在这段视频中，魏泰德牧师讨论了基督复临安息日会基本信仰第8条——善恶之争。

战争、灾难、疾病、病痛、死亡，各种各样的苦难。在这一切中，上帝在哪里?如果祂是仁慈的、有爱的、善良的，为什么祂要让这些事情发生呢?

让我们回到最初的时刻来探索问题的答案。

世界的创造之初是：“上帝看着一切所造的都甚好。有晚上，有早晨，是第六日。”( 创世记1:31)
一切都是完美的，但发生了什么事？

让我们回到更久远的天国－－麻烦开始的地方。

天国里有天使。“听从他命令、成全他旨意、有大能的天使，都要称颂耶和华！ ”（诗篇103:20）希伯来书1:14也说：“天使岂不都是服役的灵、奉差遣为那将要承受救恩的人效力吗？”

不幸的是，有一个叫路锡甫的天使认为他比上帝更高明，并决定不再遵循祂的话语。他想超越祂，成为他自己的神。

以西结书28:12-15这么形容路锡甫：“‘你无所不备，智慧充足，全然美丽……你是那受膏遮掩约柜的基路伯；我将你安置在上帝的圣山上；你在发光如火的宝石中间往来。你从受造之日所行的都完全，后来在你中间又察出不义。’”

以赛亚书14章说：“明亮之星，早晨之子啊，你何竟从天坠落？你这攻败列国的何竟被砍倒在地上？你心里曾说：我要升到天上；我要高举我的宝座在上帝众星以上……我要升到高云之上；我要与至上者同等。”

因此，罪是由路锡甫的骄傲带来的。“你因美丽心中高傲，又因荣光败坏智慧。”（以西结书28:17）

这样，路锡甫，后来成了撒但，欺骗了三分之一的天使，加入他的叛变。“在天上就有了争战。米迦勒同他的使者与龙争战，龙也同它的使者去争战，并没有得胜，天上再没有它们的地方。大龙就是那古蛇，名叫魔鬼，又叫撒但，是迷惑普天下的。它被摔在地上，它的使者也一同被摔下去。”

撒但把他的欺骗带到了人间，特别是在伊甸园。他通过说服亚当和夏娃吃善恶树的的果子而获胜，导致他们不顺服上帝，被赶出伊甸园，过着悲惨的生活。

从那时起，整个人类就陷入了一场善与恶的宇宙大战。正如我们基本信仰第8条所说：“为了上帝的圣德，祂的律法，以及祂对宇宙的统治，整个人类都参与了基督与撒但之间的善恶大斗争。”

这里继续说：“这项争战起始于天庭。那时，一个受造能作自由选择的生灵，因高抬自我，变成了撒但，成了上帝的仇敌。他领导部分天使参与叛乱，又领亚当、夏娃犯罪，使背叛的灵进入了这个世界。人类的罪，导致上帝在人身上的形像遭到扭曲，受造世界的秩序被破坏，终于导致洪水灭世，如创世记 1-11 的历史记载所示。受造的全宇宙都正在观看，这个世界已经成为宇宙争战的舞台。从这争战中，上帝的爱终会清楚地彰显。为了在这战争中帮助祂的子民，基督差遣圣灵及忠诚的天使，在他们得救的路上一路引导、保护、及支持他们。”

事实上，善恶之争是真实存在的。这个世界和我们的心都是战场。你站在哪一边?魏泰德牧师想邀请你将你的心交托给耶稣基督——我们的主和救主。

更多关于这条基本信仰的信息，请访问www.adventist.org/the-great-controversy/。

In this video, Pastor Ted Wilson discusses the eighth fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists—the great controversy.

Wars and devastation. Sickness, disease, and death. Disasters of various kinds. Where is God in all these? If He is kind, loving, and good, why does He let these happen?

To answer this, let’s go back to the beginning of time.

Following the creation of the world, “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31). Everything was perfect but what happened?

Let’s go back further—back into heaven where the trouble began.

There were angels in heaven. “Bless the Lord, you, His angels, who excel in strength, who do His Word, heeding the voice of His Word” (Psalm 103:20). Hebrews 1:14 adds, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”

Unfortunately, there was one angel named Lucifer who thought he knew better than God and determined to no longer follow His Word. He wanted to rise above Him and be his own god.

Lucifer is described in Ezekiel 28:12-15 as follows: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty…You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.”

Isaiah 14 adds, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’” (verses 12-14).

Therefore, sin was brought about by Lucifer’s pride. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor” (Ezekiel 28:17).

With this, Lucifer, then Satan, deceived one-third of the angels, who joined him in rebellion. “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).

Satan brought his deception to earth, particularly in the Garden of Eden. He won by convincing Adam and Eve to take the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, resulting in their disobedience to God, expulsion from the garden, and miserable life.

Since then, the entire humanity has been in a cosmic battle between good and evil. As our eighth fundamental belief states, “All humanity is now involved in a great controversy between Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty over the universe.”

It continues, “This conflict originated in heaven when a created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in self-exaltation became Satan, God’s adversary, and led into rebellion a portion of the angels. He introduced the spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin. This human sin resulted in the distortion of the image of God in humanity, the disordering of the created world, and its eventual devastation at the time of the global flood, as presented in the historical account of Genesis 1-11. Observed by the whole creation, this world became the arena of the universal conflict, out of which the God of love will ultimately be vindicated. To assist His people in this controversy, Christ sends the Holy Spirit and the loyal angels to guide, protect, and sustain them in the way of salvation.”

Indeed, the great controversy is real. This world and our hearts are the battlefield. Which side are you on? Pastor Wilson would like to invite you to surrender your heart and recommit it to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Learn more about this fundamental belief at http://www.adventist.org/the-great-controversy/.