“Satan was insinuating against the government of God, ambitious to exalt himself, and unwilling to submit [18] to the authority of Jesus.  Some of the angels sympathized with Satan in his rebellion, and others strongly contended for the honor and wisdom of God in giving authority to His Son.  And there was contention with the angels.  Satan and his affected ones, who were striving to reform the government of God, wished to look into His unsearchable wisdom to ascertain His purpose in exalting Jesus, and endowing Him with such unlimited power and Command.  They rebelled against the authority of the Son of God, and all the angels were summoned to appear before the Father, to have their cases decided.  And it was decided that Satan should be expelled from Heaven, and that the angels, all who joined with Satan in the rebellion, should be turned out with him.  Then there was war in Heaven.  Angels were engaged in the battle; Satan wished to conquer the Son of God, and those who were submissive to His Will.  But the good and true angels prevailed, and Satan, with his followers, was driven from Heaven.”  1SG:17.2.

 

“Satan in Heaven, before his rebellion, was a high and exalted angel, next in honor to God’s dear Son.  His countenance, like those of the other angels, was mild and expressive of happiness.  His forehead was high and broad, showing a powerful intellect. His form was perfect; his bearing noble and majestic.  A special light beamed in his countenance, and shone around him brighter and more beautiful than around the other angels. . . Satan was envious of Christ, and gradually assumed command which devolved on Christ alone.”  1SP:17.1 (ST, January 9, 1879).

 

“Satan was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ.  Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge His supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, Satan bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred.  Christ had been taken into the special counsel of God in regard to His plans, while Satan was unacquainted with them.  He did not understand, neither was he permitted to know, the purposes of God.  But Christ was acknowledged sovereign of Heaven, His power and authority to be the same as that of God Himself.  Satan thought that he was himself a favorite in Heaven among the angels.  He had been highly exalted; but this did not call forth from him gratitude and praise to his Creator.  He aspired to the height of God Himself.  He gloried in his loftiness.  He knew that he was honored by the angels.  He had a special mission to execute.  He had been near the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glorious light enshrouding the eternal God, had shone especially upon him.  Satan thought how angels had obeyed his command with pleasurable alacrity.  Were not his garments light and beautiful?  Why should Christ thus be honored before himself? {1SP 18.1}

 

“He left the immediate presence of the Father, dissatisfied, and filled with envy against Jesus Christ.  Concealing his real purposes, he assembled the angelic host.  He introduced his subject, [19]

 

“which was himself.  As one aggrieved, he related the preference God had given Jesus to the neglect of himself.  He told them that henceforth all the sweet liberty the angels had enjoyed was at an end.  For had not a ruler been appointed over them, to whom they from henceforth must yield servile honor?  He stated to them that he had called them together to assure them that he no longer would submit to this invasion of his rights and theirs; that never would he again bow down to Christ; that he would take the honor upon himself which should have been conferred upon him, and would be the commander of all who would submit to follow him and obey his voice.”  1SP:18-19 (ST, January 9, 1879).

 

“There was contention among the angels.  Satan and his sympathizers were striving to reform the government of God.  They were discontented and unhappy because they could not look into His unsearchable wisdom and ascertain His purposes in exalting His Son Jesus, and endowing Him with such unlimited power and command.  They rebelled against the authority of the Son.”  1SP:18.2 (ST, January 9, 1879).

 

“Angels that were loyal and true sought to reconcile this mighty, rebellious angel {Satan} to the Will of his Creator.  They justified the act of God in conferring honor upon Jesus Christ, and with forcible reasoning sought to convince Satan that no less honor was his now than before the Father had proclaimed the honor which he had conferred upon His Son.  They clearly set forth that Jesus was the Son of God, existing with Him before the angels were created; and that He had ever stood at the right hand of God, and His mild, loving authority had not heretofore been questioned; and that He had given no Commands but what it was joy for the Heavenly host to execute.”  1SP:19.1.

 

“Satan 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 Satan was successful in his effort to excite 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 Satan 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 Satan, and assured him what must be the consequence 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 Satan’s deceptive reasonings, and advised Satan, 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. {1SP 20.1}

 

“Many of Satan’s sympathizers were inclined to heed the counsel of the loyal angels, and repent [21] 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 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.”  1SP:20-21.

 

“They had learned the lesson of genuine rebellion against the unchangeable Law of God; and this is incurable.”  1SP:21.1.

 

“The angels were marshaled in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel at their head.  Satan 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.”  1SP:22.1 (ST, January 9, 1879).

 

“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 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.”  1SP:22.2 (ST, January 9, 1879).

 

“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.”  1SP:22.3 (ST, January 9, 1879).

 

“Satan stood in amazement at his new condition.  His happiness was gone.  He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from Heaven with him.  Before their fall, not a shade of discontent had marred their perfect bliss.  Now all seemed changed.  Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing.  Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination, were among them.  Previous to their rebellion these things had been unknown in Heaven.  Satan now beholds the terrible results of his rebellion.  He shuddered, and feared to face the future, and to contemplate the end of these things.”  1SP:28.1 (ST, January 16, 1879).

 

“Satan trembled as he viewed his work.  He was alone in meditation upon the past, the present, and his future plans.  His mighty frame shook as with a tempest.  An angel from Heaven was passing.  He called him, and entreated an interview with Christ.  This was granted him.  He then related to the Son of God that he repented of his rebellion, and wished again the favor of God.  He was willing to take the place God had previously assigned him, and be under His wise Command.  Christ {NOTICE that the “God” Satan is talking to in “Christ”} wept at Satan’s woe, but told him, as the mind of God, that he could never be received into Heaven.  Heaven must not be placed in jeopardy.  All Heaven would be marred should he be received back; for sin and rebellion originated with him.  The seeds of rebellion were still within him.  He had, in his rebellion, no occasion for his course, and he had not only hopelessly ruined himself, but the host of angels also, who [30]

 

“would then have been happy in Heaven had he remained steadfast.  The Law of God could condemn, but could not pardon. {1SP:29.2}

 

“He repented not of his rebellion because he saw the goodness of God which he had abused.  It was not possible that his love for God had so increased since his fall that it would lead to cheerful submission and happy obedience to His Law which had been despised.  The wretchedness he realized in losing the sweet light of Heaven, and the sense of guilt which forced itself upon him, and the disappointment he experienced himself in not finding his expectations realized, were the cause of his grief.  To be commander out of Heaven, was vastly different from being thus honored in Heaven.  The loss he had sustained of all the privileges of Heaven seemed too much to be borne.  He wished to regain these. {1SP:30.1}

 

“This great change of position had not increased his love for God, nor for his wise and just Law.  When Satan became fully convinced that there was no possibility of his being re-instated in the favor of God, he manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence.”  1SP:29-30 (ST, January 16, 1879).

 

“His followers were seeking him; and he aroused [31] himself and, assuming a look of defiance, informed them of his plans to wrest from God the noble Adam and his companion Eve.  If he could, in any way, beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God’s mercy.  If this should fail, they could unite with Adam and Eve; for when once they should transgress the Law of God, they would be subjects of God’s wrath, like themselves.  Their transgression would place them also, in a state of rebellion; and they could unite with Adam and Eve, take possession of Eden, and hold it as their home.  And if they could gain access to the tree of life in the midst of the garden, their strength would, they thought, be equal to that of the holy angels, and even God Himself could not expel them. {1SP:30.4}

 

“Satan held a consultation with his evil angels.  They did not all readily unite to engage in this hazardous and terrible work.  He told them that he would not intrust any one of them to accomplish this work; for he thought that he alone had wisdom sufficient to carry forward so important an enterprise.  He wished them to consider the matter while he should leave them and seek retirement, to mature his plans.  He sought to impress upon them that this was their last and only hope.  If they failed here, all prospect of regaining and controlling Heaven, or any part of God’s creation, was hopeless. {1SP:31.1}

 

“Satan went alone to mature plans that would most surely secure the fall of Adam and Eve.  He had fears that his purposes might be defeated.  And again, even if he should be successful in leading Adam and Eve to disobey the Commandment [32]

 

“of God, and thus become transgressors of His Law, and no good come to himself, his own case would not be improved; his guilt would only be increased. {1SP:31.2}

 

“He shuddered at the thought of plunging the holy, happy pair into the misery and remorse he was himself enduring.  He seemed in a state of indecision; at one time firm and determined, then hesitating and wavering.  His angels were seeking him, their leader, to acquaint him with their decision.  They will unite with Satan in his plans, and with him bear the responsibility, and share the consequences. {1SP:32.1}

 

“Satan cast off his feelings of despair and weakness, and, as their leader, fortified himself to brave out the matter, and do all in his power to defy the authority of God and His Son.”  1SP:31-32 (ST, January 16, 1879).

 

“But when God said to His Son, ‘Let us make man in Our image,’ Satan was jealous of Jesus.  He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.  He desired to receive the highest honors in Heaven next to God.”  EW:145.1 (1SG:17).

 

“The angels were marshaled in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel at its head.  Satan, ambitious to exalt himself, and unwilling to submit to the authority of Jesus, was insinuating against the government of God.  Some of the angels sympathized with Satan in his rebellion, and others strongly contended for the honor and wisdom of God in giving authority to His Son.  There was contention among the angels.  Satan and his sympathizers were striving to reform the government of God.  They wished to look into His unsearchable wisdom, and ascertain His purpose in exalting Jesus and endowing Him with such unlimited [146]

 

“power and Command.  They rebelled against the authority of the Son.  All the Heavenly host were summoned to appear before the Father to have each case decided.  It was there determined that Satan should be expelled from Heaven, with all the angels who had joined him in the rebellion.  Then there was war in heaven.  Angels were engaged in the battle; Satan wished to conquer the Son of God and those who were submissive to His Will.  But the good and true angels prevailed, and Satan, with his followers, was driven from Heaven.”  EW:145-146 (ST, January 9, 1879).

 

“After Satan and those who fell with him were shut out of Heaven, and he realized that he had forever lost all its purity and glory, he repented, and wished to be reinstated in Heaven.  He was willing to take his proper place, or any position that might be assigned him.  But no; Heaven must not be placed in jeopardy.  All Heaven might be marred should he be taken back; for sin originated with him, and the seeds of rebellion were within him.  Both he and his followers wept, and implored to be taken back into the favor of God.  But their sin -- their hatred, their envy and jealousy -- had been so great that God could not blot it out.  It must remain to receive its final punishment.”  EW:146.1.

 

“When Satan became fully conscious that there was no possibility of his being brought again into favor with God, his malice and hatred began to be manifest.  He consulted with his angels, and a plan was laid to still work against God’s government.  When Adam and Eve were placed in the beautiful garden, Satan was laying plans to destroy them.  In no way could this happy couple be deprived of their happiness if they obeyed God.  Satan could not exercise his power upon them unless they should first disobey God and forfeit His favor.  Some plan must therefore be devised to lead them to disobedience that they might incur God’s [147]

 

“frown and be brought under the more direct influence of Satan and his angels.  It was decided that Satan should assume another form and manifest an interest for man.  He must insinuate against God’s truthfulness and create doubt whether God did mean just what He said; next, he must excite their curiosity, and lead them to pry into the unsearchable plans of God -- the very sin of which Satan had been guilty -- and reason as to the cause of His restrictions in regard to the tree of knowledge.”  EW:146.2 (1SG:19-20).