Satan, had centuries to introduce errors into the Christian Church—and then carefully cover them over with the passing of years, until tradition was palmed off in the place of clear-cut Scriptural statements.
But in these last days, God sent a prophet. Opening the past to the messenger of His choice, He revealed not only the final crisis just ahead of us, but also the errors of the past that it will be based upon.
And the Bible truth, given so clearly in the book of Hebrews, was also revealed: that there is a Sanctuary in heaven that the earthly sanctuary was patterned after (Exodus 25:8-9,40; Hebrews 8:5), and that Christ is our High Priest within that Sanctuary (Hebrews 8:1-2; 4:14-16; 7:25, etc.). Knowing where Jesus is and what He is doing for us right now, can wonderfully deepen hope and courage as we face not only the trials of daily life but the uncertainties of the future.
(Bracketed additions, below—as, well as else. where in this book—are supplied by the present writer.)
"The Lord gave me the following view in 1847; while the brethren were assembled on the Sabbath, at Topsham, Maine.
"We felt an unusual spirit of prayer. And as we prayed, the Holy Ghost fell upon us. We were very happy. Soon I was lost to earthly things and was wrapped in a vision of God's glory. I saw an angel flying swiftly to me. He quickly carried me from the earth to the Holy City. [Rev 21:1]
In the city I saw a temple, which I entered. [Heb 8:1-2] I passed through a door before I came to the first veil [Heb 9:2] This veil was raised, and I passed into the holy place. Here I saw the altar of incense, the candlestick with seven lamps, and the table on which was the shewbread. After viewing the glory of the holiest, Jesus raised the second veil and I passed into the holy of holies. [Heb 9:3-5]
"In the holiest I saw an ark; on the top and sides of it was purest gold. On each end of the ark was a lovely cherub, with its wings spread out over it. Their faces were turned toward each other, and they looked downward. Between the angels was a golden censer. Above the ark, where the angels stood, was an exceeding bright glory, that appeared like a throne where God dwelt. Jesus stood by the ark, and as the saints' prayers came up to Him, the incense in the censer would smoke, and He would offer up their prayers with the smoke of the incense to His Father. [Rev 4:2; 8:3-4; Heb 4:14-16; 7:25-26; 8:1-3,5,6,10; 9:11; 10:16-25,32-39]
In the ark was the golden pot of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of stone which folded together like a book. Jesus opened them, and I saw the Ten Commandments written on them with the finger of God. On one table were four, and on the other six. The four on the first table shone brighter than the other six. But the fourth, the Sabbath commandment, shone above them all; for the Sabbath was set apart to be kept in honor of God's holy name. [Gen 2:1-3; Ezek 20:12,20]
The holy Sabbath looked glorious—a halo of glory was all around it. I saw that the Sabbath commandment was not nailed to the cross. [Matt 24: 20] If it was, the other nine commandments were; and we are at liberty to break them all, as well as to break the fourth. [1 John 3:4; James 1:22-25; 2:10-14; Rom 3:31; 6:12-16, 23]
I saw that God had not changed the Sabbath, for He never changes. [Mal 3:6] But the pope had changed it from the seventh to the first day of the week; for he was to change times and laws [Dan 7:25].
"And I saw that if God had changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day, He would have changed the writing of the Sabbath commandment, written on the tables of stone, which are now in the ark in the most holy place of the temple in heaven; and it would read thus: The first day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. But I saw that it read the same as when written on the tables of stone by the finger of God, and delivered to Moses on Sinai. [Ex 31:18,13-17; Deut 9:9-11] ‘But the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.' [Ex 20:8-11] I saw that the holy Sabbath. . is the great question to unite the hearts of God's dear, waiting saints. [Isa 58:12-14: Rev 12:17;14:12]." Early Writings, 32-33.
In 1848, Ellen White had a preview of the important 1858 vision (Life Sketches, 162). Here is a part of what she was shown, down through history:
"I was carried forward to the time when heathen idolaters cruelly persecuted and killed the Christians [after the time of Christ's life on earth]. Blood flowed in torrents. The noble, the learned, and the common people were alike slain without mercy. Wealthy families were reduced to poverty, because they would not yield their religion. Notwithstanding the persecution and sufferings, which these Christians endured, they would not lower the standard. They kept their religion pure. I saw that Satan exulted and triumphed over their sufferings. But God looked upon His faithful martyrs with great approbation [approval]. The Christians who lived in that fearful time were greatly beloved of Him, because they were willing to suffer for His sake. Every suffering endured by them increased their reward in heaven.
"Although Satan rejoiced because of the suffering of the saints, yet he was not satisfied. He wanted control of the mind as well as the body. The sufferings that they endured only drove them closer to the Lord, leading them to love one another, and causing them to fear more than ever to offend Him. Satan wished to lead them to displease God; then they would lose their strength, fortitude, and firmness. Although thousands were slain, yet others were springing up to supply their places. Satan saw that he was losing his subjects; for although they suffered persecution and death, yet they were secured to Jesus Christ, to be the subjects of His kingdom. Satan therefore laid his plans to fight more successfully against the government of God and overthrow the church. He led the heathen idolaters to embrace a part of the Christian faith. They professed to believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, and proposed to unite with the followers of Jesus, without a change of heart. Oh, the fearful danger of the church. It was a time of mental anguish. Some thought that if they should come down and unite with those idolaters who had embraced a portion of the Christian faith, it would be the means of their full conversion. Satan was seeking to corrupt the doctrines of the Bible.
"I saw that at last the standard was lowered, and that the heathen were uniting with the Christians. Although these worshipers of idols professed to be converted, they brought their idolatry with them into the church, only changing the objects of their worship to images of saints, and even of Christ and of Mary His mother. As the followers of Christ gradually united with them, the Christian religion became corrupted and the church lost its purity and power. Some refused to unite with them; such preserved their purity and worshiped God.
"I saw the company of idolaters consulting together. Failing to make the Christians yield, they agreed to another plan. I saw them lower their banner and then approach that firm Christian company and make propositions to them. At first their propositions were utterly refused. Then I saw the Christian company consulting together. Some said that they would lower the banner, accept the propositions, and save their lives, and at last they could gain strength to raise, their banner among the heathen. A few, however, would not yield to this plan, but firmly chose to die holding their banner rather than to lower it. Then I saw many lower the banner and unite with the heathen; but the firm and steadfast would again seize it and bear it on high. I saw that persons were continually leaving the company of those who bore the pure banner, and were uniting with the idolaters under the black banner, to persecute those bearing the white banner. Many were slain, yet the white banner was held high, and believers were raised up to rally around it..
"It has ever been the design of Satan to draw the minds of the people from Jesus to man, and to destroy individual accountability. Satan failed in his design when he tempted the Son of God; but he succeeded better when he came to fallen man. Popes and priests presumed to take an exalted position, and taught the people to look to them for the pardon of their sins, instead of looking to Christ for themselves.
"The people were wholly deceived. They were taught that the popes and priests were Christ's representatives, when in fact they were the representatives of Satan, and those who bowed to them worshiped Satan. The people called for the Bible; but the priests considered it dangerous to let them have it to read for themselves, lest they should become enlightened and expose the sins of their leaders. The people were taught to receive every word from these deceivers as from the mouth of God. They held that power over the mind, which God alone should hold. If any dared to follow their own convictions, the same hate which Satan and the Jews exercised toward Jesus would be kindled against them, and those in authority would thirst for their blood.
"Satan could not hinder the plan of salvation. Jesus was crucified, and rose again the third day. But Satan told his angels that he would make the crucifixion and resurrection tell to his advantage. He was willing that those who professed faith in Jesus should believe that the laws regulating the Jewish sacrifices and offerings ceased at the death of Christ, if he could push them farther and make them believe that the law of ten commandments also died with Christ.
"I saw that many yielded to this device of Satan. All heaven was moved with indignation as they saw the holy law of God trampled underfoot. Jesus and all the heavenly host were acquainted with the nature of God's law; they knew that He would not change or abrogate it. The hopeless condition of man after the fall caused the deepest sorrow in heaven, and moved Jesus to offer to die for the transgressors of God's holy law. But if that law could be abrogated, man might have been saved without the death of Jesus. Consequently His death did not destroy the law of His Father, but magnified and honored it and enforced obedience to all its holy precepts.
"Had the church remained pure and steadfast, Satan could not have deceived them, and led them to trample on the law of God. In this bold plan, Satan strikes directly against the foundation of God's government in heaven and on earth. His rebellion caused him to be expelled from heaven. After he rebelled, in order to save himself he wished God to change His law, but was told before the whole heavenly host that God's law was unalterable. Satan knows that if he can cause others to violate God's law, he has gained them to his cause; for every transgressor of that law must die.
"Satan decided to go still farther. He told his angels that some would be so jealous of God's law that they could not be caught in this snare; the Ten Commandments were so plain that many would believe that they were still binding, and therefore he must seek to corrupt only one of the commandments. He then led on his representatives to attempt to change the fourth, or Sabbath, commandment, thus altering the only one of the ten, which brings to view the true God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth. Satan presented before them the glorious resurrection of Jesus, and told them that by His rising on the first day of the week, He changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week.
"Thus Satan used the resurrection to serve his purpose. He and his angels rejoiced that the errors they had prepared took so well with the professed friends of Christ. What one looked upon with religious horror, another would receive. Thus, different errors were received and defended with zeal. The will of God, so plainly revealed in His Word, was covered up with errors and traditions, which have been taught as the commandments of God. Although this heaven-daring deception will be suffered to be carried on until the second appearing of Jesus, yet through all this time of error and deception, God has not been left without witnesses. Amid the darkness and persecution of the church there have always been true and faithful ones who kept all of God's commandments.
"I saw that the angelic host were filled with amazement as they beheld the sufferings and death of the King of glory. But I saw that it was no marvel to them that the Lord of life and glory, He who filled all heaven with joy and splendor, should break the bands of death, and walk forth from His prison house, a triumphant conqueror. Therefore, if either of these events should be commemorated by a day of rest, it is the crucifixion. But I saw that neither of these events was designed to alter or abrogate God's law; on the contrary, they give the strongest proof of its immutability.
"Both of these important events have their memorials. By partaking of the Lord's Supper, the broken bread and the fruit of the vine, we show forth the Lord's death until He comes. The scenes of His sufferings and death are thus brought fresh to our minds. The resurrection of Christ is commemorated by our being buried with Him by baptism, and raised out of the watery grave, in likeness of His resurrection, to live in newness of life.
"I was shown that the law of God would stand fast forever, and exist in the new earth to all eternity. At the creation, when the foundations of the earth were laid, the sons of God looked with admiration upon the work of the Creator, and all tile heavenly host shouted for joy. It was then that the foundation of the Sabbath was laid. At the close of the six days of creation, God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made and He blessed the seventh day and "sanctified it, because that in it 'He had rested from all His work.' The Sabbath was instituted in Eden before the fall, and was observed by Adam and Eve, and all the heavenly host. God rested on the seventh day, and blessed and hallowed it. I saw that the Sabbath never will be done away; but that the redeemed saints, and all the angelic host, will observe it in honor of the great Creator to all eternity."—Early Writings, pages 210-217.
All of this is but a paraphrase of two powerful chapters in the Bible: Daniel 7 and Revelation 12, where important prophecies are given about this organization that made the Dark Ages as dark as they were—Roman Babylon. Daniel 7:25 summarizes the problem; Revelation 12:13-16 describes the flight of the true church into wilderness areas in the Dark Ages—in order to escape death at the hands of men who neither wished to obey the Bible, nor permit others to obey it. Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 identifies those, the final "remnant" of the 6,000-year-old true church, who, down at the end of time, will continue to obey the Bible by faith in Jesus Christ their Savior.
"And he [the "little horn" power that ruled and destroyed during the Dark Ages] shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
"But the Judgment shall sit and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
"And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." Daniel 7:25-27.
"And when the dragon [Satan] saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted [through Mysterious Babylon, his counterfeit church] the woman [the true church] which had brought forth the man child [Christ, see verses 1-5]. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
"And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood [water symbolizes peoples (soldiers): Rev 17:15]. And the earth [rural, desolate areas] helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:13-17.
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the Commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12.
But now, in the book, "Great Controversy," we are shown still more of this apostasy and crisis, as it was revealed to Ellen in that 1858 Lovett's Grove vision:
"Royal edicts, general councils, and church ordinances sustained by secular power were the steps by which the pagan festival attained its position of honor in the Christian world. The first public measure enforcing Sunday observance was the law enacted by Constantine (AD. 321). This edict required townspeople to rest on "the venerable day of the sun," but permitted countrymen to continue their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a heathen statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of Christianity.
"The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute, for divine authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new doctrine. Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity and points to the real authors of the change. 'All things,' he says, 'whatever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord's Day.' Robert Cox, Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties, 538. But the Sunday argument, groundless as it was, served to embolden men in trampling upon the Sabbath of the Lord. All who desired to be honored by the world accepted the popular festival.
"As the papacy became firmly established, the work of Sunday exaltation was continued. For a time the people engaged in agricultural labor when not attending church, and the seventh day was still regarded as the Sabbath. But steadily a change was effected. Those in holy office were forbidden to pass judgment in any civil controversy on the Sunday. Soon after, all persons, of whatever rank, were commanded to refrain from common labor on pain of a fine for freemen and stripes in the case of servants. Later it was decreed that rich men should be punished with the loss of half of their estates; and finally, that if still obstinate they should be made slaves. The lower classes were to suffer perpetual banishment.
"Miracles also were called into requisition. Among other wonders it was reported that as a husbandman who was about to plow his field on Sunday cleaned his plow with an iron, the iron stuck fast in his hand, and for two years he carried it about with him, 'to his exceeding great pain and shame.'" Francis West, Historical and Practical Discourse on the Lord's Day, 174.
"The decrees of councils proving insufficient, the secular authorities were besought to issue an edict that would strike terror to the hearts of the people and force them to refrain from labor on the Sunday. At a synod held in Rome, all previous decisions were reaffirmed with greater force and solemnity. They were also incorporated into the ecclesiastical law and enforced by the civil authorities throughout nearly all Christendom. (See Heylyn, History of the Sabbath, pt. 2, ch. 5, sec. 7)
"Still the absence of Scriptural authority for Sunday keeping occasioned no little embarrassment. The people questioned the right of their teachers to set aside the positive declaration of Jehovah, 'The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,' in order to honor the day of the sun. To supply the lack of Bible testimony; other expedients were necessary. A zealous advocate of Sunday, who about the close of the twelfth century visited the churches of England, was resisted by faithful witnesses for the truth; and so fruitless were his efforts that he departed from the country for a season and cast about him for some means to enforce his teachings. When he returned, the lack was supplied, and in his after labors he met with greater success. He brought with him a roll purporting to be from God Himself, which contained the needed command for Sunday observance, with awful threats to terrify the disobedient. .
"But notwithstanding all the efforts to establish Sunday sacredness, papists themselves publicly confessed the divine, authority of the Sabbath and the human origin of the institution by which it had been supplanted. In the sixteenth century a papal council plainly declared: 'Let all Christians remember that the seventh day was consecrated by God, and hath been received and observed, not only by the Jews, but by all others who pretend to worship God; though we Christians have changed their Sabbath into the Lord's Day.'—Ibid., pages 281,282. Those who were tampering with the divine law, were not ignorant of the character of their work. They were deliberately setting themselves above God.
"A striking illustration of Rome's policy toward those who disagree with her was given in the long and bloody persecution of the Waldenses, some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. Others suffered in a similar manner for their fidelity to the fourth commandment. The history of the churches of Ethiopia and Abyssinia is especially significant. Amid the gloom of the Dark Ages, the Christians of Central Africa were lost sight of and forgotten by the world, and for many centuries they enjoyed freedom in the exercise of their faith. But at last Rome learned of their existence, and the emperor of Abyssinia was soon beguiled into an acknowledgment of the pope as the vicar of Christ. Other concessions followed.
"An edict was issued forbidding the observance of the Sabbath under the severest penalties (See M. Geddes, Church History of Ethiopia, pages 311, 312). But papal tyranny soon became a yoke so galling that the Abyssinians determined to break it from their necks. After a terrible struggle the Romanists were banished from their dominions, and the ancient faith was restored. The churches rejoiced in their freedom, and they never forgot the lesson they had learned concerning the deception, the fanaticism, and the despotic power of Rome. Within their solitary realm in they were content to remain, unknown to the rest of Christendom.
"The churches of Africa held the Sabbath as it was held by the papal church before her complete apostasy. . Upon obtaining supreme power, Rome had trampled upon the Sabbath of God to exalt her own; but the churches of Africa, hidden for nearly a thousand years, did not share, in this apostasy. When brought under the sway of Rome, they were forced to set aside the true and exalt the false sabbath; but no sooner had they regained, their independence than they returned to obedience to the fourth commandment.
"These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the 'true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honor the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated. .
“The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns shall cause 'the earth and them which dwell therein' to worship the papacy —there symbolized by the beast 'like unto a leopard.' The beast with two horns is also to say to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;' and, furthermore it is to command all, 'both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,' to receive the mark of the beast. .
"Paul states plainly that the 'man of sin' will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. To the very close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: 'All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life,' Revelation 13:8. in both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church…
"And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power, she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.
"God's word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape tile snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men.
“From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven, it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God's law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. He that offends ‘in one point,' manifests contempt for the whole law; his influence and example are on the side of transgression; he becomes 'guilty of all.’—James 2:10.
"In seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes Satan has perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe the Scriptures. The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering—a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition." Great Controversy, pages 574-582.
Thus, through the efforts of Satan for long centuries, we have come down to a time when men openly teach that no one need keep the commandments of God anymore. And such talk is even heard from the pulpits of the land and its theological seminaries.
We have, indeed, come into serious times. We are facing the end, and the crisis of the end. Modern Spiritualism, that finds its origin in the Fox cottage in Hydesville, New York in 1848, claims that there is no death, that all are their own god, and need only obey themselves. Political Atheism (world Communism) that began in 1848 in the European rooming house where Karl Marx wrote "Communist Manifesto," teaches that there is no God anywhere to be obeyed. Evolutionary Theory, the third great false religion of our, time, which began in 1859 with the writing of "Origin of the Species" by Charles Darwin, teaches that the gods that made us are the forces of nature and these alone are we to bow before.
But, hand in hand, we find "Mystery, Babylon, the mother of harlots" (Rev 17:5), working under the direction of the same master, Satan, and teaching the same basic error: The Commandments of God need not be obeyed; we only need obey the laws of men. The great tragedy is that the Protestant Churches—the last bastion of Bible truth for a dying world on the brink of the end of time—are accepting this error of Rome and urging it as though it were a Scriptural fact.
But the Scriptural facts are far different: God never abolished the Ten Commandments, the Moral Law of mankind. Intentional adulterers, murderers and liars are not going to heaven (Rev 21:8). We should walk as Jesus walked (1 Jn 2:6) and follow in His steps (1 Pet 2:21), for He faithfully kept His Father's commandments (In 15:10), and left us an example that we should keep the commandments also (1 Jn 5:3). And Jesus has not changed—He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). We are to live clean lives just as He did, while here on earth. And the great standard of heart and life purity is the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17). But it is only through His enabling grace that we can be empowered to obey His will for our lives.
"We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29) was the great principle upon which the Protestant Reformation was founded. And this is the principle upon which our personal religion should be based today. God is calling us to the obedience of faith—the obedience that works by faith and purifies the soul. We have been called to be His representatives for the obedience of the faith (Romans 1:5 R.V.), and we are to make it known to all nations (Rom 16:26; Acts 6:7; Rom 15:18). In the sight of Heaven, "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." (1 Samuel 15:22-23) Jesus was fully obedient (Heb 5:8) and He is the "Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him" (Heb 5:9). Through His empowering grace, we are to bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). For the Bible teaches that it is "by works was faith made perfect" [good works done through Christ's strength, not dead works done separately] (James 2:22). We are to purify our "souls by obeying the truth through the Spirit with unfeigned love" (1 Pet 1:22), for if we "be willing and obedient," we "shall eat the good of the land" (Isa 1:19). "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29), and not be as those that Christ spoke of who "reject the commandment of, God, that ye may keep your own tradition" (Mark 7:9).
We live in the hour of judgment, when men are called to worship their Creator. "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship Him that made heaven and earth." (Rev 14:7) But Jesus said to those who worshiped Him falsely: "In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matt 15:9) We are to obey God's commandments, not invent new ones to take their place. "Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." (Matt 15:13)
If we but understood and remembered the first lies spoken by Satan in the Garden of Eden, we would the more easily recognize his errors when they are presented to us.
