If God is everything that is good and if evil, sin, cannot possibly be in God’s presence, then how is it that Satan was able to be in the garden of Eden? Especially if the Lord would walk through the garden with Adam?

Response:

Everything God created is good. In fact, it is very good, according to Genesis 21:31. One of the good things God created is people who have free will, which includes a genuine choice between good and evil. The reason there is evil in the world, according to the scripture, is that people with a choice chose to rebel against God and bring evil into the world. Why did God give us freedom of choice? Because he loves us and wants us to love him in return.

I believe this teaching in the Bible is clear. What is not quite as clear in the Bible is how Satan reached the state he is in. The Bible does not give specific answers to every single question. How did Satan get into his state of evil? I believe that only answer which is consistent with everything else we know about the scripture is that Satan was created good but, like Adam and Eve, decided to rebel against God. The Bible does not say that angels have free will and that Satan lost his place with God through his rebellion, but I believe that this is what happened. Again, either God gives us free will or he does not. Apparently, God allows us to rebel if we choose and to do evil. This would apply to Satan and his attempts to tempt Adam and Eve. The fact that Satan was in the garden and that God “walked in the garden” does not prove that God tolerates or lives with sin.

John Oakes