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Safety in Vigilance, November 8
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be
sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:6
.
I was shown Satan as he once was, a happy, exalted angel. Then
I was shown him as he now is. He still bears a kingly form. His
features are still noble, for he is an angel fallen. But the expression
of his countenance is full of anxiety, care, unhappiness, malice, hate,
mischief, deceit, and every evil. That brow which was once so noble, I
particularly noticed. His forehead commenced from his eyes to recede.
I saw that he had so long bent himself to evil that every good quality
was debased, and every evil trait was developed. His eyes were cunning,
sly, and showed great penetration. His frame was large, but the flesh
hung loosely about his hands and face. As I beheld him, his chin was
resting upon his left hand. He appeared to be in deep thought. A smile
was upon his countenance, which made me tremble, it was so full of
evil and satanic slyness. This smile is the one he wears just before he
makes sure of his victim, and as he fastens the victim in his snare, this
smile grows horrible.
The people of God must be prepared to withstand the wily foe. It is
this resistance that Satan dreads. He knows better than we do the limit
of his power and how easily he can be overcome if we resist and face
him. Through divine strength the weakest saint is more than a match for
him and all his angels, and if brought to the test he [the weakest saint]
would be able to prove his superior power. Therefore Satan’s step is
noiseless, his movements stealthy, and his batteries masked....
Man is Satan’s captive and is naturally inclined to follow his sug-
gestions and do his bidding. He has in himself no power to oppose
effectual resistance to evil. It is only as Christ abides in him by living
faith, influencing his desires and strengthening him with strength from
above, that man may venture to face so terrible a foe. Every other means
of defense is utterly vain.
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