Is Suffering a Part of God's
Plan?
When we considered the marvels of
creation which point to an all-wise Creator in lesson 2, we called these
evidences the "footprints of God."
But on the other side of the picture,
we see that the world abounds in "footprints" of a totally different
kind! Consider these examples: Fear. Pain. Poverty. Filth. Ugliness.
Cruelty. Accidents. Hatred. War. Disease. Death.
Are they also footprints of God? If
not, whose footprints are they? And why are they present in a world that is
supposed to be governed by a wise and loving God?
Back in eternity past, peace reigned in God's universe.
Everyone loved and trusted God and each other, and God could safely trust in
all his children. What happened to interrupt the peace in God's family?
THE ORIGIN OF SIN
1. What is the cause of suffering, pain, and death?
Therefore,
just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus
death spread to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Do
you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that
one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience
leading to righteousness? Romans 6:16
For
sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Romans 7:11
Has
then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might
appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through
the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. Romans 7:13
Then,
when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full-grown, brings forth death. James 1:15
Note:
God created the human heart for happiness and life; pain, suffering, and
ultimately destruction are the inevitable results of sin.
2. With whom did sin originate?
He
who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this
purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the
devil. I John
3:8
Note:
Satan is the author of sin.
3. Where did the Devil come from?
And
He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Luke 10:18
4. Did God create a devil?
Moreover
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son of man, take
up a lamentation for the king of
And
the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He
has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great
day. Jude 6
For
if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment. 2 Peter 2:4
Note:
When we read the account of the creation of the world, we find that God
declared all his creations "good," Genesis 1:10,12,18,21,25,31.
In verse 12 of Ezekiel 28, Satan is referred to as the "king of
5. What was his position in heaven?
You
were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You
were on the holy
Note:
Satan was once one of God's closest friends—ne of the two angels who stood
right next to God, the "Covering Cherubs. His name was Lucifer—properly
translated "The Daystar" or "Light Bearer." Apparently,
Lucifer went forth from God's throne and told the other angels about God's
love.
6. What caused Lucifer's downfall?
How
you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down
to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you
have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:12-14
Note:
here is the prime example of the results of SELF. Lucifer had said “I,” “I,”
“I;” finally, he coveted God's throne. He later showed that he was willing to
drag God off his throne and kill him.
7. What did he proceed to do?
You
are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own
resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. John 8:44
Now compare
Genesis 3:1,4,5: Now the
serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had
made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You
shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" Then the serpent said to the
woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of
it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil."
Note:
Jesus said Satan was the first liar. Satan voiced the question, "Can God be trusted?" before the entire universe; he then
proceeded to lie about God and to try to undermine his reputation. Thus began
the Great Controversy between Christ [Michael] and Satan over the character and
government of God (Revelation 12:7. See supplemental study 4b for proof that
Michael is our God and Saviour Jesus Christ).
THE TRUE STORY OF "STAR WARS"
8. What did this finally lead to?
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. Then I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren,
who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. Revelation 12:7-10
Note:
God bore long with Lucifer; however, there finally came a time when he could no
longer allow Satan to stay in heaven and jeopardize the peace and holiness of
heaven. Satan and his followers were cast out of heaven.
9. How many angels were cast out with him?
And
another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven
heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of
the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before
the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was
born. Revelation
12:3,4
Note:
Stars in Bible prophecy represent angels (Revelation
HOW WE GOT INVOLVED
When God was faced with this state of emergency in his universe,
he did something that may have surprised the onlooking universe. he proceeded to create a whole new planet now called earth,
and a whole new order of beings called mankind.
10. One of Satan's accusations was that God is a dictator; that he was selfish,
and
wouldn't share his creative power. How did God answer this charge?
Then
God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps
on the earth." So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them, and God
said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over
every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:26-28
Note:
God made man as much like himself as he could have—"in his own
image," with the power to think and to do; he made man a free moral agent.
Then he did something perhaps unique in the universe—he gave us the power to
pro-create little people in our image—making us as close to being like God as
possible!
11. Were we really created free?
And
out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the
sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden,
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9
And
the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you
may freely eat; 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." Genesis 2:16-17
Note:
If God had not allowed Satan to approach man, he could have cited this as proof
that man was not really free; that God knew that if allowed to choose, man
would side with Satan.
However, the Devil was not allowed to hound man continually
around the garden; he could only approach him at the tree.
12. How did the earth come under Satan's dominion?
Now
the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had
made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You
shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the
serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall
not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "
Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For
God knows that in the day 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. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and
they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the
presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:1-8
Note:
Adam, the original head of planet earth, sadly lost his freedom and purity to
Satan. Our planet has been plagued by sin and its results ever since.
13. So where is the Devil now?
Therefore
rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to
the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having
great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." Revelation 12:12
14. What is he doing?
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I Peter 5:8
WHY WAS SIN PERMITTED?
15. Why didn't God destroy the Devil immediately to prevent sin from
contaminating the universe?
He
who does not love does not know God, for God is love. I John 4:8
Note:
If God is love, then his government is based on love—And we have known and
believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love
abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected
among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of
judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in
love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he
who fears has not been made perfect in love. (I John 4:16-18)
If God had
destroyed Satan immediately, the heavenly beings would have obeyed him from
fear. God gave his free moral agents enough time to judge for themselves the
nature and results of Satan's rebellion and sin.
16. Satan had declared to the intelligent universe that God cannot be
trusted. On what basis does God ask us to trust him?
Jesus
answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in
my Father's name, they bear witness of me. John 10:25
Believe
me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the
sake of the works themselves. John 14:11
Note:
Even though he is the infinite, all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the
universe, God did not ask us to take his word for it—instead, he "took his case into court" (Romans 3:4, see
Goodspeed) and asked us to view the evidence.
17. How did God deal with the rebellion?
Inasmuch
then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise
shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power
of death, that is, the devil. Hebrews 2:14
My
little children, let us not love in word or in tongue,
but in deed and in truth. I John 3:18
Note:
God did not just deny Satan's accusations. Instead, God himself came to earth
to prove the truthfulness of his word and the falsity of Satan's. Jesus' life
and death on the cross was God showing the universe what kind of a Person he
is.
Satan had desired to be God. In plain contrast with this
was the character of God manifested through Christ, Who, as we read it in
Philippians 2:6-8, emptied himself (Phillips
translation) and gave his life freely.
18. What should be our basis and foundation for trusting God?
Now
behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus,
which was seven miles from
And
He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one
another as you walk and are sad?" Then the one whose name was Cleopas
answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in
So
they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a
Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the
chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and
crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem
Then
He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that
the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things
and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets,
He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were
going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained
Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far
spent."
And
He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with
them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their
eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they
said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked
with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" Luke 24:13-32
Note:
It is highly significant that Jesus, even though he is God himself, did not
merely reveal himself in power and say, "What are your questions? I will
answer them, and I expect you to believe Me.” Instead,
he walked with them all day and showed them the evidence that he was the
Messiah. After they had been convinced by the truth, he then revealed himself
to them! Even God does not ask us to believe him on the basis of his personal
testimony.
19. What was the ultimate answer to Satan's accusations?
And by him to reconcile all things to himself, by Him, whether
things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his
cross. Colossians
1:20
Note:
Peace is the opposite of war. The cross forever settled the Great Controversy
in the eyes of the onlooking universe (John
20. So what will be Satan's final fate?
Thou
hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the
iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of
thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in
the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the
people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt
thou be any more. Ezekiel
28:18,19 KJV
Note:
God will finally let Satan go, and receive the natural consequences of his sin.
21. Why has the destruction of sin and Satan been delayed?
The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is
longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
And
other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they
will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and
one shepherd. John
10:16
Note:
God is waiting for his one lost sheep, his one lost planet, to
decide (read all of Luke 15).
SATAN'S STRATEGIES EXPOSED!
22. What warnings had God given us regarding the Devil's deceptive
strategy?
For
such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself
transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if
his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose
end will be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
23. Can Satan work miracles to deceive people?
And I
saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out
of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they
are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth
and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty. "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and
keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see
his shame." Revelation
16:13,14
The
coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power,
signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who
perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. 2
Thessalonians 2:9,10
24. What is to be our standard of faith, the measure used for any doctrine?
To
the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it
is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20
These
were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the
word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether
these things were so. Acts
Note:
The Bible and the Bible only is to be our measure of
faith. If something goes contrary to Scripture, we are to reject it.
25. Could Satan even use the Bible to deceive?
Then
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the
temple, and said to him, “If You are the Son of God,
throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give his angels charge over
you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest
you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Matthew 4:1,5,6
Note:
Satan even tried to deceive Jesus by using Scripture!
26. How can I be certain that Satan will not deceive me?
The
coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power,
signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who
perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should
believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who
did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Note:
We will find safety in loving the TRUTH above tradition or what we have
believed to be true once we discover it is error. Satan deceived Eve, who had
just come from the hand of God; we have been degenerated by 6,000 years of sin.
Our only hope is to love the truth, because then the Spirit of Truth will be
able to guide us.
If we were to decide that the only safe basis on which to
trust was to know the truth and carefully investigate both sides, demanding the
best evidence, is there any way that God could lose, or that we could be
misled? Is the truth ever on Satan's side? Satan cannot use truth; he'd lose if
he did. he doesn't dare use the method of open
investigation and inquiry.
But God's
government is completely open to the entire universe (see Daniel 7:9,10; Job 1:6; John
CONCLUSION
Fear God, and give glory to him,
for the hour of his judgment is come. Revelation 14:8 KJV
We are almost at the climax of the war between Christ and
Satan. Jesus invites you to examine the evidence of his life and death. Whose
side do you choose in the Great Controversy?
My response to Christ is:______________________________