THE FALL FROM HEAVEN
“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)
Our lesson on the Tragedy of Sin features a former heavenly being, now spiritual foe of all God’s children, Lucifer, now known as Satan. First, let us make it clear that Lucifer is a created celestial being. Based on the allegory in Ezekiel 28, he once existed in the abode of the Creator and had a great responsibility in the worship of Elohim. “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so” (Ezekiel 28:14a).
Cherub: in the Theology of the Hebrews is a being of sublime and celestial nature, in figure compounded of that of a man, an ox, a lion, and an eagle (three animals which, together with man, symbolize power and wisdom Ezekiel 1 and 10).
Cherubim are described as the helper of God. They serve the will of God. Their job is to perform divine duties on the face of the earth. As we find in the book of Genesis, they were in charge of protecting the Garden of Eden, and this is their first appearance we get. The central objective of Cherubim is to sit on the throne and attend to God. They embody the likeness of glory.
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created” (Ezekiel 28).
Tabrets are types of percussion instruments also below we have an example of an old-world pipe instrument.
We can suppose that the mention of these instruments being part of Lucifer’s physical make-up is why we are traditionally told that he was specifically in charge of music worship at God’s throne. In addition to these characteristics, the scriptures also speak of the beauty of Lucifer and how his body was embedded with what we call precious stones. I find it interesting how these same luxury materials are mentioned in Genesis when we’re introduced to the Garden.
The meaning of the name is "bringing light", derived from Latin lux "light" and ferre "to bring". In Latin this name originally referred to the morning star, Venus, but later became associated with the chief angel who rebelled against God's rule in heaven (see Isaiah 14:12). In later literature, such as the Divine Comedy (1321) by Dante and Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton, Lucifer became associated with Satan himself. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:12).
Son of the morning: This is a title of glory, beauty, and honor, which fit Lucifer well before his fall. The morning is glorious in Hebrew thinking. Jesus Himself is called the Bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). Satan, though a created being, had some of these glorious qualities in himself. No wonder Satan himself transforms into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), deceiving many with his apparent glory, beauty, and goodness. This is completely opposite of the depictions of the hideous creature presented in pop culture. Don’t get it twisted though, my experience has shown me how ugly and horrifying the demonic can be especially in times of spiritual warfare. However, this isn’t the approach of satan when enticements are presented.
Now, there have been arguments as to whether the accounts of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 are referring to the history of mortal men or referring to satan himself? When studying these texts you should know that they are presenting an allegory, history, and prophecy. Historically, there have been great falls of the King of Tyre and Babylon. To intensify the greatness of their falls from glorious positions the revelation of satan’s fall is used as an allegory. Keep in mind that Isaiah and Ezekiel are prophetic books so although we are learning of God’s overthrow of earthly kings and their kingdoms, the prophets are also revealing past realities of the spirit realm.
I have heard it taught that the titles of “prince” and “king” can also indicate what spiritual force was dominant in the text. In other words, though a man may have been an actual ruler of the earth, satan was the influence behind their actions. Looking at Ephesians 6 we are given several ruling forces of this fallen world. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12).” We don’t how to pray as we out and I believe much of this has to do with our failure to take a moment to turn our eyes and minds away from what we’re seeing in the natural and pray that Holy Spirit will reveal what’s happening in the unseen and give us how to pray against that. Honestly, one may not be ready for this level of spiritual engagement but if we could at least be conscious enough to look past human faces and ask God to deal with the ruling spirit in a matter then I believe we’ll see more consistent victories.
On a side note, don’t be surprised if the dominant spirit is revealed to be “self.” The unchecked human spirit is also an enemy of our Christian growth.
From Heaven to the Lake of Fire: The many falls of satan
i. Satan fell from glorified to profane (Ezekiel 28:14-16). This is what Jesus spoke of in Luke 10:18 when He says He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. This is the only fall of Satan that has already happened.
ii. Satan will fall from having access to heaven (Job 1:12, 1 Kings 22:21, Zechariah 3:1) to restriction on the earth (Revelation 12:9).
iii. Satan will fall from his place on the earth to bondage in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).
iv. Finally, as mentioned in Isaiah 14:12, Satan will fall from the bottomless pit to the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:10).
In urban culture when someone is no longer moving through life or producing at a level that others find to be admirable, they would be considered to have “fell off.” In a recent barbershop conversation I viewed online, the point was being discussed how some people started their journeys towards success humbly. Eventually, they may blow up and have the world at their fingertips only to become high-minded and arrogant, and no longer treat people well. For many, the unfortunate day comes when they are no longer relevant or their attitude is no longer tolerated resulting in major doors closed to them. They fall from their position of grace and the humiliation makes them more humble than when they first begin. Unfortunately, rising again from this fallen position isn’t always promised and that’s tragic.
