Did God Know Adam Would Fall? Why Would He Let That Happen?

Knowledge itself is a pretty interesting topic. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even possible to know anything at all. I’m part of a Facebook group in which people debate issues related to God’s existence, creation ex theos, and Darwinian evolution. In truth, there’s not much debating actually going on–just people posting pictures that don’t actually forward an argument. They just poke fun at the opposing viewpoint. Such is what our society has become, especially in the wake of social media. No position is well thought out. We simply pick sides based on what we want and nonsensical metrics we think justify our positions. It’s really kind of a sad group to be a part of.

Recently in this group, someone posted:

So, [God] didn’t know Satan [would] turn evil? God didn’t know Adam and Eve [would] eat off the [tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil] before He made them? (Rafael Scaletta)

I wanted to respond to this one. First, notice the logical fallacy. Mr. Scaletta is begging the question. Begging the question is a logical fallacy because it is not acually an argument. More often, the questions, no matter how they are answered, are meant to poke fun at someone instead of add anything meaningful to the conversation. When we beg the question, we assume the truth of the conclusion, essentially using circular reasoning (i.e. “My position is correct because it’s true). Begging the question show a lack of reasoning behind one’s own belief. Essentially, once you start begging the question, you’ve already lost the argument. So, I don’t have to make a rebuttal against this argument because there is literally no argument present–merely questions that don’t really matter in the greater conversation about God’s existence.

I do, however, find the concept of divine knowledge interesting. Did God know Satan would rebel against Him? Did God know Adam and Eve would fall? If so, why would He create them with the capacity for sin and ability to bring such a curse upon the world? These are actually great theological questions that help us understand who God is.

First, I’ll address the rebellion of Satan because the Bible doesn’t say anything about it. By reading the Bible, we don’t get any information about how Satan got to His place on the earth or made his appearance in the Garden (if we believe that the serpent of the garden is in fact Satan). I think it is, but that fact isn’t clear just by reading Genesis 1. The fall of the cherub in Ezekiel 28 specifically refers to the king of Tyre, not Satan. The fall from Heaven in Isaiah 14 is specifically about the king of Babylon, not Satan. The war in Heaven in Revelation 12 happened in conjunction with the birth and ascension of Christ, not at some moment six-thousand years ago so Satan could tempt Adam and Eve. Nowhere do we read about the fall of Satan from Heaven anywhere in the Bible. It is a story people have invented because they did not read the Bible well, and apparently Mr. Scaletta also failed to read the Bible he so openly makes fun of. For all we know, Satan was created in his reprobate state as an intentional antagonist. The question remains. Why would God even create a spiritual creature like Satan or any of the demons at all? I think we find our answer with the answer about Adam and Eve. Why would God create them knowing the would fall and bring a curse upon the world?

Most often you’ll see the question phrased this way, “To allow for human free will.” After all, God wants us to love Him, and you don’t get love without the freedom to choose. You don’t get the freedom to choose without something other than God to choose.

I find this answer completely unsatisfying. First of all, fabricated free will is not free will. But, perhaps the free will discussion is for another time since it is not the point of this article. The Bible never claims God permitted such a fall or provided its instigator to give people free will or the opportunity to sincerely love Him. You just won’t find such a claim actually in the Bible. Instead, we see a few other claims clearly:

1. God is pleased with the way He created the world (Genesis 1:31).
2. The earth was cursed because of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:17).
3. Man will ultimately overcome the curse and Satan (Genesis 3:14, 20-21).
4. God’s Law is provided to increase our tresspass against God (Romans 5:19-21).

Sin isn’t an accident. God created a good world. He provided for sin as part of His good world to accomplish His good purpose according to the Bible. God intended our rebellion against Him. He designed the world to facilitate it. Somehow, it is good. In his interpretation of the Old Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote:

19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 
20 ^aThe Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:19-21).

Much like how people do not want to create artificial intelligence that can operate without us, God did not want to create a sentient species that would live without Him. His goal isn’t to have a sinless world at all times. His goal isn’t to simply create a good life for us. His goal isn’t to get as many people into Heaven as possible. His ultimate goal is His own glory. The only way to accomplish that is to build creation dependent on Him, not independant from Him. So, we do not have God’s righteousness as part of our character. We tend toward sin. The contemplation of our sin compels us to seek after God instead of live without Him. Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.

Why create Satan? Why provide opportunity for people to fall? Because people are not the center of the universe… God is. If we never recognized our imperfections, we would never seek for God. This is the besic truth of the Bible, and it should bring us some humility in the discussion. God cares that we would be with Him, not running off by ourselves with our prideful self-righteous attitudes–and that’s a good thing. Satan was provided by God’s grace. Satan is God’s satan. Our ability to sin was provided according to God’s good plan for our good, not our destruction.

---