What is the Great Controversy?
To begin with, it is a title of an amazing best selling book first published in 1888 and expanded and republished in 1911. You can read it online here, or request a free printed copy here. It tells the story of the conflict between good and evil from the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 to the end of human history.
More broadly speaking, the expression "great controversy" describes the conflict between good and evil from the beginning until the end of history. It is this latter aspect that this study deals with.
To put it into perspective what is the great controversy, let me begin with a brief illustration.
I love sports. I used to play a lot when I was younger. And I always wanted to win. I would give my 100% in order to win. Now I am older and tend to watch sports more than play. But I still want my team to win.
Now imagine not a sports game, football (soccer), basketball or something else, but a war. The principles are much the same, two sides trying to win, but the stakes are infinitely higher. And the cost and sacrifice too.
Our world is involved in one great war. Not between nations but between good and evil. Not with guns, planes, bombs, and other weapons, but between thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Between God and His adversary, Satan. And whether your realize it or not, you are part of it. We all are.
The difference between this and other wars is that we know who will win. God will. Indeed, He has already won. At the cross. And we are invited to choose a side. Who will you choose?
In the previous study we saw how Satan rebelled against God in heaven and led a third of the angels in rebellion. Eventually they were cast down to the earth. As we study what is the great controversy, we will pick up the story from there.
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).
If we ant to understand what is the great controversy, we need to understand the role of Adam and Eve. God created Adam and Eve in His image. He assigned them the task of overseeing everything He created on this earth. In that sense, they were the rulers of God’s creation.
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).
God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of of knowledge of good and evil. If they did, the result would be death, not as punishment from God but as a natural consequence of disobedience, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4-5).
Satan (the serpent) told Eve that by eating she would not die but become like God.
Here we have the two sides. God speaks truth and wants to protect Adam and Eve; Satan speaks lies and half-truths with a view to lead them to sin.
In the previous study we learned about Satan’s rebellion in heaven. Adam and Eve were bound to hear about it and want to know. Moreover, Satan had challenged God’s authority and since God only accepts willful love, Adam and Eve would have to choose willfully whether to follow God or not.
Placing the tree in the garden was a way to give them the opportunity to willingly choose where to belong. God warned them, but they both chose to partake of the forbidden fruit.
By eating the forbidden fruit, they willingly chose to
obey Satan rather than God. What is the great controversy? It is the reality that the war that began in heaven now came to earth through Adam and Eve's disobedience.
Threefold.
FIRST, Satan became the ruler of this world. Since God had entrusted rulership to Adam, when Adam sinned he handed over this privilege to Satan. Satan is thus called “ruler of this world” and even “god of this age.”
“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30).
“Whose minds the god of this age has blinded” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
SECOND, human nature became corrupted. Humans who had been created in the image of their heavenly Father, God, began to take the image of their adopted father, Satan.
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).
Sin is like rottenness. When an apple becomes a little rotten, rottenness will soon spread to the rest of the healthy apple.
THIRD, since the wage of sin is death, Adam and Eve died. And since all their descendants (except the incarnate Jesus) also sin, they (we) too die.
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
God said to the serpent:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Here we see two things.
FIRST, God promised to put enmity between the serpent and the woman. In other words, He would not allow the rottenness of sin to have full sway in the human nature but would provide defense mechanisms to limit the spread of sin. Notice the following texts:
“That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9).
The true light of God shines on every human being who is born on this world.
“And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years’” (Genesis 6:3).
Here we see that God’s Spirit strove even with the wicked generation before the Flood.
So, God through the Holy Spirit sheds light on every person and strives with every person born on this earth. It is the work of the Spirit that maintains a semblance of order and morality on this earth. When the Spirit is removed, sin gains total sway.
SECOND, God promised a Deliverer, the Seed, who would come and crush the serpent’s authority and regain what Adam and Eve lost. This Deliverer is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the great controversy if not the story of the Lord Jesus Christ? He is our Champion and Savior.
Jesus lived a sinless life. In doing so, He succeeded where Adam had failed and won back the dominion that Adam had handed over to Satan.
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:14-15).
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ [the second Adam, vs 45] all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
“Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down’” (Revelation 12:10).
Jesus not only lived a sinless life, but also died for our sins.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29).
By dying for our sins, He delivered humankind from the penalty of sin which is death. By living a sinless life, He defeated Satan and won back full ownership and dominion over this earth. The war has been won! Satan is a loser! Hallelujah!
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
When God promised to Adam and Eve that a deliverer would come, another nearly 4,000 years would pass before He did. To remind them of His promise, He gave them the system of sacrifices. When a person sinned, they would confess their sin on an animal, usually a lamb, and offer it as a sacrifice.
“And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering” (Genesis 4:3-5).
The sacrifice of lambs signified two things. First, someone else would pay the penalty for sin, Jesus. This is perhaps why Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted. Second, Jesus conquered through love. He was meek and humble, just like a little lamb.
Yes. Even though Adam and Eve sinned, they repented and stayed close to God. But sin had entered the world. From now on, every person born had (and has) the choice to follow God or follow the inherited sinful nature. Thus in human history, there are always two groups of people.
Before the flood:
“And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, ‘For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.’ And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:25-26).
The line of Seth marks those who remained faithful to God, and called on the name of the Lord. They are elsewhere called, “sons of God.”
By contrast, the descendants of Cain lived in rebellion against God:
“Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden” (Genesis 4:16; cf 4:17-24).
After the flood:
“And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens’” (Genesis 11:4).
After the flood the descendants of Noah became corrupted and decided to build the tower of Babel that would reach “in the heavens” an act of defiance towards God.
Against this backdrop in Genesis 12 God calls Abram (Abraham):
“Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” Genesis 12:1-3).
Abraham became the father of the faithful and the father of Israel. Israel was not a nation based on ancestry. Rather it encompassed anyone who accepted the God of heaven as His God.
God has had His people on earth from Adam and Eve until today and will do so until the end of the world.
Absolutely!
Do you want to know what is the great controversy end-time people of God? Revelation spells it out.
“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).
The end-time people of God have two characteristics: (a) the testimony of Jesus; and (b) the commandments of God.
We will study more about God’s people on earth today in the study on the Remnant.
We saw what is the great controversy. But how will it end?
Even though Jesus won the war on the cross, the controversy continues as God gives a chance to humanity to come to Him. But this will not go on forever. Soon the history of earth as we know it, will come to an end with the Second Coming of Jesus (see the relevant study).
But the controversy will come to a complete end when Satan, sin, and sinners come to an end and everything is restored to its original perfection and beauty. This will happen after the millennium.
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-4).
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39).
"To repent" means to acknowledge our sinfulness and make a decision to live our life according to God's will. We talk more about this in a subsequent study. Also about baptism.
So what is the great controversy?
The great conflict between good and evil. And each one of us is in the middle of this conflict.
I am thankful to God that though we all have sinned, He has not left us alone. He has been with fallen humanity from the very beginning, inviting sinners to come to His side.
God will soon restore all things. He will be the victor in the great controversy. I choose to be with Him.
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