work of Christ for us, and the determined accusation of Satan against us, Joshua stands as the high priest, and makes request in behalf of God's commandment-keeping people.  At the same time Satan represents the people of God as great sinners, and presents before God the list of sins he has tempted them to commit through their lifetime, and urges that because of their transgressions, they be given into his hands to destroy.  He urges that they should not be protected by ministering angels against the confederacy of evil.  He is full of anger because he cannot bind the people of God into bundles with the world, to render to him complete allegiance.  Kings and rulers and governors have placed upon themselves the brand of antichrist, and are represented as the dragon who goes to make war with the saints--with those who keep the commandments of God and who have the faith of Jesus.  In their enmity against the people of God, they show themselves guilty also of the choice of Barabbas instead of Christ. That I May Know Him, p 345      It is time we were endowed with power from on high.  Satan and all his confederacy of evil are working with untiring vigilance to oppose good.  Never was there a stronger combination formed to neutralize the lessons and teachings of Christ and to sow the seeds of infidelity in regard to the inspiration of the Scriptures. Medical Ministry, p 132-133      Never forsake the true standard, even though to cling to it makes you a beggar.  God has set up a high standard of righteousness.  He has made a plain distinction between human and divine wisdom.  All who work on Christ's side must work to save, not to destroy.  Worldly policy is not to become the policy of the servants of God.  Divine authority is to be acknowledged.  The church on earth is to be the representative of heavenly principles.  Amid the awful confederacy of injustice, deception, robbery, and crime she is to shine with light from on high.  In the righteousness of Christ she is to stand against the prevailing apostasy.--Letter 38, 1901. Upward Look, p 262      Satan is at work from beneath to stir up the hellish powers of his confederacy of evil against the just.  He imbues human agencies with his own attributes.  Evil angels united with evil men will put forth efforts to harass, persecute, and destroy.  But the Lord God of Israel will not forsake those who trust in Him.  Amid the strengthening of infidelity and apostasy, amid the pretended illumination which is the blindest presumption and delusion, there will be a light from the sanctuary above shining upon God's people.  The truth of God will triumph. Christian Education, p 85      Many think that they must consult commentaries on the Scriptures in order to understand the meaning of the word of God, and we would not take the position that commentaries should not be studied; but it will take much discernment to discover the truth of God under the mass of the words of men.  How little has been done by the church as a body professing to believe the Bible, to gather up the scattered jewels of God's word into one perfect chain of truth?  The jewels of truth do not lie upon the surface, as many suppose.  The master mind in the confederacy of evil is ever at work to keep the truth out of sight, and to bring into full view the opinions of great men.  The enemy is doing all in his power to obscure heaven's light through educational processes; for he does not mean that men shall hear the voice of the Lord, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it." Isaiah 30:21. Bible Echo, 11-15-92      The followers of Christ are called upon to share with Him in his sufferings.  The confederacy of evil is arrayed against those who would follow in the footsteps of the world's Redeemer.  We are to battle with the mighty prince of evil; but the Saviour tells us that we are not to fight alone.  All the heavenly intelligences will come to our help.  Amid the darkness of the world, we are to catch the radiance from the throne of God, and to shed the light of heaven to the uttermost parts of the earth. Bible Training School, 12-01-02 (Review and Herald, 09-10-03)      The powers of Satan are mustering for battle.  Stern conflicts are before us.  Press together, my brethren and sisters, press together.  Bind up with Christ.  "Say ye not, A Confederacy...neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.  Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.  And he shall be for a sanctuary to his people; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." Home Missionary, 09-01-92      Satan and his evil angels, combined with wicked men, are seeking by every possible device to bear before the world a testimony against the truth of God's word.  The enmity of Satan against Christ is determined and unrelenting, and in the great controversy between good and evil, while Satan and his confederacy are bringing in their false testimony against God and his truth, in order that men may not receive the love of the truth, but believe a lie, who is burdened of soul to make plans or devise means whereby agencies may be put in operation for the advancement of truth?  Will those who profess to believe the truth stand in idleness, when Satan and his hosts work with intense activity for the overthrow of the cause of truth?  Will the professed followers of Christ allow him to preoccupy the field?  Who will be a volunteer to witness for God in these far-off lands?  Who will open the Scriptures to those who are ignorant of the words of life?  Who will let his light shine out to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death? Home Missionary, 08-01-96      The churches have not been educated altogether as they should have been educated.  They have been educated to depend upon the ministers to pray and open the Scriptures to the people who assemble to worship God.  God would have the people hear the voice of God, and go to work for the Master.  Thousands might be at work who are not ordained to preach the gospel.  If the love of God was a living, abiding element in the soul, there would be love among the brethren, and many who have been indifferent to the great Teacher's commandment, who now bite and devour one another, would be convinced of their mistake, and draw into fellowship.  God has made every provision for better things.  God's people have close, severe battles to fight; but these battles are not to be against their brethren.  All desire to hurt and weaken and destroy the influence of even the weakest of God's workers, is registered in the books of heaven as desire to weaken the influence of Jesus Christ.  The warfare we are to undertake is to be waged against the confederacy of evil, which is arrayed against the people of God.  But woe unto those who shall turn their implements of warfare against their own brethren.  God reminds us that we are to fight in unison with the angels of heaven, and that more than angels are engaged in the warfare. Manuscript Releases, vol 8, p 42 (Pacific Union Recorder, 11-19-03)      But among the men of Babel there were living some God-fearing men who had been deceived by the pretensions of the ungodly and drawn into their schemes.  These men would not join this confederacy to thwart the purposes of God.  They refused to be deceived by the wonderful representations and the grand outlook.  For the sake of these faithful ones, the Lord delayed His judgments, and gave the people time to reveal their true character.  They heeded not the counsel of the Lord, but carried out their own purposes.  The great majority were fully united in their heaven-daring undertaking.  Had they been permitted to go on unchecked, they would have demoralized the world by their wonderful plans. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 11-08-92      The time is upon us when the miracle-working power of the arch deceiver will be more decidedly revealed.  And his deceptions will increase in their delusive attraction, so that they will perplex, and if possible, deceive, the very elect.  The prince of darkness with his evil angels is working upon the Christian world, inducing those who profess the name of Christ to stand under the banner of darkness, to make war with those who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus.  An apostate church will unite with the powers of earth and hell to place upon the forehead or in the hand, the mark of the beast, and prevail upon the children of God to worship the beast and his image.  They will seek to compel them to renounce their allegiance to God's law, and yield homage to the papacy.  Then will come the times which will try men's souls; for the confederacy of apostasy will demand that the loyal subjects of God shall renounce the law of Jehovah, and repudiate the truth of his word.  Then will the gold be separated from the dross, and it will be made apparent who are the godly, who are loyal and true, and who are the disloyal, the dross and the tinsel.  What clouds of chaff will then be borne away by the fan of God!  Where now our eyes can discover only rich floors of wheat, will be chaff blown away with the fan of God.  Every one who is not centered in Christ will fail to stand the test and ordeal of that day.  While those who are clothed with Christ's righteousness will stand firm to truth and duty, those who have trusted in their own righteousness will be ranged under the black banner of the prince of darkness.  Then it will be seen whether the choice is for Christ or Belial.  Those who have been self-distrustful, who have been so circumstanced that they have not dared to face stigma and reproach, will at last openly declare themselves for Christ and his law; while many who have appeared to be flourishing trees, but who have borne no fruit, will go with the multitude to do evil, and will receive the mark of apostasy in the forehead or in the hand. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 03-14-93      My brethren who occupy responsible positions, your place in the work calls upon you to be representative men.  You need the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I beseech of you, do not look upon yourselves as safe unless you are in the channel of light.  There is a great work to be done in your behalf.  You must form new habits, and your natural customs and habits must be subdued by the Spirit of God.  Inclination must be denied.  Old enemies that war against the Spirit, that you looked upon as dead, under favorable circumstances revive again, and they must be met and vanquished.  Self must die.  We are to engage earnestly in a spiritual warfare which we do not consider as we should, and we fail to appreciate what it means.  The confederacy of evil is arrayed against those who would fight the battles of the Lord. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 03-14-93      Shall we not as children of the living God, read the living oracle, purposing in our hearts that at whatever cost we will obey God, crucify self, and live unto Christ?  No man is qualified to stand in a responsible position, authorized to direct the work, who is not daily directed of God.  The whole confederacy of evil, led by Satan, is seeking diligently to increase the ranks of those who transgress the law of God; and the law of the land sustains them in their apostasy.  Underneath every movement for the exaltation of the mystery of iniquity, there is a secret undercurrent of effort for the suppression of God's truth in his holy requirement.  Men are seeking again to enslave the souls of men by the decree of the law of the land.  Is it not time that those who are under the counsel of God shall stand as representatives of Christ in every position of trust?  While all the hosts of sin are earnest, zealous, sanguine in advancing their cause, and are stirred by a power from beneath, shall not those who stand in defense of truth manifest earnestness and zeal and enthusiasm?  What if the sincere worker for God should be called a fanatic?  This is the name that those who have been truly devoted to God have ever been called upon to bear.  But infidels have been heard to say, "If I believed what Christians profess to believe, I would be far more zealous than they are."  Since even infidels see in the man who is stigmatized as an enthusiast the only consistent Christian, shall we take a neutral position? Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 05-29-94      When the lawyer asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life, the Master said unto him, "What is written in the law?  how readest thou?  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live."  In order to be a recipient of eternal life, it is necessary to love God supremely and our neighbors as ourselves.  We are to be our brother's keeper, not his destroyer.  We are not to lead him into false paths.  The Lord Jesus made the sacrifice of his own life in order to restore man to his first uprightness of character.  But Satan is working with every possible device, using his trained confederacy of evil agencies to draw men away from obedience to God's law, and cause them to transgress even as he caused Adam to transgress in the beginning. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 07-02-95      The Lord does not wish to have one true soldier of the cross remain in ignorance or darkness.  He calls us up, high up above the earth, that he may show us the vast confederacy of evil that is arrayed against us.  He would remind us that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  But he assures all who are engaged in this warfare that they are fighting under the "Captain of the Lord's host," and that the angels of heaven are assisting them in their struggle for the "crown that fadeth not away."  Let us rally under the banner of Prince Immanuel, and in the name and strength of Jesus press the battle home. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 08-20-95      When the children of God manifest mercy, kindness, and love toward all men, and especially toward those of the household of faith, they bear testimony to the fact that "the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul."  It is because the law of God is trampled under foot, transgressed, and made void, that the world is becoming like Sodom, and like the world before the flood.  In the midst of an apostate world, there must be those who represent loyalty to the law of God.  A desperate confederacy will be formed among those who are breaking the law of God, and who are teaching others to transgress its precepts.  They will make decrees to oppose God's commandment-keeping people.  "And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; and shall consume the glory of his forest; and of his fruitful field, both soul and body; and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.  And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.  The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob unto the mighty God.  For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return; the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. ...Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian; he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift  up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.  For yet a very little  while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 10-22-95      Satan has charged injustice upon God, and at various times has set in motion all his supernatural agencies, in order to cut off from men the knowledge of God, to turn their attention from the temple of God, and to establish his own kingdom in the earth.  At different times he has almost succeeded in spreading idolatry throughout the world.  The history of the past shows that he has striven to obtain the mastery upon earth, and that his strife for supremacy has seemed to be almost wholly successful.  He has worked in such a manner that the Prince of heaven has seemed to be lost sight of.  It has seemed that the confederacy of idolatry has borne supreme sway, and that Satan had indeed become the god of this world.  But the only begotten Son of God has looked upon the scene, has beheld human suffering and misery.  With pity he has seen how his human agencies have been blinded by the deceptions of the enemy, and have become victims of Satanic cruelty.  He has seen how Satan has exalted men simply for the purpose of casting them down, how he has flattered them, in order to draw them into his net and destroy them.  He looked upon the schemes by which Satan works to blot from the human soul every trace of likeness to God; how he led them into intemperance so as to destroy the moral powers which God gave to man as a most precious, priceless endowment.  He saw how, through indulgence in appetite, brain power was destroyed, and the temple of God was in ruins.  He looked with compassion upon men who were becoming corrupted, ruined, murdered, and lost, through choosing a ruler who chained them to his car as captives, and yet these slaves were so bewildered, so beguiled and deceived, that they were actually pleased with their slavery as they moved on in gloomy procession toward eternal ruin,--to death in which is no hope of life, toward night to which comes no morning.  He saw human beings possessed by devils, saw Satanic agencies incorporated with men, saw the bodies of men become the habitations for the degrading indwelling of demons.  Man, made for the dwelling-place of God, became the habitation of dragons.  The senses, the nerves, the passions, the organs of man, were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the grossest, vilest lust.  The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances of men, and human faces reflected the expression of the legions of evil with which they were possessed.  Such was the prospect upon which the world's Redeemer looked.  What a horrible spectacle for the eyes of infinite purity to behold!  Wherein can he behold his image?  And yet God, the infinite One, "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son [for such a world!], that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Signs of the Times, 10-17-00      This enmity was spoken of in Eden.  God declared to Satan, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."  This enmity was revealed as soon as man transgressed God's law.  His nature became evil.  He formed a confederacy with the enemy of God.  Fallen men and fallen angels have united in a desperate companionship against good.  Satan does all in his power to lead men to work with him.  Christ has pledged Himself to engage in conflict with the prince of darkness, and Christ's soldiers, the chosen of God, war against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 10-29-95      From the moment that Christ entered the world, the whole confederacy of Satanic agencies was set at work to deceive and overthrow him as Adam had been deceived and overthrown.  Could he win the victory over Christ, the world that God had created would become his empire.      The Commander of heaven was assailed by the tempter.  He had no clear, unobstructed passage through the world.  He was not left free and without hindrance to win to his kingdom the souls of men by his gracious mercy and loving-kindness.  From the time that he was a helpless babe in Bethlehem, when the agencies of hell sought to destroy him in his infancy through the jealousy of Herod, until he came to Calvary's cross, he was continually assailed by the evil one.  In the councils of Satan it was determined that he must be overcome.  No human being had come into the world and escaped the power of the deceiver.  The whole forces of the confederacy of evil were set upon his track to engage in warfare against him, and if possible to prevail over him.  The fiercest and most inveterate enmity was put between the seed of the woman and the serpent.  The serpent himself made Christ the mark of every weapon of hell.  Satan knew that he must either conquer or himself be conquered.  Success or failure involved too much for him to leave the work with any one of his agents of evil.  The prince of evil himself must personally conduct the warfare, since all other enterprises were inferior to this.  He came in determined opposition against Christ from the very beginning of his work.  "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him...And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Signs of the Times, 04-04-92      The enemy is working with an increasing intensity, and the powers of darkness are uniting with evil men to form a confederacy against the people of God.  Shall we be able to meet every assault of the enemy with the sword of the Spirit?  Can we follow the example of our Lord at every step, and when tempted to disloyalty to God, say, "It is written."  Our adversary is acquainted with the Bible, and he knows that if you are to stand his fierce assaults of temptation, you will have to wear the armor of Christ's righteousness.  We are not safe in placing ourselves on the ground of the enemy, we must keep our feet in the way that is cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, that we may not be as false lights along the shore.  The Saviour has commanded, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  You should never rest until you know how to win souls to Christ, and give all the praise and honor and glory to God for your success. Signs of the Times, 09-03-94      Jesus, the world's Redeemer, is the channel through which all our blessings come, and those who refuse to acknowledge him as the divine Son of God, virtually say, "I will not have this man to rule over me."  Those who are self-willed, puffed up with pride and self-importance, while they will not give up their wills to be in harmony with God's will, yet will accept the delusions of false prophets, and be led to refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God.  Skeptics and infidels may profess to be doing good work, but they are greatly deceived.  They are trampling upon the blood of the covenant, and counting that which should have sanctified them as an unholy thing.  There are many who have not taken the ground that infidels take, and yet they are in the first stages of infidelity.  They question everything that is of a divine character, seeking to bring down everything to the level of that which is common and natural.  Their minds are like a sponge, and absorb every suggestion of unbelief.  They pass these suggestions to others, and thus sow the seeds of skepticism, and what they sow they will reap.  When a believer seeks to answer one question started by a skeptic, he will propound another and another.  The only way to do is to let skeptics alone until they truly desire light.  Let those who engage in controversy with these wily opponents remember that they are not meeting men, not wrestling "against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  The confederacy of evil is seeking to poison human minds with error, and obscure the light of truth. Conflict and Courage, p 118      Men's weakness shall find supernatural strength and help in every stern conflict to do the deeds of Omnipotence, and perseverance in faith and perfect trust in God will ensure success.  While the past confederacy of evil is arrayed against them He bids them to be brave and strong and fight valiantly for they have a heaven to win, and they have more than an angel in their ranks, the mighty General of armies leads on the armies of heaven.  As on the occasion of the taking of Jericho, not one of the armies of Israel could boast of exercising their finite strength to overthrow the walls of the city, but the Captain of the Lord's host planned that battle in the greatest simplicity, that the Lord alone should receive the glory and man should not be exalted.  God has promised us all power; for the promise is unto you and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Signs of the Times, 05-08-93      Satan has been the central object of the world's worship; but where stands Satan's seat, the throne of God should have been planted.  Christ purposed that his cross should become the center of attraction, whereby he should draw the hearts of men to himself.  Taking upon him human nature, he became one with the fallen race, and by virtue of the divine nature he laid hold of the throne of the Infinite, and enlisted the cooperation of every heavenly instrumentality to carry out his plan for redeeming a lost race.  He sends down upon the hearts of men the bright beams of his righteousness in order to dispel the shadow which Satan has cast upon the world.  To counteract his work, Satan and his hosts combined their forces with evil men, and sought to overthrow the work of Christ; but heavenly agencies, united in their great Head, advanced to meet the confederacy of evil, and evil and error were in conflict with goodness and truth. Signs of the Times, 06-18-94      We have full light upon the fact of how the Lord regarded Adam's transgression, and yet men presume to violate the fourth commandment.  After the Lord created the world in six days, he rested on the seventh day, and sanctified the day of his rest, and bade men observe the day of rest throughout all generations.  And yet men are repeating Adam's transgression, and are entering into a confederacy with Satan to war against God, in trampling upon the Sabbath institution.  The church and the world are choosing Satan for their god and sovereign, and setting aside the God that made heaven and earth and all things that are therein. Signs of the Times, 06-18-94      Man lost his righteousness through transgression, and "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  Through the righteousness of Christ, our substitute and surety, our obedience to God's commandments is made acceptable.  Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, and endured the test upon the point of appetite, ambition, and love of the world, thus making it possible for man to keep the commandments of God through his imputed righteousness.  Through faith in Christ, man becomes partaker of the divine nature, and is complete in him, as long as he walks in the light.  But when light has come to a soul that has been in darkness in regard to the binding claims of the law of God, and the transgressor refuses to walk in the light, he is guilty before God, and is charged with apostasy.  He chooses that sin shall have dominion over him, and therefore the penalty of the law is upon him.  By his continued transgression he reveals the fact that he is at enmity with God, that his heart is carnal, and not subject to the law of God.  He repeats the transgression of Adam, accepts the insinuations of the fallen foe, takes his place on the side of the man of sin, and exalts Satan above God.  In refusing the light, he becomes one with the ranks of apostasy, and chooses to act with the confederacy of Satan. Signs of the Times, 06-18-94      How strange it is that the church and the world are joined together in a confederacy to do a work that God has especially prohibited!  They disobey the commandments of God with impunity.  The prohibition of God in the Garden of Eden was disregarded by Adam and Eve, and the most terrible consequences resulted.  The Lord is placing the same test upon the human family to-day, and proving them by bringing to their attention the Sabbath, which is a memorial of God's creative power.  In this memorial God testifies to the world and to heavenly intelligences that he made the world in six days, and rested--on the first day?--No, but on the seventh day.  The same instruction comes to us to-day as when the Lord spoke to the children of Israel, saying, "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations." Signs of the Times, 10-29-94      Could our eyes be opened, and could each see the conflict of angelic agencies with the Satanic confederacy, who are combined with evil human agencies, what astonishment would come upon the soul.  The holy angels are working with the terrible intensity for the salvation of men, because the destroyer of souls is seeking to make of no effect the salvation which has been purchased at infinite cost.  Could our spiritual vision be opened, we should see that which would never be effaced from the memory as long as life should last.  We should see souls bowed down under oppression, loaded with grief and pressed down as a cart beneath the sheaves, and ready to die in discouragement.  We should see angels flying swiftly to aid the tempted ones who stand as on the brink of a precipice.  These tempted souls are unable to help themselves, and avoid the ruin which threatens them; but the angels of God are forcing back the evil angels, and guiding the souls away from the dangerous places, to plant their feet on a sure foundation.  We should see battles going on between the two armies, as real as those fought by opposing forces on earth.  When the power of Satan over souls is broken, we see men binding their will to the cross, and crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts.  It is indeed a crucifixion of self; for the will is surrendered to Christ.  The will of man is none too strong when it is sanctified and put on the side of Christ.  The will is a power, and as many triumphs are to be won in spiritual warfare, and many points of progress to be made in the spiritual journey, and many lessons to be learned from Christ, the great Teacher, it is necessary that the will should be sanctified.  In surrendering the will, the root of the matter is reached.  When the will is surrendered, the streams that flow from the fountain will not be bitter, but will be as pure as crystal.  The flowers and fruit of Christian life will bloom and ripen to perfection. Signs of the Times, 06-13-95      After his defection in heaven, the Lord declares of Satan that he abode not in the truth.  After his sin, he became a rebel, an avowed antagonist of God, and for the purpose of working out his rebellion, he established an infernal empire, and unfurled the Standard of rebellion, rallying around him the powers of evil.  Satan worked upon such principles as would conform those who sympathized with him to his own corrupt standard, and would assimilate them with his own Satanic nature.  It was his determined purpose to efface from man the image of God, and stamp upon the souls of his subjects his own image and superscription.  He employed in his work the most deceptive methods, and was successful in leading men to cooperate with him in rebellion against God.  Christ gives to him the title of "the father of lies," "the accuser of the brethren," "a murderer from the beginning."  By his bewitching power he instilled into man the same spirit of opposition and hatred of God as he himself had, and set up his throne as the rallying point for the confederacy of wickedness. Signs of the Times, 06-27-95      In the purity of his life he had revealed the Father, and the glory of God had beamed forth from his character.  The perfection of the Father had been displayed before unfallen worlds, before heavenly intelligences, and to sinful men.  In the mediatorial work of Christ, the love of God was revealed in its perfection to men and angels.  Having overcome the temptation and borne the test in the wilderness, having overcome in our behalf, he bends his steps toward Calvary, and in the perfection of humanity he grasps the world, and in the fullness of his divinity he lays hold upon the throne of God, and proclaims the result of his terrible conflict with the enemy, exclaiming, "Now is the prince of this world cast out," now is the last enemy destroyed.  The usurper to the throne and kingdoms of the world is put to flight; his confederacy of evil is broken and scattered.  With his human arm he encircles the race of Adam, and with his divine arm he grasps the throne of God, and unites finite man with the infinite God, and earth with heaven.  He sees as a result of his victory a new heaven and a new earth, from which every trace of evil is removed, and where God is all in all to its righteous inhabitants. Signs of the Times, 04-28-98      Christ taught that temporal interests must be subordinated to the things of eternity.  He urged men, instead of being all-absorbed in the things of time, to contemplate the life that measures with the life of God.  He showed His followers the confederacy of evil arrayed against all who fix their eyes on heaven.  He told them plainly that they were engaged in a warfare against Satanic instrumentalities, and that angles of God fought their battles for them, but that these angels could do nothing without the cooperation of humanity.  He told them that if they would do God's service, they must be consecrated to Him.  If they fought manfully in the battle of the Lord, they would receive immortality and a crown that would brighten through eternal ages. Signs of the Times, 03-12-96      In the book of Revelation the prophet describes the scenes of the Gospel age, and he sees in heaven the ark of the testimony.  There the holy law of God shines in holy dignity, just as when God wrote it with his own finger on tables of stone.  John describes the work that will be done in the last days, when the Protestant churches form a confederacy with the Catholic power, and work against the law of God and against those who keep his commandments.  John says, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."  The Protestant world have cherished an institution of the Papacy,--they have observed Sunday in preference to the Sabbath of the Lord their God,--and in compelling men to keep Sunday, under penalty of law, they are exalting the first day of the week, a spurious sabbath, and casting dishonor upon the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.  But the Lord says: "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."  "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.  The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people; but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.  Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them." Signs of the Times, 12-18-01      These promises will be fulfilled when Christians take the position which God wishes them to fill.  It is His desire that they shall demonstrate to the world that human beings can live pure, upright lives.  That He might "purify unto Himself a peculiar people," Christ left the royal courts and clothed His divinity with humanity.  He lived out in the world the principles of God's law, showing that His grace has power to redeem men and women and raise them to a plane of moral integrity.  Amid the awful confederacy of evil now existing in the world, Christians are to stand firmly and bravely for the Redeemer, protesting by blameless lives against the prevailing apostasy. Manuscript Releases, vol 9, p 108      Here [Luke 22:64,65] we see how professedly righteous men can act out the spirit of Satan to carry their wicked purposes through envy and jealousy and religious bigotry.  That enmity was spoken of in the first gospel sermon spoken in Eden.  "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15).  This enmity was revealed as soon as man transgressed God's holy law.  His nature was changed.  It became evil.  He was in harmony with the prince of darkness, and there was a confederacy formed.  There is no warfare between Satan and the sinner, between fallen angels and fallen men.  Both possess the same attributes, both are evil through apostasy and sin.  Then let all who read these words understand for a surety that, wheresoever transgression against God's holy law exists, there will always be a league against good.  Fallen angels and fallen men will unite in desperate companionship.  Satan inspires the disloyal elements to work in harmony with his spirit. Testimonies, vol 8, p 213-214      This confederacy was born of rebellion against God.  The dwellers on the plain of Shinar established their kingdom for self-exaltation, not for the glory of God.  Had they succeeded, a mighty power would have borne sway, banishing righteousness and inaugurating a new religion.  The world would have been demoralized.  Erroneous theories would have diverted minds from allegiance to the divine statutes, and the law of Jehovah would have been ignored and forgotten.  But God never leaves the world without witnesses for Him.  At this time there were men who humbled themselves before God and cried unto Him.  "O God," they pleaded, "interpose between Thy cause, and the plans and methods of men."  "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded."  Genesis 11:5.  Angels were sent to bring to nought the purposes of the builders. Signs of the Times, 04-27-04      So in all ages, angels have been near to Christ's faithful followers.  The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against all who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things which are not seen, to the armies of heaven encamped about all who love God, to deliver them.  From what dangers, seen and unseen, we have been preserved through the interposition of the angels, we shall never know, till in the light of eternity we see the meaning of the providences of God.  Then we shall know that the whole family of heaven was interested in the family here below, and that messengers from the throne of God attended our steps from day to day. Special Testimonies, Series A#1b, p 38      Many smiled and would not believe when we told them, twenty and thirty years ago, that the Sunday would be urged upon all the world, and a law be made to compel its observance, and force conscience.  We see it being fulfilled.  All that God has said of the future will surely come to pass; not one thing will fail of all that he has spoken.  Protestantism is now reaching hands across the gulf to clasp hands with papacy, and a confederacy is being formed to trample out of sight the Sabbath of the fourth commandment; and the man of sin, who, at the instigation of Satan, instituted the spurious sabbath, this child of papacy, will be exalted to take the place of God. Pamphlet #2, p 25-26      The forgiveness of sins and iniquities and transgressions, belongs in a special sense to this time.  We are in the anti-typical day of atonement, and every soul should now be humbling himself before God, seeking pardon for his transgressions and sins, and accepting the justifying grace of Christ, the sanctifying of the soul by the operations of the Holy Spirit of Christ; thus the carnal nature is transformed, renewed in holiness after the image of Christ's righteousness and true holiness.  The precious, golden links of truth are not separate, detached, disconnected doctrines; but link after link, form one string of golden truth, and constitute a complete whole, with Christ as its living center.  Salvation comes through practical godliness and faith in Jesus Christ.  Faith is made perfect through works, and is evidenced in the character.  To those who are teaching the truth, whose hearts are impure, and who have not been converted, Christ says,  "What hast thou to do to declare my statutes?  Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord."  Oh, what truths we have--full of power, and it is not possible to controvert these Bible doctrines.  There is no truth in heaven or in earth that would affect some characters, although it might be presented in all power and matchless purity and loveliness, because the heart does not love the practice of these holy sentiments.  The truth we have set before us for the past few years, is immense in its importance, reaching into heaven and compassing eternity.  Satan and his confederacy of evil have made every effort to cover up, to confuse minds, to make of none effect the precious, glorious truths of God's word.  We are living in strangely solemn times, and at the very time when the people of God should be wide awake, and many are asleep or dead spiritually.  There is great need of much work being done.  Every individual member of the church should look to the Captain for orders. Fundamentals of Christian Education, p 307      It is proper and right to read the Bible; but your duty does not end there; for you are to search its pages for yourselves.  The knowledge of God is not to be gained without mental effort, without prayer for wisdom in order that you may separate from the pure grain of truth the chaff with which men and Satan have misrepresented the doctrines of truth.  Satan and his confederacy of human agents have endeavored to mix the chaff of error with the wheat of truth.  We should diligently seek for the hidden treasure, and seek wisdom from heaven in order to separate human inventions from the divine commands.  The Holy Spirit will aid the seeker for great and precious truths which relate to the plan of redemption.  I would impress upon all the fact that a casual reading of the Scriptures is not enough.  We must search, and this means the doing of all the word implies.  As the miner eagerly explores the earth to discover its veins of gold, so you are to explore the word of God for the hidden treasure that Satan has so long sought to hide from man.  The Lord says, "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." John 7:17 (R.V.) Pamphlet #149, p 19      Every institution should work in harmony with the other institutions, but farther than this they should not go toward confederacy or merging into one.  Already there are men who supposing themselves wise, are trying to shape matters according to their ideas.  Things may for a time appear to prosper in their hands, but the result will be that which they do not now anticipate. Manuscript Releases, vol 1, p 270      Such a masterly confederacy united to carry things its own way that a work entirely human has been mingled with the handling of sacred things.  Each felt pledged to sustain and work for the interest of the other.  A system of robbery toward God was brought in.  "Shall I not judge for these things?" God asks.  The Lord has opened the matter to me, and my heart has burned with indignation.  Light has been given that the Lord would in His own time make these men a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.--Letter 26, December 10, 1897 Manuscript Releases, vol 3, p 11-12      The Lord is displeased with the want of harmony that has existed among the workers.  He cannot impart His Holy Spirit, for they are bent on having their own way, and the Lord presents to them His way.  Great discouragement will come in from Satan and his confederacy of evil, but "all ye are brethren," and it is an offense to God when you allow your individual, unsanctified traits of character to be active agencies to discourage one another. Faith I Live By, p 142      The Lord Jesus is making experiments on human hearts through the exhibition of His mercy and abundant grace.  He is effecting transformations so amazing that Satan, with all his triumphant boasting, with all his confederacy of evil united against God and the laws of His government, stands viewing them as a fortress impregnable to his sophistries and delusions.  They are to him an incomprehensible mystery.  The angels of God, seraphim and cherubim, the powers commissioned to cooperate with human agencies, look on with astonishment and joy, that fallen men, once children of wrath, are through the training of Christ developing characters after the divine similitude, to be sons and daughters of God, to act an important part in the occupations and pleasures of heaven. Manuscript Releases, vol 4, p 172      Cannot we discern the signs of the times?  Cannot we see that Satan is working with intensity of effort, uniting the enemies of God's kingdom in a desperate confederacy, that he may gain control of the world?  This work is advancing faster than we imagine.  Shall we, who have God's work to do, sink into a lukewarm condition? Manuscript Releases, vol 8, p 346      We are approaching the end of this earth's history, and Satan is working as never before.  He is striving to act as director of the Christian world.  With an intensity that is marvelous he is working with his lying wonders.  Satan is represented as walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  He desires to embrace the whole world in his confederacy.  Hiding his deformity under the garb of Christianity, he assumes the attributes of a Christian, and claims to be Christ Himself.--Manuscript 125, December 9, 1901. Manuscript Releases, vol 15, p 86-87      When the people of God are one with Him, they will be one with each other.  Their unity and love will testify to the genuineness of their union with Christ.  When their eyes are all fixed upon Christ, their hearts will be united in love.  They will then stand shoulder to shoulder to resist the confederacy of evil, and they will have strength for a battle that cannot be seen by the natural eye.  They will stay their hearts upon the Lord, saying, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" [Isa. 9:6]. Manuscript Releases, vol 16, p 104      Why do not brethren of like precious faith consider that in every age, when the Lord has sent a special message to the people, all the powers of the confederacy of evil have set at work to prevent the word of truth from coming to those who should receive it? Manuscript Releases, vol 16, p 204-205      The Lord Jesus described the difficulties they should meet.  Having called their minds to rise to an eminence, He bids them behold the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against God, against Christ, against all who unite with these holy powers.  Christ tells them they were to fight in fellowship with all the children of light; that satanic agencies would combine their forces to extinguish the light of the life of Christ out of their ranks.  But they were not left to fight the battles in their own human strength.  The angelic host coming as ministers of God would be in that battle.  Also there would be the eternal heavenly dignitaries--God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit--arming them with more than mortal energy, and would advance with them to the work, and convince the world of sin. Manuscript Releases, vol 17, p 233      I must speak plainly.  We are reaching a time when a just standard of right and wrong, of honor and dishonor, of truth and error, is becoming a thing of naught.  "Truth is fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter."  In the ambitious projects invented, there [is danger] of losing all sense of distinction between right and wrong.  Those who listen to misrepresentations are supposed to be acting for the cause.  For a long time a course has been pursued which has perverted principle and justice.  We need men who will not be drawn into secret, underhand confederacy, but who will shun as a sin the least intriguing and underhand work--men who will call things by their right name, men who are barricaded by principle and braced for duty, be it pleasant or unpleasant, men whom neither flattery, pretense, cunning, nor art could induce to swerve one hair from principle or duty. Manuscript Releases, vol 18, p 57      The world and the professed people of God are united by the all-pervading principle of aversion to God's government.  Their opposition to the law of God is sufficient to bind them together, to bear together the burden of their accumulated guilt.  Any indication of returning to loyalty and obedience to God is denounced as treachery against the confederacy of disloyalty.  A wakeful impiety is quickened into an instinctive vigilance, and rouses to demonstration of hatred against the testing truth for this time.  Whenever the truth shall be proclaimed, it will be opposed in a decided manner, for men possess the attributes which Jesus charged upon the Jews when He said, "Ye are of your father the devil," and "ye do the deeds of your father." Sermons and Talks, p 199      Well, we know Satan is against us; we know the whole confederacy of evil is united and works with the evil men and women.  Satan and his angels and evil men are there manifested to attempt to deceive, to allure, and to make our lives uncomfortable and unhappy and wretched by words and actions, and is it not very poor policy for professed Christians to open the door of their house and say to the devil, come in?  Many are doing this.  Is it not the most wretched policy for you to give place to the devil, and then you judge [that] everybody is your enemy, and you are the enemy of everybody, and thus you talk and thus you act. Sermons and Talks, p 212      God help you to begin the work right here; not to wait for the ministers to stir you up to a wonderful excitement.  God wants intelligent Christians.  He wants you to count the cost of the battle.  He wants you to count whether you can war against Satan and his spiritual wickedness in high places.  He wants you to see the plan of the battle, of the confederacy of evil, and then He wants you to see that angels are in the army, that the Captain of our salvation is at the head.  It is they that do the warring.  It is they that do the work, and we cooperate, coincide, and work with them. 1888 Materials, p 793-794      My brother, Uriah Smith, whom I have loved and respected in the Lord, you have been working at cross purposes with God, practicing upon yourself deceptions which, if you continue as you have done, will be succeeded with deceptions and delusions which will end in irrevocable separation from God.  He calls you.  Clear the king's highway, remove the stumbling blocks out of the path, dare not to do a surface work here, for others have looked to you and followed your example far more than they have looked to God and sought his counsel.  They will go no farther than you will go.  Confess your mistakes; confess fully; leave not a stone unturned.  The true counsellor is expostulating with you and entreats you that you cheat not your soul of eternal happiness.  There is one thing that you may seek with all your powers.  He points you upward, and would have your thoughts in heaven from whence comes your hope, and your daily supplies.  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."  While the Lord Jesus shows us the vast confederacy of evil we must meet, for principalities and powers are arrayed against us, he tells us we struggle for an invisible world, The whole universe of heaven are watching the conflict, and if our eyes could be opened we would see angels in the ranks for the Holy Spirit is promised to all who fight manfully the battles of the Lord.  There are soldiers engaged in the battle who are not perfect, compassed with infirmities, falling into sin, ignorant, and needing instruction at every step; but to feel their need, to sense their poverty is essential before they can be helped.  When they fall upon the Rock and are broken then the everlasting arms are around the helpless.  Heavenly agencies are employed to do their work, fit them as vessels of honor, overpowering the enemies, piercing the cloud and shadow of Satanic agencies.  The heavenly instrumentalities surround them with an element of light,-- even the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.  The Captain of the Lord's host leads them to the field of battle with these words, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.  A conquor stands at your head, victory is sure." 1888 Materials, p 770-771      I am called not only to write, but to bear my testimony with voice as well as pen, and I must be situated where I can be lifted out of the temporal embarrassments and the common business perplexities and conflicts.  The Lord Jesus must dwell in my heart and all my powers shall be devoted to His service.  It is my constant prayer day and night that we may realize an awakening among His people, that Jesus may work in this city of Washington in demonstration of His Spirit and with power.  In this city are the lawmaking powers which will ere long make their power felt.  Truly the prince of darkness is working with his confederacy of evil, to make void the law of God. 1888 Materials, p 857-859      We must possess the missionary spirit in a large degree.  In his lessons to his disciples, Christ was constantly teaching them that they must unite the human agency with the divine worker.  They are to be active in doing good; they are to be the light of the world, catching the radiance of light from his throne and to transmit it to the world which Satan has enshrouded with his Hellish shadow like a funeral pall.  Not only are the rays of light to shine in the home circle but to the church in bright and distant rays; and again, not to the church only, but the whole world.  See how much is contained in the prayer of Christ in the 17th Chapter of John, constantly identifying himself and combining himself with his believing people, and his believing people binding up with himself for the work of the salvation of a lost world.  In his ministry he shows them the confederacy of evil arrayed against them, and reveals to them that they are in war-fare with principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places.  But angels unite to compose that army; they are mingling in their ranks.  The Captain of the Lord's host is advancing with his army of heavenly angels to the work.  Jesus is standing but a step, as it were, from the completion of his great sacrifice for the world.  "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures.  He repeats his injunction over and over again in different forms, that they might after his death and resurrection to heaven, take in the significance of his words.  After his resurrection, "then opened he their understanding that they might under stand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise again the third day," and that remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  "Ye shall receive power from on high after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."  He knew that peculiar trials would assail them and he declares, "All power is mine."  He assured them that they must go out under the shield of omnipotence.  "Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world."  "Go" was his last word spoken to his disciples and this was the last indication of his will while he was upon the earth.  His first act in heaven corresponded with his expressed will on the earth.  His holy spirit was sent to them in rich abundance.  The heavenly endowment was given.  We know the apostles commenced their work in Jerusalem; three thousand were converted in a day.  May the Lord arouse his people to action is my prayer.  There is need for every individual member of the church to arouse to work for Jesus.  The calls are coming in from every clime, "Come over and help us."  "The Spirit and the Bride say Come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him come and take of the waters of life freely."  There is our work laid out in a comprehensive manner for the diffusion of the truth.  Jesus opened the fountain of life in the midst of the world and every soul who knoweth the Father and the Son are to be laborers together with God and to repeat the words in fullness and power, "Come."  All are to stop their fretting with one another, all are to combine their living, sanctified influence, and with one voice, say "Come, send the word along."  Come all along the lines, a chain of living voices united with determined effort ring around the globe, and the whole church is to awake from the death like slumber and say, "Come", and to act in character the invitation they make, "Come." 1888 Materials, p 1017      We have absolute need of the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.  We have no time to confer with flesh and blood.  The power of Satan is apparently in the supremacy, he is seeking to convert all things in the world to his own purpose, to imbue human beings with his own spirit and nature.  The conflict will be terrible.  The minds and hearts of men seem surcharged with hostility against divine revelation; the passions are stirred with envy against purity and holiness and devotion to God and his requirements; the will is set like granite against all that is called God or that is worshiped.  The confederacy of Satanic agencies, united with evil men, are as instruments of unrighteousness, throwing their whole force into the battlefield, evil against good. Spalding-Magan Collection, p 144-145      We live in a hard, unfeeling, uncharitable world.  Satan and his confederacy are plying every art to seduce the souls for whom Christ has given his precious life.  Every one who loves God in sincerity and truth, will love the souls for whom Christ has died.  If we wish to do good to souls, our success with these souls will be in proportion to their belief in our confidence in them and appreciation of them.  Respect shown to the struggling human soul is the sure means through Christ Jesus of the restoration of the self-respect the man has lost.  Our advancing ideas of what he may become is a help we can not ourselves fully appreciate.  We have need of the rich grace of God every hour, then we will have a rich, practical experience, for God is love.  He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God.  Give love to them that need it most.  The most unfortunate, those who have the most disagreeable temperaments, need our love, our tenderness, our compassion.  Those who try our patience need most love.  We pass through the world only once; any good thing we can do, we should do most earnestly, untiringly, with the same spirit as is stated of Christ in his work.  He will not fail nor be discouraged.  The rough, stubborn, sullen dispositions are the ones who need help the most.  How can they be helped?  Only by that love practiced in dealing with them which Christ revealed to fallen men.  Treat them, you say, as they deserve?  What if Christ had treated us thus?  He, the undeserving, was treated as we deserve.  Still we are treated by Christ with grace and love as we did not deserve, but as he deserved.  Treat some characters as you think they richly deserve, and you will cut off from them the last thread of hope, spoil your influence, and ruin the soul.  Will it pay?  No, I say no, a hundred times no.  Bind these souls who need all the help it is possible for you to give them close to a loving, sympathizing, pitying heart, overflowing with Christ-like love, and you will save a soul from death and hide a multitude of sins.  Had we not better try the love process?