Cosmic Conflict: The Origin of Evil

virtually everyone on the earth regardless of religion or nationality recognize that there is some form of battle raging in the world around us between the forces of good and evil a colossal struggle between light and darkness truth and error oppression and freedom right and wrong and ultimately life and death what is the story behind this glaring paradox many religions including the Bible teach that beyond the three-dimensional veil of our physical world we see there's another very real spiritual world we cannot see in this unseen realm ever about us we see a titanic battle raging between the supreme righteous hero and the ultimate evil villain the big question is who are these primary players and how where and when did this cosmic crisis begin this is the greatest mystery of the ages and the most amazing true story that has ever been told this crisis now involves every person on earth yes every person boom human history has been riddled with scenes of war and every person has experienced conflict but to understand the origin of evil we must travel back in time to the very first war of the universe because this battle did not occur on earth before our world even existed there was a war in heaven even the words war in heaven sound like the ultimate paradox it's almost unimaginable to us that there could be a battle and strife among God's perfect beans in paradise what could have caused this celestial conflict thankfully an ancient book called the Bible gives us enough details so that we can piece together the astonishing account although tragic it's also an incredibly tender love story that reaches down through the ages personally touching you and me and every individual on earth our story begins long ago in the very capital of the universe in a place called heaven that was filled with angelic beings who delighted to do the will of God under the creator's just and loving government all of heaven enjoyed an existence of happiness and perfect bliss the supreme prince of heaven and commander of the angels was the all-powerful and loving son of God most know him by the name you took when he came to earth Jesus he was one in purpose and mind with God the Father heaven under the compassionate rule of Father Son and spirit proved to be a place of wonder peace and joy to carry out the commands of God the Trinity was surrounded by a virtual ocean of countless ministering spirits called Seraphim and cherubim or more commonly just known as angels these powerful and intelligent creatures found their greatest joy in doing the bidding of the Almighty but God created one extraordinary angel to serve as a leader of the entire heavenly throng the Bible tells us that his name was Lucifer which means Light Bearer this cherub was the greatest of God's created beings and held the position closest to God's throne and directly under Jesus in heavenly authority Lucifer's job was to communicate the light and knowledge of God's will to all the other angels Lucifer was God's most splendid created being he was captivating li handsome and endowed with astonishing powers of leadership and organization among the Angels he was greatly admired respected and loved as a friend yet God for saw the misery Lucifer was about to introduce into the kingdom of light full of wisdom and perfect in beauty every precious stone was your covering you were the anointed cherub who covers I established you you were on the holy mountain of God you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you as a lucifer began to ponder his own beauty in power his heart gradually started to change he allowed his focus to turn away from God and he directed his love upon himself how and why these seeds of rebellion germinated in his heart we may never fully understand but the prophet Isaiah provides this insight into Lucifer's thinking how you are fallen from heaven o Lucifer son of the morning how you are cut down to the ground you who weakened the nation's for you have said in your heart I will ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the Most High Lucifer gradually began to covet the power of God but not his character as he thought about his own extraordinary abilities in beauty the cancerous tentacles of pride and self exaltation gripped his mind this resentment and jealousy ultimately drove him to violate God's holy law and rebel against his government we need to pause here and make something clear from the beginning god word a in the laws of physics to govern the material world we live in without these natural laws the universe would be chaos in the same way God's moral law has always provided security and stability to the cosmos some believe that the Ten Commandments did not exist until the Lord delivered them to Moses on Mount Sinai but Scripture teaches us that the principles of God's law have existed throughout eternity for they're the very foundation of his heavenly kingdom of love all his Commandments are sure they stand fast for ever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness the ten commandments are a summary of God's character of love the first four commandments describe who God is his power his territory and authority the last six describe what God is like his honesty his purity his faithfulness all of these things have always been true and will always be true now for the first time in the history of eternity Lucifer began violating these perfect principles Lucifer knew if he was to ever share the power and Status of God he would need support so he went to work he began to deviously circulate among the other angels planting seeds of doubt and discontent regarding God's leadership at the same time he would subtly highlight his own virtues he insinuated that God was abusing his divine power and his law was restricting the true freedom and happiness of his creatures with his clever reasoning and unrivaled powers of influence Lucifer managed to persuade a great number of the angels to join him in his mutiny perhaps you're wondering how could so many intelligent angels be duped into following this deceiver we'll keep in mind up till this point no angel had ever heard a lie and at this early stage of the rebellion the Angels did not realize how obsessed Lucifer would become with acquiring the position of God they did not know he would eventually stoop to torture and murder God's own son cross an attempt to seize his throne strangely Lucifer thought he could conceal his true purpose from God woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord and their works are in the dark they say who sees us and who knows us don't think for a moment the Lucifer's rebellion surprised God or caught him unaware the Lord knows all things including the thoughts of his creatures he understood exactly what was going through Lucifer's mind and in loving mercy God warned the wayward angel of his danger but in the end pride and self-love would not permit Lucifer to repent so he chose open rebellion against God rather than humble obedience some have wondered does this mean that God created a defective angel no but he did create Lucifer with the freedom of choice you see the freedom of choice is a wonderful thing but it carries with it incredible risk including the risk of rebellion and the possibility that God's love might be rejected you see real love cannot come from a pre-programmed creature and it can't be forced it must be voluntarily given for example as cute as this little robot dog is it can never really love me I can make it appear to love me but it's only carrying out pre-programmed instructions it has no choice on the other hand this little guy is truly happy to see me he's chosen to give me his affection and given time our relationship would grow and strengthen as I love and care for him in the same way a God of love only wants the genuine love of his intelligent creatures and for that to happen they must have free choice Lucifer's rebellion is the greatest evidence that he truly had that freedom so now the big question was how would God respond to this crisis how would he deal with Lucifer and the millions of angels who joined him in his rebellion many wonder why God did not immediately destroy the rebel after all he could have easily vaporized Lucifer with a bolt of lightning but would that have really solved the problem no on the contrary that would have just intensified the doubts and suspicions that Lucifer had been planting in the minds of the angels remember Lucifer knew as no one else could have the inner workings of the government of God his destruction would have been viewed as part of a massive cover-up and fear of reprisal rather than love would have become the motivating reason to serve God no the Lord knew in his wisdom the best way to meet the crisis was to allow it to run its course this would be the only way to ensure that evil would never rise again let both grow together until the harvest and at the time of harvest I will say to the Reapers first gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn in the parable of the wheat in the tears Jesus illustrates that a growing time is needed for a plant to reveal its true nature in His infinite understanding God knew given time Lucifer's real character would be exposed and the bitter fruit of his rebellion would become apparent to all up till now the citizens of the universe were unfamiliar with sin and where it would lead but that would change as they came to see for themselves it's terrible self-destructive nature in the end the wisdom and love of God's government would stand forever vindicated and the universe would be secure as Lucifer and his supporters brought the rebellion to the forefront the Lord knew that there would be no peace if they were allowed to remain in heaven a line must be drawn action taken and the rebels evicted but Lucifer and his supporters would never go willingly or peacefully the next step was war and war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels fought with the Dragon and the dragon and his angels fought but they did not prevail nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer so the Great Dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world he was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him the Bible doesn't reveal exactly what weapons were used for how long this cosmic conflict lasted but this was a war the likes of which no mortal eye has ever seen revelation 12 verse 4 tells us that ultimately Lucifer and one-third of God's angels were physically expelled from him but what next Lucifer now had millions of angels on his side but he needed a staging ground from which to continue his revolt soon all too soon the universe would begin to understand how painful and costly the wages of sin could be for the war was not over it had only just begun Lucifer the Light Bearer had now become Satan the adversary after the war in heaven Satan and his fallen angels were banished from the courts of glory for a time the devil and his demons roamed through the universe unsuccessfully searching for worlds to sympathize with them in the rebellion in the meantime the heart of God keenly felt the vacuum created by the loss of Lucifer and his angels so the Father Son and Holy Spirit returned to their favorite work the marvelous work of creation they decided to make a new world filled with a myriad of amazing and diverse creatures to love this new world would be unique because the principal creatures would be made in God's own image to them the Lord would also give dominion of this new planet we now know as Earth in the beginning God created the earth then God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good what an awesome sight to behold God forming a brand new world our planet Earth and with every wonderful day of the creation something new and spectacular burst upon the same on the third day God spoke and beautiful lush vegetation sprang into existence plants of all colors shapes and sizes on the fifth day the world was filled with stunning exotic creatures that could either soar through the heavens or glide freely through the blue waters and some can do both the sixth day saw the introduction of a vast and diverse multitude of land animals from the giant elephant to the tiny chipmunk each found a home in the new planet and a place to live in harmony with the rest of creation and also on the sixth day God created man then God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there he put the man whom he had formed what a tremendous honor to be made in the likeness of God to be a free-thinking self-governing individual in the beginning man was not aware of his nakedness this was likely because prior to sin he was clothed with glory and light God also created the ideal companion for Adam his beautiful wife Eve the joyful pair were placed in a magnificent garden flawlessly designed to enhance their happiness to Adam and Eve and the other creatures of the earth was also given the divine privilege of procreating in their own image it was the intention of God that the human race would retain dominion over this perfect paradise forever eternally happy and healthy they'd work with the floor of God's garden while enjoying the affection and companionship of all the creatures under their care the environment our first parents experience was vastly different from the world today roses had no thorns insects did not bite her sting and lions and lambs would gently frolic together but the greatest blessing was that humans lived in perfect harmony with their maker every seventh day Adam and Eve would rest from their Pleasant labor and hold open blissful communion with her visiting creator it was a splendid wonderful world and this happiest state would have continued through eternity if only our first parents had proved faithful in one simple test but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die because the adversary had contaminated the universe with his rebellion the Lord saw the need of a simple test of love and loyalty remember the good angels had just seen a third of their friends cast out of heaven during the war how could they be assured these new humans would not side with Lucifer and cause more trouble so the Lord placed a unique tree in the Garden of Eden a tree whose fruit was not to be eaten on pain of death passing this simple test of obedience would demonstrate Adam and Eve's allegiance to God and faith in His Word even more it was a test of love this is why Jesus said in John 14 if you love me keep my Commandments but someone else learned of this test of faith and he determined to use it to his advantage Satan was very jealous of the happy humans who are now enjoying the blessed life that he had lost their happy existence stood in stark contrast to his own which was now full of guilt sin and misery in his brooding resentment and anger he was not content to leave the innocent pair alone for sin always seeks to drag others down with it and so one day as Eve was engaged in her pleasant work she found herself alone and perilously close to the forbidden tree it was then that Satan saw his opportunity using a mesmerizing serpent as his medium the fallen angel called tui from the tree and thought to engage her in conversation his charming words were carefully calculated to instill a distrust of God then the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die for God knows that in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate she also gave to her husband with her and he ate tragically as 'listen to the smooth silky voice of the tempter she began to entertain doubts about God's Word the serpent enticed her with the promise of enhanced power and wisdom she found this appealing after all the fruit had apparently given the snake the ability to speak what other powers might had give her and so even though she had just met the serpent she trusted his word above God who had created her and provided her paradise home so Eve ate the forbidden fruit and soon after persuaded her husband to do the same Adam could have chosen to remain loyal to God but he put his love for his wife above his love for God as our first parents gave their allegiance to the enemy the Dominion of the earth was claimed by Satan do you not know that to whom you present yourself slaves to obey you are that one slaves whom you obey no one can serve two masters this world would now become the ultimate battlefield between good and evil and the hearts of every man and woman the prize little did Adam and Eve realize it at the time but there one moment of distrust and defiance would open the floodgates of suffering millions of people for thousands of years therefore just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin and thus death spread to all men because all sinned our first parents soon began to face the terrible results of their sin in their holy state Adam and Eve glowed with robes of glory after they send these natural robes of light faded and they became mortified by a sense of their nakedness shame and fear replaced their joy in peace and they sought to cover their nakedness with leaves they now also found themselves under the constant influence of the devil giving in to temptation had weakened their very nature and Satan had gained a new power over humanity people could no longer resist the temptations of the devil in their own strength lastly and most terrifying they found themselves living under a looming death since God had warned them that disobedience would bring death they had already experienced the spiritual death how long until they suffered physical death as well at this point their future held nothing but darkness and despair so he drove out the man and he placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life just as sin caused the Fallen Angels to be expelled from their heavenly home so now because of disobedience Adam and Eve were driven from their garden home in Paradise everything around them was quickly changing and humankind found itself susceptible to heartache disease and finally death even the animals and plants were infected by the terrible curse thorns and thistles now appeared on trees and flowers and animals that had formerly been gentle began to kill and devour one another the worst result was sin had separated humanity from God but your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear at creation Adam and Eve were given the honor of speaking with the Angels and even God the Son face to face but God is so perfectly pure and holy that no evil can exist in his presence now but the first humans had sinned God withdrew his holy presence from them for their own protection sin had burned a cataract on the soul of man so he could no longer see the spiritual dimension from this time on direct communication with heaven would be limited as all of these curses fell upon Adam and Eve the Lord's heart was deeply moved with tender compassion the law that they had broken could not be altered to save them for it's as sacred and unchanging as God himself the Lord knew there was only one way that man could be redeemed so plan was revealed born from the very heart of God a plan to save man from his appointment with eternal death and to restore everything that had been lost through sin it would be an amazing endeavor in its depth scope and power but it was a plan that would also involve an enormous sacrifice God's love was revealed among us in this way God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through him in this is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins the Scriptures clearly teach in Romans 6:23 that the wages for sin are death the broken law demanded the life of the sinner and there was only one in all the universe who could qualify as a substitute for humanity the creator alone could pay the debt of his creatures by standing in their place so Jesus Christ the Son of God willingly agreed to leave the purity glory and safety of heaven he would come to die in man's behalf on this wicked renegade planet he would be born as an innocent helpless baby endure a life of sorrow and shame and yet live a perfect and victorious life finally he would die a humiliating death in order to stand as a substitute for fallen humanity through his sacrifice mankind might amazingly be offered one more chance at eternal life his blood would provide the ransom for the world that had been kidnapped by Satan this wonderful plan of redemption was graphically illustrated in the system of animal sacrifices ordained by God after the fall of man the Lord had warned Adam and Eve they would die the day they ate the forbidden fruit so how was it that they remained alive the Bible tells us that soon after their sin God provided clothing for them in the form of animal skins it's worthy of noting that revelation refers to Jesus Christ as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world this indicates that a lamb was slain that very day to prevent their immediate death by faith in this sacrifice their death sentence was symbolically transferred from themselves to the innocent creature the lamb of course being a representation of Jesus and so a ray of hope was provided in a seemingly dark and hopeless situation through repentance and faith in the blood of the coming Messiah any human could once again become a child of God but in spite of this wonderful plan for the time being Satan would still have dominion of the earth and life in this world would not be easy in the world you will have tribulation but be a good cheer I have overcome the world many naturally wonder why a loving and all-powerful God permits sorrow and suffering in our world today but it's clear from Genesis that God never intended for us to know the pain and trials of dis life as it came from God's hand the earth was a wonderful paradise it was the sin of Adam and Eve that gave Satan the right to claim control of this planet because of their tragic choice the devil and his minions gained the power to tempt and torment humans inflicting sickness pain and suffering perhaps a better question would be why doesn't Satan have full control of humanity the answer is Jesus Christ you may already realize that Jesus death on the cross provided each of us the opportunity to be saved but in reality it did much more than that when the Savior offered his life to redeem the earth that act placed restrictions on Satan's control over humanity Satan could not force our will and his power to harm us would be limited Christ's sacrifice also brought us a time of probation where we can see for ourselves the difference between God's government and Satan's and then decide who we would serve ultimately because of Jesus selfless sacrifice Satan's Kingdom will come to an end and the earth will one day be returned a man more wonderful than it was at the beginning so when Adam and Eve began their lives as exiles from paradise they still had hope God had provided the skins of sacrificed animals to cover their nakedness but more importantly he had promised the blood of the Lamb of God to cover their sin if they accepted Christ and repented one big question remain would people accept God's generous gift how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation the amazing story that you've just heard is true and it affects you because of Satan's desire to be God and Adam and Eve's distrust and disobedience to God we all find ourselves in a perilous situation on one hand mankind has been greatly favored by God with a second chance to regain our Eden home on the other if we fail to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity we become slaves to Satan and will ultimately be destroyed when God cleanses a universe of sin friends there is no better time to make your decision for Jesus than right now none of us know how long we might have to live on this earth our lives can end instantly Jesus has shown great interest in your well-being and his love for you moved him to provide a way to escape from the coming destruction he just asks you to accept him to repent of your sins through Christ you can find pardon and receive a new heart to become like him in character the sobering news is that Satan is moving in every possible way to keep you from accepting God's gift of salvation through the busyness of life the love of money or some other fascinating distraction he works to keep you occupied with anything but what really matters most your eternal salvation for you see the reality of the situation is that if you don't choose Jesus you will have by default chosen Satan although Adam and Eve's terrible choice brought untold death and misery you now have a chance to make a better decision God is offering you a peace that satisfies the deepest longing in your soul and a joy that will lift you above the trials of this world the yearning desire of God's heart is for you to be saved and to be with him in paradise but the only one who can keep you out of heaven is you imagine how tragic it would be if you were needlessly to reject this precious gift you can choose today to accept the salvation that God has promised in fact this very moment you can accept everlasting life through Jesus Christ can I invite you to join me right now in a simple prayer accepting his wonderful offer please repeat after me dear Heavenly Father I come to you now and humbly ask for your forgiveness Lord I confess that I'm a sinner and I've broken your holy law I realize that the penalty for sin is dead I believe that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross to take the punishment for all of my sins I believe Jesus rose from the dead and I accept him as my personal Savior from this moment forward I give you my heart and trust you to be the Lord of my life please forgive all of my sins and send your spirit to help me do your will I thank you for your great love and accept your gift of eternal life and I pray these things in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: AmazingFacts

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Length: 40min 52sec (2452 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 02 2015