The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 670
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
marvelous 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 honored, 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.
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