The Origin of Evil a Mystery
The angels had been created full of goodness and love. They loved one another impartially and their God supremely, and they were prompted by this love to do His pleasure. The law of God was not a grievous yoke to them, but it was their delight to do His commandments, to hearken unto the voice of His Word. But in this state of peace and purity, sin originated with him who had been perfect in all his ways. The prophet writes of him: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Sin is a mysterious, unexplainable thing. There was no reason for its existence; to seek to explain it is to seek to give a reason for it, and that would be to justify it. Sin appeared in a perfect universe, a thing that was shown to be inexcusable.— The Signs of the Times, April 28, 1890. {TA 30.1}
God had a knowledge of the events of the future, even before the creation of the world. He did not make His purposes to fit circumstances, but He allowed matters to develop and work out. He did not work to bring about a certain condition of things, but He knew that such a condition would exist. The plan that should be carried out upon the defection of any of the high intelligences of heaven—this is the secret, the mystery which has been hid from ages. And an offering was prepared in the eternal purposes to do the very work which God has done for fallen humanity.—The Signs of the Times, March 25, 1897. {TA 30.2}
The entrance of sin into heaven cannot be explained. If it were explainable, it would show that there was some reason for sin. But as there was not the least excuse for it, its origin will ever remain shrouded in mystery.—The Review and Herald, March 9, 1886. {TA 31.1}
God did not create evil. He only made the good, which was like Himself.... Evil, sin, and death ... are the result of disobedience, which originated in Satan.—The Review and Herald, August 4, 1910. {TA 31.2}
The First Inklings of Evil
There was a time when Satan was in harmony with God, and it was his joy to execute the divine commands. His heart was filled with love and joy in serving his Creator, until he began to think that his wisdom was not derived from God, but was inherent in himself, and that he was as worthy as was God to receive honor and power.—The Signs of the Times, September 18, 1893. {TA 31.3}
Though God had created Lucifer noble and beautiful, and had exalted him to high honor among the angelic host, yet He had not placed him beyond the possibility of evil. It was in Satan’s power, did he choose to do so, to pervert these gifts. He might have remained in favor with God, beloved and honored by all the angelic throng, presiding in his exalted position with generous, unselfish care, exercising his noble powers to bless others and to glorify his Maker. But, little by little, he began to seek his own honor, and to employ his powers to attract attention and win praise to himself. He also gradually led the angels over whom he ruled to do him service, instead of devoting all their powers to the service of their Creator.—The Spirit of Prophecy 4:317. {TA 31.4}
Little by little, Lucifer came to indulge the desire for self-exaltation.... Though all his glory was from God, this mighty angel came to regard it as pertaining to himself.— Patriarchs and Prophets, 35. {TA 32.1}
God Sets Forth Christ’s True Position
Before the great contest should open, all were to have a clear presentation of His [God’s] will, whose wisdom and goodness were the spring of all their joy. {TA 32.2}
The King of the universe summoned the heavenly host before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son, and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 36. {TA 32.3}
The great Creator assembled the heavenly host, that He might in the presence of all the angels confer special honor upon His Son. The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly throng of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made known that it was ordained by Himself that Christ, His Son, should be equal with Himself; so that wherever was the presence of His Son, it was as His own presence. The word of the Son was to be obeyed as readily as the word of the Father. His Son He had invested with authority to command the heavenly host. Especially was His Son to work in union with Himself in the anticipated creation of the earth. {TA 32.4}
Satan was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ. Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge His supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, Satan bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred. Christ had been taken into the special counsel of God in regard to His plans, while Satan was unacquainted with them. He did not understand, neither was he permitted to know, the purposes of God. But Christ was acknowledged sovereign of heaven, His power and authority to be the same as that of God Himself. {TA 33.1}
Satan thought that he was himself a favorite in heaven among the angels. He had been highly exalted; but he aspired to the height of God Himself. He gloried in his loftiness. He knew that he was honored by the angels. He had a special mission to execute. He had been near the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glorious light enshrouding the eternal God, had shone especially upon him. Satan thought how angels had obeyed his command with pleasurable alacrity. Were not his garments light and beautiful? Why should Christ thus be honored before himself?—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:17, 18. {TA 33.2}
The angels joyfully acknowledged the supremacy of Christ, and prostrating themselves before Him, poured out their love and adoration. Lucifer bowed with them, but in his heart there was a strange, fierce conflict. Truth, justice, and loyalty were struggling against envy and jealousy. The influence of the holy angels seemed for a time to carry him with them.... But again he was filled with pride in his own glory. His desire for supremacy returned, and envy of Christ was once more indulged.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 36, 37. {TA 34.1}
Lucifer Begins His Campaign Against Christ
Satan ... began his work of rebellion with the angels under his command, seeking to diffuse among them the spirit of discontent. And he worked in so deceptive a way that many of the angels were won to his allegiance before his purposes were fully known.— The Review and Herald, January 28, 1909. {TA 34.2}
Satan ... had been ambitious for the more exalted honors which God had bestowed upon His Son. He became envious of Christ, and represented to the angels who honored him as covering cherub that he had not the honor conferred upon him which his position demanded.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874. {TA 34.3}
By sly insinuations, by which he made it appear that Christ had assumed the place that belonged to himself, Lucifer sowed the seeds of doubt in the minds of many of the angels.—The Educational Messenger, September 11, 1908, par.1. {TA 34.4}
His [Lucifer’s] work of deception was done in so great secrecy that the angels in less exalted positions supposed that he was the Ruler of heaven.—This Day With God, 256. {TA 35.1}
Angels that were loyal and true sought to reconcile this mighty, rebellious angel to the will of his Creator. They justified the act of God in conferring honor upon Jesus Christ, and with forcible reasoning sought to convince Satan that no less honor was his now than before the Father had proclaimed the honor which He had conferred upon His Son. They clearly set forth that Jesus was the Son of God, existing with Him before the angels were created; and that He had ever stood at the right hand of God, and His mild, loving authority had not heretofore been questioned; and that He had given no commands but what it was joy for the heavenly host to execute. They urged that Christ’s receiving special honor from the Father, in the presence of the angels, did not detract from the honor that he [Satan] had heretofore received.—The Spirit of Prophecy 1:19. {TA 35.2}
He [Lucifer] gained the sympathy of some of his associates by suggesting thoughts of criticism regarding the government of God. This evil seed was scattered in a most seducing manner; and after it had sprung up and taken root in the minds of many, he gathered the ideas that he himself had first implanted in the minds of others, and brought them before the highest order of angels as the thoughts of other minds against the government of God.— The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 4:1143. {TA 35.3}
Lucifer ... at first so conducted his temptations that he himself stood uncommitted. The angels whom he could not bring fully to his side, he accused of indifference to the interests of heavenly beings. The very work which he himself was doing, he charged upon the loyal angels. It was his policy to perplex with subtle arguments concerning the purposes of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest statements of Jehovah. And his high position, so closely connected with the divine government, gave greater force to his representations.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 41. {TA 36.1}
The very first effort of Satan to overthrow God’s law—undertaken among the sinless inhabitants of heaven—seemed for a time to be crowned with success. A vast number of the angels were seduced.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 331. {TA 36.2}
God’s government included not only the inhabitants of heaven but of all the created worlds; and Satan thought that if he could carry the intelligences of heaven with him in rebellion, he could also carry with him the other worlds.—The Review and Herald, March 9, 1886. {TA 36.3}
Here, for a time, Satan had the advantage; and he exulted in his arrogated superiority, in this one respect, to the angels of heaven, and even to God himself.... [Lucifer] had disguised himself in a cloak of falsehood, and for a time it was impossible to tear off the covering, so that the hideous deformity of his character could be seen. He must be left to reveal himself in his cruel, artful, wicked works.—The Spirit of Prophecy 4:319. {TA 36.4}
Lucifer Is Given Time to Develop His Principles
God in His wisdom did not immediately thrust Satan out of heaven. This act would not have changed his principles, and would only have strengthened his rebellion, for it would have created sympathy for him as one unjustly dealt with; and he would have carried a much larger number with him. He must be displaced, and have time to more fully develop his principles.—The Review and Herald, March 9, 1886. {TA 37.1}
Satan complained of the supposed defects in the management of heavenly things, and sought to fill the minds of the angels with his disaffection. Because he was not supreme, he sowed seeds of doubt and unbelief. Because he was not as God, he strove to instill into the minds of the angels his own envy and dissatisfaction. Thus the seeds of alienation were planted, afterward to be drawn out and presented before the heavenly courts as originating, not with Satan, but with the angels. So the deceiver would show that the angels thought as he did. {TA 37.2}
That which Satan had instilled into the minds of the angels—a word here and a word there—opened the way for a long list of suppositions. In his artful way he drew expressions of doubt from them. Then, when he was interviewed, he accused those whom he had educated. He laid all the disaffection on the ones he had led.—The Review and Herald, September 7, 1897. {TA 37.3}
He [Lucifer] began to insinuate doubts concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, intimating that though laws might be necessary for the inhabitants of the worlds, angels, being more exalted, needed no such restraint, for their own wisdom was sufficient guide.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 37. {TA 38.1}
Lucifer sought to abolish the law of God. He claimed that the unfallen intelligences of holy heaven had no need of law, but were capable of governing themselves and of preserving unspotted integrity.—The Signs of the Times, April 28, 1890. {TA 38.2}
Even the loyal angels did not fully discern his [Satan’s] character. This was why God did not at once destroy Satan. Had He done so, the holy angels would not have perceived the justice and love of God. A doubt of God’s goodness would have been as evil seed that would yield the bitter fruit of sin and woe. Therefore the author of evil was spared, fully to develop his character.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 72. {TA 38.3}
The Angels Debate the Issues
While some of the angels joined Satan in his rebellion, others reasoned with him to dissuade him from his purposes, contending for the honor and wisdom of God in giving authority to His Son. Satan urged, for what reason was Christ endowed with unlimited power and such high command above himself!—Spiritual Gifts 3:37. {TA 38.4}
Satan refused to listen. And then he turned from the loyal and true angels, denouncing them as slaves. These angels, true to God, stood in amazement as they saw that Satan was successful in his efforts to excite rebellion. He promised them a new and better government than they then had, in which all would be freedom. Great numbers signified their purpose to accept Satan as their leader and chief commander. As he saw his advances were met with success, he flattered himself that he should yet have all the angels on his side, and that he would be equal with God Himself, and his voice of authority would be heard in commanding the entire host of heaven. {TA 39.1}
Again the loyal angels warned Satan and assured him what must be the consequence if he persisted; that He who could create the angels, could by His power overturn all their authority and terrible rebellion. To think that an angel should resist the law of God which was as sacred as Himself! They warned the rebellious to close their ears to Satan’s deceptive reasonings, and advised Satan, and all who had been affected by him, to go to God and confess their wrong for even admitting a thought of questioning His authority.— The Spirit of Prophecy 1:20. {TA 39.2}
Satan was artful in presenting his side of the question. As soon as he found that one position was seen in its true character, he changed it for another. Not so with God. He could work with only one class of weapons—truth and righteousness. Satan could use what God could not—crookedness and deceit.—The Review and Herald, March 9, 1886. {TA 39.3} The underworking [of Satan] was so subtle that it could not be made to appear before the heavenly host as the thing that it really was This condition of things had existed a long period of time before Satan was unmasked.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 4:1143. {TA 40.1}
God in His great mercy bore long with Lucifer. He was not immediately degraded from his exalted station when he first indulged the spirit of discontent, not even when he began to present his false claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven. Again and again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and submission.—The Great Controversy, 495, 496. {TA 40.2}
The spirit of discontent and disaffection had never before been known in heaven. It was a new element, strange, mysterious, unaccountable. Lucifer himself had not at first been acquainted with the real nature of his feelings; for a time he had feared to express the workings and imaginings of his mind; yet he did not dismiss them. He did not see whither he was drifting. But such efforts as infinite love and wisdom only could devise, were made to convince him of his error. His disaffection was proved to be without cause, and he was made to see what would be the result of persisting in revolt. Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong. He saw that the divine statutes are just,