- Does anyone know the origin of the devil?
Yes, the Bible is very careful
to clarify the devil's origins,
since he is the source of all evil.
More than 200 biblical references
to a personal force of evil known as the devil
have been recorded by God.
His wickedness started long before the Garden of Eden,
and it has endured in every dispensation since.
Revelation 20:1-3.
"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven,
having the key to the abyss
and holding in his hand a great chain.
He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is the devil or Satan
and bound him for a thousand years.
He threw him into the abyss
and locked and sealed it over him
to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore,
until the thousand years were ended.
After that, he must be set free for a short time."
Many who researched the Bible know
that the devil is the source
of all human tragedy, ill will, and hatred.
It is important to turn the divine spotlight on the devil
in order to comprehend our current world circumstances.
God communicates with us in a variety of ways.
Isaiah 14:12-15.
"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."
Yet thou shall be brought down to hell
to the sides of the pit."
Further, God reveals the origin of the devil
in Ezekiel 28: 13-17.
"You were in Eden, the garden of God,
every precious stone adored you,
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold.
On the day you were created, they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God.
You walked among the fiery stones.
You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till wickedness was found in you.
Through your widespread trade,
you were filled with violence and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
Your heart became proud on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth.
I made a spectacle of you before kings."
The devil was created an angel.
He was the epitome of elegance and wisdom.
He was given the moniker son of the morning.
No other creature was given a name like this.
He was given the title anointed cherub
and was given a special and privileged position.
His very garments were made of precious stones,
which reflected the Trinity's burning glory.
What happened to this glorious archangel?
And how did he become the devil?
The Bible is very specific about what it tells us.
"Your hearts became proud on account of your beauty
and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth.
I made a spectacle of you before Kings."
Ezekiel 28:17.
This indicates that he was filled with pride.
Lucifer concluded that his greatness and beauty came
from inside himself, rather than from the most high.
So he focused on himself, rather than the most high.
He said, "I will," five times in Isaiah 14:13 and 14
showing his pride in his heart.
He instigated revolt in heaven,
probably leading to the subordination
of 1/3 of the angelic host in order to fight the almighty.
Those angelic spirits were expelled from heaven
as a result of his actions,
and his tail drew the third part of the heavens stars,
and threw them to the ground.
Revelation 12:4.
"And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,
and did cast them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman
which was ready to be delivered,
and for to devour her child as soon as it was born."
He was then kicked out of heaven
and demoted to his current role.
In Ezekiel 28:15, God said to Lucifer,
"Thou you were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till the wickedness was found in you."
Yes, the Bible explains where the devil came from.
It details his known behavior in heaven
prior to his expulsion.
His wicked deceptions in the garden of Eden,
where he caused man to fall from God's favor,
mark the start of a titanic battle between good and evil
according to the Bible.
The battle of Gog and Magog will be the devil's last act
until he is forever arrested and tortured
in the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:7-10.
"And when the thousand years are expired,
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison
and shall go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four quarters of the earth,
Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle,
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
And they went up on the breadth of the earth,
and compassed the camp of the saints about,
and the beloved city.
And fire came down from God out of heaven,
and devoured them.
And the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
Isn't the devil just an impersonal influence?
If that question is meant to imply
that a personality called the devil does not actually exist,
I must disagree.
Satan does possess a sinister influence,
but he is very much a real person.
Over 200 times in the Bible,
direct reference is made to his personality.
The name Satan is used 54 times.
In Matthew 4:10, Jesus says, "Get thee hence, Satan."
The Apostle Paul tells us in second Corinthians 11:14,
Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
This describes a personality.
The Apostle Peter revealing the great anger
and strength of the devil,
declares him to be as a roaring lion.
1 Peter 5:8.
This description certainly represents a personality.
John refers to the devil as the dragon, Revelation 20:2,
describing his awful destruction upon humanity.
Jesus said of the devil in John 8:44.
He abode not in the truth.
It takes a personality to depart from the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:8, NIV.
"And then the lawless one will be revealed
whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow
with the breath of his mouth
and destroy by the splendor of his coming."
2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV.
"In whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest hee light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine onto them."
The power of darkness, Colossians 1:13.
"He has rescued us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of the son He loves."
Your adversary, 1 Peter 5:8.
"Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,
looking for someone to devour."
The accuser of our brethren, Revelation 12:10.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
"Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our brothers and sisters
who accuses them before our God day and night
has been hurled down."
The prince of the devils, Matthew 12:24.
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said,
"It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
that this fellow drives out demons."
In James 4:7, submit yourselves then to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
These scriptures prove
that there is indeed an evil personality
who seeks to destroy all that God has made in this universe.