In the last article of this Darkness series, Son of the Morning – Lucifer, we saw that the adjective Lucifer means “Light bearer” and is aptly applied to the bride and not the devil, to Adam – Son of God and not Satan. For the woman bears/carries (mankind is a woman to either God or the devil), while the man gives, for Adam was the Son of the morning at creation, whilst Satan was a murderer from the beginning.
God as the husband gave the light and it was Adam’s (God’s people) responsibility as a bride to “bear it”. When they chose to sin, they chose to carry the seed (word) of darkness and in so doing, the one created to bear the true light of God, was instead bearing the fake light of the enemy and fell from the heaven God had stationed him in. Since Lucifer’s fall from heaven is speaking of Adam’s fall from the place of dominion God positioned him in and Satan is not a good angel gone bad, the following questions have to be addressed as we dive further into this topic:
- When was Satan created?
- How & when did Satan get in heaven, How & when did he fall?
When was Satan created?
It’s important to establish when Satan was created because it’s often assumed that his fall took place prior to creation. Though widely believed, there is no support for this in scripture.
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 20:11 KJV
The above is often referred to as “the creation week”, and here God makes it clear that everything created was created within this six day period. Therefore, the notion of anything or anyone beside God existing prior to creation is not supported by scripture. There is no “before the beginning”, there is just the beginning and in the beginning was God:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:1-3 KJV
God is the beginning:
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 1:8 KJV
Jesus is called the beginning because everything created, had its beginning (was created) by him:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Colossians 1:16 KJV
The moment we says the devil existed with God “before the beginning”, we have stepped out of scripture and into the book of opinions, because from scripture, the following is clear:
- There is no “before the beginning”. God was in the beginning (John 1:1), God is the beginning (Rev 1:8), everything created had its beginning in him (Col 1:16)
- Even if there is “before the beginning”, everything being created in six days means that no created being or thing would be there.
The above establishes clearly from scripture that the devil and his angels were created sometime within the first six days of creation, but which day? Consider the following in answering:
Darkness was first mentioned in verse 2, day 1 of creation:
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2 KJV
Darkness is biblically synonymous with the devil and his kingdom (as is “the deep”). And though Genesis does not speak explicitly on God creating darkness, we are told that he created all things.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:3 KJV
That darkness was created by God is irrefutable.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isaiah 45:7 KJV
Since darkness is present on day one, and darkness was created by God, then there is scriptural support for the devil (darkness) being created on day one.
In consideration of the foregoing, some may still say that the specific day the devil was created is not certain. Regardless, what remains beyond question is this: he did NOT exist prior to “the beginning” and thus, his creation and fall took place in time.
How & when did Satan get in heaven?
For the person who believes Satan was created as a cherub, before pride led to his eventual fall from heaven, the question of how & when he got into heaven may appear rhetorical, perhaps even nonsensical, given the widely held belief that he was created good and in heaven with God prior to creation. I do hope the above has demonstrated that this belief has no foundation in scripture.
But knowing that the bible says that the devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44) and he fell from heaven (Luke 10:18), raise the questions: why would he have been in heaven at all? When/why did he fall?
Some of the things to be addressed in answering the above questions have already been touched on here: Lucifer Son of the Morning
The devil’s rise to heaven was/is on account of humanity (Adam), whilst his fall from heaven is/was on account of the Spirit of God in humanity (Jesus – The Last Adam). So whether it’s his rise to heaven or fall from it, Adam (first and last) plays a central role.
There are two Adam’s mentioned in scripture:
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:45 KJV
The first Adam is symbolic of man without the Spirit of God aka fleshly carnal earthy man, and his story (the first Adam) is the story of all men who live by the flesh.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:17 KJV
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Romans 8:13 KJV
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:22 KJV
When Adam was created he was stationed in a heavenly realm over the earth, said another way, he was given dominion over everything in the earth and told to subdue it:
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28 KJV
Adam was given dominion over the earth, yet, when we fast forward to the time of Christ, we see the devil saying this:
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Luke 4:5-6 KJV
The devil was showing the kingdoms of the world and said that the power and the glory of it was given to him! But we know for a fact, that the power i.e. the heavenly space he was occupying, the one he claims as his own, was originally given to Adam. How then did the devil get it? How then did he ascend into this heaven?
Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Matthew 12:29 KJV
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2 Peter 2:19 KJV
Notice the principle spoken of by Jesus, in order to ransack a house, one has to first bind/overcome the man of said house. So how did the devil bind/overcome Adam?
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:16 KJV
He led them (Adam) into sin in keeping with the above. (Adam and Eve is called Adam – Gen 5:2)
1. Lust of the flesh – Genesis 3:6 KJV – And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food….
2. Lust of the eyes – Genesis 3:6 KJV – … and that it was pleasant to the eyes….
3. Pride of life – Genesis 3:6 KJV – …. and a tree to be desired to make one wise….
After taking over Adam’s house, the devil then spoiled it. Just look at the imagery scripture gives us, when Adam was given the house, it was filled with life, he was ruling from a lush garden with a river flowing through the midst of it, when he (Adam/Lucifer) fell and Satan took over, the landscape changed, no lush greenery, no river, no life. In essence, the world became a place of death, it became a wilderness, because of Adam’s sin:
That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Isaiah 14:17 KJV
Adam was overcome by the world, overcomed by the desires of his flesh, bounded & blinded by the lies of the devil, this is how the devil rose/rises to power.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2 Corinthians 4:4 KJV
It’s no different for us today. To be overcomed by the world is to live a life guided by passions or desires, and such a person is under the authority of the devil, a slave to sin and death, until he/she finds freedom in Christ.
Satan’s fall from heaven.
So we saw how the sin of man (Adam) allowed/allows the devil to ascend into a position of authority (heaven). Now just as Satan’s rise to power came through the actions of one, so too did his fall come through the actions of one:
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Romans 5:17 KJV
Notice the reversals, Adam’s offence is what caused his/our fall, and his/our fall is how the devil rose in power to reign. You may say, but doesn’t the verse say death reigned not the devil reigned. Well, death reigned over man because Satan reigned, recall that’s the power he held, the power by which he held man captive till Jesus defeated him:
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; (15) And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Hebrews 2:14-15 KJV
The very principle the devil used to ascend into heaven (bind the strongman) is the very principle the Last Adam used which caused the devil to fall from heaven. The devil bounded Adam, Jesus (the Last Adam) bounded the devil.
The devil presented the world to Jesus in the same way he presented it to Adam. But where Adam was overcomed, Jesus overcame. Jesus came to take back what was stolen, he went into the wilderness to bind the strongman. But to do so, he had to first overcome the world:
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:16 KJV
Now watch how all that is in the world was presented to him and how he overcame:
1. Lust of the flesh – Luke 4:3 KJV And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
Overcame:
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 4:4 KJV
2. Lust of the eyes – Luke 4:5-6 KJV And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Overcame:
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Luke 4:8 KJV
3. Pride of life – Luke 4:9 KJV And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
Overcame:
And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Luke 4:12 KJV
Because Jesus overcame the world, the strongman (the devil) was bound, that is, Satan fell from heaven:
And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. (18) And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luke 10:17-18 KJV
Jesus speaks of Satan’s fall immediately after the disciples report of being able to cast out devil’s because not only are the two events related, but one (casting out devils) was not possible without the other (Satan’s fall). Remember, the strong man must first be bound BEFORE one can spoil his house. Jesus came as the “stronger man” to do just that:
But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
Luke 11:22 KJV
We could not spoil the devil’s kingdom of darkness by pulling souls out via the gospel unless the strongman was bound. Is there any further scriptural evidence that the devils fall was necessary in our salvation? Indeed there is!
And 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 KJV
Examine what takes place in heaven immediately after the devil’s fall:
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Revelation 12:10 KJV
The statement of “now is come salvation”, is followed up with “for (because) the accuser of our brethren is cast down”. This began when God manifested in flesh (Christ) and continues to the present (for God is always manifesting in flesh). Until the devil is dethroned or cast down (by the entrance of Truth) from the heavenly position he holds in the life of an unbeliever, the “Now is come salvation” cannot be made manifest.
If you require further evidence that this took place at the time of Christ/with the coming of Christ, look at another thing mentioned as “now is come”. Now is come the kingdom of our God.
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Matthew 12:28 KJV
Jesus makes it plain. The fact that he was casting out devils is a clear indicator that the kingdom of God is come.
In answering the question of when the devil was created, we saw that he was created in the creation week and thus did not exist ‘before’ creation. Therefore, he could not fall from heaven ‘before’ creation.
In addressing how he got into and then fell from heaven, we saw that his rise and fall from heaven has nothing to do with the heaven of God but centers on the heaven of man that is, he ascends to heaven (in the earth or earthen man) by virtue of sin (Adam), he then fell from heaven by virtue of the Last Adam overcoming sin.
In the next article in this series, we will examine “The Covering Cherub”, as we continue our look at how the devil was not a good angel gone bad. If you haven’t read any of the articles in this series, you should and can start here:
Until next time, God bless.
