Study Focus: Gen. 3:1–4, Isa. 14:12–15, Ezek. 28:12–19, Matt. 13:24–30, John 8:44, Rev. 12:7–9.
Introduction: The cosmic conflict impacts every human being on a daily basis and the universe at large. Satan attempts to usurp the worship that is due God, but he will be defeated in the end.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson underlines three main notions:
The cosmic conflict is not a dualistic battle of omnipotent powers. The cosmic conflict centers on the moral perfection of God’s character. The conflict does not involve two equally independent powers fighting over an endless war, as Lucifer was originally created by God and decided to question his Creator’s character.
The cosmic conflict involves God’s people. The whole universe feels the effects of the cosmic conflict. In heaven, Christ was the primary target of Lucifer’s rebellion. In the wilderness, Satan questioned Jesus’ Sonship. Yet, Jesus was victorious, and He is empowered to make us sons and daughters of God.
The resolution of the cosmic conflict could not be premature. There will come a day when God finally will put an end to evil. Meanwhile, evil is permitted to come to maturity so that the false charges made against God’s divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings.
Life Application: How should the fact that we are facing the effects of the cosmic conflict on a daily basis make us even more aware and willing to depend on God at all times?
Part II: Commentary
1. The Cosmic Conflict Is Not a Dualistic Battle of Omnipotent Powers.
There are distinct versions of the cosmic conflict in different religious and/or philosophical circles. An influential non-Christian version is dualism. As C. S. Lewis points out, dualism is “the belief that there are two equal and independent powers at the back of everything, one of them good and the other bad, and that this universe is the battlefield in which they fight out an endless war.” To say that these powers are equally independent means that “they both existed from all eternity.”—Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan, 1960), pp. 33, 34. This dualistic engagement is not the type of cosmic conflict emphasized in the Bible. From a biblical perspective, the one who is now called Satan “was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went wrong.” Similar to dualism, the Christian view is that our “universe is at war.” But unlike dualism, “it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel.”—Mere Christianity, p. 36.
Therefore, instead of a cosmic conflict fought between two independent omnipotent powers, what we have is a rebellion of the creature against the Creator. According to what we learn about the role of the deceiving serpent in Genesis 3, the conflict centers on the perception of God’s character as reflected in His law. In other words, is God trustworthy? Can we believe His words? Obviously, these two questions are crucial for a loving relationship. It is basically impossible to develop a genuine and deep love relationship with someone we do not trust.
The rebellion of Lucifer against God, which marks the beginning of the cosmic conflict, starts in heaven and is observed in Isaiah 14:12–15 and Ezekiel 28:12–19, especially as we compare these chapters with Genesis 3 and Revelation 12. Whereas the passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel refer directly to the kings of Babylon and Tyre, respectively, “in each passage there is a movement from the local, historical realm of earthly kings to the heavenly supernatural realm describing Lucifer/Satan and the rise of the Great Controversy.”—Richard Davidson, “Cosmic Narrative for the Coming Millennium,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 11, nos. 1, 2 (2000): p. 107. Essentially, Lucifer/Satan wants to make himself exalted like God. More precisely, he wishes to possess/usurp God’s dignified status and power, but not His loving character, given that Lucifer/Satan attempts to exalt himself by means of trading/slander (Ezek. 28:16) and lies (Gen. 3:4, John 8:44).
2. The Cosmic Conflict Involves God’s People.
Whereas the cosmic conflict began with the rebellion of Lucifer against God in heaven, it eventually involved somehow the universe as a whole. More specifically, it involved angels (Rev. 12:7–9) and human beings (Genesis 3). Because Eve fell into the devil’s temptation and Adam intentionally followed her, our world became the stage of the cosmic conflict. In a sinful world, human life became characterized by the cosmic conflict. In other words, human creatures face the existence and the effects of the cosmic conflict every day. Obviously, this scenario is also true for the history of God’s people throughout Scripture.
If the divine Christ already was the primary target of Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven (Rev. 12:7; see also Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, chapter 1 [“Why Was Sin Permitted?”]), His earthly condition as our Redeemer and the new representative of God’s people, the second Adam (Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45), put the incarnate Christ as the primary target of Satan’s intensified attacks in the wilderness.
Luke’s account of the temptation of Christ is preceded by the divine affirmation of His Sonship (“ ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased’ ” [Luke 3:22, NKJV]) in the narrative of His baptism, which is followed by a genealogical list, starting with Jesus as the “son of Joseph” (Luke 3:23), and progressively moving backward (Luke 3:23–38) to Adam, “the son of God” (Luke 3:38). With this background of Sonship language in mind, the attentive hearer/reader of the Gospel sees Satan beginning his temptations in the wilderness by questioning whether Jesus is, in fact, “the Son of God” (Luke 4:3), which is clearly and precisely what the divine voice told Jesus a few verses earlier. If we take Adam as an important reference in the genealogy that immediately precedes the narrative of the temptation, there is a stark similarity with the temptation of the serpent in Eden, where Eve also questioned, at least in her mind, (see Gen. 3:1, 4) a clear statement from God to her husband and her about the deadly results of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as indicated a few verses before (see Gen. 2:17).
In any case, the good news of the narrative of the temptation in the Gospels is that we have a different history of humanity in Jesus, the new Adam. While Adam fell in the temptation in Eden, Jesus was victorious in the temptation in the wilderness. His victory opened up a new horizon for the sons and daughters of God in the cosmic conflict, inasmuch as Christ is the new Adam, that is, the new head of the human family.
In Matthew’s Gospel, the narrative of the temptation appears right after the account of Jesus’ baptism. Instead of Luke’s universal reference to Adam, Matthew seems to have in mind the people of Israel. The genealogy focuses on such figures as Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1–17), and the decree for the death of children in the context of the history of Jesus (Matt. 2:13–16) echoes the history of Moses. The comparison with the people of Israel becomes more emphatic when we notice that all the answers Jesus gave to the devil in the wilderness are scripturally taken from the experience of Israel in the desert (Deut. 8:3, Deut. 6:16, Deut. 6:13). In short, where Israel failed, Jesus was victorious, which opens up a new horizon for the people of God in the cosmic conflict, as Christ representatively takes the place of a new Israel.
3. The Resolution of the Cosmic Conflict Could Not Be Premature.
The parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24–30 indicates the presence of a cosmic conflict in Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of heaven. The enemy is able to sow weeds to grow with the wheat (the good seed). This sowing is not only an evil action but also a deceiving one, as any corrective attempt to immediately uproot the weeds in order to fix this problematic situation may endanger the wheat (Matt. 13:29). For this reason, the necessary distinction and separation between them must wait until the harvest or the final judgment (Matt. 13:30).
It is noteworthy that Ellen G. White’s account of God’s reaction to Lucifer/Satan in the initial stages of the cosmic conflict in heaven follows the same biblical principle underlined in the parable of the wheat and the tares. As she explains why God did not immediately destroy Satan, Ellen G. White points out that “the influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to maturity. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might forever be placed beyond all question.”—The Great Controversy, p. 499.
Part III: Life Application
Discuss the following questions with your students:
How could you best explain the nature of the cosmic conflict to a nonbeliever, taking into consideration that we all face the effects of this conflict in the world?
As we reflect upon the way God deals with the false allegations raised by the devil, we are moved by His loving and trustworthy character. How does building relationships of trust with one another in the church show God’s loving character?
Loving and trusting someone depends on the moral character of the person in question. In your own life, what virtues do you need to cultivate, by God’s grace, in order to reflect God’s character?
When people become distant and stop being intimate with God, oftentimes something changes in their view of God’s character. In order to avoid this danger, in what ways can we be more intentional about experiencing God’s presence and exalting/expressing His attributes and loving character to others?
Adjust My Preferences
Welcome! Please set your reading preferences below.
You can access this panel later by clicking the
preference icon
in the top right of the page.
Key Text: Genesis 3:15
Study Focus: Gen. 3:1–4, Isa. 14:12–15, Ezek. 28:12–19, Matt. 13:24–30, John 8:44, Rev. 12:7–9.
Introduction: The cosmic conflict impacts every human being on a daily basis and the universe at large. Satan attempts to usurp the worship that is due God, but he will be defeated in the end.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson underlines three main notions:
The cosmic conflict is not a dualistic battle of omnipotent powers. The cosmic conflict centers on the moral perfection of God’s character. The conflict does not involve two equally independent powers fighting over an endless war, as Lucifer was originally created by God and decided to question his Creator’s character.
The cosmic conflict involves God’s people. The whole universe feels the effects of the cosmic conflict. In heaven, Christ was the primary target of Lucifer’s rebellion. In the wilderness, Satan questioned Jesus’ Sonship. Yet, Jesus was victorious, and He is empowered to make us sons and daughters of God.
The resolution of the cosmic conflict could not be premature. There will come a day when God finally will put an end to evil. Meanwhile, evil is permitted to come to maturity so that the false charges made against God’s divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings.
Life Application: How should the fact that we are facing the effects of the cosmic conflict on a daily basis make us even more aware and willing to depend on God at all times?
Part II: Commentary
1. The Cosmic Conflict Is Not a Dualistic Battle of Omnipotent Powers.
There are distinct versions of the cosmic conflict in different religious and/or philosophical circles. An influential non-Christian version is dualism. As C. S. Lewis points out, dualism is “the belief that there are two equal and independent powers at the back of everything, one of them good and the other bad, and that this universe is the battlefield in which they fight out an endless war.” To say that these powers are equally independent means that “they both existed from all eternity.”—Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan, 1960), pp. 33, 34. This dualistic engagement is not the type of cosmic conflict emphasized in the Bible. From a biblical perspective, the one who is now called Satan “was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went wrong.” Similar to dualism, the Christian view is that our “universe is at war.” But unlike dualism, “it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel.”—Mere Christianity, p. 36.
Therefore, instead of a cosmic conflict fought between two independent omnipotent powers, what we have is a rebellion of the creature against the Creator. According to what we learn about the role of the deceiving serpent in Genesis 3, the conflict centers on the perception of God’s character as reflected in His law. In other words, is God trustworthy? Can we believe His words? Obviously, these two questions are crucial for a loving relationship. It is basically impossible to develop a genuine and deep love relationship with someone we do not trust.
The rebellion of Lucifer against God, which marks the beginning of the cosmic conflict, starts in heaven and is observed in Isaiah 14:12–15 and Ezekiel 28:12–19, especially as we compare these chapters with Genesis 3 and Revelation 12. Whereas the passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel refer directly to the kings of Babylon and Tyre, respectively, “in each passage there is a movement from the local, historical realm of earthly kings to the heavenly supernatural realm describing Lucifer/Satan and the rise of the Great Controversy.”—Richard Davidson, “Cosmic Narrative for the Coming Millennium,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 11, nos. 1, 2 (2000): p. 107. Essentially, Lucifer/Satan wants to make himself exalted like God. More precisely, he wishes to possess/usurp God’s dignified status and power, but not His loving character, given that Lucifer/Satan attempts to exalt himself by means of trading/slander (Ezek. 28:16) and lies (Gen. 3:4, John 8:44).
2. The Cosmic Conflict Involves God’s People.
Whereas the cosmic conflict began with the rebellion of Lucifer against God in heaven, it eventually involved somehow the universe as a whole. More specifically, it involved angels (Rev. 12:7–9) and human beings (Genesis 3). Because Eve fell into the devil’s temptation and Adam intentionally followed her, our world became the stage of the cosmic conflict. In a sinful world, human life became characterized by the cosmic conflict. In other words, human creatures face the existence and the effects of the cosmic conflict every day. Obviously, this scenario is also true for the history of God’s people throughout Scripture.
If the divine Christ already was the primary target of Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven (Rev. 12:7; see also Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, chapter 1 [“Why Was Sin Permitted?”]), His earthly condition as our Redeemer and the new representative of God’s people, the second Adam (Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45), put the incarnate Christ as the primary target of Satan’s intensified attacks in the wilderness.
Luke’s account of the temptation of Christ is preceded by the divine affirmation of His Sonship (“ ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased’ ” [Luke 3:22, NKJV]) in the narrative of His baptism, which is followed by a genealogical list, starting with Jesus as the “son of Joseph” (Luke 3:23), and progressively moving backward (Luke 3:23–38) to Adam, “the son of God” (Luke 3:38). With this background of Sonship language in mind, the attentive hearer/reader of the Gospel sees Satan beginning his temptations in the wilderness by questioning whether Jesus is, in fact, “the Son of God” (Luke 4:3), which is clearly and precisely what the divine voice told Jesus a few verses earlier. If we take Adam as an important reference in the genealogy that immediately precedes the narrative of the temptation, there is a stark similarity with the temptation of the serpent in Eden, where Eve also questioned, at least in her mind, (see Gen. 3:1, 4) a clear statement from God to her husband and her about the deadly results of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as indicated a few verses before (see Gen. 2:17).
In any case, the good news of the narrative of the temptation in the Gospels is that we have a different history of humanity in Jesus, the new Adam. While Adam fell in the temptation in Eden, Jesus was victorious in the temptation in the wilderness. His victory opened up a new horizon for the sons and daughters of God in the cosmic conflict, inasmuch as Christ is the new Adam, that is, the new head of the human family.
In Matthew’s Gospel, the narrative of the temptation appears right after the account of Jesus’ baptism. Instead of Luke’s universal reference to Adam, Matthew seems to have in mind the people of Israel. The genealogy focuses on such figures as Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1–17), and the decree for the death of children in the context of the history of Jesus (Matt. 2:13–16) echoes the history of Moses. The comparison with the people of Israel becomes more emphatic when we notice that all the answers Jesus gave to the devil in the wilderness are scripturally taken from the experience of Israel in the desert (Deut. 8:3, Deut. 6:16, Deut. 6:13). In short, where Israel failed, Jesus was victorious, which opens up a new horizon for the people of God in the cosmic conflict, as Christ representatively takes the place of a new Israel.
3. The Resolution of the Cosmic Conflict Could Not Be Premature.
The parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24–30 indicates the presence of a cosmic conflict in Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of heaven. The enemy is able to sow weeds to grow with the wheat (the good seed). This sowing is not only an evil action but also a deceiving one, as any corrective attempt to immediately uproot the weeds in order to fix this problematic situation may endanger the wheat (Matt. 13:29). For this reason, the necessary distinction and separation between them must wait until the harvest or the final judgment (Matt. 13:30).
It is noteworthy that Ellen G. White’s account of God’s reaction to Lucifer/Satan in the initial stages of the cosmic conflict in heaven follows the same biblical principle underlined in the parable of the wheat and the tares. As she explains why God did not immediately destroy Satan, Ellen G. White points out that “the influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to maturity. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might forever be placed beyond all question.”—The Great Controversy, p. 499.
Part III: Life Application
Discuss the following questions with your students:
How could you best explain the nature of the cosmic conflict to a nonbeliever, taking into consideration that we all face the effects of this conflict in the world?
As we reflect upon the way God deals with the false allegations raised by the devil, we are moved by His loving and trustworthy character. How does building relationships of trust with one another in the church show God’s loving character?
Loving and trusting someone depends on the moral character of the person in question. In your own life, what virtues do you need to cultivate, by God’s grace, in order to reflect God’s character?
When people become distant and stop being intimate with God, oftentimes something changes in their view of God’s character. In order to avoid this danger, in what ways can we be more intentional about experiencing God’s presence and exalting/expressing His attributes and loving character to others?