18
From Eternity Past
had ever stood at the right hand of the Father. Wherefore should there
now be discord?
God bore long with Lucifer. The spirit of discontent was a new
element, strange, unaccountable. Lucifer himself did not see whither
he was drifting. But such efforts as infinite love and wisdom only
could devise were made to convince him of his error. He was made to
see what would be the result of persisting in revolt.
Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong. He saw that
“the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works”
(
Psalm 145:17
), that the divine statutes are just and that he ought to
acknowledge them as such before all heaven. Had he done this, he
[13]
might have saved himself and many angels. If he had been willing to
return to God, satisfied to fill the place appointed him in God’s great
plan, he would have been reinstated in his office. The time had come
for a final decision; he must yield to the divine sovereignty or place
himself in open rebellion. He nearly reached the decision to return,
but pride forbade him. It was too great a sacrifice for one who had
been so highly honored to confess that he had been in error!
Lucifer pointed to the long-suffering of God as an evidence of his
own superiority, an indication that the King of the universe would yet
accede to his terms. If the angels would stand firmly with him, he
declared, they could yet gain all that they desired. He fully committed
himself to the great controversy against his Maker. Thus it was that
Lucifer, “the light bearer,” became Satan, “the adversary” of God and
holy beings.
Rejecting with disdain the entreaties of the loyal angels, he de-
nounced them as deluded slaves. He would never again acknowledge
the supremacy of Christ. He had determined to claim the honor which
should have been given him. And he promised those who would enter
his ranks a new and better government under which all would enjoy
freedom. Great numbers of the angels signified their purpose to accept
him as their leader. He hoped to win all the angels to his side, to
become equal with God Himself, and to be obeyed by the entire host
of heaven.
Still the loyal angels urged him and his sympathizers to submit to
God; they set before them the inevitable result should they refuse. They
warned all to close their ears against Lucifer’s deceptive reasoning and