Chapter 29 : The Origin of Evil

To many minds, the origin of sin and the reason for its existence
are a source of great perplexity. They see the work of evil, with
its terrible results of woe and desolation, and they question how
all this can exist under the sovereignty of One who is infinite in
wisdom, in power, and in love. Here is a mystery, of which they
find no explanation. And in their uncertainty and doubt, they are
blinded to truths plainly revealed in God’s Word, and essential to

salvation. There are those who, in their inquiries concerning the
existence of sin, endeavor to search into that which God has never
revealed; hence they find no solution of their difficulties; and such
as are actuated by a disposition to doubt and cavil, seize upon this
as an excuse for rejecting the words of Holy Writ. Others, however,
fail of a satisfactory understanding of the great problem of evil,
from the fact that tradition and misinterpretation have obscured the
teaching of the Bible concerning the character of God, the nature of
his government, and the principles of his dealing with sin.
It is impossible to so explain the origin of sin as to give a reason
for its existence. Yet enough may be understood concerning both the
origin and the final disposition of sin, to fully make manifest the justice
and benevolence of God in all his dealings with evil. Nothing is

more plainly taught in Scripture than that God was in nowise responsible
for the entrance of sin; that there was no arbitrary withdrawal
of divine grace, no deficiency in the divine government, that gave
occasion for the uprising of rebellion. Sin is an intruder, for whose [493]
presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to
excuse it, is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be
shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin. Our only definition
of sin is that given in the Word of God; it is “the transgression of the
law;” it is the outworking of a principle at war with the great law of
love which is the foundation of the divine government.
Before the entrance of evil, there was peace and joy throughout
the universe. All was in perfect harmony with the Creator’s will.
Love for God was supreme, love for one another impartial. Christ the
Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,—
one in nature, in character, and in purpose,—the only being in all
the universe that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of
God. By Christ, the Father wrought in the creation of all heavenly
beings. “By him were all things created, that are in Heaven, ...
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers;”
[Colossians 1:16.] and to Christ, equally with the Father, all Heaven
gave allegiance.
The law of love being the foundation of the government of God,
the happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect
accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from
all his creatures the service of love,—homage that springs from an
intelligent appreciation of his character. He takes no pleasure in a
forced allegiance, and to all he grants freedom of will, that they may
render him voluntary service.
But there was one that chose to pervert this freedom. Sin originated
with him, who, next to Christ, had been most honored of God,
and who stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of
Heaven. Before his fall, Lucifer was first of the covering cherubs,
holy and undefiled. “Thus saith the Lord God: Thou sealest up the
sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden
[494] the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering.” “Thou
art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou
wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down
in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways
from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
[Ezekiel 28:12-15, 17.]
Lucifer might have remained in favor with God, beloved and
honored by all the angelic host, exercising his noble powers to bless
others and to glorify his Maker. But, says the prophet, “Thine heart
was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom
by reason of thy brightness.” [Ezekiel 28:12-15, 17.] Little by little,
Lucifer came to indulge a desire for self-exaltation. “Thou hast set
thine heart as the heart of God.” “Thou hast said: ... I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation.” “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will
be like the Most High.” [Ezekiel 28:6; Isaiah 14:13, 14.] Instead of

seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of his
creatures, it was Lucifer’s endeavor to win their service and homage
to himself. And, coveting the honor which the infinite Father had
bestowed upon his Son, this prince of angels aspired to power which
it was the prerogative of Christ alone to wield.
All Heaven had rejoiced to reflect the Creator’s glory and to
show forth his praise. And while God was thus honored, all had
been peace and gladness. But a note of discord now marred the
celestial harmonies. The service and exaltation of self, contrary to
the Creator’s plan, awakened forebodings of evil in minds to whom
God’s glory was supreme. 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. Lucifer allowed jealousy [495]
of Christ to prevail, and he became the more determined.
Pride in his own glory nourished the desire for supremacy. The
high honors conferred upon Lucifer were not appreciated as the gift
of God, and called forth no gratitude to the Creator. He gloried in his
brightness and exaltation, and aspired to be equal with God. He was
beloved and reverenced by the heavenly host. Angels delighted to
execute his commands, and he was clothed with wisdom and glory
above them all. Yet the Son of God was the acknowledged sovereign
of Heaven, one in power and authority with the Father. In all the
counsels of God, Christ was a participant, while Lucifer was not
permitted thus to enter into the divine purposes. “Why,” questioned
this mighty angel, “should Christ have the supremacy? Why is he
thus honored above Lucifer?”
Leaving his place in the immediate presence of God, Lucifer
went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. Working
with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealing his real purpose
under an appearance of reverence for God, he endeavored to
excite dissatisfaction concerning the laws that governed heavenly
beings, intimating that they imposed an unnecessary restraint. Since
their natures were holy, he urged that the angels should obey the
dictates of their own will. He sought to create sympathy for himself,

by representing that God had dealt unjustly with him in bestowing
supreme honor upon Christ. He claimed that in aspiring to greater
power and honor he was not aiming at self-exaltation, but was seeking
to secure liberty for all the inhabitants of Heaven, that by this
means they might attain to a higher state of existence.

God, in his great mercy, bore long with Lucifer. He was not
immediately degraded from his exalted station when he first indulged
the spirit of discontent, nor even when he began to present his false
claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in Heaven.
[496] Again and again he was offered pardon, on condition of repentance
and submission. Such efforts as only infinite love and wisdom
could devise, were made to convince him of his error. The spirit of
discontent had never before been known in Heaven. Lucifer himself
did not at first see whither he was drifting; he did not understand the
real nature of his feelings. But as his dissatisfaction was proved to be
without cause, Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong, that
the divine claims were just, and that he ought to acknowledge them

as such before all Heaven. Had he done this, he might have saved
himself and many angels. He had not at this time fully cast off his
allegiance to God. Though he had forsaken his position as covering
cherub, yet if he had been willing to return to God, acknowledging
the Creator’s wisdom, and satisfied to fill the place appointed him
in God’s great plan, he would have been re-instated in his office.
But pride forbade him to submit. He persistently defended his own
course, maintained that he had no need of repentance, and fully
committed himself, in the great controversy, against his Maker.
All the powers of his master-mind were now bent to the work of
deception, to secure the sympathy of the angels that had been under
his command. Even the fact that Christ had warned and counseled

him, was perverted to serve his traitorous designs. To those whose
loving trust bound them most closely to him, Satan had represented
that he was wrongly judged, that his position was not respected, and
that his liberty was to be abridged. From misrepresentation of the
words of Christ, he passed to prevarication and direct falsehood,
accusing the Son of God of a design to humiliate him before the
inhabitants of Heaven. He sought also to make a false issue between
himself and the loyal angels. All whom he could not subvert and
bring fully to his side, he accused of indifference to the interests

of heavenly beings. The very work which he himself was doing,
he charged upon those who remained true to God. And to sustain
his charge of God’s injustice toward him, he resorted to misrepre- [497]
sentation of the words and acts of the Creator. It was his policy to
perplex the angels with subtle arguments concerning the purposes
of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded in mystery, and by
artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest statements of Jehovah.
His high position, in such close connection with the divine administration,
gave greater force to his representations, and many were
induced to unite with him in rebellion against Heaven’s authority.

God in his wisdom permitted Satan to carry forward his work,
until the spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt. It was
necessary for his plans to be fully developed, that their true nature
and tendency might be seen by all. Lucifer, as the anointed cherub,
had been highly exalted; he was greatly loved by the heavenly beings,
and his influence over them was strong. God’s government included
not only the inhabitants of Heaven, but of all the worlds that he had
created; and Satan thought that if he could carry the angels of Heaven
with him in rebellion, he could carry also the other worlds. He had
artfully presented his side of the question, employing sophistry and
fraud to secure his objects. His power to deceive was very great,
and by disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood he had gained
an advantage. Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his
character, or see to what his work was leading.

Satan had been so highly honored, and all his acts were so
clothed with mystery, that it was difficult to disclose to the angels
the true nature of his work. Until fully developed, sin would not
appear the evil thing it was. Heretofore it had had no place in the
universe of God, and holy beings had no conception of its nature
and malignity. They could not discern the terrible consequences
that would result from setting aside the divine law. Satan had, at
first, concealed his work under a specious profession of loyalty to
God. He claimed to be seeking to promote the honor of God, the
stability of his government, and the good of all the inhabitants of [498]
Heaven. While instilling discontent into the minds of the angels
under him, he had artfully made it appear that he was seeking to
remove dissatisfaction. When he urged that changes be made in the


order and laws of God’s government, it was under the pretense that
these were necessary in order to preserve harmony in Heaven.
In his dealing with sin, God could employ only righteousness
and truth. Satan could use what God could not—flattery and deceit.
He had sought to falsify the word of God, and had misrepresented
his plan of government before the angels, claiming that God was

not just in laying laws and rules upon the inhabitants of Heaven;
that in requiring submission and obedience from his creatures, he
was seeking merely the exaltation of himself. Therefore it must be
demonstrated before the inhabitants of Heaven as well as of all the
worlds, that God’s government was just, his law perfect. Satan had
made it appear that he himself was seeking to promote the good of
the universe. The true character of the usurper, and his real object,
must be understood by all. He must have time to manifest himself
by his wicked works.
The discord which his own course had caused in Heaven, Satan
charged upon the law and government of God. All evil he declared
to be the result of the divine administration. He claimed that it was
his own object to improve upon the statutes of Jehovah. Therefore it
was necessary that he should demonstrate the nature of his claims,
and show the working out of his proposed changes in the divine
law. His own work must condemn him. Satan had claimed from the
first that he was not in rebellion. The whole universe must see the
deceiver unmasked.
Even when it was decided that he could no longer remain in
Heaven, infinite wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since the service of
love can alone be acceptable to God, the allegiance of his creatures
must rest upon a conviction of his justice and benevolence. The
inhabitants of Heaven and of other worlds, being unprepared to

[499] comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have
seen the justice and mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had
he been immediately blotted from existence, they would have served
God from fear, rather than from love. The influence of the deceiver
would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion
have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to
maturity. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages,
Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against
the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created
beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of
his law might forever be placed beyond all question.
Satan’s rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through
all coming ages, a perpetual testimony to the nature and terrible
results of sin. The working out of Satan’s rule, its effects upon
both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting
aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of
God’s government and his law is bound up the well-being of all the
creatures he has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of
rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy intelligences, to
prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression,
to save them from committing sin, and suffering its punishment.
To the very close of the controversy in Heaven, the great usurper
continued to justify himself. When it was announced that with all
his sympathizers he must be expelled from the abodes of bliss, then
the rebel leader boldly avowed his contempt for the Creator’s law.
He reiterated his claim that angels needed no control, but should be
left to follow their own will, which would ever guide them right. He
denounced the divine statutes as a restriction of their liberty, and
declared that it was his purpose to secure the abolition of law; that,
freed from this restraint, the hosts of Heaven might enter upon a
more exalted, more glorious state of existence.
With one accord, Satan and his host threw the blame of their [500]
rebellion wholly upon Christ, declaring that if they had not been
reproved, they would never have rebelled. Thus stubborn and defiant
in their disloyalty, seeking vainly to overthrow the government of
God, yet blasphemously claiming to be themselves the innocent
victims of oppressive power, the arch-rebel and all his sympathizers
were at last banished from Heaven.
The same spirit that prompted rebellion in Heaven, still inspires
rebellion on earth. Satan has continued with men the same policy
which he pursued with the angels. His spirit now reigns in the
children of disobedience. Like him they seek to break down the
restraints of the law of God, and promise men liberty through transgression
of its precepts. Reproof of sin still arouses the spirit of
hatred and resistance. When God’s messages of warning are brought
home to the conscience, Satan leads men to justify themselves, and
to seek the sympathy of others in their course of sin. Instead of

correcting their errors, they excite indignation against the reprover,
as if he were the sole cause of difficulty. From the days of righteous
Abel to our own time, such is the spirit which has been displayed
toward those who dare to condemn sin.
By the same misrepresentation of the character of God as he
had practiced in Heaven, causing him to be regarded as severe and
tyrannical, Satan induced man to sin. And having succeeded thus
far, he declared that God’s unjust restrictions had led to man’s fall,
as they had led to his own rebellion.
But the Eternal One himself proclaims his character: “The Lord
God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness
and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.”
[Exodus 34:6, 7.]
In the banishment of Satan from Heaven, God declared his jus-
[501] tice, 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 nowise chargeable upon the government of God.
In the contest between Christ and Satan, during the Saviour’s
earthly ministry, the character of the great deceiver was unmasked.
Nothing could so effectually have uprooted Satan from the affections
of the heavenly angels and the whole loyal universe as did his cruel
warfare upon the world’s Redeemer. The daring blasphemy of his
demand that Christ should pay him homage, his presumptuous boldness
in bearing him to the mountain summit and the pinnacle of the
temple, the malicious intent betrayed in urging him to cast himself
down from the dizzy height, the unsleeping malice that hunted him
from place to place, inspiring the hearts of priests and people to reject
his love, and at the last to cry, “Crucify him! crucify him!”—all
this excited the amazement and indignation of the universe.
It was Satan that prompted the world’s rejection of Christ. The
prince of evil exerted all his power and cunning to destroy Jesus;
for he saw that the Saviour’s mercy and love, his compassion and
pitying tenderness, were representing to the world the character of

God. Satan contested every claim put forth by the Son of God, and
employed men as his agents to fill the Saviour’s life with suffering
and sorrow. The sophistry and falsehood by which he had sought to
hinder the work of Jesus, the hatred manifested through the children
of disobedience, his cruel accusations against Him whose life was
one of unexampled goodness, all sprung from deep-seated revenge.
The pent-up fires of envy and malice, hatred and revenge, burst forth
on Calvary against the Son of God, while all Heaven gazed upon the
scene in silent horror.
When the great sacrifice had been consummated, Christ ascended [502]
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.
Now the guilt of Satan stood forth without excuse. He had
revealed his true character as a liar and a murderer. It was seen
that the very same spirit with which he ruled the children of men,
who were under his power, he would have manifested had he been
permitted to control the inhabitants of Heaven. He had claimed that
the transgression of God’s law would bring liberty and exaltation;
but it was seen to result in bondage and degradation.
Satan’s lying charges against the divine character and government
appeared in their true light. He had accused God of seeking
merely the exaltation of himself in requiring submission and obedience
from his creatures, and had declared that while the Creator
exacted self-denial from all others, he himself practiced no self-denial,
made no sacrifice. Now it was seen that for the salvation of a
fallen and sinful race, the Ruler of the universe had made the greatest
sacrifice which love could make; for “God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself.” [2 Corinthians 5:19.] It was seen, also, that
while Lucifer had opened the door for the entrance of sin, by his
desire for honor and supremacy, Christ had, in order to destroy sin,
humbled himself, and become obedient unto death.
God had manifested his abhorrence of the principles of rebellion.
All Heaven saw his justice revealed, both in the condemnation of

Satan and in the redemption of man. Lucifer had declared that if the
[503] law of God was changeless, and its penalty could not be remitted,
every transgressor must be forever debarred from the Creator’s favor.
He had claimed that the sinful race were placed beyond redemption,
and were therefore his rightful prey. But the death of Christ was an
argument in man’s behalf that could not be overthrown. The penalty
of the law fell upon him who was equal with God, and man was free
to accept the righteousness of Christ, and by a life of penitence and
humiliation to triumph, as the Son of God had triumphed, over the
power of Satan. Thus God is just, and yet the justifier of all who
believe in Jesus.
But it was not merely to accomplish the redemption of man that
Christ came to the earth to suffer and to die. He came to “magnify
the law” and to “make it honorable.” Not alone that the inhabitants
of this world might regard the law as it should be regarded; but it

was to demonstrate to all the worlds of the universe that God’s law is
unchangeable. Could its claims have been set aside, then the Son of
God need not have yielded up his life to atone for its transgression.
The death of Christ proves it immutable. And the sacrifice to which
infinite love impelled the Father and the Son, that sinners might be
redeemed, demonstrates to all the universe—what nothing less than
this plan of atonement could have sufficed to do—that justice and
mercy are the foundation of the law and government of God.
In the final execution of the Judgment it will be seen that no
cause for sin exists. When the Judge of all the earth shall demand
of Satan, “Why hast thou rebelled against me, and robbed me of
the subjects of my kingdom?” the originator of evil can render no
excuse. Every mouth will be stopped, and all the hosts of rebellion
will be speechless.
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
[504] 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.] Lucifer’s desire for self-exaltation had led
him to say, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.... I will

be like the Most High.” God declares, “I will bring thee to ashes
upon the earth, ... and never shalt thou be any more.” [Isaiah 14:13,
14; Ezekiel 28:18, 19.] When “the day cometh that shall burn as an
oven,” “all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble;
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts,
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” [Malachi 4:1.]
The whole universe will have become witnesses to the nature and
results of sin. And its utter extermination, which in the beginning
would have brought fear to angels and dishonor to God, will now
vindicate his love and establish his honor before a universe of beings
who delight to do his will, and in whose heart is his law. Never will
evil again be manifest. Says the Word of God, “Affliction shall not
rise up the second time.” [Nahum 1:9.] The law of God, which Satan
has reproached as the yoke of bondage, will be honored as the law
of liberty. A tested and proved creation will never again be turned
from allegiance to Him whose character has been fully manifested
before them as fathomless love and infinite wisdom.
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