The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 497

began to present his false claims before the loyal angels. Long was he
retained in heaven. Again and again he was offered pardon on condition
of repentance and submission. Such efforts as only infinite love and
wisdom could devise were made to convince him of his error. The spirit
of discontent had never before been known in heaven. Lucifer himself
did not at first see whither he was drifting; he did not understand the
real nature of his feelings. But as his dissatisfaction was proved to be
without cause, Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong, that the
divine claims were just, and that he ought to acknowledge them as such
before all heaven. Had he done this, he might have saved himself and
many angels. He had not at this time fully cast off his allegiance to God.
Though he had forsaken his position as covering cherub, yet if he had
been willing to return to God, acknowledging the Creator’s wisdom, and
satisfied to fill the place appointed him in God’s great plan, he would
have been reinstated in his office. But pride forbade him to submit. He
persistently defended his own course, maintained that he had no need
of repentance, and fully committed himself, in the great controversy,
against his Maker.
All the powers of his master mind were now bent to the work of
deception, to secure the sympathy of the angels that had been under
his command. Even the fact that Christ had warned and counseled him
was perverted to serve his traitorous designs. To those whose loving
trust bound them most closely to him, Satan had represented that he was
wrongly judged, that his position was not respected, and that his liberty
was to be abridged. From misrepresentation of the words of Christ he
passed to prevarication and direct falsehood, accusing the Son of God of
a design to humiliate him before the inhabitants of heaven. He sought
also to make a false issue between himself and the loyal angels. All
whom he could not subvert and bring fully to his side he accused of
indifference to the interests of heavenly beings. The very work which he
himself was doing he charged upon those

496