because he is found in company with the children of God , even in the house of worship and around the table of the Lord . Satan is frequently there upon the most solemn occasions in the form of those whom he can use as his agents .
The prince of evil contests every inch of ground over which God ' s people advance in their journey toward the heavenly city . In all the history of the church no reformation has been carried forward without encountering serious obstacles . Thus it was in Paul ' s day . Wherever the apostle raised up a church , there were some who professed to receive the faith , but who brought in heresies , that , if received , would eventually crowd out the love of the truth . Luther also suffered great perplexity and distress from the course of fanatical persons who claimed that God had spoken directly through them , and who therefore set their own ideas and opinions above the testimony of the Scriptures . Many who were lacking in faith and experience , but who had considerable selfsufficiency , and who loved to hear and tell some new thing , were beguiled by the pretensions of the new teachers , and they joined the agents of Satan in their work of tearing down what God had moved Luther to build up . And the Wesleys , and others who blessed the world by their influence and their faith , encountered at every step the wiles of Satan in pushing overzealous , unbalanced , and unsanctified ones into fanaticism of every grade .
William Miller had no sympathy with those influences that led to fanaticism . He declared , with Luther , that every spirit should be tested by the word of God . " The devil ," said Miller , " has great power over the minds of some at the present day . And how shall we know what manner of spirit they are of ? The Bible answers : ' By their fruits ye shall know them .'. . . There are many spirits gone out into the world ; and we are commanded to try the spirits . The spirit that does not cause us to live soberly , righteously , and godly , in this present world , is not the Spirit of Christ . I am more and more convinced that Satan has much to do in these wild movements . . . . Many among us who pretend to be wholly sanctified , are following the traditions of men , and apparently are as ignorant of truth as others who make no such pretensions ." --Bliss , pages 236 , 237 .
" The spirit of error will lead us from the truth ; and the Spirit of God will lead us into truth . But , say you , a man may be in an error , and think he has the truth . What then ? We answer , The Spirit and word agree . If a man judges himself by the word of God , and finds a perfect harmony through the whole word , then he must believe he has the truth ; but if he finds the spirit by which he is led does not harmonize with the whole tenor of God ' s law or Book , then let him walk carefully , lest he be caught in the snare of the devil ." -- The Advent Herald and Signs of the Times Reporter , vol . 8 , No . 23 ( Jan . 15 , 1845 ). " I have often obtained more evidence of inward piety from a kindling eye , a wet cheek , and a choked utterance , than from all the noise of Christendom ." --Bliss , page 282 .
In the days of the Reformation its enemies charged all the evils of fanaticism upon the very ones who were labouring most earnestly against it . A similar course was pursued by the opposers
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