Monday, January 17, 2011

When Did Lucifer, a Perfect Angel, Become Satan, the Father of All Evil?
Dear Reader, let's please take a moment to ask God to send His Holy Spirit with us as we continue. Thank You SO much! The Lucifer to Satan question puzzles many. We cannot know all of the answers at this time; this side of Heaven, but let's examine what the Bible does tell us about Satan. We'll do this by examining the key Scriptures addressing Satan's origin. As to the time Lucifer actually became Satan, most Bible Scholars agree that it was probably very close to the same time God created the earth and Adam and Eve. 

Did God Create any Evil Creatures?
Absolutely None! Satan and his Demon/Angels were all created perfect, sinless creatures. Lucifer chose to rebel, thinking that if he succeeded, he could replace God. One third of the angels chose to join Lucifer's rebellion and they are now doing everything possible to make it appear that God created bad beings. Such a lie serves their evil purpose very well!
     At the present time, this is all we humans know about Satan's beginnings and his evil Demon's beginnings. However, we do know that God has always existed. He had no beginning! We cannot wrap our minds around this, so we accept it by faith. Also we know that all Angels were created beings, and thus had a beginning. Again, we cannot understand this, but, if we are believers, we accept it by faith. After Jesus comes at His Second Coming we will have the first thousand years of eternity to learn much about God and His love, but that will only be Pre-School, sort of a Pre-Kindergarten! At the end of that first thousand years, New Jerusalem comes down from where it is now and will become part of the New Heavens and New Earth that Jesus will create. All of God's saved people will then spend trillions of unending years learning more and more about God and His universe, and, most of all, His Love! Even after these trillions of years, we will have just begun to learn!

    Was Lucifer the first created Angel? We don't know, but it seems likely. There is Bible evidence that seems to indicate that he was the first.
"God Has Always Existed"
     God  has existed forever in reverse! Our minds cannot understand this now, but when we get to Heaven, we will begin the process of learning and understanding it. Even though God is, "One God," He is also, "God the Father," God the Son," and, "God the Holy Spirit." Understanding this is another question that will wait till Heaven. For now let's focus on Lucifer becoming Satan.

"An Anointed Cherub"
    God revealed to Ezekiel that Lucifer was, "The Anointed Cherub that Covereth" (Ezek.28:14). God said Lucifer was, "Covered with Every Precious Stone" (Vs.13). God built into Lucifer's actual body (Spirit Body) an amazing ability to produce beautiful music. "The workmanship of thy tabrets (timbrels) and of thy pipes (flutes) was prepared in THEE in the day that thou wast created" (Vs.13). Also on the day Lucifer was created, he was covered with, "diamonds, jasper, sapphire, gold, etc," along with his built in musical equipment. Thus, originally Lucifer was a perfect creature with not even a glimmer of evil in him in any way. God said, "Thou wast PERFECT in thy way from the day thou wast created, till INIQUITY was found in thee" (Vs.15)! That word, "Iniquity," in the original Hebrew is, "Avlah," and means, "Against God's Law." So we can see Satan's first sin, and it has been his Theme Song from that time till today, and the Bible says it will be his final battle cry!

God Knows the Future
Thus God knew on the very day He created Lucifer that eventually that perfect creature would rebel and become grossly evil. The question that we humans ask is, "Why didn't God tweak Lucifer's personality and character so that evil could NEVER arise in him?" Pretty much everything that's going on in our world now centers around this question. Everything, especially the bad things, happening on our planet has a direct bearing on this question.Let's look closer:

God Does NOT Want Robots!!
God could've created into all His creatures a built in check valve that automatically kicks in every time the slightest mental question arises concerning the fairness of their Creator. But in His Infinite Wisdom, God knew that neither He nor His Creatures would reach the ultimate joy and happiness under these circumstances. So He built into every creature the power of choice. Not only did God know that Lucifer would one day turn against Him, God also knew that 1/3 of His Angels would do the same! Thus, 1 of every 3 Angels caused God to be sad on the day they were created, but we must never forget that every Angel was created perfect and every Angel was created with exactly the same power of choice.

Job and Satan
For a clear understanding of how Satan relates to human kind, see the Book of Job. We assume the Reader is familiar with Job in the Bible. God had blessed Job to the point that he was immensely wealthy! Job was a man living a perfect and upright life. Satan and his Demons had not been able to destroy Job's faith in God. And so we have the only Bible insight into conversations between God and Satan. Satan attended a meeting God was holding in Heaven. Satan's purpose was to poke fun at planet earth where God had created creatures "In His (God's) Own Image" (See Gen.1:26). God reminded Satan that there was a man on earth that was faithful to his Creator. This angered Satan and he accused God of being unfair by placing a protective hedge around Job and all of his belongings. Satan said this was the ONLY reason for Job's faithfulness.

The Heart of the Matter
Pretty much everything we know and need to know about Satan/Lucifer is wrapped up in Job's story! Satan threw everything at Job that God would allow, but Job remained faithful. In the final Great White Throne Judgment Day, Satan will again try to show God is unfair. He will bring up cases trying to prove that certain people who are saved were "Overprotected" and other cases where other people had no chance to be saved because of circumstances in their lives over which the person has no control. Satan will try to show that everyone who honored and served God did so for one of only 2 reasons.Following are those reasons:

"Desire for Rewards" or "Fear of Punishment"
Every lie Satan has introduced to humanity is based on these. Every False Doctrine Satan has secretly slipped into Christian Churches is based on the above. The Reader may feel we are assuming too much about Satan and Judgment day here. We suggest that since the story of Job is the only Biblical account into God conversing with Satan, we have a window into Satan's Judgment Day charges against God. The Book of Job is also a window into how Lucifer became Satan. Now let's look into another window:

"I will Be Like the Most High"
God revealed to Isaiah some actual evil thoughts of Satan! "How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, Son of the Morning?! How art thou cut down to the ground, who didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thine heart, 'I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit also upon the Mount of the Congregation, in the Sides of the North! I will ascent above the heights of the clouds! I will be like the Most High!' Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit" (Isa.14:12-15)! Actually Isaiah doesn't stop here. He goes on to describe Satan when God eventually kills him! (See "When Satan Dies") When we combine the Scriptures we've examined here, a clear picture emerges.

When Lucifer Became Satan
Lucifer became Satan when he allowed the thought to enter his heart that he wanted to, "be like God." Lucifer allowed these thoughts to linger in his heart until such evil thoughts became his obsession. There was no, "Satan" to tempt Lucifer. When he began spreading his lies to other Angels about God being unfair, he knew better! He knew he was lying! Lucifer is the only creature in God's Universe that chose evil with no evil tempter prompting him. Eventually he harbored these thoughts till he shared them with all of God's Angels. Finally there was "War in Heaven! Michael and His Angels fought against the Dragon (Lucifer), and the Dragon fought and his Angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in Heaven! And the Great Dragon was cast out, that old Serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his Angels were cast out with him" (Rev.12:7-9)!

Conclusion
Let's sum up why God created the Power of Choice within EVERY creature He made. Most of us have pets. This Author has Dogs and Cats. Let's look at Dogs in particular. We'll assume the Dog is an inside pet. He's in a room and you walk in. What would you like to see? Would you rather see your Dog run to meet you because he loves you and dearly wants to interact with you by showing you his love and affection, or, would you want him to cower down because he's scared of you? The answer is obvious! Only an evil, mentally deranged person wants to see his pets afraid of him!!! Thus it is with God's relationship with us. He will eventually fill His Universe with only creatures that love Him and dearly want to be with Him. Every Doctrine of Demons that Satan has invented and passed on to humanity is designed specifically to attack God's Character and make Him appear to be like the mentally deranged person mentioned above. A most classic example of this is the Demonic Doctrine of, "Never-Ending Torture." Christianity know this doctrine as, "Everlasting Hell." This is the popular doctrine stating God endlessly tortures lost sinners. Satan has gone to great lengths to propagate this repugnant lie. (See our Blogsite "Did Jesus Suffer Your Hell.") God is Love, and it is true that immediately after Judgment Day, He will indeed destroy sin and sinners with fire. But this destruction is in no way the destruction that Satan has portrayed! There'll not be any of God's creatures bellowing and screaming throughout eternity!! In spite of Satan's success in portraying this repugnant lie, the Bible is very clear that God is not a sadist taking pleasure in the punishment and death of the wicked. For Bible proof, see, Is God Torturing People Now

Dear Reader, we've actually covered only the tip of the story. If you want to see the whole story, we suggest reading the passages we've offered here, then read the passages before and after each in order to get the full context. Most of all, be sure to seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit! This is the only safe way to study the Bible. Thank you for your time. Let's pray for each other as we prepare for Jesus' soon coming!
Your Brother in Christ
Walter C. Martin Jr
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Check Our Other Blogsites:
Pre-Tribulation Rapture
Post-Tribulation Second Coming of Jesus
Will We Eat Pigs During the Millennium?

Planet Earth WILL be Destroyed After the 1000 Years!
New Jerusalem - How BIG is It?
Great White Throne Judgment Seat - When and Where
Christ's Kingdom - Millennial or EVERLASTING?

 Hell Fire
Is God Torturing People Now
Did Jesus Suffer ALL of Your Hell?
The Rich Man and Lazarus?
Death
The Dead - Dead or Alive - What is Death?
Did Jesus Die YOUR Death for You?
Will Satan Ever Die - Bible Says "YES!"
Testing Our Doctrine About Death
The Dead Stand Before Great White Throne Judgment Seat

 The Gnostics - Satan's Implants
Were Gnostics Really Christian?
Were Gnostics Satan's Implants into the Church?
Is Gnosticism Alive and Well in Today's Churches
Church is Israel - Israel is Church
Is the Church Israel and Israel the Church?
Is the Bride of Jesus the 144 Thousand?
Did Jesus Offer the Jews a Millennial Kingdom in His Ministry?
Will New Jerusalem Sit in Israel? How Big is It?
Christ's REAL EVERLASTING Kingdom is for ALL Believers!

The Sabbath
Is it a Sin to Observe the Sabbath?
Is There a Connection Between the Rapture and the Sabbath?
Will the Sabbath Be Observed By God's People During the Tribulation?
Who REALLY Changed the Sabbath in Early Christianity?
Un-Answered and Un-Answerable Sabbath Questions For Popular Preachers
How to Test Your Doctrine Concerning the Sabbath

Heaven
Marriage in Heaven - Millennial Kingdom?
Strange Animal/Demons the Millennium?
Why Jesus Hasn't Come to Take Us To Heaven?
Teachers of Anomia (Law Annulling)
Good Ministers Teaching Against God's 10 Commandments?
Teaching of Anomia - The Reason Jesus Hasn't Come Yet?
Pre-Trib Rapture and Sabbath
Pre-Trib Rapture and the Sabbath?

Walter C. Martin Jr.
Everlasting Gospel Ministries

These are just a few of the questions we examine in our Websites.
Thank you, Dear Reader,  for checking them. Please feel free to give us your comments and feedback if you look at our Sites.  If you send us your questions or comments, we will try to answer and add your question to these Websites. We will Not give your name or E-Mail address to ANY ONE or ANY Church Group or Denomination! Nor will we send you ANY annoying E-Mails!! It is NOT our purpose to get you to withdraw from your present Church, but to invite you to present things you learn here to your Pastor and Friends.
Let's pray that God will continue sending His Holy Spirit to guide as we prepare for Jesus to come. Thank You!
Your Brother in Christ!
Walter C. Martin Jr
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