The mysterious and motiveless origin of evil cannot be explained properly. We cannot explain the unexplainable. We don’t have the why of evil, but we do have the how and with whom it actually began.

Three critical passages draw back the curtain on this mystery. Firstly, using the king of Tyre as an analogy, we see a mere man who considers himself a god. This analogy becomes a symbol of the much-honoured heavenly cherub lucifer. (Read Ezek. 28 :2-17). Secondly, in Isaiah14:12-15, the king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) becomes a symbol of the proud lucifer son of the morning. In this passage lucifer is described as having nurtured a desire to be like God.

A third crucial passage is Revelation 12, which reveals the proportions and enduring consequences of lucifer’s rebellion that began in heaven (wherever that might be.) In unambiguous terms we are told that the rebellion was cause by the dragon who is also called the devil and satan (v9). For this they were cast out of heaven (v8-9). He is now the accuser (v10). Jesus further added that he was a liar from the beginning – the father of lies in fact.

Why was he not eliminated right there at the beginning of the rebellion? The answer is important. Had he been immediately blotted from existence; the inhabitants of heaven and the other worlds would have served God from fear rather than from love. Because of this, the influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil had to be allowed to come to maturity. For the good of the entire universe, through ceaseless ages on earth, satan must be allowed to more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings. This would make manifest the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law so that they might forever be placed beyond question.

The themes of this great controversy are woven throughout the stories contained in God’s word. In them we find satan’s baseline purpose for the conflict – the destruction of everything God has made and the contradiction of His love.

Though we know satan is a defeated foe, make no mistake, the serpent’s bite is still deadly. He may have been defeated a Calvary, but the danger is not over yet. Jesus was clear that His followers would not have an easy time, but instead of focusing on the challenges, He focused on the victory He had already won.

We are assured that evil had a beginning, and consequently, it will also have an end. Christ’s victory on the cross of calvary is the guarantee that the time will come when sin and evil will no longer exist, and everything will be perfect again