QandA: The Great Controversy

The following e-mail was sent to GodSaidManSaid by a visitor named S.P.:

Hello. This is a great website. It answers many of my questions. However there is one question which remains unanswered. I have heard that the test of temptation and sin that Adam and Eve failed has also been given to other beings in other worlds. Others have passed this test and are currently watching the Great Controversy unfold here on Earth. Is this true? Can you provide any Scripture to support or deny this? Thank you.

Dear S.P.: Thank you for your e-mail. Your question is substantially more complex than it appears on the surface.

There are untold reams of esoteric writings that claim insight into the questions raised in S.P.’s e-mail. But be advised that the only unquestionable authority on this subject is the inerrant Word of God.

It must be remembered that mankind is not alone in this cognitive existence. There is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There are cherubims, seraphims, angels, a priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, and more.

In the examination of the Scriptures, the reader becomes aware of the downfall of many of God’s angels who decided to challenge the authority of their Creator. Jude 1:6:

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Revelation 12 speaks of these celestial beings led by Lucifer (also known as Satan and the Devil) who were cast out of heaven, but not until the resurrection of Jesus Christ when He destroyed the challenge of Satan. Revelation 12:7-9:

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.

Satan, his angels, and those who follow his pernicious ways—celestial or terrestrial—have and are being tried and found wanting.

Earlier, Satan’s challenge was mentioned. He articulates it in Job when God praises the performance of His servant Job. Job 2:3-5:

3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Satan’s challenge was not satisfied by Job, and was not destroyed until the Cross of Christ and His resurrection from the dead. The blood of sinless Jesus broke the back of Satan’s argument of "skin for skin."

Satan had become the little "g”-od of this earth when our original father and mother sold their birthright, which was eternal life in Paradise and the dominion of the earth. It was by the disobedience of Adam and Eve that the law of sin and death began to rule upon the earth led by Satan, whose M.O. is to steal, kill, and destroy.

The sons and daughters of Adam and Eve needed a redeemer—a second Adam, the sinless, only begotten Son of God—to correct what the first Adam, a son of God, ruined. Romans 5:14-19:

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

I Corinthians 15:22:

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

I Corinthians 15:45:

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

The first Adam aligned himself with the second voice in the Garden of Eden—the voice of Satan, so that man might die. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, aligned Himself with the first voice in Paradise—the voice of Creator God, so that we might live.

The blood of Jesus, the blood of total obedience even unto death, redeems the souls of men and strikes fear and terror in Satan, his devils, and their ilk. Because this blood washes away the sins of those who repent of and forsake their sins, God expunges that believer’s record as though he had never sinned—a concept in the Scriptures known as justification. This makes possible Jeremiah 31:34:

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

The redemption and justification principle reveals the reality of Revelation 12:10-11:

10 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.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Satan’s accusations are no longer relevant. Through the blood of Christ, our sins are washed away. The record is expunged.

All eyes in heaven and Earth were fixed upon the Cross of Christ. Here, Satan’s challenge to God and the Devils’s ability to accuse others before him in heaven was spoiled. Colossians 2:15:

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Satan and his angels were cast down to this earth.

On this earth, men are still being tempted and tried, and choices are being made every day. Which men will repent and forsake and turn back to the first voice? The "Great Controversy" that S.P. speaks of is being played out here on Earth among the sons of men. God and His angels are surely observing. Jesus said in Luke 15:10:

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Have you personally made the choice to surrender your life unto Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory? Do it today while you still have time. Click onto "Further With Jesus" for immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.

Yes, S.P., others have and are being tempted and tried and all of heaven awaits the final outcome. In regard to other worlds, the testing you are questioning pertains to celestial and terrestrial beings.




References:

Authorized King James Version

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