by a thought could our Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. . . . This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble." (GC 623). The urgency for attaining perfection comes from the knowledge that the remnant must live perfectly during the "time of trouble" at the end to prove to the universe that fallen human beings can keep the law of God. Ellen White states, "When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor." (GC 614). She explains this is necessary because the "earthliness" of the remnant must be cleansed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected: "God's love for His children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected."(GC 621). White emphasizes that attaining God's blessing will mean denying self: "Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God–how few know what it is!" (GC 621). Ellen White in The Great Controversy and in her other writings does not link perfection to something that happens from the believer, but with what God does for the believer through Christ. She states that those who try to trust in their own righteousness cannot understand how it comes through Christ. Other commentary Clifford Goldstein describes hearing "the Great Controversy from an unlikely source". In a lecture from The Teaching Company by philosopher and "agnostic Episcopalian" James Hall, Goldstein perceived him teaching "basically, the great controversy scenario, pretty much how any traditional Adventist would." See also The Great Controversy (book) Seventh-day Adventist theology Seventh-day Adventist eschatology 28 Fundamentals Ellen G. White References External links "The Great Controversy", chapter 8 in Seventh-day Adventists Believe... A Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental Doctrines, by the Ministerial Association "A Cosmic Struggle: We’re all involved and we all must decide" by Douglas Matacio. Adventist World The Great Controversy by Ellen White from the Ellen G. White Estate Seventh-day Adventist theology