Every soldier must know about his enemy. It is important to know something about his strategy and devices so that we can recognise him and defeat him. The enemy of every Christian is the Devil. He is known by many names but how did he come to be an enemy of God and mankind?

1 – He used to be a great angel (vs. 12)

Satan was called “Lucifer” before his fall. God is the only one who is eternal. (See Psalm 90: 2 & Hebrews 1:8). It is clear that Lucifer was one of the angelic hosts. He was not created evil by God. We know that God is not the author of evil. Lucifer was created perfect by God and was the greatest of God’s created beings. He was full of wisdom and great beauty and had authority over the other angels. See Ezekiel 28:12.

The Bible speaks of different ranks of angelic beings. See Ephesians 1:21. These are part of God’s “army” to fight evil.

• Some angels have a ministry to mankind – See Hebrews 1:14, Revelation 16:1 & Hebrews 2:2.
• Some angels have a ministry to God alone.

1. The Seraphim were created to worship God and to protect Him as they surround the throne of God. See Isaiah 6:1.
2. The Cherubim are onlookers, to see that God’s holiness is kept. See Ezekiel 1:5; 10:1; Genesis 3:24 & Exodus 25:18.

• Lucifer was placed in a position that gave him authority over the other angels. See Ezekiel 28:12-14.

2 – Lucifer’s rise and fall (Ezekiel 28)

• The beauty of Lucifer – Lucifer was adorned with every precious stone as his covering. It should be noted that a gem stone has no light of its own. The beauty is not in itself, but rather in the gem’s ability to reflect light. Listed below is the colour of each of the gems:-

1. Sardius – Reddish brown
2. Topaz – Golden yellow.
3. Diamond – Colourless.
4. Beryl – Dark red.
5. Onyx – Multicoloured.
6. Jasper – Bluish green.
7. Sapphire – Deep rich blue.
8. Emerald – Green.
9. Carbuncle – Deep blood red.
10. Gold – Yellow.

Lucifer was given the capacity to reflect light, but he himself was not the light. God was the light. Lucifer was given the capacity to reflect the glory of God. He was like a skilled musician on the tabaret and pipes. He “piped” to God’s glory. Lucifer was able to bring glory to God and to praise Him in a special way. It was Lucifer who reflected the glory of God to the greatest degree of the entire angelic host.

• Lucifer rebels against God – The creator is still greater than his creation. We find out that Lucifer’s wisdom became perverted and he wanted glory for himself. God did not stop Lucifer from falling into sin. Lucifer had a free will to choose and he decided to go against God’s will. Lucifer now becomes known as Satan. God is willing to go into conflict with Satan. Why might God do this? If God is going to show the perfection of His holiness then he must put it in contrast to sinfulness. It is like a diamond placed in front of black velvet to show the light of the diamond.
• Lucifer causes others to fall – A third of the angels also rebel (Rev. 12:3-4) and then mankind follows as well (Genesis 3). Every child born on this earth is characterised by the nature of the Devil. We are born the first time (physically) into the family of Satan by default. We need to be born-again (spiritually) into the family of God.

Categories: Isaiah