A large company of evil angels were very busy. Satan was in the midst of them, and all looked with the most exulting satisfaction upon the company struggling for the crown. He seemed to throw a peculiar charm upon those who eagerly sought it. Many who sought this earthly crown were professed Christians. Some of them seemed to have a little light. They would look wishfully upon the heavenly crown, and would often seem charmed with its beauty, yet they had no true sense of its value and glory. While with one hand they were reaching forth languidly for the heavenly, with the other they reached eagerly for the earthly, determined to possess that; and in their earnest pursuit for the earthly, they lost sight of the heavenly. They were left in darkness, yet were anxiously groping about to secure the earthly crown. Some became disgusted with the company who sought it so eagerly; they seemed to have a sense of their danger, and turned from it, and earnestly sought for the heavenly crown. The countenances of such soon changed from dark to light, from gloom to cheerfulness and holy joy. {1T 348.1}

En stor skare onde engle var meget travlt optaget. Satan var midt iblandt dem og alle så med den mest hoverende tilfredshed på den flok, der kæmpede om kronen. Han syntes at kaste en ejendommelig fortryllelse over dem, der begærligt søgte efter den. Mange, der søgte efter denne jordiske krone, bekendte sig til at være kristne. Nogle af dem syntes at have en smule lys. De kunne se længselsfuldt på den himmelske krone og syntes ofte at være grebet af dens skønhed, men havde dog ingen forståelse af dens værdi og herlighed. Trægt rakte de den ene hånd (349) ud efter den himmelske, medens de ivrigt udrakte den anden hånd efter den jordiske, fast bestemte på at komme i besiddelse af denne; og i deres ivrige stræben efter den jordiske tabte de den himmelske af syne. De blev efterladt i mørke, men famlede dog ivrigt omkring for at sikre sig den jordiske krone. Nogle følte sig frastødt af den skare, der søgte den så ivrigt; de syntes at have en anelse om deres fare og vendte sig bort fra den og søgte alvorligt efter den himmelske krone. Disses ansigter forvandledes snart fra mørke til lys, fra tristhed til frimodighed og hellig glæde.