Have you ever wondered where the Devil came from?
That is a question that has undoubtedly been asked for thousands of years. The
world has come up with many fanciful tales about his origin, but What does
the Bible say? What does the Bible not say?
When trying to discover the origin of Satan,
man has often used passages of
texts out of the Bible out of context.
Take for
example; "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. Yet thou
shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (Isaiah
14:12-15).
How many times have you heard this text
used to describe the origin of Satan? When one looks at the context of that
passage he sees that Isaiah is talking about the king of Babylon; "That
thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath
the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!" (Isaiah
14:4). Isaiah is therefore saying that the king of
Babylon will be cast down because of his pride. Another passage that people take
out of context is Luke 10:18; "And he
said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke
10:18). Again, the context shows that Jesus was simply
telling the disciples that He saw the influence of Satan in the world
diminishing or falling because of the work that they had done.
Now, let's turn our attention to
what the Bible does say.
Some will say that the Bible gives
no information at all. However, I believe that it does both by implication and
direct statement.
First we must realize that there is only one eternal being and that is God
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That being the case, then Satan cannot be
eternal. Therefore, he had to have been created. The Bible clearly tells us that
God, the Son, created all things; "Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for
him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Col
1:13-17). You might ask how God could create such an
evil being. The answer is that God did not. "This
then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God
is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1
John 1:5). Whenever it was that God created the being
whom we now know as Satan, He created him as a perfect being. However, as He did
with us, God gives all beings the freedom to choose. Evidently, Satan did
something that caused him to be cast out of heaven.
The next passage that I want to notice is Jude 6;
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the
judgment of the great day." (Jude
6). Notice also, "For
if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment;" (2
Peter 2:4). Evidently, there were some angels who used
their freedom of choice to choose evil. Jude says that they did not keep their
first estate. "Estate" simply means a position or office. Jude and
Peter say that these angels are going to be sent to hell. It makes sense to the
author to assume that Satan was one of these angels. However, bear in mind, that
the Bible does not come right out and say that. So you can either accept it or
not.
So, where did Satan come from?
He was created by God as a perfect being.
However, for whatever reason, he chose to abandon, along with other angels, his
office or position and is now being punished for it and will be punished for all
eternity.
Ralph Price - 2000
