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many would be led to believe that the threatenings of God’s word
would not be literally fulfilled; for it would be against his character
of benevolence and love, to plunge beings whom he had created into
eternal torments. Satan has led them to another extreme, to entirely
overlook the justice of God, and the threatenings in his Word, and
represent him as being all mercy, and that not one will perish, but
all, both saint and sinner, will at last be saved in his kingdom. In
consequence of the popular error of the immortality of the soul, and
endless misery, Satan takes advantage of another class, and leads them
on to regard the Bible as an uninspired book. They think it teaches
many good things; but they cannot rely upon it and love it; because
they have been taught that it declares the doctrine of eternal misery.
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Satan takes advantage of still another class, and leads them still
further to deny the existence of God. They can see no consistency in
the character of the God of the Bible, if he will torment a portion of
the human family to all eternity in horrible tortures; and they deny the
Bible and its Author, and regard death as an eternal sleep.
Then Satan leads another class who are fearful and timid to commit
sin; and after they have sinned, he holds up before them that the wages
of sin is (not death, but) an eternal life in horrible torments, to be
endured through the endless ages of eternity. Satan improves the
opportunity, and magnifies before their feeble minds the horrors of
an endless hell, and takes charge of their minds, and they lose their
reason. Then Satan and his angels exult, and the infidel and atheist
join in casting reproach upon christianity. They regard these evil
consequences of the reception of popular heresy, as the natural results
of believing in the Bible and its Author.
I saw that the heavenly host was filled with indignation at this bold
work of Satan. I inquired why all these delusions should be suffered
to take effect upon the minds of men, when the angels of God were
powerful, and if commissioned, could easily break the enemy’s power.
Then I saw that God knew that Satan would try every art to destroy
man; therefore he had caused his Word to be written out, and had made
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his designs to man so plain that the weakest need not err. Then, after he
had given his Word to man, he had carefully preserved it, so that Satan
and his angels, through any agent or representative, could not destroy
it. While other books might be destroyed, this holy Book was to be
immortal. And down near the close of time, when the delusions of