The History of Lucifer
The archangel Lucifer originated evil in the universe. We must go back to the beginning of this “movie” to understand events taking place today. Lucifer’s rebellion drastically changed the course of God’s master plan.
God sent Lucifer and a third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) to Earth to rule and to finish its creation. They failed because they hadn’t developed the character to properly administer God’s government. They proved that God couldn’t trust the angels to govern the Earth and later the universe, so God decided to re-create Himself in man! Only God Himself—including His spirit-born sons—is capable of completing such a massive mission.
Lucifer, whose name meant “light bringer,” rebelled and became Satan, meaning “adversary.” His decision permanently damaged the angels under his authority: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6). Satan led the angels astray. They have lost their universe-ruling potential! They are just “wandering stars” (verse 13), like planets out of orbit—all because they rejected God’s government. Everything fails when God’s government isn’t implemented.
God’s very elect today must stay within the orbit of His government and law to avoid becoming wandering Church members. God has established a framework for our peace and joy within His one true Church, where we can learn how to put His government into action throughout the universe one day soon.
Satan and his demons are aware that they are heading toward the black abyss of eternal imprisonment. They are more hateful and miserable than any beings in the whole universe!
Before he rebelled, Lucifer was a covering cherub at God’s throne (Ezekiel 28:14). The angels learned directly from God how to rule His way. Soon after God created the angels, He created the universe (Job 38:4-7). The angels may have known they would receive a chance to rule the universe—if only they had succeeded on Earth. Common sense would have indicated this, since only God, the Word and the angels were alive at that time.
The angels were thrilled by their purpose as described to them by God. But then Lucifer became bitter and jealous of God’s superior authority. Satan convinced the angels one by one to betray God. This may have taken millions of years—the Bible doesn’t say. Up to this point, there had been no sin in the entire universe. The first sin, committed by Lucifer, was against the very government of God!
Lucifer was highly educated, but look what happened to his mind: “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” (Isaiah 14:13). In other words, Satan schemed to kick God off His throne! He organized the fallen angels, or demons, into an army for this purpose. There have been two attempted overthrows—one possibly millions of years before humans existed (Luke 10:18), and another in this end time (Revelation 12:7-9). Satan’s army was decisively defeated both times.
Satan and all the demons possess minds vastly superior to ours. They had the capacity to think deeply and choose God’s way of life for themselves, but they decided to turn away and become totally evil—the total opposite of God! Their character is now set—they can’t repent because they are composed of spirit and are permanently bound to that one choice. There is no truth in them! (John 8:44). God is truth. His Word is truth (John 17:17).
The Titanic Battle of the Ages
The original angelic rebellion wrecked the entire Earth. Genesis chapter 1—after verse 1—is all about God re-creating the Earth, restoring it to its initial perfection.
Two thirds of the angels did not rebel. Still, God switched to Plan B: re-creating Himself in human beings. He is in the process of converting humans into members of the God Family! That ought to make us faint! God calls angels His sons only in the sense that He created them. But they will never be born into God’s Family as God beings. Only humans can become God’s spirit-born sons!
Satan is the ruler of the Earth—the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). He has great power, including the ability to broadcast his rotten moods, attitudes and impulses straight into human minds (Ephesians 2:2). He had the right to offer all worldly kingdoms, since he owns them, to Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:8-9).
Matthew 4 is the account of the titanic battle of the ages. Christ fasted 40 days to be in peak spiritual condition for this fight against Satan. He resisted Satan’s attacks and qualified to replace Satan on Earth’s throne. He is now in heaven, waiting to be inducted into office.
Matthew 24 shows that Christ’s Second Coming is “at the door”! He will return as Ruler of the Earth—and you have a chance to rule alongside Him at that time.
Christ proved absolutely loyal to His Father. He said, “[M]y Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Today, God has called a select group of firstfruits out of the world to learn how to rule on King David’s throne with Christ. To seize that reward, we must qualify by overcoming Satan as Christ did (Revelation 3:21).
Christians have only one offensive spiritual weapon: the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word (Ephesians 6:17). Christ quoted Scripture to conquer the devil in Matthew 4. Use your Bible to go on the attack! Support God’s Work as it gives His message of hope to the world. Follow God’s man as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1-2).
In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam failed to resist Satan. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, succeeded magnificently where the first Adam failed! (1 Corinthians 15:22). Christ’s perfect sacrifice makes possible the execution of Plan B. All humans will soon have a chance to join the God Family!
Mind Control
The big lesson to learn from the history of Lucifer is about God’s government: The state can never be without a head. In this end time, God’s Church lost its Head, Christ (Colossians 2:18-19). The vast majority of God’s own people turned away from God, just like Lucifer and Adam did.
God taught Adam and Eve on the first Sabbath day. They received instruction about God’s law, the same as Lucifer and the angels he commanded did. God always teaches how to administer His government before assigning anyone to rule. The human potential is to rule in God’s government with more stature than the angels will ever have! Satan and the demons work every day to prevent us from achieving that future reward.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). God didn’t create our evil human nature! He hates this way of thinking! Human nature is Satan’s nature, the devil’s thinking! It comes straight from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that Adam and Eve wrongly chose. It is the way of death!
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Because of Satan’s influence, our minds are naturally hostile toward God. The world around us has chosen to go its own way—to form its own systems of government, education, religion, industry and science. The source of all of this is Satan. Almost nobody understands that. Satan is the reason the world is filled with vanity, selfishness and war.
Apart from God, mankind can’t discern spiritual knowledge. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy [Spirit] teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:11-14). The human spirit alone won’t help us know right from wrong. God must give us this understanding through the Holy Spirit.
Angelic Protection
There is a cause for world troubles—misery, pain, destruction and plagues like the coronavirus. God told ancient Israel to obey Him to avoid disease! God protects!
Italy and Iran have been particularly affected by the coronavirus. Curses like this are a result of mankind rejecting God’s government. Humans refuse to let God teach them.
God is calling a few out of the world today to answer the call and to help finish His Work. We have the opportunity to tell the world why it is suffering! Abel, Enoch and Noah were the only three men of God in the first 1,900 years of human existence! Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph obeyed God after the Flood. To this day, God calls an extremely small number of people to serve Him.
Turning to God is the only way to receive protection and to avoid even more punishment. God’s angels protect humans from accidents, calamities and plagues, and will even fight our enemies for us (2 Peter 2:11; Psalm 34:7; 35:1-6; 91:1-12). God’s angelic armies can be on your side! You can be surrounded by fiery angels like Elisha and his servant were (2 Kings 6:15-17).
As the whole world panics, we have absolutely nothing to fear.
