Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

then the evil passions of the heart would be unlimited, and Satan
would have full control.
At the very foot of Sinai, Satan began to plan for overthrowing
the law of God, and so continue the same work he had begun in
heaven. During the forty days Moses was on the mountain with
God, Satan was stirring up doubt, apostasy, and rebellion. When
Moses came from the presence of divine glory with the law they had
pledged to obey, he found God's covenant people bowing in worship
in front of a golden idol.
Satan had planned to cause their ruin. Since they had proved
themselves so completely degraded, Satan believed that the Lord
would divorce them from Himself. In this way the seed
(descendants) of Abraham that was to preserve the knowledge of the
living God, and through whom the true Seed was to come to
conquer Satan would become extinct. But the great rebel was again
defeated. While those who stubbornly placed themselves on the side
of Satan were cut off, the rest of the people, humbled and repentant,
were mercifully pardoned. The whole universe had watched the
scenes at Mt. Sinai--all had seen the contrast between the
government of God and that of Satan.
The True Sign of Loyalty to God--The Sabbath
God's claim to reverence and worship above the gods of the
heathen is based on the fact that He is the Creator. The prophet
Jeremiah ways, "The living God ... has made the earth by His power,
288