Heaven beheld the Victim betrayed and with violence hurried from one tribunal to another. It heard the sneers of His persecutors and the denial with cursing by one of His disciples. It saw the Saviour dragged to and fro from palace to judgment hall, arraigned twice before the priests, twice before the Sanhedrin, twice before Pilate, and once before Herod, mocked, scourged, condemned, and led out to be crucified. HLv 507.3
Heaven viewed with amazement Christ hanging on the cross, blood flowing from His wounded temples, His hands, His feet. The wounds gaped as the weight of His body dragged on His hands. His soul panted under the burden of the sins of the world. All heaven was filled with wonder when Christ prayed in the midst of His terrible suffering, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. HLv 507.4
The powers of darkness around the cross cast the hellish shadow of unbelief into the hearts of men. Satanic agencies led the people to believe Christ the chief of sinners and to make Him the object of detestation. Those who mocked Christ were imbued with the spirit of the first great rebel. He inspired their taunts. But by all this he gained nothing. HLv 507.5
Had Christ in one particular yielded to Satan to escape the terrible torture, the enemy would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His faith. “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Revelation 12:10. HLv 508.1
Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ's brethren of being clothed with the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken. HLv 508.2
Yet the angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve. HLv 508.3
In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed, that justice was inconsistent with mercy, and that, should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. If God should remit the punishment of sin, urged Satan, He would not be a God of justice. When men broke the law of God, Satan declared it was proved that the law could not be obeyed; man could not be forgiven. Because he, after his rebellion, had been banished from heaven, Satan claimed that the human race must be forever shut out from God's favor. God could not be just, he urged, and yet show mercy to the sinner. HLv 508.4
But man was in a different position from that of Satan. Lucifer had sinned in the light of God's glory. Understanding the character of God, Satan chose to follow his own selfish will. There was no more that God could do to save him. But man was deceived, his mind darkened by Satan's sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God. HLv 509.1