Daily Lesson for Thursday 6th of March 2025
The cosmic conflict is primarily a dispute over God’s character, caused by the devil’s slanderous allegations against God’s goodness, justice, and government. It is a kind of cosmic covenant lawsuit.
Such a conflict cannot be settled by sheer power but, instead, requires demonstration.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
If serious allegations are brought against a person in power, the best (and maybe only) way to defeat the allegations would be to allow for a free, fair, and open investigation. If the allegations threaten the entire government (of love), they cannot simply be swept under the rug.
What does all this mean for understanding the cosmic conflict and relating to the problem of evil? If God makes a promise, would He ever break it? Of course not. Insofar as God agrees to rules of engagement, His future action would be (morally) limited. As such, evil will fall within the temporary domain of the kingdom of darkness.
Read Mark 6:5 and Mark 9:29. What do these texts display about how even divine action might be integrally related to such factors as faith and prayer?
In both these narratives, some limits or rules of engagement seem to be in place, dynamically related to such things as faith and prayer. Elsewhere we see abundant evidence that prayer makes a difference in this world, opening up avenues for divine action that otherwise might not be (morally) available. However, we should not make the mistake of thinking that faith and prayer are the only factors. There are likely many other factors of which we might be unaware.
This fits with what we’ve seen previously about rules of engagement. As we said, there are ceratin rules of engagement in the great controversy that limit what God can morally do, at least for now.
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Read Romans 8:18 and Revelation 21:3-4. How do these texts give you confidence that even though there are many things we do not know, we can trust that God knows what is best, wants what is best, and will bring an end to evil and usher in an eternity of bliss? |
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