Chapter 5—The Rebellious Angels Are Cast Out, and Adam and Eve Fall
War in Heaven
Christ had worked in the heavenly courts to convince Satan of his terrible error, till at last the evil one and his sympathizers were found in open rebellion against God Himself.— This Day With God, 256. {TA 45.1}
Christ, as Commander of heaven, was appointed to put down the rebellion.—The Review and Herald, May 30, 1899. {TA 45.2}
Then there was war in heaven. The Son of God, the Prince of Heaven, and His loyal angels, engaged in conflict with the arch rebel and those who united with him. The Son of God and true, loyal angels prevailed; and Satan and his sympathizers were expelled from heaven.—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:23. {TA 45.3}
Angels were engaged in the battle; Satan wished to conquer the Son of God and those who were submissive to His will. But the good and true angels prevailed, and Satan, with his followers, was driven from heaven.—Early Writings, 146. {TA 45.4}
The Effects of Rebellion
Satan stood in amazement at his new condition. His happiness was gone. He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from heaven. Now all seemed changed. Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing. Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination, were among them. Satan now beholds the terrible results of his rebellion. He shuddered, and feared to face the future, and to contemplate the end of these things. {TA 46.1}
The hour for joyful, happy songs of praise to God and His dear Son had come. Satan had led the heavenly choir. He had raised the first note, then all the angelic host united with him, and glorious strains of music had resounded through heaven in honor of God and His dear Son. But now, instead of strains of sweetest music, discord and angry words fall upon the ear of the great rebel leader. The hour of worship draws nigh, when bright and holy angels bow before the Father. No more will he unite in heavenly song. No more will he bow in reverence and holy awe before the presence of the eternal God {TA 46.2}
Satan trembled as he viewed his work. He was alone in meditation upon the past, the present, and his future plans. His mighty frame shook as with a tempest. An angel from heaven was passing. He called him, and entreated an interview with Christ. This was granted him. He then related to the Son of God that he repented of his rebellion, and wished again the favor of God. He was willing to take the place God had previously assigned him, and be under his wise command. Christ wept at Satan’s woe, but told him, as the mind of God, that he could never be received into heaven. The seeds of rebellion were still within him. {TA 46.3}
When Satan became fully convinced that there was no possibility of his being reinstated in the favor of God, he manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence. {TA 47.1}
As he could not gain admission within the gates of heaven, he would wait just at the entrance, to taunt the angels and seek contention with them as they went in and out.—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:28-30. {TA 47.2}
The Creation of Earth and Humankind
The loyal angels mourned the fate of those who had been their companions in happiness and bliss. Their loss was felt in heaven. The Father consulted Jesus in regard to at once carrying out their purpose to make man to inhabit the earth.—The Signs of the Times, January 9, 1879. {TA 47.3}
The brightest and most exalted of the sons of the morning heralded ... [Christ’s] glory at creation, and announced His birth with songs of gladness.—The Signs of the Times, January 4, 1883. {TA 47.4}
When God formed the earth, there were mountains, hills, and plains, and interspersed among them were rivers and bodies of water. The earth was not one extensive plain, but the monotony of the scenery was broken by hills and mountains, not high and ragged as they are now, but regular and beautiful in shape.... Angels beheld and rejoiced at the wonderful and beautiful works of God.—Spiritual Gifts 3:33. {TA 47.5}
All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of man. Human beings were a new and distinct order.—The Review and Herald, February 11, 1902. {TA 48.1}
Next to the angelic beings, the human family, formed in the image of God, are the noblest of His created works.—The Review and Herald, December 3, 1908. {TA 48.2}
The Lord ... had endowed Adam with powers of mind superior to any living creature that He had made. His mental powers were but little lower than those of the angels.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874. {TA 48.3}
As soon as the Lord through Jesus Christ created our world, and placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, Satan announced his purpose to conform to his own nature the father and mother of all humanity.—The Review and Herald, April 14, 1896. {TA 48.4}
When the Lord presented Eve to Adam, angels of God were witnesses to the ceremony.—In Heavenly Places, 203. {TA 48.5}
This sinless pair wore no artificial garments. They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear.—The Signs of the Times, January 9, 1879. {TA 48.6} God created man for His own glory, that after test and trial the human family might become one with the heavenly family. It was God’s purpose to repopulate heaven with the human family.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 1:1082. {TA 48.7}
The vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord.—The Review and Herald, May 29, 1900. {TA 49.1}
Adam and Eve in Eden
Although everything God had made was in the perfection of beauty, and there seemed nothing wanting upon the earth which God had created to make Adam and Eve happy, yet He manifested His great love to them by planting a garden especially for them. A portion of their time was to be occupied in the happy employment of dressing the garden, and a portion in receiving the visits of angels, listening to their instruction, and in happy meditation. Their labor was not wearisome, but pleasant and invigorating.—The Signs of the Times, January 9, 1879. {TA 49.2}
Holy angels ... gave instruction to Adam and Eve concerning their employment, and also taught them concerning the rebellion of Satan and his fall.—Spiritual Gifts 1:20. {TA 49.3}
He [Adam] stood before God in the strength of perfect manhood, all the organs and faculties of his being fully developed and harmoniously balanced; and he was surrounded with things of beauty, and conversed daily with the holy angels.—The Spirit of Prophecy 2:88. {TA 49.4}
The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it.—The Signs of the Times, April 15, 1886. {TA 49.5}
Man was to be tested and proved, and if he should bear the test of God, and remain loyal and true after the first trial, he was not to be beset with continual temptations; but was to be exalted equal with the angels, and henceforth immortal.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874. {TA 50.1}
Satan Plans to Cause Man’s Fall
He [Satan] ... informed them [his angel followers] of his plans to wrest from God the noble Adam and his companion Eve. If he could, in any way, beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God’s mercy. If this should fail, they could unite with Adam and Eve; for when once they should transgress the law of God, they would be subjects of God’s wrath, like themselves. Their transgression would place them also in a state of rebellion; and they could unite with Adam and Eve, take possession of Eden, and hold it as their home. And if they could gain access to the tree of life in the midst of the garden, their strength would, they thought, be equal to that of the holy angels, and even God Himself could not expel them. {TA 50.2}
Satan held a consultation with his evil angels. They did not all readily unite to engage in this hazardous and terrible work. He told them that he would not intrust any one of them to accomplish this work; for he thought that he alone had wisdom sufficient to carry forward so important an enterprise. He wished them to consider the matter while he should leave them and seek retirement, to mature his plans. {TA 50.3}
Satan went alone to mature plans that would most surely secure the fall of Adam and Eve. He shuddered at the thought of plunging the holy, happy pair into the misery and remorse he was himself enduring. He seemed in a state of indecision; at one time firm and determined, then hesitating and wavering. His angels were seeking him, their leader, to acquaint him with their decision. They will unite with Satan in his plans, and with him bear the responsibility, and share the consequences. {TA 51.1}
Satan cast off his feelings of despair and weakness, and, as their leader, fortified himself to brave out the matter, and do all in his power to defy the authority of God and His Son.— The Spirit of Prophecy 1:31-33. {TA 51.2}
Satan declared that he would prove to the worlds which God has created, and to the heavenly intelligences, that it was an impossibility to keep the law of God.—The Review and Herald, September 3, 1901. {TA 51.3}
God assembled the angelic host to take measures to avert the threatened evil. It was decided in Heaven’s council for angels to visit Eden and warn Adam that he was in danger from the foe. Accordingly, two angels sped on their way to visit our first parents.—The Signs of the Times, January 16, 1879. {TA 51.4}
Heavenly messengers opened to them [Adam and Eve] the history of Satan’s fall, and his plots for their destruction, unfolding more fully the nature of the divine government, which the prince of evil was trying to overthrow. {TA 51.5}
The angels warned them to be on their guard against the devices of Satan; for his efforts to ensnare them would be unwearied. While they were obedient to God, the evil one could not harm them; for, if need be, every angel in heaven would be sent to their help. If they steadfastly repelled his first insinuations, they would be as secure as the heavenly messengers. But should they once yield to temptation, their nature would become so depraved that in themselves they would have no power, and no disposition, to resist Satan.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 52, 53. {TA 51.6}
The angels cautioned Eve not to separate from her husband in her employment; for she might be brought in contact with this fallen foe. If separated from each other, they would be in greater danger than if both were together. The angels charged them to closely follow the instructions God had given them in reference to the tree of knowledge; for in perfect obedience they were safe, and this fallen foe could have access to them only at the tree of knowledge of good and evil. {TA 52.1}
Adam and Eve assured the angels that they should never transgress the express command of God; for it was their highest pleasure to do His will. The angels united with Adam and Eve in holy strains of harmonious music; and as their songs pealed forth from blissful Eden, Satan heard the sound of their strains of joyful adoration to the Father and Son. And as Satan heard it, his envy, hatred, and malignity, increased, and he expressed his anxiety to his followers to incite them (Adam and Eve) to disobedience.—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:34, 35. {TA 52.2}
Satan Speaks to Eve Through a Serpent
In order to accomplish his work unperceived, Satan chose to employ as his medium the serpent—a disguise well adapted for his purpose of deception. The serpent was then one of the wisest and most beautiful creatures on the earth. It had wings, and while flying through the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 53. {TA 52.3}
Eve went from the side of her husband, viewing the beautiful things of nature in God’s creation, delighting her senses with the colors and fragrance of the flowers and the beauty of the trees and shrubs. She was thinking of the restriction God had laid upon them in regard to the tree of knowledge. She was pleased with the beauties and bounties which the Lord had furnished for the gratification of every want. All these, said she, God has given us to enjoy. They are all ours; for God has said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.” {TA 53.1}
Eve had wandered near the forbidden tree, and her curiosity was aroused to know how death could be concealed in the fruit of this fair tree. She was surprised to hear her queries taken up and repeated by a strange voice. “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Eve was not aware that she had revealed her thoughts by conversing to herself aloud, therefore she was greatly astonished to hear her queries repeated by a serpent.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874. {TA 53.2}
With soft and pleasant words, and with musical voice, he [Satan] addressed the wondering Eve. She was startled to hear a serpent speak. He extolled her beauty and exceeding loveliness, which was not displeasing to Eve. {TA 53.3}
Eve was beguiled, flattered, infatuated.—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:35, 36. {TA 54.1}
She [Eve] really thought the serpent had a knowledge of her thoughts, and that he must be very wise. She answered him, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” [Genesis 3:2-5.] {TA 54.2}
Here the father of lies made his assertion in direct contradiction to the expressed word of God. Satan assured Eve that she was created immortal, and that there was no possibility of her dying. He told her that God knew that if they ate of the tree of knowledge their understanding would be enlightened, expanded, and ennobled, making them equal with Himself.... Eve thought the discourse of the serpent very wise. She looked with longing desire upon the tree laden with fruit which appeared very delicious. The serpent was eating it with apparent delight. {TA 54.3}
Eve had overstated the words of God’s command. He had said to Adam and Eve, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” In Eve’s controversy with the serpent, she added the clause, “Neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Here the subtlety of the serpent was seen. This statement of Eve gave him advantage.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874. {TA 54.4}
By partaking of this tree, he [Satan] declared they would attain to a more exalted sphere of existence, and enter a broader field of knowledge. He himself had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and as a result had acquired the power of speech. And he insinuated that the Lord jealously desired to withhold it from them, lest they should be exalted to equality with Himself.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 54. {TA 55.1}
Eve’s curiosity was aroused. Instead of fleeing from the spot, she listened to hear a serpent talk. It did not occur to her mind that it might be that fallen foe, using the serpent as a medium.—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:36. {TA 55.2}
With what intense interest the whole universe watched the conflict that was to decide the position of Adam and Eve. How attentively the angels listened to the words of Satan, the originator of sin, as he placed his own ideas above the commands of God, and sought to make of none effect the law of God through his deceptive reasoning! How anxiously they waited to see if the holy pair would be deluded by the tempter, and yield to his arts. {TA 55.3}
Satan represented God as a deceiver, as one who would debar His creatures from the benefit of His highest gift. The angels heard with sorrow and amazement this statement in regard to the character of God, as Satan represented Him as possessing his own miserable attributes; but Eve was not horror-stricken to hear the holy and supreme God thus falsely accused. If she had remembered all the tokens of His love, if she had fled to her husband, she might have been saved from the subtle temptation of the evil one.—The Signs of the Times, May 12, 1890. {TA 55.4}
The tempter plucked the fruit and passed it to Eve. She took it in her hand. Now, said the tempter, you were prohibited from even touching it lest you die. He told her that she would realize no more sense of evil and death in eating than in touching or handling the fruit. Eve was emboldened because she felt not the immediate signs of God’s displeasure. She thought the words of the tempter all wise and correct. She ate, and was delighted with the fruit. It seemed delicious to her taste, and she imagined that she realized in herself the wonderful effects of the fruit.—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:38. {TA 56.1}
There was nothing poisonous in the fruit of the tree of knowledge itself, nothing that would cause death in partaking of it. The tree had been placed in the garden to test their loyalty to