June 20, 2024 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends. In times of war, one of the greatest assets one can have is to know the plans of the enemy—to understand what traps may lie ahead so plans can be made to avoid them. This is why intelligence plays such an important role in warfare—to find out the plans of the enemy.
The Bible reveals that “war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:7-9, NKJV).
That war, known as the great controversy between Christ and Satan, continues on earth today. At the end of Revelation 12, we are told, “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (vs. 17, KJV).
Fortunately, through the mercy and grace of God, we have been given intelligence that reveals the war plans of our enemy, along with trustworthy information on how to avoid his traps!
Throughout the Bible, Satan is unmasked. For example, First Peter 5:8 and 9 warns us: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (NKJV).
And today, as we continue our journey through the book, The Great Controversy, we will look at some highlights from Chapter 32, titled, “Snares of Satan.” In this chapter, we are given important intelligence as Satan’s methodology is revealed.
“The great controversy between Christ and Satan, that has been carried forward for nearly six thousand years, is soon to close;” writes the inspired author, “and the wicked one redoubles his efforts to defeat the work of Christ in man’s behalf and to fasten souls in his snares. To hold the people in darkness and impenitence till the Saviour’s mediation is ended, and there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, is the object which he seeks to accomplish” (The Great Controversy, p. 518).
Satan’s object is to do everything he can to keep people away from knowing God’s truth for as long as possible so they will be eternally lost. She continues:
“When there is no special effort made to resist his power, when indifference prevails in the church and the world, Satan is not concerned . . . But when the attention is called to eternal things, and souls are inquiring, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ he is on the ground seeking to match his power against the power of Christ and to counteract the influence of the Holy Spirit” (The Great Controversy, p. 518).
Notice what is revealed here—when efforts are made that wake up people’s minds to eternal realities—when evangelistic meetings are held, when small groups are meeting to study the Bible, when truth-filled sermons are preached, when individuals are being led to the truth and become concerned about their eternal destinies—that is when the devil goes into action to counteract the influence of the Holy Spirit on people’s hearts.
Interestingly, in this chapter the author takes us behind the scenes, revealing how Satan prepares to counteract sermons that will be preached during the worship hour. Referring to Job 1:6, where on one occasion, when the angels of God came to present themselves to God, Satan was also there, “not to bow before the Eternal King,” she writes, “but to further his own malicious designs against the righteous.”
She continues, “With the same object he is in attendance when men assemble for the worship of God. Though hidden from sight, he is working with all diligence to control the minds of the worshipers. Like a skillful general he lays his plans beforehand. As he sees the messenger of God searching the Scriptures, he takes note of the subject to be presented to the people. Then he employs all his cunning and shrewdness so to control circumstances that the message may not reach those whom he is deceiving on that very point. The one who most needs the warning will be urged into some business transaction which requires his presence, or will by some other means be prevented from hearing the words that might prove to him a savor of life unto life” (The Great Controversy, pp. 518, 519).
Friends, how important it is that we regularly attend worship services to hear the word of the Lord. We do not know but that the message prepared for that Sabbath may be the very message we or someone in our family needs to hear at that time.
Attempting to keep people from attending worship services where the Word of God is presented is just one of Satan’s traps that he uses to distract people and hold them in darkness. In our next video, we will continue to review the intelligence given us regarding the snares of Satan and how we may avoid his traps!
In the meantime, I encourage you to download your own copy of the book, The Great Controversy today at: thegreatcontroversyproject.org [Insert: thegreatcontroversyproject.org] where it is available free in multiple languages.
Yes friends, while we know the devil is real, we can also have the assurance that our God is stronger. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower;” we read in Proverbs 18:10, “the righteous run to it and are safe.”
We can fully trust in Him. I invite you to pray with me just now.
Father in heaven, thank you that we have the assurance and the bastion of hope in the Word of God. With so many promises, assuring us that we can come to you when we are facing challenges and difficulties. We are so grateful that you are our rock. You are our fortress. You are the one we can count on at all times to help us through the difficulties that may be thrown at us by the devil. We are so grateful that you are stronger by far than anything the devil can throw at any one of us. Thank you for hearing us in this prayer, and thank you for being a God who is there for us at all times. In Jesus name we ask it. Amen.