The Great Controversy

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4. THE GREAT CONTROVERSY Everyone wonders about the problem of evil: many argue that if God is good and all-knowing, He’s not almighty otherwise He would have destroyed evil; or if He is almighty and all-knowing, He is not good because He does not care that we suffer.

We naturally consider evil as an intruder that it ought not to exist: the Bible gives a compelling and moving answer to this issue.

1. Who is Responsible for the Existence of Evil?

 Matthew 13:24-28a,37-39 Jesus explained the parable: the man who sowed good seed is Jesus and the field is the world. In the creation account the word “good” is repeated 6 times and at the end God said that everything He had made was very good (see Genesis 1:31).

The servants asked: “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” (v.

27). It is a question of responsibility: had the owner something to do with the tares? The owner replied that an enemy had done this: Jesus explained that the enemy represents the devil. The word Satan is the transliteration of the Hebrew word Śâ ṭ ân, enemy.

The tares represent evil: today weeds do not need to be sowed, they naturally grow. In the parable, the weeds were sown: today evil grows naturally but it was sown by Satan in a perfect world.

2. Who was Satan Before Falling? How was He Created by God?

 Ezekiel 28:12-15 Satan was a cherub, an angel who lived in the immediate presence of God (see Psalm 80:1). There was no difference between Satan and the other angels: he was created as a perfect being.

Some ask: why did God create this angel if He knew that he would fall? God created every creature with the freedom of choice. This was the only way love could exist between Him and His creatures: love cannot exist without freedom.

Before creation, God had only two options: to reign alone over worlds filled with trees, flowers, rivers and mountains but no creatures, or to create morally free beings to love and be loved by them. Only in the first case, God could have avoided the risk of a rebellion, for freedom entails risk. 2 4. The Great Controversy – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019

3. What Thoughts did Satan Conceal in His Heart Before His Fall?

 Isaiah 14:12-14 The name Lucifer is a transliteration from the Latin, translation of the Hebrew word hêylêl, the bright one. Lucifer wanted to exalt himself. Notice the verbs: I will ascend, exalt, sit on the mount, ascend above and be like God. North is a symbol of God’s dwelling place (see Psalm 48:1-2): Satan wanted the throne of God. Satan, a creature, wanted to be like the Creator to receive worship.

The question that has no answer: “How you are fallen from heaven, o Lucifer?” . There is no good reason for Satan’s rebellion; if there was one, evil would be justifiable and would cease to be evil.

4. How did the Rebellion Spread?

 Revelation 12:3-4a,7-9 The dragon is clearly identified with Satan. The stars represent angels (see Revelation 1:20). In fact, in the text we read about angels on Satan’s side. There were two opposed parties: one represented by Michael, name that means “who is like God?” and the other by Satan. Both had angels on their side.

The word war is polemos in Greek, from which we derive the word polemic. This was an intellectual war, a conflict of opposed principles. Satan drew a third part of the angels of heaven. The dragon used the tail, which is symbol of lie, for Satan is the father of lie (see Isaiah 9:15, John 8:44). He somehow convinced those angels that there was a good reason to rebel against God.

5. How did the Rebellion Come to Earth?

 Genesis 3:4-5 God had told Adam and Eve about Satan and forbade them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:16-17). Satan suggested Eve that God did not want them to eat of this fruit because He did not want them to be like Himself. He insinuated that God was not interested in their good, having prevented them the possibility of developing to a higher form of existence.

The great controversy revolves around this question: what is God like? Is He a loving Father or, as Satan claims, a tyrant who wants to rule over the universe? God is under accusation and His answer to Satan’s lies is Jesus’ life which reveals who God really is (see John 1:18, 14:9).

6. What Has Jesus Done on Earth? What does This Story Reveal?

 Luke 13:10-16 Jesus healed a woman who had been sick for 18 years saying that Satan had bound her in sickness.

Satan is responsible for sickness and suffering and Jesus had come to heal people physically, mentally and spiritually (see Acts 10:38). 4. The Great Controversy – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 3

7. WHAT DOES THIS PASSAGE TEACH ABOUT JESUS ’ CHARACTER?

 Philippians 2:5-8 Satan, a creature, wanted to exalt himself and be worshipped like the Creator while Jesus, the Creator, became like one of His creatures. Becoming a man was an infinite humiliation for Him.

Jesus submitted Himself to our limitations and exposed Himself to temptation. He understands our pain for He Himself walked in our shoes: He was called by Isaiah “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3).

Not only Jesus left heaven to live among us as a servant, but He humbled Himself even to the point of dying on the cross. This shows that the nature of God’s character is totally opposite to the one of Satan.

8. What Happened to Satan at the Cross?

 Revelation 12:9-10; John 12:31-33

Revelation 12 brings us to the cross to show that Satan was cast out permanently from heaven.

Before the cross he had limited access to heaven (see Job 1:6-12, 2:1-7). Jesus said that Satan would be judged at the cross for his accusations on God’s character were going to be proven wrong.

The cross is the guarantee of God’s love for His creatures, for He sacrificed for the good of an undeserving rebellious mankind: us. God’s love displayed at the cross draws His creatures to Him.

9. WHY DIDN ’ TG OD DESTROY SATAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REBELLION?

 Matthew 13:28-30,37-40 God could not convince His creatures by force but only by love. In the parable, the owner said that to let both the wheat and the tares until the harvest.

To the common person the difference between wheat and tares is not clear when they sprout but it is evident at the harvest. God knew what Satan would become, the angels did not: if He had destroyed Satan, the angels would have continued to worship out of fear and not out of love. The seed of doubt would have remained in their minds.

The beginning of the rebellion was not the right time to eradicate evil. God wants to get to the point that He will destroy evil once forever without leaving room for doubts and He will. In order to do this God had to allow Satan to develop his principles to show the universe what evil is really like.

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