Satan

Q. Why did Satan fall? When?

A. Some scholars suggest Satan’s fall is described in Ezk 28 and Isa 14:

• Ezk 28:11-17 Again the word of the LORD came to me saying,
• 12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
• 13 “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. On the day that you were created They were prepared.
• 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
• 15 “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.
• 16 “By the abundance of your trade 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.
• 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.

Although some commentators claim this passage refers to the king of Tyre (v 12), as did Ezk 28:1-10 to the leader (ruler or prince) of Tyre (v 2), there are indications that it goes beyond the man who claimed to be god (v 2 and 9) to the being influencing him:
• Had the seal of perfection, perfect in beauty (v 12) – no mere human was described as perfect;
• Was in Eden (v 13), on the holy mountain of God (v 13) – Eden was destroyed during the Flood, so the king of Tyre in Ezekiel’s days could not have been there;
• Was the anointed cherub (v 14, 16) – cherubim (plural) was an order of angels;
• Blameless – although Noah (Gen 6:9) and Job (Job 1:1, 8, 2:3) were also described as blameless, combined with perfection this describes no ordinary human;
Now, if this describes Satan before his fall, how and why did he fall?

The clues are:
• Internally filled with violence, sinned (v 16);
• This sin is described as unrighteousness (v 15);
• Heart was lifted up because of beauty and splendor (v 17) i.e. he was proud.
There is no indication that it was due to an external influence, but from within, from his own desire. Now let’s look at Isa 14:

• Isa 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!
• 13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
• 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
• 15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

Again some commentators believe this is just a taunt against the king of Babylon (v 4), but “fallen from heaven” (v 12), compared to “thrust down to Sheol” (v 15) and contrasted to “ascend to heaven” (v 13), seems to be more than figurative of fallen from the heights. Star of the morning (v 12) is literally “the shining one”, Lucifer in Latin. The crux is in the five “I will” in v 13-14, above the stars of God (heavenly hosts or angels) and culminating in “make myself like the Most High”. This is reminiscent of the serpent’s temptation “you will be like God” (Gen 3:5). The issue, as in Ezk 28, is pride. Lucifer was not satisfied with being created beautiful and wise, but wanted to be like God his Creator, for which he was cast down from heaven.

The question of “when did Satan fall” is less precise. We said yesterday that angels were created early in the creation week:
• Day 1 – Light;
• Day 2 – Expanse – sky;
• Day 3 – Land and seas, vegetation;
• Day 4 – Lights – sun, moon, stars;
• Day 5 – Water creatures, birds;
• Day 6 – Land creatures, man;
• Day 7 – Rested.

Taking Gen 1 to be more than poetry, the foundation of the earth would be created on Day 3, and according to Job angels were there to witness it:
• Job 38:6-7 “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
So angels, including Lucifer, were created prior to Day 3, and possibly as early as Day 1. It could not be before Day 1, because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn 1:1). Only God is eternal, not angels.

When did Lucifer sin? The Bible did not say specifically, but we can infer that it was some time after the creation week. This is because God pronounced each day from Day 1 to Day 5 “good”, and Day 6 “very good”. He also blessed and sanctified Day 7. My conjecture is that He would not have called it good or sanctified it had Lucifer rebelled during that time.

How long after the creation week? I don’t know as the Bible didn’t say. The serpent was already there in Gen 3. Some suggest that it might be 20-30 years after Creation as Adam and Eve were adults in the Garden of Eden, but God created man and woman, not boy and girl, and asked them to be fruitful and multiply. So He likely created them as young adults. All I can say is that it is some time after the creation week, before the fall of man. Beyond that is speculation.

Why did God create Satan? (1 of 2)

Q. Why did the omniscient God create Satan?

A. The question is “Why would God, knowing all the terrible havoc Satan would cause, still create him? Why not just don’t create him and avoid all the trouble?” That’s a fair question, so let’s tackle it step by step.

First, strictly speaking, God created Lucifer, who turned into Satan. God created angels, among whom was one called Lucifer:

• Job 38:4, 7 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? … When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
• Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, …
• Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, …

The morning stars, sons of God, were angels, who were created prior to God laying the foundation of the earth. One of them, an anointed cherub named Lucifer, sinned and was cast out by God:

• Isa 14:12 “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!
• Ezk 28:14 You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
• Ezk 28:16 By the abundance of your trade 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.

What was Lucifer like and why did he sin?

• Ezk 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. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
• Ezk 28:15, 17-18 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. … Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; it has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you.
• Isa 14:13-14 But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Although some scholars pointed out that Ezk 28 and Isa 14 referred to the kings of Tyre (Ezk 28:12) and Babylon (Isa 14:4) in their respective context, many commentators believed that the narratives went beyond a description of mere human beings (perfect, in Eden, blameless) and referred figuratively to the cherub who sinned. What was his sin? In a word, pride:

• heart was lifted (Ezk 28:17)
• elevation of self (“I will” five times in Isa 14:13-14)

God described this sin as unrighteousness, corruption, iniquities, and profanity. Who caused it? Lucifer himself did, not God. Pride was the first, and still most deadly, sin. So in reality God created a perfect angel who corrupted himself and turned into His adversary, Satan. Just as we can’t blame a drunk driver’s parents for giving birth to those who drink and drive and cause accidents, we can’t blame God for Lucifer’s fault. But why create Satan in the first place?

(To be continued)

What does Satan Look Like?

Q. What does Satan look like? What about demons?

A. The Bible does not describe what Satan looks like after his fall. There is a passage in Ezk 28 describing the king of Tyre, but which many commentators believe applies to Satan because its description goes beyond a mere man:

• Ezk 18:12-19 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “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. On the day that you were created they were prepared. “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.
• “By the abundance of your trade 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 was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you. “By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. “All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have become terrified and you will cease to be forever.”’”
Before his fall, he is a cherub (see Dec 10, 2015 post) in Eden, perfect in beauty, full of wisdom, and blameless. After he sinned he was filled with violence, profane, proud, corrupted, and unrighteous.

He appeared as a serpent to Adam and Eve, tempted our Lord in the wilderness, and John saw him as a red dragon in his vision. To men, he disguises himself:
• 2 Co 11:14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
I think that’s what he did when he disguised himself as the angel Gabriel to reveal the Qur’an to Muhammad, or as Moroni to give Joseph Smith the golden plates from which came the Book of Mormon.

Like Satan, demons are fallen angels and therefore do not have physical bodies. When allowed, they possess human beings who may become extremely violent (Mt 8:28; Mk 5:2-5; Lk 8:27), mute (Mt 9:33; Mk 9:17), deaf (Mk 9:25), or blind (Mt 12:22) i.e. they attack the means of communication. Demons can also throw the possessed into convulsions (Mk 9:18, 20, 26). However, these describe the demon-possessed men, not the evil or unclean spirits themselves.

One passage in Rev describes unclean spirits as like frogs:
• Rev 16:13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;

Beyond that the Bible is silent as to their physical appearance, but what’s described is very different from Hollywood’s depiction.