Here is a quote from Letters, Mho.
Quote:
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By the end of the Second Age he assume the position of Morgoth's Representive. By the end of the Third Age(though actually much weaker than before) he claimed to be Morgoth returned.
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The power of the Valar would have naturally decreased over time, but Sauron was of the same stock and would have likewise become weaker. Plus, much of his essence would have been expended even after the forging of the ring. And if needed, Iluvatar would surely intervene as he had before.
I can't seem to find the quote about Sauron being more powerful than Morgoth at the end of the First Age, but I have read it before, I believe it is somewhere in the later HoME volumes, it is not in Letters, as I checked.