If God is all-knowing, He must have known that the beautiful angel Lucifer would sin and rebel against God’s government. So why did God create Him? That’s the question someone asked on our Facebook page this week, and it’s like the similar question, “Why did God create Adam, if He knew that Adam would sin?” … Continue reading –>
The problem of evil is a conundrum that has engaged minds since the beginning of humanity. And the lessons on “Rebellion and Redemption” have caused Seventh-day Adventists around the world to wrestle with the problem. Many of us like to know why things happen. So we would like to know why evil happened. But to give a reason for … Continue reading –>
We do not know why sin arose in Lucifer. Ellen G. White tells us that “little by little Lucifer came to indulge the desire for self-exaltation”–Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 35. The fact that this occurred in a perfect being reveals in a powerful way the reality of free will and free choice as part of … Continue reading –>
Just as the reflexes of a twitching, freshly killed poisonous snake can cause it to reach around and inject its poison if you pick it up, Satan’s bite is still deadly. He may have been defeated at Calvary, but the danger is not over yet. Read John 16:33. How did Jesus warn His disciples of … Continue reading –>
As we have seen, the war in heaven was not confined to heaven but affected the earth too. For some time it appears that Satan (the “accuser of our brethren, ” Rev. 12:10) was still able to stand before God’s throne and make accusations against God’s people. Job was one biblical character who suffered this … Continue reading –>
We have no idea what war in heaven means; that is, we don’t know what kind of physical battles were fought other than the casting out of Satan and his angels. The fact is, the Bible does not say anything about the physical aftermath of this heavenly conflict. It deals, instead, with the spiritual results … Continue reading –>
Read John 12:31, John 14:30, and John 16:11. Why does Jesus call Satan the prince of this world? When God first established Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He entrusted them with the management of Eden (Gen. 2:8, and Gen. 2:15) , and the care of all creatures in the waters, skies, and … Continue reading –>
Read Isaiah 14:4, Isaiah 14:12-15. What descriptions of the king of Babylon indicate that he is speaking of someone much greater than a mere human ruler? No earthly king has ever fallen from heaven, a truth that suggests that verses 12-15 are focusing on someone bigger than the king, even of Babylon. Furthermore, the images … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 14:4, 12-15; Ezek. 28:2, 12-19; John 12:31; Rev. 12:7-16; Luke 10:1-21. Memory Text: “‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:10, NKJV). The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all intelligent beings depends … Continue reading –>
Somehow, and we don’t know exactly why, sin arose in God’s perfect Creation, and that sin became the starting point for what we understand as the great controversy. One thing, though, we do know, and very well too: as human beings, we are caught in the middle of this controversy. It’s a battle that none … Continue reading –>
