242
      
      
         Messages to Young People
      
      
        desires, and fire the passions of the heart, and lead away from all that
      
      
        is pure and holy!
      
      
        You have had your magical books, in which the very scenes and
      
      
        pictures were inspired by him who was once an exalted angel in the
      
      
        courts of heaven....
      
      
         [278]
      
      
        Breaking the Spell of Satan’s Sorcery
      
      
        I would ask, Shall the magical books be burned up? In the syna-
      
      
        gogue of Satan there are places of attraction where licentiousness is
      
      
        fostered and indulged; but the witness is there, and an unseen visitant
      
      
        testifies to the deeds done in darkness. In the associations of the vain,
      
      
        the proud, the mirthful, Satan presides, and is the chief mover in scenes
      
      
        of gayety. He is there in disguise. Witchcraft is going on around us
      
      
        on every hand, and the world and the church are under the influence
      
      
        of one who will lead them to do things they never dreamed of doing.
      
      
        Should they be informed of the deeds they will perform, they would
      
      
        be as much astonished as was Hazel when the prophet told him of his
      
      
        future course....
      
      
        Every man, woman, and child that is not under the control of the
      
      
        Spirit of God is under the influence of Satan’s sorcery, and by his
      
      
        words and example he will lead others away from the path of truth.
      
      
        When the transforming grace of Christ is upon the heart, a righteous
      
      
        indignation will take possession of the soul because the sinner has so
      
      
        long neglected the great salvation that God has provided for him. He
      
      
        will then surrender himself, body, soul, and spirit, to God and will
      
      
        withdraw from companionship with Satan, through the grace given
      
      
        him of God. He will, like the Ephesians, denounce sorcery, and will
      
      
        cut the last thread that binds him to Satan. He will leave the banner of
      
      
        the prince of darkness, and will come under the bloodstained banner
      
      
        of Prince Emmanuel. He will burn the magical books.—
      
      
        The Youth’s
      
      
        Instructor, November 16, 1893
      
      
        .
      
      
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