It is time to pause in this drama and reflect upon what Ellen White was shown and relate it to the activities of Spirit of Evil.

         The same sequence of events happened to Adam and Eve when they partook of the fruit as happened to Lucifer when he opened the door to the home of the Spirit of Evil.   When Lucifer was created, he was given God's Holy Spirit, which was wedded to his spirit. This made him a spiritual being endowed with the character of God, radiating His glory or garments of light which indicated the presence of God's Spirit within.

         In like manner, when Adam and Eve were created out of the dust of the ground, God breathed into them the breath of life (His Spirit), for all life comes only from God, and Adam and Eve became living souls.  Like Lucifer, Adam and Eve were created spiritual beings.  As such their spirit was wedded to God's Spirit. They were in constant spiritual communion with God.  They reflected God's character and Spirit, for they too were covered with a robe of light.

         After they sinned the same things happened to them as happened to Lucifer.  The Spirit of Evil came in and pushed out the Holy Spirit with which they were created, and spiritual Adam and Eve became carnal, worldly in nature, filled with human fleshly desires and human reasoning known as carnal knowledge. Their spirit was wedded now to the Spirit of Evil, and their character now reflected the character of the Spirit of Evil. They turned within to dwell upon themselves and their terrible state. "I" became the center of their focus just like the spirit that inhabited them. Like Lucifer, they lost their robe of light (righteousness) and they found themselves naked.  Like Lucifer, Eve fell for the very same reason.

         Ellen White has this to say: "The sons and daughters of Adam are fully as inquisitive and presumptuous as was Eve in seeking FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, which God never designed they should have...."

         "God never designed that men should have this KNOWLEDGE which comes of disobedience and which, carried into practice, ends in eternal death.  When men almost invariably choose the KNOWLEDGE that Satan presents; when their taste is so perverted that it craves that KNOWLEDGE as though it were a fountain of SUPREME WISDOM, then they give evidence that they are separated from God, and are in rebellion against Christ."

         "The subtlety of Satan will not decrease,  but THE  WISDOM GIVEN TO MEN THROUGH A  LIVING  CONNECTION with the source of all light and divine knowledge, will be proportionate to his arts and wiles." Volume 5 Testimonies, E.G. White, p.503.

EVIL SPIRIT LIKE A VIRUS-THE SIN VIRUS:

         With a better understanding of this Spirit and how it came into being, we are able to make some comparisons. The Spirit of Evil operates very much like a virus.  A virus has no life of its own. Consequently without a host to draw life from, it lies in a dormant state, harmless but potentially deadly. The instant a weakness is found in the host's defense system, the virus attaches to the host cell and begins to replicate itself and engulf the whole being.

        This is what happened to Lucifer and his angels. As long as God's Holy Spirit is in residence within Lucifer's spirit, the Spirit of Evil (the sin virus) was harmless and could not take effect. But the time has come that God is withdrawing His Spirit from the earth in preparation for eradicating this virus forever.

         This sin virus as carried by the Spirit of Evil has become pandemic (spreading throughout the entire world), and God is on the offensive, for if He does not step in and stop this evil spirit, everything and everyone on this planet will self-destruct. Everyone who does not belong to the family of God will perish from this virus of sin.

         When Lucifer sinned, he became the first host. As the cancer of evil infected him, he in turn began to infect the heavenly hosts (one third of the angels), for this Spirit of Evil is the most highly contagious of all diseases. Like good cells growing out of control, the cancer of sin began to propagate. And so the contagion spread throughout Heaven and then to earth, as we just read. So infectious is this sin virus (Spirit of Evil), it would have engulfed the whole universe if God had not intervened and confined it to this world. In order to keep this disease from spreading, God quarantined Lucifer and his angels to this earth.  Because of the fall, Adam forfeited his right as prince of this world, handing it over to Satan.

         Spirit of Evil working through Satan has well nigh infected the whole planet and its people. The sin virus is extrememly malignant as the great controversy comes to a close.  The Lord is going to soon destroy this disease, destroying root and branch.

JESUS AND THE SPIRIT OF EVIL:

         Jesus, our example, and tempted in all points like as we are, had the fiercest struggle with the Spirit of Evil that was ever waged. At His crucifixion, Scripture says He gave up His SPIRIT to His Father (Luke 23:46).  At that time the Holy Spirit with which He was born was taken away.  When Jesus died, he died without God's Spirit, just like those who will experience the second death.

         In context of what we are considering here, this means the Father actually withdrew His HEAVENLY SPIRIT from Jesus, which was part of His human spirit with which He was born. The implications of this are profound.

         When the Father withdrew His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) from Him just a little before He died, Jesus sensed the terrible loss of His Father and cried out, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?" For that brief period of time Jesus hung upon the cross without the Father's indwelling SPIRIT, the first time since His birth.  The spiritual void in His human spirit, left by God withdrawing His Spirit was filled with the horrible force of Strange Woman.

       For that brief time He became one with us in every respect. His relationship with the Evil Spirit was like ours but much worse in that He who was without sin, bore the sins of the whole world from the time Adam and Eve sinned up to the end of the world. That spirit was so repulsive and the weight so sin so enormous that it killed Him.  The Holy Spirit with which He was born, which cohabited with His human spirit all His life, who made Him both fully human and fully divine, was replaced by the Spirit of Evil.  Thus He lost every touch with His Father and every spiritual connection and advantage brought by the Holy Spirit just at the time when He needed it most.

         He who knew no sin was totally devoid of any spirituality during this time. He was totally a lost human being. For every sin ever committed since the beginning of time, and every sin that was to be committed in the future, was placed upon Him to bear as a total human man.  This is the only way that Jesus, born both fully human and fully divine, could pay the penalty of death required by sin. Only by giving up His divine status could the requirements for sin be paid and the penalty of death be reversed for mankind.

         This struggle faced by the spirits within Jesus [Evil Spirit, Holy Spirit, and His own Spirit] began in Gethsemane. It is described by Ellen. "He felt Himself becoming separated from His Father by a gulf of sin, so broad, so black, so deep, that His SPIRIT shuddered before it." (Ellen White, RH October 9, 1888)  The "spirit" that "shuddered" was His human spirit, for He knew no sin. The thought of taking upon Himself sin caused Him emotional soul agony beyond our comprehension. "So horrible was this struggle that His soul agony...convulsed all heaven.  They saw their Lord inclosed by legions of satanic forces, His human nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread." (ST Dec. 9, 1897)

         We will never be able to comprehend what our Lord must have experienced when He had to give up His own Holy Spirit to satisfy the requirements of the law so we might be saved.  No wonder He cried out so agonizingly, "MY GOD,  MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?"  For in fact it seemed to Jesus that His Father had forsaken Him, for He had completely withdrawn His SPIRIT.   He felt the loss was complete and eternal, and that He would never again see His Father.  He did not know if His sacrifice would be accepted, or whether He would be raised up again after He died.  And to make it worse, some of the very people He came to save, whose sins He was bearing, were the ones crucifying Him.

         Devoid of His Holy Spirit, He was bearing this entire load of sin as a common human being.  Being totally human, He could not see beyond the tomb. If the penalty for sin had to be paid once for all men by the Son, the Father would not, could not, let Jesus be spared in any way.  He who knew no sin had to become total sin. For this to happen He had to willingly give up His own Holy Spirit and DIE THE SECOND DEATH from which there is never any reprieve, EVER!

         When He died He truly gave His all. To Jesus in His total human condition (His human spirit was joined with Evil Spirit [like ours is] for the first and only time), it was like losing everything FOR ETERNITY.  When He lost His SPIRIT, His humanity perceived He was losing every heavenly and spiritual attribute and privilege. Lost for eternity would be HIS SONSHIP WITH THE FATHER,  HIS CREATIVE ABILITY, HIS STATUS AS GOD, CREATOR, REDEEMER, and SAVIOUR. Lost to Him in His human reasoning was LIFE ITSELF.

         When He died,  HE PERCEIVED ALL THESE  LOSSES AS PERMANENT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY,  FOREVER.  He felt the absolute enormity and pressure of sin crushing out his total human life, and he perceived his death was for eternity. That is what the second death is all about (Rev. 20:6,14; 21:8). It had to be that way. In His humanity He could not see beyond the tomb.

         It was absolutely mandatory that He face the second death as a total human being without  the HEAVENLY SPIRIT to give Him ANY spiritual advantage or foreknowledge.  If the Father would have given Him the slightest ray of hope, the slightest advantage over us, the enemy would have been there instantly, crying Unfair! and Foul! accusing God of favoring Jesus over the rest of mankind by giving Him unfair advantage.

         Jesus had to "TREAD THE WINEPRESS ALONE,"  without help even from His Father. This ordeal had to be faced totally as a human being, just as we would had we been in His place.  Facing this ordeal with no hope of ever being resurrected, being lost for eternity with no possibility of redemption by the Father, what more could He have given? Add to this the weight of every sin ever committed in the past, present, and future crushing out His life. And add to this every screaming, fiendish, hellish demon, and evil angel, and Satan himself pressing upon Him with all the malicious power at his disposal. Is it any wonder He died so quickly?

         Never in the ceaseless ages of eternity will we ever know or comprehend what He endured for us. But if mankind was to be saved, Jesus had to pay this supreme price.  "Christ bore the sins of the whole world.  He endured our punishment - the wrath of God  against  transgression. HIS TRIAL INVOLVED THE FIERCE TEMPTATION OF THINKING THAT HE WAS FORSAKEN BY GOD. HIS SOUL WAS TORTURED BY THE PRESSURE OF A HORROR OF GREAT DARKNESS.... He could not have been tempted in all points like as man is tempted had there been no possibility of his failing. He was a free agent, placed on probation, as was Adam and as is man.

         "Unless there is a possibility of yielding, temptation is no temptation.  Temptation comes and is resisted when man is powerfully influenced to do a wrong action, and knowing that he can do it, resist by faith, with a firm hold upon divine power." Upward Look p.90, White, E.G.

       "His depth of agony was proportionate to the dignity and grandeur of His character.  Never shall we see and comprehend the intense anguish of the sufferings of the spotless Lamb of God until we feel how deep is the pit from which we have been delivered, how grievous the sin of which humanity is guilty, and by faith grasp the full and entire pardon.  Evil had been accumulating for centuries, and could only be restrained and resisted by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. Another spirit must be met [Spirit of Evil] for the essence of evil was working in all ways, and the submission of man to this satanic captivity was amazing." Ibid p. 219.

         "It was not bodily suffering which so quickly ended the life of Christ upon the cross. It was...a sense of His Father's wrath that broke His heart.... Even doubts assailed the dying Son of God.... Faith and hope trembled in the expiring agonies....  The Redeemer....relied upon the evidences which had hitherto strengthened Him.... He had by faith alone to trust in Him." Sufferings pp 35-38 E.G. White, (compilation)

         He who knew no sin, He to whom sin was so loathesome had to become the supreme sinner for all mankind.  He had to die as we deserved without any hope for salvation, not knowing He would ever be raised from the tomb. OH,  WHAT LOVE! WHAT MATCHLESS LOVE!

         But Jesus did not suffer alone even though he felt forsaken by His father, for all heaven "shuddered" with revulsion.  "God's hatred of sin is intense and overwhelming" (RH Feb. 8, 1898). "The Lord of hosts suffered with His Son, but He did not abate one jot of the penalty" (ST July 12, 1899). Every pang rent His great heart of love. Indeed, "God Himself was Crucified with Christ." (5BC 1108.) "OH MY FATHER,  IF IT BE POSSIBLE,  LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME" (Matt.  26:39). "NEVERTHELESS  NOT  MY WILL, BUT THINE, BE DONE" (Luke 22:42). THE OMNIPOTENT  GOD  SUFFERED WITH  HIS  SON.  ONLY BY CHRIST  DYING AND LOSING HIS SPIRIT COULD WE EVER RECEIVE HIS SPIRIT.  That is the only way salvation could be accomplished.  He did this that "WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY." Upward Look p. 51, White, E.G.

         "The interruption of the communion between God and His Son caused a condition of things in the heavenly courts which cannot be described by human language.... God...hid the Saviour...while He drank the last dregs of the cup of wrath." Vol.5 Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, p. 1108.

         "For three hours Christ hung upon the cross, gazed upon by thousands.... 'And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.' Not only did the darkness enshroud the immediate vicinity of the cross, but 'there was darkness over the whole land.'

         "God dwells in the thick darkness; He hides His glory from human eyes.  The Father with His heavenly angels, was inclosed in that thick darkness.  God was close beside His Son, though not manifesting Himself to Him or to any human being.  Had one ray of His glory and power penetrated the thick darkness that enveloped Him, every human spectator would have been destroyed.  And in that thick darkness God hid from prying eyes the last human agony of His Son.  He clothed nature with sackcloth, that she might not look upon her suffering, dying Author in His last humiliation." 3 Signs of the Times p. 521.

         It is only His Holy Spirit implanted in us that will make it possible for us to go through a time of suffering parallel to Jesus' suffering on the cross, termed the time of Jacob's Trouble.

         Contrary to what some may believe, His SPIRIT, with which we will be filled, will not be taken from us (Matt. 28:20). It will only seem that way to us because the Father will withdraw the manifestations of His SPIRIT in our lives for that brief time. Just as with His Son, He may be hid for a time by the darkness. But our Heavenly Father will be closer to us than He was to Jesus, for His SPIRIT will be within. We will have to drink the cup for just a little time, as Jesus did on the cross. But because He gave up His SPIRIT willingly, we will not have to suffer the loss of God's indwelling SPIRIT.  Why not?  "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matt. 28:20)

         He already paid the supreme price for sin at the cross by dying the second death,  and that willingly, out of infinite love.   God the Father was CLOSE BESIDE His Son, though not manifesting Himself to Him or to any human being.  We do not know at what point, as Jesus hung on the cross that God withdrew His SPIRIT from within Jesus, nor how long before He died. But it is likely this happened as darkness enveloped the land, which would have been for the space of 3 hours.  This plus the darkness created by all the forces of hell must have made these three hours for the Son of Man seem like an eternity.  Truly, it seemed to our Lord, He faced all the powers of evil alone.  "SURELY HE TREAD THE WINEPRESS ALONE."

         The replacing of His Holy Spirit with Evil Spirit points to the absolute reality of "Evil Spirit" in our lives, for this Evil Spirit has been our breath and life from birth, that which we inherited from Adam and Eve, that which usurped the place of the Holy Spirit just as surely as it did with Jesus when He died.

         But there is even more that our Lord suffered.  When Jesus cried, "FATHER,  INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT,"  it was not His HEAVENLY SPIRIT He gave up, but rather his human spirit wedded to Evil Spirit. By the time Jesus cried out asking why God had forsaken Him, the Holy Spirit had already been taken from Him by the Father. He was totally at the mercy of the Father just like we are, but with one vast difference:  HE HAD NO ONE TO INTERCEDE ON HIS BEHALF.   Thus when He breathed His last breath, it was the evil ruach that left him after her very brief union with His human spirit. "There was a shriek, shrill and agonizing, and the Son of God expired. He died of a broken heart." (Signs of the Times Apr 14, 1898)

         When Jesus cried out that last agonizing wail, He conquered Evil Spirit on her own ground, without the aid of the Holy Spirit. As a total human being Jesus did what no other would ever do. But to have His human spirit, which had never had any communion with evil and sin, taken over by the Spirit of Evil was too much for His human heart to bear.

         It was thus that the Spirit of Evil broke the human heart of the Son of Man.  When Jesus died He experienced exactly what Adam and Eve did when the Holy Spirit was withdrawn and was replaced by the Spirit of Evil. To lose His own Holy Spirit was, in itself, a most terrible experience. But added to that was the indescribable pain of a tortured crucifixion.

         We can be sure the enemies gave their all to make Him drink the very last dregs of that cup of sin. We can be sure the "accuser of the brethren" was there to crush out our Saviour's life with all the guilt that every sin ever committed would bring. But by His death He shook the foundations of Satan's kingdom and sounded his death knell.  "The death of the Son of God made the death of Satan unavoidable." (Review & Herald Sept. 7, 1897)

         No wonder Satan tried his utmost to gain the victory over Christ. Literally ALL the forces of hell were focused upon this man who during that brief time was not God-man but totally human.  All the powers of evil met at the cross to defeat our Lord, for they knew if He was victorious, their future annihilation was a certainty. It was their lives or the Lord's that hung in the balance on the cross.   For that short time while on the cross, before His death, He was like us in every respect, save one-HE KNEW NO SIN. He truly walked through the valley of the shadow of death with the Spirit of Evil, both spiritually and physically. For her ways ARE the ways of sin, death, and hell. Thank God He did, for without this incomprehensible gift, we would have no hope whatsoever.

        "The same spirit that prompted rebellion in Heaven, still inspires rebellion on earth.  Satan has continued withmen the same policy which he pursued with the angels. His spirit now reigns in the children of disobedience. Like him they seek to break down the restraints of the law of God, and promise men liberty through transgression of its precepts. Reproof of sin still arouses the spirit of hatred and resistance. When God's messages of warning are brought home to the conscience, Satan leads men to justify themselves, and to seek the sympathy of others in their course of sin. Instead of correcting their errors, they excite indignation against the reprover, as if he were the sole cause of difficulty.  From the days of righteous Abel to our own time, such is the spirit which has been displayed toward those who dare to condemn sin.

         "By the same misrepresentation of the character of God as he had practiced in Heaven, causing him to be regarded as severe and tyrannical, Satan induced man to sin. And having succeeded thus far, he declared that God's unjust restrictions had led to man's fall, as they had led to his own rebellion.

         "But the Eternal One himself proclaims his character: 'The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.'

         "In the banishment of Satan from Heaven, God declared his justice,  and maintained the honor of his throne. But when man had sinned through yielding to the deceptions of this apostate spirit, God gave an evidence of his love by yielding up his only begotten Son to die for the fallen race. In the atonement the character of God is revealed. The mighty argument of the cross demonstrates to the whole universe that the course of sin which Lucifer had chosen was in nowise chargeable upon the government of God.

         "In the contest between Christ and Satan, during the Saviour's earthly ministry, the character of the great deceiver was unmasked. Nothing could so effectually have uprooted Satan from the affections of the heavenly angels and the whole loyal universe as did his cruel warfare upon the world's Redeemer. The daring blasphemy of his demand that Christ should pay him homage, his presumptuous boldness in bearing him to the mountain summit and the pinnacle of the temple, the malicious intent betrayed in urging him to cast himself down from the dizzy height, the unsleeping malice that hunted him from place to place, inspiring the hearts of priests and people to reject his love, and at the last to cry, 'Crucify him! crucify him!'--all this excited the amazement and indignation of the universe.

         "It was Satan that prompted the world's rejection of Christ. The prince of evil exerted all his power and cunning to destroy Jesus; for he saw that the Saviour's mercy and love, his compassion and pitying tenderness, were representing to the world the character of God. Satan contested every claim put forth by the Son of God, and employed men as his agents to fill the Saviour's life with suffering and sorrow. The sophistry and falsehood by which he had sought to hinder the work of Jesus, the hatred manifested through the children of disobedience, his cruel accusations against Him whose life was one of unexampled goodness, all sprung from deep-seated revenge. The pent-up fires of envy and malice,  hatred and revenge, burst forth on Calvary against the Son of God, while all Heaven gazed upon the scene in silent horror.

         "When the great sacrifice had been consummated, Christ ascended on high, refusing the adoration of angels until he had presented the request, 'I will that they also,  whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.' [1 JOHN 17:24.] Then with inexpressible love and power came forth the answer from the Father's throne, 'Let all the angels of God worship him.'[2 HEB. 1:6.] Not a stain rested upon Jesus. His humiliation ended, his sacrifice completed, there was given unto him a name that is above every name.

         "Now the guilt of Satan stood forth without excuse. He had revealed his true character as a liar and a murderer. It was seen that the very same spirit with which he ruled the children of men, who were under his power,  he would have manifested had he been permitted to control the inhabitants of Heaven. He had claimed that the transgression of God's law would bring liberty and exaltation; but it was seen to result in bondage and degradation.

         "Satan's lying charges against the divine character and government appeared in their true light. He had accused God of seeking merely the exaltation of himself in requiring submission and obedience from his creatures, and had declared that while the Creator exacted self-denial from all others, he himself practiced no self-denial, made no sacrifice.   "Now it was seen that for the salvation of a fallen and sinful race, the Ruler of the universe had made the greatest sacrifice which love could make; for 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.'[3 2 COR. 5:19.] It was seen, also, that white Lucifer had opened the door for the entrance of sin, by his desire for honor and supremacy, Christ had, in order to destroy sin, humbled himself, and become obedient unto death.

        "God had manifested his abhorrence of the principles of rebellion. All Heaven saw his justice revealed, both in the condemnation of Satan and in the redemption of man. Lucifer had declared that if the law of God was changeless, and its penalty could not be remitted, every transgressor must be forever debarred from the Creator's favor.  He had claimed that the sinful race were placed beyond redemption, and were therefore his rightful prey. But the death of Christ was an argument in man's behalf that could not be overthrown. The penalty of the law fell upon him who was equal with God, and man was free to accept the righteousness of Christ, and by a life of penitence and humiliation to triumph, as the Son of God had triumphed, over the power of Satan. Thus God is just, and yet the justifier of all who believe in Jesus.

         "But it was not merely to accomplish the redemption of man that Christ came to the earth to suffer and to die. He came to 'magnify the law' and to 'make it honorable.' Not alone that the inhabitants of this world might regard the law as it should be regarded; but it was to demonstrate to all the worlds of the universe that God's law is unchangeable. Could its claims have been set aside, then the Son of God need not have yielded up his life to atone for its transgression. The death of Christ proves it immutable. And the sacrifice to which infinite love impelled the Father and the Son, that sinners might be redeemed, demonstrates to all the universe--what nothing less than this plan of atonement could have sufficed to do-that justice and mercy are the foundation of the law and government of God.

         "In the final execution of the Judgment it will be seen that no cause for sin exists. When the Judge of all the earth shall demand of Satan, 'Why hast thou rebelled against me, and robbed me of the subjects of my kingdom?' the originator of evil can render no excuse. Every mouth will be stopped, and all the hosts of rebellion will be speechless. "The cross of Calvary, while it declares the law immutable, proclaims to the universe that the wages of sin is death. In the Saviour's expiring cry, 'It is finished,' the death-knell of Satan was rung. The great controversy which had been so long in progress was then decided, and the final eradication of evil was made certain. The Son of God passed through the portals of the tomb, that 'through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.'[1 HEB. 2:14.]

         "Lucifer's desire for self-exaltation had led him to say, 'I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will be like the Most High.' God declares, 'I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, . . . and never shalt thou be any more.'[2 ISA. 14:13, 14; EZE. 28:18, 19.] When "the day cometh that shall burn as an oven," "all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."[3 MAL. 4. 1.]

         "The whole universe will have become witnesses to the nature and results of sin. And its utter extermination, which in the beginning would have brought fear to angels and dishonor to God, will now vindicate his love and establish his honor before a universe of beings who delight to do his will, and in whose heart is his law. Never will evil again be manifest. Says the Word of God, 'Affliction shall not rise up the second time.' [4 NAH. 1:9.] The law of God,  which Satan has reproached as the yoke of bondage, will be honored as the law of liberty. A tested and proved creation will never again be turned from allegiance to Him whose character has been fully manifested before them as fathomless love and infinite wisdom. (The Great Controversy, pp 500-504, "The Origin of Sin")

REFLECTIONS:

        This act of the drama has been watched for six thousand years by all the hosts of heaven and the inhabitants of the unnumbered planets throughout the universe.  They have watched in amazement at the countless scenes of act two, involving a cast of billions or trillions of actors, as they have moved from one tragic climax to another.  They watched in horror as this universal tragedy unfolded which eventually claimed the life of their beloved Creator and Leader-God's precious Son Michael (Jesus); acts which were the most horrendous scenes of sorrow, death, and hate that God's perfect beings in all of His universe had ever witnessed. Truly the earth and the universe were in unspeakable travail over the influence of the Spirit of Evil.

FILLING IN DETAILS:

         With understanding obtained from this inspired narrative, let us now consider the rest of the story about the origin of sin, as gleaned from new understandings of Scripture and inspired testimony. Interestingly, It has been some over 100 years since the Lord chose to give added light to the origin of sin and its roots.

         In Ellen White's time, the Lord was trying to prepare a people so He could come. But the message was rejected. Now, once again He is doing the same, but this time biblical prophesy lets us know He will come and will not tarry. The light about the mystery of iniquity will be known by those who are preparing to meet Jesus.

GOD'S PLAN:

         As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour.  The instant man accepted the temptations of Satan, Christ, the Son of God, stood between the living and the dead.  Man was offered a chance to eventually be free through God's permissive will. Through the merits of His (Christ's) blood, and obedience to the law of God, they could have the favor of God. God's permissive will (when His perfect, firstchoice will cannot be carried out) instantly went into effect. God pledged Himself to introduce into the hearts of human beings a new principle - a hatred for sin.  From that time on the two forces of good and evil have contended for the soul of man.  Paul in Galatians 5:17 explains the enmity spoken of in Genesis 3:15: "The flesh (human nature sensitive to the promptings of the spirit of disobedience) lusteth (produces enmity) against the spirit (God's Holy Spirit, given to every person to encourage him to do right), and the spirit (infuses enmity) against the flesh: and these are contrary (antagonistic or diametrically opposed) the one to the other."

ADDED INSIGHTS ABOUT CHOICE:

         God created the tree of knowledge of good and evil and placed it in the Garden as a test for Adam and Eve. This being so, if God is still creating other planets and beings to inhabit them (and we have no reason to believe He is not), He still must be creating and planting these trees.  Without this power of choice (something to choose between, those created ones would be nothing more than automatons.

         Therefore, every time He creates another planet with intelligent beings on it, He also creates and places within that planet or world some choice for its intelligent beings to choose between, whether Trees of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or some other test, but the choice must be there. This choice must be between opposites like good and evil, for to choose between two goods is no test at all.

AFTER SIN AND SINNERS ARE DESTROYED:

        What Will Happen to the Trees? When sin is finally eradicated after the thousand-year millennial period and the earth is purged by fire and re-created, what will happen to the Trees of the Knowledge of Good and Evil on the different planets? A comment by Ellen White answers this question directly. "Not all the conditions of that first school of Eden will be found in the school of the future life.  No tree of knowledge of good and evil will afford opportunity for temptation. No tempter is there, no possibility of wrong.  Every character has withstood the testing of evil, and none are longer susceptible to its power." Education 302, White, E.G.

        This statement says that simultaneously on ALL the other inhabited planets in the universe, all the trees of knowledge of good and evil will be removed or done away with, for all will have passed or "withstood the testing of evil.

         What Will Happen to Spirit of Evil? Unlike the trees on each planet, the Spirit of Evil will not be destroyed or done away with.  She will be returned to her home and securely and permanently placed back into her home from which she originally released by Lucifer. She will once again be benign, for there will no other host spirit which can trigger and give life to the sin virus.

         She will always be a choice forever that any being in the universe can make if they so choose, whether they be angel or any other intelligent being.  It was never in God's perfect will that any of His created beings, including Lucifer, would make the choice, or even be curious about the Spirit of Evil, much less desire the knowledge of evil. Spirit of Evil was only, and ever, a choice to know the opposite of God.

         In the eternities that lie ahead, there is no reason to think that God is going to change this order of things. As long as choice is allowed, there will always be The Eternal Spirit of Evil and Wisdom to choose between. Perhaps she will have a name change to reflect her true status. Maybe her name will be changed back to The Knowledge Of Evil, for being separated from another spirit to react with, she will no longer be evil, but again benign. She will once again be like she was before the fall of Lucifer.

         As happened with Lucifer, she will be there for anybody who chooses to make the choice thereby activating and releasing her again. But this will not happen.  Before the fall, she was an unknown spirit. But after six thousand years of demonstrating her character to the universe, and knowing what she stands for, no one will ever be curious about her.  For any newly created being who might wonder about this choice, they need only look at Jesus, for the nail prints in His hands and feet will be a constant reminder to all the universe for all eternity, what evil and sin are.

GOOD AND EVIL FROM ETERNITY PAST:

         That good and evil have existed from eternity can be proven from Scripture. In Genesis 3, verses 5 and 22 we read: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:"

         In both these verses we are told the Godhead knew about good and evil.  When Lucifer sinned and learned about both good and evil, in that respect he became as God.  The same pronouncement was given to him as to Adam and Eve.  He would have to die. He, like man, did die that day--spiritually, for the SPIRIT OF GOD instantly departed from him just as it did from Adam and Eve. The Spirit of Evil took up residence within and began to control him.

         Evil Spirit established total residence within Lucifer when he became proud. Pride (self) gave grounds (a foothold), gave the right for her to move in. But the key that unlocked the house door for Evil Spirit was something different than pride, something that preceded pride within him.

         "Curiosity" was the precursor that led to "pride" that led to his sin, just as with Eve. The seed of pride was first planted in Lucifer's spirit when he became curious to know evil.  The use of the word "create" as used in the 5T 503 passage may present a discrepancy to some. In terms of eternity, but remember that God has always been. There never was a time when he began from nothing to create the universe. It has always existed, and as such, created beings have always existed as part of this creation.

         Because all God's intelligent beings are created with the power of choice, good and evil, as a choice, also had to be in existence from eternity, even though the evil had never been demonstrated or seen. You see,  EVIL WAS NEVER CREATED!  IT HAS  ALWAYS BEEN THAT OTHER CHOICE that created beings could make if they so desired. That is why in the eternities to come, God will never take that choice away, and that is why this spirit is called an eternal spirit.

EVIL VERSUS THE KNOWLEDGE OF EVIL:

         Another important consideration is the use of the word "KNOWLEDGE"  in reference to evil.  It is not "evil" alone that is the problem, but also the "KNOWLEDGE OF EVIL." (This is why TV is so wrong. We obtain a knowledge of evil without actually doing the sinful act ourselves. The mind can commit a sin while the body APPEARS to keep all the commandments.  Such would be the case of pride, lust, doubt, and a host of mental sins.)

         As long as the knowledge of evil remained only in God's mind,  there was nothing wrong.  God desired that He alone should know what life under sin would be like without the presence of the lifegiver.  But when a knowledge of evil is desired by someone else, it becomes evil and sin. Temptation is sprung on us suddenly by an enemy, but temptation in itself is not sin. Only when we fondle the idea, does it become wrong.  Neither is temptation the same as knowledge.  A  person may have knowledge of evil and not be tempted, i.e., knowledge about drugs and not be tempted to try them.  But he may also be tempted without previous knowledge or experience with drugs.  There are two ways to get knowledge of evil - by a sinful act, and by observing and thinking about sin.

THE POTENTIAL FOR EVIL:

         The suggestion that evil or the knowledge of evil is really not evil until it is acted upon by created beings like Lucifer and Eve is not true. A knowledge of evil in a created being is just as deadly as a sinful act because the full POTENTIAL for evil is there, even if the sin is not.

        The Spirit of Evil did not become active and invasive until she was released from her dark house by Lucifer. Until released she was benign and harmless, known only to God who created her. Before Lucifer's sin, every thought was holy and pure; there was no evil on the loose anywhere in God's universe. While Evil Spirit existed, she was harmless as long as she stayed in her home. In order to create an evil act, she needs the cooperation of a body or mind, either angelic, demonic, hybrid, or human.

         We have seen the origin of evil and this spirit began by infecting Lucifer, then Adam and Eve. We have seen from the narrative of Ellen White the progression of this spirit down through the ages, which brings us to the present time. We are all aware of how we inherited this spirit, genetically passed down to us from Adam and Eve.

         But there is more, for this spirit is very visible in the world at large if you know what to look for. This spirit is very visible today in the many supernatural events taking place in the world. More than ever before, this spirit is coming out of hiding to seduce and deceive and delude the whole world.

OUT OF HIDING:

         For thousands of years this spirit has been working individually in peoples lives influencing and controlling them in every aspect of their lives. But in more recent times, at least for the last 150 years, this spirit has become more open and visible in her activities.  She has been posing as the Holy Spirit for quite some time, manifesting in overt ways in people. Workings of the Spirit of Evil today is called the Charismatic movement. This display is strictly a spiritual approach used by her to captivate, enslave and ensnare the unsuspecting into her trap.

         Still more Recent, she has been hard at work within the new age movement to enslave yet millions of others. This "cosmic spirit" approach is not spiritual but spiritualistic. Even more recent is yet another manifestation which is just the opposite of spiritual, being totally sensual, sexual, and carnal, yet claiming spirituality.

         Remember as we consider these manifestations the symbiotic relationship between this Spirit of Evil and the work of Satan and his angels, for it is this spirit that motivates Satan. Because of this we cannot point out one instance as coming from Satan, and another from the Spirit of Evil. She has from the beginning always worked through Satan and his satanic agencies as a silent partner, for he is her ambassador at large.  Until Satan's demise she will be a part of Satan.  His character is her character which he reflects perfectly. All her characteristic traits are seen through the actions of Satan and his evil hosts. Whatever happens that is evil and wicked is through her promptings.  She is the source of all of Satan's power, and his inspiration.

         The following is a role Spirit of Evil is playing today in which she has hid herself well. None recognize the spirit for what it is, for they do not know about her.
 

         To date millions of so-called Christians have been deceived by the Charismatic movement, believing that what happens to them is from the Holy Spirit.  Untold ministers have been deceived and in turn deceived their followers.  A minister when first called by God may have been moved upon by the Holy Spirit. He loved God with a pure love and longed to serve Him. God had great plans for him, but being unaware of this cosmic evil spirit and the need to discern all spirits and obey all the light of God's Word, he began to change, and his fruits were no longer those of the Holy Spirit.

         This evil spirit, which cannot be kept away except by the Holy Spirit, gradually interjected thoughts and ideas contrary to Scripture and God's character.  Then these false ideas began to take root. For example, in the lives of some who once received the Holy Spirit and great gifts from Heaven, something has changed.  Their fruits, although similar to the true fruits, have become different. Either gradually or suddenly, UNRECOGNIZED BY THE PERSON, the enemy Spirit of Evil usurped the Holy Spirit.

EVIL SPIRIT PRETENDS TO BE THE HOLY SPIRIT:

         The movements of this evil spirit are at times so like those of the Holy Spirit that the believer is unaware of its presence.  He is therefore in great danger UNLESS he recognizes the telltale signs. First they depart from Scripture and a straight testimony-although this will not be noticed by listeners who are themselves as blind as the preacher.

         Ministers deceived by this evil spirit often have a distorted emotional tone in their messages and emphasize feelings. Obedience to God and the study of His word are missing or minimized. Action-packed miracles awe crowds and convince of the validity of their ministry.  These miracles are sometimes real, but they can be contrived and faked by the evangelist. All credit the Holy Spirit for their success, but their miracles are not from that source. In fact, it is safe to say that most miracles and success stories are from the evil spirit who masquerades as the Holy Spirit.

         Miracles of real healing are not for public show or display. Some truly are led by the Holy Spirit and have the gift of healing, as when they pray and anoint the sick with oil (James 5:14-15) and teach them to sin no more against God or their bodies. More often, Satan obliges those who are led by the counterfeit spirit by removing the diseases which he and his demons caused (Luke 13:11-16). If he did it in Jesus' day, he certainly is doing it today even more.  Thus his lies are perpetuates and perceived as truth.  Those seeking a quick and easy end to suffering are especially gullible.

THE CRUCIAL TEST COMING:

         As we learned, a crucial test is coming which will separate those who following the Lord from those who follow this lying spirit. When the Sabbath versus Sunday becomes an issue, the truth will be revealed. All, including ministers and faith healers who refuse to follow this light, regardless of how many miracles they performs, will reveal which spirit motivates them. They will be accounted by God as offering strange fire unto the Lord (Ex. 30:9; Lev. 10:1; Num. 3:4; 26:61), and prostituted themselves to the Spirit of Evil, spurned God's Holy Spirit, grieved Him away, and thereby lost their spiritual purity.

         Before the Sabbath test comes, it may be virtually impossible to tell the difference between a minister who has the Holy Spirit and one with the Spirit of Evil.  But when the Sabbath test comes, you will know.  This spirit can be evidenced by certain methods which give us clues.  In churches of nearly every denomination this spirit can be seen in celebration services accompanied by hand clapping, euphoria or ecstasy, hypnotic preachers, popular music, religious drama, and people "slain in the spirit."

SEEKING HOLY SPIRIT FOR THE WRONG REASONS:

         Seeking the Holy Spirit today for most people seems to be for the emotional high they experience and religious entertainment. Their motto seems to be: "If it feels good, do it." NEVER does Scripture ever record anyone being slain in the Spirit or receiving the Holy Spirit in this way. Bible writers like Daniel and John, plus a few true modern-day prophets have had experiences similar to being "slain in the spirit,"  but not because they were seeking an emotional Holy Spirit experience, but because the initiative was God's.

         With the exception of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came quietly, while they were alone,  or came as God instructed them to write out what He was speaking or showing them. They did not initiate miracles, and most certainly the Holy Spirit did not come to produce a lucrative, flashy career in religious show business.

         This applies to the Pentecost experience in the book of Acts as well.  The tongues of fire and the gift of tongues to speak to people from different countries languages came from God as a gift,  unasked for by the apostles (Acts 2:6-8). These UNDERSTANDABLE languages were vastly different than the  tongues spoken today, which is a counterfeit. Not experiencing this before, the apostles had no idea even to ask for it, or for any of the other specific gifts recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.

         Once these gifts were bestowed by the Holy Spirit,  the believers learned about them by experience, and Paul could then expound on them as he did in 1 Cor. 12:13,14; Gal. 5:22-26; Eph. 1:17-19; Phil. 4:7-9; 1 Thess. 6:16-24.  Others not motivated to receive the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, saw value in the Holy Spirit because it gave them power and the adulation of men. See the interesting story of one such man who tried to buy the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:9-24.

         The Holy Spirit manifests His power only after real soul searching and conformity to God's will. If the seeker stops short of obeying all of God's revealed will to him, the evil spirit is most eager to oblige, and presents himself in disguise in place of the Holy One.

        As a consequence of this evil spirit's personation of the true Pentecost experience with an emotional high, or miracles, God has chosen, except on rare occasions, to communicate in other ways. He uses other means to indicate the presence of His Spirit, usually in private, personally to the individual - rarely in view of a large group of people. (This will change in the future when Satan will do miracles before large groups or TV cameras when he impersonates Jesus.)

GOD'S SPIRIT FOUND IN STILL SMALL VOICE:

         As we approach the end of time and the miracles of the false spirit and antichrists become more visible, we can expect the works of the Spirit of God to also be more widely known and experienced. So the fact of a miracle done in the presence of a crowd or in private is not by itself a test. "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.  And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and Strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle...." 1 Kings 19:11-13.

         The Holy Spirit of God was not seen in a mighty demonstration of nature, nor was it even visible. The Spirit of God came to Elijah in a still, small voice, just as He does today, speaking to each personally when a right relationship with God is established. God's Spirit comes quietly, during the times of private devotion, most often in the wee hours of the morning.  This can be a profoundly moving, emotional experience.  His Spirit ALWAYS leads to truth, obedience,  and righteousness, never to self glory. The difference between the true and the false is the exact opposite. Tragically, tens of thousands, perhaps millions worldwide have been deceived by this imposter Spirit of Evil.

         Only by the mercy of a loving God will the eyes of the honest in heart be opened to see this cruel deception, giving them a chance to seek and receive the true Holy Spirit. But sadly, many who are Christians in name only will be deceived by this fraudulent spirit, and then by the new age christ because they were not aware that the Godhead has been counterfeited.  They have not given the Lord their self-seeking hearts or made the necessary preparation to receive the Holy Spirit.

         Many have fallen into this trap because they are ignorant of the Scriptures, and have been deceived by their pastors regarding the manner in which the Holy Spirit works, and how they think Christ will return. In their ignorance of the truth they have followed a spurious spirit which will not lead to eternal life. To them we give encouragement to seek the true Holy Spirit who will never turn away from the honest in heart. It is not too late to change, although time is fast escaping.

STRANGE WOMAN CONNECTION:

         As we mentioned before, in the book of proverbs,  Solomon talked about Strange Woman, who is the Spirit of Evil, the twin sister of Wisdom. We said that she was sensual, sexual and fleshly.  The Spirit of Evil is once again revealing her gender as a goddess like she has done for thousands of years in various pagan rituals and ceremonies in which she inspires and uplifts, the worship of sex, conception, fertility and mother earth.

        It cannot be denied that today more than ever in recent times, sex and related perversions are being touted and pushed in every media from the television to newest craze in computer technology, the internet highway, where every sexual perversion known is made available right on the monitor by the push of a few keys and CD ROM.  Now comes the potentional of "virtual reality," in which the person is mentally taken through his senses into realm of cyberspace, that is actually seeing, hearing, feeling, and in some instances smelling what one is seeing on screen or monitor.

         It is easy to see where this Spirit of Evil is taking the world in her role as a sex goddess as million upon millions bow down and worship her through their sexual encounters and perversions. This is the carnal, fleshly, worldly, sinful side or role of Strange Woman which Solomon so clearly describes and warns against in Proverbs chapters 5, 6 and 7.

         But there is another sensual or sexual role played by this spirit today, a SPIRITUAL ROLE more in keeping with the religious rites and ceremonies as practiced by the ancients. Nowhere is the revival of this spirit seen more clearly than in her role of Sophia.

SOPHIA-NEW AGE SEX GODDESS:

         Sophia is the newly risen goddess out of the feminist movement, yet another manifestation of the Spirit of Evil (Strange Woman), that has invade some churches today. She is sensual, sexual, earthly, the very essence of self or the carnal man so graphically described by the apostle Paul (Romans 7). This manifestation of the Spirit of Evil is just the opposite of her charismatic role of impersonating the Holy Spirit, and much more in character of her true personality, filled with sensual excitement and self gratification of the "god within."

         Sophia surfaced at a conference sponsored by the World Council of Churches in November of 1993.  An article written by Katherine Kersten describes the startling events of that conference. All those who attended played directly into the hands of the New Age movement and the hypnotic effect of imaging.  They did not use the term "imaging" but rather "Re-imagining."  The theme of God within provided the foundation of their system of lies and rebellions.   The article was entitled "Looking for God in the Mirror." Right under the title, Katherine captioned the article, "Re-Imagining conference shows the spirit of radical feminism." Here is the article:

         "Re-imagining, a conference 'by women for women and men,' marked the midpoint of the World Council of Churches' 'Decade in Solidarity with Women,'  Held from November 4-7 at the Minneapolis Convention Center,  the conference drew 2,000 participants from 49 states and 29 countries.  It was sponsored by local and state ecumenical councils, and underwritten by a $65,000 grant from the Presbyterian Church (USA). Among the mainline organizations providing additional funding were the National Ministers of the American Baptist Church, the Division of Congregational Ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Board for Homeland Ministries of the United Church of Christ, the Women's Division of the United Methodist Church, and several orders of Roman Catholic nuns.   "The purpose of 'Re-imagining' was nothing if not ambitious. The conference, its organizers proclaimed, signaled the dawn of a 'second reformation.'  'This second reformation ...  is much more basic and important to the health of humankind' than the first, declared Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, one of the many feminist theologians who took part.   "In the preface to the conference program, Mary Ann Lundy and Bishop Forrest Stith -- Presbyterian and United Methodists co-chairs of the U.S. Committee for the Ecumenical Decade -- justified the need for radical theological surgery.  Our churches, they insisted, must free themselves from the grip of sexism, racism, and classism.  Women require a new theology grounded in their uniquely female, everyday experiences of the divine. Rather than pursuing the Truth, then, ReImagining's focus was on encouraging each woman to imagine 'her own truth.' The new reformation's aim, in the words of liturgy director Sue Seid-Martin, is to 'creat[e] that wonderful space where we are truly free to be ourselves.'  "While Reformation #2 seemed short on ideas and debate, it appeared to thrive on exotic self-expression.  The Meadowlark Singers, representing various South Dakota Indian tribes, kicked things off. As the conference program explained, 'The drum is feminine and the drumbeat is the heartbeat of the earth." [new age mother earth] Arranged in Native American 'talking circles,' participants engaged in 'scribe writing' with crayons and pastels, blessed 'rainsticks,' danced' holy manna,' and joined in Hawaiian chants and rousing Zulu songs. 'Multi-format option groups' gave participants the opportunity to learn belly dancing, to call out the divine 'from a woman's body,' and to listen, as speakers like educator and retreat leader Sr. Roseann Giguere shared her wisdom on 'the theology of darkness, the goddess, creation spirituality, mid-life transitions, and dreamwork.'  "By now, these trappings of secular feminist consciousness raising the New Age therapies are familiar to those who monitor mainline and WCC-related church events. What was not so familiar -- even to Re-Imagining participants -- was the star of the show: the goddess Sophia, designated as 'the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Re-Imagining.' 'Sophia is the suppressed part of the biblical tradition, and clearly the female face of psyche,' explained Seid-Martin, a former instructor of ritual studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. "Though participants never seemed clear how -- if at all -- to associate Sophia with the triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they appeared to flock happily to her altar.  The whole assembly prayed to her, blessed every speaker in her name ('Bless Sophia, dream the vision, share the wisdom dwelling deep within'), and invoked her repeatedly as Creator and Mother. In the ritual of 'Making Holy Time,' attendees were urged to 'dream wildly' about 'who we intend to be ... through the power and guidance of the spirit of wisdom whom we name Sophia.'  "'Naming'  Sophia was the focus of 'Re-Imagining God,' the first plenary session of the conference. To sound the 'water drum,' participants in their 'talking circles' asked, 'Who is your God? What does your God sound like, taste like, look like? Name God -- tell each other at the table! Reimagine your God in name and image!!' "Despite all this, Sophia's identity should have proved a mystery to no one.  Participants only had to look in the mirror to find her. The conference program put it succinctly: Sophia is 'the place in you where the entire universe resides.' As deity of the second reformation, Sophia seemed the answer to the prayers of a multi-cultural, therapeutic world. She does not judge nor does she recognize any sin but the corporate transgressions of racism, sexism, and classism. Sophia has just one commandment,  and participants learned it: 'Freely bless your own experience.'  "While the four days of Re-Imagining left no doubt that Sophia resides in one's own navel, it became increasingly clear that she is most fully manifest in bodily functions and sexual encounters.  At Sunday's communal 'blessing of milk and honey,' for example, 2,000 women clinked glasses over rice milk while repeating the following prayer. 'Our maker Sophia, we are women in your image.... With the hot blood of our wombs we give form to new life.... Sophia, creator God, let your milk and honey flow.... With nectar between our thighs we invite a lover, we birth a child; and with our warm body fluids we remind the world of its pleasures and sensations.... We celebrate the sweat that pours from us during our labors. We celebrate the tongue which licks a wound or wets our lips.  We celebrate our bodiliness, our physicality, the sensations of pleasure, our oneness with earth and water.'  "It will be interesting to hear "Re-Imagining" organizers explain to Christians who pray the Creed every Sunday why their hard-earned dollars financed a conference at which the Father,  Son,  and Holy Spirit didn't even put in an appearance. How will they defend Christine Marie Smith's indictment of Jesus as guilty of 'violence against women,' or Chung Hyun Kyung's assertion that God speaks equally 'through Buddha, through shamans,' and through Christ? How will they justify Delores Williams' off-hand dismissal of Christ's atonement: 'I DON'T THINK WE NEED A  THEORY OF ATONEMENT AT ALL.  I  DON'T THINK WE NEED FOLKS HANGING ON  CROSSES AND  BLOOD  DRIPPING  AND WEIRD STUFF....  WE JUST NEED TO LISTEN TO THE GOD WITHIN.' [emphasis added]  "One wonders whether these women ever seriously considered what it would be like to attain their elusive promised land -- a world without rules, limits, or Truth, 'that wonderful space where we are truly free to be ourselves.'   Humankind's natural proclivity to greed, lust, injustice, and cruelty suggest that such a space would closely resemble the Christian concept of Hell.   "At first blush, it appears paradoxical that people who contemptuously reject Christianity's most fundamental tenets should persist in calling themselves Christian, and locating events such as 'Re-Imagining' within Christian history. In fact, their behavior is easy to understand. Those who claim to be 'reimagining Christianity' get headlines about a new reformation. They get endowed chairs in seminaries, money, power, legitimacy, and a captive audience that must be the envy of the self-declared followers of Wicca, Sophia serves these 'reformers' as an invaluable blank slate.  Their ignorance of Sophia -- far from being an obstacle -- is essential to their project of fashioning a new religion while retaining tenuous and self-interested links to the Christian faith."

         The Sophia imagining is new on the scene, and it cannot yet be determined just how widespread this movement will become.  But already, those who succumbed to this blasphemous delusion are tragically deceived by a deception concocted from the pit of hell-the mind of Satan and Strange Woman.

         The same point upon which Satan first sinned - wanting to uplift self and be as God, has captivated these poor deceived souls.   In their lives, self worship, body function, and creative sex has replaced true worship to the God of heaven.  From start to finish this movement is directed entirely upon self. Nowhere is there any mention made of service to others as exemplified by our Master Jesus.

         Unlike the Marian Apparition, which is another delusion, this female deception is not subtle at all. It is blatant self-worship, worship of the carnal fleshly body. How God will reach the truly honest in heart who do not know this apparition is from Satan, we cannot know, but we know that God's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. Every one of His elect will know the truth, and the truth will set them free of all delusions and deceptions.  God has a way of working of which humans know nothing.  Each will have opportunity to make his choice as to whom he will serve before the final destruction.

OVERCOMING THE SPIRIT OF EVIL

         Although considerable time has been spent discussing the existence of this spirit,  little has been said about how one can overcome her. As mentioned, evidence of her work and influence is seen everywhere in the lives and hearts of all mankind, and in the world at large. She goes by the name of "self," "carnal man" (Rom 7:14, 8:7), "body of death" (Rom 8:10), "fleshly lusts" (1 Peter 2:11). In short, all the mental and sensual impulses, have their origin in this spirit.

               Certainly a person harboring this Spirit of Evil, knowingly or unknowingly, cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, for nothing of evil can pollute that celestial region. It follows then, that the Spirit of Evil must be purged thoroughly and permanently from every believer who would walk the streets of gold with the Lord.

               How is this done? Human flesh cannot succeed against this Spirit, so will power alone is hopeless. Flesh fights flesh but only Spirit fights Spirit. Self must die and man cannot crucify himself. This is the job of the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:16-25) who must replace the evil one that naturally resides in our heart. Only the Holy Spirit that can control this Spirit.  It does take man's cooperation, that is, to be willing to give up (crucify) his fleshly lusts and sins.

               The only way this spirit can be brought under control is by yielding to the Holy Spirit's movings upon the heart. As one dies daily, by yielding his all on the altar, the Holy Spirit spends more and more time in residence in the body temple, gradually, upon request, establishing more and more territory.  By the time the person is made perfect-totally sanctified by the blood of Jesus self will be dead and Evil Spirit will have been forced out, completely subdued by her sister the Holy Spirit.

GRAND FINALE

         For nearly six thousand years this drama has been going on, but now the last final acts are taking place and will end in a blaze of stupendous glory, unmatched by anything else in God's universe, the grand finale, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, King and Redeemer, in the clouds of glory with myriads and myriads of heavenly angels, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.

        O, LIFT UP YOUR VOICE AND SING HOSANNAS UNTO THE LORD OUR GOD FOR HIS INFINITE, INCOMPARABLE LOVE! WITH THIS ONE ACT HE SHOWED THE UNIVERSE AND THE WORLD WHAT ABSOLUTE GRACE (LOVE IN ACTION) MEANS. AND PRAISE THE LORD, IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE OF THIS EXPRESSION OF HIS UNFATHOMABLE LOVE, THIS INCOMPREHENSIBLE GIFT, THAT WE CAN NOW RECEIVE HIS HOLY SPIRIT, AND BE FREED FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE SPIRIT OF EVIL. TRULY HE BECAME LIKE US SO WE COULD BECOME LIKE HIM, RECEIVE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS LOVE, HIS HEART, AND HIS CHARACTER. THAT IS OUR SALVATION.  AT WHAT PRICE? THE UNPARALLED EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL AGONY AND INCOMPARABLE PAIN HE SUFFERED, MORE THAN ANY MAN, FOR YOU! DEAR READER, FOR ME! FOR ALL MANKIND!