tor; for all had heretofore been peace and harmony, and what could
occasion this dissenting, rebellious voice?
Lucifer refused to listen. And then he turned from the loyal and true
angels, denouncing them as slaves. These angels, true to God, stood in
amazement as they saw that Lucifer was successful in his effort to incite
rebellion. He promised them a new and better government than they
then had, in which all would be freedom. Great numbers signified their
purpose to accept him as their leader and chief commander. As he saw
his advances were met with success, he flattered himself that he should
yet have all the angels on his side, and that he would be equal with God
Himself, and his voice of authority would be heard in commanding the
entire host of heaven. Again the loyal angels warned him, and assured him
what must be the consequences if he persisted; that He who could create
the angels could by His power overturn all their authority and in some
signal manner punish their audacity and terrible rebellion. To think that an
angel should resist the law of God which was as sacred as Himself! They
warned the rebellious to close their ears to Lucifer’s deceptive reasonings,
and advised him and all who had been affected by him to go to God
and confess their wrong for even admitting a thought of questioning His
authority.
Many of Lucifer’s sympathizers were inclined to heed the counsel of
the loyal angels and repent of their dissatisfaction and be again received to
the confidence of the Father and His dear Son. The mighty revolter then
declared that he was acquainted with God’s law, and if he should submit
to servile obedience, his honor would be taken from him. No more would
he be intrusted with his exalted mission. He told them that
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himself and they also had now gone too far to go back, and he would
brave the consequences, for to bow in servile worship to the Son of God
he never would; that God would not forgive, and now they must assert
their liberty and gain by force the position and authority which was not
willingly accorded to them. [Thus it was that Lucifer, “the light-bearer,”
the sharer of God’s glory, the attendant of his throne, by transgression
became Satan, “the adversary.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 40.]
The loyal angels hastened speedily to the Son of God and acquainted
Him with what was taking place among the angels. They found the Father
in conference with His beloved Son, to determine the means by which,
for the best good of the loyal angels, the assumed authority of Satan
could be forever put down. The great God could at once have hurled this
archdeceiver from heaven; but this was not His purpose. He would give
the rebellious an equal chance to measure strength and might with His
own Son and His loyal angels. In this battle every angel would choose
his own side and be manifested to all. It would not have been safe to
suffer any who united with Satan in his rebellion to continue to occupy
heaven. They had learned the lesson of genuine rebellion against the
unchangeable law of God, and this is incurable. If God had exercised
His power to punish this chief rebel, disaffected angels would not have
been manifested; hence, God took another course, for He would manifest
distinctly to all the heavenly host His justice and His judgment.
War in Heaven
It was the highest crime to rebel against the government of God. All
heaven seemed in commotion. The angels were marshaled in companies,
each division with a higher commanding angel at its head. Satan
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was warring against the law of God, because ambitious to exalt himself
and unwilling to submit to the authority of God’s Son, heaven’s great
commander.
All the heavenly host were summoned to appear before the Father,
to have each case determined. Satan unblushingly made known his
dissatisfaction that Christ should be preferred before Him. He stood
up proudly and urged that he should be equal with God and should
be taken into conference with the Father and understand His purposes.
God informed Satan, that to His Son alone He would reveal His secret
purposes, and He required all the family in heaven, even Satan, to yield
Him implicit, unquestioned obedience; but that he (Satan) had proved
himself unworthy of a place in heaven. Then Satan exultingly pointed
to his sympathizers, comprising nearly one half of all the angels, and
exclaimed, “These are with me! Will you expel these also, and make
such a void in heaven?” He then declared that he was prepared to resist
the authority of Christ and to defend his place in heaven by force of might,
strength against strength.
Good angels wept to hear the words of Satan and his exulting boasts.
God declared that the rebellious should remain in heaven no longer. Their
high and happy state had been held upon condition of obedience to the
law which God had given to govern the high order of intelligences. But no
provision had been made to save those who should venture to transgress
His law. Satan grew bold in his rebellion, and expressed his contempt
of the Creator’s law. This Satan could not bear. He claimed that angels
needed no law but should be left free to follow their own will, which
would ever guide them right; that law was a restriction of their liberty;
and that to abolish law
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was one great object of his standing as he did. The condition of the angels,
he thought, needed improvement. Not so the mind of God, who had made
laws and exalted them equal to Himself. The happiness of the angelic
host consisted in their perfect obedience to law. Each had his special
work assigned him, and until Satan rebelled, there had been perfect order
and harmonious action in heaven.
Then there was war in heaven. The Son of God, the Prince of heaven,
and His loyal angels engaged in conflict with the archrebel and those
who united with him. The Son of God and true, loyal angels prevailed;
and Satan and his sympathizers were expelled from heaven. All the
heavenly host acknowledged and adored the God of justice. Not a taint
of rebellion was left in heaven. All was again peaceful and harmonious
as before. Angels in heaven mourned the fate of those who had been their
companions in happiness and bliss. Their loss was felt in heaven.
The Father consulted His Son in regard to at once carrying out their
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purpose to make man to inhabit the earth. He would place man upon
probation to test his loyalty before he could be rendered eternally secure.
If he endured the test wherewith God saw fit to prove him, he should
eventually be equal with the angels. He was to have the favor of God, and
he was to converse with angels, and they with him. He d
