The first ever implicit reference to the devil's presence in the garden with the man and the woman is found in the Hebrew Bible Apocrypha, Wisdom of Solomon 2.24 (21-24; cf., 1.16, too). Though it purports to be from the hand of Solomon, it is actually a 1st century BCE document.
Any other examples of Satan's 'fall' in the books that were written or edited before 100 BCE are an attempt to find Satan where Satan isn't.
The word Satan, much less the character Satan in the OT, much less the entity Satan in the NT, didn't exist in the religion of God's people before they went into Exile in Babylon.
It seems that they learned of a character that fought with God in a cosmic battle from Persian influences. [how close is that the the scene in Revelation?!] And since it was Cyrus, the Persian, who not only conquered the Babylonians but also set the Jews free with all their religious paraphenalia to go back to the Promised Land, they may have been only too glad to add Satan to their religious understanding of human sin.
The story in the Garden happened way way way before the Exile, didn't it!?
The ministy of the prophet Isaiah took place some time before the Exile, didn't it!?
The ministry of the prophet Ezekiel took place during the early days of the Exile, didn't it!?
All before the Persian influences happened!
Much of the evolution of the idea and character of Satan took place during the so-called intestamental period... about which most every-day Christians know very little.
I've gone on long enough for one session tonight. nite nite!
This was a message published without copyright by the printing ministry of Bill Britton about twenty years ago. The Shining One
Author unknown
LUCIFER, THE SHINING ONE
When God speaks of "the beginning", He is speaking of the originating point of the subject in question. For example, it was "in the beginning" that He made the heaven and the earth. That is, these things had their origin in Him, and they were his workmanship from the beginning of their creation.
The Word declares that the "fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom." (Proverbs 1:7) That means, simply, that wisdom has as its originating point the place of the reverential fear of the Lord.
It, no doubt, seems foolish even to attempt to clarify so obvious a point. There is nothing at all to understanding the meaning of "in the beginning." It means just what it says. If something has existed in a certain condition "from the beginning", that means that from the time that it was formed or established, it was in that condition. Certainly, there is no difficulty in following that line of reasoning.
Yet, it is on this very point that we run into a head-on collision with a fundamental doctrine, for despite the fact that "from the beginning" obviously means at the creation of a thing, men have taught a doctrine for years that contradicts this simple statement of fact. We speak of that which is taught concerning Satan.
Fundamentalists have long agreed that Satan was, in the beginning, the "anointed cherub that covereth." They have taught that he held the most coveted position among the angelic hosts until he led a rebellion against God in an attempt to usurp His throne. At that time, we are told, Satan was cast out of heaven and became, instead of an angel, the devil that he is today.
It is amazing that such a doctrine could have enjoyed such widespread acceptance in the light of the teachings of Jesus on this subject. Please note: MAN says that Satan IN THE BEGINNING was holy, but later fell from that estate. JESUS said that Satan was a MURDERER (not an angel) from the BEGINNING. (John 8:44)
Not only that, but the apostle John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, penned these words in regard to Satan's origin: "The devil sinneth FROM THE BEGINNING." (I John 3:8)
Now, if we are to believe that the Bible means what it says -- and we believe it does -- we must believe that from his very beginning, Satan was evil.
We find no conflict with this belief and the nature of God as some would suppose. We have heard the argument that God would never have created something that was evil. Our first reply to that is another question: If God creates a being that He knows is going to become evil, would that not be the same thing as creating one evil in the first place? It is, then, no less thinkable that God would create one who would become evil than just to create an evil one to begin with.
However, out of God's own mouth we offer a contradiction to the words of this argument in Isaiah 54:16 where He declares, "I have created the WASTER to destroy." We gather from this passage that Satan is a created being with a definite purpose. That purpose is stated in the opening words of the above quoted verse:
"I have created the smith (the devil) that bloweth the coals on the fire, and that BRINGETH FORTH AN INSTRUMENT for his work."
We see this purpose being fulfilled in the life of Job. Job was a righteous man ACCORDING TO THE LIGHT THAT HE HAD. He was perfect IN HIS GENERATION. That is, his perfection was a comparative perfection. In comparison to those who were living around him, Job was a perfect man. But in his inward working, God saw a spirit that did not measure up to the standard of Christlikeness, for the spirit of Christ is one of humility, and Job was not a humble man. He was proud of his righteousness. Hear the testimony of scripture on this point: "So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous IN HIS OWN EYES." (Job 32:1)
It was because God desired to burn out the dross of pride in this man (who even had the testimony of God that he was a righteous man) that God brought forth the "smith to blow the coals upon the fire." Please not that it was not Satan's idea to persecute Job! Oh, no!!! It was God Himself who brought up the subject! There Satan was, presenting himself before the Lord, and God asked, "Where have you been?"
To this question, Satan replied, "From walking up and down in the earth." (No mention at all of Job.)
"Well, Satan," the Lord asked, "have you considered my servant Job? Have you noticed that he hates evil and fears God? Have you noticed that, Satan?"
Indeed, Satan HAD noticed Job, but he wasn't doing anything to him. One of the most glorious testimonies of the preservation of the saints of God is given here in this passage by Satan himself: "Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not made an hedge around him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side?"
Oh, glory to God! There is truly a hedge around the people of God, and that hedge is Jesus Christ himself. The psalmist recognized and gloried in this fact when he said, "The angel of the Lord encampeth around about them that fear Him and delivereth them." (Psalm 34:7)
"You've put a hedge around him," Satan said, "and I can't get to him!" Then he went on to say, "You must put forth THINE HAND and touch all that he hath, and he will then curse thee to thy face."
But the Lord, who trieth the reins of the heart, knoweth them that are his, and He knows who can be trested with affliction. He, therefore, said to Satan, "behold, all that he hath in thy power -- in thy hand-- only upon himself put not forth thine hand."
Brethren, don't you believe for a moment that anything in the heavenly realm is out of control. God is in full control of that sphere of action, and Satan himself is under the jurisdiction of God. If you can receive this in the spirit, you will understand that Satan has no power at all except that which God allows him to have. Do you REALLY believe that Satan could cause all the trouble in the world unless God had permitted it?? My friend, if you believe that Satan is a thorn in the side of Almighty God, then your God is entirely too small. Satan poses no problem for God. God could destroy him at any time. God binds his hands daily. It is God who sets his boundaries and limits his power -- it was, in fact God who created him in the first place -- and that was for one purpose and one purpose only: for the PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS! Beloved, when that purpose is accomplished, Satan will have completed his course as in INSTRUMENT in the hands of God who has everything under control... and then will his end come. Why, the devil himself knows that there is a time limit on his presence and activity here. Have you never read the words of Revelation 12:12 which say: "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and sea; for the devil is come down to you having great wrath because he knoweth THAT HE HATH BUT A SHORT TIME."
God is constructing a temple, made of living stones, through which to manifest Himself throughout the ages of eternity, hallelujah, and Satan was created (a sinner from the beginning) as a chisel and hammer to be used in the construction of the building. The living stones that are even now being placed in this temple have been chosen, says the Lord, in the "furnace of affliction." (Isaiah 48:10) God, however, is mercy; God is love; God is compassion. He is a healer, not a destroyer. It was, nonetheless, necessary that an oven be heated in which to purify the gold -- a furnace in which the wood, hay, and stubble were to be burned -- but God, in his nature of love, could not perform the necessary affliction. It was for this reason that He created an instrument that was capable of performing this essential action in the lives of men, for in Satan God literally created a "chastening rod."
If we can realize that behind the acts of Satan is the mighty hand of God working to bring forth gold from these earthen vessels, we can rejoice, as David, in our afflictions and trials and exclaim with him, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." (Psalm 119:7) Praise God! When we begin to see the GOOD that comes from the assaults of Satan on our lives, we are able to appreciate all the more the greatness of our God and the depth of the wisdom of His great mind. Praise His wonderful name! He is truly a God of power and might, and ALL things are in His hand -- even this enemy whom we call the devil.
If we have now received the testimony of Jesus Christ concerning the origin of Satan, that is, that he was a "murderer from the beginning" we must now reckon with another point of our fundamental theology. If Satan was not, after all, the "anointed cherub that covereth", who was?
It is taught that the 28th chapter of Ezekiel is speaking of Satan in his "perfect state". In the 14th verse of this chapter, the subject under discussion is called "the anointed cherub that covereth", and the Lord says, "I have set thee so." This is the basic scripture for the fundamental position holding Satan as the anointed cherub.
We must raise a question here, however, as the the essence of Satan. Is he spirit or is he man? There can be only one reply to that question, of course. He is spirit. Should there be, however, one who would disagree on that point, we would like to point out that Satan, on the night of Jesus' arrest, "entered into Judas". (John 13:27) Now, we know that a man cannot enter another man. We know full well, however, that spirit can and does enter the heart of man, and it was the Satanic spirit that night that took possession of the body of Judas and performed his wicked works through him.
Please refer again to Ezekiel 28, verse 2, where the Lord is addressing the "anointed cherub" -- "Thus saith the Lord God; because thine heart is lifted up and thou hast said, I am a god, I sin in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; YET THOU ART A MAN, and not God..."
PUBLISHER'S COMMENTS ON MESSAGE
As stated, the preceeding message was sent to us more than a year ago, but it was not until now that the Lord instructed us to print it and mail it out. When the shock value of the message wears off, many are going to find the Book opening up in a new way concerning end-time truths and the New-Creation Man.
Lest any should think at first glance that we are trying to glorify the devil, let me assure you that this message does just the opposite. Often I have wondered in years past why in dealing with demons, the enemy would rather be referredto as "Lucifer" (the shining one), rather than "devil," "Satan," etc. Now we know. The devil would like to have you think that at one time he wwas holy, powerful, the greatest of the angels, leading a rebellion against God, etc etc. None of this is true, nor can it be substantiated from Scripture.
This message rips the cover off, and lets you know that Satan never did have any holiness or true wisdom, that he was not created with any glory. He was created a devil, a principality, a waster, a destroyer, and a murder and a liar from the beginning. If you think that he is going to like being exposed, you should see the letters I'll be getting after he talks to people and twists the meaning of this message around.
I will be glad to make known the identity of the author, if they will write and tell us. We feel that this message is very timely at this hour of Satan's defeat, and we appreciate one of God's sons sharing it with us.
Mr Britten's exposition is good at points and faulty at a few as well.
If one does even a little research into the kingdom of Tyre, using a good Bible dictionary, like the Interpreter's Bible Dictionary (vol 4, p 721! :-), one will see that the god of Tyre was Melqart and that the prince/king of Tyre evidently looked on himself, much like later Roman rulers, as co-regent or priest of Melqart, or even equal to Melqart! (Watch out for the political satire!)
And... verse 14 is one of the hardest to translate properly... in addition to being quite enigmatic at best. To base one's theory of "'Satan' as the cherub" on just one verse, which any Hebrew language scholar will tell you is terribly hard to understand a bit, much less fully, is like walking on thin ice or worse, hot coals or into the fiery furnace!
The prophet Ezekiel has been given a message to lament over an earthly king, one who thought of himself as a priest to his city-state deity (hence the reference to 'stones' and 'gold engravings,' a bit like the breastplate a Israelite priest would wear), that is clear. Plenty of the other verses point clearly and unambiguously to a human ruler. The rest is political satire!! :-) take care, 82
Ezekiel 28:1-2
"The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God;"
First, according to Josephus, this prince was Ithobalus II. He had such pride that even he claimed to be God and exalted his heart as the heart of God (v2, 6, 9). Satain ruled the king of Tyre, as showed by the association of Lucifer with him in the v-11-19. Of course, Satan will also rule the Anti-Christ (2 Th. 2:8-12; Rev 13:1-8)
Ezekiel 28:2
"Becuase thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as teh heart of God;"
Very easy to understand. This is still directed as the prince. As it says, "yet thou art a man". The scriptures go on to talk about Ithobalus II until verse 11.
Ezekiel 11:11
"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 teh sum, full of wisdom, and perfect beauty."
The earthly king of Tyre was Ithobalus II as I noted before. The supernatural king of Tyre was Lucifer, who is mostly referred to in this prophecy, which is easily proved by the many statements that could not possibly apply an a EARTHLY man. Lucifer was perfect in beauty, which could never be said of any fallen man, It was the cause of his pride and fall (vs 17; 1 Tim 3:6)
The fallen Archangel. When mankind had reached a stage where the intellect had to be developed, Lucifer was sent down as the illuminator to help us in this. On descending down into the World of Matter however, at cosmic distances from God, he developed a will contrary to that of the Creator. Instead of using the principle of supporting love, patiently awaiting our maturing, he was the one who could not wait. He thereby introduced the principle of temptation among other things, which is equivalent to the setting of snares for human spirits. This is aptly represented in the Bible as the fall of man, the beginning of the one sided cultivation of the intellect through temptation. There were many human spirits who fell by the wayside but this did not concern Lucifer, who looked down on the weaker human spirits.
Those who fell were abandoned to destruction, whereas those who withstood these temptations even became stronger. This is however a loveless principle, which led to the loss of so many spirits. His aim is the destruction of all that is weak, which he works towards relentlessly, particularly as he knows he is now cast out by God forever.
He is the Antichrist, the one behind man's one sided cultivation of the intellect, the only true enemy of God, who opposes His Will and opposes our redemption in His Word. He fights every bringer of Divine Truth and uses almost the whole of mankind as tools in his fight against the Light. His tool is the intellect, which he has induced us to overdevelop, thereby shutting off the voice of the intuition, whereby we would no more be in a position to hear the Voice of God.
Getting out of Lucifer's clutches demands an enormous amount of self conquest. There is no other way out. We must be prepared to discover and acknowledge every single fault within ourselves and making the effort to actually overcome them. This is not an easy task and many shy away form it, but for those whose goal it is to ascend, there is no other way. Lucifer, through his principle has done an enormous amount of damage to human spirits. He has even led to the disintegration of many. He however, does not entirely bear the whole blame. Part of the blame must rest with the human spirits as we have voluntarily made the decision to abide by his principles. The decision to choose has always been for the human beings to make.
The way to God lies in the use of the spiritual intuition. The use of this implement leads to a continued direct connection to the Light for human beings. In order for Lucifer to bring us under his influence however, and prevent a connection to the Light, he induced us to overdevelop our intellect and ignore the spiritual intuition. This shut us off from the Light as the intellect lacked the ability to receive from the Light. This way, we become much more tractable and he could do with us as he wished. He could then call upon us at his whim as tools in his fight against the Light. Those who have overdeveloped their intellects and have shut off their intuitions have no more connection with Light or any understanding of It. They, through the distortion that lies in them have now become Lucifer's servants.
* Note - the effects of the one sided cultivation are many, but the fact that most decisions are made intellectually rather than intuively, therefore concerning the self. The effects of interest in the self are clearly visible.
Even those who are not yet dedicated servants of Lucifer are always in danger of becoming so as long as they acknowledge the intellect as of paramount importance. They will always oppose the Light, although subconsciously. The reason for this is the specific nature of the intellect, which was designed as a counter-pole to the upwardly striving spirit. It holds down and it keeps down. It is off gross matter. That is its nature and that is the purpose for which it was made. To regard the intellect as supreme therefore, is to ask for nothing more than to be an enemy of the Light
Lastly, I will say that Lucifer is personal, not a concept. He is eternal, therefore existing from eternity, as his origin is in the sphere of Divine Substantiality.
In the Light of Truth
Volume 3 - Chapter 35 - The Mystery of Lucifer (A small part)
Both the principle of "letting oneself go" and of temptation are so closely connected that temptation must without doubt precede "letting oneself go". The latter is thus a direct following and spreading of the Lucifer principle.
The true physician of the soul does not need to tear down. He recognises the slumbering good qualities, awakens them and then builds upon them. The true principle brings about a transformation of wrong desires through spiritual understanding!
The application of his loveless principle, however, quite naturally seperated Lucifer more and more from the Loving Will of the Almighty Creator,causing him to be cut off and cast out from the Light. Consequently he fell ever deeper. Lucifer is one who has severed himself from the Light, which is equivalent to having been cast out.
This expulsion was also bound to occur according to the existing Primordial Laws, the irrevocable Holy Will of God the Father! It could not possibly happen otherwise.
Since only the Will of God the Father, the Creator of all things, is omnipotent, and is also firmly anchored in material Creation and its development, Lucifer can quite well send his principle into the material sphere, but the resulting affects will always and only operate within the Primordial Laws ordained by God the Father and must form themselves accordingly!
Thus, in pursuit of his erroneous principle, Lucifer can encite men to set out on a road dangerous to them, but he is unable in any way to force men into something unless they themselves decide on it voluntarily!
In fact Lucifer can only lure! But man as such stands more firmly in material Creation than he does, therefore with much greater security and power than any influence Lucifer could ever yield over him. Thus every man is so well protected that it is a tenfold shame upon him if he permits himself to be enticed by this power, which is a relatively weaker power than his! He should remember that Lucifer himself stands outside the material sphere, while he himself is firmly rooted in familiar soil!
In order to apply his principle Lucifer is forced to make use of his auxiliary troops, composed of human spirits who have succumbed to his temptations!
The spirit of every man striving upwards is not only fully able to deal with them, but is far superior in strength. One single, serious volition suffices to make an army of them vanish without a trace, providing their enticements meet with no response or approval to which they can cling.
Lucifer would indeed be quite powerless if mankind would make the effort to recognise and follow the Primordial Laws given by the Creator. Unfortunately, however, men increasinglysupport the wrong principle through their present behaviour, and the greater part of them will have to perish!
It is impossible for any human spirit to fight a battle against Lucifer himself for the simple reason that, owing to the difference in nature of their species, it cannot penetrate to him. The human spirit can only come in contact with those who have fallen through the wrong principle because they are basically of the same species.
The origin of Lucifer requires that only one who is of the same or of a higher origin can personally approach and face him, and so none other can penetrate to him. It must be a Divine Envoy, armed with the sacred seriousness of His Mission and with perfect trust in the Source of All Power, in God the Father Himself!
This task has been delegated to the propesied Son of Man!
Linear Mode
