Satan: The Ultimate Blasphemy

I consider myself fortunate to be the son of a nonconformist. My father taught me to think independently, free from the shackles of denominational creeds and doctrines. He coached me to approach the Scriptures with as open a mind as possible, ever mindful of the all too human trait of jumping to conclusions with only part of the truth. And he also taught me this great truth: that the Holy Bible is a Book of great principles and not some legal textbook for us to rip apart simply to justify our petty partisan issues.

It is imperative that I keep these values before me as I put forth these thoughts to a skeptical world. I must let the Scriptures be the source for my ideas and reject the opinions of man just because they are popular. I thank God that His kingdom is a Monarchy and not some human democracy tossed to an fro by the ever-changing morals of society!

My father once told me that it only takes one generation for a tradition to become firmly entrenched. From that time forward most people will justify believing in something just because their parents did. The goal of this article is to expose one of the false traditions that has dominated religious belief for centuries: that God is somehow responsible for the existence of Satan.

Many people just accept the idea that God created Satan, and never give it a second thought. Until some tragedy befalls them. Then, suddenly, God is to blame for everything bad that happens. After all, if He made the devil, then God is ultimately responsible for evil. That kind of thinking eventually leads people to hate God and turn away from Him. It is my prayer that this article will expose the terrible danger in accepting such logic.

The Scriptures quoted herein come from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. I guess I am just old-fashioned, but I still love the majestic tone and the wonderful flourishes of the old English language.

Whenever a religious idea or theory is put forth, it must meet two important criteria: (1) Does it conflict with the basic principles of God? and, (2) Is it in harmony with what the rest of the Scriptures teach?

When considering the origin of Satan, you are faced with three options: (A) That God created a super-angel that went bad (Lucifer), (B) That God purposely created Satan to do His Will, or (C) That Satan was coexistent with God and there is absolutely no way for us to know the origins of either of them.

This is almost not even worth considering, were it not for the fact that most people believe it. Anyone who would believe that an infinitely wise God (Psalms 147:5) is capable of making mistakes doesn't have the slightest concept of Who or What He is.

The idea that God created a super-angel who became evil of his own will is certainly not a new one. In the fourth century, St. Jerome wrote about angels and also a 13th century philosopher, Thomas Aquinas, wrote extensively about the nature of angels and many of his views were adopted by the Roman Church. Later, the Protestant offspring incorporated similar beliefs into their own particular denominations.

Basically, the theory goes something like this: Long ago, shortly after the creation of the earth, everything in heaven was good and perfect. One day, an archangel named Lucifer allowed his ego to get the best of him and decided to overthrow the throne of God. He persuaded some more angels to join his little revolution and they started a war. But, another archangel named Michael, along with the rest of God's angels, defeated Lucifer and his angels and cast them down to the earth where they became Satan and his demons. More or less.

The preceding human concept of the war in heaven eventually disintegrates when placed under the revealing light of the Holy Scriptures. Let us consider: "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) "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" (2 Peter 2:4)

These two Scriptures clearly prove that God's angels have the choice to obey or disobey Him. But they also make perfectly clear what became of God's angels who chose to disobey Him. If Satan had started out as one of God's angels and "... left his first estate, ... his own habitation ...", then Jude and Peter point out that he would have been in "hell, delivered into chains of darkness, reserved unto judgment."

Please read the context (surrounding verses) of those chapters. If Satan had been one of God's disobedient angels, then he would have been removed from this earth just like the sinful world was removed in Noah's day, just like the Sodom and Gomorrah of Abraham's day, and just like Pharaoh and the Egyptians during the deliverance of Israel. Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8 that Satan was "a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour." How could one of God's erring angels who was supposed to be to be imprisoned in chains in hell, reserved there until judgment day, possibly have been walking about as a roaring lion when Peter wrote those words? The answer is obvious: Satan was not one of God’s angels.

So who is Lucifer? The term, "Lucifer" (which means day star or morning star), occurs one time in the Scriptures in Isaiah 14:12. The prophet proclaims a series of prophesies against several nations beginning in chapter 13 and continuing through chapter 23.

In Isaiah 14:4, in the midst of a prophecy against Babylon, God tells the prophet to take up a prophecy (taunt) against the king of Babylon. It is during this speech that Isaiah tauntingly refers to the king as "Lucifer, son of the morning" and points out that he had fallen from his "heavenly" place because he had said in his heart that he would be like the Most High." But then he fell from power and those that saw asked, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms...?" (vs. 16)

It is not difficult to draw a parallel here with a proud Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar and the things which befell him at the height of his power (Dan. 4th & 5th chapters). When he calls Daniel to interpret a dream he was having, the prophet tells the king that his "greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven." (Dan. 4:22). Later, Daniel tells Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's son, that "all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before" his father (Dan. 5:19).

Nebuchadnezzar's heart was lifted up by his greatness. In Dan. 4:30, he says, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power; and for the honour of my majesty?" At that precise moment, the latter part of his dream is fulfilled, and he is stripped of his kingdom, driven from among men, and lives as a beast for the next seven years.

Any serious Bible scholar will agree that the most common abuse of the Scriptures occurs when they are taken out of the context they are written in and used to support man's preconceived ideas. Those who claim that Satan was Lucifer do exactly that by ripping Isaiah 14:12 out of its Babylonian prophecy and applying it to something totally unrelated.

The same abuse is applied to Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre in Ezekiel 28. Actually, the prophecy begins in the 26th chapter. Notice the language in 27:3, "And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, l am of perfect beauty."

The city of Tyre was one of the greatest ports of her time on the Mediterranean Sea. Much of the civilized world's riches passed through her and her architectural beauty and splendor were without equal. Consider Eze. 28:13-17. ls it any wonder that the prophet described Tyre as being in "Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering..."? Tyre was the "cherub" (guardian angel) of all these riches, but her heart was lifted up because of her beauty and her wisdom was corrupted by reason of her brightness. The king of Tyre became vain because of his power and glory. He failed to recognize God as the Provider. Instead, he said, "I am God" and considered himself to be "wiser than Daniel" (vs.2-3). That description aptly describes some atheists I have encountered over the years.

But those who would twist God's Word around again ignore the context of the prophecy and claim that Ezekiel is talking literally about Satan. They try to force these Scriptures to say that the devil was once a cherub in the garden of Eden even though there is no mention of him in the entire prophecy. These same people find themselves in a difficult position when they try to explain how Pharaoh and his multitudes got into "Eden" in Ezekiel the 31st chapter! (An interesting footnote is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Eze.26:5, "It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea...". The original city of Tyre is now under the Mediterranean.)

Those who claim that the war in heaven occurred in the beginning have a serious dilemma with the 12th chapter of the Revelation. This chapter specifically tells us when the war began. The woman with the "crown of twelve stars" in verse 1 is spiritual Israel, and in verse 2 she fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 66:7-8, ".. travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." The seven-headed dragon is Satan with his Roman beast. The Roman Empire conquered most of the nations of the civilized world - "the third part of the stars of heaven" (12:4) - “and cast them down".

The term, "heaven", is used to describe several different things in Scripture, including the spiritual dwelling place of God, the physical atmosphere and universe, and, metaphorically, positions of power and authority. The claim that this "third part of the stars of heaven" refers to God's angels is without contextual merit. Both men and kingdoms are referred to many times in the Scriptures as "stars" or being in "heaven". Some examples: Joseph's dream in Gen. 37:9-10, the city of Capernaum of Jesus' time - Luke 10:15, as well as the kings and kingdoms we have already discussed in Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel.

Rev. 12:4 goes on to tell us that the dragon stood before the woman ready to "devour her child as soon as it was born." Consider the horrible action taken by king Herod, the Jewish ruler appointed by the Romans, shortly after the birth of Jesus. Matthew 2:16 tells us that, in a vain attempt to kill God's Son, Herod slew all the children in Bethlehem under two years of age. It is fairly easy to recognize that hungry dragon rearing its ugly head in this passage.

Rev.12:5, "And she brought forth a manchild, who was to rule all nations with rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne." Other Scriptures clearly point to Jesus Christ as Israel's man-child. In Rev.19:11-16, in the midst of a marvelous description of the victorious Christ, these words are recorded in verse 15: "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron." Jesus Christ was "caught up (ascended) unto God, and to His throne."

It is fruitless to discuss the war in heaven without considering the magnificent being known as the Archangel. He is identified as Michael only five times in the entire Bible, but the few glimpses we have of this marvelous creature give us just enough information to figure out who he really is.

Michael is mentioned three times in the book of Daniel as being a "prince". In 10:13, he is called "one of the chief princes". The word "one" comes from the Hebrew ordinal "echad", meaning "first". So the correct translation here becomes "Michael, first of the chief princes", thereby changing the emphasis of the phrase considerably.

Dan.10:21 says, "...Michael your prince." But it is Dan.12:1-2 that gives us some very powerful insight into this mystery: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

The word "prince" here comes from the Hebrew "sar", which also means "head, ruler, chief, or master". The exact same word is translated "captain" in the 5th chapter of Joshua. Keep that in mind as we consider an incident recorded in Joshua 5:13-15: Joshua sees a man standing with a sword in his hand and asks him whose side he is on. The man replies in verse 14, "Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." Joshua immediately falls on his face and worships him and asks, "What saith my Lord unto His servant?" The captain of the Lord's host said, "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy."

Two things about this passage demand our immediate attention. First, this man allowed Joshua to fall down and worship Him. An angel would never allow this to happen. When John attempted to worship an angel in Rev. 22:8-9, the angel forbid him saying, "See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." When Gabriel came to Daniel in Dan. 8:15-18, the prophet fell upon his face, but Gabriel touched him and made him stand up.

But the words that truly reveal the identity of this "Captain" are the same words spoken to Moses from the midst of the burning bush: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." - Ex. 3:46. The Scripture says that it was God that called unto Moses out of the midst of the bush! And it was a Divine Member of the Godhead that spoke those same words to Joshua, not a mere angel.

The apostle Paul tells us in Thess. 4:16, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:" Consider that carefully: The Lord Himself descended with a shout, and He shouted with the voice of the Archangel.

What's in a name? God places a lot of importance on the meanings of names in the Bible. The name "Michael" means "Who is the image of God". Consider Col. 1:13-15, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:"

2 Cor. 4:4 says, "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." The "arch" in Archangel comes from the Greek "archo", meaning to "reign over". So the term "Archangel" simply refers to the One who reigns over the angels. There is only one, and indeed can only be one, Archangel. It is imperative that the reader understand as we continue our investigation of the war in heaven that Michael and Jesus Christ are one and the same Person.

After Christ's ascension, John tells us in Rev. 12:7-9 that there was a great war in heaven between Michael and Satan. Notice that the Scriptures do not say that the devil started this war. That is because he didn't. Jesus Christ, victorious after having offered the only Sacrifice able to overcome sin, cast Satan away from the presence of God forever.

So what was Satan doing in heaven in the first place? It is interesting that verse 10 here does not refer to Satan as ever being an angel before the war in heaven, but something else entirely! "...for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night". Satan had been accusing the brethren for a very long time. Not only did he create havoc for Adam and Eve in the garden, but there are a couple of examples of his handiwork recorded in Job, considered by some to be the oldest book of the Bible.

In Job 1:6-12, and 2:16, are the records of two specific meetings. "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." - Job 1:6. Notice that the writer is careful to single Satan out from "among them", and makes a clear distinction between the sons of God and the devil This distinction is further emphasized by God's demand of Satan, "Whence comest thou?" In modern terms, that demand would be, "What are you doing here?" or "Where did you come from?"

Satan replies that he had been "going to and fro in the earth". So God asks if he had considered His servant Job. Satan answers in 1:9-10, "Doth Job fear God for nought?" He accuses God of building a hedge around Job and suggests that if God would take everything away from him that Job would curse God to His face. So, we can see that Satan has been stirring up trouble for quite some time.

There is a passage of Scripture in John the 12th chapter that is very significant in pinpointing the time of the war in heaven. It is a few days before the last Passover and, as Jesus is speaking to some people, God's voice thunders from heaven glorifying His Name - John 12:28. Consider carefully Jesus' words in verses 30-33: "This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgement of this world: Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifled up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die."

Now we can see Rev. 12:10-11 in its true context. Notice the loud voice saying, "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. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb." When was the blood of the Lamb shed? At the cross of Calvary and that was when Jesus Christ rose victorious over death for the sake of all mankind. And then, and only then, is when the war in heaven took place.

One last note as we finally put this theory to rest. There are some who claim that Jesus was looking back to the beginning of the earth when He said in Luke 10:18, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Listen carefully to this, dear reader: The Son of God is not limited by earth's timeline. Jesus revealed this little known fact when He told the Jews in John 8:58: " Before Abraham was, I am." Hebrews 13:8 declares, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Christ beholds the past, the present, and the future because He is already there.

I can find only one war in heaven in the Bible, dear reader.

This is the theory that Satan was created by God to do God's Will. If the preceding idea wasn't dangerous enough, this one is even more so simply because it makes God a hypocrite. People who believe this hold God responsible for absolutely everything that happens. But in doing so, they fail to recognize the vast power that Satan has.

The Holy Scriptures tell us again and again of the immense destructive power that Satan possesses. The first two chapters of Job give us some insight to this great power. God tells Satan in Job 1:12-19 that everything that Job has is in Satan's hand. And then Satan causes all these catastrophes to happen, from the "fire of God fallen from heaven" to the "great wind from the wilderness" that caused the house to collapse, killing Job's children. Is it any wonder that Paul refers to Satan in Eph. 2:2 as "the prince of the power of the air"? Poor Job knew nothing about the meeting in heaven between the Lord and Satan so he just figured God was causing all this to happen. He says in 1:21, "...the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Christ recognized Satan's destructiveness when He said that the devil was a thief that comes in "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" - John 10:10. He also warns us in Matt.10:28 to "fear not them (Satan and his agents) which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him (God) which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Satan would not have this power were it not for the weakness of man. When this world was created, God gave man the dominion over it Gen. 1:28. But the moment that man gave in to Satan's temptations, he allowed sin to enter into this world and delivered his dominion into the devil's hands - Rom. 5:12-14. Man became Satan's captive from that moment until the Savior set us free.

Think about God's Will for a moment. If the Lord God created Satan, then He knew beforehand what Satan would do. Satan caused sin to enter into this world. Is sin God's Will? Of course not. Sin is the transgression of God's Will. Satan is as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Is it God's Will that we be devoured? Death is not the Will of God! The apostle Peter in 2 Pet. 3:9 tells us that God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Jesus told us where death originated from when He said that the devil "was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him" (John 8:44)! Satan is totally evil, just as God is totally good.

Let us consider the nature of this wondrous Being we call God. Some believe that God has a dual nature: both good and evil. This belief probably comes from Gen. 3:22 when, after Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God said, "Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever;".

What does the phrase "to know good and evil" mean? To understand that, we need to consider that "tree" for a minute. Satan told Eve "that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5-7). Sure enough, as soon as they had eaten of that forbidden tree, "...the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked...".

Those who believe that the tree possessed some kind of magical power have a major problem with something Jesus said in Matt. 15:11: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." Christ plainly states that it is not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him, but what comes out.

Now let us consider what the phrase "knowing both good and evil" truly means. God's Will was made perfectly clear to Adam: "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." The instant that Adam ate of that tree, he knew something was dreadfully wrong because he had just done the one thing that God had forbidden him to do! The very act of eating immediately "opened" Adam's eyes to the realization that he possessed a conscience, an integral part of him that he shared with His Maker. Adam's conscience instantly convicted him of the evil that he committed against the supreme goodness of God!

1 John 1:5 says, "...that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." James 3:11-12 tells us that a fountain cannot produce both "sweet water and bitter." Jesus Christ says in Matt. 7:18, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit". How can the theory that a pure and loving God created a vile and hateful devil ever stand in the light of these Scriptures? How can the idea that Satan is doing God's Will while doing everything in his power to destroy the Church stand before the Words of Christ in Mark 3:24: "And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." It is almost ironic that those who teach that God created Satan are also unknowingly teaching that God's kingdom is divided against itself.

Let's look at Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." There are some who attempt to use this Scripture as proof of Satan's origin. But their interpretation is not in harmony with what the rest of the Scriptures teach. Therefore, we are compelled to take a closer look at what this particular Scripture is really saying:

I form the light (physical light - the sun - Gen. 1:3-5), and create darkness (physical darkness - night - Gen. 1:4-5. In reality, God creates both light and darkness by causing the earth to rotate on its axis). I make peace and create evil...". Consider the contrast that Isaiah puts between the words peace and evil. What is the opposite of peace? War! The word "evil" here comes from the Hebrew "ra", meaning "adversity or affliction". Throughout the Bible we are given examples of how when the children of God were obedient to His commands, He allowed them to live in peace. But, whenever they disobeyed Him, God allowed adversaries or afflictions to come upon them as punishment. And that, dear reader, is how God is able to "make peace and create evil". But the claim that He created the spiritual evil known as Satan completely violates the Biblical concept of a pure and Holy God.

There are definite indications in the Scriptures that Satan existed before the creation of the earth. But there is absolutely no way for us to know where he came from, any more than we can know where God came from!

Let's consider the creation for a moment. Gen. 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth". What follows is a description of the creation of the physical heavens and earth and the things contained in them. It is extremely important that we recognize the difference between the physical heavens and the spiritual realm also known as heaven.

The spiritual realm has always existed. God has no beginning or ending. "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth, and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." - Psalm 90:2. Christ "was foreordained before the foundation of the world". The "sons of God" were already in existence when they "shouted for joy" as the "corner stone" of the earth was laid - Job 38:4-7.

So, where was Satan? Notice Gen. 1:2, "...and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Some claim this was just a physical darkness, but the apostle John tells us that this same darkness possessed an ominous personality. In the first five verses of John, a short account of the creation is recorded. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5). The word "comprehended" comes from the Greek word "katalambano" which means to "find, possess, or perceive" (The same word occurs in Eph. 3:18). How can physical darkness comprehend or perceive anything? These attributes can only apply to something intelligent!

My late father put it this way: "When God decided to create the earth, He invaded the dark, chaotic kingdom of Satan and placed something beautiful there." The dark intelligence of Satan was already present when this world was created.

The Bible is full of necessary inferences, which simply means that when something is said, the opposite is also true. An excellent example of a necessary inference occurs in 2 Tim. 2:15, "...rightly dividing the Word of truth." Paul necessarily infers that there is also a wrong way to divide the Word of truth.

Gen.1 :31 says, "And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good" . John 1:3 says, "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." Rom.1:20: "... being understood by the things that are made...". The same principle of necessary inference applies to these Scriptures. John could just have easily written, "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made." But by adding "that was made", he necessarily infers that some "things" were not made.

Let's consider another Scripture that some use to "prove" the creation of Satan. Col. 1:16 says, "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." Here we have the entire story of creation in one verse. God created all the things in heaven (the sun, moon, stars, etc.), and in the earth (man, plants, animals), things visible (trees, stars, things you can see), and invisible (air, ~ too small to be seen by microscope, billions of stars beyond the reach of man's most powerful telescope). He created thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers (earthly kingdoms).

Consider the word "powers" used in this verse. Rom. 13:1-2 tells us that "the powers that be are ordained of God", and that if we resist those powers then we are resisting God's ordinance. So, if Col.1:16 had been referring to spiritual powers, then Satan would be a power ordained of God which we are not to resist. Imagine our dilemma when confronted with the command in James 4:7 to "resist the devil and he will flee from you." Those who try to claim that Satan is included Col.1:16 again have a problem with the context of the passage when faced with verse 20: ".. .to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." How can God reconcile Satan to Himself? Reconcile means to bring back into harmony, not destroy! "What communion hath light with darkness?" - 2 Cor. 6:14.

Satan! What do we know about him? We have already discussed at length about the overwhelming physical destruction that the devil was capable of. Let us turn our attention now to his spiritual powers. Christ revealed something very startling in John 8:44 when He called Satan a "father"! What is a father? A father is someone who reproduces himself, someone who has children! This Scripture, together with I John 3:10, makes it clear that Satan has at least the power to reproduce himself spiritually! If you study this, you may eventually discover where the devil's angels come from. They did not come from God.

The only measure we have of the true power of Satan is contained in the meaning of The Sacrifice. Heb. 2:14 tells us "...that through death He (Christ) might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil". What manner of being is this? A being of such vast power that God had to sacrifice Himself to defeat him! God the Father was forced to offer God the Son on the cross to undo the evil that Satan had started so long before. It is really kind of ironic that those who say that God created the devil don't truly understand the significance of Christ's sacrifice. They twist the words in John 3:16 to say, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son to correct His big mistake."

The God that I worship does not make mistakes. The God that I worship is not a hypocrite. The God that I worship cannot lie (Titus 1:2). How could He create the father of lies (John 8:44)? The God that I worship cannot tempt man (James 1:13). How could He create the tempter (1 Thess. 3:5)? Listen closely to the words of young Elihu in Job 34:10, "Therefore hearken to me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that He should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity."

Therefore, to say that God has committed sin by creating it must be at least part of the ultimate blasphemy. The scribes were guilty of it when they accused Christ of having an unclean spirit (Mark 3:22-30). And we are just as guilty today when we say that God has the spirit of Satan. There are two forces at work in the world: good and evil. One did not create the other. One is Love; the other is hate. One is Life; the other is death.

Think about being a father (or mother) for just a minute. You conceived your children because you loved them and wanted to give them the precious gift of life. You knew before you had them that they might fall down and get hurt or even get killed, but it is not your will that those things happen to them. You love your children so much that you would give your own life to keep them from getting hurt. Can't you see the love of God hanging on the cruel cross? Can't you see that God knew that His children would fall and for this reason the Blood of the Lamb was ordained from before the foundations of the world (1 Pet. 1:19-20)?

For those who continue to blame God for Satan's existence, I leave you with this warning from the prophet Isaiah: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20).

It is my prayer that this work will shed a little light in an ever-darkening world. Its singular purpose is to glorify the name of the Almighty God. I pray that, with His help, it will influence some soul in this world to stand up against the traditions of men, and hold forth that mighty Sword, the Word Of God.

A Christian warrior,

Carlin Dale Watson

copyrighted 1989 by Carlin Dale Watson. All rights reserved.

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