Scripture:

• But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2

 

• “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil can dwell with you. The boastful will not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do injustice. You destroy those who speak lies; The Lord loathes the person of bloodshed and deceit.” Psalms 5:4-6

 

• “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23

 

• “...but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:26

 

• “Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin.” Proverbs 21:4 

 

• "The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished" Proverbs 16:5

 

• "May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things." Psalm 12:3

 

• Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride." Psalm 31:23 

 

Ellen G. White:

Satan began to "indulge a desire for self-exaltation," it was his "endeavor to win their service and homage to himself," and "Pride" nourished his desire for supremacy. Pride is sin according to scripture. But even when he sinned, Ellen writes that Satan's wages were only to repent. Scripture, on the other hand, says the wages of sin is death. And the only reason we are saved when we repent is because someone else had to take the death penalty... death had to happen, and it's the only reason Jesus had to die. 

• “Before the entrance of evil there was peace and joy throughout the universe. All was in perfect harmony with the Creator’s will. ...But there was one that chose to pervert this freedom. Sin originated with him who, next to Christ, had been most honored of God and who stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Before his fall, Lucifer was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. ...Little by little, Lucifer came to indulge a desire for self-exaltation. “Thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God.” “Thou hast said, ... I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation....I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” Verse 6; Isaiah 14:13, 14. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of His creatures, it was Lucifer’s endeavor to win their service and homage to himself. And coveting the honor which the infinite Father had bestowed upon His Son, this prince of angels aspired to power which it was the prerogative of Christ alone to wield. ...The service and exaltation of self, contrary to the Creator’s plan, awakened forebodings of evil in minds to whom God’s glory was supreme. The heavenly councils pleaded with Lucifer. The Son of God presented before him the greatness, the goodness, and the justice of the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law. God Himself had established the order of heaven; and in departing from it, Lucifer would dishonor his Maker, and bring ruin upon himself. But the warning, given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a spirit of resistance. Lucifer allowed jealousy of Christ to prevail, and he became the more determined. Pride in his own glory nourished the desire for supremacy. The high honors conferred upon Lucifer were not appreciated as the gift of God and called forth no gratitude to the Creator. He gloried in his brightness and exaltation, and aspired to be equal with God. ...Leaving his place in the immediate presence of God, Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. Working with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealing his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God, he endeavored to excite dissatisfaction concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, intimating that they imposed an unnecessary restraint. Since their natures were holy, he urged that the angels should obey the dictates of their own will. He sought to create sympathy for himself by representing that God had dealt unjustly with him in bestowing supreme honor upon Christ. ...God in His great mercy bore long with Lucifer. He was not immediately degraded from his exalted station when he first indulged the spirit of discontent, nor even when he began to present his false claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven. Again and again he was offered pardon on the condition of repentance and submission. Such efforts as only infinite love and wisdom could devise were made to convince him of his error. The spirit of discontent had never before been known in heaven. Lucifer himself did not at first see whither he was drifting; he did not understand the real nature of his feelings. But as his dissatisfaction was proved to be without cause, Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong, that the divine claims were just, and that he ought to acknowledge them as such before all heaven. Had he done this, he might have saved himself and many angels. He had not at this time fully cast off his allegiance to God. Though he had forsaken his position as covering cherub, yet if he had been willing to return to God, acknowledging the Creator's wisdom, and satisfied to fill the place appointed him in God's great plan, he would have been reinstated in his office. But pride forbade him to submit. He persistently defended his own course, maintained that he had no need of repentance, and fully committed himself, in the great controversy, against his Maker. ...Satan had been so highly honored, and all his acts were so clothed with mystery, that it was difficult to disclose to the angels the true nature of his work. Until fully developed, sin would not appear the evil thing it was. Heretofore it had had no place in the universe of God, and holy beings had no conception of its nature and malignity. They could not discern the terrible consequences that would result from setting aside the divine law. Satan had, at first, concealed his work under a specious profession of loyalty to God. He claimed to be seeking to promote the honor of God, the stability of His government, and the good of all the inhabitants of heaven. While instilling discontent into the minds of the angels under him, he had artfully made it appear that he was seeking to remove dissatisfaction. When he urged that changes be made in the order and laws of God’s government, it was under the pretense that these were necessary in order to preserve harmony in heaven. In His dealing with sin, God could employ only righteousness and truth. Satan could use what God could not—flattery and deceit. He had sought to falsify the word of God and had misrepresented His plan of government before the angels, claiming that God was not just in laying laws and rules upon the inhabitants of heaven; that in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, He was seeking merely the exaltation of Himself. Therefore it must be demonstrated before the inhabitants of heaven, as well as of all the worlds, that God’s government was just, His law perfect. Satan had made it appear that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the universe. The true character of the usurper, and his real object, must be understood by all. He must have time to manifest himself by his wicked works." The Great Controversy, ch 29

 

Ellen claimed that The Great Controversy was God's literal words, not hers. If this book is barricaded by a "Thus saith the Lord," then any contradiction with scripture reveals it is not God who gave these words to her. 

•  "How many have read carefully Patriarchs and Prophets, The Great Controversy, and The Desire of Ages?. ...In my books, the truth is stated, barricaded by a 'Thus saith the Lord.' The Holy Spirit traced these truths upon my heart and mind as indelibly as the law was traced by the finger of God, upon the tables of stone.” Letter 90, (1906) / Colporter Ministry, ch. 20.  

 

• "While writing the manuscript of the Great Controversy, I was often conscious of the presence of the angels of God. And many times the scenes about which I was writing were presented to me anew in visions of the night, so that they were fresh and vivid in my mind.” Letter 56 (1911)

 

• “God gave me the light contained in The Great Controversy and Patriarchs and Prophets and this light was needed to arouse the people to prepare for the great day of God. These books contain God's direct appeal to the people. Thus He is speaking to the people in stirring words…I know that the statement made that these books cannot be sold, is untrue. I know; for the Lord has instructed me that this is said because human devising has blocked the way for their sale. It cannot be denied that these books were not the product of any human mind; they are the voice of God speaking to his people." Manuscript 23, (1890) / Colporter Ministry, ch. 20