If God knew that Satan would rebel, why did He create him?

Answer

This is a two-part question. The first part is, “Did God know Satan would rebel?” We know from Scripture that God is omniscient, which means “all-knowing.” References such as Job 37:16; Psalm 139:2–4, 147:5; Proverbs 5:21; Isaiah 46:9-10; and 1 John 3:19–20 leave no doubt that God’s knowledge is infinite. He knows everything that occurred in the past, is happening now, and will happen in the future.

Examining the superlatives in these verses—such as “perfect in knowledge,” “his understanding has no limit,” and “he knows everything”—it is evident that God’s knowledge surpasses ours significantly. He comprehends all things entirely. If God’s knowledge were not flawless, it would imply a flaw in His nature. Any imperfection in God’s nature would disqualify Him from being God, as His very essence demands the perfection of all His attributes. Therefore, the answer to the first question is, “yes, God knew that Satan would rebel.”

Transitioning to the second part of the question, “Why did God create Satan knowing in advance he would rebel?” This question is somewhat complex because it seeks a “why” explanation that the Bible typically does not fully provide. Nevertheless, we can arrive at a partial understanding. As we have established, God is omniscient. Therefore, if God was aware that Satan would rebel and descend from heaven, yet proceeded to create him, it indicates that Satan’s fall was part of God’s sovereign plan from the outset. Given the information available, no other explanation seems plausible.

Initially, it is crucial to recognize that foreseeing Satan’s rebellion does not equate to causing it. The angel Lucifer possessed free will and made his own decisions. God did not design Lucifer to become the devil; He created him good. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morni

On the sixth day, God saw all that He had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31).

When pondering why God created Satan, knowing he would rebel, we should also consider the following points:

1) Lucifer had a good and perfect purpose before his fall. Lucifer’s rebellion did not alter God’s original intent from good to bad.

2) God’s sovereignty extends even to Satan in his fallen state. God can use Satan’s evil deeds to ultimately fulfill His holy plan “of whom are Hymenæus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”, (see 1 Timothy 1:20 and 1 Corinthians 5:5).

3) The plan of salvation was established from eternity past “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”, (Revelation 13:8); salvation necessitates deliverance from something, so God permitted Satan’s rebellion and the proliferation of sin.

4) The suffering introduced by Satan into the world became the means by which Jesus, in His humanity, became the complete and perfect Savior of humanity: “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered” “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”, (Hebrews 2:10).

5) From the outset, God’s plan in Christ included the annihilation of Satan’s work “Whoever commits sin is of the devil”, (1 John 3:8).

Evil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. », (see 1 John 3:8).

Ultimately, we cannot know for sure why God created Satan, knowing he would rebel. It’s tempting to assume that things would be “better” if Satan had never been created or to declare that God should have done differently. But such assumptions and declarations are unwise. In fact, to claim we know better than God how to run the universe is to fall into the devil’s own sin of promoting himself above the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14).