Why does Satan seek to steal, kill, and destroy us? The ancient scroll tells the story. It also shows that in spite of the pain and turmoil that he creates, he unknowingly tells us how valuable and how loved we are by God.
Before there was a world, or stars, or even time as we know it, there was God Most High and all the spirit beings that He had created: cherubim, seraphim, angels, and the heavenly host. They sang of God’s glory. They praised God’s might. Chief among them was Lucifer. He was the covering angel, the most beautiful of all of God’s creatures. He was number one among God’s created beings.
Blowing the dust off of a little-read part of the scroll, we find the first hint of Lucifer’s antagonism:
“You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.“ (Ezekiel 28:15)
What would cause unrighteousness to be found in the covering angel? The ancient archive records only one event that can account for this change. The archive starts with a description of how God disrupted this environment of praise and glory by doing something that had never been seen before. Into part of His infinite realm He introduces matter, space, and time. These are new concepts to the heavenly host. They are in wonder.
He makes living “physicals” – creatures that are bound by physical laws and time. The heavenly beings are puzzled. Why would God make anything with such limitations? Piling surprise on top of surprise, God breathes His Spirit into one of the new creatures and calls it “man”. It is “made in God’s image” (Gen 1:27). Wonder breaks out from one end of the heavenlies to the other. No other creature has been declared by God to be made in His image. Questions are asked. Puzzlement is expressed, “Why did God make this creature – it is not strong, it is not smart, it cannot effortlessly go from one location to another?” The angels long to look into these things.
Lucifer is quick. He doesn’t know all the details, but one thing is very clear. This new creature is special. Being made in God’s image is a very high honor. He, Lucifer, is beautiful, powerful, and covers the throne of God, but he is no longer number one. Lucifer is jealous!
But the truth is much worse than he feared. The end of the scroll reveals that humans will become God’s bride! They will have free access to the throne. They will know the heart and thoughts of God. They will have a relationship with God that no other creature does.
“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” (Rev 21:9)
Angels are messengers and servants, but never are they a bride.
he makes his messengers winds, and his ministers a flaming fire (Psalm 104:4)
Jealousy is enraged. It is one thing to acknowledge God as the Supreme. It is quite another to take second place to this weak creature, bound by time and space. Persuading one third of the angels to join him, Lucifer rebels.
Isaiah 14:13-14 records Lucifer’s thoughts.
You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Isaiah 14:12 gives the predictable results of the rebellion
How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!
As envy consumes him, Lucifer embarks on a two-fold plan.
First, he constantly appears before God, telling Him how ugly and despicable His bride is. He accuses her night and day of every sin that she has committed. Accordingly, his name is changed from Lucifer (Morning Star) to Satan (Accuser).
Second, he tells the Bride that God really doesn’t love her, that God does not have her best interests at heart, and that she should not totally trust Him.
If God does not love us, Satan would not be jealous of us. Satan’s very actions of deceit, destruction, and killing tell us that God values His Bride very much and that we hold a very special place with Him in all creation.
The compliments of our enemy, however unwittingly and grudgingly given, are sincere and are to be treasured. He believes that God loves us more than we do ourselves.
Final quirky thought:
In the Lord of the Rings, the ring corrupts the fourth Bearer in thought and appearance. His name changes from Smeagol to Gollum.
Jealousy corrupts our enemy. His name changes from Lucifer to Satan. His appearance changes from “the man who made the earth tremble, who shook the kingdoms” to “a loathed branch” (Isaiah 14:16,19).
Scope Ministries 