The Great Controversy Theme is the central, governing understanding that brings the messages of scripture all

together into a coherent message.

It helps us as we struggle to understand all the theological confusion over the meaning of the fall, the results of sin,
and of our desperate need for a Savior. It helps us understand the importance of our dependence on Christ to live a
godly life. It answers the questions as to why there is so much suffering on earth; and the oft asked question as to
why doesn't a God of love and power simple stop all the suffering?

The understanding of the Great Controversy provides unity, coherency, and relevance to all the books of the Bible. It
also provides meaning to the confusion and desolation taking place in the world today.

We realize earth is a threatre for the whole universe in God's plan to forever, sin-proof the universe. Satan made his
claims against God's government and law, supposedly offering a better way of life. Is it better -- watch and see what
the results of pushing aside God's rule.

When the controversy is over, the purpose of the gospel which includes the salvation of fallen mankind, and His
great love, yet it will also be seen as the vindication of God's righteousness, and the wisdom of His laws and ways.

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Satan is not a fairy tale, he is very real. He was an angel of God but because of his pride, became corrupt and is now
God's enemy who constantly tries to block God's work. But he is limited by God's power and can do only what he is
permitted to do (Job 1:12). He looks for people to attack (1Pet 5:8). He attempts to find out believers who are
vulnerable in their faith and spiritually weak.

But the GOOD thing is, even God allows Satan to do his work in this world, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL. JESUS
has defeated Satan when he died and rose again. Jesus has complete power over Satan that one day Satan will be
bound forever, never again to do his evil work (Rev 20:10)
::::::::::

What are the consequences if Satan is not real?

If Satan is not real
Sin is not real
if Sin is not real
you don't need a savior

Can you imagine the consequences of yielding to this deception.

How does satan accomplish this dececption?

Through science satan may give evidences
Your life style is not your choice it is because of your chemical imbalance.
your behavior is the consequences of you being wired the wrong way.
It maybe true but do we believe God is able to deliver us is the question we need to answer.

Quoted from Sabbath School Lesson Study

http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/16a/less01.html

Further Thought: We do not know why sin arose in Lucifer. Ellen G. White tells us that "little by little Lucifer came
to indulge the desire for self-exaltation" - Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 35. The fact that this occurred in a perfect being
reveals in a powerful way the reality of free will and free choice as part of God's government. God created all
intelligent creatures as good; they were moral beings with a good moral nature. There was nothing in them leaning
toward evil. How, then, did sin arise in Lucifer? The answer is that there is no answer.
There is no excuse for sin. If an excuse for it could be found, then God could ultimately be held responsible for it. As
humans we are used to cause/effect relationships. But sin does not have a cause; there is simply no reason for it. It's
irrational and nonsensical. Lucifer could not justify his actions, especially as one so favored of God. Somehow,
though, through abusing free will, Lucifer corrupted himself, and from being the "light bearer," he became Satan,
"the adversary." Though there's a lot we don't understand, we should understand enough to know just how careful we
ourselves need to be with the sacred gift of free will and free choice.
::::::::
We don't really need to prove Satan exists if we know that God exists, who has told us there is a deceiver. So anyone
not believing in a devil doesn't believe in God either. Also, "the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked
shall understand, but the wise shall understand" wrote Daniel.
Working to convince people there is a devil seems like a wrong course to follow, when we can demonstrate by our
lives that there is a Savior. We can know the will of God as He has revealed it, and through yielding to His will, are
kept safe from the devil who has hidden himself very well from most people. We need only to lift up Jesus, who will
draw all men to Himself, then the devil becomes irrelevant to those who take Jesus yoke upon them and learn of Him
who is meek and lowly of heart. THEN they will realize the presence of the evil one without having to go look for
him, and through wisdom, will understand.
::::::::
Jennifer, no reason is given since no reason exists. Sin is unreasonable and thus, it remains an intruder. The WAY it
entered was from the indulgence of pride, which led to coveting, which leads to an attempt to acquiring what one
covets, which was the very position of God by one of His (erring) creatures. How does one dependent upon another
for their very life replace the one they are dependent upon? Yet, the corruption of his reasoning is what led Satan to
seek the position of God.

Nothing can be said that would allow any to understand it and give reason for "why" it happened. Lucifer had to
stifle conviction and go against his own ability to reason, since pride, jealousy, etc, will cloud the mind and thus evil
became good in his mind. Satan's persistence should warn all of the long-term effects of harboring sinful thoughts.

Sin will not arise again because it has revealed itself as evil, while God has been shown, as a result, to be "merciful,
gracious, longsuffering, full of goodness and truth, forgiving....etc. God is also Sovereign, and will deal justly with
sin and those who will not repent.

As for why sin entered this earth, the steward of this earth decided to not believe God. Unbelief will always bring sin
upon the unbeliever. Only by faith in God can sin be barred from
existence.
:::::::::

Today's lesson proposes that "perhaps the greatest deception is to cause people to believe that he does not exist".

May I propose that there is an at least equally great deception that Satan has perpetuated:

"He (Lucifer) sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from their Creator, and to win their
homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation. With his own
evil characteristics he sought to invest the loving Creator. Thus he deceived angels. Thus he deceived men. He led
them to doubt the word of God, and to distrust His goodness. Because God is a God of justice and terrible majesty,
Satan caused them to look upon Him as severe and unforgiving. Thus he drew men to join him in rebellion against
God, and the night of woe settled down upon the world." (Desire of Ages pgs 21,22).

As this quote hilights, I would propose that Satan has, and continues to, influence much misunderstanding regarding
the nature and character of God - and of God's salvation 'process'. How? By deceiving people into
misconceptualising the core attributes of God such as His justice, judgement, wrath, the 'fear' of God and so on - in a
manner that actually reflects how Satan expresses those attributes rather than how God does.

As but one example, consider the typical view of the 'wrath of God' that christianity often portrays (which is infact
how Satan experiences and manifests his wrath) with the truth about God's wrath as revealed/portrayed in Rom
1:18, 24, 26 and 28).

Now, if we combine this great deception with the one suggested by the lesson, we have an even more 'exponentially'
powerful deceptive effect: Satan invests God's character with his (Satan's) own evil characteristics and covers his
tracks via leading people to believe he doesn't really exist and therefore not see the footprints of his work! Thus I can
be doubly deceived: I fall for the deception of believing that God's nature and character operate like Satan has
portrayed, and I don't even realise that it is Satan's portrayal that I have fallen for.

Of course, God is greater by far (1 Jn 4:4) - but we do benefit from knowing and uncovering the strategies of the
enemy (2 Cor 2:11) who knows his time is short (Rev 12:12; 1 Pet 5:8) and who has been working tirelessly to
malign God's character since way before this world was even created (Rev 12:9).

:::::::::::
Ellen G. White explains what two of those grand deceptions are: “Through the two great errors, the immortality of
the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the
foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will
be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss
to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the
steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience”. — The Great Controversy , p. 588.
:::::::

The dragon=spiritualism
beast= Papacy
false prophet= apostates Protestants
Teach these two errors
immortality of the soul
the fourth commandments is not longer binding, and teach others to honor Sunday

::::::
The frogs symbolize deceptions from the dragon (devil), the beast (papacy) & the prophet (USA) the frogs were the
last thing that Pharaoh's magicians could duplicate.

This lesson is talking about the two errors mentioned by EG White - “Through the two great errors, the immortality
of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions"

The picture does not show that detail, just where the deceptions originate.

The second plague, bringing frogs from the Nile, was a judgment against Heqet, the frog-headed goddess of birth.
Frogs were thought to be sacred and not to be killed. God had the frogs invade every part of the homes of the
Egyptians, and when the frogs died, their stinking bodies were heaped up in offensive piles all through the land
(Exodus 8:13–14).

The third plague, gnats, was a judgment on Set, the god of the desert. Unlike the previous plagues, the magicians
were unable to duplicate this one and declared to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19).

I think the second great error of a human being made up of a body and a separate "soul" that carries on living after
the body dies is the very prevalent in the current Christian communities. We need to draw up a short study/list of
texts that will help us to share the truth with others.
The big problem that I see is that the Bible writers used the word "soul" with a specific meaning and then the Greek
philosophers came and gave it another meaning, now when people read the Bible and see the word "soul" they think
of the wrong meaning.

:::::::
In a move that will no doubt be carefully watched by other European countries, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda
signed a law today that limits trade on Sundays. In a country where 88 percent of the people profess the Roman
Catholic faith, the new law received wide support from church leaders who argue it will greatly benefit the FAMILY
LIFE of Polish workers. Enforcement of the Sunday law will be gradually phased in between March 1st and 2020.
What happens in Poland should not be dismissed as insignificant to the rest of Europe and the world. REMEMBER,
THE FALL OF COMMUNISM BEGAN WITH A MOVEMENT IN POLAND. Full article from ABC News below.
(You may want to share this with your friends.)” Doug Batchelor

https://amredeemed.com/signs-of-the-end/48565/

Who or what religion in the world can stand against a law which promotes family life.
Jesus began the end time prophecy with the words Do not be deceived.
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soul

Marlin Richards on May 28, 2018 at 1:53 pm said:

I have a very dear catholic friend who was working overseas. One time she sent me some money to give to the
Catholic church as an offering for the soul of her dead husband because while in overseas, she can feel that the spirit
of her husband is struggling. I said to her, your husband never again will have a part in anything that happens under
the sun (Ecc 9:6) because dead knows nothing (Ecc9:5). I gave her money not to the Catholic church but to our
church and prayed for her everyday and even asked the church to pray for her. The next time I met her she hugged
me and very happy to say "I am now an Adventist". It's hard to believe knowing that even we were very good
friends, she burnt the Desire of Ages and other books that I gave her which I was not happy, but still I could not hate
her, knowing that Satan was just using her. But God is still in control.
:::::::::

Perhaps we ought to change our emphasis on the State of the Dead doctrine. In my experience, most of my
unchurched friends believe that when we die, that is it. We simply cease to exist. And as a consequence of that
belief, we can do whatever we like now and enjoy it because there is no consequence; nothing to look forward to.

The belief that there is no afterlife of any description, is a major factor driving a selfish self-gratification, hedonistic
life now. The Gospel message that there is everlasting life to look forward to appears to these people as though it is
something that denies them pleasure and gratification now. The notion that "now" is all we will ever have, so "live it
up", is one of the biggest deceptions of the present time.

How do we battle this deception?

:::::

Sabbath and the Theory of Evolution

E = mc2 Explained
Energy and matter cannot be destroyed they can be interchanged.
God is the Creator of time, space and matter from nothingness
Satan is in the business of interbreeding

The sun, moon and stars stops in their track at the request of a man in the Bible.
Satan is in the business of explaining God's purpose.

As long as I have lived, I have not seen or read a man raised from death into everlasting life except in the Bible.
Death is the result of sin. Science has not over come death nor create life.

Christ is saying I am alpha and Omega. I am the first and the last when we are connected with him we have life
eternal.
::::::

The lesson author was specific in not referencing just "evolution" (gradual change over time, which happens), but
"Darwinian evolution, which in its various forms teaches two things: randomness and a common natural ancestry for
all species."

This teaching leaves no room for "Adam is a son of God."

It leaves no room for a literal heaven and earth or a literal Garden of Eden.
And it really leaves no room for a personal Creator God.

Yes, I realize that Christians have tried to marry the Genesis account and Darwinian evolution, but it can't be done
reasonably. As far as I've seen, evolutionary scientists have less respect for this attempted union than for Christians
who simply say that God created this earth by divine fiat.

I'm sure you must realize that accepting the standard Darwinian or neo-Darwinian theory of origins not only does
away with a personal Creator, but also does away with sin and the need for a Redeemer. If there was no literal
creation and Garden of Eden, there was no sin and expulsion from the Garden. And the same science rejects the
account of the world-wide Flood. That does away with the foundation on which most of the Scriptures rest. And,
according to that scenario, Jesus was either ignorant or a liar in referring to the early biblical accounts.

There is science (i.e. knowledge) and science falsely so called. All true science/knowledge is compatible with the
biblical record.

I believe we have a problem of credibility because our educators and pastors are not educated in true science that
demonstrates how the both evolutionary scientists and creation scientists use the very same evidence. They just hang
it on different frameworks because of differing world views.