28 h 44 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the struggle over conscience is the thread that ties all of history together?
In The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, Ellen G. White reads Christian history as a spiritual conflict. She opens with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, then follows persecution, religious compromise, and the Protestant Reformation. Her account places the freedom to believe at the heart of a struggle between good and evil.
Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, and William Miller stand along this path through faith and prophecy. White interprets church history through Daniel and Revelation, moving toward a future crisis she expects to test every conscience. This is a committed Adventist reading of the past and future, rather than an even-handed academic history.
What you’ll discover
- A city facing destruction Enter White’s opening scene, where Jerusalem becomes a warning about rejected mercy.
- Conscience under pressure Meet reformers whose struggles bring questions of conviction, authority, and religious freedom into focus.
- Luther’s search for assurance Follow his struggle over how a sinner can be made right with God.
- The roots of Adventist belief Explore White’s account of William Miller, prophetic expectation, and the sanctuary message.
- Prophecy and moral courage Consider the threats to conscience and religious liberty that White foresees in her final chapters.
Who will love it
For readers who love Christian history, Protestant reformers, Adventist belief or end-time prophecy, and anyone curious about how one religious tradition understands the past and future.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- History is a war between Christ and Satan
- Jerusalem's fall warns of rejected mercy
- The early church drifts into compromise
- Light survives in the Waldenses and Wycliffe
- Luther and the Reformation break the silence
- France and America show two roads
- The 1844 hope and the sanctuary message
- Satan's deceptions work through false comfort
- The final crisis tests every conscience
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
by Ellen G. White · 1858
Luther stands before an emperor as White traces a conflict between Christ and Satan through history and prophecy.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What if every age of history were one battle in a single war? Ellen G.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
History is a war between Christ and Satan
White holds that the world is the stage of a long conflict. On one side stands Christ, who rules by love and free choice. On the other stands Satan, once a high angel, who rebelled against God's government and now works to ruin human beings.
In her telling, evil began in heaven when Lucifer grew proud and accused God of being unfair. The cross stands at the centre. She argues that Christ's death answered Satan's charges before the whole universe, because God let evil show what it really was.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 6 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1858
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
White, Ellen G. The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-great-controversy-between-christ-and-satan.
White, E. G. (2026). The great controversy between Christ and Satan. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-great-controversy-between-christ-and-satan (Original work published 1858)
White, Ellen G. The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-great-controversy-between-christ-and-satan.
@book{white2026great,
author = {White, Ellen G.},
title = {The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-great-controversy-between-christ-and-satan},
note = {First published 1858}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Great Controversy about?
It is a Christian history and prophecy that sees the world as a long conflict between Christ and Satan. It covers Jerusalem's fall, the Reformation, the 1844 Advent movement, and events White expected before the end of the world.
Is The Great Controversy a true story?
It is not a novel. White retells real history, drawing on Protestant historians, but she reads it through her own prophetic beliefs. Historians and other churches dispute many of her interpretations, though Adventists hold the book in high regard.
When was The Great Controversy written?
It grew out of earlier visions and writings from the 1850s and 1880s. The form most readers know appeared in 1888, and White revised and expanded it in 1911, four years before her death.
The author
Ellen G. White
1827–1915 · American religious writer
Ellen G. White (1827–1915) was an American author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She was born in Maine and lived in the United States, Europe, and Australia. She wrote books on religion, education, and health, including The Great Controversy. She died in California.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
