Brother F, God had provided you with a laborer of deep experience, the ablest in the field. He was one who had been acquainted in his own experience with the wiles of Satan, and who had passed through most intense mental anguish. He had been permitted in the all-wise providence of God to feel the heat of the refining furnace and had there learned that every refuge but God would fail and every prop upon which he could lean for support would prove but a broken reed. You should have realized that Brother Andrews had as deep an interest in the discussion as yourself, and you should have listened in the spirit of humility to his counsel and profited by his instructions. But Satan had an object to gain here, to defeat the purpose of God, and he stepped in to take possession of your mind and thereby thwart the work of God. You rushed into battle in your own strength, and angels left you to carry it on. But God in mercy to His cause would not suffer the enemies of His truth to obtain a decided victory, and in answer to the earnest, agonizing prayers of His servant, angels came to the rescue. Instead of an utter failure there was a partial victory, that the enemies of truth might not exult over the believers. But nothing was gained by that effort, when there might have been a glorious triumph of truth over error. There were two of the ablest advocates of truth by your side; three men, with the strength of truth, to stand against one man who was seeking to cover up truth with error. In God you could have been a host, had you entered the conflict right. Your self-sufficiency caused it to be almost an entire failure. {1T 625.1}

Bror F, Gud har givet dig arbejdsfolk af dyb erfaring, de bedste i marken. Han var én af dem som i sin egen erfaring var kendt med Satans list og som har gennemgået den voldsomste åndelige kval. Han har fået lov til, i Guds al-vise forsyn, at mærke varmen fra det lutrende ildsted og har lært her at enhver flugt fra Gud vil slå fejl og enhver afstivning, som han kunne få støtte af, vil kun vise sig at være et brudt rør. Du burde have indset at bror Andrews havde en dyb interesse for diskussionen, som du selv og du burde have lyttet i en ydmyg ånd til hans råd og draget nytte af hans belæring. Men Satan havde noget han kunne vinde her: at overvinde Guds mål og han gik ind for at tage sæde i dit sind og derved forpurre Guds arbejde. Du styrtede i kamp i din egen styrke og englene overlod til dig at føre den. Men Gud ville, i barmhjertighed for sin sag, ikke tillade at hans sandheds fjende opnåede en afgjort sejr og, som svar på hans tjeners kvalfulde bønner, kom der engle til undsætning. I stedet for fuldstændig fiasko, blev der en delvis sejr, så sandhedens fjender ikke kunne triumfere over de troende. Men intet blev opnået ved denne bestræbelse, skønt der burde have været en strålende (626) sandheds-sejr over vildfarelsen. Der var to af de bedste forsvarer for sandheden på din side; tre mennesker, med sandhedens styrke, til at stå imod en mand, som forsøger at dække sandheden med vildfarelse. I Gud kunne du have været en hær, hvis du havde gået rigtigt ind i kampen. Din selvtilstrækkelighed fik det næsten til at blive en total fiasko.