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Chapter 27
15-26 (
Mark 15:6-15
;
Luke 23:18-25
;
18:39, 40
). A Symbol
of Last Days
—The scene in the judgment hall in Jerusalem is a
symbol of what will take place in the closing scenes of this earth’s
history. The world will accept Christ, the Truth, or they will accept
Satan, the first great rebel, a robber, apostate, and murderer. They
will either reject the message of mercy in regard to the command-
ments of God and the faith of Jesus, or they will accept the truth as
it is in Jesus. If they accept Satan and his falsehoods, they identify
themselves with the chief of all liars, and with all who are disloyal,
while they turn from no less a personage than the Son of the infinite
God (
The Review and Herald, January 30, 1900
).
A Matter of Choice
—When Jesus was on earth, Satan led the
people to reject the Son of God, and to choose Barabbas, who in
character represented Satan, the God of this world. The Lord Jesus
Christ came to dispute the usurpation of Satan in the kingdoms of the
world. The conflict is not yet ended; and as we draw near the close
of time, the battle waxes more intense. As the second appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved
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from beneath. Satan will not only appear as a human being, but
he will personate Jesus Christ; and the world that has rejected the
truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and King of kings. He
will exercise his power, and work upon the human imagination. He
will corrupt both the minds and the bodies of men, and will work
through the children of disobedience, fascinating and charming, as
does a serpent. What a spectacle will the world be for heavenly
intelligences! What a spectacle for God, the Creator of the world, to
behold!
The form Satan assumed in Eden when leading our first parents
to transgress, was of a character to bewilder and confuse the mind.
He will work in as subtle a manner as we near the end of earth’s
history. All his deceiving power will be brought to bear upon human
subjects, to complete the work of deluding the human family. So
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