Into this peaceful realm of love and faith one day a mysterious and unexplainable sentiment arose. It was harbored first in the heart of the highest created being, the one closest to God, the one whose name was the Shining One, Light Bearer, Lucifer. As he observed Michael, the one who is like God, going freely up into the circle of light where God abides, he began to entertain the thought that to be like God means to go up, and he began to desire that. When he was shown that Michael was not an angel who had gone up, but God who had come down, he refused the revelation, and pursued his unreasonable, insane course. His assertion that the way to live is to put one’s self up, to be self-centered, made him the father of the lie. And the great controversy began. Because the core quality of God’s character and government was under attack, resulting in confusion, He found it necessary to explain love’s actions and dimensions. It was shown that Lucifer was rejecting this law, the description of how God made things to function, the foundation of His government, and the very transcript of His character. This contrary way of living was called iniquity. God was not self-centered, nor could He respond to these claims by any means other than those consistent with His character of giving. So His faith and love began to be tested in ways they never had before. The gold entered the fire. What would be the result? From the earliest time of the battle, God realized that the end would be on one side the giving of life, and on the other, the taking of life. So the Son was slain from the foundation of the world and Lucifer was a murderer from the beginning.
