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Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

Brian Hindman

The Origin of Evil

Well, our subject today, as we look at continuing with our series of Prophecy Speaks Hope, is maybe if you've seen the sermon title, it might look a little unusual.

And you might think on first reaction, why in the world would I go to church to worship God and study a topic such as that, the origin of evil, but I'm here to tell you today that I think it speaks directly to the character of God in dealing with this issue of evil or sin.

We'll see the goodness and the gracious mercy of God as we see this concept developed across the scriptures.

Our subject is found, not something I'm gonna make up in the fairy tale story, but in the word of God.

And so, I don't know if you're able to see what I'm seeing, but we're gonna look at the origin of evil today, and I'm gonna ask for God to bless us and lead us as we try to keep in the front of our minds how does this react and give us an illustration or an understanding of the character of God, His attributes and His nature, who He is, it speaks to that question.

And so I hope that will be significant and meaningful to you as we look at this topic.

But before we begin let's just bow our heads and seek the Lord in prayer.

Dear Father in heaven, Lord I thank you for the privilege of speaking your words.

I pray that you would hide me behind the cross.

That Jesus would be a very real personal savior to me, and that I would be able to clearly and effectively communicate this important subject and topic that many have worried about, many have doubted about and had unsettled feelings as we understand the origin of evil and your plan to eradicate that from the entire universe.

Lord, bless us now as we study your holy word is my prayer in Jesus' name, amen.

Have you ever heard of this person before?

Anyone in here heard of this person before?

Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian politician living before World War II, and he wanted to, let's just say, rise to a higher position of prominence, and so he made a deal with another person who was rising to prominence, Adolf Hitler, to betray his country into the hands of the Germans at the start of World War II.

And so needless to say, in Norway, if I were to ask this question, probably every hand would go up because he is well known and his name, Quisling, has become identified with a traitor, with treachery because of what he did, his actions.

In fact, in 1945, at the close of World War II, he was put on trial by his own country and charged with high treason and was executed by firing squad because of his traitorous designs.

And here is a picture of him working with some of the German high command during World War II.

A traitor, can you think of any traitors in American history?

If you know your history, you know back in the Revolutionary War there was a general who had all kinds of prominence that looked like he was going to be a terrific leader and was on a number of occasions.

In fact, at a key battle in the Revolutionary War called the Battle of Saratoga, while the main American forces were retreating from the British, this person, this general, I'll say his name in a minute, decided to turn around and lead a charge into the face of the advancing British Army and he turned the tide of the battle and the Battle of Saratoga is known as a turning point in the Revolutionary War and a lot of it hinged on his bravery and dashing.

But then he brooded and got upset because he wasn't promoted by the Continental Congress as quickly and as fast as he thought he should be.

And so he agreed to betray his country, try to, in the hands of the British.

And in fact, the plot was found that he was going to betray a fort of, oh my, West Point.

The fort there at West Point, into the hands of the British.

It was uncovered before it happened and he fled for his life, barely escaping from some of Washington's soldiers and fled to the British and was there, even amongst the British, he was not very well respected because he was a traitor to his own side.

Even though he came to our side, he was a traitor.

Well, you might imagine this idea of a traitor is something that we find in the Bible as we study the origin of evil.

There once was a being in heaven that we're gonna look at today who at 1 time was a loyal and loving, obedient follower of God.

But he chose with the power of choice to turn from that allegiance and betray what he once believed and followed.

We're gonna find that, and I'm gonna go through some verses here fairly quickly for the sake of time, beginning in Revelation.

We get a picture of this in Revelation 12, verse 7, of an angel who betrayed what he once believed in and what he once stood for.

The Bible says, and there was war in heaven.

Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not, neither was their place found anymore in heaven.

So a war takes place in heaven and Michael, which is another name for Jesus Christ, and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels And the dragon and his angels lost and were cast out of Heaven." Well who is this dragon?

It's all clearly as we study carefully explained to us in the same chapter of Revelation 12 it says, and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and what?

The dragon then is just a symbol for Satan.

And it says, which deceiveth the whole world he was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him.

So, the question though now is, we see that a war occurred in heaven and that the devil and his angels were cast out, so the question naturally should follow, well, what was the cause for this war?

We don't have to guess, we can find out from the scriptures.

In the Old Testament books of Isaiah and Ezekiel, we'll get a picture of what was happening that led to the war that we saw in Revelation 12.

Notice the description in Isaiah 14 and verse 12, it says, "'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?

How art thou cut down to the ground?' Now what does the name Lucifer actually mean?

Some of you maybe have heard this before, it means light bearer, which is actually a very noble name.

Light is a picture, a symbol for truth and understanding, and the light bearer, if that's your name, kind of represented his position.

In fact, I believe it's safe to say the highest position of any created being in heaven was His.

So, the Bible calls Him the Lucifer, light bearer, or the sun of the morning.

Continuing in Isaiah 14, for thou hast said in thine heart, wait, he said it where?

Did you know the Bible says in Proverbs 23 verse 7 that as a person thinks in their heart, so is he?

We are really what we think about in our hearts, what no 1 else can maybe even see, not even our spouse or closest people around us.

As we think in our heart, that's who we really are, the thinking and imaginings of our heart.

And that's exactly what it says here, that Lucifer in his heart was thinking something that was contrary to the principles of heaven.

He thought this in his heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

Stars in the Bible oftentimes are a representation or symbol for angels.

And he is now, now heaven is a place of perfect unity and harmony and selfless love before this time, but Lucifer is saying, I want exaltation and attention brought to myself rather than to bring attention and exaltation to God, who is my creator.

And then notice he says, I will be like who?

He doesn't wanna be like him in character, in love and goodness and righteousness and justice.

He wants to be like him with a position of power and the fame and control that God had.

Then we get another description in the book of Ezekiel that describes Lucifer.

This is before he chose to sin in heaven, it gives us a reason, a picture of why.

Now I've thought this before, that Lucifer, if maybe he was created as an ugly angel, he might have a reason or excuse to be upset at God and say, well, I'm not as pretty as these other angels, so it's not fair and I'm upset about it.

But it tells us that Because of his beauty, that he actually was incredibly beautiful, it caused him to think more highly of himself than he should have, rather than being grateful for what was given to him and thankful for that.

And it says that his beauty, it says thou has corrupted thy wisdom, his thinking, because of thy brightness.

The idea that he was brighter and more glorious than the other angels is implied I think in these scriptures.

Lucifer thought very highly of himself and in fact self-centered, self-seeking is really at the root of sin.

So what was Lucifer's original position in heaven?

His position that he had, this will help us to understand maybe why Lucifer thought so highly of himself.

Also in Ezekiel, the Bible tells us, thou art the what?

We get a picture in the scriptures of cherubim and seraphim, holy angels that are commissioned to do different tasks by God, but he is the anointed cherub.

And in the scriptures, the anointed cherubs were those that stood closest to the throne of God.

I believe it's in Psalm 99 verse 1, where it talks about how God dwells or sits between the cherubim.

It's in Isaiah and it's also in Psalm where it talks about He sits between the cherubim and He dwells between the cherubim.

And that picture is found from the Old Testament sanctuary which we talked about with the mercy seat, the 2 angels that were on the cover there that were facing right there down looking at the ark below at the law of God, and in between there was the Shekinah glory of God, and right between those angels, the closest connection you could be to God was a position of where Lucifer once was.

To see and to know closer than any other created being, what is God really like?

And it says, thou wast upon the holy mountain of God, thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, and he was a covering cherub, close in proximity to God, closer than any other of the angels.

Let's continue our description here in Ezekiel 28.

The Origin of Evil

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