Believers the world over complain about being plagued by the existence of the devil. Whether or not they are is possibly open for debate; but as far as those believers are concerned, there’s no doubt that they are. They see bad things happen in their lives and assume that the devil is behind them; causing them to either complain about the devil or to “cast him out.”
There’s a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about just who the devil is and what his place is in the overall scheme of things. Many people see the devil as God’s opposite, an evil force who is somewhat equal to God in power and influence. But that idea actually comes from other religions; there’s nothing in the Bible that should give us any hint that Satan is God’s opposite or that he’s anywhere near as powerful as God is.
Where Did Satan Come From?
As with everyone else, Satan, the Devil or Lucifer (all three names apply) is a created being; created by Jehovah God, whom Christians refer to as Father God. He, along with His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit, are the Trinity (God in three parts), the Creator of the Universe. There is no other god recognized by Christians and Jews, who follow the teachings of the Bible. This is such an important point, that any religion which claims to be Christian, yet acknowledges other “gods,” cannot be said to be Christian.
God created the Devil as Lucifer, one of the three known archangels. The other two are Michael, who appears to be in charge of the warrior angels and Gabriel, who seems to be in charge of the messenger angels. Lucifer was created to be heaven’s worship leader and was specifically crafted with that in mind.
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day that you were created. – Ezekiel 28:13
It is the last part of this verse, where it talks about timbrels and pipes, which leads us to believe that Lucifer was created to be Heaven’s worship leader. Some theologians have speculated that these were actually within Lucifer’s body, allowing him to make music with his body. That is not definite and the way that it is written can just as easily mean that those musical instruments were prepared before he was, so that they would be available for him to use, once he was created.
More importantly than the instruments, would be the understanding of music. For those of us who have never truly studied music theory, it is extremely complex. I have two children who have graduated from college, after studying music. They both had to take two semesters of music theory as part of their degree program. Those were the two most grueling two semesters of their studies. Basic music theory, the kind we might learn to be able to play an instrument is nothing, when compared to the theory one needs to know to properly write music.
As Heaven’s worship leader, Lucifer would have had to be created by God, with this knowledge already in him or he would have had to learn it. Either way, it explains how Satan has taken over secular music, filling it with themes which go against the Word of God.
Satan’s Fall
Although Lucifer was beautiful, crafted by God Himself out of every precious stone and was a great musician on top of that, he was not satisfied. We don’t know why, but pride overtook him, causing him to want to be more than what God created him to be. Rather than being a servant of God, he wanted to be as God himself.
How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ – Isaiah 14:12-14
As with much of prophecy, there are multiple interpretations that can be applied to this passage. This is reduced somewhat by verse 12 calling out Lucifer by name. His desire to raise his own throne above the stars and to make himself equal with the Most High, who is God the Father, is the most arrogant display of pride in history. God could only reply in one way, casting him down from heaven, as Jesus testified to.
And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” – Luke 10:18
It is interesting that Jesus would bother to mention this to His disciples. Yet when we look at it in context, we see that He was responding to their report that “even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Luke 10:17). In the context of explaining to them why they had power over demons, Jesus chose to tell them that the “king” of those demons had been dethroned. Apparently, that was a direct result of his rebellion.
Theologians tell us that one-third of the angels in heaven joined Lucifer in his rebellion. The reference to this is a bit vague and actually comes from the book of Revelations (Revelations 12:4), making it sound like it might yet take place in the future. Yet that reference in Revelations could just as easily be making reference to something that happened far back in history. We must remember that Revelations is prophecy and is therefore not necessarily in chronological order, even though it reads like a narrative of events yet to come.
Satan Landed on Earth?
We know that Lucifer landed on earth, because he appeared in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis, chapter 3. From that point on, he was no longer known as Lucifer, but rather as Satan. Names have meaning in the Bible and God uses names that convey the meaning He desires to convey. If that requires changing a name, God has no problem with that.
- Lucifer means “shining one,” or “morning star”
- Satan means “adversary” talking about his work here on earth
The story of what Satan did in the Garden is one of the best known stories in the Bible; where he took on the appearance of a snake and spoke to Eve, deceiving her and leading to Adam and Eve both eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil, bringing sin to earth. Is this the purpose for which God created Satan or Lucifer? Was it intentional to cause Adan and Even to fall into original sin? No, that wasn’t the purpose; it was merely something that happened on the way to God’s purpose being fulfilled.
Satan could not have caused Adam and Eve to eat of that fruit, sinning, had not the seed of sin existed in their hearts. God had created them with the ability to make their own choices; what we call “free will.” That was necessary, so that they would have the capacity to love. Had God not given them free will, then He would have been able to command them to act in love towards Him, but it would not have been love; it would have been blind obedience. For it to be love, they had to have the ability to say “No,” so God gave them that ability and they chose not to obey Him.
Keep in mind that all this was part of God’s plan. While it wasn’t His will for them to fall into sin, He knew that they would. That’s where His plan came in. Knowing that they would fall into sin, He planned for their redemption, putting that into place before creating them. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, would go to the cross as the one and only sacrifice for that sin, reuniting the children of Adam and Eve with God the Father.
Satan’s Work in Our Lives
As crazy as it may sound, Satan plays an important part in our lives, and it’s not causing us to sin. Rather, it is causing us to fight. Growth, the kind of growth that makes us stronger, only comes through fighting or struggle. Ask any weight lifter or bodybuilder and they’ll quote you the famous, “No pain, no gain” line. They understand that muscle growth only comes through stressing the muscles to their limit, so that more muscle will grow, making them stronger.
Likewise, the Navy Seals understand that it is through difficulty that they become better at what they do; hence their motto “The only easy day was yesterday.” If anything, they understand the need to struggle, even more than the weightlifters and bodybuilders do.
This sort of struggle starts at the beginning of life. Babies struggle to stand on their mothers’ laps, strengthening their legs, so that they can eventually walk. Without that struggle, they would never be able to stand, let alone walk. We encourage them in that struggle, and on through the other struggles in their lives, as they grow, because we instinctively know the importance of those struggles. We try to protect them, while also pushing them along, because one day they’ll have to stand on their own two feet, without us there to catch them when they fall.
God is the same with us. He has created Satan, knowing that his pride would cause him to fall and have to be cast out of heaven. He also knew what exactly Satan would do, attempting to destroy us, once he was established here on earth. But God also knew that Satan would not win that battle; but rather, that the battle would strengthen us to defeat him. God even takes credit for creating Satan and every weapon he uses against us:
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. – Isaiah 54:16-17 KJV
We see “the waster to destroy” or as some translations put it “the destroyer to destroy” there in the last part of verse 16. This is commonly understood to refer to Satan. The word “instrument” in that same verse, can also be translated as “weapon” or “tool.” So, what we see is that God is saying that not only did He create Satan, but He also created everything that Satan uses as a weapon against us.
The passage doesn’t end there though. While God takes credit for creating Satan and everything he uses against us, He also promises that those weapons won’t prosper. Not only that, He promises that Satan will be condemned for speaking out against us.
So, why not avoid all that from the outset, by not creating Satan in the first place? Because God understood that we needed an enemy to fight against, so that we would become strong. He literally created Satan as a provision of His love for us, as crazy as that may seem. Had He not created Satan and had He provided everything we need, we would never have grown and become strong. God knew what we needed and made provision for it.
Taking That a Step Further
We can take that concept a step further in the book of Job. In the first chapter of Job, God has a short conversation with Satan, focusing Satan’s attention on Job. Many preachers have said that Satan went to God to ask permission to attack Job; but while Satan did ask permission, it was God who fixed Satan’s attention on Job.
And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil.” – Job 1:8
God allowed Satan to attack Job, stealing all he had, killing his children and taking his health. All that seemingly senseless violence against Job had a purpose though. While Job was a good man, his righteousness was self-righteousness and that wasn’t good enough. Not only that, he was a prideful man, asking for his day in the celestial court, to prove that God allowed Satan to attack him unjustly. But God was using the circumstances to work on Job.
Towards the end of the book, we find that God finally answers Job. But He doesn’t actually answer any of Job’s questions. Rather, He talks about how great He is, asking Job if he could stand up against that. Job obviously couldn’t and admitted so. But through that process, he had a great revelation; one that transformed him forever. He confessed this unto God, saying:
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. – Job 42:5-6
God allowed Satan to attack Job to bring him to this point. I call it Job’s point of salvation. Job was a good man; but he wasn’t good enough. He needed to repent of his pride and recognize God in his life. Not only that, he had known of God and needed to know God.
God literally manipulated Satan, so that He could use Satan’s attacks against Job to work out His own will in Job’s heart and life. There was no way that God could have attacked Job in the way that Satan did, God doesn’t bring sickness, steal from us or destroy us; Satan does, as Jesus said in John 10:10.
The thief (Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10
Ultimately, God’s will was accomplished in Job’s life, just as it is in our own. But God didn’t allow Satan’s destruction to stand. God gives Job children to replace those he had lost and double the wealth that he had enjoyed before (Job 42:10, 12-13).
We Can Take Comfort in This
The story of Job, specifically the first two chapters and the last one, which show the events mentioned above, show us God’s purpose in creating Satan. It wasn’t so that Adam and Eve would fall in the garden, but as God’s rod of correction, so that He can work out His will in our lives, making us more like His Son, Jesus, who is the Christ.
Believers ask all the time, when they are going through hardship, whether God is punishing them or Satan is attacking them. They’re missing the point. Everything that happens in our life is for a purpose and that purpose is not punishment. Jesus took our punishment to the cross. What seems like it might be punishment therefore, isn’t punishment. Rather, it is God allowing Satan to work in our lives, so that the will of God might be accomplished. Just as He did with Job, God has a plan for every bit of suffering in our lives, so that it might bring forth good fruit. As Paul wrote to the Romans:
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28
When Satan comes around to attack us, the question we should be asking isn’t why it is happening; but rather, what God wants to accomplish in our lives. He has allowed it for a purpose and that purpose is always for our good. The sooner we find the purpose and learn what He wants us to learn, the sooner we can get back to “normal,” but with a more blessed life than ever.