Satanic Support

One thing that strikes me about the three pillars of eternity is that Satan was there at each of these events, trying to thwart God's plans, only to inadvertently accomplish them.

Before the creation, God declared that mankind would be given agency, and Satan tried to take it away, but his actions started a pre-mortal war that allowed mankind to use their agency to choose to follow God's plan. Satan again tried to thwart God's plan by causing the Fall of Adam, not realizing that the fall, and all of the "bad" things that came with it, was an essential aspect of God's plan. And while we have no scriptural proof that Satan was present at any point during the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I'd be surprised if he wasn't. At the very least, I consider it likely that he was in the hearts of those who urged Pilate to crucify Jesus Christ, only to learn later that His death had been necessary to bring about the resurrection. At each of these pillars, Satan was there, trying to destroy God's plan, only to end up supporting it.

I wonder if God planned for that. I mean, of course He did. He knew it was going to happen, so He made His plan robust enough to withstand Satan's opposition. But what I'm wondering is whether or not God planned on Satan's opposition. Did He count on it? Did He intentionally make His plan such that Satan's "opposition" was actually an essential element in His plan?

It's times like these that make me wonder whose side Satan is really on. In an earlier blog post, I submitted an Utterly Ridiculous and Admittedly Untrue Theory that Satan was actually working for God in a role similar to that of a personal trainer. He, Satan gives us opposition with the intention of helping us grow. According to my Utterly Ridiculous and Admittedly Untrue Theory, Satan would have knowingly and willingly been helping God's plan along by pretending to oppose it.

Of course, Satan isn't actually trying to help God, but I still wonder if God was counting on Satan's help when He made His plan, knowing that He was going to get it. Whether Satan's "opposition" to God's plan was a planned-for catalyst or a surpassable speedbump, it's pretty ironic that Satan's attempts to thwart God's plan actually helped accomplish it, and it's fun to consider the possibility that God had been planning on that from the very beginning.