The Origin and Fall of Satan (part 1)

 

The Origin and Fall of Satan (part 1)

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning….” However, what is it the beginning of? It certainly is not the beginning of all things because God is present, His Holy Spirit is present and His Son is present. Are we to assume that 6000 – 10,000 years ago (our conservative Christian view of creation) nothing existed for trillions upon trillions of what we would call years? Can we really be expected to believe God and His Holy Spirit and Son sat in absolute solitude with no praise or worship for all of eternity past? Was there nothing of any kind, of any type, anywhere until 6000 years ago?

There is a tendency today to look for the newest thoughts, to be the author who discovered those things not discovered before, even though thousands of years have passed, and as many scholars have penned as many works. One of the newest, although there is nothing new under the sun, is a discussion on the origin of Satan. When was he created? When did he fall? And similar discussions. It would seem that many, certainly not all, modern authors place a great deal of value on being the one to offer a ‘new’ thought or idea, or to uncover an ancient mystery no one has yet laid bare. This desire for prestige seems to be what drives many to unveil the next great work on some obscure topic.

Because Satan, being created during the six days of creation appears to be the next big issue to be discussed in theological circles I felt compelled to at least ‘address it’ myself. So, in my opinion at least, any work seeking to discover the origin of Satan must begin at the beginning. Therefore, we must ask what “In the beginning” actually means. It certainly must mean something, but it does not seem likely that it would mean the beginning of all things. Take a moment and look at what is said on each of the days of creation.

Day one: light, day and night, is created. Day two: the heavens, that region between land and space called atmosphere. Day three: bodies of water and vegetation. Day four: celestial bodies. Day five: living creatures. Day six: man. It may not be apparent at first what each day of creation shares with each of the other days. However, if one takes the time to look a little more closely it may become glaringly obvious. God created a physical universe. He was creating physical objects like stars and planets, He was creating animals as we know them with fur and legs, and he was creating man in His own image both male and female. “In the beginning” in no way rules out the existence of myriad other entities or non-physical ‘objects’ brought into existence by God. It was the ‘beginning’ of a ‘physical’ universe.

The angels, and Satan, are not physical, they are spiritual. Jesus said there is a distinction when he explained to Nicodemus the importance of being born again, John 3:5-6 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (v.6) That which is born of the flesh (or born physically) is flesh (or physical); and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” There is such a marked difference between the flesh and the spirit that only the spiritual can enter heaven. Those things which are born in this physical realm can never enter into the spiritual realm of God. All of the angels of heaven including Satan were part of the spiritual realm and not the physical realm or its creation.

So then, if God created a physical universe 6000-10,000 years ago are we to assume He existed in a vast empty void for eons of times back through eternity past? That is not logical. In fact, it makes no sense at all that a God of such great power and unbounded awareness would only create once, and that only in that passed 6000 years. Biblically, we are convinced He only created one physical universe, and in that creation, He made mankind (not angels) after His own image only once. But that does not preclude a previous creation of a spiritual realm.

This seems to be a problem for Christians because of the doors it appears to open. However, we must never interpret the Word of God from a standpoint of fear. “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Romans 3:40). The Word of God is not jeopardized at all; His Word stands true. Every word of the Bible is true, every account is accurate, and every promise will yet come true. We are only suggesting the Bible accounts for this universe and the physical world we live in, since its inception. It would not be possible to write of all that has occurred in the presence of God from eternity past. So then, “In the beginning” would mean, in the beginning of the creation of the physical universe. It is unlikely to apply to the spiritual realm.

 

The Origin and Fall of Satan (part 2)

 The Origin and Fall of Satan (part 2)

Satan is a real created being, but he is spiritual and not physical. In the six days of creation there is no account offered for the creation of the spiritual realm. According to Ezekiel 28:13-17 he was created with brightness and beauty, he was perfect in all of his ways, he was the anointed Cherub and walked in the Holy Mountain of God. In verse 15 we see he was perfect in all his ways until sin was discovered in him. Satan, as most of us already know, was also in the Garden of Eden, but he had already become sinful. And by the time of creation was already cast out of heaven.

 Now, on a timeline-perspective, it does not seem possible or even reasonable that Satan could have been created during the creation of this world. Are we to believe he was created one day and sinned the next? And yet, that is the modern idea being tossed about today. He would have to have been created as, or created and then exalted to, the position of Anointed Cherub. He would have to have had time to “walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire” (v.14). He would have been created as the best creation up to that point and then in something equal to a couple of weeks, turned into the worst of all and cast out of heaven.

Yet, if that were the case, why something so magnificent was never clearly expounded in the Word of God, is baffling? Would we not have read about the creation of man on one day and the creation of angels on the other? Angels coming into existence by the millions (since they cannot reproduce, Mark 12:25) would certainly have been noteworthy. And that must have been the case by this thinking. Since there is no evidence that angels can reproduce, they must have been created in their current numbers and that would have been an event worthy of a grand announcement.

As Christians we cannot allow the excitement of discovering that one hidden morsel to distort our reading and understanding of God’s Word. Satan was not created at the same time as man. He did not fall suddenly after creation.

One key passage used to support this concept is the classic Isaiah 14:12-15 with Lucifer’s “I will” statements. It is argued that he could not have wanted to exalt himself above the stars or clouds if they did not exist and so they must have existed at the time of his statement. Here is that passage: Isa 14:12-15 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! (v.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: (v.14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (v.15) Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

First, it is important that one recognizes this is the recorded statement of a king and not of Satan. It is applied to Satan intentionally by God because of the many similitudes. We should not be looking for specific quotes of Satan but rather for likeness in action and attitude. Be that as it may, look at verse twelve. Satan fell from heaven; he was indeed glorious (“son of the morning”) and he has certainly weakened the nations. There is nothing in this verse to substantiate the idea he may have been created during the six days or even that he fell during that period.

In verse 13 we can understand some on the confusion. The attitude of Satan was such that he sought superiority above God Himself. Our verse seems to lend itself to the idea that Satan must have seen the clouds and stars if he used them to express his desires. Remember, this is the statement of a king, not of Satan. The king’s statement is being used to express the sentiment Satan had when he was cast out of heaven. This is the precise statement of the king, and, the burning desire in the heart of Satan. But it is not Satan’s words being quoted. It is without question the aspiration of Satan at some point before creation as He sat in God’s presence. But the words themselves belonged to an earthly king long after creation and were used to express the heart of the Great Deceiver; for our understanding. In verse 14 the king desired to be lifted up and exalted high above the clouds and become like God. Truly these were the sentiments of Satan himself, but the words belonged to a likeminded king.

It is dangerous in theology to begin looking for that one new thing, that fascinating concept that others have overlooked until the moment our pen hit the paper. There truly is nothing new under the sun, and the sooner theologians stop looking for it, the better we will be.

Concerning God, there is no end to the books we can write, and all we need for material is the revealed word of God and the teaching of His Holy Spirit, and not a clever new idea.