Monday: The Origin of the Controversy on Earth
Daily Lesson for Monday 24th of February 2025
Parallel to the question in the parable—about why there is bad seed in the field if the owner planted only good seed—is another question: if God created the world entirely good, how did evil arise here?
Read Genesis 1:31. What do God’s words reveal about the state of creation when God finished creating, and why is this answer important?
Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com
According to Genesis 1:31, when God finished creating the world, it was “very good.” In Genesis 1:1-31, there is no hint of evil in God’s creation of this planet. How, then, did evil come into the human experience?
Read Genesis 3:1-7. What does this tell us about how evil got here on earth? What light does this shed on the nature of the cosmic conflict? (See also Revelation 12:7-9.)
In this narrative, we see lies about God’s character raised by the serpent, identified as the devil himself (that “serpent of old” [NKJV]) in Revelation 12:7-9. The serpent first uses a question to cast doubt on God’s command, nearly reversing what God had commanded in his question. Then, the serpent directly challenges what God had said, saying to Eve, “ ‘You will not surely die’ ” (Genesis 3:4, NKJV).
Someone, either the serpent or God, lied to Eve, who now has a choice to make about whether she will believe what God told her or what the serpent did.
Here and elsewhere in Scripture, the nature of this conflict is primarily over what and whom to believe, which is itself integrally related to love. And that is because your beliefs about someone, the kind of person that he or she is, and whether he or she can be trusted, deeply impact whether you will love and trust that person and, in this case, listen to what that person tells you.
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Read Genesis 3:15. God’s statement to the serpent that the Seed of the woman, referring to the Messiah, would crush the serpent’s head is often identified as the first gospel (protoevangelium) in Scripture. How does this both reinforce the reality of the conflict and yet provide hope for us in the midst of it? |
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I am by nature curious. I like to try out ideas and experiment with things. I blew a big hole in the side of a lead/acid car battery once. I knew about electricity and batteries but did not know that such a battery could provide 50-60amps through a bit of copper wire, leaving a burn stripe across my fingers and a big hole in the terminal that I thought my father would not notice. He did and I learned that fathers take a dim view of science experiments done in ignorance.
Another time I was curious about the taste of Durian fruit. It was very nice - like a beautiful fruity custard. That evening we had to pick up Carmel from the Bangkok Airport and drive for 3 hours back to Mission College. She knew what I had eaten and I did not have to tell her.
It is easy to dismiss the story of the fall as just curiosity that Eve into trouble, but the story is quite transparent about what happened:
I suspect that the Bible only gives minimal detail about this temptation. We often spend a lot of time talking about serpents and fruit, but the real anti-hero in this story is self.
The Bible repeats the same idea many times. Lucifer in heaven, Cain, The Ante-diluvians, the Tower of Babel, Lot's wife, King Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, Judas, Ananias and Saphira. The root of all sin is in the importance we attach to self. Satan is real but he has a willing collaborator in self.
Once self takes control, it is like eating the Durian fruit - everyone knows.
When one makes a casual scan through the Bible, it seems apparent that generally, mankind does not trust what God says. It seems that mankind has got “mistrust syndrome”, the spirit of unbelief or doubt. This is clearly captured right from Adam and Eve (Genesis 3: 1- 7). How come Adam and Eve placed their trust in a stranger (the serpent)? This incident raises questions about the nature of man, free will, and the dynamic relationship between God and mankind. In this quarter's lessons, it has been rightly stated that "There Are Many Things We Do Not Know" (Lesson 7, Monday). The “Great Controversy” is simply a symptom of a problem (evil). Today’s discussion is centred on how evil was propagated in the hearts of mankind but not its origin.
How can we learn to escape “mistrust syndrome”, the spirit of unbelief or doubt? What is unbelief or doubt? This is a state of refusing or rejecting the truth even in the face of clear evidence. For instance, the Pharisees refused/rejected Jesus even though He performed numerous miracles in their midst (Matthew 12:24). Unbelief and doubt if not contained, often lead to disobedience (James 1:14-15). Disobedience is a sin. Adam and Eve disobeyed God because of their unbelief. Jesus knew the danger of unbelief/doubt and He addressed it. When He was faced with temptation in the wilderness, He responded by saying, “It is written…..” (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus used scripture to fortify His faith. Likewise, when faced with unbelief or doubt, let us turn to scripture which is God’s foundational truth. Having faith in God, the spirit of unbelief will disappear (Ephesians 6:16). Another sure way to escape the spirit of unbelief is through prayer. The father of a demon-possessed son (Mark 9:24), made a cry to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!" When we cry to Jesus even with imperfect faith, He will help us from unbelief. We also need to surround ourselves with believing friends, particularly in fellowship. This will encourage and strengthen us.
As stated in the previous lesson, "There Are Many Things We Do Not Know" (Lesson 7, Monday). It is important to remind ourselves that matters that are not clearly expressed, belong to God (Deuteronomy 29:29,1 Corinthians 13:12). Secondly, the Bible is a divine revelation, and our finite mind cannot fully comprehend the mysteries of God (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, the human effort to understand the origin of the great controversy is inadequate without faith. God is calling us to live by faith and not by knowing the answers to all questions (2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:8). In conclusion, it is essential to focus on what is critical to our salvation (2 Timothy 3:16-17). What is not revealed is not important for our spiritual growth and salvation. Dwelling on unclear matters leads to speculation and endless debates.
“Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God” - 1 Timothy 1:4 (NLT).
Genesis 3:15 states:
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
This verse marks the first prophecy of redemption, revealing the cosmic battle between good and evil. The "Seed" refers to Christ, who would ultimately defeat Satan, though suffering in the process (His crucifixion). The reality of conflict is clear—humanity is caught in a spiritual war, facing temptation and sin. Yet, the promise of Christ’s victory provides hope. Though we struggle, the outcome is assured: Christ has triumphed, securing our salvation and ultimate restoration.