Early Writings
by Ellen G. White
The Plan of Salvation
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Sorrow filled heaven, as it was realized that man was lost,
and that world which God had created was to be filled with mortals doomed to
misery, sickness, and death, and there was no way of escape for the offender.
The whole family of Adam must die. I saw the lovely Jesus and beheld an
expression of sympathy and sorrow upon His countenance. Soon I saw Him approach
the exceeding bright light which enshrouded the Father. Said my accompanying
angel, He is in close converse with His Father. The anxiety of the angels
seemed to be intense while Jesus was communing with His Father. Three times He
was shut in by the glorious light about the Father, and the third time He came
from the Father, His person could be seen. His countenance was calm, free from
all perplexity and doubt, and shone with benevolence and loveliness, such as
words cannot express. He then made known to the angelic host that a way of
escape had been made for lost man. He told them that He had been pleading with
His Father, and had offered to give His life a ransom, to take the sentence of
death upon Himself, that through Him man might find pardon; that through the
merits of His blood, and obedience to the law of God, they could have the favor
of God, and be brought into the beautiful garden, and eat of the fruit of the
tree of life. {EW 149.2}
At first the angels could not rejoice; for their Commander
concealed nothing from them, but opened [150] before
them the plan of salvation. Jesus told them that He would stand between the
wrath of His Father and guilty man, that He would bear iniquity and scorn, and
but few would receive Him as the Son of God. Nearly all would hate and reject
Him. He would leave all His glory in heaven, appear upon earth as a man, humble
Himself as a man, become acquainted by His own experience with the various
temptations with which man would be beset, that He might know how to succor
those who should be tempted; and that finally, after His mission as a teacher
would be accomplished, He would be delivered into the hands of men, and endure
almost every cruelty and suffering that Satan and his angels could inspire
wicked men to inflict; that He would die the cruelest of deaths, hung up
between the heavens and the earth as a guilty sinner; that He would suffer
dreadful hours of agony, which even angels could not look upon, but would veil
their faces from the sight. Not merely agony of body would He suffer, but
mental agony, that with which bodily suffering could in no wise be compared.
The weight of the sins of the whole world would be upon Him. He told them He
would die and rise again the third day, and would ascend to His Father to
intercede for wayward, guilty man. {EW 149.3}
The angels prostrated themselves before Him. They offered
their lives. Jesus said to them that He would by His death save many, that the
life of an angel could not pay the debt. His life alone could be accepted of
His Father as a ransom for man. Jesus also told them that they would have a
part to act, to be with Him and at different times strengthen Him; that He
would take man's fallen nature, and His strength would not be even equal with
theirs; that they would be witnesses of His humiliation and great sufferings;
and that as they would witness His sufferings, and the [151] hatred
of men toward Him, they would be stirred with the deepest emotion, and through
their love for Him would wish to rescue and deliver Him from His murderers; but
that they must not interfere to prevent anything they should behold; and that
they should act a part in His resurrection; that the plan of salvation was
devised, and His Father had accepted the plan. {EW 150.1}
With a holy sadness Jesus comforted and cheered the angels
and informed them that hereafter those whom He should redeem would be with Him,
and that by His death He should ransom many and destroy him who had the power
of death. And His Father would give Him the kingdom and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, and He would possess it forever and ever. Satan
and sinners would be destroyed, nevermore to disturb heaven or the purified new
earth. Jesus bade the heavenly host be reconciled to the plan that His Father
had accepted and rejoice that through His death fallen man could again be
exalted to obtain favor with God and enjoy heaven. {EW 151.1}
Then joy, inexpressible joy, filled heaven. And the heavenly
host sang a song of praise and adoration. They touched their harps and sang a
note higher than they had done before, for the great mercy and condescension of
God in yielding up His dearly Beloved to die for a race of rebels. Praise and
adoration were poured forth for the self-denial and sacrifice of Jesus; that He
would consent to leave the bosom of His Father, and choose a life of suffering
and anguish, and die an ignominious death to give life to others. {EW 151.2}
Said the angel, "Think ye that the Father yielded up
His dearly beloved Son without a struggle? No, no. It was even a struggle with
the God of heaven, whether to let guilty man perish, or to give His beloved Son
to die for him." Angels were so interested for man's [152]
salvation that there could be found among them those who would yield their
glory and give their life for perishing man, "But," said my
accompanying angel, "that would avail nothing. The transgression was so
great that an angel's life would not pay the debt. Nothing but the death and
intercessions of His son would pay the debt and save lost man from hopeless
sorrow and misery." {EW
151.3}
But the work of the angels was assigned them, to ascend and
descend with strengthening balm from glory to soothe the Son of God in His
sufferings, and minister unto Him. Also, their work would be to guard and keep
the subjects of grace from the evil angels and the darkness constantly thrown
around them by Satan. I saw that it was impossible for God to alter or change
His law to save lost, perishing man; therefore He suffered His beloved Son to
die for man's transgression. {EW
152.1}
Satan again rejoiced with his angels that he could, by
causing man's fall, pull down the Son of God from His exalted position. He told
his angels that when Jesus should take fallen man's nature, he could overpower
Him and hinder the accomplishment of the plan of salvation. {EW 152.2}
I was shown Satan as he once was, a happy, exalted angel.
Then I was shown him as he now is. He still bears a kingly form. His features
are still noble, for he is an angel fallen. But the expression of his
countenance is full of anxiety, care, unhappiness, malice, hate, mischief,
deceit, and every evil. That brow which was once so noble, I particularly
noticed. His forehead commenced from his eyes to recede. I saw that he had so
long bent himself to evil that every good quality was debased, and every evil
trait was developed. His eyes were cunning, sly, and showed great penetration.
His frame was large, but the flesh hung loosely about his [153] hands
and face. As I beheld him, his chin was resting upon his left hand. He appeared
to be in deep thought. A smile was upon his countenance, which made me tremble,
it was so full of evil and satanic slyness. This smile is the one he wears just
before he makes sure of his victim, and as he fastens the victim in his snare,
this smile grows horrible. {EW
152.3}
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