02. The Wrath of the Dragon | Chapter 02: The Fallen Star
We can ask many more questions about the Devil, but let us dive into the Bible and piece together the fragments of his story which God has revealed.
First of all, there is no higher form of rebellion against God our King than to take over his throne, become king of the universe and rule over all creation. Bearing this in mind, let us filter out passages in the Bible that speak of this kind of rebellion.
One such character was the king of Babylon called Tyrus during the time of Ezekiel the prophet. God said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.” Ezekiel 28:2
Moreover, the word of the Lord came again to Ezekiel saying: Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. Ezekiel 28:11-19
Was the king of Tyrus an immortal who existed during the time of Eden’s garden, walking amongst the fiery stones before God’s throne? God is speaking to two individuals here:
The King of Tyrus
The Anointed Cherub
Their hearts were of the same state. Both of them were extremely gifted, but pride was their downfall, leading them to desire what they did not deserve, and that was, God’s throne.
In his account of this majestic being, God instructed Isaiah to write a proverb against the king of Babylon, whose heart was the same as the anointed cherub of Ezekiel 28. “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 14:12-14
The name Lucifer (light bearer or shining one) portrayed the nature of this angel which God created to stand in His presence. Lucifer was the shining one because he absorbed the raw light of the power of God. This shining effect occurred to Moses after spending forty days with God on Mount Sinai; the people of Israel could not stand his brightness as he approached them from the mountain. (see Exodus 34:35)
We learn a valuable lesson from the life of Lucifer - God gives the freedom of choice to every intelligent creature he has ever made and he desires that we exercise this freedom to love and serve Him. In addition to this, he creates environments that are conducive to a happy and loving relationship with God and with our fellow creatures.
Why then did Lucifer rebel? Because he can! Was it God’s fault? No! God created a free and perfect being; Lucifer chose his own fate. Why did God allow this to happen? Because He is the God of love and justice, He could not force Lucifer to choose Him.
The law of cause and effect is a fundamental principle God embedded into all creation. Lucifer’s actions kicked off a chain of reactions that would resonate in ages to come. Was God prepared for this great emergency? Oh yes, God foresaw everything and had a contingency plan to meet the crisis.
If I was God, all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present, I would simply snap my fingers and erase Lucifer out of existence, but that would strike fear into the hearts of the other creatures under my rule. They would serve me out of fear rather than love. God let Lucifer run his political campaign in Heaven, allowing him to present his cause. In the book of Revelation, John saw the Great Dragon appear in heaven, and “...his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…” Revelation 12:4. “The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.” Isaiah 9:15. Satan could only use lies and deceit to enlist a third of heaven’s angels onto his side.
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” Revelation 12:7-8
The controversy built up to a war in so much that God had to remove Satan and his angels out of their positions, casting them out of heaven.“The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:9
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