Two Thrones At War (continued)
A. A Cataclysmic Change (continued)
Scripture reveals these implacable enemies waging a warfare which must result in the full and final defeat of the one and the complete and culminating victory of the Other. Every celestial being in heaven and every human being on earth will in the end of time have gone down in eternal defeat into hell with satan, or will have gone up in eternal victory into heaven with God.
Then to know the pathway of victory we must find in Scripture the cause of this "cosmic clash." Whence came the devil? Where, when and how was "an alien will" pitted against the will of God and a rebel government set up in opposition to the real government of God? What injected the first discordant note into God's primeval "Hallelujah Chorus"? (Job 38:7). What necessitated so awful a place as hell, the eternal life of fire? (Revelation 20:10-14).
The First Sinner - in Heaven
In God's original creation there was no devil and there was no hell. God created a celestial being of matchless beauty and glory, who by his own sin made himself the devil. God planned heaven to be the home of this celestial being, but by his sin, God was compelled to prepare a place called hell for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).
Does the Word shed light on this imperative question, Who was the first sinner in God's universe and what was his sin? The God who is light does not let us walk in darkness here. Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-15, when taken in connection with the entire teaching of Scripture, especially in respect to warfare between God and satan, give a very consistent and convincing answer to our question. While these two passages refer primarily to earthly rulers, they most certainly shadow forth that great enemy of God who is "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2) and "the prince of this world" (John 12:31), the real though invisible commander-in-chief of "the principalities and powers, and world rulers of this darkness and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenlies" (Ephesians 6:12) against whom the people of God have wrestled on down through the centuries. Both passages tell of a created, celestial being who was in heaven but was cast out of heaven and down to hell by God because of sin. Who was he in God's original creation? He was "lucifer, the son of the morning" (Isaiah 14;12), the shining one, "the anointed cherub that covereth" (Ezekiel 28:14), an archangel of glorious person, of exalted position, of highest place and of surpassing power.
His Person
Ezekiel 28:12: Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
"Thou sealest up the sum." Here are words indicating that in the creation of lucifer God had done the superlative; that the perfection of his person measured according to God's own standard was unexcelled.
"Full of Wisdom." Lucifer's was a master-mind filled with the wisdom that only an archangel possessed. But wisdom about what? Does John 8:44 give us any clue? Christ says he "abode not in the truth." "The truth" throughout God's Word refers to the revealed purpose and will of God. It is related to the eternal purpose and will of God. It is related to the eternal purpose, which He purposed in His Son in whom all the counsels of His will centered, and through whom they were to be fulfilled. lucifer, greatest in intellect in all God's celestial creation, surely must have known "the truth." More than that, God is both Truth and Light. Lucifer had fellowship with God so he must have walked in the truth and in the light. This must have meant a knowledge of God's purpose and plan in His Son and of the intimate relationship between the Eternal Father and the Eternal Son. Did he know that the Father had appointed the Son heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2) and given Him a throne before which all the angels of God would worship Him (Hebrews 1:6, 8)?
"Perfect in beauty." He was not only the wisest but also the noblest, the most beautiful of all God's creation. Here again he measured up to God's unalterable standard of perfection.
"Every precious stone was thy covering." What great splendor and matchless glory! "Choice gems from the heart of God's earth - glittering gems of magnificent beauty graciously attached to this crown-prince of splendor - covered this creature, exquisite in charm, glorious in array."
~Ruth Paxson~
(continued with # 46)
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