19.) Winning the Battle Over Satan

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When Adam and Eve were created, they were in complete harmony with God in every aspect. Their minds were formed as a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in, and they could commune with Jesus face to face as friend with friend. Angels visited them regularly to teach and instruct them in the ways of health, happiness and holiness. They were told of the defection of Lucifer and a third of the angels, and were warned against going near the tree of knowledge of good and evil where Satan was allowed to have access to them should they venture to disobey God's command. With all these advantages, Adam and Eve felt completely confident that they would never fall to the tempter's wiles.

But this shining new couple, with the glow of God's glory and holiness around them, had no idea how subtle the temptations of Satan would be. Satan well knew the pathway that led to his own rebellion, and he had successfully practiced the same reasoning with the angels who fell with him. Now he was determined to take down this bright new world that God had created, and make it the center of his own kingdom of rebellion against God.

Here is a review of the steps that led to the fall of Adam and Eve.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat from the trees in the garden, but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die."' 'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasant to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,.. and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked ; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." Gen. 3:1-7.

Ellen White states that the serpent "flattered Eve with subtle praise of her surpassing loveliness; and his words were not displeasing… She had no thought that the fascinating serpent could become the medium of the fallen foe." PP 54.

Since that time Satan has claimed ownership of this world and authority over it. But God has not left the world to the control of the evil one. The armies of heaven are constantly at work to bring about the purposes of God in winning the battle against evil for every person who accepts Jesus and aligns himself with God and the principles of His character and government.

"Not until the providences of God are seen in the light of eternity shall we understand what we owe to the care and interposition of His angels. Celestial beings have taken part in the affairs of men....

"Though the rulers of this world know it not, yet often in their counsels angels have been spokesmen… In the council-hall and the court of justice, heavenly messengers have pleaded the cause of the persecuted and oppressed. They have defeated purposes and arrested evils that would have brought wrong and suffering to God's children....

"Every redeemed one will understand the ministry of angels in his own life. The angel who was his guardian from his earliest moments; the angel who watched his steps, and covered his head in the day of peril;.. who was the first to greet him in the resurrection morning,-- what will it be to hold converse with him, and to learn the history of divine interposition in the individual life, the heavenly co-operation in every work for humanity!" Ed. 304, 5.

As we near the close of earth's history and the battle between good and evil intensifies, we need to understand more clearly how to cooperate with the forces of good against the forces of evil.

"When tempted to sin, let us remember that Jesus is pleading for us in the heavenly sanctuary. When we put away our sins and come to Him in faith, He takes our names on his lips, and presents them to His Father, saying, 'I have graven them upon the palms of my hands; I know them by name.' And the command goes forth to the angels to protect them. Then in the day of fierce trial He will say, 'Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.' [Isa. 26:20, KJV.] What are the chambers in which they are to hide? -- They are the protection of Christ and holy angels." 4 BC 1143.

The text that is quoted here from Isaiah 26:20 is especially applicable to those who live at the end of earth's history.

"Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the world are eager for conflict; but they are held in check by the angels. When this restraining power is removed, there will come a time of trouble and anguish… All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of satanic agencies. But they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon....

"Angels are belting the world refusing Satan his claims to supremacy… Their hands are linked about the world, and with sleepless vigilance they are keeping the armies of Satan at bay till the sealing of God's people shall be accomplished....

"The Lord is a refuge for all who put their trust in Him. He bids them hide in Him for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. He is soon to come out of His place to punish the world for its iniquity. Then the earth shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain [Isa. 26:20, 21]." 7 BC 967.

The important point to remember is that we are in a great cosmic battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil, and those who love and follow Jesus are the focus of Satan's anger and rage, for they stand between him and his desire to win the great controversy through fear and force, or by bringing his subjects into sympathy with him and agreement with the principles of his government. In order to understand better the resentment which arose in Satan's heart at the beginning of his challenge to the government of God, I will quote some passages from Early Writings, pages 145, 146:

"Satan was once an honored angel in heaven, next to Christ… His form was perfect; his bearing noble and majestic. But when God said to His Son, 'Let us make man in our image,' Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. He desired to receive the highest honors in heaven next to God.

"Until this time all heaven had been in order, harmony, and perfect subjection to the government of God. It was the highest sin to rebel against His order and will. All heaven seemed in commotion… Satan, ambitious to exalt himself, and unwilling to submit to the authority of Jesus, was insinuating against the government of God. Some of the angels sympathized with Satan in his rebellion, and others strongly contended for the honor and wisdom of God in giving authority to His Son.... Satan and his sympathizers… wished to look into His unsearchable wisdom, and ascertain His purpose in exalting Jesus and endowing Him with such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against the authority of the Son.... Then there was war in heaven… Satan wished to conquer the Son of God and those who were submissive to His will. But the good and true angels prevailed, and Satan, with his followers, was driven from heaven."

The animosity, hatred, and purposes of Satan and his followers have never abated through the thousands of years that have followed. It has caused the death of God's Son on the cruel cross of Calvary, and millions of the followers of Jesus throughout history. But this great cosmic battle is coming to an end, and Jesus will soon come to rescue His faithful children. Our generation is now on stage, and it is imperative that we understand the part we are to play in history, and how to cooperate with Jesus as He finishes the work of redemption by producing a final cleansed remnant who reflect His image perfectly. All of heaven is waiting and longing for this glorious culmination to the war that was begun so long ago. What a joyous celebration will take place when the battle is over and the victory is won!

"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the [righteousness, KJV] of the saints.)

"Then the angel said to me, 'Write: blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" Rev. 19:6-9.


What does it take to be among that number who will stand victoriously upon the sea of glass before the throne of the Father and the Son? As we see in the quotes above, the cosmic conflict between good and evil cannot be finished until God has a people who are in complete harmony with His laws, His character, and His government. Satan boldly claimed to have a better form of government, and by his specious and subtle reasoning, confused many of the angels of heaven. For 6000 years this world has been a display of the principles of Satan's kingdom. Those who are saved from this earth will be those who boldly refute Satan's claims, and in spite of hardship, persecution, or threat of death, live to exemplify the character of God and His holiness in their own lives. When this standard is reached, they will be sealed for eternity, and the great controversy will come to a final end.

Since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, this character transformation can only take place when God's people are fully cleansed of all sympathy with Satan and his principles of life. Therefore, the sealing process must be a result of a conscious experience with God whereby He reveals to us our character defects and enables us to come into perfect harmony with him on every issue of our lives. This process is described in more detail in my previous article entitled, "The Investigative Judgment and the Judgment of the Living," 2-18-20, which can be found on mountainrefugeministries.com you can also find a description of this experience in Early Writings, 269-271, in the chapter called, "The Shaking." However, in this article I want to focus on the details of the process and principles of the battle, and how to cooperate with Jesus as He guides His people through this experience.

To lay the groundwork for this process, I will use the definition of sin as "disagreement with God," which is taken from volume five of the Testimonies:

"God has commanded us, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy;' and an inspired apostle declares that without holiness 'no man shall see the Lord.' [Heb. 12:14.] Holiness is agreement with God. By sin the image of God in man has been marred and well-nigh obliterated; it is the work of the gospel to restore that which has been lost; and we are to cooperate with the divine agency in this work. And how can we come into harmony with God, how can we receive His likeness, unless we obtain a knowledge of Him? It is this knowledge that Christ came into the world to reveal unto us....

"Brothers and sisters, it is by beholding that we become changed. By dwelling upon the love of God and our Savior, by contemplating the perfection of the divine character and claiming the righteousness of Christ as ours by faith, we are to be transformed into the same image. Then let us not gather together all the unpleasant pictures -- the iniquities and corruptions and disappointments, the evidences of Satan's power -- to hang in the halls of our memory, to talk over and mourn over until our souls are filled with discouragement. A discouraged soul is a body of darkness, not only failing himself to receive the light of God, but shutting it away from others. Satan loves to see the effect of the pictures of his triumphs, making human beings faithless and discouraged....

"Perfect conformity to the will of God is the high aim to be constantly before the Christian. He will love to talk of God, of Jesus, of the home of bliss and purity which Christ has prepared for them that love him. The contemplation of these things, when the soul feasts upon the blessed assurances of God, the apostle represents as 'tasting the powers of the world to come.'" 5T 743-5.

In my personal experience, and also in counseling others, I find that the greatest challenge in the Christian walk is the temptation to negative thinking about ourselves, about others, about our situation in life, and a thousand ways by which Satan has infected our thinking from childhood, and even before we were born. Science now tells us that our ways of thinking and feeling are passed on to us in the DNA of body cells from our ancestors at least as far back as the third and fourth generation, a principle which we see also in scripture. [Ex. 20:4-6.] Because of this fact, many are concluding that the deep roots of sin that we have inherited cannot be completely eradicated until Jesus comes and changes our mortal bodies into immortality. But if this were true, Jesus could have come back ere this. What is keeping our Savior in the heavenly sanctuary for over a hundred and seventy-five years since our ancestors preached the soon coming of Jesus? He is waiting for a generation of people who will come up to all the light that is necessary to experience the final cleansing and blotting out of sin from God's people who are counted worthy to live to see Him come.

"Just before us is the closing struggle of the great controversy when, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, Satan is to work to misrepresent the character of God, that he may 'seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.' If there were ever a people in need of constantly increasing light from heaven, it is the people that, in this time of peril, God has called to be the depositories of His holy law and to vindicate His character before the world. Those to whom has been committed a trust so sacred must be spiritualized, elevated, vitalized, by the truth they profess to believe. Never did the church more sorely need, and never was God more solicitous that she should enjoy, the experience described in Paul's letter to the Colossians when he wrote: 'We do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.'" 5T 746.

"It is only those who are following the light already given that can hope to receive the further illumination of the Spirit. This is plainly stated in the words of Christ: 'If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine.'" 5T 705.

The increasing light and knowledge that I believe we need now is to understand how to cooperate with Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary as He cleanses the books of heaven and blots out all the sins of His people that are recorded there. Until now, it has been the accepted way of thinking for most people that this process happens in heaven without our knowledge, and that all we have to do is to keep our sins confessed and that Jesus will cover any discrepancies in our character with His perfect blood, and His righteousness will be attributed to us. However, this way of thinking leaves us with uncorrected characters, and deep roots of sin that are still producing their unholy effects in our daily lives. And this means that Satan still has access to us to tempt us in the areas which he himself has injected into our thoughts and feelings, and the habit patterns that we have developed as a result of a lifetime of yielding to his temptations.
Brothers and sisters, all this must be eradicated completely from our minds and hearts before probation closes. We must be fully cleansed from all sin and filled completely by the latter rain in order to give the loud cry and be prepared to go through the time of trouble when Jesus is no longer interceding for us in the heavenly sanctuary.

I believe the additional light that we need is now shining upon us which will enable us to experience the full cleansing of our lives before Jesus leaves the heavenly sanctuary. This is foreshadowed in the ancient sanctuary service on the day of atonement. On that day all the sins that had been confessed during the year were expunged and blotted out of the sanctuary forever, never more to come to mind. But this required the full cooperation of the people while the high priest was ministering before the sacred ark of God in the most holy place. Every person was to spend the whole day in careful examination of their hearts before God to see if any shred of sin still remained in their lives. Now, in the antitypical day of atonement, although we cannot spend every moment in prayer, our hearts are to be kept in continual connection and relationship with Jesus so that He can direct every thought, feeling, and action. Perfection of life requires a constant relationship with Jesus.

"Look to Jesus constantly… Jesus is the only one who can give you peace." 5T 649.

"Let us work for the Master with disinterested energy, keeping before us a sense of the constant presence of God. Think of Moses, what endurance and patience characterized his life… He kept the Lord ever before him, and the Lord was ever at his right hand to help him.

"Moses had a deep sense of the personal presence of God… God was real to him, ever present in his thoughts.... God was to him a present help....

"Moses was full of confidence in God because he had appropriating faith… He saw and acknowledged God in every detail of his life and felt that he was under the eye of the All-seeing One, who weighs motives, who tries the heart. He looked to God and trusted in Him for strength to carry him uncorrupted through every form of temptation… The presence of God was sufficient to carry him through the most trying situations in which a man could be placed.

"Moses did not merely think of God; he saw Him. God was the constant vision before him; he never lost sight of His face. He saw Jesus as his Saviour, and he believed that the Saviour's merits would be imputed to him. This faith was to Moses no guesswork; it was a reality. This is the kind of faith we need, faith that will endure the test....

"Make Christ your daily, hourly companion… contemplate Christ. View His character. Talk of Him. The less you exalt self, the more you will see in Jesus to exalt. Keep the Lord ever before you.... Reach up higher and still higher for clear views of the character of Christ." 5T 651, 2.

These masterful quotations from the spirit of prophecy contain much vital truth for God's people now. The great controversy has been raging for centuries, and it is time now for it to come to a victorious ending for Jesus and those who love and follow Him. In order for this to take place, Jesus must be everything to us. He must be in our thoughts continually and we must be in conscious connection and agreement with Him at all times. How can this happen, when sin is in our members [Rom. 7:14-25, KJV] -- in the very DNA of our body cells? Sinful ways of thinking and feeling come down to us from heredity, from the thoughts and feelings of our mother while we were in the womb, from the way we were treated as children and our responses to childhood experiences, as well as our own personal characteristics which form our unique individuality. How can a lifetime of thinking and feeling be cleansed and reformed into the perfect image of Jesus in the final generation as the Bible says this must be? The answer lies in the position and work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary during the blotting out of sins that He performs just before He finishes interceding for His people in the most holy place.

Many people feel that this work of intercession goes on without our knowledge or our conscious cooperation, and is finished when Jesus comes to the last name on the books of heaven. But how can Jesus blot out sins from the heavenly records if they still remain in our memory and continue to affect our thoughts, feelings, and behavior? This way of thinking supports Satan's claim that sin is inevitable if created beings are given free will choice. It also would give Satan the right to challenge God's decision to keep him and his angels out of heaven when they asked to come back and be reinstated into heaven. [See EW 146.] The simple truth is that sin must be eradicated from our lives if we are accounted worthy to be safe to save. We must come into full harmony with Jesus in every area of our lives. In the remainder of this article I will endeavor to make as practical and simple as possible the cleansing work of Jesus, and how to cooperate with Him as He removes from us the damage that Satan has done.

"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23, KJV. In practical terms this means that every one has come from the womb tainted with thoughts and feelings and impulses that are corrupted by our inheritance. David said:

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Ps. 51:1, 2, 5.

Ellen White also comments on these principles of inheritance:

"What the parents are, that, to a great extent, the children will be. The physical condition of the parents, their dispositions and appetites, their mental and moral tendencies, are, to a greater or lesser degree, reproduced in their children." MH 371.

"The effect of prenatal influences is by many parents looked upon as a matter of little moment; but heaven does not so regard it… The well-being of the child will be affected by the habits of the mother… If before the birth of her child she is self-indulgent, if she is selfish, impatient, and exacting, these traits will be reflected in the disposition of the child. Thus, many children have received as a birthright almost unconquerable tendencies to evil." MH 372.

"It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrongdoing, but they are not punished for the parents' guilt, except as they participate in their sins. It is usually the case, however, that children walk in the steps of their parents. By inheritance and example the sons become partakers of the father's sin. Wrong tendencies, perverted appetites, and debased morals, as well as physical disease and degeneracy, are transmitted as a legacy from father to son, to the third and fourth generation. This fearful truth should have a solemn power to restrain men from following a course of sin." PP 306.

None of us had perfect parents, nor have we been perfect parents to our children. And yet God has promised to deliver us from the sins that have come down to us and have affected our lives, our characters, and what we have become. Without Jesus, our case would be hopeless. But with Jesus and His work for us in the heavenly sanctuary, we can be perfect overcomers.

"Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church." DA 671.

"None need despair because of the inherited tendencies to evil, but when the Spirit of God convicts of sin, the wrongdoer must repent and confess and forsake the evil. Faithful sentinels are on guard to direct souls in right paths." 6 BC 1120.

"Without the transforming process which can come alone through divine power, the original propensities to sin are left in the heart in all their strength, to forge new chains, to impose a slavery that can never be broken by human power." Ev. 192.

No doubt all of us have experienced the feeling of hopelessness in trying to break old habit patterns and sinful attitudes and behavior. But we must now accustom ourselves to understand and accept the necessity of looking to Jesus our High Priest as He cleanses the sanctuary in heaven, and cooperate with Him as He works within us to finish the work of sin that Satan has done in our lives.

"While Christ is cleansing the sanctuary, the worshippers on earth should carefully review their life, and compare their character with the standard of righteousness." Ev. 224.

In order to cooperate intelligently with Jesus in the removal of our sins from the books of heaven and from our lives, we need to understand some vital words that open up to us new concepts in the work of cleansing. The first word I want to consider is "character." Simply stated, "The thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character." 5T 310. There is no

possibility of attaining perfection in our behavior if our thoughts and feelings are contaminated and unholy. Please remember that "Holiness is agreement with God" [5T. 743], and "Without holiness no one will see the Lord." Heb. 12:14. Therefore it is imperative that we cooperate with Jesus in the cleansing and blotting out of our sins. This means that we must search our hearts and live moment by moment in connection with Jesus, listening for His still, small voice to reveal to us anything He sees in our characters that need to be reproved and cleansed. Listed below are some further quotations from the pen of Ellen White which help to clarify the work that Jesus is now doing in the heavenly sanctuary:

"Angels of God daily place upon the books of heaven an exact representation of the character of every human being." 7 BC 987.

"The spirit, the character of man, is returned to God, there to be preserved. In the resurrection every man will have his own character." 6 BC 1093.
"Through defects in the character Satan works to gain control of the whole mind." GC 489. "God's claim is placed upon one scale, and man's character on the other;… Men are weighed in the balances and found wanting when they are living in the practice of any known sin." TM 439, 40.

"But before that time [the second coming] everything that is imperfect will have been seen and put away. All envy and jealousy and evil surmising and every selfish plan will have been banished from the life." 3 SM 427.

"Those who hold fast their faith unto the end will come forth from the furnace of trial seven times purified… Remember that there is One watching every movement to see when the last particle of dross is taken away from your character." UL 292.

"If the eye is fixed on Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image." DA 302.

"It may take time to attain to perfect submission to God's will, but we can never stop short of it and be fitted for heaven." 3T 538.

Isn't it thrilling to realize that all the pain and suffering that originated with Satan and has continued both in heaven and upon the earth for thousands of years will be ended as God's remnant people surrender to the process of cleansing our minds and hearts and coming into full harmony with God on every aspect of our lives? This is both the privilege and responsibility of the last generation of God's people upon the earth who are called to be among the 144,000 who will represent the saints of all the ages. In order for the great controversy to be completed successfully, Jesus must demonstrate that His blood and His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is sufficient to cleanse His people from every aspect of sin. This is why the 144,000 are from every tribe of Israel, with the exceptions of Ephraim and Dan, who lost their places in the roster

because of unconquered sin in their lives. Dan was a backbiter [Gen. 49:17], and the tribe of Ephraim gave themselves up to worldliness [Hos. 7]. In their places are the names of Joseph and Levi [Rev. 7:7, 8].

The 144,000 are the finished product of the plan of salvation. They are the eternal display before the universe that the sacrifice and ministry of Jesus is sufficient to conquer every lie of Satan, and cleanse every sin that he has caused.

What is the difference between the 144,000 and the saved in all preceding generations? The answer is found in the mysteries of the sanctuary. The construction of the sanctuary reveals how God created the human heart, mind, soul and spirit to be a temple in which His Spirit could dwell, for it is a replica of the mind, heart, soul, and spirit of God. This does not mean that we possess divinity in and of ourselves, but that we have been created by God to receive His thoughts and feelings on all matters, and be in perfect harmony and agreement with Him. "Holiness is agreement with God." [5 T 743.] Sin is disagreement with God. And God has said, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." [Lev. 11:44, 45; 1 Pet. 1:16, KJV.] The sanctuary is a model of God's perfection and holiness. And it is the visible pathway of cleansing and restoration of the human heart back into agreement with God so that we can live with Him in His heavenly home -- the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore the reconstruction of humanity requires that we understand and cooperate with God's work in us through the understanding of the sanctuary.

Below is a study on the importance of the sanctuary in the cleansing and sanctification process:
"We all need to keep the subject of the sanctuary in mind… There is a sanctuary in heaven, and… a pattern of this sanctuary was once built on earth. God desires His people to become familiar with this pattern, keeping ever before their minds the heavenly sanctuary where God is all and in all." Ltr. 233, 1904.

"The temple of God is opened in heaven, and the threshold is flushed with the glory that is for every church that will love God and keep His commandments. We need to study, to meditate and to pray. Then we will have spiritual eyesight to discern the inner courts of the celestial temple." 6T 368.

"Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour to come. And, in the wisdom of God, the particulars of this work were given us that we might, by looking to them, understand the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary." EW 253.

"It is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement, who receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf; while those who reject the light which brings to view this work of ministration are not benefited thereby." GC 429, 30.

"It was Christ who planned the arrangement for the first earthly tabernacle. He... was the heavenly architect who marked out the plan for the sacred building where His name was to be honored." COL 349.

"I saw that everything in heaven was in perfect order. Said the angel, "Behold ye and know how perfect, how beautiful the order in heaven; follow it.'" EW xxx, xxxi.

"Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider the plan, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple -- its arrangement, its exits and entrances -- its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.

"This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple." Eze. 43:10-12.

"Those who are accepted at last as members of the heavenly court will be men and women who here on earth have sought to carry out the Lord's will in every particular, who have sought to put the impress of heaven upon their earthly labors. In order that the earthly tabernacle might represent the heavenly, it must be perfect in all its parts, and it must be in the smallest detail like the pattern in the heavens. So it is with the characters of those who are finally accepted in the sight of heaven." IHP 154.

"The vision given to Isaiah [Isa. 6:1-8] represents the condition of God's people in the last days. They are privileged to see by faith the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary." 4 BC 1139.

"The sins of Israel must go to judgment beforehand. Every sin must be confessed at the sanctuary, then the work will move; it must be done now. The latter rain is coming on those that are pure -- all, then, will receive it as formerly. None receive the latter rain but those who do all they can." GC Bulletin, 1893, p. 179.

The above quotations clearly reveal that the final generation of God's people must understand the sanctuary more clearly than any other generation. This is because the battle between good and evil will culminate in the final generation, and all the light that is necessary to finish transgression and make an end of sin will be displayed in that generation before the entire universe.

"'See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps -- both your sins and the sins of your fathers', says the Lord." Isa. 65:6, 7.

"O Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you." Jer. 14:20.

"Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment." Lam. 5:6, 7. Jesus spoke to His generation concerning this same principle:
"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in His wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all." Luke 11:47-51.

Likewise, in the final generation this same principle of responsibility will be placed upon mystical Babylon and all who are associated with her:

"In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth." Rev. 18:24.

But in every age of history, God has had a people who gained the victory over Satan and the hosts of evil, even at the cost of their own lives. This is demonstrated in Hebrews 11, where many of God's true followers, beginning with Abel, are listed among the champions of faith who believed in God's final resolution of the sin problem. The final generation of God's people, who are the completed product of the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, have the joy and privilege of cooperating with Jesus in the finishing of the great controversy by participating in the final cleansing and blotting out of all sin in their lives. This we see in the 144,000, who are pronounced to be "blameless," or sinless, and are offered to God and the Lamb as the firstfruits from the earth [Rev. 14:4, 5], representing the finished product of the plan of salvation. Coming from all the spiritual tribes, whose names are written on the 12 gates of the New Jerusalem, they lead the procession into the city of God when Jesus comes. Without this finished product, Satan could claim that he had won the victory over Jesus in the end of the great controversy. But in the 144,000 as the wave sheaf from the earth, all the followers of Jesus throughout history are represented in these twelve tribes of spiritual Israel. Paul speaks of the necessity of having a final finished product at the end of time to represent all those who have gone before us:

"These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." Heb. 11:39, 40.

"The Lord Jesus Christ is the author of our being, and He is also the author of our redemption, and everyone who will enter the kingdom of God will develop a character that is the counterpart of the character of God. None can dwell with God in the holy heaven but those

who bear His likeness. Those who are to be redeemed are to be overcomers; they are to be elevated, pure, one with Christ." 6 BC 1105.

"All who give themselves to the service of Christ will follow the example of Christ and will be perfect overcomers." SD 141.

What is the service that the final generation of God's people will experience for the whole human race? I believe it to be the cleansing of the roots of sin that have come down to every person who has been born since Adam and Eve sinned and passed to their progeny the mental, emotional, and spiritual roots of rebellion and separation from God which only a deep love relationship with Him can heal.

"The people of God must cleave to God, else they will lose their bearings. If they cherish hereditary and cultivated traits of character that misrepresent Christ, while professedly His disciples, they are represented by... the foolish virgins which had no oil in their vessels with their lamps. We must cleave to that which God pronounces to be truth, though the whole world may be arrayed against it." 4 BC 1179.

"Aim for perfection and never, never lower the standard of righteousness to accommodate inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong… We may be holy, as Christ was holy in human nature." TD 32.

Why did not our forefathers who received the message of Christ's soon coming and of His movement from the holy place ministry to the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary live to see Jesus coming in their day? It was because they did not understand the necessity of their own participation with what Jesus was doing in the most holy place.

"But the people were not yet ready to meet their Lord. There was still a work of preparation to be accomplished for them. Light was to be given, directing their minds to the temple of God in heaven; and as they should by faith follow their High Priest in His ministrations there, new duties would be revealed. Another message of warning and instruction was to be given to the church. [Mal. 3:2, 3 quoted.] Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God's people. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.

"When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing." GC 424, 5.

It is clear that every person who receives the seal of God will have participated actively and consciously with Jesus in the cleansing of their lives from every sin that is registered in the books of heaven. This includes not only known sin, but roots of sin that are subconscious, but revealed by the Holy Spirit as the sinner participates with Jesus' cleansing work.

"What is the seal of the living God, which is placed in the foreheads of His people? It is a mark which angels, but not human eyes, can read, for the destroying angel must see this mark of redemption… The sin of the transgression of the law of God is taken away. They have on the wedding garment, and are obedient and faithful to all God's commands.

"The Israelites placed over their doors a signature of blood, to show that they were God's property. So the children of God in this age will bear the signature God has appointed. They will place themselves in harmony with God's holy law. A mark is placed upon every one of God's people just as verily as a mark was placed over the doors of the Hebrew dwellings, to preserve the people from the general ruin. God declares, 'I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.'...

"All who cherish the Lord as their portion in this life will be under His control, and will receive the sign, the mark of God, which shows them to be God's special possession. Christ's righteousness will go before them, and the glory of the Lord will be their rereward. The Lord protects every human being who bears His sign." 7 BC 968, 9.

Unfortunately, many people feel that as long as they live a good life according to their ability, and keep the seventh-day Sabbath, they will be sealed when the sealing takes place at the end of time. But being prepared to receive the seal of God means much more than this. The seal of God, when placed upon our forehead, will mean that our mind is now in complete agreement with God on everything, just as Jesus was in complete agreement with His Father on everything. The seal of the Sabbath means that we are a finished product of the plan of salvation, just as the first Sabbath at the end of the week of creation meant that God's creation of the world and of Adam and Eve were finished and perfect. It also reflects Jesus' rest in the tomb on the Sabbath after the finishing of His perfect work of redemption for mankind. Therefore we can be assured that the seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of a man, woman, or child who is not a finished product of the closing work of Jesus in the Most Holy Place, where He is blotting out the record of sin, both in the books of heaven, and in the lives of His people. This is why the 144,000, who receive the seal of God at the end of time are said to be blameless [Rev. 14:5].

"Satan… fell for the same reason that thousands are falling today, because of an ambition to be first, an unwillingness to be under restraint. The Lord would teach man the lesson that, though united in church capacity, he is not saved until the seal of God is placed upon him....

"The Lord has a work for us all to do. And if the truth is not rooted in the heart, if the natural traits of character are not transformed by the Holy Spirit, we can never be co-laborers with

Jesus Christ. Self will constantly appear, and the character of Christ will not be manifested in our lives....

"God can use the human agent just to the extent that he will be worked by the Holy Spirit....
God will test every man who enters His service. He does not ask, Do they possess learning and eloquence? Have they ability to command and control and manage? He asks, will they represent My character? Will they walk in humility, that I may teach them My way? The soul temple must not be defiled by any loose or unclean practice. Those whom I will acknowledge in the courts of heaven must be without spot and wrinkle." 7 BC 969.

"The seal of the living God will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character… As wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God and retain the image of Christ....

"We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the pattern man. His experience is the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our model. Let us, then, take our minds off the perplexities and the difficulties of this life, and fix them upon Him, that by beholding we may be changed into His likeness. We may behold Christ to good purpose. We may safely look to Him; for He is all-wise. As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be formed within, the hope of glory.

"Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand." 7 BC 970.

"We cannot overestimate the value of simple faith and unquestioning obedience. It Is by following the path of obedience in simple faith that the character obtains perfection." 4 BC 1137.

"Those who come up to every point and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness and they will receive the latter rain and thus be fitted for translation." 1 T 187.

"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of [the, KJV] great transgression." Ps. 19:12, 13.

"But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." 2 Peter 3:13, 14.

In times past, God only required people to be in harmony with Him on known, conscious sins; but when he entered the most holy place in 1844, He opened up all the sins that were recorded there, whether conscious or unconscious. Correspondingly, He also provided for scientific knowledge to be increased so that mankind could understand the deeper levels of the mind where the roots of sin reside. Paul speaks about this in 1 Cor. 4:3-5:

"I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

"Paul refers to the time appointed by God for judgment." 6 BC 682. [See Dan. 8:14-19.]

"God understands every motive [inclination, disposition, desire, mind, motivation]* behind the thoughts." 1Chron. 28:9. *NIV Concordance.

"Motives are weighed by the Lord." Prov. 16:2.

"Every act is judged by the motives that prompt it." COL 316.

"The secret purposes and motives appear in the unerring register; for God 'will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.'" GC 481.

What we are saying here is that when Jesus went into the most holy place in 1844 to cleanse the sanctuary through a work of judgment, it was not to be a work that would be kept in secret until after the judgment was finished and the decisions were made, to be revealed only after the close of probation when it will be too late to change. Jesus is a revealer of secrets and wants to walk us through the judgment by showing us what He sees written in the books of heaven while there is still time to repent and be cleansed. The scriptures are full of instruction that reveals to us the necessity of cooperating with Jesus in order to have a perfected character by the time He comes. For example:

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." 1 John 3:2, 3.

"But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world." 1 Cor. 11:31, 32.

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Cor. 7:1.

"The work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is the work of the investigative judgment, the closing work in the sanctuary above." GC 428.

"As Christ was glorified on the day of Pentecost, so will He again be glorified in the closing work of the gospel when He shall prepare a people to stand the test in the closing conflict of the great controversy." 7 BC 983.

God expects us to be a participant in this work of judgment:

"I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?'" Jer. 8:6.

"In order to become acquainted with ourselves, it is essential that we faithfully investigate the motives and principles of our conduct, comparing our actions with the standard of duty revealed in God's word." 2T 517, 18.

"Every follower of Christ should daily examine himself, that he may become perfectly acquainted with his own conduct. There is with nearly all a neglect of self-examination....

"Many see and feel their lack, yet they seem to be ignorant of the influence they exert. They are conscious of their actions as they perform them, but suffer them to pass from their memory, and therefore do not reform. If ministers would make the actions of each day a subject of careful thought and deliberate review, with the object to become acquainted with their own habits of life, they would better know themselves. By a close scrutiny of their daily life under all circumstances they would know their own motives, the principles which actuate them. This daily review of our acts, to see whether conscience approves or condemns, is necessary for all who wish to arrive at the perfection of Christian character." 2 T 511, 12.

It is clear from these texts and quotations that the cleansing and purification of our lives requires our cooperation. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, does this cleansing work, but not unless we are willingly and consciously participating with Him in this. And what is the goal and purpose of our cooperation in the cleansing that Jesus is doing? It is to bring us into harmony and agreement with His thoughts and feelings about everything in our lives.

How did our minds and emotions become contaminated with the thoughts and feelings of the wicked one? As we have already pointed out, our sinful thoughts, feelings, and tendencies come from both heredity and cultivation throughout our lives. But all these can be cleansed by a continual and growing relationship with Jesus, who gives us the power of His Holy Spirit to enable us to overcome the devil and all evil in our lives, and enthrone Jesus alone in our hearts. In order for us to come to this condition, we must be willing to give up anything that is in harmony with the mind and principles of the devil, for any agreement that we have with him provides a pathway into our hearts and lives for him to influence and even control us. Those who are sealed and ready for Jesus to come will be those who have wrestled with their sinful

thoughts, behaviors and tendencies and have overcome them through the power of our wonderful Savior. .

Jesus said:

"Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?... But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." Matt. 12:25-28.

"It Is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church." DA 671.

"Christ desires nothing so much as to redeem His heritage from the dominion of Satan. But before we are delivered from Satan's power without, we must be delivered from his power within." COL 174, 5.

"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three holy dignitaries of heaven have declared that they will strengthen men to overcome the powers of darkness. All the facilities of heaven are pledged to those who by their baptismal vows have entered into a covenant with God." 5 BC 1110.

"The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead -- the Holy Spirit." Ev. 617.

It is the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary to reveal to us anything in our characters that are not in harmony with Himself so that the Holy Spirit can dwell in its fullness in our lives. This is why we must have a daily and even moment by moment connection with Jesus so that He can reveal to us those things that are out of harmony with Him. The latter rain cannot fall upon any heart that is uncleansed of every aspect of sin. When the early rain fell upon the disciples at Pentecost, they still had unknown areas in their lives where Satan could tempt them. But when Jesus is finished with His cleansing and blotting-out work in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, there will be no sins left in the hearts and lives of those who fully participate with Him in that work.

But no one needs to fear that they will not be able to come up to the level of cleansing that is required, for Jesus will never forsake one truly honest soul who is willing to cooperate with Him in His work in their lives. Even the weakest saint who obeys Him and holds their faith firm to the end will become a finished product in the hands of our loving Savior.

"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice [judgment, KJV] to victory." Matt. 12:20.


"Satan can have no power over the soul that walks with God in humility of mind." ML 316.

Beloved, Satan has had access to every person on this earth from the time Adam and Eve sinned. And in whatever area of our lives we are in agreement with any of his principles, thoughts, and feelings, he still has access to our hearts and minds. But Jesus wants to reveal all these areas to us, and as we repent and are cleansed and come into full agreement and harmony with God on everything, we will be sealed and filled with the latter rain power of the Holy Spirit. What a blessed privilege we now have of participating with Jesus in the finishing of the great controversy in this world and in the universe by allowing Him to reveal all our sins to us and blot them out forever. Thus the great war between Christ and Satan will be finished, and we can be eternally with the Lord.

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." 1 Thess. 4:15-18.

By Carol Zarska