Satan’s Science of Self-Exaltation
277
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ.”...
“Vain deceit” fills the minds of poor mortals. They think there is
such power in themselves to accomplish great works that they realize
no necessity of a higher power. Their principles and faith are “after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ.”
Jesus has not taught them this philosophy. Nothing of the kind
can be found in His teachings. He did not direct the minds of poor
mortals to themselves, to a power which they possessed. He was
ever directing their minds to God, the Creator of the universe, as the
source of their strength and wisdom. Special warning is given in
verse
18
: “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility
and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath
not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.”—
Testimonies for the
Church 1:297
(1862).
[724]
Theory of Accountability Only to Self—He [Satan] has de-
stroyed and is destroying thousands through the indulgence of the
passions, thus brutalizing the entire nature of man. And to complete
his work, he declares through the spirits that “true knowledge places
man above all law”; that “whatever is, is right”; that “God doth not
condemn”; and that “all sins which are committed are innocent.”
When the people are thus led to believe that desire is the highest
law, that liberty is license, and that man is accountable only to himself,
who can wonder that corruption and depravity teem on every hand?
Multitudes eagerly accept teachings that leave them at liberty to obey
the promptings of the carnal heart. The reins of self-control are laid
upon the neck of lust, the powers of mind and soul are made subject to
the animal propensities, and Satan exultingly sweeps into his net thou-
sands who profess to be followers of Christ.—
The Great Controversy,
555, 556
(1911).
Lucifer Desired God’s Power, Not Character—Lucifer desired
God’s power but not His character. He sought for himself the highest
place, and every being who is actuated by his spirit will do the same.
Thus alienation, discord, and strife will be inevitable. Dominion
becomes the prize of the strongest. The kingdom of Satan is a kingdom
of force; every individual regards every other as an obstacle in the way