FROM the days of Adam on down to our day God has never failed to have brave, true souls who by constancy to the right have witnessed to God’s claim on the world and who have disputed Satan’s rule. To watch this great contest between the powers of good and evil and see how fiercely Satan has worked to conquer everything in sight and thus own and thus absolutely rule the world, and how all along down the ages the goodness of God has held some hearts true to Him amid the sin and darkness of the world, is one of the greatest pictures of history. Thrust out of heaven, Satan determined to make the earth his kingdom. He thought that when he overcame Adam and Eve he had secured possession of the earth, because these two had chosen him as their ruler. But Christ undertook to redeem man and to rescue the world from the grasp of Satan. This world thus became the great battle-field and the bone of contention in the great controversy, and here the struggle has waged for centuries. It is a marvel that He who had stood on an equality with God, had been the Creator of the worlds and the adored of all intelligences, should humble Himself to save fallen man. But Christ consented to leave His glory and His high estate and take upon Himself the form of a servant, to suffer privation, humiliation, and a degrading death. This is a mystery that the sinless ones of all the unfallen worlds desire to look into and understand. Indeed, the plan of salvation had a broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of man alone. God’s character was to be vindicated, not in this world alone, but before all the universe. When Christ was lifted up upon the cross He drew all unto Him. John 12:31, 32. When Christ came to this world in the form of a man, the whole universe watched Him step by step with the most intense interest as He traversed day by day His blood-stained path from the manger to the cross. All the insult and mockery, all the pain and death, were marked and understood as instigated by Satan. They saw Christ constantly seeking to relieve human suffering and sorrow. And just as constantly they saw Satan seeking to degrade and deprave the children of men. Satan claimed that God and Christ did not have enough love for man to endure suffering, self-denial, and sacrifice. In the life of Christ this charge against the character of God was now given the lie. The question raised by Satan was fully answered. By all throughout the universe the evil one was seen to be both a liar and a murderer. Watching the despotic power which Satan had wielded in his rule on earth, all the heavenly intelligences now realized what would have been their portion had they yielded to his subverted government. They rejoiced in that they had avoided this awful fate by remaining constant to God. Satan was being unmasked, God’s character was being fully vindicated.