The Great Controversy

GREAT CONTROVERSY

Compiled by Y. Guirguis

Solusi University B A Theology, M A.

KEY TEXT: "⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against

the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, ⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him "(Revelation 12:7 – 9).ⁱ

KEY THOUGH:

A great universal controversy rages between Christ and Satan over the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty in the universe. This conflict originated in heaven with Lucifer who became Satan, God's adversary. He introduced the spirit of rebellion into heaven and, later, into this world when he led Adam and Eve to sin. This world became the theater of the universal conflict, the drama of sin and Salvation.ⁱⁱ

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? Why do rosebuds exist side by side with thorns? Why do animals kill and eat one another? Why do people in some parts of the world have too much food while people in other parts are starving? Why does an innocent child die in an automobile accident while the guilty, drunken driver escapes unharmed? Such questions have been asked in a variety of forms every since sin began. Philosophers have offered a variety of answers. Atheists, who hold that all forms of life stated by change, suggest that good and evil are in a kind of "survival of the fittest" competition. Others have suggested that at least two gods govern the world; one is good, the other evil. But such answers are inadequate. The question of why our world is blighted with evil basically revolves around the question of our acceptance of the world view outlined in the Scriptures.ⁱⁱⁱ

I. WHERE SIN BEGAN.

According to the Holy Scriptures, many thousands of years ago, before this world was created, evil originated mysteriously in the heart of Lucifer^iv, the most exalted of the angels in heaven. The fault was not God's, for Lucifer was created perfect. (Cf Eze. 28:15).

Why was Lucifer dissatisfied with his status? (Cf Isa.14:12 – 14).

Lucifer permitted envious thoughts to control him. He should have recognized that as a created being he had no light to the respect and worship accorded deity. But he did not. Instead he harbored evil thoughts, even confiding them to his angel companions. He asked questions designed to sow seeds of dissatisfaction. "Don’t' you think that heaven is too tightly structured? Why do holy beings need laws? I don't think God loves us as He claims. He gets satisfaction out of issuing commands. He is unjust and unfair"

These kinds of suggestion continued until one third of the angels were committed to Lucifer. Misled by his siren song, they felt that he could set up a government superior to God's. With infinite patience God attempted to explain His actions --- to persuade Lucifer and his sympathizers to abandon the disastrous course they were following. He attempted to make clear that heaven's laws, grounded in love, were essential to happiness. But Lucifer and his fellow revels refused to accept God's explanations or to respond to His entreaties.

God did not at once destroy Lucifer and is followers. He gave them time and opportunity to show whether their charges against his character and law were justified.

What strange event then took place in heaven? What happened to Lucifer (now called Satan) and the angels who took his side? (Cf. Rev. 12:7 – 9).

Sin cannot be explained, but its roots can be traced to the pride that filled Lucifer's heart (cf Eze. 28:17). Lucifer desired to be like God (cf Isa. 14:12 – 14), but only wanted the power and status of God. He did not want to be like God in Character.

Satan was not forced to come to this earth when he was "cast out" of heaven. But, because he had been excluded from the counsel that discussed the creation of this world, he did everything possible to cause Adam and Eve to rebel.

Do I want to be like God? In what way and why?

II. THE COSMIC CONFLICT EXTENDED TO EARTH.

On earth, following's Satan's rebellion in heaven (see Ellen G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 19). Go created the first pair, Adam and Eve, placing them in the Garden of Eden.

What simple test of character did God setup through which Adam and Eve could demonstrate their loyalty to Him? (Cf. Gen. 2:16 – 17).

God warned the pair that disobedience would bring death. Satan saw this as an opportunity to tempt the first humans to eat the forbidden fruit and join him in rebellion. Tragically and incredibly, Adam and Eve yielded to Satan's temptation. In mercy, God spared their lives in order that they might have opportunity to repent, but the penalty for breaking God's law had to be met. Thus, Christ offered to come to this earth and dies, taking the place of sinners.

What happy ending did God promise to the continuing conflict between good and evil? (Cf. Gen. 3:15).

1. 15. I will put enmity. Here the Lord turns from addressing the literal serpent who spoke to Eve, to pronounce judgment on the old serpent the devil. This judgment, expressed in prophetic language, has ever been understood by the Christian church as a prediction of the coming of the Deliverer. Even though this interpretation is unquestionably correct, it may be pointed out that the prophecy is also true literally—there is mortal enmity between the serpent and man wherever the two meet.^v

2. Between thy seed and her seed. Reference is made to the agelong struggle between Satan’s “seed” or followers (John 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 John 3:10) and the woman’s seed. The Lord Jesus Christ is styled by pre-eminence “the seed” (Rev. 12:1–5; cf.^vi Gal. 3:16, 19); it was He who came “to destroy the works of the devil” (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8).

3. It shall bruise thy head. “Bruise,” shuph. This word means “to crush” or “to lie in wait for.” It is evident that crushing the head is far more serious than crushing the heel. It is important to notice that although the enmity foretold is to be between the seed of the woman and that of the serpent, it is the head of the serpent and not its seed that is to be crushed. In retaliation, the serpent will have been able to do no more than to bruise the heel of the woman’s seed.

The “seed” is put in the singular, indicating, not that a multitude of descendants of the woman jointly shall be engaged in crushing the serpent’s head, but rather that a single individual will accomplish this. These observations clearly show that in this pronouncement is compressed the record of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, a battle that began in heaven (Rev. 12:7–9), was continued on earth, where Christ again defeated him (Heb. 2:14), and will terminate finally with Satan’s destruction at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20:10). Christ did not emerge from this battle unscathed. The nail marks in His hands and feet and the scar in His side will be eternal reminders of the fierce strife in which the serpent bruised the woman’s seed (John 20:25; Zech. 13:6; EW 53).

This pronouncement must have brought great comfort to the two dismayed offenders standing before God, from whose precepts they had departed. Adam, viceroy of God on earth so long as he remained loyal, had, by transferring his loyalty from God to the serpent, ceded his authority to Satan. That Satan was fully aware of his usurped “rights” over this earth, gained by Adam’s submission, is clear from his statement to Christ on the mount of temptation (Luke 4:5, 6). Adam began to realize the extent of his loss, that from ruler over this world he had become a slave of Satan. Nevertheless, before hearing his own sentence pronounced, the healing balm of hope was applied to his shattered soul. To her whom he had blamed for his fall he was now to look for deliverance—for the promised seed, in whom would be power to vanquish the archenemy of God and man.^vii

How kind was God! Divine justice required that sin should meet its penalty, but divine mercy had already found a way to redeem the fallen human race—by the voluntary sacrifice of the Son of God (cf 1 Peter 1:20; Eph. 3:11; 2 Tim. 1:9; Rev. 13:8). God instituted the ritual of sacrifice by way of providing man with a visual aid, that he might be led to understand something of the price that must be paid to make atonement for his sin. The innocent lamb had to give its lifeblood for that of man, and its skin to cover the sinner’s nakedness, in order that man might thus ever be symbolically reminded of the Son of God, who would have to lay down His life to atone for man’s transgression and whose righteousness alone would be sufficient to cover him. We do not know how clear Adam’s understanding of the plan of redemption was, but we can be certain that enough was revealed to be an assurance to him that sin would not last forever, that the Redeemer would be born of the woman’s seed, that the lost rulership would be regained, and that the happiness of Eden would be restored. From first to last the gospel of salvation is the central theme of the Scriptures.

As time passed, the effects of sin became more and more evident, not only in the human race but in all of nature. The principles advocated by Satan, at first but dimly seen as dangerous, bore a harvest of evil fruit. Nineteen centuries ago, when Stan inspired human beings to murder Jesus, the beings in other worlds saw clearly that God was right and Satan was wrong. The inhabitants of heaven and the unfallen worlds saw that God is love and that His law is just and necessary. But to give the inhabitants of our world ample opportunity to understand the issues in the great controversy between Christ and Satan and to choose whose side they wanted to join, God permitted the sin drama to continue.

Today the drama is nearing its close. With great urgency the Holy Spirit and the angels of heaven are seeking to help people choose God's side – even to put loyalty to God, righteousness, and truth above life itself. The Bible makes it clear that the ultimate outcome will be complete victory fro God and the vindication of His character and law. Until that day of victory, good and evil will continue side by side. Today supernatural forces are continuing the deadly warfare begun long ago in haven. Planet Earth is the battlefield.^viii

Do I realize how intently Christ and Satan are contending for my soul? What will decide the issue?

III. THE BIBLE'S COSMIC WORLD VIEW.

Chronologically the first book of the Bible may be Job rather than Genesis. Whereas Genesis is Planet-Earth centered, introducing us to the creation of the world and everything in it, the book of Job is cosmic-centered. It is concerned with the universe as a whole. Already in the sixth verse of the first chapter it soars beyond Planet Earth to a cosmic united nations. Job 1:6-7 " ⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. ⁷ And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." These "sons of God" apparently were leaders from other inhabited worlds. Satan appeared as the usurper leader of Planet Earth.

What did God call Satan's attention to about Job? (Cf Job 1:8 – 12; 2:1 – 7).

With the cosmic conflict in mind, God said: "Satan, look at Job. He keeps my law. He is perfect!" To which Satan countered, "Yes, but he's perfect because it pays to serve you. Don't you protect him?" (Cf Job 1:9 10). God then allowed Satan to do what he wanted to Job in order to test him, short of taking his life. The reminder of the book of Job gives insight into human history from the larger view of what is happening throughout God's universe.

Since Adam and Eve yielded to Satan's temptations, sin has characterized what has been going on in the world. Sin involves a broken relationship between created being and God as well as transgression of God's laws. Satan broke faith with God. So did Adam and Eve when they ignored God's command not to eat of the fruit in Eden. (Cf Gen.3:3 – 6). The plan of Salvation outlined in the Bible restores the broken relationship between God and humanity, leading instead to the happiness that comes from obedience to the laws of the universe.

At the close of the cosmic controversy all humans will admit, "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages … For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed" (Rev. 15:3, 4).

In this lawless age – a time when absolutes are being thrown to the winds and humanity trembles at the consequences – what will enable us to gain a proper perspective o the issue involved in the cosmic conflict?

IV. WHY DID JESUS COME?

What did Jesus give up and what did He gain by coming to the world and dying for us? (Cf. Phil. 2:5 – 11).

The basic question answered by the Bible world view is "why did Jesus come to this planet?" Seventh-day Adventists believe that the cross of Jesus has universal, as well as local planet, significance. Jesus came to live and die for more than our salvation. He came to answer a charge against the justice of God that preceded our human need for salvation. Satan's rebellion took place before the creation of this world. After the creation, Satan claimed that it is impossible for created beings to keep God's law. This is one of the main reasons why the member of the Godhead we know as Jesus became as human being and lived in this world for more than 30 years. Jesus demonstrated that human beings CAN keep the law of God.

How was Satan's charge proved to be wrong? (Cf. Rom. 5:17 – 21).

In order to demonstrate the possibility of living a sin-free life, Jesus had to live as a human being on earth, and not as a God. Satan had no quarrel with the fact that God could keep His own law. He focused on created beings. Jesus lived as a man, having emptied Himself of the use of His divine powers while here on earth, yet remaining divine (cf Phil. 2:5 – 7). He was fully God0 on earth, but lived as a dependent human, clinging to His Father. This is why He called Himself the "true vine" (John 15:1). Out of human necessity He prayed to His Father.

Seventh-day Adventists believe that the created being from the unfallen populated planets, along with heaven's unfallen angels. Watched with intense interest as Jesus Came to earth. (Cf. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 503). They too had a stake in His life and death. In Jesus, as a created human, God would demonstrate to them that He is just and that Satan's charge of injustice is false.

Why did Jesus die and what does His risen life mean to us? (Cf. Rom. 5:6 – 11; John 12:31, 32).

The real issue in the great controversy is whether created beings can trust God to do what is best for them. How have you resolved this issue in your life? What can you do to help other understand God better and trust Him with their lives and possessions?

V. THE COSMIC ISSUE.

The issue in the cosmic conflict is explained in the Scriptures as follows. Sin, or rebellion, is "the transgression of the law," or as the Greek of I John 3:4 puts it, "lawlessness." It is rooted in rejection of God, His government, and His laws that are designed to protect and bless us. Rather than taking the blame for lawlessness, Satan tries to blame God for giving His law. He challenges the laws of God as being arbitrary, not in the best interests of created beings, and impossible to keep. But God's law is as eternal as He is and represents His character. Those who oppose His law really oppose God (cf Matt. 5:17- 19; I Jn. 2: 3 – 6).

Insight into this issue is found throughout the Bible. Take the Gospels, for example. In them we read how Christ and Satan came face to face. Satan invited Christ, after His forty days' fast, to change stones into bread in order to satisfy His hunger. Christ replied: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4, NIV). As He did with Eve in Eden, Satan was urging Christ to take His own initiative – to make His own decision, and not to depend on God's word and will. Christ upheld God's word in every act of His life.

Read Revelation chapter 12 in more than on Bible version, and then match the symbols that follow with their most appropriate fulfillment:

________ The woman a. Persecution

________ The dragon b. Types and shadows of the O.T.

________ The man Child c. A Sanctuary

________ The Wilderness d. Satan

________ The sun e. The apostles

________ The moon f. Christ

________ The twelve stars g. Protestant lands

________ The flood of waters h. The church

________ The earth. i. The gospel

Study verses 7 – 9 of Revelation chapter 12 until you are sure you understand their meaning. Indicate below when the events describe took place:

Verses 7 – 9. …………………………………………………………………

Verses 10 – 12. ……………………………………………………………....

Verses 13 – 16. ………………………………………………………………

Identify the "remnant" of verse 17. Why is this understanding significant for God's people today?

The Remnant motif^ix has been treated almost exhaustively in a number of studies.^x In the Old Testament the Remnant motif have focused primarily on pre-exilic texts. The simplest definition of the remnant may be "what is left of a community after it undergoes a catastrophe."^xi However, such a simple definition fails to capture the full extent of its theological relevance and significance.

The terminology of the Old Testament remnant motif is represented by six Hebrew roots: (i) sha'ar ra;v' meaning "to be left over, remain," (ii) peleytah hj'yleP. meaning "escape," (iii) yathar rt;y" "remain over, be left over," (iv) sariyd dyrIf' meaning "run away from;" "sarid, "survivor," (v) and 'achariyth tyrIx]a; meaning "posterity," "remnant." The word 'achariyth tyrIx]a; "is more often used in a context of total destruction (e.g. Amos 4:1- 3)."^xii But, the others are more frequently employed in a positive context, e.g., "the escape … from a moral threat." In the LXX, these Hebrew roots are most frequently translated into Greek words formed from leimma/leipo ("remnant, reminder/leave behind"). The presence of one of these words does not automatically mean that the remnant motif is present (e.g., I Sam.20:29). Conversely, the remnant motif can also be implicitly present even where remnant terminology is not used (e.g., Cain in Gen. 4:1 – 15). Furthermore, the remnant motif may also occur in a negative sense, i.e., in passages that state the absence or destruction of a remnant, as in Joel 2:3 " A fire consumes before it [the locust swarm] and a flam burns behind it. The land is like the garden of Eden before it, but a desolate wilderness behind it, having not even a survivor [peleytah]."^xiii

FURTHER STUDY: study Romans 1:19 – 32; II Peter 3:8 – 14; I Corinthians 4:9. We are soldiers in the greatest war ever fought. We are actors in the greatest drama ever played. Our earth truly is the battle zone and theater of the universe. Satan's studied strategy in this Great War is to make God look bad. He hopes that by heaping upon us pan, violence, disease, and death, he can goad^xiv us into blaming God for our troubles – into giving God the credit for Satan's own diabolical dongs. But for every lie Satan tells about God, Christ responds with an even clearer revelation of God's love. Lies and love are the contrasting weapons of the two adversaries in the war of the ages.

Read the chapter by Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets entitled "why was sin permitted?" pp. 33 – 43.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What can I do to help others adopt a world view that adequately handles the problem of where sin came from, why God allows it and what He plan to do about it?
2. Am I sure that I know where I stand in the great controversy?
3. Do I sense what Calvary means to God and the universe?
4. What can I do this week to make practical what I have learned?
5. Analyze Gen. 3:15. How much of the plan does it reveal? In what ways would the insight of Adam and Eve into the meaning of the promise probably have been limited?
6. Explain what is meant by:
   1. Remnant motif
   2. Lucifer

SUMMARY: Seventh-day Adventists have a cosmic world view of the great controversy that brought Christ on His costly but successful mission to Planet Earth. The sin problem involves Satan's rebellion, his charge that God made a law that created beings cannot keep, and Christ's coming to earth – in human form – to demonstrate that the law can be lived. The truth as it is in Jesus is broader than many Christians realize. In the same way that science broke beyond the confines of restricting world views, theology needs to advance beyond a humanity-centered, planet-centered world view.

iEndnotes:

The Holy Bible : King James Version. electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. Bellingham WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995, S. Rev. 12:7 – 9.

ii General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh-day Adventists Believe: A Biblical Exposition of Fundamental Doctrines. (Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring: MD, Pacific Press Publishing Assocaition, Boise, 2005), p. 113.

iii Leo R. Van Dolson, RELT 255 Christian Beliefs Syllabus (Berrien Springs, MI, 1980), p.46.

iv Lucifer comes from two Latin words: Lux and Ferro – Lux means light and Ferro means Bearer. Thus, Lucifer would mean Light Bearer. The Hebrew name is lleyhe heylel {hay-lale'} Meaning: Lucifer = "light-bearer," "shining one," "brilliant one," from Hebrew root halal, "to flash forth light," "to shine," and "to be brilliant." The term appears in Isa. 14:12 in a passage in which the Babylonian king seems to appear as a symbol of Satan prior to his being cast out of heaven.

v Francis D. Nichol: The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 1. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978; 2002, S. 233.

vi cf. confer, “compare.”

vii Francis D. Nichol, p. 233.

viii Francis D. Nichol, p. 233.

ixThe word "Remnant" dyrIf' sariyd {saw-reed'} Meaning: 1) survivor, remnant, that which is left 1a) survivor. It also can mean "what remains," "reminder," "remnant;" Greek is leimmat, kataleimma, and lopos, "what remains," "what is left."

x An extensive study about the concept of the remnant found in Gerhard F. Hasel, The Remnant: History and Theology of the Remnant idea from Genesis to Isaiah, 3^rd ed. (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1980). Also, Angel Manuel Rodriguez, Toward a Theology of the Remnant, Biblical Research Institute Studies in Adventist Ecclesiology, vol. 1.

xi Lester V. Meyer, "Remnant," AVD, vol. 5, p. 669.

xii Gerhard F. Hasel The Remnant: History and Theology of the Remnant idea from Genesis to Isaiah, 3^rd ed. (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1980), p. 394.

xiii Angel Manuel Rodriguez, Toward a Theology of the Remnant, Biblical Research Institute Studies in Adventist Ecclesiology, vol. 1, p. 25, 26.

xiv GOAD, n. A pointed instrument used to stimulate a beast to move faster.

GOAD, v.t. To prick; to drive with a goad.

1. To incite; to stimulate; to instigate; to urge forward, or to rouse by any thing pungent, severe, irritating or inflaming. He was goaded by sarcastic remarks or by abuse; goaded by desire or other passion.