exclusion from heaven is just . By their lives they have declared : " We will not have this Man [ Jesus ] to reign over us ." As if entranced , the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God . They see in His hands the tables of the divine law , the statutes which they have despised and transgressed . They witness the outburst of wonder , rapture , and adoration from the saved ; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city , all with one voice exclaim , " Great and marvellous are Thy works , Lord God Almighty ; just and true are Thy ways , Thou King of saints " ( Revelation 15:3 ); and , falling prostrate , they worship the Prince of life .
Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ . He who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen . A shining seraph , " son of the morning ;" how changed , how degraded ! From the council where once he was honoured , he is forever excluded . He sees another now standing near to the Father , veiling His glory . He has seen the crown placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence , and he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his . Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity , the peace and content that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God , and envy of Christ . His accusations , his rebellion , his deceptions to gain the sympathy and support of the angels , his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness --all come vividly before him . He reviews his work among men and its results--the enmity of man toward his fellow man , the terrible destruction of life , the rise and fall of kingdoms , the overturning of thrones , the long succession of tumults , conflicts , and revolutions . He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of Christ and to sink man lower and lower . He sees that his hellish plots have been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus . As Satan looks upon his kingdom , the fruit of his toil , he sees only failure and ruin . He has led the multitudes to believe that the City of God would be an easy prey ; but he knows that this is false .
Again and again , in the progress of the great controversy , he has been defeated and compelled to yield . He knows too well the power and majesty of the Eternal . The aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself and to prove the divine government responsible for the rebellion . To this end he has bent all the power of his giant intellect . He has worked deliberately and systematically , and with marvellous success , leading vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy which has been so long in progress . For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth . But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed . In his last great effort to dethrone Christ , destroy His people , and take possession of the City of God , the arch-deceiver has been fully unmasked . Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause . Christ ' s followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the government of God . He is the object of universal abhorrence .
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