Good and Evil Angels Always Present, November 22

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Ephesians 6:12. Angels from heaven communicate with the human family, and not one of us by anything we can do may uphold or keep ourselves. We are where we are, kept every moment by the power of God. I have thought that we do not make the ministration of heavenly angels as important as we should.... What would we do without them? I want you to consider what kind of position we should be left in if we had not the ministry of holy angels.... We meet the opposition of men and women, but there is someone behind that opposition. It is the prince of the powers of darkness, with his evil angels, who is constantly at work.... Who is it that is ruling the world today? And who is it that has chosen to stand under the banner of the prince of darkness? Why, it is nearly the whole world at large. All the world that has not accepted Jesus Christ has chosen for their leader the prince of darkness, and just as soon as they stand under his banner, they have connection with evil angels. Either the evil angels or the angels of God are controlling all human minds.... Every provision has been made; everything in God's plan has been arranged so that we should not be left to our own impulses, to our own finite powers, to carry on the warfare against the powers of darkness in our own finite strength, because we would certainly fail if we were thus left to ourselves.... In the Psalm David speaks of God's being a refuge and a strong tower, a refuge and a fortress; unto Him we can run and we can be saved. How precious is the thought that God is our refuge and that He will be our helper in all times and in all places, and that in every emergency we have God with us. He says that He will give His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways.... In our God we have a helper, and we will trust in Him. We must constantly look in that direction, believing that the angels of God are round about us, and that heaven is in communication with us, because these heavenly messengers are ascending and descending upon the ladder of shining brightness.... How is it with us? Are we standing with the whole armor on, so that we can work in harmony with the angels of God who are working for us? If we separate ourselves from these angels by taking our own course of action, then we place ourselves where the wicked one can tempt us.—Manuscript 1, 1890 (Sermons and Talks, 2:57-59).