Their only hope is in the mercy of God; their only defense will be prayer. As Joshua was pleading before the Angel, so the remnant church, with brokenness of heart and earnest faith, will plead for pardon and deliverance through Jesus their Advocate. They are fully conscious of the sinfulness of their lives, they see their weakness and unworthiness, and as they look upon themselves they are ready to despair. The tempter stands by to accuse them, as he stood by to resist Joshua. He points to their filthy garments, their defective characters. He presents their weakness and folly, their sins of ingratitude, their unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer. He endeavors to affright the soul with the thought that their case is hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes to so destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations, turn from their allegiance to God, and receive the mark of the beast. {5T 473.1}

Deres eneste håb er Guds barmhjertighed; deres eneste værn vil være bøn. Ligesom Josua bad for engelens åsyn, således vil den sidste menighed med sønderknuste hjerter og alvorlig tro bede om tilgivelse og befrielse ved Jesus, deres talsmand. De er fuldt vidende om deres syndige liv, de indser deres svaghed og uværdighed og når de betragter sig selv, er de ved at fortvivle. Fristeren står ved siden af for at anklage dem, ligesom han var til stede og stod Josua imod. Han peger på deres snavsede klæder, deres mangelfulde karakter. Han fremholder deres svaghed og dårskab, deres syndige utaknemmelighed og deres ulighed med Kristus, hvorved de har vanæret deres Genløser. Han søger at skræmme sjælen med den tanke, at deres sag er håbløs, at besmittelsens plet hos dem aldrig kan aftvættes. Han håber at kunne ødelægge deres tro i en sådan grad, at de vil give efter for hans fristelser, opgive deres troskab mod Gud og modtage dyrets mærke.