Two Thrones At War (continued)
The First Sinner - in Heaven (continued)
lucifer's exalted position implies that he possessed the capacity for government to an extraordinary degree and that he was given great power. From other portions of Scripture we can reasonably infer that myriads of angelic beings must have been directly subject to his command, for when he revolted against God they followed him in that revolt (Jude 6). Also he is seen in the great warefare passage in Ephesians 6:10-18 to be the head of a great hierarchy of evil, including principalities and powers. He evidently was a sovereign under the Sovereign, ruling over angelic hosts in heaven.
Did his power extend to earth? Had God enlarged the sphere of rule of this mighty chief of angels and entrusted to him sovereignty over the earth also? The very fact that the earth came under the judgment of God, becoming waste and void," necessitating a complete restoration, would seem to imply this.
From what we have studied regarding the person of lucifer we have seen that he was the prince of the celestial beings: in God's original creation he was the greatest in wisdom, in beauty, in glory. In position and in power he was no doubt next to the Son of God Himself. For God had given to lucifer all He could ever give short of an absolute equality with Himself. But this was something inherently impossible, for if any creature of God could ever become "equal" with God, he would thereby become God Himself.
Would lucifer be willing to remain what God meant him to be by creation? It would seem that such excellence of personality and such exaltation in position surely would be sufficient to satisfy the deepest desire and the loftiest ambition of this greatest of God's creatures. But did lucifer remain loyal to God, satisfied with this God-given power? It would seem not (Ezekiel 28:15; 28:16).
"Perfect"; "from-till"; "till iniquity was found in thee." lucifer has become a sinner, the first and the chief sinner in God's universe. God discovers and exposes him as such. But how could such a thing be? And what was the "iniquity found in him?
The First Sin in God's Universe
lucifer's sin was "pride." His heart was lifted up because of what he was in himself (Ezekiel 28:17).
"Thine heart was lifted up." lucifer became proud! (1 Timothy 3:6).
God defines pride as sin.
Proverbs 21:4: An high look, and proud heart ... is sin. "Because of thy beauty." lucifer lost sight of the fact that all his beauty was the workmanship of the Creator, the outright gift of God for which he could claim no merit; also that it had been given purely for the glory of God. He fell in love with himself and his pride of person is what God calls (1 John 2:16) "the pride of life." lucifer became full of self-esteem and self-glorying, puffed up with a sense of his own greatness.
"Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom of thy brightness." Pride of person was accompanied by pride of intellect. "Full of wisdom" he became full of pride in the wisdom, which thus became utterly corrupt and perverted. The brilliant brightness was turned into dense darkness and he became the greatest enemy of light in all God's universe (2 Corinthians 4:4). Through pride he "abode not in the truth" and became the greatest opponent of the truth in all God's universe. satan is the first and greatest apostate.
~Ruth Paxson~
(continued with # 48)
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