Friday: Further Thought – The War Behind All Wars
Daily Lesson for Friday 5th of April 2024
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“In the banishment of Satan from heaven, God declared His justice and maintained the honor of His throne. But when man had sinned through yielding to the deceptions of this apostate spirit, God gave an evidence of His love by yielding up His only-begotten Son to die for the fallen race. In the atonement the character of God is revealed. The mighty argument of the cross demonstrates to the whole universe that the course of sin which Lucifer had chosen was in no wise chargeable upon the government of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 500, 501.
“The cross of Calvary, while it declares the law immutable, proclaims to the universe that the wages of sin is death. In the Saviour’s expiring cry, ‘It is finished,’ the death knell of Satan was rung. The great controversy which had been so long in progress was then decided, and the final eradication of evil was made certain. The Son of God passed through the portals of the tomb, that ‘through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.’ Hebrews 2:14.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 503.
Discussion Questions
- If God knew that Lucifer was going to rebel, why did He give him the power of choice in the first place? Or when Lucifer rebelled, why didn’t God just annihilate him immediately? What kind of reaction might the unfallen universe have had if God had immediately wiped Lucifer out? Why is the concept of the universe’s interest in the plan of salvation (1 Peter 1:12, Revelation 5:13, Revelation 16:7) so important to understanding the great controversy?
- What reason or reasons can you think of for Christ’s death on the cross? Was it only to reveal the character of God? Was it to pay the ransom price for sin? If so, to whom was the ransom paid? Share your thoughts and give biblical reasons for them.
- When we use the term “the great controversy,” what do we mean? Discuss the various aspects of the great controversy and how this week’s lesson applies to your own life.
- What Bible texts talk about the reality of the great controversy? (See, for instance, Job 1:1-22; Job 2:1-13; Ephesians 6:12.)
- How is the Seventh-day Adventist understanding unique among other Christian denominations? What is it in this great controversy theme that sets Adventists apart?
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I feel very sorry for folk who live in areas where they have long running battles. Children grow up listening to the sound of explosions and gunfire, and seeing people being hurt and killed until it becomes the norm. Warfare is an immersive experience, and they don’t know anything else. For those of us who live in peace, the sound of an explosion is generally a sign that someone has let off some (illegal in NSW) fireworks. And while we may be surprised and perhaps a little annoyed, we know that tomorrow, in the light of day, all will be peaceful once again.
It sometimes takes a little bit or reminding that we too are in the midst of a battle that is even more immersive, a lot more subtle, and potentially more destructive than the real-world battles between nations and ethnic groups. Just because there are no sounds of explosions and gunfire to punctuate the battle does not mean that the battle in an imaginary one. I am, of course, referring to the battle between good and evil. We are immersed in this battle and for many of us it has become the norm. We do not know what peace is really like.
This week we have looked at the commencement of the battle and some of us would like to paint a picture of it a bit like a Sci-Fi movie with formations of warp-speed angels firing at one another with death-ray lasers as they zoom through the galaxies. Visual effects like that may make exciting movies but the reality is that the original battle was a battle of minds, and the war cry of evil was:
And in our church environment we often like to boast that we have a handle on this evil stuff and label object such as TV, movies, the Papacy, the Apostate Protestants, certain foods, and so on as evil and tell our kids not to touch them. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but if we ignore that the real battle is in our minds we are a bit like the French armies sitting behind the Maginot Line waiting for the German attack, thinking they were safe while being outflanked by the enemy with scarcely a shot.
Both God and Satan want us. God uses love as his weapon while Satan uses self-interest.
Peter’s experience should be ours:
… and that my friends, is the way to win the war!
Well said Maurice 🙂
I believe the best description of how the war in heaven began is represented by Abraham Lincoln s 2nd Inaugural Address:
"On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it-- all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came."
Abraham Lincoln, March 4,1865, Washington D.C.
In this conflict of eternal consequences "insurgent agents" were in heaven seeking to "dissolve the Union" ( that union that the Creator has with His creation since time immortal.), and to negotiate a settlement of the elevation an angel in place of the Son of God. Truly one side, the side of the Dragon, would rather make war than to let Michael continue as Head of the angels, and Michael would accept war rather than change His constitutional law of love, "and the war came."
Well said.
Thank the Lord.
Eph.6:12 – “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
I consider this passage to shed light on why man cannot survive this war behind all wars without his Creator. This war is fought in the spiritual realms of heaven and earth to remove the claim of rulership by our Creator's adversary over the living soul - man. None can survive this war without His Creator's help.
This spiritual battle is all-encompassing; all living things presently in existence will have to be judged to determine if it can be included in the new earth and heaven or if it has been tainted by the spirit of Lucifer beyond redemption. This war, manifesting itself in the material and spiritual realm, has to be fought by the heavenly forces to undo the damage Lucifer's rebellion caused in heaven and earth. Our Creator, our heavenly Father, our God is working out His plan to heal heaven and earth:
Rev.21:1-4 ”He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”