Did God Create
the Devil?
Where did
the "Devil" come from? Where
did he
get the name "Lucifer?" What does "Lucifer" mean?
What is the
true story of this ancient being described
in the Scriptures as the "Adversary"? How did he
gain his reputation?
Here is one of the intriguing
mysteries of the Universe explained!
William
F. Dankenbring
Did Almighty God create the being
called in popular mythology or religious literature "the devil"? Does the "devil" REALLY exist? If so, where did he come from? And what is he really like?
In the Scriptures, there is mention
of a being called the "devil" in many places. He is also called "Satan,"
"the enemy," "that wicked one," the "father of
lies" and even "Beelzebub"!
The Hebrew word translated
"Satan" is satan and literally
means "an opponent," or "adversary." It is derived from a primitive root meaning
"to attack," "accuse," or "withstand" -- to
"fight." Thus, since God names
beings what they are, this ancient being was -- or became, in character -- one
who opposes God, that is, an enemy and opponent of God, God's way, God's Plan,
and God's purpose! He became the
accuser, the attacker of all that is good and right -- of God's people, God's
truth, and the LAWS of God -- the very character of God Himself!
First Mention of the Devil
The being known as the devil makes
his appearance early in the Scriptures.
He tempted and seduced Eve into transgression of the commandment of God
in Genesis 3, bringing Adam and Eve into sin and rebellion against God
(Gen.3:1-24).
The next mention of Satan, the first
place where he is identified by this name, is in the book of I Chronicles,
where we read: "And Satan stood up against
showing a lack of
faith and trust -- leading to punishment from heaven for his sin (I
Chron.21:2-8). This great sin of lack of
faith and trusting in a human army and human power led to a terrible disease
epidemic striking
In the book of Job, the name
"Satan" is used fourteen times -- more than anywhere else in the
Bible. He us shown here to be the
"accuser" of God's people, and a powerful being who brings
affliction, trials, and evil into the lives of God's people -- but only to the
extent that God Himself permits (see Job 1:1-22). He is shown to be a being of great power,
over the nations and bands of men, the weather and atmosphere, causing
tornadoes and cyclones, and even over the outbreak of diseases and sore
personal afflictions (Job 2:1-10).
This same being is mentioned in
Zechariah 3, also, the next to the last book in the Old Testament (according to
the King James order of books, based on the Septuagint version). In this place Satan is standing at the right
hand of "Joshua the high priest" who is "standing before the
angel of the LORD" (Zech.3:1). The
"angel of the LORD" here is evidently the Logos, the One who became
Christ. Notice! "And the LORD [that is, the angel of the
LORD, or the Logos, the "lesser YHVH"] said unto Satan, 'The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen
In this account, it appears that
Satan is attempting to pollute and defile and turn Joshua the high priest aside
from following the ways and commandments of God. Thus Christ, or the Logos, rebukes him
"in the name of the LORD."
Joshua, who is clothed with filthy garments, a type of sin and
transgression (v.3), repents of his sin, and is forgiven, and new clean garments,
symbolizing righteousness, are given to him (v.4). Then the angel of the LORD, the One who
became Christ, tells Joshua that IF he will obey God, and walk in his ways,
then he will judge the house of God and be in charge of the courts of the
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ
is tempted and tested by Satan the devil, after fasting for 40 days and nights
in the wilderness of Judea (Matt.4:1-11).
At one point Satan even offers Him rulership over the entire earth, if
He will fall down and worship him! (v.8-9). But Christ resists the invitation, and
tells Satan, "Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt
worships the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (v.10).
In the book of Revelation, Satan is
once again pictured as the "accuser" of God's people, the
"brethren." This appears to be
his primary function -- as the accuser and adversary of God's people, who fights
against us and tempts us toware sin and rebellion against God! We read:
"And the dragon was cast out, that
old serpent, called the Devil,
and Satan, WHICH DECEIVETH THE WHOLE WORLD . . ."
(Rev.12:9).
In his role as Provocateur, and Opponent, and Adversary, of
God's people, Satan is described as a "roaring lion." The apostle Peter warns us: "Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a
ROARING LION, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom RESIST steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the
world" (I Pet.5:8-9).
However, make no mistake. Satan is called a "dragon," because
he is like the mighty beast called "leviathan" -- a crooked sea
serpent of immense power and might (see Job 41). He is even called "leviathan" in
Scripture. God says, "In that day
the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the
piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay
the dragon that is in the sea" (Isa.27:1).
Satan is also called the
"devil," Greek diabolos, meaning "traducer" -- that
is, one who "leads across," "exposes unjustly to shame,"
slanderer and defamer -- one who brings into disgrace -- one who leads astray,
villifier, one who draws away from duty, and seduces. Thus he is named that which he is. But make no mistake! He does not appear to people as a
dragon, or a monster -- not at all! He
appears as a beautiful, shining, brilliant virtuosity -- not as the proverbial
devil in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork and slinky long tail! The apostle Paul tells us plainly:
"And no marvel: for SATAN HIMSELF IS TRANSFORMED INTO
AN ANGEL OF LIGHT.
Therefore it
is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed AS the ministers of righteousness; whose
end shall
be according to their works" (II
Cor.11:14-15).
Where
Did the Devil Come From?
Mystery of mysteries, then!
Where did this being, Satan the devil, come from? From whence did he arise? Did God originally create him just this
way?
It is true that God says, in the
book of Isaiah the prophet,
"I am the LORD, and there is none
else. I form the light, and create
` ` darkness: I make peace, AND CREATE EVIL: I the LORD do all
these things" (Isa.45:6-7).
What does this mean?
Did God create the devil? The
Bible reveals that God created ALL things.
Nothing exists without His divine act of creation. He created the heavens and the earth, and all
their inhabitants (Gen.1). David says of
God:
"Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very
great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest
thyself with light, as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens
like a curtain . . . WHO MAKETH HIS ANGELS SPIRITS; his
ministers
a FLAME OF FIRE: who laid the foundations of the earth,
that it
should not be removed forever" (Psalm 104:1-5).
Notice! In time sequence, God created the angels, or
angelic beings, before He created the earth.
Job confirms this fact. We read
that when God formed the earth, and laid its foundation, "the morning
stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job
38:4-7).
Thus all the angels are created
beings. This includes the mighty
seraphim (Isa.6) and cherubim (Ezek.1, 10) with the flaming swords that stood
guard at the entrance of the garden of Eden
(Gen.3:24).
But what about the
devil? God says plainly in Isaiah
45:7 that He is the One who "creates evil." What does this mean? The word "evil" here is the Hebrew
word generally translated "evil" throughout the Old Testament. It is the word used of the "tree of
knowledge of good and evil." It
is the word used to describe man's heart that was "only evil continuously"
(Gen.6:5). God says "for the
imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen.8:21). This Hebrew word is #7451 in Strong's
Concordance and is ra and means, "bad, evil, adversity, affliction,
calamity, grief, hurt, mischief, misery, sorrow, trouble, vexation, wickedness,
wretchedness, wrong."
Let's understand! None of these things we call or consider
"evil" could even exist were it not for the will and power and
determination of GOD! But on the
other hand, could there exist such a thing as "good,"
"righteousness," "obedience," unless there were also in
existence the possibility of "bad," "unrighteousness," or
"disobedience"? In order for
"good" to exist, there must also exist the
opposite -- the possibility of "bad."
In order for "obedience" to God's Law to exist, there must
also exist the possibility of "disobedience"
-- law breaking!
This is why God says:
"See, I have set before thee this day
LIFE AND GOOD, AND
DEATH
AND EVIL; in
that I command thee this day to LOVE
THE
LORD THY GOD, to walk in his ways, and to KEEP his
commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou
mayest live and multiply:
and the LORD thy God shall bless
thee . . .
"But if thine heart turn away, so
that thou wilt not hear, but shall
be DRAWN AWAY, and worship other gods, and serve them; I
denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely PERISH . .
.
I
call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that
I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore CHOOSE
LIFE, that both thou and thy seed may live"
(Deut.30:15-19).
Notice! Good cannot
exist without the possibility of evil.
Righteous, holy character -- the ability to face temptation and reject
it, the ability to choose and select good when evil may appear so alluring and
desirable, the ability to choose and do that which is right, despite threats,
or seduction -- cannot exist without the ability to CHOOSE!
God did not make us as
"robots" or "automatons" that cannot choose. We are not mere "machines" which
can only do that which they are programmed to do. We are ALIVE.
We are FREE MORAL AGENTS! We have
the ability to CHOOSE whether we will do good or evil, right or wrong, life or
death, blessing or cursing!
God gave this same ability of free
moral choice and decision to all the angels, also.
The question arises, then, what
about the devil? Where did he come
from? What happened, that led to his
existence? Did God create him that way?
Not at all. When God beheld His creation, we read,
"And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, IT WAS VERY
GOOD" (Gen.1:31). It was all
perfect -- beautiful -- incredibly good and desirable! So what happened? Now there is a story -- a story of intrigue,
seduction, and mystery. Let us search
out the evidence!
The Mystery of "Lucifer"
We read in the book of Isaiah the prophet a very mysterious
passage:
"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! 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: I
will ASCEND above the heights of the clouds; I WILL BE
LIKE
THE
MOST HIGH . . ." (Isaiah
The word "Lucifer" in this
passage comes from the Latin. Jerome
used this Latin word to translate the Hebrew word Heylel. His work in translating the Latin Vulgate
was largely based on the Septuagint, which was the version quoted often by
Christ and the apostles, and later rejected by the Jews because the Christians
were using it to great advantage in arguing that Christ was the Messiah.
The word Heylel in Hebrew
means: "in the sense of brightness,
the morning star" (Strong's Concordance).
It is from the root halal which has several meanings: "clear, to shine, hence to make a show,
to boast, and thus to be foolish, to rave, be mad, glory, shine,
etc." The Gesenius Hebrew
Lexicon has for "Heylel," "according to the LXX, Vulgate,
Targum Rabbin (ancient Jewish source), Luther, stella lucida, bright
star, i.e., Lucifer. Nor is this a
bad rendering, for there is added [in the text of Isaiah] . . . and in the
Chaldee also Lucifer (the morning star) . . . in Arab . . . 'a splendid
star.' According to this opinion
'Heylel' would be derived from the root 'Halal,' 'to shine.'"
The Septuagint translates Isaiah
14:12 as follows: "How has Lucifer, that rose in the morning, fallen from
heaven! . . . But thou saidst in thine heart, I will go up to heaven, I will
set my throne ABOVE the stars of heaven:
I will sit upon a lofty mount, on the lofty mountains toward the north: I will go up above the clouds; I will be
like the Most High. But now thou
shalt go down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth"
(Isa.14:12-15). The Tanakh uses the
expression, "O Shining One, son of Dawn." Either way, Lucifer was a
"shining one," and a 'star' that rises in the morning is a
"day star" or a "morning star."
Clearly, then, "Lucifer"
-- the original name for Satan, the devil -- was at one time a mighty angelic
being. But, dissatisfied with his office
or state or condition, of servitude, he rose up in REBELLION AGAINST THE
THRONE OF HEAVEN! He chose to REBEL
against the Laws and Government of Almighty God! What happened?
The Creation of
Lucifer
But what about this other being,
called "Heylel" or "Lucifer"? He was a "light-bringer," as his
name implies. He was a celestial
being whom the Father created -- "Heylel," or "Lucifer." He was a "son of brightness,"
"son of the morning," and "day star," a brilliant, glorious
creation of God -- superb in wisdom, intellect, and beauty. God tells us about his origin in the book of
Ezekiel:
"Thou sealest up the sum, full of
wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
Thou
hast been in 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" (Ezek.28:12-13).
Lucifer, then, was also
"created." He was a
magnificent, awesome angelic being -- there is no other being in Scripture that
God describe in this spendid fashion.
God says of him, in fact, "Thou art THE ANOINTED CHERUB THAT
COVERETH" (v.14) -- that is, Lucifer was anointed as a special
GUARDIAN of the very Throne of God, a position of the highest trust and
importance! He was the
"captain" of the palace guard, so to speak. He was created as a "son of God," a
"son of the morning," in that original Creation aeons ago. He was present at the Creation of the existing
Universe, when the heavens and earth were created, for we read that at that
time, "the morning stars sang together, and ALL the sons of God shouted
for joy" (Job 38:7).
"The Anointed Cherub that
Covers"
Lucifer was created as a glorious,
resplendent cherub, one of the highest ranking angelic beings surrounding God's
Throne -- he was even appointed as the "anointed cherub that covers"
the throne of God (Ezek.28:14), and was "perfect in [his] ways" until
wickedness was discovered in him (verse 15).
God said of him, that he "sealed up the sum, full of wisdom, perfect
in beauty" (v.12), and "every precious stone was thy
covering" (v.13). He was a
"work of art." A
"masterpiece." But, God
declares, "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou
hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of THY BRIGHTNESS . . ." (v.17).
The name "Lucifer" as
referring to Satan, on account of his "brightness," fits. The other meanings of the name
"halal" also fit him, of course, since he allowed his
"brightness" to go to his head:
and he became foolish, raving, mad.
Most scholars conclude that 'Heylel'
comes from the root 'Halal' whose basic meaning is "to shine." However, "shining" can have both
positive and negative aspects. To
"shine" can mean "to boast," "self-glory," rave
on, even so far as being "mad" and "foolish." Certainly, Lucifer became such in his
inordinate ambition and pride, as both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 show. But the basic meaning of the word is "to
shine," and it is connected
in
Isaiah with "son of the morning," meaning the "morning
star." For "Lucifer," my
KJV margin has an alternate reading of "day star." Again, the essential meaning is
"brightness." And that
appellation is correct. For in II
Corinthians, Paul tells us of "Lucifer," that even today he appears
as "an angel of light" (II Cor.11:14). Christ also verified his brightness, saying,
"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke
10:18).
Are
There Two "Day Stars"?
What
is intriguing, however, is that Christ Jesus also is referred to in Scripture
as "the day star." In fact, in
the Latin Vulgate, the Greek word phosphoros is translated in II Peter
1:19 in reference to Christ as "day star" -- but the very same word phosphoros
is used in Isaiah 14:12 where it is translated "Lucifer"! Thus both Satan and Christ are described as phosphoros!
What is the significance of this
fact? Christ is also called a "day
star" (II Pet.1:19). He speaks of
Himself in Revelation 22:16, saying,
"I
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto these things. I am the root
and
the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."
In II Peter 1:19 we read: "We have also a more sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, AS unto a light that
shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the DAY STAR arise in your
hearts."
Christ is the true "light"
(John 12:35-36, 46) of the world.
Malachi the prophet says of Him, "But unto you that fear my name
shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings" --
a reference to Christ (Malachi 4:2). The
Psalmist declared of God, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory"
(Psalm 84:11).
It is certainly interesting that
both Lucifer, the "son of the morning" and whose name also means
"day star," and Christ the Son of God , who is referred to as the
"day star" in II Peter 1:19, both are called "day
star." Obviously, BOTH had and have
incredible "brightness." Both
"shine." Both would have the
same "root" in this sense. The
Englishman's Greek Interlinear translates the Greek in II Peter 1:19 as
"morning star" -- as a reference to Christ. Lucifer, too, was called "the son of the
morning" (Isaiah 14:12), or "son of dawn." The Amplified Bible refers to him as,
"How are you fallen from heaven, O light-bringer and day-star, son of the
morning!" (same verse).
Why
are both Lucifer and Christ or the Logos spoken of as having the SAME TITLES --
in one sense, one could even say THE SAME NAME?
Obviously "Lucifer" merely means
"Light-bringer."
That
is one of Christ's names. Interestingly,
the first thing that God created in Genesis 1 was "light"
(Gen.1:3).
Is it possible that in the original,
FIRST CREATION, that the first thing God the Father created was Light?--
that is, "beings of light" or "light bringers"?
The Mystery Thickens -- The Origin
of the Logos
Let
us look, now, at the origin of the being who became Christ -- the Logos of
God.
Christ Himself admitted that the
Father was greater than He (John 14:28).
He admitted that the Father was (and is) "the only true God"
(John 17:3), who sent Him. He calls
himself "the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God" (Rev.3:14).
Did the Logos have a "beginning"? The Greek word translated
"beginning" in this verse means "first in a series," as its
primary meaning. The word is arche and
literally means, according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, "a
commencement, chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank) --
beginning, corner, first," etc.
Thus this verse literally says Christ was "the first of the
creation of God," as well as "the chief of the creation of
God." Fascinating, isn't
it! Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon says
of this word: "1. beginning,
origin: a. used absolutely, of the beginning of all things . . . b. in a
relative sense, of the beginning of the thing spoken of . . . 2. the person
or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the
leader . . . 3. that by which anything begins to be, the origin . . . 4.
the extremity of a thing, the corner of a sail . . . 5. the first place,
principality, rule, magistracy . . ."
This word most commonly refers to
the first person or thing in a series -- whether in rank or in time order. Thus Christ is saying here that He is the
"beginning" -- the first person or object, in rank and in order of
time -- that was created by God the
Father!
The same truth is indicated in
Colossians, chapter one, where we read of Christ's pre-existence: "Who is the image of the
invisible God" (Col.1:14). Now an
"image" is a copy, or a "likeness" -- a REPLICA -- not the original! No other creature mentioned in the Bible
was made in the very spiritual IMAGE OF GOD THE FATHER! Continuing this verse, the apostle Paul
writes: "Who is the image of the
invisible God, the FIRSTBORN OF EVERY CREATURE" (Col.1:15).
Notice! The One who became Christ Himself was an
image of the True God -- a reproduction, or "copy." He was the "FIRSTBORN of every
creature." Literally, this means
that Christ was "born" OR "created" FIRST -- before
anyone or anything else! He was the
original "firstborn of EVERY creature! That expression would have to include
all created beings, then, including angels!
"Every creature" leaves out none! He was or became God the Father's
"FIRSTBORN" -- from the moment of His Creation!
As
such, He was created as the very "IMAGE" of the Creator God, whom we
call "the Father." We read in
the book of Hebrews, He was made "the brightness of his glory, and the
EXPRESS IMAGE OF HIS PERSON" -- or very character image and
likeness (Heb.1:1-3).
There is much evidence to support
the conclusion that Christ, as the Logos of God, was originally
"created" -- or "pro-created" -- from the essenee of God
the Father, from His very own Spirit. The
very name or title of Christ before His human birth, in actual fact, implies
this conclusion, for John says in his gospel, "In the beginning was the
Word [Greek, Logos]" (John 1:1).
The word Logos literally means "something said (including
the thought): by implication, a topic, also reasoning (the mental faculty) or
motive; by extension, a computation; specifically, (with the article in John)
the Divine Expression (i.e., Christ)." This word is translated variously as
"utterance, word, work, speaker, speech, talk, thing, tidings,
treatise," etc.
Let's understand this, then. The "Logos" is something that had
to come forth from another -- as an "utterance, word, work, thing,"
etc. The other, in this case, had to be
God the Father, who "spoke," and His "Word" became the Logos
or the pre-existent Christ! Thus
the "LOGOS" was the "Word" of the Father, belonging to Him
-- His very own utterance brought into living reality and being, as the very
"image" of God the Father! The
"Word" which is "spoken" must have an "origin" --
that "origin" is obviously in the Father! The Father "spoke," originally, and
Christ -- the Logos -- was brought into being!
Who
Is Greatest in the Kingdom?
The fact that the Logos was created,
and did not exist at the side of the Father for all eternity, as His
"equal," as a "second" member of the Godhead, is verified
in many Scriptures. In many places,
Christ admitted that the Father "sent" Him -- and the Sender is
always more important than the one sent!
(John 5:30). Christ admitted that
all His power came from the Father (John 5:19), and that He could do nothing of
himself. He plainly said, "my
Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). He declared in plain words, that He came to
do "the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38). Further, He admitted that it is the Father
who determines who will be called and chosen, not Christ Himself -- He said,
"All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me" (John
6:37). Jesus Himself acknowledged,
"I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of
myself, but he sent me" (John 8:42). Plainly, He and the Father are not and were
not "equal" -- which they would be if they both
"co-existed" from ALL eternity, as two beings, both always having
been "God"!
How remarkable! Jesus also verified that the Father is not
only greater than He Himself is, but that the Father is His God whom He
worships as His very own Father! Christ
said in His final prayer before being captured by His enemies, "Father,
the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify
thee: As THOU hast GIVEN him power over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
him. And this is eternal life, that
they might know thee, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent. I have glorified thee
on the earth: I have finished the
work which THOU GAVEST ME to do. And
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:1-5).
Isn't this clear? Christ, the Logos, made flesh, worshipped God
as HIS own Father! He called Him
"the ONLY TRUE GOD," in the ultimate sense! These verses plainly show that the Logos or
Jesus Christ was not originally part of some divine "Trinity"! He had a beginning! He had a source! He came out and proceeded forth as the
"Word" of God the Father, FROM THE FATHER!
Paul
also alludes plainly to this "order" in Creation. He wrote, "But to us there is BUT ONE
GOD, THE FATHER, of whom are all things [including the "Word" or
Christ in His pre-human form!], and we in him; and ONE LORD Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (I Cor.8:6).
The Mystery of "the Angel of
the Lord"
The early New Testament church
writers, apostles, and evangelists knew this sublime truth! Stephen very plainly spoke of Christ as the
Logos, referring to Him as "the angel of the Lord" who spoke
to Moses in the burning bush (Acts 7:30).
He referred to Him as "the angel which appeared to him
[Moses] in the bush" (v.35), and "the ANGEL which spake to him
in the mount Sinai" (v.38). The Greek
word for "angel" is aggelos and means, by definition,
"(to bring tidings, a messenger, esp. an angel -- angel,
messenger."
In Old Testament times, the One who
became "Christ," that is, the "Logos," was generally
referred to as "the Angel of the LORD." He was the "Messenger" of the LORD
God -- the One who represented the Father in His dealings with all
mankind! He was the "Angel"
who wrestled with Jacob (Gen.32:24-30).
After wrestling with Him, Jacob exclaimed, "I have seen God face
to face" (v.30). He was the
"image" of the Father! He was
"the angel of the LORD [that] appeared unto him[Moses] in a flame of fire
out of the midst of a bush" (Exo.3:2).
He was "the angel of God, which went before the camp of
Israel" (Exo.14:19). He was the
"Angel" that God the Father sent before Israel, of whom God the
Father said, "For mine Angel shall go before thee"
(Exo.23:20-23). He was created in God's
own "image," His "spitting image" as the expression goes,
God's own true likeness, and His messenger, sent by the Father, as His personal
representative! He is the One whom Moses
saw, yet did not die (Exo.33:18-23). He
is the One whom the seventy elders of Israel saw -- "and they saw the
God of Israel" (see Exo.24:9-11).
This Personage was indeed
"God." But He was not God
the Father! He was the created (or,
"pro-created") Son of God, the Logos! It could not have been the Father, for
Jesus plainly said, of the Father, "No man hath seen God [the Father]
at any time" (John 1:18). Jesus
said further of the Father, "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time,
nor seen his shape" (John 5:37).
Thus the Person whose
"shape" Moses saw, when he looked upon God's backside (Exo.33:20-23),
was not the Father at all, but the One who became Christ!
The Origin of the Logos -- the Second
Member of the Godhead
Thus Christ or the Logos was the
"firstborn of EVERY creature."
He was the firstborn of God -- the first to "qualify"
to become a very "Son of God" and a member of the Godhead, aeons ago,
when He proved Himself and His loyalty to the Father -- the Father proclaimed
Him to be His "Firstborn."
This was not automatic. Character
is never "automatic." It is
based on choices, decisions, and actions.
Thus the One who became Christ, aeons ago, was created out of the
Father's own essence, of His own Spirit, to be His companion -- a "Mighty
One." When He proved Himself, He
was granted powers from God the Father to sit with Him in His Throne -- He
became a Co-Regent with the Father.
He became "very God," as
the Father is "God," because the Father proclaimed Him to be His
"Son," and gave Him authority over all things, and imparted to Him
authority as Co-Creator!
Therefore we read of the Logos, that
it was by him "also he [the Father] made the worlds," and who now
"upholds all things by the word of his power" (Heb.1;2-3), who has
also "purged our sins," and "sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high" (v.3); "Being made so much better than the
angels, as he hath BY INHERITANCE obtained a more excellent NAME than
they" (Heb.1:4).
At some distant point, before the
PRESENT Creation as we know it, God the Father created -- or
"pro-created," from His own essence -- the "Logos." The Logos, or "Word," grew up,
matured, and became the "Son of God," and eventually God shared His
very own authority as "God" with Him.
Therefore, we read in the book of John that in "a" beginning,
as the Greek should read, there was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God,
and the Word was [i.e., had become] God (see John 1:1-3).
The Logos, the One who became
Christ, at this earlier time -- after proving Himself and qualifying through
developing perfect, righteous CHARACTER, which cannot be created
instantaneously -- became the second member of the
"Elohim," or "Godhead" and participated in the creation of
this present Universe (Heb.1:1-3).
Through tests and trials of which we have no direct knowledge, and
through "much tribulation" (Acts 14:22), He qualified at that ancient
epoch to become "Elohim" together with the Father! Therefore, we read in Genesis, chapter one,
"In [a] beginning, GOD [Elohim, meaning "The mighty Ones"]
created the [present] heavens and the earth" (Gen.1:1). We read, further, that God said, "Let US
make man [mankind] in OUR IMAGE, after our likeness" (Gen.1:26). By this time, then, the Logos had qualified
and become a Co-Creator with the Father!
Together they made the Universe, and later mankind, as is depicted in
Genesis, chapter one.
The Logos had become "the
brightness" of the glory of God the Father, and His "express
image" in character (v.3).
Therefore He has become "so much better than the angels," and
"by inheritance obtained [qualified for] a more excellent name than
they" (Heb.1:4). He became God's
true Son by creation, so that the Father said of Him, "Thou art my son,
this day have I begotten thee," and "I will be to him a Father, and
he shall be to me a Son" (v.5).
Paul alludes to the origin of the
One who became Christ, the Logos of God, when he wrote that Christ or the Logos
"is the image of the invisible God," and "the firstborn
of EVERY CREATURE: for by him were
all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible . . . And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist. And he is the head of the body,
the church: who IS the BEGINNING . .
." (Colossians 1:15-18).
Thus the Logos, who later became our
Saviour and Messiah, assisted the Father in creation of this present
Universe. As we read in John: "In [a] beginning was the Word [Logos],
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him [the present
Universe]; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In his was life; and the life was the light
of men" (John 1:1-4).
Two
Specially Anointed Beings
But what about this being called
"Lucifer"? Where did he come
from?
As we read in the book of Ezekiel,
the great cherubim called "Lucifer" was a created being, glorious and
beautiful in every respect! God says of
him, "Thou sealest up the sum, FULL OF WISDOM, AND PERFECT IN
BEAUTY" (Ezek.28:12).
Notice! These words were never said of any other
created being -- not the cherubim, nor the seraphim, nor any of the living
creatures described around God's Throne in the book of Revelation! This created being was unique. He was one of only two beings -- two
"cherubim" or super-mighty angels -- that actually covered the
mercy seat -- the very Throne of God the Father! He was one of only TWO beings God the Father
created and "anointed" in a special way with His Holy Spirit!
Notice! God says of Lucifer, "Thou art the ANOINTED
CHERUB that covereth" (Ezek.28:14).
Of the Logos, also, His very own Son
by creation, God the Father says:
"But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever;
a
sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast
loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity; THEREFORE GOD, EVEN
THY
GOD, HATH ANOINTED THEE WITH THE OIL of gladness
ABOVE
THY FELLOWS" (Heb.1:8-9).
This passage is quoted from Psalm 45:6-7. It explains why the Logos of God, the One who
became Christ, qualified to become the lower or lesser YHVH -- the lesser
"GOD" of the God Family, under the rulership and authority of the
FATHER! Why? Because he loved righteousness, and hated
iniquity! Therefore, God the Father
"anointed" him with "oil" -- a type of God's Holy
Spirit!
Let's understand this! The One who became Christ became a SON OF GOD
THE FATHER, literally -- He was created, or "pro-created" by Him and
from His very own essence. But as a
"son," He still had to learn to obey, and qualify for awesome
responsibility! As He grew up before the
Father, He proved to be obedient, loved righteousness, and hated iniquity. Therefore, God the Father
"anointed" Him with a special anointing of His Holy Spirit, and He
literally became His "Son"!
Therefore God says of Him:
"For unto which of the angels said
he at any time, Thou art my
Son,
this day have I BEGOTTEN THEE? And again, I will be to
him
A FATHER, and he shall be to me A SON?" (Heb.1:5).
And:
"Being made so much better than the
angels, as he hath BY
INHERITANCE
obtained a more excellent NAME than they"
(Heb.1:4).
God the Father intended for the Logos to become His
Son. He begot Him, and nurtured Him, as
a Son, and He obtained "by inheritance" from the Father the name of
"GOD" or "YHVH" -- Yahveh. He became a member of the "God
Family" -- the ELOHIM. The
very word "Elohim" means "mighty ones" in Hebrew, and is a
reference to the Mighty Ones of the God Family -- the Ancient of Days and the
Logos -- the greater and lesser YHVH. As
a team,
then,
they created the heavens and the earth (Gen.1:1) of this present creation. They created the angelic beings and all
beings which were created as part of this present creation. However, the Logos did not participate in the
previous or prior creation which the Father Himself had created, when He
created the Logos, and Lucifer, and probably many of the angels of that former
creation.
To none of the other
"angels" did the Father say, "This day have I begotten
thee." The Logos was not merely
another "angel" in heaven. He
was special. He was unique. He was
created to be greater. He was created to
become a true "Son" of God.
But what about Lucifer? He was also created to be a "light
bringer." He, too, was a
"morning star." In many
respects, he was like the Logos, originally.
But he went "bad." He
made the wrong "choices."
The Logos, therefore, is one of
only two beings mentioned in the Bible who was "anointed" by God
the Father! The other such being was
Lucifer, the "anointed cherub" that covered the throne of God. Only these two created beings were so
"anointed." But the One who
became Christ was anointed "above" his fellows -- that is, the other
angels, and cherubim -- including Lucifer!
Why? Because He proved obedient,
and hated iniquity!
Lucifer,
on the other hand, strayed from the right path, and "iniquity" was
found in him eventually -- and he went astray.
He forsook the right path. He
rebelled. And he led one third of the
angels in a rebellion against the throne of God!
This is truly an amazing story -- a
"nail-biter" -- a saga of creation fraught with suspense and intrigue. This is a fascinating, awesome mystery! Let's explore the evidence further, for
there is much more to the story. We have
really just begun!
The Mercy Seat and the TWO
CHERUBIM
We read in the book of Exodus, that
God told Moses:
"And thou shalt make a MERCY SEAT OF
PURE GOLD: two cubits
and
a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth
thereof. And thou shalt make TWO CHERUBIM OF GOLD, OF
BEATEN
WORK shalt thou make them, in
the two ends of the mercy
seat.
And make ONE CHERUB on the one end, and
the other cherub
on
the other end: even OF the MERCY SEAT
shall ye MAKE THE
CHERUBIMS
on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch
forth
their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and
their
faces shall look one to another [like two celestial TWINS!]; toward
the
mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be" (Exodus 25:17-20).
What is God telling us here?
Were these two cherubim originally
the Logos and Lucifer?
Notice that only these two mighty
beings were made of the very same essence as the mercy seat itself! The mercy seat of gold represents God the
Father, His Throne, and His perfect golden character. These two beings were made, or created,
or fabricated, from the very same essence as the mercy seat, representing God
the Father! In other words, they were
His special own pro-created children, by creation!
They
were made of "beaten" gold -- not formed in a mold or poured as
liquid into a mold to be shaped. Rather,
their form and shape -- their character -- was hammered and beaten into
the proper shape and form -- or character. They started out, therefore, in the character
image of the Father -- made of the same gold.
The Critical-Experimental
Commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown says of this unique and
incredible construction:
"The construction as well as the uses
of the mercy seat seem to preclude
either
of the common interpretations of the type, as referring either to angels
or
to the Church. The cherubim are distinctly stated to be OF the mercy seat,
and
OUT OF the mercy seat (v.19;
cf. chap.27:8). And this is still more
apparent
in the Hebrew text, where
the preposition used in vs.18, 19 (as well
as
verses 7, 8 of chap.27), and translated 'on the mercy seat' and 'on the two
ends,'
etc., should properly be translated 'FROM'; also, as to the word
'BEATEN
WORK' (v.18), (cf chap.27:7, 'beaten out of one piece,') the
meaning
seems to be, that the cherubim were not cast or moulded separately
from
the mercy seat, and then attached to it, but were BEATEN OUT OF
THE
SOLID MASS OF GOLD WHICH FORMED THE MERCY SEAT,
the
one being beaten from out of one end, and the other from the other.
The
mercy seat and the cherubim BEING THUS ALL OF ONE
PIECE,
represents, it is
believed, Christ, as the one who holds all
the
glorious power of God, associated with mercy . . ."
The mercy seat is the Throne of the Father. Christ today is at His "right hand"
in heaven (Heb.9:24; 10:12). The Father
sits on the Throne. Christ sits today at
His right hand. He overcame
Satan,
and qualified to REPLACE HIM as the KING
over this earth, and all its inhabitants, by shedding His blood and paying the
price for our sins! He is our High
Priest (Heb.10:12-22).
But what about this other cherubim,
who was also "anointed," and also "covered" the Throne of
God? What happened to him? Notice!
God later
said of Lucifer, one of these two super-beings, that guarded and
"covered" the very Throne of God:
"Thou art the ANOINTED CHERUB THAT
COVERETH; and I have set
thee
so . . ."
"Thou wast PERFECT IN THY WAYS,
from the day that thou wast
CREATED,
TILL iniquity was found
in thee . . ." (Ezek.28:14-15).
So what happened? Can we piece the story together? Are there enough allusions and hints and
pieces of evidence, in the Scriptures and the cosmos, so that we can
"reconstruct" the true story of what happened?
Let us investigate this intriguing
saga of the world that was. More evidence of this amazing story is found in the
strange appearing ritual of the "two goats" which lie at the center
of the stage of the holiest day of the year -- Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur and the " Two
Goats"
In
Leviticus 16 we read: "And he [Aaron, or the High Priest] shall take of
the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a
sin offering . . . And he shall take the two goats, and present them BEFORE
THE LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two
goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat [Heb., Azazel]. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the
LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering" (Lev.16:5-9). This goat pictures Jesus Christ, who took
upon Himself our sins and died for us (II Cor.5:21; Heb.9:28, 10:1-12).
What about the other goat, which to
all appearances, looked identical to the first goat? "But the goat, on which the lot fell to
be the scapegoat [Azazel], shall be presented alive before the
LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat [Azazel]
into the wilderness . . . And Aaron shall lay both hands upon the head of the live
goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and
all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the
goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the
wilderness: and the goat shall bear
upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat into the
wilderness" (Lev.16:10-22).
This goat pictures Lucifer, or Satan
the devil. He is the one ultimately
responsible for all sin and rebellion in the Universe. He is the one who led mankind astray,
beginning with Adam and Eve. He is "
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no
truth in him" (John 8:44). He is
"the god of this world [who] hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not" (II Cor.4:4). He is "the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience" (Eph.2:2). He is
"the great dragon . . . that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev.12:9).
At the beginning of the reign of
Christ and the Kingdom of God, this old serpent, Lucifer or Satan, will be
taken "away by the hand of a fit man" -- an angel -- "into the
wilderness." The apostle John
writes, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil,
and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless
pit [Greek abyss], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he
should deceive the nations no more . . ." (Rev.20:1-3).
Now let us examine this picture of
the scene depicted on the Day of Atonement.
On the Day of Atonement, two goats are selected, seemingly equal and
both spotless and without blemish (Lev.16:5).
Aaron was to "cast lots" upon the two goats, to select between
them (God doing the actual selecting, of course, by using this method). One goat would become the one who made
atonement by shedding his blood, a type of Christ, the Logos; the other would
become the "Azazel," or 'scape-goat,' who would bear the sins of all
the people, into the wilderness.
According to Jewish tradition, the Azazel goat was led into the
wilderness, and there was thrown over a cliff to the jagged rocks below, where
he was in this manner killed. This goat
represented Satan the devil, who will be bound (Rev.20:1-2), and then
ultimately destroyed (Rev.20:10, Heb.2:14).
The Lesson of the Day of Atonement
What, then, is the real lesson in
the Day of Atonement, in the drama using the two goats? Notice!
Both the Logos, and Lucifer, were originally "light bearers."
Both were "day stars." Both
were "shining stars of the morning."
One became the Messiah, laying down His life for our sins. The other became a wicked, devious, deceitful
and destructive being, known as "Satan" or "Adversary," who
rebelled against God. One submitted to
the loving direction and government of the Father. The other "twin" rebelled, and
attempted to seize the throne of God and occupy it himself (Isaiah
14:12-14). There is an incredible lesson
in all this, for us, today!
In other words -- our future destiny
is up to us! The choice is OURS
to decide! As God says to us: "See, I have set before thee this day
life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the
LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments and his
statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee . . .
But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn
away to worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that
ye shall surely perish . . . I call heaven and earth to record this day against
you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou
and thy seed may live" (Deut.30:15-19).
God commands us to CHOOSE which way
we will go! He commands us to choose life,
but in so doing He leaves open to us the option of choosing the other way
-- the way that may seem good and feel good but ends in DEATH!
(Prov.14:12; 16:25).
A
Message in the Stars -- The "Gemini Twins"
There is very likely far more to the
original story of the Logos and Heylel than we have ever assumed. It is interesting that in the Zodiac, one of
the signs is that of "Gemini," or "the Twins." Why is this?
As Bullinger shows, the celestial Zodiac goes back to ancient
astronomical sources and bears witness in an incredible manner to the plan and
purpose of God.
E. W. Bullinger writes concerning
the sign "Gemini," or "The Twins":
"All the pictures of this sign are
confused. The Greeks claim to have
invented
them,
and they called them Apollo and Hercules. . . The Latins called them Castor
and
Pollux; and the name of a vessel in which Paul sailed is so called in Acts
28:11.
"The
name in the ancient Denderah Zodiac is Clusus, or Claustrum Hor, which
means
the
place of Him who cometh. It is
represented by two human figures walking, or
coming. The second appears to be a woman. The other appears to be a man. It is
a
tailed figure, the tail signifying He cometh.
"The old Coptic name was Pi-Mahi,
the united, as in brotherhood. Not
necessarily
united
by being born at the same time, but united in one fellowship or brotherhood.
The
Hebrew name is Thaumim, which means united. The root is used in Exodus 26:
24: 'They (the two boards) shall be coupled
together beneath.' In the margin we
read,
'Heb.,
twinned' (R.V. double). The
Arabic Al Tauman means the same.
"We
need not trouble ourselves with the Grecian myths, even though we can see
through
them the original and ancient truth. The
two were both heroes of peculiar
and
extraordinary birth -- sons of Jupiter.
They were supposed to appear at the head
of
armies; and as they had cleared the seas of pirates, they were looked upon as
the
patron
saints of navigation. (Hence the name of
the ship in Acts 28:11). They were
held
in high esteem by Greeks and Romans; and the common practice of taking oaths
and
of swearing by their names has descended even to our own day in the still
surviving
vulgar
habit of swearing 'by Gemini!'" (Witness of the Stars, p.137-138).
One star in the head of one of the twins in the sign of
Gemini is Apollo which means "ruler" or
"judge." Another star in the
head of the other is called "Hercules, who cometh to labour, or suffer. Another star . . . (in his left foot), is
called Al Henah, which means hurt, wounded, or afflicted."
Bullinger interprets the two twins
of Gemini as the two natures of Christ depicted here as "two
persons." One showing Christ as
God, triumphant, ruling, "glorifed for our complete salvation and final
triumph." The other as man, "suffering for our redemption." Although this may certainly be a possible
meaning of the Twins of Gemini, there is another possibility.
Notice. The twin on the left has a club in
hand; the twin on the right a bow and arrow.
Christ is pictured as an archer with bow and arrow (Psalm 45:3-6). He is coming as the "Judge" of the
world (Matt.25:30-31; Acts 17:31; John 5:25-29). This twin, on the right, has a star in His
knee called Mebsuta, meaning "treading under feet." He will tread all His enemies under His
feet!
However, Christ is not pictured as
coming with a "club" in His hand anywhere in Scripture. He is pictured carrying a "sword"
and ruling the nations with a "rod of iron" (Rev.19:15). But never a "club." Is not Lucifer, then, the "twin" on
the left, the one who was the guardian of the Throne of God, the one who
carried a "club"? As an
"anointed cherub that covered" the throne of God, as its guardian,
would he not have held a weapon? And the
"club" symbolizes his authority.
Today, Satan is still the one who carries a club, who uses it to
browbeat, brutally rule, and tyrannize over people, as an
"overlord."
Notice another feature of the sign
of "Gemini." In the picture
illustrated by the Zodiacal sign of "Gemini," the two Twins are
actually depicted as being together, in each other's company, fellowshipping
together, in a condition of peace, tranquility, or "at
rest." The old Coptic name for the
sign, Pi-Mahi, means "the united." Would this not depict an ancient,
primordial time when both Lucifer and the Logos enjoyed fellowship together, in
perfect peace, and were united in purpose, serving the One true
God? This would have been an ancient
time of peace and quiet, throughout the Universe, before Lucifer rebelled, and
declared war on God, and His government, and led one third of the angels in
rebellion against God!
The twin on our left hand, however,
has the star Hercules in its forehead, meaning "labor" or
"suffer," and a star in its left foot, Al Henah, meaning
"hurt," "afflicted," "wounded." Could this not be a reference to the
widespread suffering, hurt, affliction, and pain brought about in the Universe
due to the rebellious activities of this celestial "Hercules," a
depiction of the suffering that Lucifer would cause -- the "Evil
Twin"?
Another constellation in the sign of
Gemini is that of Orion, picturing Christ, "the Sun of righteousness"
(Malachi 4). He will "tread down
the wicked" (same chapter). He will
"tread down our enemies" (Psalm 90:12). Beneath His foot is Lepus, the hare,
or enemy. In the Persian planisphere the
first constellation was pictured by a serpent. In the Egyptian, it is an unclean bird
standing on the serpent, which is under the foot of Orion. Its name is Bashti-beki. Bashti means confounded, and Beki
means failing" (p.141).
The brightest star in the body of the hare has a Hebrew name, Arnebo,
which means "the enemy of Him that cometh." Other stars in it are "Nibal, the
mad; Rakis, the bound (Arabic, with a chain); Surgia, the
deceiver" (p.141).
The plan of God is depicted in the
heavens. The mysterious Zodiacal sign of
"Gemini," or "The Twins," is far more meaningful than we
have ever imagined!
Sibling Rivalry
Interestingly, the Scriptures have a
great deal to say about the mystery of "twins." We have all heard of "sibling rivalry." We all are familiar with "jealousy"
among children. Cain and Abel were
"twins" -- the first two human beings ever born of a woman
(Gen.4:1-2). One was righteous; the
other became a murderer, and slew his twin brother! (Gen.4:3-8).
Jacob and Esau were also twins. They even struggled between themselves while
in Rebekah's womb (Gen.25:22). Esau
became a "cunning hunter," but Jacob was a "plain man" (v.27). Esau looked good on the outside, and
impressed his father; but Rebekah loved Jacob (v.28). Esau was a man given to his lusts and
desires, and even despised and sold his "birthright" to Jacob (verse
30-34). Eventually, Esau became a mighty
man of evil and deceit, despising his parents.
Eventually Jacob, after going through years of suffering, trials and
tribulation, became a true man of God, and wrestled with the "Logos"
or Son of God, and his
name
was changed to "Israel," meaning a "mighty champion of
God," or "One who prevails with God."
Are Cain and Abel, and Esau and
Jacob, Biblical examples of the proverbial "good and evil twin,"
counterparts to that ancient celestial drama in heaven when the Logos and
Lucifer also vied as sibling rivals, and one was found righteous, and the other
became mad with jealousy and rage, and became "The Adversary"?
Do not these historical events in
the Scriptures tell us something about the origin of the Logos, and the origin
of that being called Lucifer?
The Mystery of Christ and Barabas
Another hint, or point of evidence,
pointing to the fact that the One who became Christ once had a
"brother" -- a "twin" -- at the time of His original
creation, is provided for us in the story of the crucifixion of Christ. We read in the book of Matthew:
"Now at that feast the governor was
wont to release unto the people a
prisoner,
whom they would. And they had then a
notable prisoner, called
Barabas
[Hebrew, meaning "bar," "son of," "aba," the
"father" -- or "son
of
the father"]. Therefore when they
were gathered together, Pilate said
unto
them, Whom will ye that I release unto you?
Barabas, or Jesus
which
is called Christ? For he knew that for
envy they had delivered
him.
. . But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they
should
ask Barabas, and destroy Jesus. The
governor answered and said
unto
them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They
said,
Barabas. Pilate saith unto them, What
shall I do then with Jesus
which
is called Christ? They all say unto him,
Let him be crucified"
(Matt.27:15-22).
Notice! Here is the
"Day of Atonement" repeated all over again! One -- the one representing God -- was slain,
to pay the penalty of our sins. The
other "Son of the Father" -- as the name "Barabas"
literally means -- was "let go," set free, in the
"wilderness" of this world, to suffer his eventual fate at a later
time.
What an amazing parallel! In other words, the Father -- Almighty God --
had two sons. One pleased His Father in
all things, and was a dutiful, obedient Son, and came to inherit "all
things."
But the other "son of the
Father" -- the one named "Lucifer," who was also a "son of
God," "an anointed cherub that covered" the throne of God, who
was also a "light bringer" and "morning star," turned to
evil -- went astray -- repudiated his Father's laws and government, and rebelled
against Him in anger, hatred, and bitter envy. He failed to develop the ultimate character
and goodness of God and became corrupted, perverse, and filled with
"violence" (Ezek.28:16). His
heart became proud because of his beauty, and pride sealed his doom (v.17) and
led to his spiritual defilement (v.18).
The Lesson of Michael, the Archangel
Another indication that Lucifer, or Satan, was no ordinary
cherub or archangel is shown us in the book of Jude. We read of Michael the archangel:
"Yet Michael the archangel, when
contending with the devil he disputed
about
the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation,
but
said, The Lord rebuke thee" (Jude 9).
Now Michael is angelic prince who stands up, "the
great prince which standeth for the children of thy people," Israel, the
prophet Daniel was told (Dan.12:1). He
is a mighty cherubim or archangel of God!
In fact, Daniel was told by another Angelic Messenger, "there is
none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince"
(Dan.10:21).
Who was this “Michael”? None other than another name of the one who
became Christ! Read our article on “Who
Is the Archangel Michael”? Michael a
that time had not qualllified to replacd Satan.
They both answered to God the Father.
At that time he could not rebuke him on his own authority, but did so in
the “name of the Lord.” If he had been
"overl" Satan the devil, in power and authority, he could have
rebuked him on the spot, when contending with him over the body of Moses. Rather he said, “The LORD rebuke you.”
Since Michael did not have the
authority to deal with the devil on his own, he called on God to rebuke him --
thus showing that even Michael, the One who became Christ, did not ye have
authority over Satan! But he did after
He conquered him in the flesh, as a human being, triumphing over him!
Further proof of Satan's awesome
power and strength, although he will be cut down and destroyed very soon, is
the strange and intriguing account of the Heavenly Messenger in Daniel, chapter
10. Who was this fascinating being? The traditional text of the Massoretic Jews
is vague and unclear, here, but the text of the Septuagint makes it very
clear. Notice!
The Heavenly Messenger
We read, in the Septuagint version, Daniel says:
"On the twenty-fourth day of the
first month, I was near the great river
which
is Tigris . . . And I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a
man
clothed in linen, and his loins were girt with gold of Ophaz: and his
body
was as Tharsis, and his face was as the appearance of lightning, and
his
eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his legs as the appearance of
shining
brass, and the voice of his words as the voice of a multitude. . .
And
when I heard him, I was pricked in the heart, and I fell with my face
to
the earth.
"And
he said to me, Fear not, Daniel . . . I am come because of thy words.
But
the prince of the kingdom of the Persians [Satan] withstood me twenty
one
days: and behold, Michael, one of the princes, came to help me;
and I
left
him there with the chief of the kingdom of the Persians [that is, Satan,
the
ruler of this world -- II Cor.4:4; Eph.4:4] . . ." (Dan.10:4-13).
Who is this heavenly messenger speaking with Daniel,
clothed in gold, with a face like lightning in its brilliance, arms and legs
like shining brass?
The answer unfolds:
"And behold, as it were the likeness
of a son of man touched my lips; and I
opened
my mouth, and spoke, and said to him that stood before me, O my
lord,
at the sight of thee my bowels were turned within me, and I had no
strength. And how shall thy servant, be able, O
my lord, to speak to this my
lord?
. . . .
"And he said, Knowest thou, wherefore
I am come to thee? and now I will
return
to fight with the prince of the Persians [Satan] . . . But I will tell
thee
that
which is ordained in the scripture of truth:
and there is no one that holds
with
me in these matters but Michael your prince" (v.16-21).
Who is this "angel of the Lord"? Notice that this angel did not have power to
stop “prince of the Persians.” This was
the angel Gabriel – a glorious higher ranking angel. But to overcome the prince of Persia, and his
angelic backer, Lucifer, he had to call on “Michael” – which in Hebrew means
“MIGHTY ONE OF GOD.” Michael, is another
name of the One who became Jesus Christ – the “Logos” of God, or the “Word” of
God (John 1:1-3). See my article which
proves this fact entitled “Who Is the Archangel Michael?”
But notice! Gabriel did not have enough power himself to
overcome Satan. Lucifer was
still very active in his office as the ruler of this world, the ruler of
darkness, and his time had not yet come to be replaced. It required the efforts of Michael, the
Logos, to subdue and nullify the working of Satan in this instance! Satan was able to withstand or oppose Gabriel
for some "twenty one days" (Dan.10:13). This gives us some indication of his power
and authority in this evil world (compare Eph.6:12-13).
Now let's continue with that ancient
saga -- the age-old story -- from the beginning.
Family Intrigue in Heaven
Let's be plain. The Logos, who became Christ, succeeded
wonderfully in fulfilling God's plan and purpose. He was brilliant, loyal, honorable, and
righteous -- developed the very perfect character of His Father, God. On the other hand, the one called Lucifer,
also a light-bringer in the beginning, later rebelled, and put his own interests
ahead of those of the Father -- he became a powerful Adversary -- now known as
Satan the devil. He was so devious and
seductive and smooth that he convinced one third of the angels to follow him,
and led one third of the angels into sin and rebellion against the Most High
God (Rev.12:3-4). He became the
"father of liars," and was a "murderer from the beginning"
(John 8:44).
Obviously, in the court of heaven,
long ago, there was sordid and foul intrigue surrounding the Throne of God --
at a distant time long before there were any men on the earth.
No wonder Job wrote of God,
"Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints [Hebrew, holy ones, which
can refer to angels]; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight" (Job
15:15).
No wonder God is so concerned about
righteousness and purity in the "new heavens and new earth." As Peter was inspired to write, "But the
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,
the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conduct and
godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall
be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look
for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless" (II Peter 3:10-14).
The Record of Ancient
Rebellion
A clue to what happened aeons ago
may be found in Genesis, the first chapter.
In verse one we read that "In [a] beginning, God [Elohim] created
the heavens and the earth. And the earth
[became] without form and void [tohu va vohu, or in a chaotic condition,
as a wasteland]: and darkness [became]
on the face of the waters" (Gen.1:1-2).
The word translated "was" here in the King James Version also
means "became," and is translated such in Genesis 19:26 of Lot's
wife: "and she became a
pillar of salt." Originally, when
God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was NOT "without form and
void," according to the prophet Isaiah.
He quotes God as saying:
"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that
formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it NOT IN
VAIN [i.e., not in tohu va vohu], he formed it to be inhabited" (Isa.45:18).
In other words, at some distant time
or epoch before this present Creation, this time of Man, as we know it, and see
it, and study it, today, including the stars and galaxies in the heavens, which
all began, astronomers tell us, in a great creative act known as "The Big
Bang," there was a previous Creation, in which God the Father
created "light," and began a process of creation similar to that
described in Genesis 1 and the six days of "re-creation," following a
period of "chaos and confusion" described in verse 2 (Hebrew tohu
va vohu). In this earlier creation
God first made angelic beings (the creation of which are not described in the
"re-creation" events of Genesis 1).
These "angels" are mentioned in Job as existing BEFORE the
present earth was created. We read: "Then the LORD answered Job . . . Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? .
. .
When the morning stars [plural] sang together, and all the sons of
God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:1-7).
In this earlier created world,
Lucifer was apparently put in charge of one third of the angels, and was given
a throne to rule from on this earth. The
Scriptures speak of his having a "throne" (Isa.14:13), and of his
seeking to rise "above the heights of the clouds," which are in the
earth's atmosphere, indicating his throne was on earth. Ezekiel verifies this since he alludes to the
fact that this being was "in Eden, the garden of God"
(Ezek.28:13). Lucifer apparently was
given charge over nations of angels at that time. That creation may have paralleled or been
similar to this present creation in some respects, but with angelic beings
inhabiting the earth, not human beings.
Even as this present "creation" is destined to be consumed
with fire and melt away, so that ancient creation suffered a similar fate,
causing destruction and chaos, due to the presence of sin and wickedness,
lawlessness and rebellion, in the ranks of the angels (Rev.12:3-4).
When these events transpired we have
no knowledge. The original rebellion
could have occurred millions or billions of years ago, with sporadic outbreaks
since that time, leading to various periods of cataclysm, destruction, and
death, as is evidenced in the geologic record in the rocks, and in the
cataclysms and destructions in outer space.
The "God of This World"
However, the real key to
understanding what has happened is in the Scriptures. We are told enough in God's Word to know what
we need to know, and whom we need to worship and obey. Satan has attempted to counterfeit everything
God has done. He has appointed himself
as a "god of this world" in place of the true God (I Cor.4:4). He has deceived all nations, at least for the
time being (Rev.12:9). He is, in many
respects, a counterfeit Christ, and has made himself the Messiah of this
world.
It is therefore, judging from his
origin, and his nature, no strange thing that he should have the same name or
title as the true Christ -- for he was a "light bringer," and today
he is a counterfeit, false "light bringer" (II Cor.11:13-15), as are
his ministers. The name or term
"Lucifer" in Latin, or "Heylel" in Hebrew, could be applied
to either "Lucifer," or "Christ," as both are called
"day star," or "light-bringer," or "morning
star." The Greek term phosphoros
is used of Lucifer's name in the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 14:12,
and the same word phosphoros is used as a title or description of Christ
in II Peter 1:19! Why is this?
The reason is obvious: BOTH were
"light bringers" or "morning stars"! But one has gone into evil and has become a
wicked counterfeit. He gave in to the
"dark side of the force," and becamethe epitome, the essence of, pure
undiluted evil. But
the
other has become the essence of obedience to God, a perfection of character,
the living Torah, and therefore has been appointed as the promised
Messiah and Redeemer and Saviour of mankind!
One sought to become God by force, and failed miserably. The other became a "Son" of the
Father, one of the Elohim, the "Mighty Ones," an exact image of the
"Father," becoming God's "Anointed One"!
The Awesome Plan of God
How awesome is the plan of God! Think of it!
Lucifer, at one time, may well have had a "chance" to qualify
to inherit the Kingdom of God. But he
"muffed" it. He "blew
it." He disqualified himself in
every way. He was one of two
"anointed" beings -- two cherubim which guarded the very throne of
God! Yet he turned aside, rebelled, and
became an "adversary" -- the devil!
The question has been raised, if the
Logos was a created being, and became a Son of God, then rather than just stop
with one such created Son, why didn't God the Father make millions or billions
of such Son? Why stop at just
"one"?
One person wrote to me, saying,
"I have difficulty with the teaching that Yah Most High as Creator would
create just one of the type such as the Word. Someone so perfect as the Word is quite a
Creation (if so be that the Word was created).
Why not a zillion or centillion = 10 to the 203rd power beings? On the other hand, Ibelieve that the
implication from your writings is that YAHWEH and LUCIFER (Satan) might have
been twins?"
Perhaps now we can see the problem God the Father
faced. He made two such mighty beings,
both of which could have become "Sons" of God. But of the two, only One qualified, and the
other rebelled! That is a fifty
percent failure rate! And when that
one rebelled, his influence and personality were such that he led one third
of the angels into rebellion! (Rev.12:4).
Obviously, this plan was all right
to get "started" on God's purpose of "re-creating" Himself
and starting a "Family" of divine beings. There had to be a "BEGINNING." But as a plan to carry on in the same manner,
it would have resulted in sheer chaos and destruction and mayhem throughout the
Universe! It could have resulted in
BILLIONS OR CENTILLIONS OF SATANS roaming the Universe, causing disorder and
opposition to the plan of God. The Kingdom of God would have been rent and torn
with strife and incessant rebellion!
So, God saw a better way. Having begun with two celestial divine
beings, with the potential of becoming "God," He developed His own
unique plan to continue the process by using "mud" -- that is, beings
made of the "DUST of the ground" (Gen.2:7). By this technique, He could multiply those
made in His image and likeness (Gen.2:26) into billions of human beings, and
while they are but flesh and blood, let them learn the same lessons of
obedience
and loyalty, love and respect, that the Logos learned aeons ago. By this method, we too in due time can become
members of the God Family! But as for
those who choose rebellion and disobedience, it will be easy for God to destroy
them in the lake of fire, so they cannot cause disruption and chaos throughout
the Universe (Rev.20:12-15; 21:7-8).
Honest Questions Examined and Answered
The person above also wrote to me and said:
"If the beginning of Creation was the
Word, then the Word could
could
not have created ALL that was created. I
know that 'ALL'
in
the Bible does not mean 'EVERYthing' in every case, however,
if
twins were created the word 'ALL' would more definitely be a
mistranslation. Again, if the Word is a created being then how
wrong
it
is torefer toHim as the ETERNAL.
However, the Word in any case
is
not ETERNAL in that He gave up ALL power and glory (what is
left
of all power and glory is given up by one of the Elohim?). No one
knows
the physical time that the Word was without power and glory
(would
such lackness include life, that is being without life?) until 'HE'
(the
former WORD) would become Yashuah the Emmauel, the human
LAMB
of the Father. I suspect that the time
is the period 'between the
Testaments.'
"It
seems to me that this period in which the WORD no longer existed
because
all power and glory were given up, would have been Satan's
window
of opportunity for then the Father would have to deal with
earth
and its god in a different way than before because the Word
was
not then available . . ."
Let's take a look at these comments and questions. First, what do the Scriptures mean when they
say that "all things were made by" the Logos, and "without him
was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3)? What are these "ALL things"? In Romans 11:26 we read, "And so ALL
ISRAEL shall be saved . . ." Yet we
know that some will not be saved; some will perish in the lake of fire
(Rev.21:8). The word "all"
therefore can mean "THE VAST
MAJORITY,"
or "preponderance," or "as a whole," but does not
necessarily mean every last single person!
So it is with Christ, or the pre-existent Logos -- "ALL
THINGS" can mean the creation "as a whole," or the
"overwhelming majority."
Or, another explanation is
possible: What John is discussing here
is the PRESENT CREATION, or heavens and earth -- that is, the heavens that
today exist. But the Bible speaks of a
"world that was," in addition to "the world that is," and
"the world to come." John 1:1
is speaking of "In a beginning," not necessarily the FIRST
"beginning" or "first creation"! In other words, this is not saying that the
Logos was involved in the "original creation," since He Himself is a
created being. However, He was involved
in and part of creating every subsequent creation, every
"beginning" that occurred since that original one! So that everything that was made as part
of this present creation He had a hand in creating! However, this could of course exclude the
Father, and Himself, and any beings created in or during that original
creation, such as Lucifer.
What about the Scripture in
Colossians, "For by him were ALL things created"? The text in Colossians actually has been
vastly misunderstood. It tells us that
Christ "is the image of the invisible God, [and] the firstborn of every
creature" in verse 15 -- showing that Christ, or the Logos, was
"firstborn" or "first-procreated." The following verse is obviously talking
about the FATHER -- "For by him were ALL things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth . . . all things were created by him and FOR
him" (v.16), "And he [the Father] is before all things, and by him
all things exist" (v.17). This
obviously means the Father. For we read
in I Corinthians 15: "Then cometh
the end, when he [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom TO GOD, EVEN THE
FATHER. . . . And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son
also himself BE SUBJECT UNTO HIM [the
Father] that put all things under him, that God [the Father] may be all in
all" (I Cor.15:24-28).
What about the statement that if the
Logos was created, He would not be "eternal," and therefore the name
YHVH -- "The Eternal" -- would not really apply to Him?
This is a misconception. The name YHVH, or "Yahveh," or
"The Eternal," literally means "The Self-Existent One," or
"The One Who Is, Was, and Causes to Be." The point is that when the Logos was created,
He was created out of God the Father's OWN ETERNAL ESSENCE -- out of His own
"being," so to speak.
Therefore, He had "eternity" IN Him! Part of the Father's "eternal
Spirit" was now part of HIM! Thus
indeed part of Him -- His very being -- did in once sense of the word exist
from and throughout "all eternity," even though His conscience
existence as an independent being began at the time He was "created"!
Even so, when we become members of
God's divine Family, and receive His Holy Spirit, we receive a "spark of
eternity" which unites with our spirit, our mind (Eph.1:13-14) -- the
"earnest of our inheritance" -- a portion of God's very own
"essence," His Holy Spirit (Rom.8:9).
Therefore, Peter says of true Christians, that we are "partakers
of the divine nature" (II Pet.1:4).
We now have "eternity" residing within us! (Gal.2:20). And when we are born into God's family, at
the resurrection, we will literally be GOD -- THAT IS, SONS OF THE DIVINE
GOD -- in actual fact! Therefore His
name will be named on US -- the name of YHVH, or "The Eternal." That part of us which stems from eternity,
that is, His Spirit, will grow and permeate and become our entire being
(Gal.4:19), until we become ALL HOLY SPIRIT!
Could we, after the resurrection,
then, be called "ETERNAL"?
Yes, absolutely so -- because we will be PARTAKERS OF THE ETERNAL
GOD! He will have literally
"reproduced Himself in us! And
although our consciousness as independent separate entities only goes back to
the point of our origin or creation, nevertheless, our "God-part"
which originated in the Father existed from all eternity, and we become
"one" with Him! So we can and
will be also known as "YHVH" or "THE ETERNAL," or the
"I AM"!
Of course, as the letter writer
points out, the Logos -- even though He was divine -- did give up His divinity
and became a human being, capable of death -- and He DIED, and His life
literally ceased to exist -- while He was three days and nights in the grave
(Matt.12:40). In the strict sense,
therefore, one might argue that He was not really "The Eternal," or
"YHVH." This is mere striving
about words and semantics, however. What
this shows is that even "God" can become flesh (John 1:14), and DIE
-- as He did, for us (II Cor.5:20). But
now He is resurrected and sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven
(Heb.4:14; 9:24; 7:26; 10:12).
When did the Logos divest Himself of
His divinity, and become human? The
answer is, when He changed Himself into a male human reproductive cell, called
a "sperm," and entered and joined the ovum of Mary, impregnating her
(Matt.1:18-21). He was a human being,
then, for about 30 years, before His death on the stake (Luke 3:23). Then he was dead and buried for three days
and three nights. At the resurrection,
He once again became divine -- very God -- a divine spirit being! (John
20:27-29).
The
Rebellion Continues -- Why is Satan So Angry?
Satan, of course, has not forgotten
his original potential as a "light bringer." Still today, he is "miffed" at his
loss, and angry over his failure. He still
lusts to become "God." So he
has made himself into the "god of this world" (II Cor.4:4). He is worshipped around the world as
"Baal," "the invisible God," "Mithra,"
"Shiva," and many other names and titles. He has established a counterfeit
"Christianity" which worships a pagan "Trinity."
Today, Satan still wants to be
"worshipped" -- to become "God." So he has set himself up as a competing
"deity," as the "god" of this world, and he deceives the
world into worshipping him in all the pagan religions and counterfeit cults
around the world (Rev.12:9). He has been
worshipped as Baal, Mithras, Thor, and Bel, Easter, Astarte, Adonis, Apollo,
and under innumerable guises and names.
He is even worshipped by millions of sincere, devout but deceived
"Christians" who think they worship Christ and the God of the Bible,
but who follow pagan practices and believe his pagan doctrines -- such as
Easter, Christmas, Sunday worship, and other pagan holidays, thinking they are
"Christian." But they are no
more "Christian" than their "author" is Christian! They are DECEIVED!
The apostle Paul warned us plainly,
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should become corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth
ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit,
which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not received, ye
might well bear with him" (II Cor.11:3-4).
Yes, Satan even claims to be the Messiah, and even uses the name
"Jesus" -- for he is "another Jesus," whom Paul
warned about.
But why is Satan so envious, so
jealous, and so hate-filled toward true Christians? The answer is as simple as it is amazing and
astounding -- he hates us with a passion because God has called us to be His "FIRSTFRUITS"
-- that is, we are called to be the very "BRIDE OF CHRIST" -- to
marry Him as His "wife" at the Resurrection and coming of Christ!
(see Eph.5:23-27; Rev.19:6-9). In other
words, we are destined to become the "THIRD PERSON" OF THE DIVINE
TRIUNITY OR "TRINITY" OF THE GOD-HEAD! We are destined to replace SATAN -- to have
the position and glory that he could have had, if he had proved faithful and
obedient!
Jesus
Christ declared of the Church, those called of God now, during this age,
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we ARE the
children of God: and if children, then
HEIRS; heirs of GOD, and JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST, if so be that we suffer with
him, that we may be also GLORIFIED TOGETHER" -- AS HUSBAND AND WIFE IN
THE RESURRECTION, RULING OVER THE KINGDOM OF GOD! (Rom.8:16-17).
The "true Trinity" of God
is going to be, not God the Father, Christ, and Lucifer or Satan, in the guise
of the "Holy Spirit" -- but rather, God the Father, Christ the Son,
and the Church -- the BRIDE of Christ!
The "Holy Spirit" is not Lucifer-Satan. The Holy Spirit of God is actually the power
of God, the essence out of which God is composed, which fills the Universe (Jer.23:23-24;
Luke 1:35; Psa.139:7-8).
No wonder that Satan is so filled
with hatred and rage against God's true people!
How awesome is God's amazing
agenda and plan for the human race! How
incredible and breath-taking is His plan for the true Church of God!
As the apostle Paul wrote, "O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his
ways past finding out! For who hath
known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been
his counsellor? Or who hath first given
to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are
all things: to whom be glory for
ever. Amen" (Romans 11:33-36).
Even so, Amen! Come quickly, Lord Yeshua -- Lord Jesus! (Rev.22:20).