SCENE OF THE CONFLICT TRANSFERRED FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH
By R. C. P.
Man Took His Stand with the Rebel Leader — The Great Climax at the Cross — Satan's Rage and Vindictive Warfare — One Last Universal Call to Loyalty AFTER Satan had entered upon his career of rebellion, he first sought, in the most insidious way, to induce angels to join him, ostensibly to reform the government of God, but really to dethrone the King of the universe and establish himself as its head. Many of the angels were ensnared by the cunning of this artful deceiver. ALL MUST CHOOSE IN THIS CRISIS
Nor was the conflict confined to the angels; for God had made man as free as angels, as free as all other created beings throughout His vast universe. All must choose, in this crisis, between loyalty to God and loyalty to Satan, who was conspiring to overthrow God's government. Then was vindicated the wisdom of God in creating His subjects free; for since He gave to all the right of choice, and refused to compel the will of any in His service, Satan could not now force their wills in his effort to secure control of the free subjects of the kingdom of God. When the lines of conflict were sharply drawn, and angels had made choice of their leader, Michael (Christ) and His angels fought against Satan and his angels. In this conflict, Michael and the loyal angels prevailed, and Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven. This earth then became the scene of the conflict that had previously been waged in heaven. Since the risk of sin was universal, man must share in the choice between good and evil. Satan did not come to man with flourish of trumpets and a demand for surrender; he posed as a reformer. God had in wisdom so safeguarded man against attack, that only at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which was in the midst of the Garden of Eden, was it possible to approach him with temptation. God had faithfully warned him not to eat of the fruit of that tree. Being convinced that man had been warned of the apostasy, Satan did not attempt to lead him into rebellion by personally appearing to him. He chose a beautiful, glittering serpent — not the wriggling, creeping serpent of our day, upon which a special curse rests, but one of the most fascinating creatures of God's universe. Through this medium, stationed in the forbidden tree, Satan spoke to Eve. Startled to hear it speak in a language intelligible, yet charmed by its beauty, she turned aside to converse with it, and tarried near the very tree which God had cautioned the innocent pair in Eden to avoid. THE BRIEF STORY OF MAN'S APOSTASY
The history of man's fall as delineated in God's record of the conflict between good and evil runs thus: "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
"And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
"And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
"And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
"And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
"And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
"And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
"And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
"And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?
"And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
"And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. 3: 1-15. Paul says, "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." 1 Tim. 2: 14. Eve was led into transgression through the medium of the serpent. She was deceived by sophistry that appealed to her pride and vanity. To be as gods, knowing evil as well as good, was the deceptive incentive that appealed to her. The argument that God was unjust in withholding a knowledge of evil, seemed to her plausible. Could she have lifted the veil that hid the future, and beheld the anarchy, strife, debauchery, crime, and sorrow that were to result from a knowledge of evil, she would have praised God for an infinite wisdom that had in mercy withheld a knowledge of evil and offered only good. TOOK THEIR STAND WITH THE REBEL LEADER
Through deception Eve had been led to partake of the forbidden fruit, and had thus taken her stand on the side of the leader of the rebellion against the government of God. Adam, who thought that through her transgression Eve must forever be separated from him, and the joys of her companionship must be lost forever, hesitated in his loyalty to God while debating if it were not his duty to cast his lot with his hitherto loving consort. But this meant that he should follow her in rebellion and sin. Although undeceived, he finally chose to follow her in transgression. Immediately the halo of light which had hitherto robed the innocent pair in garments of glory, such as adorned Moses and Elias on the mount of transfiguration, disappeared, and they were left naked to their shame. God's love for them, although they were transgressors, was unchanged; yet when He sought them, in fear they shrank from His presence, while they endeavored to provide, with their own hands, aprons of fig-leaves to replace the shroud of glory which sin had removed. When the Lord asked whether they had eaten of the forbidden tree, Adam at once admitted his guilt, but inferentially placed the blame upon God by saying, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Instead of making a full confession of his sin, Adam sought to excuse himself for having done wrong. He insisted that his was not an overt act of rebellion, but rather an effort to be at peace with the creatures of God's kingdom. Eve in like manner attempted to fix the blame upon the serpent, and indirectly upon God for having placed the serpent in the garden. Her logic was that morally accountable beings would always be good if they were never assailed by a tempter. That God accepted no excuse for sin, that He admitted of no apology which sought to relieve the transgressors simply because they had been confronted by a tempter, is shown in their being sentenced to death and driven from the garden, and the earth's being placed under a curse. Gen. 3: 16-24. THE RESULT OF MAN'S APOSTASY
Adam, to whom the dominion of this world had been committed as to a prince, had, in disloyalty to the King of kings, surrendered to the deceiver his vested rights in the dominion of this earth. By this act, Adam demonstrated the wisdom of God in making him only a subordinate ruler. Satan usurped the dominion in defiance of God's supreme sovereignty; and the rebellion which had hitherto been conducted under cover of a purpose to improve the government of God, was now changed to an open and defiant challenge of the sovereignty of God over the universe of His creation. He who had questioned God's justice and declared His law arbitrary, now determined to demonstrate the superiority of a confederacy without a moral law, over the moral government of the kingdom of God. As prince of the world, he appeared in the councils of the sons of God. He had become the representative of this earthly dominion. Job 1: 6, 7. When Christ came to the earth as the Saviour of man, Satan tempted Him on the point of loyalty, by offering Him all the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them in exchange for one act of worship. Matt. 4: 8, 9. Christ met and defeated the tempter with a direct command from the sovereign law which Satan had repudiated. Verse 10. Afterward Christ said, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me." John 14: 30. The climax of the conflict was reached at the cross. The character of the kingdoms was there seen in contrast in the characters of their representatives. The malicious spirit of Satan appeared in striking contrast with the beneficent character of Christ, when202in love He died to save the lost. Until loyal angels beheld the scenes of Calvary, they did not all see clearly that God was perfectly justified in removing Satan from his position in heaven, and depriving him of the privilege of association with the unfallen angels except at the councils of the representatives of worlds. The time had now come when his character stood revealed before the universe. Every loyal angel now understood his deceptive purpose. After Christ's death upon the cross, He "was caught up unto God, and to His throne." Rev. 12: 5. "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Rev. 12: 10. Down through the weary centuries the conflict has been waged; but the cross was such a manifestation of the love of God for those who had been led into rebellion against His throne, that for angels the question was settled, and Satan is nevermore to distract and mar the peace of the councils of heaven by his discordant accusations. The original condition of the kingdom of God in heaven was restored. The battle had been fought, the victory won, and the rebellious impostors forever removed from the territory of the heavenly dominion. IT SETTLED THE MINDS OF THE ANGELS
The cross of Calvary had decided, in the minds of angels, the question of God's right to reign eternally as King. Four thousand years of patient waiting had been rewarded. Not a loyal angel would ever again consider it right that Satan should share in the councils of the universe; and as a habitation in heaven had previously been denied him and his followers, even so are they now excluded from the councils of heaven. Through a life of perfect obedience to the law of the kingdom of God which Adam had disobeyed, Christ, having met the death sentence for disobedience, purchased the lost dominion, and was prepared to take His place as the representative of this world in the heavenly councils as the second Adam or head of this earthly kingdom; but the time had not yet come for the restoration of the lost dominion. Satan was the more enraged when he saw that he had been defeated in the conflict at the cross. That this loss embittered him toward the loyal subjects of the kingdom on earth is plainly stated in verse 12: "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Wo to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." SPECIAL OBJECTS OF SATAN'S WRATH
Since that time, those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus are the special objects of Satan's wrath. Entirely excluded from heaven, he would do his worst to destroy God's loyal subjects on earth. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Verse 17. Foreseeing that this fiendish onslaught awaited His disciples, Jesus taught them to pray daily: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matt. 6: 10. The earthly conflict is not yet finished; but Satan knows that his time is short, and Christ's disciples should know that their prayers for the restoration of the earthly kingdom will soon be answered, that the invaders will finally be executed as traitors against God's government. 2 Peter 2: 2-4. DID THE OTHER WORLDS ESCAPE?
How many inhabited worlds have escaped without loss in this conflict is not revealed. Doubtless the parable of the one lost sheep as compared with the ninety and nine remaining in the fold is designed to suggest that the other worlds continued entirely loyal throughout the controversy. Heaven sustained a loss of subjects; but Christ, the first leader of the heavenly host, and His angels, were ever loyal there. This world alone was surrendered in the disobedience of Adam, its representative head. Hence, here Satan's principles of accusation and condemnation, and his propaganda of destruction, may be seen in marked contrast with the love of God, who "sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." THE SOURCE OF ACCUSING AND CONDEMNING
To accuse and condemn is satanic. To love and save is Christian. Satan's exhibition of principles during six thousand years of world history, together with the havoc they have wrought, has forever determined the matter, with loyal subjects of the kingdom of God, of their relation to rebellion and sin in the future. God still tarries to make one universal call to sinners before the conflict closes. When the conflict is ended, and rebels have met the extreme penalty for their transgression, no one in the universe will ever desire to see a repetition of the experiences of rebellion. No one will ever again desire to secede from the government of God. Eternity will therefore demonstrate the love and wisdom of God in creating intelligent beings free to make their own choice of kingdom and king.
R. C. P.