Some have given a willing ear to the tempter and have talked out their unbelief and wounded the cause. Satan has claims upon them, for they have not recovered themselves from his snare. They have conducted themselves like children who were wholly unacquainted with the wiles of the tempter. They have had sufficient experience and should have understood his workings. He has suggested doubts to their minds, and, instead of repelling them at once, they have reasoned and parleyed with the archdeceiver, and listened to his reasonings, as though charmed by the old serpent. A few texts which were not perfectly explainable to the satisfaction of their own minds have been sufficient to shake the whole structure of truth and to obscure the plainest facts of the word of God. These men are erring mortals. They have not perfect wisdom and knowledge in all the Scriptures. Some passages are placed beyond the reach of human minds until such a time as God chooses, in His own wisdom, to open them. Satan …
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
The EGW passage directly echoes the principle of resisting the devil as outlined in James 4:7. The passage emphasizes the importance of not giving ear to the tempter and repelling doubts, which aligns with the call to resist the devil.
"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."
Both passages discuss Satan's devices and the importance of being aware of them. EGW expands on the specific ways Satan deceives, but the core idea aligns with 2 Corinthians 2:11.
"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
EGW's reference to being 'charmed by the old serpent' is a clear allusion to Genesis 3:1, where the serpent deceives Eve. The passage also echoes the theme of the serpent's subtlety and deceptive tactics.
"Neither give place to the devil."
The EGW passage warns against giving ear to the tempter and parleying with the devil, which directly relates to the principle of not giving place to the devil as stated in Ephesians 4:27. Both passages emphasize the importance of resisting Satan's influence.
"I saw that those who have an evil heart of unbelief will doubt and will think it noble and a virtue to doubt the word of God. Those who think it a virtue to quibble can have plenty of room to disbelieve the inspiration and truth of God's word. God does not compel any to believe. They can choose to rely upon the evidences He has been pleased to give, or doubt, and cavil, and perish. 1T 377.2"
"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."
The phrase "evil heart of unbelief" is a direct quote from Hebrews 3:12, and the surrounding context in EGW's writing closely aligns with the warning in Hebrews.
I was shown that those who are troubled with doubts and infidelity should not go out to labor for others. That which is in the mind must flow out, and they realize not the effect of a hint or the smallest doubt expressed. Satan makes it a barbed arrow. It acts like a slow poison, which, before the victim is made sensible of his danger, affects the whole system, undermines a good constitution, and finally causes death. It is just so with the poison of doubt and unbelief of Scripture facts. One who has influence suggests to others that which Satan has suggested to him, that one scripture contradicts another; and thus, in a very wise manner, as though he had found out some wonderful mystery which had been hid from believers and the holy in every age of the world, he casts midnight darkness into other minds. They lose the relish they once had for the truth and become infidels. All this is the work of a few words spoken, which had a hidden power because they seemed involved in mystery. 1T 3…
"And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus;"
Both passages describe the destructive nature of harmful words or teachings, using the metaphor of something that spreads and corrupts. The 'canker' in 2 Timothy is similar to the 'slow poison' of doubt described by EGW.
"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell."
Both passages highlight the destructive power of the tongue/words. James 3:6 uses the metaphor of fire, while EGW uses the metaphors of a barbed arrow and slow poison. The core idea of words causing significant harm is present in both.