A STUDY IN GENESIS
As you might have expected, our study in Genesis is laced and held together by the other books of the Bible. Today we are going to talk about the rebellion in Heaven. There are many opinions, ideas, theories, and assumptions regarding this topic. However, we have the Word of God to help provide evidence of what has happened.
Let us examine the facts according to God. This is not a study into Satan himself, also known as “satanology,” but rather to his origins and the influence of the event that takes place where we are in our study of Genesis. But to do this, I believe we need to recognize three arguments that influence the Christian thought and paradigm today.
First, is the idea that Satan is a metaphor for human nature. Satan is everything that is bad in us that we hate. Humanism with a Christian flavoring as you might say. However, this is debunked when you read the story of Job who was persecuted by Satan. Or examine Jesus’ interactions with Satan, was Jesus talking to Himself in Matthew?
Matthew 4:4-11 “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” 5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’” 8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”
Examine Revelation 20, where we see the angel Michael physically fight Satan. Revelation 20:1-2 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;”
It is my opinion that we blame Satan for too much in this world. There is evil in this world that mankind does, and I think we even surprise Satan. However, to assume the devil is some metaphorical character for humanistic lessons is absurd. We must take God’s Word seriously, and if that is the case we must take Satan seriously. This is further emphasized in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
The second idea that I see inside the evangelical movement is that Satan is very real, but this world was his before it was ours. They believe things like that there was a garden of Eden before the one spoken of in Genesis. Many well spoken and dearly beloved prophecy experts stumble across on this idea. They say there is a gap in Genesis chapter 1 vs 1 and Genesis chapter 1 vs 2. We need to give them grace, but this group has become so focused on the micro details they failed to recognize the simplistic contextual realities of the Hebrew language. In the analyst world we would say, “Hey you are in an echo chamber of thinkers.” This is why we need to evaluate our understanding of scripture and pay close attention to all aspects and cross examine our understanding with other born-again believers. This is why I would point you to Pastor James Kadis with Calvary Chapel Signal Hills, the late Dr. Chuck Missler with Koinonia House Ministries, or Dr. Andy Woods of Sugar Bible Church for further details. However, a very simple and basic argument that I believe stand against any critical view is what God Himself states in Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
This leads to our final group of thought, which ironically is what I believe happened. Based on Genesis 1:31, everything is made, and it is good. Thus, to this point Satan also known as Lucifer is still good. He is an angel, a created being by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
This is where you have to focus on surrounding evidence to get an idea of the swiftness of Satan’s downfall. Adam and Eve are commanded to be one and multiply. There is something that is called Adamic sin (which we will talk about next week) that is passed down from Adam to each child. Because Adam had no child without sin born of him, we can assume that the downfall of humans in the garden of Eden must come rather quickly. This equates to Satan having to fall even faster. Some might argue that there is no way Satan could be made that quickly and decide to fall that fast. However, they fail to recognize that Lucifer was in the Lord’s presence. God never changed, so if he chose to walk away from God on day eight or thousands of years later it is irrelevant since God does not change. What Lucifer saw was the same now or later. Second, man did. Man knew the Lord, knew His goodness and fell. I would argue what Isaiah describes in chapter 14 with Lucifer, happened on day eight or sometime very close.
Isaiah 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.”
The five “I” statements. Because of this Satan is found to have pride. Pride is sin period. Ironically, the United States has an entire month dedicated to pride, yet when we examine scripture we can tell that pride is something the Lord does not want. Some might ask why did he do it? The answer is not needed, and we are not told why. However, if I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with his laser focus on mankind. An in-depth study of Satan would reveal that amongst the angels he was in charge of worship for the Lord. However, when man comes into the picture, there is now something that has all of God’s attention. Something that is the connection between the spirit and physical world. Mankind is made in God’s image, not Satan. Satan is described as a murderer, a liar, and his hatred for mankind only points more to us being the reason he chose to fall. Nevertheless, Satan chooses to attack God’s greatest creation mankind. Next week we will see what happens to mankind.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL