Monday, May 2, 2016
SATAN—THE GOD OF THIS WORLD, Chapter 2
SATAN—THE GOD OF THIS WORLD, Chapter 2
Where did the devil come from? How
did such a creature come to be? Did God purposefully create an evil being? The
Bible reveals the answers to these questions. They can help us understand why
Satan really is the enemy of mankind.
To understand Satan’s origin, we
must go far back in time, before man existed. Genesis 1:1 tells us that “in the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. However, as is usually the
case, the Bible doesn’t tell the whole story in one or even several verses. We
find more details elsewhere in the Bible, in this case in the book of Job.
When Job, beset with terrible
calamity and suffering in spite of being a very devout follower of God, began
to question God’s judgment, God responded with pointed questions to help him
realize he didn’t have the wisdom to question God. In His response, in the form
of questions to Job, God revealed some details about His creation of the earth.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” God asked him. “Tell me,
if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions?…On what were its footings
set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all
the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7, NIV).
God here reveals information no man
could know, since no man was present at creation. God described the earth at
its creation as a dazzlingly beautiful jewel floating in space. The creation
events were so magnificent that “all the angels shouted for joy”. The angels—spirit
beings God had created—already existed when God made the earth. They were
united in their joy when God created the world, singing and shouting in
exultation. They were in perfect harmony and agreement at that time. So how
does the devil fit into this picture?
The First War: A Rebellion Against God
In Isaiah 14 we find more
information. This chapter makes reference to the angelic rebellion, identifying
its ring leader. It gives us important details we could learn of in no other
way.
In Isaiah 14:4 God addresses the “king
of Babylon”. In Isaiah’s time the city-state of Babylon was emerging as the
major power in that region of the world. Its king was a war monger, expanding
his empire through brute force. He enslaved, plundered and devastated the
nations around him. (In context, this passage has dual meaning, in that it also
refers to an end-time tyrant who will rule over a final global empire referred
to in Revelation 18 as Babylon the Great.)
The philosophy of the king of
Babylon here is satanic—acquiring wealth and power at the expense of others,
gaining it through violence and bloodshed. The king of Babylon thus exemplifies
Satan and his characteristics. Indeed, as we will read more about later, Satan
is the real power behind the throne of the world’s kingdoms (compare Luke
4:5-7; John 12:31; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 13:2).
In Isaiah 14:12 the subject shifts
from the physical king to another powerful being, here
translated “Lucifer”. The original Hebrew word for this being—used this one
time in the Bible—is Heyel, which
apparently means “brightness” or “shinning one”. Many scholars recognize that
the original language of this passage is in the form of a lament, a reflection
of God’s mourning and sense of great loss due to the events being described: “How
you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down
to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I
will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the
north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most
High’ ” (Isaiah 14:12-14).
Who is this being who dares to exalt
himself above the other angels (stars symbolize angels, Revelation 1:20) of
God, to challenge God Himself as ruler of the universe?
More Details Revealed
In Ezekiel 28 God gives us the
answer. This chapter is written much like Isaiah 14. God begins by discussing a
human ruler, then shifts to the spiritual power behind the earthly throne—the
behind-the-scenes ruler who controls the kingdoms of this world (compare this
to Luke 4:5-7).
In Ezekiel 28:2 God addresses the “prince
of Tyre”. Tyre, a coastal port city north of ancient Israel on the
Mediterranean Sea, was famous as a major trading center. Its rulers had grown
haughty and presumptuous because of their wealth and influence. In Ezekiel
28:6-10 God tells this ruler that because of his arrogance, his might and
wealth would fail and he would be overthrown.
But notice in Ezekiel 28:12 that God
begins to address “the king of Tyre” rather than the prince. This being is the true ruler,
the real power behind the throne. History gives some additional insight here,
as the patron god of ancient Tyre was Melkart, meaning “king of the city”. He
was deemed to be the true ruler of Tyre. And consider that the false gods of
this world can represent actual demonic powers, Satan being chief among them as
“the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
In fact, God’s description of this “king
of Tyre” makes it clear that He is speaking to no physical human being: “You
were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You
were in
Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the
sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and
emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for
you on
the day you were created” (Ezekiel 28:12-13).
No mortal man could accurately be
described as being “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty”.
This entity was created— unlike human beings who are born rather than created.
This being had also been “in Eden, the garden of God”. Other
than Adam and Eve, no people had been in the Garden of Eden. God had expelled
them, after which He placed an angel there specifically to prevent anyone else
from entering (Genesis 3:24).
Fall Of A Super Angel
In the next verse God mentions some
of the history of this being: “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I
established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and
forth in the midst of fiery stones” (Ezekiel 28:14).
What do these remarkable statements
mean? What is a “cherub who covers”? Hebrews 8:5 tells us that the tabernacle
established through Moses—the portable sanctuary the Israelites carried with
them in their desert wanderings—was “a copy and shadow of what is in heaven”
(NIV). In Exodus 25:18-20 we find that God instructed the Israelites to make a
representation—a physical model—of His throne for the tabernacle they would
carry with them in the wilderness. At either side of the “mercy seat”, which
represented God’s throne, was a golden cherub with wings extended to cover the
mercy seat. The two cherubim, fashioned out of gold, represented real angelic
beings—the great super angels whose wings cover God’s throne.
The being God addressed through
Ezekiel is called the “cherub who covers”, indicating that
he had once been one of the great angels depicted in the model of God’s throne.
God gave these angels the awesome distinction of serving at and covering the
very throne of God in heaven!
Many other scriptures say that God “dwells
between the cherubim”, showing that these wondrous creatures accompany
and serve Him at His seat of power (1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15;
1 Chronicles 13:6; Psalms 80:1; Isaiah 37:16). This magnificent being
apparently held a position of high honor and distinction in God’s angelic
realm.
This same great cherub is also
described as being “on the holy mountain of God”. In the Bible, “hills” and “mountains”
are often used to symbolize governments (see Revelation 17:9-10). Apparently
this super angel was given authority in the governance of other angels, who
number in the hundreds of millions (see Daniel 7:9-10; Revelation 5:11).
God also says to this cherub, “You
were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was
found in you” (Ezekiel 28:15). Like the description in Isaiah 14, this
passage describes a created being, not a man. This being was extraordinary,
perfect until he sinned, beginning with pride in his own beauty and splendor,
which corrupted his wisdom (Ezekiel 28:17).
“…You were filled with violence,
and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I
expelled you, O guardian [or ‘covering,’ NKJV] cherub, from among the fiery
stones” (Ezekiel 28:16, NIV). This once marvelous being sinned and was
expelled from God’s throne, cast away in disgrace.
A Personal Choice To Rebel
Satan’s sin of pride and vanity
ultimately led to outright and open rebellion against God. Isaiah 14:13-14,
which we read earlier, states: “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to
heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars [angels] of God; I will sit
enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred
mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like
the Most High’ ” (NIV).
This powerful spirit entity decided
to challenge God for control of the universe!
Totally Transformed From Good To Evil
What had been an amazingly
beautiful, immensely talented spirit being with great responsibility in God’s
angelic order became, through his rebellion against Almighty God, a
reprehensible, despicable creature. Thus, God did not create the devil. Rather,
what God created was a magnificent and perfect being. But later, this powerful
being, by his own will, became the devil and Satan—the adversary,
slanderer, accuser and destroyer. He made himself the enemy of God and
humanity!
The immense powers he had used in
God’s service were turned not to serve God, but to try to thwart God’s
purposes. This creature remains an enormously powerful spirit being, but now
his powers are used for wicked, destructive ends.
This being became so vain and proud
that he thought he should be ruler of the universe. God tells him, “Your heart
became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because
of your splendor (Ezekiel 28:17).
So vain and proud did he become that
he thought he should be ruler of the universe. His enormous talents and
abilities led him to believe he was equal to, if not better than, God Himself.
His thinking became corrupted. He rebelled against God and tried to overthrow
Him. By his rebellion against his Creator, he transformed himself into Satan
the devil.
Other Angels In Rebellion With Him
Satan was not alone in this
rebellion. Millions of other angels joined him in rejecting God’s authority and
leadership. We find this symbolically described in Revelation 12:3-4: “And
another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon…His tail
drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth”. Revelation
12:9 identifies this dragon as Satan. As we saw earlier, the Bible uses stars
as a symbol for angels (Revelation 1:20). This indicates that a third of the
angels followed Satan in this rebellion and were cast down to the earth with
him.
The attempted takeover of heaven
was, of course, not successful. Two thirds of the angels remained loyal to God
and thus constituted a more numerous force. More importantly, God is
omnipotent—all powerful—and cannot be overthrown.
The Lord Jesus said that Satan “[fell]
like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). It seems likely that this titanic
struggle is what brought about the chaotic and wasted condition of the earth
described in Genesis 1:2. As mentioned earlier, God then renewed the surface of
the earth in preparation for human habitation, as described in the rest of
Genesis 1. Yet to aid His purpose in developing righteous character in human
beings, God allowed Satan and his minions to remain on the earth for the time
being. Thus Satan was allowed to tempt Adam and Eve in the garden.
The Bible refers to Satan and the
other rebellious angels as evil spirits, unclean spirits and demons. They are
fallen angels—who had plummeted from their purpose of serving God and humanity
(Hebrews 1:13-14), reduced to hatred and bitterness toward God and His holy
purpose for humanity. In Scripture they are shown to be able to not only
influence but even possess people (that is, exercise direct control over their
bodies and actions). Such demonic control can cause people to exhibit violent
and self-destructive behavior (Matthew 8:28; Matthew 17:14-18; Acts 19:14-16;
Luke 8:27-33).
God’s servants are not to be fearful
or overly anxious about such demonic influence affecting them. While there are
many evil spirits, they are fewer in number and inferior in power to God’s
faithful angels, who are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will
inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Christians are to be confident because “God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”
(2 Timothy 1:7).
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