.. woudnt God know who was evil even before he put his creation plan into action... anybody.???
In tradition that were two trees in the garden of Eden, at the time of Adam and Eve. The tree of knowledge of good and evil would teach one what is good and evil, via law. The tree of life, takes a different approach. It was not about laws of good and evil, but was analogous to instinct and life where things happen based on a larger picture of highly integrated eco-systems. It is not about good and evil (2-D) but is neutral and 3-D.. The lions kills, but this is not evil, but is part of life since it provides food and helps to maintain system wide balance.
If you read Genesis of the bible, God did not want humans to play god, using manmade laws of good and evil (it was the forbidden fruit). That was Satan's tree, which is why this was not God's first choice. Law is what Satan was selling, not what God was selling.
There is confusion about the role of Satan and his relationship with God, due to traditions. Satan was originally Lucifer, the morning star. In bible tradition, Satan was way up in the power structure, and is within the council of God before Eden, all the way until revelations.
Revelation 12:7-12; And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them[a] in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
In the New testament, written after the death of Christ, Satan was still in heaven, pushing man made laws of good and evil by which one could condemn innocent people. It was against the law to be a Christian.
Ephesians 6:12; For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The forces of evil in the heavenly realm, were still there after Christ had died. Revelations anticipates Satan eventually being thrown out of heaven, but it is not clear, if revelations has occurred yet, since so many things never happened. If Satan was still in heaven, he would be acting as intermediary, between God and human, via law of good and evil.
Since the tree of knowledge of good and evil or law, is Satan's tree, God left humans in the hand of his general. The analogy is the president has members of his cabinet. Each person in the cabinet has assigned tasks, with each person given flexibility to enforce the rules and laws as long as they meet the milestones of the administration. Satan is/was in the cabinet of God, with his assignment connected to the advancement of humans, via law. At revelations this will change, with law becoming very earthy.
Picture if humans, via Satan, decided to use man-made law of good and evil to define the future evolution of animals. We may decide to define all animal killing as evil, since the poor fuzzy critter is in pain. This law means we must punish all the natural predators if they are found in violation. That will impact the entire eco-system causing unforeseen death, even among the prey animals due to overpopulation and disease. Humans don't always think these things through, but act on emotions. This is not God's will, but rather human choice to serve Satan as their intermediate; Czar on charge of manmade law.
God, I suppose, is able to anticipate this dumb move, but humans will do it anyway and then blame God for not stopping them. Some traditions place Satan in hell, as the devil, not in heavenly places. This changes the interpretation. It comes down to whether revelations is finished or whether it is still in the future, as to whether law is based on God or Satan, respectively.
Christ did away with law by fulfilling law. This is why he is called the second Adam. As the second Adam, he gets to pick again and will choose the tree of life and God, without any middleman; sons of God. Satan is separated out.
