God permitted Satan to carry forward his work until the spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt. It was necessary for his plans to be fully developed, that their true nature and tendency might be seen by all. Lucifer, as the anointed cherub, had been highly exalted; he was greatly loved by the heavenly beings, and his influence over them was strong. God's government included not only the inhabitants of heaven, but of all the worlds that He had created; and Lucifer had concluded that if he could carry the angels of heaven with him in rebellion, he could carry also all the worlds. He had artfully presented his side of the question, employing sophistry and fraud to secure his objects. His power to deceive was very great. By disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood, he had gained an advantage. All his acts were so clothed with mystery that it was difficult to disclose to the angels the true nature of his work. Until fully developed, it could not be made to appear the evil thing it was; his disaffection would not be seen to be rebellion. Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his character or see to what his work was leading.

Gud tillod Satan at fortsætte sit arbejde, indtil misfornøjelsens ånd modnedes til åben opstand. Det var nødvendigt, at hans planer udvikledes fuldt ud, så deres sande natur og tendens kunne ses af alle. Som salvet kerub havde Lucifer været højt ophøjet; han var højt elsket af alle de himmelske væsener, og hans indflydelse over dem var stor. Guds regering omfattede ikke alene Himmelens beboere, men alle de verdener, han havde skabt, og Lucifer havde regnet med, at hvis han kunne trække alle englene med ind i sit oprør, kunne han også vinde alle kloderne. Han fremførte listigt sit syn på spørgsmålet og anvendte spidsfindigheder og bedrageri for at nå sine mål. Hans evne til at bedrage var stor. Ved at iklæde sig falskhedens kappe opnåede han en vis fordel. Alle hans handlinger var så indhyllet i mystik, at det var vanskeligt at afsløre hans virksomheds sande natur for englene. Før hans planer havde udviklet sig fuldt ud, kunne de ikke fremtræde som det onde, de virkelig var; man ville ikke kunne se, at hans misfornøjelse var oprør. Selv de trofaste engle kunne ikke gennemskue hans karakter eller se, hvad hans arbejde ville føre til.