Lucifer's Last Stand
Brent King
Copyright © 2013 by Brent King
All rights reserved
Edited and proofread by Leslie and Geri King, Peter and Carol Penner, and Dennis Priebe
Cover designed by Ronnell Porter, https://ronnelldporter.wix.com/design
Manufactured in the United States for Bluewater Publications
“It is Satan's constant effort to misrepresent the character of God, the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the great controversy. His sophistry lessens the obligation of the divine law and gives men license to sin. At the same time he causes them to cherish false conceptions of God so that they regard Him with fear and hate rather than with love. The cruelty inherent in his own character is attributed to the Creator; it is embodied in systems of religion and expressed in modes of worship.”
― Ellen White, Great Controversy between Christ and Satan
INTRODUCTION
We haven’t lived very long before we realize that something has gone critically wrong with our universe. We begin to understand from our earliest stories that two principles contend for supremacy in our world: good and evil. These principles have clashed with each other throughout history, and are rushing headlong toward a final confrontation.
The fabric of every life and civilization on earth is caught up into this conflict. Every life must enter this moral battle in which it has no choice but to decide on which side it will play. This crucial decision should not be left to chance, but should be informed by a closer look at the game pieces and the rules of play.
The purpose of this book is to see the grand central theme of the history of this war between good and evil. What are the fundamental issues at stake in this controversy from its very beginning? What has kept it from being resolved for so many centuries? What must happen before it can be brought to a close?
I have written this book, because too often we miss the logic of God’s purpose on earth and in our lives. We don’t look at the big picture, so we miss the forest for the trees. If we don’t understand the crucial issues underpinning the struggle here on earth, then the unique Seventh Day Adventist interpretation of prophecy will make no sense. Yet if we see the root of the controversy clearly, then all of the tenets of our faith will add up.
This story goes behind the scenes to explore the vital questions concerning the cause and resolution of this great controversy. In understanding these issues, we will see beyond the limited light of past generations and stand a better chance of fighting on the side of good instead of evil.
CHAPTER ONE
“How could he neglect me like this?!” cried the mighty angel. “A fine way he has of returning devotion! I would expect much more from a god who is love, far more than this betrayal of my faithful service.”
He frowned as he mounted his wings upward to a height far above us. His voice swelled, and it washed over our hearts like a tempest.
“I am Lucifer, the Enlightened One,” he said, “and if he won’t listen to me or include me in his counsels, I will not stand by and submit to such abuse.”
His high brow shook as he finished.
“I will be heard! I will take his throne by force if I must!”
Panic surged through me as I listened. Even though I sympathized with him, such possibilities had never crossed my mind. Fear invaded me. What was happening to us?
As I stood paralyzed, a massive quadrant of angels broke off and moved toward the north.
“Go ahead!” Lucifer shouted after them, “Tell him all about it—like he doesn’t know already!”
His eyes met mine, and he spoke quietly.
“Follow them,” he said.
I hurried after them, and soon we came before God. Mighty seas of angels were awash upon his lofty throne. Our voices swelled as one.
“How will you deal with Lucifer?” we cried.
* * *
As God gazed out across the vast assembly before him, sadness shadowed his face. The specter of pain stole the characteristic twinkle from his eyes. Lucifer had come to the end of his demands and now rose up proudly to his full stature. He pointed exultingly to me and all his followers.
“I am not alone,” he said, “but a few more and I would have the majority of heaven on my side. Listen carefully, or your heaven may end up being a pretty messed up place.”
I didn’t see tears in God’s eyes, but I felt them. They choked his voice as he spoke.
“No Lucifer,” he said, as he extended his hand, “What you ask can never be. You, most of all, should know this. Give up these futile demands, and come back to me.”
It didn’t go well from there. The host of heaven teemed and surged as we pressed our mutiny, with mounting passion, into active revolt. Lucifer and billions more of us came up against the throne and the loyal angels with malevolence. At the climax, Lucifer launched his person against God himself. None of us could bear the flash of glory that followed, and we fled into the darkness.
Gloomy and increasingly threatening shadows plagued us there. No one could agree upon what should be done next. I don’t think Lucifer himself believed that God would actually ban him from heaven. One thing was sure: no happiness or joy followed us into that place. We each longed for the purity and glory of our home and deliverance from the horrible dream into which we had fallen.
At last Lucifer assembled us and admitted his mistake: that he should never have rebelled against our creator. He told us that he was going to beg God’s forgiveness and seek our return to heaven.
He took me with him to entreat an interview with the Son of God. As we came into his presence, we bent low before him.
“Oh mighty one,” Lucifer said, “hear my cry, for I repent of my rebellion and ask once again the I may find favor in your sight. I wish again to serve you in the position you have assigned me from the beginning. My exile from heaven is unbearable.”
As Lucifer finished, God was weeping, sobbing out his grief at Lucifer’s woe. Certainly, I thought, this was a good sign. However, as he recovered from his tears, he shook his head.
“I’m sorry Lucifer,” he said, “the seeds of rebellion are within you. All heaven would be at risk if we took you back.”
The Son paused, and his eyes met mine. His shoulders drooped as he spoke again.
“We pleaded long with you to come back, but you persisted to the point of war even when you knew your course was unjust. You have stepped too far. Even now, you are not seeking to return out of true repentance. Your heart no longer feels that. You have not only hopelessly ruined yourself, but also a host of others who could have been eternally happy in heaven.”
As the Son of God’s words sunk into his mind, Lucifer began weeping himself. His great frame shook as he pleaded with him again and again for another chance. The fearful scene drove a spike into my heart, and I felt hollow inside, as if I were ceasing to exist.
At last Lucifer was silent as the realization of our situation sunk in. Slowly I watched the rebellion creep back into his eyes as his true spirit returned. He glowered at God.
“Angels don’t need your laws,” he sneered. “You restrict our freedom and then blame us for the fallout. Your government is the real cause of this mess. If you would just leave us alone and let us make our own rules, then we would be happier.”
Lucifer’s face contorted with vehemence, and he spit out the words.
“You haven’t seen the end of this! I hope you have counted the cost!”
As we turned to leave, I cast a backward glance at the Son of God’s crestfallen form, a picture I have never been able to erase from my memory.
Life drug drearily on in our dark place. Lucifer continually reminded us of God’s mistreatm
ent, yet I couldn’t help but desperately miss the bliss of heaven. I couldn’t shake the hollowness that gripped me, and I took it out on my subordinates.
When I thought I could bear it no more, the darkness exploded into light. Radiance ignited the heavens. Colors and textures lit the shadows. We stood by and watched spellbound as God added a physical dimension to his kingdom. A new heavens and a new earth took shape before our eyes with suns, planets, trees, and creatures.
“It is good!” God said again and again, as his voice echoed through the galaxies.
Yet it wasn’t until the creation of the man and woman that Lucifer’s spirit revived. Even before the end of their first Sabbath his hellish chuckle filled our assembly.
“As you can see,” he said, “God has created new creatures like himself. They live in the bliss we once shared, and I hate them! But take heart comrades, for they are innocent and naive. When they succumb to my power—and they will—the pain on God’s face will be sweet. Indeed! A brighter day has dawned for us, for God’s new companions will become our ticket back into heaven.”
He paused a moment before laughing—a dark and malevolent outburst.
“It will be too easy to entice them to take our side,” he continued, “and when they succumb—heh! heh! heh!—God will try to save them, but to accomplish that he will have to save us too.”
A cheer rose from our ranks that swelled to a roar, and Lucifer sprang into action. It didn’t take him long. His description of men’s naivety and weakness was surely correct. The earth’s sun had not made many orbits before Lucifer’s shrieks filled the air. With exultation he cried out in our midst.
“I did it!” he cried between screams of pleasure, “I did it! God is beside himself with grief. Adam and Eve are like us now, and we will share in the mercy God is sure to extend them.”
Lucifer paused to let out another fiendish howl of delight.
“They won’t be able to keep God’s law any better than we can,” he said. “We will make sure of that! And when God’s mercy saves them, it will have to save us too!”
“We’re going back to heaven!” he cried, and all the host of us returned the chant, “We’re going back to heaven!