WAR IN THE COSMOS?
IF GOD IS GOOD, and he created the world, then why is evil allowed to exist? How can a God of love allow disasters, destruction, and tragedies that take the lives of hundreds, even thousands of innocent people? Why does he allow bad things to happen to good people?
We are in the middle of an intense galactic war that will not get any better but will continue to get worse. How will it all end?
This is the beginning of a 13-part series about war, but not just any war. It is a cosmic war that started in heaven but is being fought out right here on earth. It is a battle between good and evil.
In this 13-part series, we examine how a God of love can allow evil to exist in the world that he created. We look at the opponents in this war, its origin, how it has been fought in the past, how it is being fought in the present, and how it will end.
There are many speculations about how things will end, but here, we look at the origin of sin and evil and how they will be eradicated.
This is a cosmic war between God and Satan. To understand this battle, we look at its history from God’s point of view and the role we humans have played in it.
Everyone on earth is affected by this war, including you. Therefore, you do not one to overlook any part of this series. To ensure you don’t, you can view any previous videos at SabbathSchooldaily.com.
This war started in heaven but is being fought here on earth. Here, we examine how this war broke out in heaven and how it has continued to be fought here on earth. But before we begin, Let’s Pray.
Father, we recognize our human frailty in understanding spiritual things. We invite your divine presence. Give us clear and divine insight into the spiritual war being fought all around us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The War Between God and Satan (Lesson 1)
The War Behind All Wars
Day 1
The War Behind All Wars
IF GOD IS GOOD, and he created the earth, why is it filled with evil? If God is love, why does He not prevent bad things from happening to good people?
In this lesson, we examine the origin of the conflict between good and evil. We see that this battle originated in heaven in a rebellion against God, led by Lucifer, an angel called the dragon in Revelation 12:7-8 it says (Split)
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. (Revelation 12:7-8, NKJV).
Knowing about this war, we investigate how evil began, and we look at God’s longsuffering and patience in solving the problem of sin and evil.
God is love; his very nature is love, according to 1 John 4:7 and 8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7, 8)
In fact, Jeremiah 31:3 tells us that all of God’s actions and everything that he does are acts of love.
3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. (Jeremiah 31:3)
God wants our love, but because He is love, He does not force us to love Him.
You see, Love cannot be forced; it does not coerce or manipulate, nor can it be legislated.
The Book Desire of Ages, explaining how love works says: “Only by love is love awakened.” —The Desire of Ages, p.22.
If you want love, you must show love. Forced love takes away our freedom to love, and a lack of freedom destroys true happiness.
But as a God of love, He has given us the freedom to choose to love Him back.
God seeks to win our allegiance with His love. God wants to gain our hearts with His love.
In the Great Controversy, the war between good and evil, God’s love is manifested in His works to end the war.
For those on the side of God, who love God and love His government of Love, we can be sure that evil will be annihilated, and it will never, ever rise again.
To ensure that we fully understand the consequence of evil and learn to love God, He demonstrates to the entire universe that He has acted out of love and always does what is in our best interest.
God’s work of love in the war against good and evil gives us hope. Our hope is that good will eventually win over evil, and evil will be forever destroyed.
But to understand God’s love, we must understand freedom and how this freedom led to rebellion and war in heaven.
Pause and Read Revelation 12:7–8 again and also verse 9.
Then view the next segment of this video: Day 2: War in Heaven
The Great Controversy (Lesson 1)
The War Behind All Wars
Day 2: War in Heaven
Revelation 12:7–9 describes the cosmic battle between good and evil, Christ and Satan.
Lucifer, who became Satan, and his angels fought against Christ. Eventually, Satan and his angels were thrown out of heaven. It might seem strange to hear that war broke out in Heaven since Heaven is considered a perfect place.
But, How did this fight get started? Did God, who is love, create this demonic angel who initiated war in heaven?
Was there a flaw in Lucifer that led him to rebel against God? What caused Lucifer to rebel?
Ezekiel 28:12–15 and Isaiah 14:12-14 pull back the curtain and allow us to get a glimpse of this battle between good and evil.
Ezekiel 28:12–15 describes Lucifer as perfect, but somehow evil was found in him.
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
Isaiah 14:12–14.
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ (Isaiah 14:12–14)
We see here that God did not create the devil. Lucifer was created perfectly. In his created perfection was the freedom of choice.
God made Lucifer perfect, and his beauty was bright and dazzling. God’s fundamental principle of government was freedom of choice, so God also made Lucifer free to choose.
You see, freedom of choice was an important part of God’s government in heaven. The principle of God’s government, as expressed previously, is love. He does not operate by coercion, nor does He ever force anyone to serve or love Him.
So, sin originated with Lucifer in heaven. There is no logical explanation for why this perfect being allowed pride and jealousy to take root in his heart and grow into rebellion against God, the one who created Him.
His beauty lifted his heart in pride. Thus, he wanted the angels to worship him instead of God.
Yet God is the only One who deserves our worship; He created us. In his rebellion, he attempted to take over God’s throne by questioning God’s authority to govern heaven, which caused many of the angels to question God’s authority.
Nevertheless, God was very patient with Lucifer. But God refused to allow him to destroy the peace in heaven with his rebellion. (Split)
It says in the Book Great Controversy, “The heavenly councils pleaded with Lucifer. The Son of God presented before him the greatness, the goodness, and the justice of the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law. God Himself had established the order of heaven; and in departing from it, Lucifer would dishonor his Maker, and bring ruin upon himself. But the warning, given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a spirit of resistance.”— The Great Controversy, pages 494, 495.
So, the cosmic war between Christ and Satan originated in heaven, but he and his angel were not allowed to remain in heaven. What then happened to Satan and his angels, and how did it upset our peace here on earth? (Split)
Pause and Read: Revelation 12:4
Then, view the next segment of this video, Day 3: Lucifer Deceives; Christ Prevails
The Great Controversy (Lesson 1)
The War Behind All Wars
Day 3: Lucifer Deceives; Christ Prevails
We have no logical explanation for why Lucifer, a perfect angel, allowed pride and jealousy to rise up in his heart.
However, his decision was his choice alone. His choice led him to outright rebel against God and His government. He not only allowed his pride and jealousy to lead to rebellion, but he also infected other angels with his doubts and accusations against God.
Lucifer accused God of being unfair. His lies and accusations fill the hearts of many of the other angels with fear and doubts about God.
Revelation 12:4 helps us to understand just how skillful Lucifer was in his lies and accusations. It says
4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth… (Revelation 12:4)
So, when war broke out in heaven, the angels had to make a choice on who they would follow. Should they follow Jesus, or should they follow Lucifer?
You might be wondering, was this war in heaven a real war with real weapons? Were the angelic beings in heaven in actual hand-to-hand combat? Or was this war a great debate fought with words and ideas?
Honestly, we do not know. The Bible does not give us the answer. To find out, we will have to ask God when we reach eternity.
But what we do know from Revelation 12: 8-9 is that some part of the conflict was physical because it says: (Split)
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:8-9)
Since God cast Satan and his angels out of heaven, it becomes obvious that this war included some physical contact.
What is crucial about this war in heaven is that every angel had to decide for or against Christ.
The loyal angels chose to obey Jesus and His loving commands, whereas 1/3 of the angels listened to Lucifer’s voice. Rather than obey God, their creator, they chose to obey Lucifer, a fellow created being. These angels’ disobedience caused them to be evicted from their home in heaven.
Like the angels in heaven, we are at a critical time in Earth’s history. We must decide whether to be on the side of Christ or in opposition to him. We must choose whose side we want to be on in this battle between good and evil: Christ’s side or Satan’s side.
Take time to read Genesis 2:15–17, Exodus 32:26, Joshua 24:15, 1 Kings 18:20, 21, and Revelation 22:17. Notice the calls to choose. The choice is ours: We can choose to obey God and have eternal life or to disobey him and choose eternal death.
Different from all the other animals God created, we were made in the image of God. In his love for us, rather than making us mere robots, he gave us the gift of moral choice. He embedded within our brains the freedom to think and choose, which gives us the ability to choose between right and wrong.
In this choice, He invites us to love Him and live by his government of love.
Knowing that war broke out in heaven helps us better understand our own personal struggle with evil.
If Satan was able to deceive the righteous, holy, heavenly beings into believing his lies, what does it say about his ability to deceive us?
Pause and Read Genesis 3:1-3 Then continue to Day 4: Planet Earth Becomes Involved.
The Great Controversy (Lesson 1)
The War Behind All Wars
Tuesday Day 4: Planet Earth Becomes Involved
When God created the earth, He created it perfect. At the very beginning of the Book, Genesis 1:31 tells us that He “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
There was no sin or evil anywhere. However, when God created Adam and Eve, He gave them the same freedom of choice He gave to Lucifer.
Just as He did not want robots in heaven, He did not want robots on earth. Therefore, He gave Adam and Eve freewill, free choice.
So, in Genisis 2:17, we find that God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden. He named this tree the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17).
God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat fruit from this tree. He made a point of telling them this to make sure they knew they had a choice. (Split)
Thus, in Genesis 2:17, God warned them about the tree’s danger, saying, ” In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
So, Adam and Eve had the freedom to choose to obey God and not eat from the tree and be free from sin and death or disobey God, eat from the tree, and suffer the consequences of their disobedience.
One day, while Eve was lingering around the tree, Satan came to the tree. He tells her a vicious lie about the fruit. Although God had told Adam and Eve that on the day that they eat the fruit they would surely die. Satan tells Eve, In Genesis 3:4-5 “‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ ” (Genesis 3:4-5).
He implies that God was lying to them and keeping something from them. He suggested to Eve that by eating the fruit, she would enter a new and higher sphere of existence. He inferred that the fruit would bring her pleasure higher than she had known before. He implied that God was keeping something good from her.
So, Satan tells Eve to take the forbidden fruit and eat it. Then, she would know everything that God was keeping from her.
But, when Eve and then Adam made the choice to eat the forbidden fruit, they opened a “door” to something God wanted to keep closed forever. This door was the door to sin, suffering, broken hearts, sickness, death, and all kinds of evil.
When we compare Genesis 3:1–3; with Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:12, we find the connection between Adam and Eve’s decision to eat the fruit and the condition of humanity today.
Genesis 3:1–3 is the door leading to the entrance of sin.
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” (Genesis 3:1–3) (spojtae)
Romans 3:23 helps us to see that their choice infected every generation of humanity. We inherited sin. It’s in our DNA.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
Romans 5:12 helps us to see that Satan lied to Eve. Sin entered our world and brought death and destruction right along with it.
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(Romans 5:12)
What is sin? The core of sins is rebellion against God. When we choose to sin, we take sides with Satan. We agree that God’s government of love is unfair and unjust. Thus, sin separates us from God. The thing is, God is life. Therefore, if we separate ourselves from God, we are choosing death, for separation from God leads to eternal death.
Not only does sin lead to death, but it also causes worry, anxiety, suffering, sickness, and disease.
Ultimately, the pain we suffer in this life is the consequence of Adam and Eve’s initial choice to disobey God. The suffering we experience in the world is because of sin. No, this is not saying that our suffering is the result of some sin we have committed. Suffering is not always a result of what we have done.
The point is sin has ruined this planet and we all have been affected by living on it.
But there will be an end to all of this.
Pause and Read Genesis 3:15, Leviticus 5:5, 6, and John 1:29. What promise did God give Adam and Eve in the Garden that gives us hope? Notice what God did for them after they sinned. How was this offering significant to helping them understand how God would solve the sin problem? Can You See God’s Love in Action?
Now, view the next segment of this video: Day 5: Love Finds a Way
The Great Controversy (Lesson 1)
The War Behind All Wars
Day 5: Love Finds a Way
Is death the end of everything? After Adam and Eve sin, God tells them they must leave their beautiful garden home. From now on, their lives will be filled with hard work and suffering. But is that the end? Will they have to suffer and finally die with no hope?
No, God gives Adam and Eve a promise. This promise is recorded in Genesis 3:15. In it God tells Satan, the serpent or snake, “ ‘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’ ” (Genesis 3:15).
Although, at the time, perhaps Adam and Eve may not have fully understood what this promise meant, they were given renewed hope.
God promised in Genesis 3:15 that through the “Seed of the woman,” they would be saved from eternal death (Genesis 3:15).
We learn in Galatians 3:16 and many other scriptures in the Bible that this Child, this promised seed of the woman, is none other than Jesus Christ.
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16).
At the cross, Satan bruised or “bit” Jesus’ heel, the same as snake bites. But the Cross is not the end of the story. Jesus won the battle when He rose from the grave. Jesus’ victory is our hope. It is our guarantee that the day is coming when God will crush the serpent’s head.
At that point, God will close forever the “door” to suffering and death that Adam and Eve opened. And No one will open that “door” again. It will forever be closed! (Split)
Look at Hebrews 2:9; Galatians 3:13; and 2 Corinthians 5:21
Observe God’s love in Action:
Hebrews 2:9
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)
Galatians 3:13
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), (Galatians 3:13)
II Corinthians 5:21
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (II Corinthians 5:21)
If you ever wonder if God really loves you. No need to worry.
Think about the cross. See the crown of thorns on his head. See the nails in Jesus’ hands and feet!
With every drop of blood that Jesus spilled, God says, “I love you. I don’t want to be in heaven without you. Yes, you’ve sinned. You sold yourself into the hands of Satan, the enemy. Yes, you are unworthy of God’s love. And yes it is true you can’t earn everlasting life with your own good behavior. But I have paid the price; I have paid the ransom to get you back.” The point is, you never need to wonder again if God loves you. The cross says it all!
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to this earth to be one with us. He came to our world, and He experienced the same heartache, disappointment, and pain just like you and me.
He felt sad. He got his heart broken. Jesus understands all our troubles. Jesus was tempted as we are; he did not sin. He did not give in to Satan’s temptations.
Jesus won the fight against Satan and his fallen angels. He won the battle against the principalities and powers of hell in His life and on the cross. He loves us so much that He died for each one of us. Here is something to think about and meditate on: John 1:3
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:3)
Jesus, the one who created heaven and earth and everything in it, is the Jesus who left heaven and came to this earth.
To understand how much He loves us, Read Isaiah 53:1–5.
1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
This helps us understand just how much Jesus suffered for us. He suffered in ways that none of us ever will.
And it is all because He loves us, every one of us. In a world of temptation, distress, and sin, His love should give us a powerful reason to hope!
Besides showing how much God loves us, what makes Jesus’ victory on the cross so important?
Pause and read Hebrews 4:15-16 and Hebrews 7:25
Continue to the next segment of this video: Day 6: Our High Priest
The Great Controversy (Lesson 1)
The War Behind All Wars
Day 6: Our High Priest
Jesus’ victory on the cross gave him the right to intercede for us in heaven. Jesus became our mediator. He is our resurrected Lord and great High Priest. Because he is our Lord, Mediator, and Great High Priest, He provides us everything we need to be saved and live eternally with God in his heavenly Kingdom.
Therefore, we can still have hope in a world filled with temptation, suffering, sickness, diseases, disasters, and death.
This is the point that Hebrews make when it says in Hebrews 4:15-16
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)
And Hebrews 7:25
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). (Split)
Then Hebrews 4:16 offers these encouraging words, saying “Let us therefore come boldly”—that means confidently—“to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Simply put, Jesus saves us with His life and His death. He purchased us with His blood. Therefore, he presents us before the entire universe as clothed in His righteousness, cleansed by His blood.
When we accept Jesus, we are redeemed. Because he is everything we should have been, in Christ, there is no condemnation for the sins of our past. All our past sins are washed away. Jesus removes our guilt and shame.
Through Christ’s mighty intercession, the grip of sin on our lives is broken. The chains of sin that hold us are broken, and we are free. Jesus breaks every chain of sin in our lives. He sets us free. (Split)
Look what Jesus says in his prayer to His Father about us in John 17:24–26.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.
26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:24–26) (Split)
More than anything, Jesus wants to have a relationship with us.
The book The Great Controversy puts it this way saying:
“When the great sacrifice had been consummated, Christ ascended on high, refusing the adoration of angels until He had presented the request: ‘I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.’ John 17:24. Then with inexpressible love and power came forth the answer from the Father’s throne: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’ Hebrews 1:6. Not a stain rested upon Jesus. His humiliation ended, His sacrifice completed, there was given unto Him a name that is above every name.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 501, 502.
More than anything, Jesus wants us to be with Him in heaven. Do you have a special need in your life? Tell Jesus. In times of sorrow, He comforts us. In times of fear, He gives us peace. Where there is guilt, He forgives us. When we feel weak, He strengthens us.
Hear what it says in the Book Ministry of Healing. His hand is outstretched in pitying tenderness to every suffering child. Those who suffer most have most of His sympathy and pity. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and He desires us to lay our perplexities and troubles at His feet and leave them there.
When temptations assail you, when care, perplexity, and darkness seem to surround your soul, look to the place where you last saw the light. Rest in Christ’s love and under His protecting care. When sin struggles for the mastery in the heart, when guilt oppresses the soul and burdens the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, remember that Christ’s grace is sufficient to subdue sin and banish the darkness. Entering into communion with the Saviour, we enter the region of peace.—The Ministry of Healing, pp. 249, 250.
God loves you! He has shown his love by giving up his only begotten son to die in your place so that you can have eternal life. But the choice is yours. Choose Him and live.
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