The fall of Adam and Eve filled all heaven with sorrow. There appeared no escape for those who had transgressed the law. Angels stopped singing their songs of praise.1TC 30.2

The Son of God was touched with pity for the fallen race as the woes of the lost world rose up before Him. Divine love had designed a plan to save the helpless ones. The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner, and only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. No one but Christ could save sinners from the curse of the law and bring them again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin to rescue the ruined race.1TC 30.3

The plan of salvation had been established before the creation of the earth, for Christ is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8); yet it was a struggle for the King of the universe to give up His Son to die for the guilty race. But “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Oh, the mystery of redemption! The love of God for a world that did not love Him!1TC 31.1

God was to be revealed in Christ, “reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Human beings had become so degraded by sin that it was impossible for them to bring themselves into harmony with God, whose nature is purity and goodness. But Christ could give divine power to unite with human effort, so by repentance toward God and faith in Christ, the fallen children of Adam might once more become “children of God” (1 John 3:2).1TC 31.2

The angels were sad as Christ explained the plan of redemption to them. In grief and wonder they listened as He told them how He must come in contact with the degradation of earth, to endure sorrow, shame, and death. He would humble Himself as a man and become acquainted with the sorrows and temptations that men and women would have to endure in order that He might be able to help those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18). When His mission as a teacher would end, He must be subjected to every insult and torture that Satan could inspire. He must die the cruelest of deaths as a guilty sinner. He must endure severe suffering in His soul, the hiding of His Father’s face, while the sins of the whole world were to be upon Him.1TC 31.3

The angels offered to become a sacrifice for the human race, but only He who created man had power to redeem him. Christ was to be made “a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9). As He would take human nature upon Him, His strength would not be equal to that of the angels, and they were to strengthen Him in His sufferings. They were also to guard those who accepted God’s grace from the power of evil angels and the darkness thrown around them by Satan.1TC 31.4

When the angels would witness the agony and humiliation of their Lord, they would want to deliver Him from His murderers, but they were not to step in. It was a part of the plan that Christ should suffer the scorn and abuse of wicked people.1TC 31.5

Christ assured the angels that by His death He would save many and recover the kingdom that had been lost by transgression. The redeemed were to inherit it with Him. Sin and sinners would be blotted out, and would never again disturb the peace of heaven or earth.1TC 32.1

Then inexpressible joy filled heaven. Through the celestial courts echoed the first strains of that song which was to ring out above the hills of Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7).1TC 32.2

God Promises a Savior

In the sentence pronounced on Satan in the garden, the Lord declared, “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). This was a promise that the power of Satan, the great enemy, would finally be broken. Adam and Eve stood as criminals before the righteous Judge, but before they heard of the hard work and sorrow that they must experience or that they must return to dust, they listened to words that could not fail to give them hope. They could look forward to final victory!1TC 32.3

Satan knew that his work of depraving human nature would be interrupted, that by some means men and women would be enabled to resist his power. Yet Satan rejoiced with his angels that, having caused mankind to fall, he could bring down the Son of God from His exalted position. When Christ would take upon Himself human nature, He also might be overcome.1TC 32.4

Heavenly angels explained the plan of salvation more fully opened to our first parents. Adam and his companion were not to be abandoned to Satan. Through repentance and faith in Christ they might again become the children of God.1TC 32.5

Adam and Eve saw as never before the guilt of sin and its results. They pleaded that the penalty might not fall on Him whose love had been the source of all their joy; rather let it come on them and their descendants.1TC 33.1

They were told that since the law of Jehovah is the foundation of His government. Even the life of an angel could not be accepted as a sacrifice for transgression, but the Son of God, who had created them, could make an atonement for them. As Adam’s transgression had brought misery and death, so the sacrifice of Christ would bring life and immortality.1TC 33.2

At his creation Adam was placed in dominion over the earth, but by yielding to temptation he became Satan’s captive. The dominion passed to the one who had conquered him, thus Satan became “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV). But Christ by His sacrifice would not only redeem the human family but recover the dominion they had forfeited. All that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by the second (see Micah 4:8).1TC 33.3

God created the earth to be the home of holy, happy beings. That purpose will be fulfilled when, renewed by the power of God and freed from sin and sorrow, it shall become the eternal home of the redeemed.1TC 33.4

The Terrible Fruits of Sin

Sin brought separation between God and the human family, and the atonement of Christ alone could span the abyss. God would communicate with people through Christ and angels.1TC 33.5

Adam was shown that while the sacrifice of Christ would be sufficient to save the whole world, many would choose a life of sin rather than of repentance and obedience. Crime would increase through later generations. The curse of sin would rest more and more heavily on the human race and the earth. The days of men and women would be shortened by their own course of sin; they would deteriorate in physical, moral, and intellectual power until the world would be filled with misery. Through the indulgence of appetite and passion, people would become incapable of appreciating the great truths of the plan of redemption.Yet Christ would supply the needs of all who would come to Him in faith, and there would always be a few who would preserve the knowledge of God and remain pure.1TC 33.6

The sacrificial offerings were given to show repentance for sin and to be a confession of faith in the promised Redeemer. The first sacrifice was painful for Adam. His hand must be lifted to take life, which only God could give. It was the first time he had witnessed death. He knew that if he had been obedient to God there would have been no death. He trembled at the thought that his sin must shed the blood of Christ, the spotless Lamb of God. This gave him a vivid sense of the greatness of his transgression, for which nothing but the death of God’s dear Son could atone. A star of hope illumined the dark future.1TC 34.1

The Wider Purpose of Redemption

But the plan of redemption had a yet broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of the human race. It was not merely that the inhabitants of this little world might respect the law of God as it should be respected, but it was to vindicate the character of God before the universe. The Savior looked forward to this when, just before His crucifixion, He said: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:31, 32). Christ dying for the salvation of humanity would justify God and His Son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan, establish the law of God, and reveal the nature and results of sin.1TC 34.2

From the beginning, the great controversy had been over the law of God. Satan had sought to prove that God was unjust, His law faulty, and that the good of the universe required it to be changed. In attacking the law he aimed to overthrow the authority of God, its Author.1TC 34.3

When Satan overcame Adam and Eve, he thought he had gained possession of this world, “because,” he said, “they have chosen me as their ruler.” He claimed it was impossible for forgiveness to be granted; the fallen race were his rightful subjects, and the world was his. But God gave His own Son to bear the penalty of transgression so that sinners might be restored to His favor and brought back to their Eden home. The great controversy, which began in heaven, was to be decided in the very world, on the same field, that Satan claimed as his.1TC 34.4

It was amazing to all the universe that Christ would humble Himself to save fallen men and women. When Christ came to our world in the form of humanity, all were intensely interested in following Him as He traveled the blood-stained path from the manger to Calvary. Heaven noted the insult and mockery that He received and knew that it was at Satan’s instigation. They watched the battle between light and darkness as it grew stronger. And as Christ cried out upon the cross “It is finished!” (John 19:30), a shout of triumph rang through every world and through heaven itself. The great contest was now decided, and Christ was conqueror. His death answered the question whether the Father and the Son had sufficient love for the human race to exercise self-denial and a spirit of sacrifice. Satan had revealed his true character as a liar and murderer. With one voice the loyal universe united in praising the divine administration.1TC 35.1

But if the law was abolished at the cross, as many claim, then the agony and death of God’s dear Son were endured only to give to Satan just what he wanted; then the prince of evil triumphed, and his charges against the divine government were sustained. The fact that Christ bore the penalty for human disobedience is a mighty argument that the law is changeless; that God is righteous, merciful, and self-denying; and that infinite justice and mercy unite in the administration of His government.1TC 35.2

The Predicament of Our First Parents

The First Murderer and His Victim