(See the Gospel Timeline too, and study them together. Click here.)
"Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”
"God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."
Events on this timeline:
Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is loving and all-powerful, why does He allow so much suffering? Will suffering and death ever end? And perhaps the most personal question of all: What does any of this mean for me?
These are some of life's most important questions, and the answers become clearer when we look at the bigger picture.
This timeline follows the story of the great controversy between good and evil, beginning in a universe where peace and harmony existed until Lucifer began questioning God's character and government. His rebellion introduced distrust, selfishness, and eventually sin and death into God's creation.
But God did not abandon His children. This timeline traces what He has already done, what He is doing now, and what He will yet do to rescue us from sin and everything sin has done to us. Along the way, it helps us understand why God has allowed the controversy to continue, how He has answered Satan's accusations, and why His actions reveal a love far greater than many people have imagined.
The story ends with sin and death completely destroyed, God's character fully vindicated, and the universe restored to total lasting peace and harmony. But something even more wonderful has happened. God's creatures have seen for themselves that He is fair, just, loving, and completely trustworthy. Those who remain will love Him, not because they are afraid of His power, but because they know who He really is.
The Trial:
When someone is accused of wrongdoing, the truth matters. Accusations alone are not evidence, and a verdict cannot be just unless the facts are known. That is why we have trials. Evidence is examined, witnesses are heard, and the truth is brought to light.
Long ago, Lucifer began making accusations against God. He challenged God's character, questioned His fairness, and suggested that His government was not truly founded on love. Those accusations were false, but they raised questions in the minds of God's created beings. Was God really as loving and just as He claimed to be? Could He be trusted?
God could have silenced the rebellion immediately. He had the power and the authority to do so. But destroying the accuser would not necessarily have answered the accusations. Questions could have remained, and obedience motivated by fear is not the same as love freely given.
So God has allowed the evidence to unfold. Throughout the history of the great controversy, His creatures have been able to see the results of Satan's principles alongside the character of God revealed through His actions. Above all, they have seen Jesus, who came to show us what the Father is really like and gave His own life to rescue the very people who had rebelled against Him.
In this sense, God's character has been placed under examination—not because He has done anything wrong or because His creatures have authority over Him, but because He has chosen to make His justice, mercy, and love understandable to those He created.
The Bible describes a judgment in which God's decisions are examined and His righteousness is acknowledged. The redeemed will participate in reviewing His judgments, and ultimately every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (1 Corinthians 6:2–3; Philippians 2:10–11).
But there is something remarkable about that final acknowledgment. Even Satan will recognize that God has been just, although his heart remains unchanged. Recognizing the truth is not the same as loving it.
When the controversy is finally over and sin has been destroyed, every creature who remains will not merely acknowledge that God is fair. They will love and trust Him because they have seen for themselves who He really is.
God has never needed a jury to give Him the right to rule. What He has wanted is a universe of children who know that His rule is good, who understand that His love is genuine, and who trust Him freely.
The great controversy will end, not simply because God has demonstrated His power, but because the truth about His character has been made clear for all eternity.
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In 1 Corinthians 6:3, Paul tells us that someday we will even judge angels. What could that mean? Think about the role of a jury in a courtroom. Jurors examine the evidence, consider what has happened, and reach conclusions about what is right and wrong. The Bible does not say that we will have authority to overrule God's decisions, but it does tell us that the redeemed will participate in judgment (1 Corinthians 6:2–3; Revelation 20:4). God will allow His rescued children to understand why His decisions have been fair, just, and loving.
This becomes especially important when we remember how the great controversy began. Lucifer accused God of being unfair and questioned the principles upon which His government was established. He wanted the freedom to follow his own desires rather than live according to God's law of love. He presented God's requirements as unnecessary restrictions on freedom and encouraged others to believe that they would be better off without them. His rebellion raised a question that would eventually affect the entire universe: Would God's creatures find greater happiness and freedom by trusting their Creator, or by deciding for themselves what was right and wrong?
For further study: Satan's Enmity Against the Law, Define Freedom, and The Origin of Evil.
When Adam and Eve accepted Satan's deception, sin entered our world. Satan claimed this world as his territory, and humanity began experiencing the consequences of rejecting God's ways. Yet God did not abandon the human family or immediately destroy the rebel who had deceived them. Instead, He began carrying out His plan to rescue His children while allowing the true nature and consequences of rebellion to become increasingly clear.
This does not mean that God needed time to discover whether Satan was telling the truth. God knew the truth from the beginning. But His created beings needed an opportunity to see and understand it for themselves. God desires their love and trust, not merely their submission to His power. By allowing the controversy to unfold, He has permitted the universe to witness what happens when selfishness replaces love and created beings turn away from the principles that sustain life, happiness, and freedom.
The Cross brought the contrast between God's character and Satan's character into unmistakable focus. Satan had accused God of being selfish, unjust, and unworthy of trust. Yet Jesus, the Son of God, willingly gave His life to save the very people who had rebelled against Him. The One who had every right to condemn sinners instead bore their sins and the penalty they deserved so that they could be forgiven and receive eternal life through Him.
At the same time, the treatment Jesus received exposed the cruelty of rebellion. Satan's principles of pride, selfishness, hatred, and violence were revealed in the rejection and crucifixion of the innocent Son of God. At Calvary, the universe witnessed the extraordinary difference between the love of God and the destructive character of sin.
For further study: A Parable of Jesus and the story of Job.
In a very real sense, the Cross provided the decisive answer to Satan's accusations against God's character. But the great controversy did not end at Calvary. Jesus still had children to rescue, and the final consequences of sin had not yet been fully revealed. (According to the Bible, we are extremely close to the end of the trial period as shown in the timeline above. Also, see the Daniel 12:4 (Knowledge) Timeline.)
The Bible tells us that a time of judgment will come when God's decisions will be understood and His justice acknowledged. During the thousand years described in Revelation 20, the redeemed will participate in reviewing those judgments. They will not be deciding whether God deserves to be God. Rather, they will see for themselves that He has been fair, merciful, and loving in everything He has done.
Eventually, even Satan will be compelled to acknowledge God's justice, although acknowledging the truth will not change his rebellious heart. The final destruction of sin will bring the controversy to its end, and the universe will never again need to wonder whether God's ways can be trusted.
That is why this long history matters. God is not simply proving that He has the power to defeat Satan. He is rescuing His children, answering the questions raised by rebellion, and making certain that when sin is finally destroyed, those who remain will understand why it must never return.
The universe will be at peace again—not because God has forced everyone to agree with Him, but because those who love Him will know, from the evidence of His own actions, that He has always been worthy of their trust.
"It was God's purpose to place things on an eternal basis of security, and in the councils of heaven it was decided that time must be given for Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation of his system of government. He had claimed that these were superior to God's principles. Time was given for the working of Satan's principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly universe."
We can see a simple illustration of this principle in our own highway system. Think about the freedom we enjoy when driving. We can travel hundreds of miles, visit friends, go to work, or explore places we have never seen before. But that freedom depends, in part, on everyone understanding and respecting the rules of the road.
Imagine what would happen if drivers decided that traffic laws were unnecessary restrictions on their freedom. Some would drive on whichever side of the road they preferred. Others would ignore red lights or refuse to yield to oncoming traffic. Before long, the roads would become dangerous for everyone, including those who simply wanted to get home safely.
The rules of the road do not take away our freedom to travel. They help make that freedom possible by helping protecting us from one another's reckless choices.
God's law serves a far greater purpose. It expresses the principles of love upon which His government is founded. His commandments are not arbitrary restrictions imposed by a selfish ruler. They teach us how to love God and one another, protecting the relationships, trust, and freedom that make life worth living.
For further study: God's Laws.
Jury Deliberation:
After Jesus returns and takes His rescued children to Heaven, the Bible tells us that they will participate in judgment during the thousand years described in Revelation 20:4–6. We might compare their role to that of a jury examining the evidence, although God Himself remains the Judge. The redeemed will have an opportunity to review the heavenly records and understand why some people were saved while others were not (1 Corinthians 6:2–3; Revelation 20:12).
God does not need this review to discover whether His decisions were right. He already knows every heart and every circumstance. But He wants His children to understand those decisions for themselves. Imagine the questions they may have about people they expected to find in Heaven but who are not there, or people they never imagined would be saved. God will not ask them to set aside their questions or simply accept His authority without understanding His reasons.
Throughout the great controversy, Satan has tried to portray God as unfair, demanding, and unworthy of trust. God wants His rescued children to know beyond any doubt that He has always been just, merciful, and loving. As they examine the evidence, they will see that He has done everything possible, consistent with His love and respect for human freedom, to save every person. No one will be lost because God was unwilling to forgive or because He failed to offer them His grace.
When the thousand years are over, the redeemed will understand why the final destruction of sin and those who have permanently rejected God's gift of life is necessary. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), but He will not force anyone to love Him or live forever in a relationship they have chosen to reject. Allowing sin and rebellion to continue indefinitely would mean allowing suffering, injustice, and death to continue as well.
God wants His children to serve Him because they love and trust Him, not because they are afraid of what He might do if they disagree. By allowing them to understand His judgments, He is removing every lingering question about His character. When sin is finally destroyed, the redeemed will know that their heavenly Father has been fair and loving in everything He has done, and that His final decision was not an act of cruelty, but the necessary conclusion to His long work of rescuing His creation.
The Sentencing:
After the "jury" has finished looking into all that has been done it will be seen that God is not only being fair, but just. (At this point in time, God has not completely destroyed the wicked yet. Jeremiah 4:27 says, "For thus hath the LORD said, 'The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.'") At the end of the 1,000 years all the wicked will be raised from death and will receive their sentencing and the punishment that they have chosen by not trusting in, nor believing in Jesus. At that point it can be said:
"Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy has now been made plain. The results of rebellion, the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes, have been laid open to the view of all created intelligences. The working out of Satan's rule in contrast with the government of God has been presented to the whole universe. Satan's own works have condemned him. God's wisdom, His justice, and His goodness stand fully vindicated."
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
The Verdict:
The Punishment of the Wicked
("Will it ever end?")
The punishment of the wicked includes what is commonly known as Hell Fire, and each person will burn until their punishment is complete. (Romans 12:19) This may be almost instantaneous, or it may take many days or even many weeks, but then their end will come. The Bible says that the fire will eventually go out leaving nothing left of the wicked except ashes and smoke. God has said, "the wages of sin is death" and so it will be. They will never live again, they have vanished.
If this is new to you, ask the Lord to keep you from believing something that is not true and to impress you with what is true, then study this subject in your own Bible, or you can use BibleGateway.com or another online Bible if you like. But look up words like: death, hell, ashes, smoke, judgment, stubble, burn, punish, fire, flame, perish, destroy, and "Lake of Fire". Of course, not all verses that will be listed will relate to what happens to us when we die, so just eliminate the ones that don't. Or you can just use the texts below and those found on the Death and Hell Timeline to help you get started in your study. This is Bible truth, but it may not be what you have been taught.
Here are just a few texts related to the punishment of the wicked:
"For yet a little while, and the wicked [shall] not [be]: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it [shall] not [be]." Psalms 37:10
"But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD [shall be] as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." Psalms 37:20
"Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: [there shall] not [be] a coal to warm at, [nor] fire to sit before it." Isaiah 47:14
"Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:" Ezekiel 13:22
"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Malachi 4:1
"And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do [this], saith the LORD of hosts." Malachi 4:3
Speaking specifically of Satan and his punishment, the Prophet Ezekiel wrote in Ezekiel 28:
13 "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 "Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 "Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 "By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 "All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never [shalt] thou [be] any more." (The NIV puts it this way: "you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.")
NOTE:
People often quote Revelation 14:11 which talks about the smoke from Hell rising for ever and ever and use this verse to say that the wicked will live on forever in pain from the fire. But where else can smoke go if it cannot come down? It would be kind of like the smoke from the sun which would keep rising even if the sun stopped shining. When the whole earth is on fire the smoke from Hell will not be affected by the earth's gravity and so it will continue to rise forever.
The same thing can be understood from the rest of that verse. (Remember, we MUST allow the Bible to interpret itself.)
We know from what the rest of the Bible says that the fire WILL go out, and that the wicked will no longer exist. So we have to understand that when Rev. 14:11 talks about the torment will never end it must be talking about something other than the torment from the fire. Knowing that you will be excluded from living at all will be a "torment". Everyone wants to live.
We sometimes forget that John 3:16 says that we either live or we die (we perish), there is no other option given. (Compare the following versions.)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (KJV)
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” (MSG)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV)
"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (RSV)
The Reward of the Righteous
("What's in it for me?" )
The Bible says that those who put their trust in Jesus will live forever in a universe without sin. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 This is considered to be the most well-known verse in the Bible, yet many do not realize that God is reminding us that the righteous will LIVE and that the wicked will PERISH.
According to the Bible, living forever in heaven will not be a life of doing nothing, or just sitting on a cloud and playing a harp all the time. In fact, God says that the righteous will plant, eat, build and enjoy the work of their hands. People enjoy doing things, making things, thinking about new things and because we know that God wants us to be happy, we also know that we will be doing, making and thinking about things that we can't even dream of knowing and doing right now. We have God's promise.
Isaiah
64:4 For since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
65:21-25 And they shall build houses, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree [are] the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they [are] the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
1 Corinthians
2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Revelation
21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.
21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light [was] like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
21:12 And had a wall great and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
21:13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
21:18 And the building of the wall of it was [of] jasper: and the city [was] pure gold, like unto clear glass.
21:19 And the foundations of the wall of the city [were] garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation [was] jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
21:20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21:21 And the twelve gates [were] twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city [was] pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.
21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.
22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads.
22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
If you do not resist Jesus and His love He will make you righteous and clean and take you to live with Him. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7 The Bible says that without Jesus we cannot do anything, and of course that is true, but remember, "resisting" is something you do. "Submitting" is just the opposite, it is not something you do. Jesus will change you if you do not resist Him.
(See Steps to Jesus for more information.)
Trust Him Totally!
For further study read:
Timeline Printing Instructions:
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If God is really in control, why is there so much suffering?
Many people have wondered, "If there is a loving God, why does He allow so much suffering and pain? Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?" The fact that there is so much suffering, pain, sickness and death in this world shows that all of God's created beings need His Laws in order to be truly free and happy. As seen in the timeline above, God is being very fair and very loving by allowing the whole universe to see the end results of sin (sin is the breaking of God's Law, 1 John 3:4). When sin is totally eradicated only then will God make things right once again.
The whole earth is infected with sin and the whole universe MUST see this end result or there would be no end to sin, which means that there would be no end to suffering and death. If God were to immediately destroy all those who disobey Him, created beings would serve Him because they are afraid of Him rather than serving Him because they love Him, but God wants our love. He wants us to admire who He is and what He is.
The fact is that God does hates sin (Psalms 45:7) and what sin does to His creation or He would not have paid such an enormous price to save us from it and to rid the Universe of it. God wants us to hate sin too, and the only way that we will come to hate it as much as He does is if we are allowed to see the results of sin: loneliness, disease, pain, suffering & death. When we compare the results of living by God's Laws with the results of living without God's Laws we will come to love God more. We will begin to really trust Him and we will come to actually love His Laws.
God wants our attitude to be like His!
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5
"...tradition and misinterpretation have obscured the teaching of the Bible concerning the character of God, the nature of His government, and the principles of His dealing with sin." The Great Controversy, page 492
For further study, read: