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29 - The Origin of Evil - The Great Controversy · Sacred Texts Archive

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Chapter twenty nine, The Origin of evil. To many minds, the origin
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of sin and the reason for its existence are a source of great perplexity.
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They see the work of evil, with its terrible results of woe and desolation,
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and they question how all this can exist under the sovereignty of one who
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is infinite in wisdom, in power, and in love. Here is a
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mystery of which they find no explanation, and in their uncertainty and doubt they
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are blinded to truths plainly revealed in God's word and essential to salvation. There
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are those who, in their inquiries concerning the existence of sin, endeavor to
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search into that which God has never revealed. Hence they find no solution of
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their difficulties, and such as are actuated by a disposition to doubt. And
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Cavil sees upon this as an excuse for rejecting the words of holy writ.
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Others, however, fail of a satisfactory understanding of the great problem of evil.
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From the fact that tradition and misinterpretation have obscured the teaching of the Bible
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concerning the character of God, the nature of his government, and the principles
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of his dealing with sin, it is impossible to explain the origin of sin,
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so as to give a reason for its existence. Yet enough may be
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understood concerning both the origin and the final disposition of sin, to make fully
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manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all his dealings with evil. Nothing
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is more plainly taught in scripture than that God was in no wise responsible for
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the entrance of sin, that there was no arbitrary withdrawal of divine grace,
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no deficiency in the divine government that gave occasion for the uprising of rebellion.
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Sin is an intruder for whose presence no reason can be given. It is
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mysterious, unaccountable to excuse it as to defend it. Could excuse for it
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be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to
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be sin. Our only definition of sin is that given in the Word of
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God. It is the transgression of the law. It is the outworking of
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a principle at war with the great law of Love, which is the foundation
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of the divine government. Before the entrance of evil, there was peace and
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joy throughout the universe. All was in perfect harmony with the Creator's will.
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Love for God was supreme love for one another. Impartial Christ, the Word,
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the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father, one
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in nature, in character, and in purpose, the only being in all
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the universe that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. By
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Christ, the Father wrought in the creation of all heavenly beings. By him
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were all things created that are in heaven, whether they be thrones or dominions,
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or principalities or powers. And to Christ, equally with the Father,
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all Heaven gave allegiance, the law of Love being the foundation of the government
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of God. The happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect accord with
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its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all his creatures the service of
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love, homage that springs from an intelligent appreciation of his character. He takes
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no pleasure in a forced allegiance, and to all he grants freedom of will,
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that they may render him voluntary service. But there was one that chose
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to pervert this freedom. Sin originated with him, who, next to Christ,
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had been most honored of God, and who stood highest in power and
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glory among the inhabitants of heaven before his fall. Lucifer was first of the
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covering cherips holy and undefiled. Thus saith the Lord God, thou sealest up
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the sun, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in
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Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering. Thou
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art the anointed cherup that coverth and I have set thee so thoust upon the
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holy mountain of God. Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of
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the stones of fire. Thou hast perfect in thy ways from the day that
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thou hast created till iniquity was found in me. Lucifer might have remained in
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favor with God, beloved and honored by all the angelic hoast, exercising his
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noble powers to bless others and to glorify his maker. But says the prophet,
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thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty. Thou hast corrupted thy
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wisdom by reason of thy brightness. Little by little Lucifer came to indulge a
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desire for self exaltation. Thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God.
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Thou hast said, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.
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I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, I will ascend
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above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most High.
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Instead of seeking to make God's supreme in the affections and allegiance of his creatures,
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it was Lucifer's endeavor to win their service and homage to himself. And
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coveting the honor which the infinite Father had bestowed upon his son, this prince
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of angels aspired to power which it was the prerogative of Christ alone to wield.
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All heaven had rejoiced to reflect the Creator's glory and to show forth his
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praise. And while God was thus honored, all had been peace and gladness.
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But a note of discord now marred the celestial harmonies. The service and
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exultation of Self, contrary to the Creator's plan, awakened forebodings of evil and
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minds, to whom God's glory was supreme. The heavenly counsels pleaded with Lucifer,
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the son of God, presented before him the greatness, the goodness,
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and the justice of the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of his
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law. God himself had established the order of heaven, and in departing from
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it, Lucifer would dishonor his maker and bring ruin upon himself. But the
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warning given in infinite love and mercy only aroused a spirit of resistance. Lucifer
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allowed jealousy of Christ to prevail, and he became the more determined pride in
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his own glory nourished the desire for supremacy. The high honors conferred upon Lucifer
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were not appreciated as a gift of God, and called forth no gratitude to
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the Creator. He gloried in his brightness and exultation, and aspired to be
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equal with God. He was beloved and reverenced by the heavenly host angels,
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delighted to execute his commands, and he was clothed with wisdom and glory above
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them all. Yet the Son of God was the acknowledged sovereign of Heaven,
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one in power and authority with the Father. In all the counsels of God,
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Christ was a participant, while Lucifer was not permitted thus to enter into
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the divine purposes. Why question the mighty Angel, should Christ have the supremacy?
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Why is he thus honored about Lucifer leaving his place in the immediate presence
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of God Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels,
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working with mysterious secrecy and for a time concealing his real purpose. Under an
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appearance of reverence for God, he endeavored to excite dissatisfaction concerning the laws that
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governed heavenly beings, intimating that they imposed an unnecessary restraint since their natures were
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holy, He urged that the angels should obey the dictates of their own will.
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He sought to create sympathy for himself by representing that God had dealt unjustly
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with him in bestowing supreme honor upon Christ. He claimed that in aspiring to
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greater power and honor, he was not aiming at self exaltation, but was
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seeking to secure liberty for all the inhabitants of heaven, that by this means
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they might attain to a higher state of existence. God, in his great
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mercy, bore long with Lucifer. He was not immediately degraded from his exalted
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station when he first indulged the spirit of discontent, nor even when he began
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to present his false claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in
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heaven. Again and again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and submission.
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Such efforts as only infinite love and wisdom could devise, were made to
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convince him of his error. The spirit of discontent had never before been known
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in heaven. Lucifer himself did not at first see whether he was drifting.
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He did not understand the real nature of his feelings. But as his dissatisfaction
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was proved to be without cause, Lucifer was convinced that he was in the
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wrong, that the divine claims were just, and that he ought to acknowledge
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them as such before all heaven. Had he done this, he might have
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saved himself in many angels. He had not at this time thought cast off
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his allegiance to God, though he had forsaken his position as covering Cherub.
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Yet, if he had been willing to return to God, acknowledging the creator's
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wisdom and satisfied to fill the place appointed him in God's great plan, he
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would have been reinstated in his office. But pride forbade him to submit.
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He persistently defended his own course, maintained that he had no need of repentance,
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and fully committed himself in the Great controversy against his maker. All the
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powers of his master mind were now bent to the work of deception to secure
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the sympathy of the angels that had been under his command. Even the fact
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that Christ had warned and counseled him was perverted to serve as traitorous designs to
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those whose loving trust bound them most closely to him. Satan had represented that
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he was wrongly judged, that his position was not respected, and that his
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liberty was to be abridged. From misrepresentation of the words of Christ. He
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passed to prevarication and direct falsehood, accusing the son of God of a design
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to humiliate him before the inhabitants of heaven. He sought also to make a
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false issue between himself and the loyal angels, all whom he could not subvert
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and bring fully to his side. He accused of indifference to the interests of
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heavenly beings. The very work which he himself was doing. He charged upon
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those who remained true to God, and to sustain his charge of God's injustice
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toward him, he resorted to misrepresentation of the words and acts of the Creator.
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It was his policy to perplex the angels with subtle arguments concerning the purposes
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of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded in mystery, and by artful
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perversion, cast doubt upon the plainest statements of Jehovah. His high position in
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such close connection with the divine administration gave greater force to his representations, and
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many were induced to unite with him in rebellion against Heaven's authority. God and
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his wisdom permitted Satan to carry forward his work until the spirit of disaffection ripened
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into active revolt. It was necessary for his plans to be fully developed that
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their true nature and tendency might be seen by all lucifer As the anointed Cherub
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had been highly exalted. He was greatly loved by the heavenly beings, and
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his influence over them was strong. God's government included not only the inhabitants of
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Heaven, but of all the worlds that he had created, and Satan thought
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that if he could carry the angels of Heaven with him in rebellion, he
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could carry also the other worlds. He had artfully presented his side of the
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question, employing sophistry and fraud to secure his objects. His power to deceive
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was very great, and by disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood, he
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had gained an advantage. Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his character
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or see to what his work was leading. Satan had been so highly honored,
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and all his acts were so clothed with mystery, that it was difficult
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to disclose to the angels the true nature of his work. Until fully developed,
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Sin would not appear the evil thing it was Heretofore it had had no
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place in the universe of God, and holy beings had no conception of its
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nature and malignity. They could not discern the terrible consequences it would result from
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setting aside the divine law. Satan had at first concealed his work under a
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specious profession of loyalty to God. He claimed to be seeking to promote the
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honor of God, the stability of his government, and the good of all
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the inhabitants of heaven, while instilling discontent into the minds of the angels under
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him. He had artfully made it a peer that he was seeking to remove
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dissatisfaction. When he urged that changes be made in the order and laws of
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God's government, it was under the pretense that these were necessary in order to
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presume of harmony in heaven. In his dealing with sin, God could employ
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only righteousness and truth. Satan could use what God could not, flattery and
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deceit. He had sought to falsify the word of God and had misrepresented his
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plan of government before the angels, claiming that God was not just in laying
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laws and rules upon the inhabitants of heaven, that in requiring submission and obedience
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from his creatures, he was seeking merely the exaltation of himself. Therefore,
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it must be demonstrated before the inhabitants of Heaven, as well as of all
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the worlds, that God's government was just his law perfect. Satan had made
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it a peer that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the universe.
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The true character of the usurper and his real object must be understood by
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all. He must have time to manifest himself by his wicked works the discord
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which his own course had caused in heaven. Satan charged upon the lawlaw,
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and government of God. All evil he declared to be the result of the
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divine administration. He claimed that it was his own object to improve upon the
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statutes of Jehovah. Therefore, it was necessary that he should demonstrate the nature
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of his claims and show the working out of his proposed changes in the divine
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law. His own work must condemn him. Satan had claimed from the first
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that he was not in rebellion. The whole universe must see the deceiver unmasked.
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Even when it was decided that he could no longer remain in heaven,
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infinite wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since the service of love can alone be
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acceptable to God, the allegiance of his creatures must rest upon a conviction of
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His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of other worlds, being
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unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen
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the justice and mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been
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immediately blotted from existence, they would have served God from fear rather than from
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love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor
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would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to
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come to maturity for the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages, Satan
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must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might
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be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and
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mercy of God and the immutability of his law might forever be placed beyond all
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question. Satan's rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming
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ages, a perpetual testimony to the nature and terrible results of sin. The
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working out of Satan's rule, its effects upon both men and angels would show
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what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify
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that with the existence of God's government in his law is bound up the well
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being of all the creatures he has made. Thus, the history of this
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terrible experiment of rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy intelligences,
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to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression, to save
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them from committing sin and suffering its punishment. To the very close of the
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controversy in Heaven, the great Usurper continued to justify himself when it was announced
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that, with all his sympathizers, he must be expelled from the abodes of
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bliss. Then, the rebel leader boldly avowed his contempt for the Creator's law.
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He reiterated his claim that angels needed no control, but should be left
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to follow their own will, which would ever guide them right. He denounced
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the divine statutes as a restriction of their liberty, and declared that it was
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his purpose to secure the abolition of law, that, freed from this restraint,
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the hosts of heaven might enter upon a more exalted, more glorious state
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of existence. With one accord, Satan and his host threw the blame of
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their rebellion wholly of upon Christ, declaring that if they had not been reproved,
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they would never have rebelled. Thus, stubborn and defiant in their disloyalty,
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seeking vainly to overthrow the government of God, yet blasphemously claiming to be
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themselves the innocent victims of oppressive power, the ark Reuble and all his sympathizers
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were at last banished from heaven. The same spirit that prompted rebellion in heaven
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still inspires rebellion on earth. Satan has continued with men the same policy which
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he pursued with the angels. His spirit now reigns in the children of disobedience.
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Like him, they seek to break down the restraints of the law of
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God and promise men liberty through transgression of its precepts. Reproof of sin still
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arouses the spirit of hatred and resistance. When God's messages of warning are brought
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home to the conscience. Satan leads men to justify themselves and to seek the
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sympathy of others in their course of sin. Instead of correcting their errors,
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they excite indignation against the reprover, as if he were the sole cause of
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difficulty from the days of righteous able to our own time, such as the
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spirit which has been displayed toward those who dare to condemn sin by the same
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misrepresentation of the character of God as he had practiced in heaven, causing him
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to be regarded as severe and tyrannical. Satan induced man to sin, and
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having succeeded thus far, he declared that God's unjust restrictions had led to man's
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fall, as they had led to his own rebellion. But the Eternal One
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himself proclaims his character the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering,
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and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
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transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty. In
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the banishment of Satan from heaven, God declared his justice and maintained the honour
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of his throne. But when man had sinned, and through yielding to the
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deceptions of this apostate spirit, God gave an evidence of his love by yielding
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up his only begotten son to die for the fallen race. In the Atonement,
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the character of God is revealed. The mighty argument of the Cross demonstrates
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to the whole universe that the course of sin which Lucifer had chosen was in
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no wise chargeable upon the government of God. In the contest between Christ and
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Satan during the Saviour's earthly ministry, the character of the great deceiver was unmasked.
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Nothing could so effectually have uprooted Satan from the affections of the heavenly angels
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and the whole loyal universe as did his cruel warfare upon the world's redeemer,
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the daring blasphemy of his demand that Christ should pay him homage, his presumptuous
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boldness in bearing him to the mountain, summit, and the pinnacle of the
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temple. The malicious intent betrayed in urging him to cast himself down from the
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dizzy height, the unsleeping malice that hunted him from place to place, inspiring
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the hearts of priests and people to reject his love, and at the last
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to cry crucify him, crucify him. All this excited the amazement and indignation
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of the universe. It was Satan that prompted the world's rejection of Christ.
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The prince of evil exerted all his power and cunning to destroy Jesus, for
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he saw that the Saviour's mercy and love, his compassion and pitying tenderness,
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were representing to the world the character of God. Satan contested every claim put
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forth by the Son of God, and employed men as his agents to fill
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the Saviour's life with suffering and sorrow. The sophistry and falsehood by which he
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had sought to hinder the work of Jesus. The hatred manifested through the children
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of disobedience, his cruel accusations against him, whose life was one of unexampled
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goodness, All sprung from deep seated revenge. The pent up fires of envy
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and malice, hatred and revenge burst forth on Cavy against the son of God,
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while all heaven gazed upon the scene in silent horror. When the great
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sacrifice had been consummated, Christ ascended on high, refusing the adoration of angels
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until he had presented the request, I will that they also whom thou hast
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given me be with me where I am. Then, with inexpressible love and
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power, came forth the answer from the Father's throne. Let all the angels
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of God worship him. Not a stain rested upon Jesus. His humiliation ended,
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his sacrifice completed, there was given unto him a name that is above
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every name. Now the guilt of Satan stood forth without excuse. He had
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revealed his true character as a liar and a murderer. It was seen that
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the very same spirit with which he ruled the children of men who were under
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his power, he would have manifested had he been permitted to control the inhabitants
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of heaven. He had claimed that the transgression of God's law would bring thee
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liberty and exaltation, but it was seen to result in bondage and degradation.
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Satan's lying charges against the divine character and government appeared in their true light.
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He had accused God of seeking merely the exaltation of himself in requiring submission and
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obedience from his creatures, and had declared that while the Creator exacted self denial
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from all others, he himself practiced no self denial and made no sacrifice.
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Now it was seen that for the salvation of a fallen and sinful race,
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the ruler of the universe, had made the greatest sacrifice which love could make,
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for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. It was
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seen also that while Lucifer had opened the door for the entrance of sin by
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his desire for honor and supremacy, Christ had, in order to destroy sin,
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humbled himself and become obedient unto death. God had manifested his abhorrence of
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the principles of rebellion. All heaven saw his justice revealed both in the condemnation
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of Satan and in the redemption of man. Lucifer had declared that if the
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law of God was changeless and its penalty could not be remitted, every transgressor
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must be forever debarred. From the Creator's favor. He had claimed that the
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sinful race were placed beyond redemption and were therefore his rightful pray. But the
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death of Christ was an argument in man's behalf that could not be overthrown.
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The penalty of the law fell upon him who was equal with God, and
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man was free to accept the righteousness of Christ, and by a life of
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penitence and humiliation, to triumph as the son of God had triumphed over the
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power of Satan. Thus God is just and yet the justifier of all who
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believe in Jesus. But it was not merely to accomplish the redemption of man
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that Christ came to the earth to suffer and to die. He came to
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magnify the law and to make it honorable. Not alone that the inhabitants of
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this world might regard the law as it should be regarded, but it was
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to demonstrate to all the worlds of the universe that God's Law is unchangeable.
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Could its claims have been set aside, then the son of God need not
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have yielded up his life to atone for its transgression. The death of Christ
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proves it immutable, and the sacrifice to which infinite love impelled the Father and
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the Son that sinners might be redeemed. Demonstrates to all the universe what nothing
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less than this plan of atonement could have sufficed to do. That justice and
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mercy are the foundation of the law and government of God. In the final
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execution of the judgment, it will be seen that no cause for sin exists.
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When the judge of all the earth shall demand of Satan, why hast
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thou rebelled against me and robbed me of the subjects of my kingdom, The
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originator of evil can render no excuse. Every mouth will be stopped, and
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all the hosts of rebellion will be speechless. The Cross of Calvary, while
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it declares the law immutable, proclaims to the universe that the wages of sin
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is death. In the Saviour's expiring cry, it is finished. The death
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knell of Satan was wrung. The great controversy, which had been so long
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in progress, was then decided, and the final eradication of evil was made
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certain. The Son of God passed through the portals of the tomb, that
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through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is
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the devil Lucifer's desire for self exaltation had led him to say, I will
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exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will be like the most
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high God declares, I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, And
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never shalt thou be any more. When the day cometh that shall burn is
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an oven. All the proud yea and all that do wickedly shall be stubble,
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And the day that cometh shall burn them up. Saith the Lord of
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Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. The whole universe
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will have become witnesses to the nature and results of sin and its utter extermination,
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which in the beginning would have brought fear to angels and dishonor to God,
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will now vindicate his love and establish his honor before the universe of beings
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who delight to do his will and in whose heart is his law. Never
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will evil again be manifest, says the Word of God. Affliction shall not
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rise up the second time. The law of God, which Satan has reproached
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as the yoke of bondage, will be honored as the law of liberty.
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A tested and proved creation will never again be turned from allegiance to him whose
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character has been fully manifested before them as fathomless love and infinite wisdom. End
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of Chapter twenty nine,