Part 2: Who Is Satan?
Jesus called Satan the ‘evil one’ in Matthew 13:19, and ‘a thief who only comes to steal, and kill, and destroy’ in John 10:10.
Jesus said, “…he was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
Let’s start at the beginning…
In Genesis 1:2…The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
Jesus Christ—the Spirit of God spoke (created) angels into existence as fully functioning beings sometime after He laid the foundations of earth, and before He rested on the seventh day.
Of the multitudes of angels, Lucifer was God’s #1 angel and as befits anything within God’s presence, he was created in absolute perfection and immortality. Lucifer was astonishingly beautiful, wise, and powerful. He could do anything and was held in high esteem among the other angels.
Lucifer was with God in Eden prior to God creating Adam.
Ezekiel 28:12-13…”you had 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 ruby, the topaz and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald. And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets was in you.”
Lucifer in Latin means ‘to shine’, and the Hebrew translation is ‘angel of light’, or ‘shining one’. So what does it mean when scripture describes Lucifer as covered? Brilliant colors are produced when light shines through the stones listed in the passage above. God clothed Lucifer in light similar to a rainbow.
Ezekiel 28:14…”you were an anointed guardian cherub. (Burn those paintings of fat, naked, winged cherubs. They are a deception!) I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.”
Shining, gorgeous, smart, and perfect, Lucifer spent his days with God in Eden watching His creator make everything.
So what changed?
Before that answer, let’s switch over to Adam. He was formed after the angels, in God’s image, and was God’s beloved creation. In his original form Adam was created perfect and immortal. So were God’s other creatures. And God gave Adam free-will. He placed him in Eden, where he tended God’s garden, and walked with Him in the evenings.
God declared one rule to Adam in Genesis 2:17…“Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” explaining that if Adam did so, he would surely die. That’s it—just one rule.
We don’t know how long perfection continued between God, His multitudes of angels (led by Lucifer), Mr. and Mrs. Adam, and all of God’s creatures. It must have been an amazing life until Lucifer decided he should elevate himself to something he will never be.
Ezekiel 28:15…”you were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you…you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God, and I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor…”
From this passage we recognize that God created angels with the same free-will He gave humans. And because of his splendor, Lucifer chose wickedness, pride and egotism over wisdom. He went from Lucifer to slanderer (Hebrew for devil) and accuser (Hebrew for Satan).
Filled to the brim with narcissism and now dispossessed of intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom, Satan boasted to God about what he believed his future would be (he so lacked intelligence, he deceived himself!).
Isaiah 14:13-14…‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of the congregation, in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Ezekiel 28:2…this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.”
(BTW—scripturally, the sea is always equated to iniquity or a sinful nature.)
Hearing this boasting, God mocks Lucifer, asking him questions he cannot answer regarding events that occurred prior to his creation.
Job 38:4-7…“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”
Now, take a moment and read Genesis 1:9 to fully understand what’s happening here. God began separating the void into sections—heaven, firmament, earth, land from sea, etc. He was laying the foundations of the universe, before doing the same for earth.
But before one can lay a foundation, one must first lay a cornerstone upon which everything else is measured.
So, Who is the cornerstone? Who measured the universe? The Spirit of God from Genesis 1:2 is Jesus Christ, and one of His many names is Cornerstone. He laid out the foundations of the universe before He created angels. When Lucifer was created, he had no idea Who did all that. When he learned, he rejoiced with the other angels, by singing and shouting and praising and worshiping His Creator.
Isaiah 28:16-17…So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation…”
Ephesians 2:20…Christ Jesus Himself is the chief cornerstone…
To his dismay, Lucifer learns that prior to his existence everything revolves around Jesus, and no amount of wishing, or hoping, or prideful boasting will raise Lucifer above the Spirit of God.
We witness two additional immutable truths: 1) Lucifer cannot deny that he shouted for joy, singing songs of praise and worship to His Creator. 2) Nor can he answer God’s questions—simply because he hadn’t been created yet!
Lucifer is beaten, and he knows it. But God isn’t finished with him and reduces Lucifer to the lowliest belly-slithering creature in Eden.
Unbeknownst to Satan, is something else that occurred prior to his creation. In his current state of willful stupidity, the defeated Satan chooses to believe he has a chance, so he devises a plan—a simple two-step pattern. What he doesn’t know is that the plan he’s hatched is actually fulfilling God’s original Will for mankind. And the third immutable truth emerges: Satan refuses to acknowledge that he is completely under God’s control.
You see, God knew before He laid the foundations, that His dearly beloved creation—Mr. and Mrs. Adam—gifted with free-will, would fall for Satan’s plan—his deceit. And Adam’s descendants—mankind—would require an ultimate Sacrifice be made to bring them back to God. Therefore, prior to day one of creation, the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—prepared the Way for humanity’s Salvation. Jesus Christ—as the Way, the Truth, and the Life—agreed long before creation to be mankind’s Sacrificial Lamb.
So Satan looked for a way to change his circumstances, and recalled that when he was Lucifer, he heard God tell Adam he could not eat from the one-rule tree. Satan slithered on his belly, looking for vulnerable Mrs. Adam to test his plan. He found Eve alone in the garden and the rest is history.
But what was Satan’s plan and what is his pattern? Part 3…