Did God Create the Devil?

What do you think about the Devil? Do you think he exists? And if you do, what is he like and what does he look like? Have you ever asked these questions? You would be surprised what the Bible has to say about the Devil compared to what is popular belief! So let's start and find out what the Bible says.

So where did sin come from?

"The devil sinneth from the beginning." 1 John 3:8. "That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan." Revelation 12:9.

So it looks like the Devil did it! Did Satan have another name before he sinned? And where was he?

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" Isaiah 14:12. Jesus said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Luke 10:18. "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God." Ezekiel 28:14

So it looks like his name was Lucifer. He is symbolized by the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14 and the king of Tyrus in Ezekial 28.

Where did Lucifer come from? What other information can be found in the Bible about him?

"Thou wast created." Ezekiel 28:13, 15. "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth." Ezekiel 28:14. "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty ... every precious stone was thy covering ... the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. ... Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." Ezekiel 28:12-15.

We see here hat he was created by God same as all other angels (Ephesians 3:9). We can also see that he was quite a being. He held one of the highest positions that an angel could have.

The question now is what led this angel to sin? What sin did he commit?

"Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." Ezekiel 28:17. "For thou hast said in thine heart, ... I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: ... I will be like the most High." Isaiah 14:13, 14.

So his sin was pride and jealousy. Discontent and self-exaltation appeared. He wanted the position of God. It all comes down to worship. He wants us to worship him instead of God. Everybody has something that they worship. God says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3. So if we worship (give more importance to) anything other than God, He considers us against Him (Matthew 12:30).

As a result of all of this what happened in heaven?

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 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 12:7-9.

Lucifer was able to win over to his side 1/3 of the angels (Revelation 12:3-4). As a result of this God had to expel Lucifer from heaven. This is where the name Satan (adversary) and devil (slanderer) came from.

Where is Satan now? How does he feel about us?

"The Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Job 2:2. "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Revelation 12:12. "Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8.

From these passages it looks like he is down here with us on the earth. And he is not very happy. He knows that he is going down and he plans to take as many of us with him as he can. He does not like God and by hurting us he hurts God.

When God created Adam & Eve what did he forbid them to do? What was the penalty?

"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.

They were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and if they did the penalty was death.

How did Satan deceive Eve and what lies did he tell her?

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:1, 4, 5, emphasis added.

Satan appeared as a serpent. It is believed that this was the most appealing of the animals that God created. It is possible that it had wings (Isaiah 14:29; 30:6). God later cursed it by having it crawl (Genesis 3:14). Satan told several lies: 1. you won't die and 2. eating the fruit will make you wise. He mixed truth with his lies. He does the same thing today. He is an expert in making sin as attractive as possible. It is his purpose to misrepresent God's character so that we will not turn to Him.

(to be cont'd)