Beginning of the End: Satan Leads in Rebellion

 Rejecting with scorn the appeals of the loyal angels, he called them deluded slaves. He would never again acknowledge the supremacy of Christ. He had determined to claim the honor that 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 declared 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.

The loyal angels still urged him and his sympathizers to submit to God, setting before them the inevitable result if they refused. They warned everyone to close their ears against Lucifer’s deceptive reasoning and urged him and his followers to seek the presence of God without delay and confess the error of questioning His wisdom and authority.

Many were inclined to repent of their discontent and seek to again be united with the Father and His Son. But Lucifer now declared that the angels who had joined with him had gone too far to return; God would not forgive. For himself, he was determined never again to acknowledge the authority of Christ. The only course remaining was to assert their liberty and gain by force the rights that had not been granted them.

God permitted Satan to carry forward his work until the spirit of discontent ripened into active revolt. It was necessary for his plans to be fully developed, that all might see their true nature. God’s government included not only the inhabitants of heaven, but all the worlds that He had created. Lucifer concluded that if he could carry the angels with him in rebellion, he could also carry the worlds. All his acts were so clothed with mystery that it was difficult to see the true nature of his work. Even the loyal angels could not fully understand his character or see where his work was leading. Everything simple he shrouded in mystery, and by spinning the truth he cast doubt upon the plainest statements of God. And his high position gave greater force to his assertions.