Chapter 3: O Lucifer, Son of the Morning!
The creation story (Genesis 1:1-2:3), which we just discussed a bit, tells us a lot about God, the creation of the natural world, and humankind. However, God also created spirit beings, or angels, that also exist. We had previously said that God is a Spirit, meaning He is a being without flesh and bone. These angels also do not have flesh and bone, but unlike God, they are created beings; they had a beginning. The information is not so plentiful concerning angels, but there are many things that we know from the Scriptures, and, in fact, we need to know some basics.
- All spirit beings are subordinate to God. Since God created them, they belong to Him and were created to serve His purpose. The word angel means “messenger” or “ministering spirit” (Hebrews 1:13-14). These spirit beings were designed to do His bidding. The Bible says, “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word” (Psalms 103:20).
- Angels are subordinate beings, and they are finite. They were not with God in eternity past; they had a beginning. In the writings of the Bible, it says, “Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee” (Nehemiah 9:6). The host of heaven is the host of spirit beings that dwell in heaven. They cannot be everywhere at once like God; they can only be in one place at one time. Angels are finite beings that are subordinate to God.
- God created an innumerable amount of angels. The Bible states that there were “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” of angels, or over 100 million of them, around the throne of God at one time (Revelation 5:11). God did not create them all the same, as we know there are at least two types of spirit beings: seraphim and cherubim.
- They were probably created between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. Though the creation narrative is silent as to when angels were created, it is likely that they were created between these two verses.
- One of these angels was named Lucifer. Though angels are all very mighty beings, they are all subordinate to God. Lucifer is no different. This cherub’s name means shining one, or bright one. He was ‘anointed,’ and had a place of prominence among the angels. He was created an impeccable angelic being, created in great beauty. Let us look at this angel in detail.
This passage in the Bible talks about the king of Tyrus, but as we read this, we see that the prophet was speaking to the spiritual force behind this king.
Ezekiel 28:12-19: 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.
Let us look at some of the themes discussed in here.
- Lucifer was highly intelligent and beautiful. “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). His intelligence and appearance was greater than any other creature.
- Lucifer had lived in Eden, the Garden of God. God created this well-watered paradise for humankind in which to dwell, with fruit trees from which they could freely eat. Though we will discuss this place later, we see that Lucifer also lived there (Ezekiel 28:13).
- Lucifer was created to be a musical creature. “Tabrets and pipes” are musical instruments (Ezekiel 28:13).
- Lucifer is an anointed cherub. He had a position of authority over the other angels (Ezekiel 28:14).
- Lucifer was created perfect. God can only create perfect things; therefore, Lucifer was perfect at his creation (Ezekiel 28:15).
- Iniquity was found in Lucifer. Though Lucifer was created perfect, He rebelled against God (Ezekiel 28:15). Rebellion against God is often called sin in the Bible. Sin fundamentally changed the nature of Lucifer. By rebelling against God, he became God’s adversary. In the original language of this text, Hebrew, the word meaning adversary is Satan, which is the name we normally call Lucifer since his rebellion.
Here, we see that Lucifer saw his own beauty and in essence, worshipped himself (Ezekiel 28:17). As a result, we see that God threw him out of heaven, where God’s throne is (Ezekiel 28:16). Eventually, he will be thrown into a lake of fire, that was specifically created for him and anyone who followed him (Ezekiel 28:18, see Matthew 25:41).
Let us consider another famous portion of Scripture that speaks of Lucifer, Isaiah 14:12-15:
Isaiah 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! (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.
The one thing of note here is that Lucifer, who became Satan, wanted to be God! After all we have discussed on the power of God, it is absurd to think that Satan could become like God. God is the omnipotent Creator, and Satan is a finite creation of God. We see that the only thing that results is that at some time in the future, he will be brought down to hell, another term concerning the lake of fire we mentioned above.
Lucifer did not rebel alone; other angels followed him (Revelation 12:9). The angels that rebelled with Lucifer are called devils or demons. The rise and fall of Lucifer and his cronies likely all happened between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. The words for “without form, and void” in Genesis 1:2 indicates that judgment took place on these fallen angels. This would mean that he had hardly lived a full day before rebelling against God! In Genesis 1:2 we read that “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” This is very similar to another part of the Bible that uses similar language, and it is referring to the world after great judgment and destruction (Genesis 8:1). Whether this conjecture stands is not as important. We do know that Satan rebelled very early on in the earth’s history, and it is a tragedy that some of God’s angels turned out to be evil and malicious creatures. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.
Next: Chapter 4: And the LORD God Planted a Garden Eastward in Eden
Previous: Chapter 2: God Created the Heaven and the Earth