SATAN (Part 1)

The kingdom of darkness is a reality which everybody should be well aware of. Satan and his demons – which are the fallen angels who were cast out
of heaven because of their complicity in his rebellion – are engaged in a fierce battle against God and His kingdom. They strive to be worshipped and for power. Satan is an imitator of God who is intent on replacing God as ruler of the universe. His aim is also to be worshipped as God. In his imitation of the Triune God, Satan’s kingdom is also ruled by a triumvirate – the devil, the Antichrist and the false prophet. The devil pretends to be God and his future world leader, the Antichrist, will be offered to the world as the Christ, while the false prophet will imitate the ministry of the Holy Spirit by doing great signs and wonders.

Lucifer was a good, wise and beautiful angel who was created by God, but he was corrupted by pride and a lust for power. He revolted against God’s authority in an effort to raise his own status to be equal with God. In Ezekiel 28 are descriptions of the earthly king of Tyre, and also of Satan who was the spiritual power who instigated and controlled him. Lucifer, therefore, was the real king of Tyre. Both of them have fallen because of their pride. The Lord says of Lucifer:

“You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 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 you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, o covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour; I cast you to the ground” (Ezek. 28:12-17).

The following four reasons make it quite clear that these verses refer to Lucifer and not the earthly king of Tyre:

·       He was in the Garden of Eden.
·       He was a cherub who covers.
·       He enjoyed free movement on God’s holy mountain.
·       He was perfect since the day of his creation, till iniquity was found in him and caused his downfall.

The angels who were deceived by Lucifer and sinned by sharing in his rebellion were cast out of heaven with him. Their iniquity transformed them into perverted and hateful creatures. After his fall, Lucifer was described as Satan, who is the adversary of God.

In Isaiah 14, the Lord uses the fall of the king of Babylon to describe Lucifer’s fall from heaven. Babylon is a well-known symbol of Satan’s kingdom on earth. This is evidenced by the fact that Satan took possession of Nimrod after Babylon was first established, and influenced him to become a violent person, so arrogant and great in his own eyes that he built a city and a tower with its top reaching to heaven (Gen. 11:4). In this way, it was thought that fallen man could rule over the whole earth, ascend to heaven and declare himself to be God.

During later history, the city of Babylon remained the symbol of a mighty kingdom, still violently opposed to the kingdom of God. According to Revelation 18, the city will be rebuilt in the end-time and will once again exercise dominion over the nations of the world. The demonic nature of this evil city is clearly evident from prophecies regarding its final downfall: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every fowl spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!” (Rev. 18:2).

Throughout the centuries, Lucifer was the real king of Babylon, also of mystery Babylon, the harlot mother of all the false religions. The human tyrants who ruled in Babylon were all personifications of him who gave expression to his rebellion, violence, religious self-deification and idolatry in the most extreme forms. It is fitting that Lucifer’s fall from heaven should be likened to the fall of Babylon’s king, as his kingdom is also destined to destruction. From the context it is very obvious that it is Lucifer’s fate which is being discussed here, as the earthly king of Babylon was never described as Lucifer, (son of the morning,) who sat on the mount of the congregation in heaven and exalted himself to be equal with God:

“How you are fallen from heaven, o Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 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; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?” (Isa. 14:12-17).

It must have been a sudden and highly dramatic event when Lucifer and his angels were cast out by God. John says that he drew a third of the angels of heaven with him (Rev. 12:4), which is an indication of his considerable power and influence. The consequences of Lucifer’s expulsion from heaven were far-reaching. He swore to take vengeance on God and His kingdom by incessantly attacking and destroying His creation. This declaration of war finally transformed him into Satan – God’s Enemy and Adversary. He is particularly intent on controlling and destroying human beings who were created in God’s image; therefore, God describes him as a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).

Satan’s fall from heaven was only the beginning of his humiliation. Following that, the opportunity was given him to reveal his true character, thereby filling up the measure of his iniquity. He did so by deceiving and destroying people. All of creation likewise suffers because of the Fall and the destructive acts of the devil and his human henchmen (Rom. 8:20). Satan will launch his most violent attack on mankind during the seven year-long reign of the Antichrist: “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Rev. 12:12). Many people will die because of wars, pestilences, famines and other calamities while the earth and its resources will be devastated.

Satan’s fall, as described by Ezekiel and Isaiah, occurs during different stages. It will assume a further dimension when, at the end of the great tribulation when Christ returns, he will be incarcerated in the bottomless pit for 1000 years (Rev. 20:1-3). Then, it will be said of him: “Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities?” Following his release from the pit at the end of the thousand years, Satan and all his followers will be cast into the lake of fire for ever.


- Bible Guidance