Satan's Beginning...

Satan's Beginning...

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"

Genesis 1:1

When was this?

No one knows.

The Bible does not tell us, but it does tell us that God was before the beginning; that He personally acted in the creation process; that all we see and know of the universe comes specifically from His creative hand.

A study of the earth's surface has led many scientist to believe that it and the universe are very old.

With this the Bible does not disagree.

While the Scriptures do not state the age of the earth categorically, there is some evidence to support the view that the earth went through a long period of inactivity, perhaps as the result of the judgement of God.

The geological ages might accurately describe the earth during that time.

In a segment of eternity, at the beginning of time, God planned and brought into existence both the earth and the universe surrounding it.

God also brought into existence particularly gifted beings called angels.

Spirit beings possessing spirit bodies, they are ageless.

The ministry of the angels seems to have been to fulfill the will of God by overseeing and controlling the star systems and heavenly bodies, and also to control the physical forces governing the earth, such as the seas, winds, rain, etc.

Over this vast multitude of angelic beings, God placed a special being called Lucifer, meaning "Bright and shining one".

This does not refer merely to his spirit body, but also to his mind, his wisdom, his power, his authority.

 Apparently, Lucifer was appointed by God as the authoritative leader of the vast host of angels.

An arresting passage in Ezekiel 28:11-19, the subject of which is the Prince of Tyrus, or tyre, reads as follows:

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

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.

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.

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.

Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

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.

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. 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.

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.

As one examines the passage, it seems very evident that while the Prince of Tyrus actually is addressed (28:2,12), the message beginning with verse 11 goes far beyond an earthly prince to the king of evil who stood behind him and prompted him in his wicked doings, even Satan himself.

Note the superlatives used in this description.

He is said to be full of wisdom, perfect in beauty and in his ways ( 28:11,15).

Coming from the prophet of God, this statement is a revelation of God's estimate of this infernal spirit being.

Moreover, this person is said to have been in Eden, the garden of God (28:13).

Possibly this is a reference to a former Eden which existed before the Garden of Eden was created, the beauty of which lay not in floral splendor, but in mineral radiance.

 Further, the special musical ability of this creature is noted.

We have voices and are able to clap our hands to make sound, he had "tabrets and pipes".

Sounds like an organ of some sort was a part of his being.

In addition, this person is described as being "the anointed cherub that covereth" or protects ( 28:14).

God so appointed Lucifer to guard His throne.

 Lucifer was a created being, possibly the most amazing, the most gifted of all beings which God had created.

Yet, iniquity was found in this originally perfect being, with the result that God promised to cast him out and to destroy him (28:16).

The nature of his sin and the method of God's judgement against him are described to some degree (28:17).

A careful study of this and other passages seems to suggest to many Bible scholars that the being here depicted is none other than Lucifer, the captain and leader of the host of the angels.

The judgments concerning him are predicted in this passage, but their complete fulfillment awaits the end of the present age and the further development of the program of God.