Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 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: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
There are always certain types of questions when you speak about Satan. Where did he come from? Did God create him? The origin of Satan/Devil is from the angel Lucifer; it means brilliant, shining one. When you go to Ezekiel 28 you see more about him. 11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Some of this passage is about the King of Tyre, but he was never in Eden; Satan was. He’ll be no more one day. Revelation says he’ll be cast into the lake of fire. Lucifer was perfect until iniquity found its way in him. He was the most beautiful and wisest of the created beings. Because pride was in his heart, he fell. There are five “I will’s” to notice. (1) I will ascend into heaven. He wasn’t going so he could go to the throne; he wanted to occupy the throne, the place God was. It would be like me coming to your house just to move you out. You wouldn’t like it. God didn’t either. (2) I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. Lucifer wanted it all under his authority instead of God’s. He was delegated what authority he had. God is in control of the affairs of man. He has never stepped down from his throne and never will. Lucifer coveted the right to rule and just knew he could run it better than God. You cannot improve what God does. (3) I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation. He wanted control, to be in charge of the earth. (4) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. A cloud was the visible evidence of God to the nation of Israel, the sign he was with them. Jesus also promised he would come in the clouds with power and great glory. We don’t know when, but we know he’s coming. The dead will rise first and we who are alive will join them in the air. How good to know we’re going home one day. Lucifer wanted greater glory than God. (5) I will be like the most High. Lucifer wanted to be like God knowing all things. He wasn’t all powerful, but God is. He wasn’t omnipotent, but God is. How can God be here and at another church? In your heart and in mine? He’s so much higher than we are. All I can say is HE’S GOD! He’s just God! Lucifer wanted to answer to no one but himself. The desire of Lucifer was to move in, occupy the throne and answer only to himself, to have it all under his authority.
The sin here is clear. It is the sin of pride. It led to his fall and he constantly reproduces it in hearts today. Proverbs 16 says Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. David Neitch said one time that it is better that we humble ourselves and not wait for God to do it. It may not turn out like we want. Moses had many reasons to let pride in his heart. He was educated by the best in Egypt, more than his people of Israel. He could have been proud. As Pharaoh’s daughter he was heir to Egypt; he would have been the next Pharaoh. He had something to be proud of. He had wealth at his hand. But because of a divine work in his heart, he was not. Sure he was tempted, but he resisted. Paul tells us that God will make a way out of our temptation. Moses didn’t give in. Be careful of pride. This is not about me. It’s about Jesus Christ. Lift him up and he’ll draw all men to himself.
Here are some results of Lucifer’s fall. (1) He changed. He was no longer Lucifer; he was Satan, the adversary of God and man. He’s an accuser of the brethren. I think of how many times he’s gone to the Lord because of my sins. The Lord says “what sins are you talking about?” God remembers them no more. Satan is depicted as one with a long tail, cloven hoofs and pointed ears. You’d run from that if you saw it coming. But he’s the angel of light; he looks good. But he’s still the devil, a deceiver.
(2) Some angels defected. One third of them chose to follow Satan. We don’t know how many that was. Revelation 12:9 says And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. It would take a fool to follow him, but people do it. They reject God’s leadership and a home in heaven and choose to follow one whose end will be eternity in the lake of fire. If he had his way he’d take your life right now. I’m glad God doesn’t allow that. In Genesis 3 Eve added to what God said. Lucifer worked through a serpent. He wasn’t a snake on his belly until after the judgment was pronounced on him with the curse. Eve said God told them ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. That’s not what he said; they could not eat it. Satan told her Ye shall not surely die. Eve had to choose who to believe: God or Satan. Satan is the father of lies. Through his deceit, Eve and Adam fell. He’ll promise life in the fast lane and deliver it. That’s what he did to the prodigal son. He took his father’s money and wasted it on riotous living. When it was all gone he found himself in the hog pen almost ready to eat what they ate. The last thing a Jew would do was take care of pigs. Back at the father’s house he was promised life in the fast lane, but Satan didn’t tell him about the end of that. I’m not saying the fruit Eve ate was an apple; we don’t know. But all the devil’s apples have worms in them.
(3) There was conflict between angels and the devil. Jude 9 tells us Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. What would Satan want with the body of Moses anyway. Remember Moses lifting up a brazen serpent. He knew that if he could get the body of Moses he could ensnare Israel into worshiping Moses. We are to worship God, not some idol. You’d be surprised how many you have. Anything that comes between you and God is an idol. Satan has a lot of devices. (a) He’s gotten the church to tolerate sin. We cannot do that. We must discipline the sin in the church. If not we don’t show our love for the people. (b) He causes controversy in the church. In the early church in Acts, there was a complaint that the widows were being neglected. Seven men were set aside to watch over this so the men of God could continue in the Word. I’ll be there for you if you need me and I’m not hindered in doing so, but I must study the Word to be an effective minister of it. (c) He attacks our strength. Be on guard. Take heed, lest you fall. (d) He’s the master of infiltration. He sneaks it in. He has led the church along slowly, little by little. He’s inched in things that 20 years ago we’d have said are sin. Now we don’t. (e) He is the artist of compromise. (f) He convinces people they are all right. He lays emphasis on tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. When Moses asked the Pharaoh when he could speak to him, he said tomorrow. If the devil gets lost people to wait till tomorrow, then tomorrow…they will run out of time. There are countless millions in hell waiting on tomorrow.
The devil doesn’t love you. He hates you and wants you to follow him to hell. Something better waits for those who follow God. While he is the prince of this world, one day he’ll be thrown into the lake of fire. I battle him every day, but greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. Trust God!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 