And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”GENESIS 3:15, NIV
Our statement: All humanity is now involved in a great controversy between n Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His Law, and His sovereignty over the universe. This conflict originated in heaven when a created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in self-exaltation became Satan, God’s adversary, and led to rebellion a portion of the angels. He introduced the spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin. This human sin resulted in the distortion of the image of god in humanity. The disordering of the created world, and its eventual devastation at the time of the worldwide flood. Observed by the whole creation, this world became the arena of the universal conflict, out of which the God of love will ultimately be vindicated. To assist His people in this controversy, Christ sends the Holy Spirit and the loyal angels to guide, protect, and sustain them in the way of salvation (SDA Fundamental Beliefs, 8).
In the Scripture text above, God was speaking to Satan, the Devil, after he was able to get Adam and Eve to sin. In verse 1 we read, Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 14“Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. Gen. 3: 1, 14, (New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)). Satan used the most crafty of all animals to be his medium in tempting Eve, so he was cursed above all animals. He was to crawl on his belly. Could the snake fly, then? God said, the Offspring or Descendant (Christ) of the woman will crush his head, but his offspring could only strike His heel. At the Cross, the devil was only able to bruise or strike Christ’s heel, but at the judgment, God will crush his head by throwing him in the lake of fire till he and all those who followed him will be burned to ashes.
The punishment of Satan, his angels, and all who follow him will be an eternal punishment, not an eternal punishing. Eternal punishing is the doctrine that the wicked will burn for ages without dying. This doctrine belies the character of God as God of love. Why would a God of love punish a small-time thief for eternity? But in Malachi 4: 1 says plainly, “See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” Noah’s Flood left lots of debris on the earth, dead bodies of men and animals, but hellfire will burn all the evidence of sin and all the perpetrators till there is nothing left.
How did sin originate? The Bible points us to the texts in Isaiah 14: 12 and Ezekiel 28: 14, using the kings of Tyre and Babylon as figurative descriptions of Lucifer. The mystery of sin began in heaven, a perfect place. After Satan and his angels were turfed out of heaven, they came to a newly created earth and they caused lots trouble after man fell. What happened was that “Sin severed the relationship between God and man. The breaking of God’s commandments or laws, is the immediate result of a lack of faith, the evidence of a ruptured relationship. In turn, by the plan of salvation God intends to restore the trust in the Creator that leads to a loving relationship manifested by obedience. As Christ noted, love leads to obedience (John 14: 15). In our lawless age absolutes are neutralized, dishonesty is praised, bribery is a way of life, adultery is rampant, and agreements, both international and personal lie shattered. It is our privilege to look beyond our desperate world to a caring, omnipotent God. This larger view reveals to us the importance of our Saviour’s atonement, which is bringing this universal controversy to an end.”
“Christ is the focus of the Scriptures. God invites us to comprehend the truth as it is in Jesus. Ephesians 4: 21, for He is the truth (John 14: 5). One of Satan’s strategies in the cosmic conflict is to convince people that they can understand truth apart from Jesus. So several centers of truth have been proposed, either individually or in combination: (1.) Man, (2) nature, or the observable universe (3) Scriptures, and (4) the church. (SDA Believe, p. 101)
“While these all have their part in revealing truth, Scrpitures present Christ as the Creator of each of the above, and transcending each. They all find real meaning only in the One from whom they come. Divorcing Bible doctrines from Him leads to a misunderstanding regarding “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14: 6). It suits both the nature and the purpose of the antichrist to suggest other centers of truth than Christ. (In the original Greek, antichrist may mean not only “against” Christ but “in the place of” Christ). By substituting some other center than Christ in the church doctrines, Satan achieves his goal of directing attention away from the One who is the only hope of humanity.” (p. 104)
What is revealed by the cosmic conflict at the Cross? “The salvation of humanity was at stake in Christ’s ministry and death, for He came to give His life for the remission of our sins. In doing so He vindicated His Father’s character, law, and government, against which Satan had cast false aspersions. Christ’s life vindicated God’s justice and goodness and demonstrated that God’s law and government were fair. Christ revealed the groundlessness of Satan’s attack on God, showing that through total dependence of God’s power and grace repentant believers could rise above the harassments and frustrations of daily temptations and live victorious over sin.” (SDA Fundamental doctrines, p. 105)
To contact us: Our website is “www.abundantlifeadventist.ca. Worship with us every Saturday Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Genesis 2: 2, 3, Exodus 20: 8-10, Isaiah 58: 13, 14; Isaiah 66: 22, 23; Matthew 5: 17-19; Revelation 22: 14, John 14: 1-3, Rev. 6:6-12
By Ben Berto
