"Tea and Coffee Tea acts as a stimulant and, to a certain extent, produces intoxication. The action of coffee and many other popular drinks is similar. The first effect is exhilarating. The nerves of the stomach are excited; these convey irritation to the brain, and this in turn is aroused to impart increased action to the heart and short-lived energy to the entire system. Fatigue is forgotten; the strength seems to be increased. The intellect is aroused, the imagination becomes more vivid. MH 326"
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
Both passages warn against the deceptive nature of stimulants. Proverbs 20:1 speaks of the dangers of wine and strong drink, while the EGW passage discusses the stimulating and ultimately harmful effects of tea and coffee. The connection is a clear thematic parallel.
"Because of these results, many suppose that their tea or coffee is doing them great good. But this is a mistake. Tea and coffee do not nourish the system. Their effect is produced before there has been time for digestion and assimilation, and what seems to be strength is only nervous excitement. When the influence of the stimulant is gone, the unnatural force abates, and the result is a corresponding degree of languor and debility. MH 326.2"
"At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."
The EGW passage describes the initial exhilarating effect of stimulants followed by a crash, which directly parallels the warning in Proverbs 23:32 about the eventual negative consequences of indulgence. The 'biting like a serpent' is a strong metaphor for the after-effects described by EGW.
"The continued use of these nerve irritants is followed by headache, wakefulness, palpitation of the heart, indigestion, trembling, and many other evils; for they wear away the life forces. Tired nerves need rest and quiet instead of stimulation and overwork. Nature needs time to recuperate her exhausted energies. When her forces are goaded on by the use of stimulants, more will be accomplished for a time; but, as the system becomes debilitated by their constant use, it gradually becomes more difficult to rouse the energies to the desired point. The demand for stimulants becomes more difficult to control, until the will is overborne and there seems to be no power to deny the unnatural craving. Stronger and still stronger stimulants are called for, until exhausted nature can no longer respond. MH 326.3"
"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."
The EGW passage discusses the enslaving nature of stimulants and their negative effects on the body, which directly aligns with Paul's statement about not being brought under the power of anything.