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The Great Controversy
wash away. “They all slumbered and slept;” one class in unconcern
and abandonment of their faith, the other class patiently waiting till
clearer light should be given. Yet in the night of trial the latter seemed
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to lose, to some extent, their zeal and devotion. The halfhearted and
superficial could no longer lean upon the faith of their brethren. Each
must stand or fall for himself.
About this time, fanaticism began to appear. Some who had pro-
fessed to be zealous believers in the message rejected the word of God
as the one infallible guide and, claiming to be led by the Spirit, gave
themselves up to the control of their own feelings, impressions, and
imaginations. There were some who manifested a blind and bigoted
zeal, denouncing all who would not sanction their course. Their fanat-
ical ideas and exercises met with no sympathy from the great body of
Adventists; yet they served to bring reproach upon the cause of truth.
Satan was seeking by this means to oppose and destroy the work
of God. The people had been greatly stirred by the advent movement,
thousands of sinners had been converted, and faithful men were giving
themselves to the work of proclaiming the truth, even in the tarrying
time. The prince of evil was losing his subjects; and in order to bring
reproach upon the cause of God, he sought to deceive some who
professed the faith and to drive them to extremes. Then his agents
stood ready to seize upon every error, every failure, every unbecoming
act, and hold it up before the people in the most exaggerated light, to
render Adventists and their faith odious. Thus the greater the number
whom he could crowd in to make a profession of faith in the second
advent while his power controlled their hearts, the greater advantage
would he gain by calling attention to them as representatives of the
whole body of believers.
Satan is “the accuser of the brethren,” and it is his spirit that inspires
men to watch for the errors and defects of the Lord’s people, and to
hold them up to notice, while their good deeds are passed by without
a mention. He is always active when God is at work for the salvation
of souls. When the sons of God come to present themselves before the
Lord, Satan comes also among them. In every revival he is ready to
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bring in those who are unsanctified in heart and unbalanced in mind.
When these have accepted some points of truth, and gained a place
with believers, he works through them to introduce theories that will
deceive the unwary. No man is proved to be a true Christian because