Now... before we examine the consequences that result from our choice, we really should pause and think about why God would have let us be deceived by Satan in the first place.

Why on earth (yes... I'm afraid that pun was intended) would God let Satan cause all this trouble? Since the bible clearly describes the "lake of fire" as being Satan's final destination, you really have to wonder --- Why didn't God give Satan an immediate flight to the lake of fire ? Why would Satan be allowed to come here first?

The answer begins to appear once we recognize that
Satan's rebellion essentially centers around two 'accusations'...

One of Satan's accusations is that 'God is a liar.'

Although God has chosen to design things so that His creations (including Satan) can be truly free only through acceptance of the boundaries which are intended to unite us all, Satan clearly disagrees. By his act of rebellion, Satan has implied that God is lying about the necessity of boundaries... Satan and his followers clearly feel that God hasn't given them true freedom and thus they must take it for themselves.

The other accusation is that 'God is a dictator.'

As far as Satan is concerned, God's boundaries are unnecessary. And likewise, to Satan and his followers, the 'separation' that results from rejecting God's boundaries and choosing one's own, is both unnecessary and unfair... To them, the separation simply proves that God punishes those who seek real freedom. In other words, Satan would have everyone believe that God is an unjust and oppressive dictator.

Basically, Satan stood up before everyone in heaven and said, "God really hasn't given us what He's led us to believe, so we are going to take it for ourselves. The fact that He says our action will result in 'separation' just proves that He is exactly the dictator that we believe Him to be."

So, if you were God, and you were faced with a situation like this, what would you do?

I know what I would have done... I'd have laughed and said, "Yeah, right" and POOF!... I'd have zapped Satan and his followers into oblivion. That would take care of their problems and be an example to any other troublemakers as well.

Fortunately though, God is not like me. God undoubtedly recognized that such a response would only seem to prove Satan's accusations true. If God had immediately and permanently zapped them into the "lake of fire", all of His other creatures would just be left wondering about the accusations that Satan and his followers left behind.

This being the case, one of the reasons for Satan's being allowed to come to the earth seems clear...

It would appear that God is allowing Satan to have his 'day in court'.

For the moment, Satan is being allowed a certain amount of freedom and is in a sense being given the opportunity to try and prove his accusations.

It is worth noting that this is hardly the type of response that one would expect from a 'dictator'.

God has allowed Satan to come to the earth and create a pool of people (us) who subscribe to the same false 'freedom' that he espouses. Why? Satan is being given the opportunity to prove that his false 'freedom' is superior to the freedom that God originally gave His creatures. It remains to be seen though, whether those who experience Satan's 'freedom' will want to keep it, once they experience the conflict and suffering that results.

By responding to Satan's 'accusations' in this fashion, God knows that all doubts about his accusations will be removed. Everyone will have ample opportunity to see the painful results of Satan's false 'freedom' demonstrated on a worldwide scale. All of creation will see that God is not a liar, and they will see that 'freedom without boundaries' is really no freedom at all. Eventually, God's name and character will be publicly and universally cleared of all charges. In a sense, the earth is being used as a courthouse and humanity is the jury. This can be seen in the next passage ---

1 Corinthians 6:3 "Do you not know that we shall judge angels?..."

Many people interpret this verse to mean that folks in heaven will have the duty of 'correcting' angels and settling various disputes that they might have among themselves. Personally, I don't think that makes alot of sense... If angels in heaven need correction and are having disagreements that need to be settled, how 'heavenly' can heaven really be?

I believe the real meaning of the above passage is more in keeping with the bible's overall theme ---

I think it refers to the fact that some folks won't enjoy the experience they have with Satan's false 'freedom' here on earth, and they will desire to return to the true freedom that exists only within God's boundaries... Point being that each and every one of these people will then be like a 'judge' or 'juror', essentially voting to convict Satan (and "his angels") of having deceived mankind.

The end result being that (just as the above passage says) we shall indeed "judge angels."

It is therefore no wonder that Satan hates humanity... We represent his judgment.
Further, we are visible proof that Satan and his angels are being judged righteously.

Those who choose to return to God's authority and boundaries will essentially be demonstrating the righteousness of God's judgment, in the sense that it will be clear that the freedom which God originally provided (through His authority and boundaries) is the only true freedom.

Furthermore, the real reason for a 'separation' will also become clear ---

Satan would have us believe that the separation is an unjust punishment that is decreed by God, simply in order to enforce obedience, But in reality, the separation will prove to be an act of love....

As you will see, God provides a separation in response to those who cry out after experiencing the pain and conflict that results from Satan's false 'freedom'. You will find that God insists on the separation in order to isolate those who don't mind pain and suffering from those who do. The separation has nothing to do with enforcing obedience, and it is hardly the unjust punishment that Satan would have everyone believe.

Before we move on, I'm sure there are some of you who will think that it is still pretty harsh that God would subject everyone here on earth to all of this suffering, just so Satan can have his 'day in court'. But remember, God didn't force us to be the 'jurors'... As we saw previously, we volunteered when we freely chose to 'eat the fruit'.

But even so, there is a greater purpose to our involvement in all this,
A purpose that far transcends simply being the instruments of Satan's judgment...
God is using these events to remove mankind's greatest 'vulnerability' ---

Although God originally created us 'perfect and sinless', the nature of our 'free will' left us vulnerable to the same type of self-deception that ultimately led Satan astray. God knew that at any moment, we too could choose to reject His authority and boundaries, just as Satan had. Thus, God has allowed Satan to deceive us, in order to confront this issue.

And even before we were faced with Satan's deception, God knew that we would fall for it, since He always knows what the future holds. And because He knew that we would make the wrong choice, He already had a plan in mind to save us, just as it says here ---

1 Peter 1:19-20 "... the precious blood of ... a lamb without blemish... (v.20)...was foreordained before the foundation of the world ..."

The above passage is really quite an incredible statement... Basically, it says that it has always been God's intention to allow mankind to reject His authority and boundaries, and then return to Him! Surely, this should be considered an incredible opportunity. Not to mention an amazing testimony to His patience.

While here on earth, God is allowing each and every one of us to experience firsthand the dubious benefits of Satan's false 'freedom'. Those who find this 'freedom' to be good will be allowed to have it for eternity if they wish. God hopes however, that once we experience the painful consequences of Satan's 'freedom', we won't like it, and that we will take advantage of the rescue plan that He intends to provide. God desires that everyone return to Him (and to the true freedom which exists only within His boundaries).

Those who do choose to make use of God's forthcoming rescue plan, will not easily be deceived again. They will have had more than enough personal experience with Satan's false 'freedom' and will know that it offers nothing worth having. Such people will be able to say, "No thanks. Been there... done that."

In other words ---
these people will not be vulnerable to deception again.

Hopefully, you can see at this point that giving Satan a 'fair trial' is only a small part of God's plan... Far more important, is that God is using the situation to create a people who will no longer be vulnerable to deception!

From our limited perspective, the pain and suffering that is involved in this learning process often seems overwhelming, but God knows that in the context of eternity, our time here on earth is as brief as an eye-blink. Throughout the generations, some of mankind will come to agree, and will recognize that ---

Romans 8:18 "... the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us..."

 

                                                                                                                
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