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31 - Agency of Evil Spirits - The Great Controversy · Sacred Texts Archive

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  Chapter thirty one. Agency of evil spirits, the connection of the visible with
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  the invisible world. The ministration of angels of God, and the agency of
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  evil spirits are plainly revealed in the scriptures and inseparably interwoven with human history.
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  There is a growing tendency to disbelief in the existence of evil spirits, while
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  the holy angels that minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation are regarded
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  by many as the spirits of the dead. But the scriptures not only teach
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  the existence of angels, both good and evil, but present on a questionable
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  proof that these are not the disembodied spirits of dead men. Before the creation
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  of Man, angels were in existence. For when the foundations of the earth
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  were laid, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
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  shouted for joy. After the fall of Man, angels are sent to guard
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  the tree of life, and this before a human being had died. Angels
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  are in nature superior to men, for the the Psalmist says that man was
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  made a little lower than the angels. We are informed in scripture as to
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  the number and the power and glory of the heavenly beings, of their connection
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  with the government of God, and also of their relation to the work of
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  redemption. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom ruleth
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  over all, And says the prophet, I heard the voice of many angels
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  round about the throne in the presence chamber of the King of kings. They
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  wait angels that excel in strength, ministers of his that do his pleasure,
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  hearkening unto the voice of his word. Ten thousand times, ten thousand and
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  thousands of thousands were the heavenly messengers beheld by the prophet Daniel. The apostle
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  Paul declared them an innumerable company as God's messengers. They go forth like the
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  appearance of a flash of lightning, so dazzling their glory, and so swift
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  their flight. The Angel that appeared at the Saviour's tomb, his countenance like
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  life, tightning, and his raiment white as snow, caused the keepers,
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  for fear of him, to quake, and they became as dead men.
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  When Snacharib, the haughty Assyrian, reproached and blasphemed God and threatened Israel with
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  destruction, it came to pass that night that the Angel of the Lord went
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  out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians. A hundred fourscore and five
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  thousand there were cut off all the mighty men of Valor, and the leaders
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  and captains from the army of Snacarib. So he returned with shame of faith
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  to his own land. Angels are sent on missions of mercy to the children
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  of God. To Abraham with promises of blessing, to the gates of Sodom,
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  to rescue Righteous Lot from its fiery doom. To Elijah as he was
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  about to perish from weariness and hunger in the desert. To Elisha with chariots
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  and horses of fire surrounding the little town where he was shut in by his
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  foes. To Daniel while seeking to find wisdom in the court of a heathen
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  king, or abandoned to become the lion's prey. To Peter doomed to death
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  in Herod's dungeon. To the prisoners at Philippi, to Pall and his companions
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  in the night of tempest on the sea, to open the mind of Cornelius
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  to receive the Gospel, to dispatch Peter with the message of salvation to the
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  gentile stranger. Thus Holy angels have in all ages ministered to God's people.
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  A guardian angel is appointed to every follower of Christ. These heavenly watchers shield
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  the righteous from the power of the wicked one. This Satan himself recognized when
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  he said, doth job fear God? For naught? Hast not thou made
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  a hedge about him and about his house, and about all that he hath
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  on every side. The agency by which God protects his people is presented in
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  the words of the Psalmist. The Angel of the Lord in campethround about them
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  that fear him and delivereth them, said the Savior, speaking of those that
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  believe in him, Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones.
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  For I say unto you that in Heaven their angels to always behold the
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  face of my Father. The angels appointed to minister to the children of God
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  have at all times access to His presence. Thus God's people, exposed to
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  the deceptive power and unsleeping malice of the Prince of darkness, and in conflict
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  with all the forces of evil, are assured of the unceasing guardianship of heavenly
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  angels. Nor is such assurance given without need. If God has granted to
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  his children promise of grace and protection. It is because there are mighty agencies
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  of evil to be met, agencies numerous, determined and untiring, of whose
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  malignity and power none can safely be ignorant or unheeding. Evil spirits, in
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  the beginning created sinless, were equal in nature, power, and glory with
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  the holy beings that are now God's messengers, but fallen through sin, they
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  are leagued together for the dishonor of God and the destruction of men. United
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  with Satan and his rebellion, and with him cast out from heaven, they
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  have, through all succeeding ages, co operated with him in his warfare against
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  the divine authority. We are told in scripture of their confederacy and government,
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  of their various orders, of their intelligence and subtlety, and of their malicious
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  designs against the peace and happiness of men. Old Testament history presents occasional mentions
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  of their existence and agency. But it was during the time when Christ was
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  upon the earth that evil spirits manifested their power in the most striking manner.
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  Christ had come to enter upon the plan devised for man's redemption, and Satan
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  determined to assert his right to control the world. He had succeeded in establishing
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  idolatry in every part of the earth except the land of Palestine. To the
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  only land that had not fully yielded to the tempter's sway, Christ came to
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  shed upon the people the light of heaven. Here two rival powers claimed supremacy.
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  Jesus was stretching out his arms of love, inviting all who would to
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  find pardon and peace in his The hosts of darkness saw that they did not
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  possess unlimited control, and they understood that if Christ's mission should be successful,
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  their rule was soon to end. Satan raged like a chained lion, and
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  defiantly exhibited his power over the bodies as well as the souls of men.
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  The fact that men have been possessed with demons is clearly stated in the New
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  Testament. The persons thus afflicted were not merely suffering with disease from natural causes.
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  Christ had perfect understanding of that with which he was dealing, and he
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  recognized the direct presence and agency of evil spirits. A striking example of their
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  number, power and malignity, and also of the power and mercy of Christ,
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  is given in the scripture account of the healing of the demoniacs at Gadara.
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  Those wretched maniacs, spurning all restraint, writhing, foaming, raging,
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  were filling the air with their cries, doing violence to themselves and endangering all
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  who should approach them. Their bleeding and disfigured bodies and distracted minds presented a
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  spectacle well pleasing to the Prince of Darkness. One of the demons controlling the
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  sufferers declared, my name is Legion, for we are many in the Roman
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  army. A legion consisted of from three to five thousand men. Satan's hosts
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  also are marshaled in companies, and the single company to which these demons belonged
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  numbered no less than a legion. At the command of Jesus, the evil
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  spirits departed from their victims, leaving them calmly sitting at the Savior's feet,
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  subdued, intelligent, and gentle. But the demons were permitted to sweep a
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  herd of swine into the sea and to the dwellers of Gadara. The loss
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  of these outweighed the blessings which Christ had bestowed, and the divine healer was
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  entreated to depart. This was the result which Satan designed to secure. By
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  casting the blame of their loss upon Jesus, he aroused the selfish fears of
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  the people and prevented them from listening to his words. Satan is constantly accusing
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  Christians as the cause of loss, misfortune, and suffering, instead of allowing
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  the reproach to follower belongs upon himself and his agents. But the purposes of
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  Christ were not thwarted. He allowed the evil spirits to destroy the herd of
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  swine as a rebuke to those Jews who were raising these unclean beasts for the
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  sake of gain. Had not Christ restrained the demons, they would have plunged
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  into the sea, not only the swine, but also their keepers and owners.
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  The preservation of both the keepers and the owners was due alone to his
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  power, mercifully exercised for their deliverance. Furthermore, this event was permitted to
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  take place that the disciples might witness the cruel power of Satan upon both man
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  and beast. The Savior desired his followers to have a knowledge of the foe
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  whom they were to meet, that they might not be deceived and overcome by
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  his devices. It was also his will that the people of that region should
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  behold his power to break the bones of Satan and release his captives. And
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  though Jesus himself departed, the men so marvelously delivered, remained to declare the
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  mercy of their benefactor. Other instances of a similar nature are recorded in the
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  scriptures. The daughter of the Syrophoenician woman was grievously vexed to the devil,
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  whom Jesus cast out by his word, one possessed of the devil, blind
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  and dumb, a youth who had a dumb spirit, that ofttimes cast him
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  into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. The maniac, who
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  tormented by a spirit of an unclean devil, disturbed the Sabbath quiet of the
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  synagogue at Copernium. All were healed by the compassionate Savior. In nearly every
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  instance, Christ addressed the demon as an intelligent entity, commanding him to come
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  out of his victim and to torment him no more. The worshippers at Capernium,
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  beholding his mighty power, were all amazed and spake among themselves, saying,
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  what a word is this? For with authority and power he commanded the
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  unclean spirits and they come. Those possessed with devils are usually represented as being
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  in a condition of great suffering. Yet there were exceptions to this rule.
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  For the sake of obtaining supernatural power, some welcomed the Satanic influence. These,
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  of course, had no conflict with the demons. Of this class were
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  those who possessed the spirit of divination Simon Magus, Elimus, the Sorcerer,
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  and the damsel who followed Paul and Silas at Philippi. None are in greater
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  danger from the influence of evil spirits than those who, notwithstanding the direct and
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  ample testimony of the scriptures, deny the existence and agency of the devil and
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  his angels. So long as we are ignorant of their wiles, they have
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  almost inconceivable advantage. Many give heed to their suggestions while they suppose themselves to
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  be following the dictates of their own wisdom. This is why, as we
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  approach the close of time, when Satan is to work with greatest power to
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  deceive and destroy, he spreads everywhere the belief that he does not excit.
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  It is his policy to conceal himself and his manner of working. There is
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  nothing that the great deceiver fears so much as that we shall become acquainted with
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  his devices, the better to disguise his real character and purposes. He has
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  caused himself to be so represented as to excite no stronger emotion than ridicule or
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  contempt. He is well pleased to be painted as a ludicrous or loathsome object,
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  misshapen, half animal and half human. He is pleased to hear his
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  name used in sport and mockery by those who think themselves intelligent and well informed.
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  It is because he has masked himself with consummate skill that the question is
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  so widely asked, does such a being really exist? It is an evidence
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  of his success that theories giving the lie to the plainest testimony of the scriptures
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  are so generally received in the religious world. And it is because Satan can
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  most readily control the minds of those who are unconscious of his influence, that
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  the Word of God gives us so many examples of his malignant work, unveiling
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  before us his secret forces, and thus placing us on our guard against his
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  assaults. The power and malice of Satan and his host might justly alarm us,
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  were it not that we may find shelter and deliverance in the superior power
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  of our redeemer. We carefully secure our houses with bolts and locks to protect
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  our property in our lives from evil men. But we seldom think of the
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  evil angels who are constantly seeking access to us, and against whose attacks we
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  have in our own strength no method of defense. If permitted, they can
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  distract our minds, disorder and torment our bodies, destroy our possessions and our
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  lives. Their only delight is in misery and destruction. Fearful is the condition
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  of those who resist the divine claims and yield to Satan's temptations until God gives
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  them up to the control of evil spirits. But those who follow Christ are
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  ever safe under his watch. Care angels that excel in strength are sent from
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  heaven to protect them. The wicked one cannot break through the guard which God
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  has stationed about his people. End of Chapter thirty one.