Teacher of Truth the Only Safe Educator
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This is the way in which he comes to man, as an angel of light disguis-
ing his temptations under an appearance of goodness, and making men
believe him to be the friend rather than the enemy of humanity. It is in
this way that he has deceived and seduced the race,—beguiling them
with subtle temptations, bewildering them with specious deceptions.
Satan has ascribed to God all the evils to which flesh is heir. He
has represented Him as a God who delights in the sufferings of His
creatures, who is revengeful and implacable. It was Satan who origi-
nated the doctrine of eternal torment as a punishment for sin, because
in this way he could lead men into infidelity and rebellion, distract
souls, and dethrone the human reason.
Heaven, looking down, and seeing the delusions into which men
were led, knew that a divine Instructor must come to earth. Men in
ignorance and moral darkness must have light, spiritual light; for the
world knew not God, and He must be revealed to their understand-
ing. Truth looked down from heaven and saw not the reflection of her
image; for dense clouds of moral darkness and gloom enveloped the
world, and the Lord Jesus alone was able to roll back the clouds: for
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He was the Light of the world. By His presence He could dissipate the
gloomy shadow that Satan had cast between man and God. Darkness
covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Through the accu-
mulated misrepresentations of the enemy, many were so deceived that
they worshiped a false god, clothed with the attributes of the satanic
character.
The Teacher from heaven, no less a personage than the Son of
God, came to earth to reveal the character of the Father to men, that
they might worship Him in spirit and in truth. Christ revealed to
men the fact that the strictest adherence to ceremony and form would
not save them; for the kingdom of God was spiritual in its nature.
Christ came to the world to sow it with truth. He held the keys to
all the treasures of wisdom, and was able to open doors to science,
and to reveal undiscovered stores of knowledge, were it essential to
salvation. He presented to men that which was exactly contrary to the
representations of the enemy in regard to the character of God, and
sought to impress upon men the paternal love of the Father, who “so
loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” He urged
upon men the necessity of prayer, repentance, confession, and the