Common Sense Commentary: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer ... how art thou cut down to the ground ... 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 upon the mount...I WILL ASCEND ABOVE THE HEIGHTS... I WILL BE like the most High'...Yet thou shalt be brought DOWN to HELL, to the sides of the pit." Isaiah 14:12-15.
A spiritual battle is raging, behind the physical scenes, in our country between the POWERS OF DARKNESS and the FORCES OF FREEDOM and TRUTH (Eph.6:12). This same "BATTLE OF THE AGES", all across the world, is being fought, in varying degrees, in every nation on earth. It has been constant and continual since it first broke out in heaven as recorded in Isaiah 14, above, and the verses below. This enormous conflict hatched in the "free will" of a jealous, prideful, power hungry Archangel named Lucifer. The above account of Lucifer's huge ego, pride, rebellion, and his enlistment of a third of the angels to his treason, and their banishment is revealing. It proves that the angels are, as are humans, free moral agents not programed to be good or evil. One must voluntarily worship and obey God. Lucifer and his followers did the crime and have to do the time...for eternity. They had the choice and followed "beautiful" Lucifer. We also have the choice, Accept Christ or reject Him. It's your turn to choose.
Abaddon, generally known as Satan or Devil, was originally named Lucifer, which means "Shining One". There were only three Archangels, Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer. "Angel" means "messenger". Gabriel is God's messenger of "Good News" (meaning of the word "gospel"). Michael is God's messenger of Judgement and War. He commands the angelic armies of God against the equal but opposite, power, Lucifer, the fallen Archangel. Michael wars against all that is evil and Lucifer wars against all that is good but Jesus makes the difference. God gave only Jesus "all power in heaven and earth"Mt.28:18.Lucifer's name means "Shining One" but the "Shine" wasn't his but God's. Lucifer was the only one of the three archangels whose sole purpose was simply "reflecting or refracting the Glorious, Shining, Light and Beauty of God throughout the universe. He is also the only Archangel without "El"(a contraction of Elohim, God) in his name. That fact could well have been a root of his jealous pride. Lucifer was like a super nova, mirroring or refracting, as a witness, the glorious light of Jehovah God even as a prism refracts the sun in a myriad of brilliant colors. But this universal, majestic honor wasn't enough for Lucifer. He didn't want to just glorify the Holy God, his Almighty Creator. He wanted to BE GOD,not faithfully reflect Him. His uncontrolled pride and jealousy was his downfall. "Pride goeth...before a fall." Prov.16:18. When Lucifer ceased to "Shine" for God, he ceased to shine at all. It may have been that moment when God cast him out.He willfully traded all that is good for all that is evil and led his one third of the angels into the conflict and darkness.
The moment God discharged him from heaven into the earth, Lucifer, the "lightless" archangel became Satan, which means a "hate full arch enemy", and Devil, which means "Demon Accuser". This all happened in Genesis 1:2 after Gen.1:1 and before Gen.1:3. We know not the separating lengths of time between these verses.
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (sky & earth)." I personally think God originally made the earth with form and not void and dark as it became and was found to be in Gen.1:2.
Genesis 1:2 "And the earth 'was'=(Heb. word 'haugh' means 'became' not 'to be') without form and void; and darkness....." Satan the lightless,demon (devil) and arch enemy of God, brought his darkness with him to earth.
Genesis 1:3 " And God said (spoke the Word) let there be light. And there was light." When God speaks the "Word", Christ immediately fulfills it and Heaven and earth obey. Read John 1:1-14 for proof text concerning the fact that God's "Word" (capitalized proper name) in Jn.1 is another name of Jesus Christ. Read it and you cannot deny that Jesus is the Living Word of God who "created all things".
In the later part of Gen.1, God created man "in his image and likeness." In Gen.2 God gave Adam work to do, Eden with abundant food, one law,v.17, "Thou shalt not....", and a wife, Eve. The very next thing we see, in God's recreated earth, is Satan in Gen.3. He has lost his beauty and glory but not his pride, jealousy, and hunger for power. He now crawls in the dirt, a loud mouthed snake. He knows that having originated in heaven and having seen and enjoyed its blessings and the very close presence of God,if he couldn't handle that, there is now no hope of restoration or a saviour for him,for eternity. That is why he hates all things related to God including Israel, God's ethnic nation people and also Christ's church,the bride of Christ, born again Christians of all races, and God's spiritual people.
When God cast out Lucifer and one third of the angels (Rev.12:4,7-11) into the earth, it "became" without form, void and dark, without any light at all. Light is really "something". It illuminates,warms, kills germs,heals and nourishes (vit.D). Light has a physical element, a visual element and a chemical element. Sunlight contains infrared light, visible light, and ultraviolet light. Light IS really "something", but darkness is absolutely "nothing" except the ABSENCE OF LIGHT. Jesus said, "...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life". Jn.8:12. Heb.1:3 Jesus, "is the brightness of God's Glory, and the express image of God's person." Jesus,God's "only begotten Son"(Jn.3:l6), came to earth and gladly did what Lucifer's sole purpose of existence was. But Lucifer hated that holy calling, to reflect his Creator's glory, and coveted it for himself. As a matter of fact, that is exactly our purpose also...to let Christ be seen in us, to let God's glory and goodness shine through us. "Christ in you is the hope of glory." Col.1:7.
Read as "proof texts" of the fallen angels here: Job 4:18, Matt.25:41, Eph.6:12,
2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6, and Rev.12:9......Pass It On. RB
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