The Great Controversy - Introduction

Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with
his Maker; but since man separated himself from God by transgression,
the human race has been cut off from this high privilege. By the
plan of redemption, however, a way has been opened whereby the
inhabitants of the earth may still have connection with heaven. God
has communicated with men by His Spirit, and divine light has been
imparted to the world by revelations to His chosen servants. “Holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter
1:21.
During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there
was no written revelation. Those who had been taught of God, communicated
their knowledge to others, and it was handed down from
father to son, through successive generations. The preparation of the
written word began in the time of Moses. Inspired revelations were
then embodied in an inspired book. This work continued during the
long period of sixteen hundred years—from Moses, the historian of
creation and the law, to John, the recorder of the most sublime truths
of the gospel.

The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human
hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the
characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all “given
by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16); yet they are expressed in the
words of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into
the minds and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions,
symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed
have themselves embodied the thought in human language.
The Ten Commandments were spoken by God Himself, and were
written by His own hand. They are of divine, and not of human [vi]
composition. But the Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the
language of men, presents a union of the divine and the human. Such
a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the Son of God and
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the Son of man. Thus it is true of the Bible, as it was of Christ, that
“the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14.
Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and
occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the
Bible present a wide contrast in style, as well as a diversity in the
nature of the subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are
employed by different writers; often the same truth is more strikingly
presented by one than by another. And as several writers present
a subject under varied aspects and relations, there may appear, to
the superficial, careless, or prejudiced reader, to be discrepancy or
contradiction, where the thoughtful, reverent student, with clearer
insight, discerns the underlying harmony.
As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out
in its varied aspects. One writer is more strongly impressed with one
phase of the subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his
experience or with his power of perception and appreciation; another
seizes upon a different phase; and each, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, presents what is most forcibly impressed upon his own mind—a
different aspect of the truth in each, but a perfect harmony through all.
And the truths thus revealed unite to form a perfect whole, adapted to
meet the wants of men in all the circumstances and experiences of life.
God has been pleased to communicate His truth to the world by
human agencies, and He Himself, by His Holy Spirit, qualified men
and enabled them to do this work. He guided the mind in the selection
of what to speak and what to write. The treasure was entrusted to
[vii] earthen vessels, yet it is, nonetheless, from Heaven. The testimony is
conveyed through the imperfect expression of human language, yet
it is the testimony of God; and the obedient, believing child of God
beholds in it the glory of a divine power, full of grace and truth.
In His word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary
for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative,
infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of
character, the revealer of doctrines, and the test of experience. “Every
scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness; that the man
of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16, 17, R.V.
Yet the fact that God has revealed His will to men through His
word, has not rendered needless the continued presence and guiding
of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our
Saviour, to open the word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its
teachings. And since it was the Spirit of God that inspired the Bible, it
is impossible that the teaching of the Spirit should ever be contrary to
that of the word.
The Spirit was not given—nor can it ever be bestowed—to supersede
the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God
is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.
Says the apostle John, “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out
into the world.” 1 John 4:1. And Isaiah declares, “To the law and to
the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.
Great reproach has been cast upon the work of the Holy Spirit
by the errors of a class that, claiming its enlightenment, profess to
have no further need of guidance from the word of God. They are
governed by impressions which they regard as the voice of God in the
soul. But the spirit that controls them is not the Spirit of God. This
following of impressions, to the neglect of the Scriptures, can lead [viii]
only to confusion, to deception and ruin. It serves only to further the
designs of the evil one. Since the ministry of the Holy Spirit is of vital
importance to the church of Christ, it is one of the devices of Satan,
through the errors of extremists and fanatics, to cast contempt upon the
work of the Spirit and cause the people of God to neglect this source
of strength which our Lord Himself has provided.
In harmony with the word of God, His Spirit was to continue its
work throughout the period of the gospel dispensation. During the
ages while the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament were
being given, the Holy Spirit did not cease to communicate light to
individual minds, apart from the revelations to be embodied in the
Sacred Canon. The Bible itself relates how, through the Holy Spirit,
men received warning, reproof, counsel, and instruction, in matters in
no way relating to the giving of the Scriptures. And mention is made
of prophets in different ages, of whose utterances nothing is recorded.
In like manner, after the close of the canon of the Scripture, the Holy
Spirit was still to continue its work, to enlighten, warn, and comfort
the children of God.
Jesus promised His disciples, “The Comforter which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you.” “When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will
guide you into all truth: ... and He will show you things to come.”
John 14:26; 16:13. Scripture plainly teaches that these promises, so
far from being limited to apostolic days, extend to the church of Christ
in all ages. The Saviour assures His followers, “I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20. And Paul declares
that the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit were set in the church
“for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith,
[ix] and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12, 13.
For the believers at Ephesus the apostle prayed, “That the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is
the hope of His calling, and ... what is the exceeding greatness of His
power to usward who believe.” Ephesians 1:17-19. The ministry of
the divine Spirit in enlightening the understanding and opening to the
mind the deep things of God’s holy word, was the blessing which Paul
thus besought for the Ephesian church.
After the wonderful manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the Day of
Pentecost, Peter exhorted the people to repentance and baptism in the
name of Christ, for the remission of their sins; and he said: “Ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our
God shall call.” Acts 2:38, 39.
In immediate connection with the scenes of the great day of God,
the Lord by the prophet Joel has promised a special manifestation of
His Spirit. Joel 2:28. This prophecy received a partial fulfillment in
the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost; but it will reach
its full accomplishment in the manifestation of divine grace which will
attend the closing work of the gospel.
The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity
to the very close of time. In all ages the wrath of Satan has been
manifested against the church of Christ; and God has bestowed His
grace and Spirit upon His people to strengthen them to stand against
the power of the evil one. When the apostles of Christ were to bear
His gospel to the world and to record it for all future ages, they were
especially endowed with the enlightenment of the Spirit. But as the [x]
church approaches her final deliverance, Satan is to work with greater
power. He comes down “having great wrath, because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:12. He will work “with
all power and signs and lying wonders.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9. For
six thousand years that mastermind that once was highest among the
angels of God has been wholly bent to the work of deception and ruin.
And all the depths of satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty
developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear
against God’s people in the final conflict. And in this time of peril the
followers of Christ are to bear to the world the warning of the Lord’s
second advent; and a people are to be prepared to stand before Him at
His coming, “without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:14. At this time
the special endowment of divine grace and power is not less needful
to the church than in apostolic days.
Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the scenes of the longcontinued
conflict between good and evil have been opened to the
writer of these pages. From time to time I have been permitted to
behold the working, in different ages, of the great controversy between
Christ, the Prince of life, the Author of our salvation, and Satan, the
prince of evil, the author of sin, the first transgressor of God’s holy
law. Satan’s enmity against Christ has been manifested against His
followers. The same hatred of the principles of God’s law, the same
policy of deception, by which error is made to appear as truth, by
which human laws are substituted for the law of God, and men are led
to worship the creature rather than the Creator, may be traced in all the
history of the past. Satan’s efforts to misrepresent the character of God,
to cause men to cherish a false conception of the Creator, and thus to
regard Him with fear and hate rather than with love; his endeavors to
set aside the divine law, leading the people to think themselves free
from its requirements; and his persecution of those who dare to resist
his deceptions, have been steadfastly pursued in all ages. They may be
[xi] traced in the history of patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, of martyrs
and reformers.
In the great final conflict, Satan will employ the same policy,
manifest the same spirit, and work for the same end as in all preceding
ages. That which has been, will be, except that the coming struggle
will be marked with a terrible intensity such as the world has never
witnessed. Satan’s deceptions will be more subtle, his assaults more
determined. If it were possible, he would lead astray the elect. Mark
13:22, R.V.
As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great truths of His
word, and the scenes of the past and the future, I have been bidden to
make known to others that which has thus been revealed—to trace the
history of the controversy in past ages, and especially so to present
it as to shed a light on the fast-approaching struggle of the future.
In pursuance of this purpose, I have endeavored to select and group
together events in the history of the church in such a manner as to trace
the unfolding of the great testing truths that at different periods have
been given to the world, that have excited the wrath of Satan, and the
enmity of a world-loving church, and that have been maintained by
the witness of those who “loved not their lives unto the death.”
In these records we may see a foreshadowing of the conflict before
us. Regarding them in the light of God’s word, and by the illumination
of His Spirit, we may see unveiled the devices of the wicked one, and
the dangers which they must shun who would be found “without fault”
before the Lord at His coming.
The great events which have marked the progress of reform in past
ages are matters of history, well known and universally acknowledged
by the Protestant world; they are facts which none can gainsay. This
history I have presented briefly, in accordance with the scope of the
book, and the brevity which must necessarily be observed, the facts
[xii] having been condensed into as little space as seemed consistent with
a proper understanding of their application. In some cases where
a historian has so grouped together events as to afford, in brief, a
comprehensive view of the subject, or has summarized details in a
convenient manner, his words have been quoted; but in some instances
no specific credit has been given, since the quotations are not given for
the purpose of citing that writer as authority, but because his statement
affords a ready and forcible presentation of the subject. In narrating
the experience and views of those carrying forward the work of reform
in our own time, similar use has been made of their published works.
It is not so much the object of this book to present new truths
concerning the struggles of former times, as to bring out facts and
principles which have a bearing on coming events. Yet viewed as
a part of the controversy between the forces of light and darkness,
all these records of the past are seen to have a new significance; and
through them a light is cast upon the future, illumining the pathway of
those who, like the reformers of past ages, will be called, even at the
peril of all earthly good, to witness “for the word of God, and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ.”
To unfold the scenes of the great controversy between truth and
error; to reveal the wiles of Satan, and the means by which he may
be successfully resisted; to present a satisfactory solution of the great
problem of evil, shedding such a light upon the origin and the final
disposition of sin as to make fully manifest the justice and benevolence
of God in all His dealings with His creatures; and to show the holy,
unchanging nature of His law, is the object of this book. That through
its influence souls may be delivered from the power of darkness, and
become “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,” to the
praise of Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us, is the earnest
prayer of the writer.
E.G.W.