Question:
If God could have prevented all the suffering caused by sin simply by destroying Lucifer when he first rebelled, why didn’t He do so? Wouldn’t that have been far easier than sending Christ to die upon the cross?
If you have not already done so, you may wish to read our previous Bible Answers, “Did God Create Sin?” and “Why Did God Create Lucifer If He Knew He Would Rebel?” Those articles provide the foundation for understanding this question.
Answer:
From the standpoint of power, God certainly could have done so. He could have chosen not to create Lucifer. He could have destroyed him the very moment rebellion arose. Neither would have presented any difficulty for the Almighty.
But the issue before the universe was never whether God possessed sufficient power to put down a rebellion. No created being could successfully challenge God’s power. The real issue was God’s character and the principles upon which His government rests.
Lucifer did not simply choose to rebel. He accused God. He represented God’s government as unfair. He implied that God’s law was restrictive and unnecessary. He sought to persuade the angels that God’s ways were not just and that created beings would be happier if they lived independently of their Creator. Those accusations could not be answered merely by removing the one who made them.
Suppose God had destroyed Lucifer immediately. The angels would certainly have known that God was stronger than the rebel. But would every question have been settled? Would they have known whether Lucifer’s accusations were true or false? Or would some have wondered whether God had silenced a dissenter before his claims could be examined?
Someone may ask another question. “Could not God simply have destroyed Lucifer and erased every memory of the rebellion from the minds of the angels?”
Certainly He could have. God is omnipotent. But concealing a problem is not the same as solving it.
Even if every created being had forgotten the rebellion, God Himself would still know that it had occurred. The questions that Lucifer raised concerning His character and government would never actually have been answered. They would simply have been hidden from view.
God does not build His government upon suppressed truth or forgotten history. He builds it upon truth that has been fully revealed and honestly examined. For that reason, the principles of sin had to be allowed to reveal themselves. The universe needed to see where rebellion against God actually leads. Sin is not merely an act that needed to be punished; it is a principle that had to be exposed.
The history of this world has become that demonstration. Every page of human history bears witness to what happens when men choose independence from God. Violence, suffering, oppression, hatred, broken homes, disease, death, and every sorrow known to mankind all testify to the true nature of sin.
Then came Calvary. There, the controversy reached its clearest revelation. The one who had accused God of selfishness and injustice revealed his own character by inspiring the murder of the spotless Son of God.
At the same time, God revealed His own character as never before. Rather than saving Himself, Christ willingly laid down His life for those who had rebelled against Him.
Paul says that Christ was set forth, “…to declare his righteousness… that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25–26)
The cross declared before heaven and earth that God’s law is righteous, His government is just, and His love is beyond measure.
The controversy was not settled by force. It was settled by truth.
When every intelligent being has seen both the character of Satan and the character of God, there will never again be an honest reason to question which government is worthy of trust. That is why Nahum could write, “Affliction shall not rise up the second time.” (Nahum 1:9)
God’s purpose was never merely to end the first rebellion. His purpose was to settle the sin question forever.
By the time sin is finally destroyed, every question will have been answered. Every accusation will have been examined. Every mouth will be stopped. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that God’s judgments are true and righteous altogether.
So, when we ask, “Wouldn’t it have been easier simply to destroy Lucifer?” the answer is yes. But God was not seeking the easiest solution. He was seeking the only solution that would forever secure the universe against another rebellion.
The destruction of Lucifer would have removed the rebel. The great controversy removes every reasonable doubt concerning God’s character.
That is why the plan of redemption stands at the very center of God’s dealings with sin. It not only saves fallen man, but forever vindicates the character of God and secures the loyalty of the universe through conviction rather than fear.
