“CHRISTIAN SCIENCE:” ARE ITS DOCTRINES TRUTH OR ERROR?
By George Ide Butler
Are There Evil Angels? What Does the Word Say (Continued)?
I HAVE not space for more than one or two other points in this great subject. Let the reader notice with especial interest the next quotation: “Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 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. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy way from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. . . . Thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings, and they shall behold thee. . . . I will bring forth a fire, from the midst of thee. . . . and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. . . . Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.’ Eze. 28:12-19. Please notice the following points: (1) This can be no human being, for he is declared to be an “anointed cherub.” Again, no man who ever lived could be what the specifications in these texts present; (2) he is called king of Tyre, or “Tyrus,” on the same principle that Satan is called the prince of this world, in scriptures previously quoted. Tyre occupied a position in the ancient world similar to that of London or New York to-day. Satan was the great prince of it all; (3) this being was perfect “till iniquity was found in him.” In other words, he was a holy angel, but afterward became a wicked one; (4) therefore he was cast out of the mountain of God: he fell, and was banished from heaven, for heaven’s good; (5) why did he fall, morally speaking?—Because his heart became “lifted up” in pride because of his own beauty and talent, on precisely the same principle that multitudes of others have fallen—by cherishing pride and selfishness in their hearts, by ignoring and forgetting their allegiance to the Creator, and treating His claims with indifference and contempt. In this manner self is idolized. Beings are dependent upon God for their very existence, and for every blessing they enjoy; yea, for all of excellence or ability in any form they may possess. God alone is the one from whom they received them, and they are accountable to Him for the way they use all these gifts. It matters not how high in nature or in mental or moral powers they may be, whether angels or men, this dependence and this accountability exist; their responsibility and allegiance to God cannot be ignored. When it is ignored, God’s holy law is violated. That law requires that we love God with all our soul, might, mind, and strength; that we have no other gods before, or besides, Him. When self takes the place of God in our affections, this law is violated. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” When we transgress, we become sinners against God. And if this course is persisted in, we are in rebellion against our Creator. The Scriptures quoted clearly demonstrate that “Lucifer,” “the day-star,” “light-bearer,” or “son of the morning,” the original title of this high angelic being, thus fell from his high estate, and became Satan, the great “adversary” of all good, the leader of the evil angels who fell with him. This same fact is made evident by another Scripture: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning [or “day-star,” margin]! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 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: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell.” Isa. 14:12-15. How clearly this scripture reveals the motives which actuated this mighty angel when “iniquity was found in him”! He determined to be like the Most High, to exalt himself above the Son of God, or at least to be His equal, till finally it was necessary for the peace of heaven to thrust him and all who rebelled with him, out of that holy habitation. The objection here arises in many minds, How could such high and holy beings sin? and is not God responsible for their sin?—Not in the least. Like man in his innocency, all these high intelligences were pronounced “very good.” But God, in His infinite wisdom, prefers that His intelligent creatures shall not be mere machines, with no power of choice. The service of such could afford no pleasure to Him. A forced service would be most inconsistent with His character. A service prompted by love, gratitude, reverence, and free choice, however, would be pleasing to Him or to any reasonable intelligence. But in order to have such service, His creatures of intelligence must be given freedom of the will, freedom to choose. In the very nature of things, this is absolutely necessary if there is to be such service as could be acceptable to God. But if free choice is permitted to His creatures, there must be the possibility of a wrong choice, otherwise there would be no choice at all. This contingency must necessarily enter into free moral agency. God so ordered it, knowing full well what might be the result. That result, the possibility of the incoming of evil, the Creator took; and evil has come in through the fall of Lucifer and his sympathizers and their temptation of the human family. What is the result?—A terrible exhibition of sin, death, sorrow, pain, wretchedness, and all the long category of evils everywhere visible. About six thousand years of this, God has suffered to continue. Our world has been filled with violence. Satan’s rebellion against the government of God has brought all this in. Meantime he has been exhibiting the true character of his great departure from God in the fiendishness of his treatment of God’s dear Son, who came to this earth on the heavenly mission of love and mercy, everywhere doing good to all. Satan murdered Him through the agents he employed. This one experiment in God’s great universe will be permitted to continue till all reasonable intelligences can discern the true nature of sin and rebellion. Then it will be brought to a close in the great Judgment day, when Satan and all his hosts of followers shall be consumed in the lake of fire. Rev. 20:7-15; 2 Peter 3:7-13. Then God will have evermore a clean universe. “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” Rev. 5:13. This, in brief, is the final disposition of sin and rebellion in the universe, when virtue, obedience, faithfulness, and devotion to God will be rewarded, and sin, rebellion, and all the evil brood will be put down forever. This one great exhibition of sin and its final consequences in the utter destruction of its author and all its abettors will be enough to settle for eternity the question whether sin pays or not. It will be found that all self-seeking and sin is the most consummate folly, and true obedience and service to God the highest wisdom. All the universe of God through an endless eternity will never need another exhibition to be convinced that sin does not pay. This earth is but one of God’s smallest worlds. Six thousand years is a brief period with Him who is from everlasting to everlasting. God’s wisdom will at last be justified before the universe. Every intelligence will acknowledge the fact. He will be all in all to every created intelligence to all eternity. May God hasten the day.
GEO. I. BUTLER.