Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
The verse describes Lucifer, the anointed covering cherub who became Satan, under the figure of the king of Tyre. He was created perfect, holy and undefiled in character and ways, endowed with surpassing beauty, wisdom, brightness and glory next to Christ above the heavenly host. He remained in that perfection until iniquity arose in him by his own choice, when his heart was lifted up because of his beauty and he coveted equality with God and the honor given to the Son. That pride ripened into open revolt and war in heaven, and he with one-third of the angels was cast out, stripped of his honored place and shut out of heaven. At the end he who set his heart as the heart of God will be destroyed from among the stones of fire and be no more, with sin and sinners perishing root and branch.
Identity and Created Perfection
The verse speaks of Lucifer, Satan, the fallen angel and prince of evil, under the figure of the king of Tyre as the first sinner. It refers primarily to him yet has a broader significance beyond one being, describing a general movement of rebellion to be witnessed again, carried on with the same subtle power by which he plotted rebellion among holy beings before the fall and now works through human beings to fulfill purposes of evil. The word to the prince of evil who set his heart as the heart of God will reach its fulfillment at the end, when rebellion is cut off with root and branch.
He was the anointed covering cherub, the first of the covering cherubs, set upon the holy mountain of God. He had been in Eden the garden of God, walking up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, with the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding God resting upon him and veiling that glory from heavenly intelligences. He was the light-bearer, the sharer of God's glory in heaven.
Next to Christ he stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven, most honored of God and exalted above the heavenly host. He was noble and beautiful and exalted to high honor among the angelic host, second in honor to Christ, with his noble appearance and exceptional brightness distinguishing him among the angels. Christ held preeminence over him, holding first place next to God as one with God and commander of all heaven, above all.
He was endowed by God with greatness, beauty, brightness, wisdom, power, majesty, and personal charm, with a powerful intellect. He was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, sealing up the sum, made as near as possible like God. He had every precious stone as his covering, with music and tabrets and pipes prepared in him from the day he was created.
He was created perfect, good, holy and undefiled in character, conduct and ways from the day he was created. He remained so until iniquity was found in him, for sin was not part of his created nature but arose afterward by his own defection. His beauty, nobility and goodness were gifts from God, and his later evil was a corruption of the gifts and greatness God had given him.
For ages before sin entered, peace and joy in perfect submission to the will of heaven filled the angels. Love to God was supreme and love for one another impartial, and all heaven was in harmony and perfect subjection to the government of God.
Origin and Nature of Iniquity
Though greatly loved and highly honored, he was not placed beyond the possibility of evil but was left with power to choose and to pervert his gifts. He might have remained in favor with God, beloved and honored by all the angelic host, using his noble powers to bless others and to glorify his Maker. His perfection did not prevent him from perverting the freedom God had given him, for sin began when he chose to turn from God. God was not responsible for that sin, for his beauty, nobility and goodness were gifts from God and rebellion began with him, not with his Creator. God's government was without fault, nothing deficient in His rule gave cause for disaffection, He did not withdraw divine influence from him, and the divine decrees are therefore not responsible for sin.
The iniquity found in him was pride and desire for self-exaltation growing little by little. His heart was lifted up because of his beauty, and his wisdom was corrupted by reason of his brightness, setting his heart as the heart of God. His later evil was not part of his created nature but a corruption of the gifts and greatness God had given him. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of creatures, he endeavored to win their service and homage to himself. He coveted the honor the infinite Father had bestowed upon His Son and aspired to power that was the prerogative of Christ alone to wield, saying he would exalt his throne above the stars of God, sit upon the mount of the congregation, ascend above the heights of the clouds, and be like the Most High. He sought to dethrone God and take the place of the Most High, failed, and was cast out.
Envy and jealousy of Christ and desire for supremacy and equality with God led him to feel he should be above Christ, next to God, first in the councils of heaven, and entitled to a higher position, refusing a secondary place. His glory came from God, but he came to regard it as his own; jealousy of Christ led him to seek greater honor and to covet worship belonging only to the Creator. His original perfection did not prevent him from choosing envy and coveting the homage due to the Creator alone, becoming discontented with his position and cherishing envy. The envy grew on specific occasions when the Father consulted the Son without consulting him. When the creation of the world was considered, with its beasts and living things and the making of man in the image of God to reign as ruling monarch over every living thing, and when Christ was appointed to govern the created world, he was not consulted, and being left out filled him with envy, jealousy and hatred and a wish to be consulted and to have authority to rule it himself. He desired to receive the highest honors in heaven next to God, grew dissatisfied with his own position, aspired to be equal with God, determined to rebel and refuse submission unless his ambition was gratified.
His fall came little by little and step by step, beginning with seeking his own honor, employing his powers to attract attention and win praise to himself, and leading the angels he ruled to serve him instead of devoting all their powers to the service of their Creator. He gradually assumed authority that belonged to Christ alone, and step by step wandered away from God till iniquity was found in him. He pursued his aim deceptively, endeavoring to secure to himself the service and loyalty of the other angels by communicating his feelings and instilling evil sentiments in their minds until they developed in those who received them. He planted criticism of God's government among the angels and deceived others into joining his rebellion, winning sympathizers among the angels who honored him. He spread a spirit of discontent, teaching that the laws governing heavenly beings imposed an unnecessary restraint, urging that since their natures were holy they should obey the dictates of their own will, and claiming his aim for greater power and honor was not self-exaltation but securing liberty for the inhabitants of heaven so they might attain a higher state of existence. That suggestion spread until many sympathized with him, discontent ripened, and disaffection ripened into active revolt.
Sin is transgression of God's law; it has no excuse or defense and brings final condemnation on him and the angels who joined his rebellion. His self-exaltation led him to despise God's law, rebel against Christ and against the law and its principles. His dissatisfaction over what God had not revealed led him to disregard what God had revealed about his assigned work, and he stirred the angels under his command to the same discontent, bringing about their fall. Those who knowingly rebel against God's law follow the same course and cannot enter heaven, where sin and rebellion have no place. The origin of sin can be identified, but no reason for its existence can be found, and its sin had no just reason or valid excuse. Why sin was permitted in a perfect creation cannot be explained by any man, no satisfactory reason for the existence of sin, jealousy, evil surmising, covetousness and idolatry can be given, and the origin of such sin is a mystery laid upon the sinner and skeptic to explain.
Rebellion War and Expulsion
When the Lord sought to correct him he would not be corrected or submit his will to God's will, holding his own judgment as unchangeable and infallible and cherishing wrong ideas until the Lord could not accept him. Created perfect and living for a time in harmony with God with joy in executing the divine commands, he began to think his wisdom was not derived from God but inherent in himself and as worthy as God to receive honor and power, and finding he could not be as God he was filled with rebellion. He had been greatly exalted in the heavenly court next to Christ, yet his highly exalted beauty led him to think he should be as God and that Christ should be second to him, though told this could not be because Christ was the only begotten Son. His course makes holding to sentiments of infallibility in judgment a specious seductive device originating with him, warning against any man persistently following his own judgment as never to be revoked and claiming infallibility, for whom the Lord has no further use unless reconverted.
Though he had forsaken his position as covering cherub after iniquity arose in him, he could still have returned to God and been restored if he had acknowledged the Creator's wisdom and accepted his appointed place, but pride kept him from repentance. His concealed disaffection, falsehood, sophistry and mystery meant even loyal angels could not at first discern his character or where his work was leading, so rebellion had to develop fully before its true nature could be seen. His position gave great force to his claims, and he worked deceptively among the angels under his command, diffusing discontent and winning many to his allegiance before his purposes were fully known. His design and duplicity concealed his disloyalty, and his apostasy became so widespread that he drew angels into discontent and revolt until he took one-third of the heavenly family with him.
Disaffection ripened into active revolt and war in heaven over whether Christ should have preeminence next to God, for he sought preeminence for himself and worked with the angels until they were deceived into agreeing to war against God, while the loyal angels would not yield that point. He felt he was not receiving due honor in being second to Christ and insinuated to the angels that he should be next to God, determining to have no one higher than himself and to be above Christ, and that suggestion spread until many sympathized and the claim was brought before God. He and his party stood strong against Christ, efforts to correct the evil failed, war broke out, and Lucifer and his party were overcome. He and the angels he deceived had opposed God's appointment of Christ as heaven's chief ruler, and since that fall humanity has faced the choice between serving God and joining the sinful party.
He and the angels of great power with him, including one-third of the heavenly family, were expelled from heaven, cast to the ground, stripped of honor, supremacy and part in heaven's government, and heaven was closed against them. Created good and entrusted with great power as the anointed covering cherub set upon the holy mountain of God, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty with precious stones and music prepared in him, his heart was lifted up because of his beauty and his wisdom was corrupted by brightness in self-exaltation that felt he should be above Christ. For envy entering his heart and desire to be like God he planted criticism of God's government, despised God's law, rebelled against Christ, and with those who rejected loyalty was cast out. His former innocence, purity and honored office as covering cherub ended in degradation through murmuring against God, envy of Christ, and refusal to seek recovery.
Because he rebelled in the very presence of heaven's glory with full knowledge of God's goodness, mercy, wisdom and majesty, having abundantly enjoyed the light and experience of heaven and witnessed its inexpressible glory and terrible majesty, his guilt became unpardonable and proportionate to his privileges. There was no more favorable condition in which to prove him and no hope of redemption, for no new exhibitions of God's exalted power and no greater heights and depths of infinite glory remained to impress him, so he was left to perish in rebellion while fallen man was rescued by Christ stretching forth His hand. Expulsion did not destroy his powers or make him a beast, for he kept the mighty strength, wisdom and endowments given by the Creator, though perverted, and has grown more artful in using them against heaven's government. Strong enough to face, tempt and taunt Christ and to carry Him to the pinnacle of the temple and an exceeding high mountain, he now imparts enchanting apparently elevating sentiments and disguises temptation under goodness as an angel of light, quoting Scripture as when he came to Christ, affecting bodies inclined to him and succeeding because men think him inferior or fictitious.
This history of the fall from created perfection until iniquity was found in him is the authentic account of the beginning of sin in the world, the introduction of sin needed to keep the mind from fables, conjectures, false theories, superstition and falsehood. It was opened to Adam and Eve in Eden by heavenly messengers as a warning of the danger threatening them, with Satan's plots for their destruction and a fuller unfolding of the nature of God's government which Satan as prince of evil was trying to overthrow. Not content to be light-bearer but aspiring to be like the Most High and ruler of the universe against God, he was cast out with sympathizing angels and coming to earth carried the warfare onward by drawing the human family into revolt, leading Adam and Eve to transgress so sin entered and defaced God's image in man.
Final Judgment and Vindication
The utterance against the prince of evil, the covering cherub who set his heart as the heart of God, reaches its fulfillment at the end when God vindicates His law, delivers His people, and cuts off Satan with all who joined him in rebellion. He who was created perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him, the light-bearer and sharer of God's glory next to Jesus in power and majesty, sealing up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, the anointed cherub set upon the holy mountain of God walking in the midst of the stones of fire with every precious stone for a covering, lifted up his heart because of his beauty and corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness. By the multitude of his iniquities and the iniquity of his traffic he defiled his sanctuaries, and for his pride he was expelled from heaven and cast to the ground. Laid before kings, fire will be brought forth from the midst of him to devour him and bring him to ashes upon the earth, and God will destroy him from the midst of the stones of fire so that he shall be a terror and never be anymore. Sin and sinners will then perish root and branch, Satan the root and his followers the branches.
That destruction is not an exercise of arbitrary power, for those who reject mercy reap what they have sown. God is the fountain of life, and to choose the service of sin is to separate from God and be cut off from life. By rebellion Satan and all who unite with him place themselves so out of harmony with God that His very presence, the glory of Him who is love, becomes to them a consuming fire that destroys them. At the beginning the angels did not understand this, but at the end, with the work of redemption completed and with sin manifesting its nature and Satan manifesting his character, the extermination of sin will vindicate God's love before a universe that delights to do His will.
He who was the most exalted angel next to Jesus Christ led one rebellion in heaven that contaminated a large number of angels, so that they had to be cast out. God is now looking for a commandment-keeping people whom He can bring into heaven without causing a second rebellion. Only such loyalty can secure heaven against the return of the evil that began when iniquity arose in one created perfect.
Law and Doctrinal Bearings
Opposition to the law of God began in the courts of heaven with Lucifer, the covering cherub, and his history shows the consequence of refusing the principles of that law. Though created perfect and given the highest gifts with a position next to Christ, he became disobedient by determining to be first in the councils of heaven and equal with God, seeking the position Christ held. He began rebellion deceptively among the angels under his command, diffusing discontent and winning many to his allegiance before his purposes were fully known, so that even loyal angels could not fully discern his character or where his work was leading. The disaffection ripened into active revolt and brought war in heaven, and Satan and all who sympathized with him were cast out after losing the battle for mastery, with honor and supremacy and his part in the government of heaven taken from him because God could no longer trust him. Since then Satan and his confederates have been avowed enemies of God in this world, warring against truth and righteousness and presenting false representations of Christ and of God as he did to the angels, winning the world and even professedly Christian churches to the side of the first great apostate. His fall by transgressing God's law after being once in grace in heaven proves false the teaching of once in grace always in grace and demonstrates the sure result of breaking God's law. His sin had no just reason or valid excuse, for its origin can be identified but no reason for its existence can be found. Apostasy does not prove a person was never sincere in the truth, for those who turn away become rebellious and self-exalting, as he did. The beings who became evil spirits were created sinless and originally equal in nature, power, and glory with the holy angels, but later fell through sin and joined his rebellion against God.
His high position as covering cherub with unblemished standing did not place him above suspicion or wrongdoing, for iniquity was found in him after he was created perfect and had remained so. He was a very intellectual being who occupied a high position among the angels and the angelic throng before he finally became a rebel, yet superior knowledge and intellect with splendid endowments did not keep him from rebellion when he failed to make God his trust. His fall proves that knowledge and intellectual ability alone can become in the hands of the enemy of all good a power to destroy its possessor, and many minds of superior intellectual attainments without sanctification are still being led captive by his power. Only the sanctified knowledge which God imparts is of the right quality and tells to His glory. The chapter containing the verse refers primarily to Lucifer, the fallen angel, but has a broader significance beyond one being, describing a general movement of rebellion against God. It describes a general movement that will be witnessed, carried on with the same subtle power by which he plotted rebellion among holy beings in heaven before the fall and now works through human beings to fulfill purposes of evil. Faithful study of that chapter leads those seeking truth to walk in all the light given to God's people so they are not deceived by the deceptions of the last days.
Present Deception and Human Warning
Since his fall he and the angels of great power who followed him remain at work as avowed enemies, expelled from heaven for exalting themselves and wanting to be above Christ, now laboring to deceive minds, steal away true conviction of the Holy Spirit, hinder the advancement of truth, destroy people and ruin souls while hiding true character and activity from view. Once he held an exalted place as covering cherub with knowledge through connection with God and found joy in executing divine commands with love, but when he began to think his wisdom was inherent rather than derived and that he was as worthy as God to receive honor, he would not submit his will to God's will and prostituted all his noble capabilities to oppose the counsels of the Most High. After his fall he used his powers to control other fallen beings, misrepresent God, stir rebellion against Christ as heaven's Commander, and continually seek to influence human minds by subtle arts, wielding his knowledge of God's attributes to misinterpret the divine character and setting the pattern all apostates follow. He watches every movement to fill places in disguise, working upon human minds to draw them away from saving perishing souls.
He can still appear as a beautiful being, even as an angel from heaven, disguising himself in an attempt to overcome as he attempted with Christ in the temptation. He was the most lovely being in the world, perfect in loveliness and glory given by God, yet fell because that glory did not make him as God's only-begotten Son, so he wanted the highest place and insinuated coming change in the heavenly courts. His original beauty means wicked men imbued with his agencies are not necessarily degraded-looking beings.
His iniquity is seen in ascribing to God all the evils to which flesh is heir, representing God as delighting in the sufferings of creatures and as revengeful and implacable. His cruel and revengeful character was not given by God but developed after iniquity was found in him by his own choice, yet he now ascribes that character to God, casting a gloomy shadow between man and God so that through accumulated misrepresentations many worship a false god clothed with his attributes instead of knowing the true God, leaving the world in ignorance and moral darkness with no reflection of truth until Jesus the light of the world comes as divine Instructor to dissipate darkness and reveal God. Having sought to dethrone God and take the place of the Most High and been cast out, he originated the doctrine of eternal torment as punishment for sin in order to lead men into infidelity and rebellion, distract souls, dethrone reason, and make people believe God is arbitrary and harsh.
Educated and disciplined in the heavenly courts where he gained knowledge of good as well as evil with wonderful learning and agency in the sanctuary, he retains enough of that endowment even fallen to display remarkable wisdom when it suits his purpose. He stole the livery of heaven and now mingles the precious with the vile, and this mingling gives him power to deceive and to exercise influence in his usurped dominion. He imparts enchanting sentiments and inspires agents with thoughts that appear elevating and noble, disguising temptations under goodness as an angel of light to make men believe him friend rather than enemy, as when he came to Christ with quotations of Scripture to overthrow Him with specious temptations, and in this way has deceived the race. He still quotes former glories as though they belong to him, presenting that light with sophistry so people think him excellent and good, then leading them to perdition, though the same excellencies can be possessed undefiled. His fall did not destroy his powers or make him a beast, for he kept mighty strength and wisdom and has grown more artful, learning the most successful manner to tempt men, strong enough to face and taunt Christ and carry Him to the pinnacle and high mountain, and he will exercise power wonderfully upon the present generation far inferior in wisdom to Christ and almost wholly ignorant of his subtlety. He exults when regarded as fiction or made light of by childish illustration or as an animal, because being thought inferior leaves minds unprepared for wisely laid plans so he almost always succeeds, whereas understanding his power prepares minds to resist successfully, and in marvelous manner he affects bodies of those inclined to do his bidding. Because he separated from God yet retained precious gems of thought given by God, so writings of pagans and infidels and men of master minds with priceless gifts who separate from God contain elevated thoughts attractive to mind set in error to give luster to sentiments inspired by the prince of evil; he was the light-bearer sharing God's glory next to Jesus in power and majesty, sealing up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, in Eden with precious stones for covering, the anointed cherub upon the holy mountain walking among stones of fire, whose heart lifted up for beauty corrupted wisdom for brightness and defiled sanctuaries by iniquities and traffic, so he is cast to ground, laid before kings, brought to ashes by fire from his midst, a terror never to be anymore.
His rebellious works begun when he sought preeminence and commenced war in heaven, working angels until deceived into war against God while loyal angels would not yield Christ's preeminence next to God, are being repeated on earth in strange things, especially in America since San Francisco was destroyed by fire. He disguises himself, brings confusion, and enlarges small differences among believers. Those fallen angels still work upon human minds, getting jots and tittles and little differences magnified and made prominent to bring confusion and disagreement, hinder truth, and draw minds from saving souls. After coming to earth he entered with zeal into commercialism, laying plans to turn the world into commercial strife and uncivilized conditions and to be his own god restrained from heaven's plans, though the Lord forbade and remains Ruler, and the same selfish rebellious spirit can take hold of people and divide their work.
Next to Christ in the heavenly courts and perfect from creation until deciding he was entitled higher, when sought to be corrected he would not be corrected but held his own judgment as unchangeable and infallible. When any man will not yield his own way but persistently follows his own judgment as never to be revoked, he takes that position and claims infallibility, and the Lord has no further use for him unless changed and reconverted. His fall through self-sufficiency and pride after standing as covering cherub is the pattern, so those today following the same course will fall as he fell, for even great wisdom cannot make one a safe guide when making own judgment supreme instead of relying on God, and ambition and selfish desire entering lead to ruin of others. He became proud of own ideas and plans, pursued wicked ambition, refused correction so justice required expulsion, warning against claiming infallibility and against boasting of scientific study to blind associates and placing confidence in human greatness; against his sophistry of peace and safety stands Christ's warning of sudden destruction and declaration the righteous will be kept by God's power through faith unto salvation.
His self-exaltation in supposing he should occupy Christ's place and even God's stands opposite to Christ, the higher Being next to God who left royal courts to live humanity's life and experience its afflictions. Christ's humility rebukes human pride and calls to humble as He did in true conversion, self-denial, self-sacrifice and obedience to God's words rather than mere theoretical knowledge whose influence the Lord does not accept.
His history proves nothing is gained by jealousies, for through craving his own glory, jealousy of Christ and refusal of secondary place seeking to be highest next to God even wanting Jesus second to him, his glory was extinguished and he became fallen. Those knowingly rebelling against God's law follow the same course begun when he desired supremacy with sympathizers cast out, and cannot enter heaven where sin and rebellion have no place. The iniquity began in himself as jealousy and evil surmising because not in God's position, leading him to declare man bound if making God first and last and best, before which there had been no disaffection or occasion to speak of allegiance, whose origin in perfect creation is a mystery laid on sinner and skeptic, so safety is only standing firm on God's truth in Christ the rock and standing loyal by Prince Emmanuel lest ensnared, for those departing from faith for not following light including led-astray ministers follow this fallen angel, while the righteous are kept by God's power through faith amid sudden destruction.
His self-exalting rebellion remains a power to influence people, and history is to repeat itself. His rebellion began aspiring to supremacy given to Christ, opposing God's appointment of Christ as heaven's chief ruler until overcome and cast out with deceived angels to continue war against God, so since his fall humanity faces choice between serving God and joining the sinful party until Christ the Captain meets satanic agencies to save earth's inhabitants.
As fallen leader cast out of God's courts after being created perfect until iniquity of pride over beauty lifting heart and corrupting wisdom for brightness, for which God expelled him to ground and will bring to ashes as terror nevermore, he now leads all presenting doctrine contrary to the Bible, giving masterly mind to supposedly wise men to fabricate bewitching theories infatuating minds, exalting men with honor above God and turning from obeying truth. Once an exalted angel full of beauty, charm and powerful intellect who thought himself equal with God, rebelled, led astray heavenly angels, was cast out and set up his own kingdom to allure the world to his banner, his power, false theories, temptations and snares can be discerned and resisted only through individual experience of receiving knowledge of Jesus Christ, for without divine aid there is no escape.
On earth he planted his standard and established a rival kingdom after turning from allegiance in a holy joyful home as covering cherub and being cast out with rebellious angels, seeking to make people reflect his apostate character. In that rival empire all powers of evil combine opposing God's influence, and actuated by intense hatred for dishonored God he works to attract men to himself and conform them to his nature, eclipse every ray of light, efface God's likeness, plant his throne between worshiper and God, and lead men to invest entrusted talents in building his kingdom so he, not God, is worshiped.
His fall proves intellectual ability and high position do not prevent rebellion, for he was a very intellectual being holding high place among angels before finally becoming rebel. Knowledge alone without sanctification becomes in the enemy's hands a power to destroy its possessor, and many minds of superior attainments without sanctification are still led captive by his power, while only sanctified knowledge God imparts is of right quality and tells to His glory.
The verse describes Lucifer, the anointed covering cherub who became Satan, under the figure of the king of Tyre. He was created perfect, holy and undefiled in character and ways, endowed with surpassing beauty, wisdom, brightness and glory next to Christ above the heavenly host. He remained in that perfection until iniquity arose in him by his own choice, when his heart was lifted up because of his beauty and he coveted equality with God and the honor given to the Son. That pride ripened into open revolt and war in heaven, and he with one-third of the angels was cast out, stripped of his honored place and shut out of heaven. At the end he who set his heart as the heart of God will be destroyed from among the stones of fire and be no more, with sin and sinners perishing root and branch.
Identity and Created Perfection
The verse speaks of Lucifer, Satan, the fallen angel and prince of evil, under the figure of the king of Tyre as the first sinner. It refers primarily to him yet has a broader significance beyond one being, describing a general movement of rebellion to be witnessed again, carried on with the same subtle power by which he plotted rebellion among holy beings before the fall and now works through human beings to fulfill purposes of evil. The word to the prince of evil who set his heart as the heart of God will reach its fulfillment at the end, when rebellion is cut off with root and branch.
He was the anointed covering cherub, the first of the covering cherubs, set upon the holy mountain of God. He had been in Eden the garden of God, walking up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, with the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding God resting upon him and veiling that glory from heavenly intelligences. He was the light-bearer, the sharer of God's glory in heaven.
Next to Christ he stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven, most honored of God and exalted above the heavenly host. He was noble and beautiful and exalted to high honor among the angelic host, second in honor to Christ, with his noble appearance and exceptional brightness distinguishing him among the angels. Christ held preeminence over him, holding first place next to God as one with God and commander of all heaven, above all.
He was endowed by God with greatness, beauty, brightness, wisdom, power, majesty, and personal charm, with a powerful intellect. He was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, sealing up the sum, made as near as possible like God. He had every precious stone as his covering, with music and tabrets and pipes prepared in him from the day he was created.
He was created perfect, good, holy and undefiled in character, conduct and ways from the day he was created. He remained so until iniquity was found in him, for sin was not part of his created nature but arose afterward by his own defection. His beauty, nobility and goodness were gifts from God, and his later evil was a corruption of the gifts and greatness God had given him.
For ages before sin entered, peace and joy in perfect submission to the will of heaven filled the angels. Love to God was supreme and love for one another impartial, and all heaven was in harmony and perfect subjection to the government of God.
Origin and Nature of Iniquity
Though greatly loved and highly honored, he was not placed beyond the possibility of evil but was left with power to choose and to pervert his gifts. He might have remained in favor with God, beloved and honored by all the angelic host, using his noble powers to bless others and to glorify his Maker. His perfection did not prevent him from perverting the freedom God had given him, for sin began when he chose to turn from God. God was not responsible for that sin, for his beauty, nobility and goodness were gifts from God and rebellion began with him, not with his Creator. God's government was without fault, nothing deficient in His rule gave cause for disaffection, He did not withdraw divine influence from him, and the divine decrees are therefore not responsible for sin.
The iniquity found in him was pride and desire for self-exaltation growing little by little. His heart was lifted up because of his beauty, and his wisdom was corrupted by reason of his brightness, setting his heart as the heart of God. His later evil was not part of his created nature but a corruption of the gifts and greatness God had given him. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of creatures, he endeavored to win their service and homage to himself. He coveted the honor the infinite Father had bestowed upon His Son and aspired to power that was the prerogative of Christ alone to wield, saying he would exalt his throne above the stars of God, sit upon the mount of the congregation, ascend above the heights of the clouds, and be like the Most High. He sought to dethrone God and take the place of the Most High, failed, and was cast out.
Envy and jealousy of Christ and desire for supremacy and equality with God led him to feel he should be above Christ, next to God, first in the councils of heaven, and entitled to a higher position, refusing a secondary place. His glory came from God, but he came to regard it as his own; jealousy of Christ led him to seek greater honor and to covet worship belonging only to the Creator. His original perfection did not prevent him from choosing envy and coveting the homage due to the Creator alone, becoming discontented with his position and cherishing envy. The envy grew on specific occasions when the Father consulted the Son without consulting him. When the creation of the world was considered, with its beasts and living things and the making of man in the image of God to reign as ruling monarch over every living thing, and when Christ was appointed to govern the created world, he was not consulted, and being left out filled him with envy, jealousy and hatred and a wish to be consulted and to have authority to rule it himself. He desired to receive the highest honors in heaven next to God, grew dissatisfied with his own position, aspired to be equal with God, determined to rebel and refuse submission unless his ambition was gratified.
His fall came little by little and step by step, beginning with seeking his own honor, employing his powers to attract attention and win praise to himself, and leading the angels he ruled to serve him instead of devoting all their powers to the service of their Creator. He gradually assumed authority that belonged to Christ alone, and step by step wandered away from God till iniquity was found in him. He pursued his aim deceptively, endeavoring to secure to himself the service and loyalty of the other angels by communicating his feelings and instilling evil sentiments in their minds until they developed in those who received them. He planted criticism of God's government among the angels and deceived others into joining his rebellion, winning sympathizers among the angels who honored him. He spread a spirit of discontent, teaching that the laws governing heavenly beings imposed an unnecessary restraint, urging that since their natures were holy they should obey the dictates of their own will, and claiming his aim for greater power and honor was not self-exaltation but securing liberty for the inhabitants of heaven so they might attain a higher state of existence. That suggestion spread until many sympathized with him, discontent ripened, and disaffection ripened into active revolt.
Sin is transgression of God's law; it has no excuse or defense and brings final condemnation on him and the angels who joined his rebellion. His self-exaltation led him to despise God's law, rebel against Christ and against the law and its principles. His dissatisfaction over what God had not revealed led him to disregard what God had revealed about his assigned work, and he stirred the angels under his command to the same discontent, bringing about their fall. Those who knowingly rebel against God's law follow the same course and cannot enter heaven, where sin and rebellion have no place. The origin of sin can be identified, but no reason for its existence can be found, and its sin had no just reason or valid excuse. Why sin was permitted in a perfect creation cannot be explained by any man, no satisfactory reason for the existence of sin, jealousy, evil surmising, covetousness and idolatry can be given, and the origin of such sin is a mystery laid upon the sinner and skeptic to explain.
Rebellion War and Expulsion
When the Lord sought to correct him he would not be corrected or submit his will to God's will, holding his own judgment as unchangeable and infallible and cherishing wrong ideas until the Lord could not accept him. Created perfect and living for a time in harmony with God with joy in executing the divine commands, he began to think his wisdom was not derived from God but inherent in himself and as worthy as God to receive honor and power, and finding he could not be as God he was filled with rebellion. He had been greatly exalted in the heavenly court next to Christ, yet his highly exalted beauty led him to think he should be as God and that Christ should be second to him, though told this could not be because Christ was the only begotten Son. His course makes holding to sentiments of infallibility in judgment a specious seductive device originating with him, warning against any man persistently following his own judgment as never to be revoked and claiming infallibility, for whom the Lord has no further use unless reconverted.
Though he had forsaken his position as covering cherub after iniquity arose in him, he could still have returned to God and been restored if he had acknowledged the Creator's wisdom and accepted his appointed place, but pride kept him from repentance. His concealed disaffection, falsehood, sophistry and mystery meant even loyal angels could not at first discern his character or where his work was leading, so rebellion had to develop fully before its true nature could be seen. His position gave great force to his claims, and he worked deceptively among the angels under his command, diffusing discontent and winning many to his allegiance before his purposes were fully known. His design and duplicity concealed his disloyalty, and his apostasy became so widespread that he drew angels into discontent and revolt until he took one-third of the heavenly family with him.
Disaffection ripened into active revolt and war in heaven over whether Christ should have preeminence next to God, for he sought preeminence for himself and worked with the angels until they were deceived into agreeing to war against God, while the loyal angels would not yield that point. He felt he was not receiving due honor in being second to Christ and insinuated to the angels that he should be next to God, determining to have no one higher than himself and to be above Christ, and that suggestion spread until many sympathized and the claim was brought before God. He and his party stood strong against Christ, efforts to correct the evil failed, war broke out, and Lucifer and his party were overcome. He and the angels he deceived had opposed God's appointment of Christ as heaven's chief ruler, and since that fall humanity has faced the choice between serving God and joining the sinful party.
He and the angels of great power with him, including one-third of the heavenly family, were expelled from heaven, cast to the ground, stripped of honor, supremacy and part in heaven's government, and heaven was closed against them. Created good and entrusted with great power as the anointed covering cherub set upon the holy mountain of God, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty with precious stones and music prepared in him, his heart was lifted up because of his beauty and his wisdom was corrupted by brightness in self-exaltation that felt he should be above Christ. For envy entering his heart and desire to be like God he planted criticism of God's government, despised God's law, rebelled against Christ, and with those who rejected loyalty was cast out. His former innocence, purity and honored office as covering cherub ended in degradation through murmuring against God, envy of Christ, and refusal to seek recovery.
Because he rebelled in the very presence of heaven's glory with full knowledge of God's goodness, mercy, wisdom and majesty, having abundantly enjoyed the light and experience of heaven and witnessed its inexpressible glory and terrible majesty, his guilt became unpardonable and proportionate to his privileges. There was no more favorable condition in which to prove him and no hope of redemption, for no new exhibitions of God's exalted power and no greater heights and depths of infinite glory remained to impress him, so he was left to perish in rebellion while fallen man was rescued by Christ stretching forth His hand. Expulsion did not destroy his powers or make him a beast, for he kept the mighty strength, wisdom and endowments given by the Creator, though perverted, and has grown more artful in using them against heaven's government. Strong enough to face, tempt and taunt Christ and to carry Him to the pinnacle of the temple and an exceeding high mountain, he now imparts enchanting apparently elevating sentiments and disguises temptation under goodness as an angel of light, quoting Scripture as when he came to Christ, affecting bodies inclined to him and succeeding because men think him inferior or fictitious.
This history of the fall from created perfection until iniquity was found in him is the authentic account of the beginning of sin in the world, the introduction of sin needed to keep the mind from fables, conjectures, false theories, superstition and falsehood. It was opened to Adam and Eve in Eden by heavenly messengers as a warning of the danger threatening them, with Satan's plots for their destruction and a fuller unfolding of the nature of God's government which Satan as prince of evil was trying to overthrow. Not content to be light-bearer but aspiring to be like the Most High and ruler of the universe against God, he was cast out with sympathizing angels and coming to earth carried the warfare onward by drawing the human family into revolt, leading Adam and Eve to transgress so sin entered and defaced God's image in man.
Final Judgment and Vindication
The utterance against the prince of evil, the covering cherub who set his heart as the heart of God, reaches its fulfillment at the end when God vindicates His law, delivers His people, and cuts off Satan with all who joined him in rebellion. He who was created perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him, the light-bearer and sharer of God's glory next to Jesus in power and majesty, sealing up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, the anointed cherub set upon the holy mountain of God walking in the midst of the stones of fire with every precious stone for a covering, lifted up his heart because of his beauty and corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness. By the multitude of his iniquities and the iniquity of his traffic he defiled his sanctuaries, and for his pride he was expelled from heaven and cast to the ground. Laid before kings, fire will be brought forth from the midst of him to devour him and bring him to ashes upon the earth, and God will destroy him from the midst of the stones of fire so that he shall be a terror and never be anymore. Sin and sinners will then perish root and branch, Satan the root and his followers the branches.
That destruction is not an exercise of arbitrary power, for those who reject mercy reap what they have sown. God is the fountain of life, and to choose the service of sin is to separate from God and be cut off from life. By rebellion Satan and all who unite with him place themselves so out of harmony with God that His very presence, the glory of Him who is love, becomes to them a consuming fire that destroys them. At the beginning the angels did not understand this, but at the end, with the work of redemption completed and with sin manifesting its nature and Satan manifesting his character, the extermination of sin will vindicate God's love before a universe that delights to do His will.
He who was the most exalted angel next to Jesus Christ led one rebellion in heaven that contaminated a large number of angels, so that they had to be cast out. God is now looking for a commandment-keeping people whom He can bring into heaven without causing a second rebellion. Only such loyalty can secure heaven against the return of the evil that began when iniquity arose in one created perfect.
Law and Doctrinal Bearings
Opposition to the law of God began in the courts of heaven with Lucifer, the covering cherub, and his history shows the consequence of refusing the principles of that law. Though created perfect and given the highest gifts with a position next to Christ, he became disobedient by determining to be first in the councils of heaven and equal with God, seeking the position Christ held. He began rebellion deceptively among the angels under his command, diffusing discontent and winning many to his allegiance before his purposes were fully known, so that even loyal angels could not fully discern his character or where his work was leading. The disaffection ripened into active revolt and brought war in heaven, and Satan and all who sympathized with him were cast out after losing the battle for mastery, with honor and supremacy and his part in the government of heaven taken from him because God could no longer trust him. Since then Satan and his confederates have been avowed enemies of God in this world, warring against truth and righteousness and presenting false representations of Christ and of God as he did to the angels, winning the world and even professedly Christian churches to the side of the first great apostate. His fall by transgressing God's law after being once in grace in heaven proves false the teaching of once in grace always in grace and demonstrates the sure result of breaking God's law. His sin had no just reason or valid excuse, for its origin can be identified but no reason for its existence can be found. Apostasy does not prove a person was never sincere in the truth, for those who turn away become rebellious and self-exalting, as he did. The beings who became evil spirits were created sinless and originally equal in nature, power, and glory with the holy angels, but later fell through sin and joined his rebellion against God.
His high position as covering cherub with unblemished standing did not place him above suspicion or wrongdoing, for iniquity was found in him after he was created perfect and had remained so. He was a very intellectual being who occupied a high position among the angels and the angelic throng before he finally became a rebel, yet superior knowledge and intellect with splendid endowments did not keep him from rebellion when he failed to make God his trust. His fall proves that knowledge and intellectual ability alone can become in the hands of the enemy of all good a power to destroy its possessor, and many minds of superior intellectual attainments without sanctification are still being led captive by his power. Only the sanctified knowledge which God imparts is of the right quality and tells to His glory. The chapter containing the verse refers primarily to Lucifer, the fallen angel, but has a broader significance beyond one being, describing a general movement of rebellion against God. It describes a general movement that will be witnessed, carried on with the same subtle power by which he plotted rebellion among holy beings in heaven before the fall and now works through human beings to fulfill purposes of evil. Faithful study of that chapter leads those seeking truth to walk in all the light given to God's people so they are not deceived by the deceptions of the last days.
Present Deception and Human Warning
Since his fall he and the angels of great power who followed him remain at work as avowed enemies, expelled from heaven for exalting themselves and wanting to be above Christ, now laboring to deceive minds, steal away true conviction of the Holy Spirit, hinder the advancement of truth, destroy people and ruin souls while hiding true character and activity from view. Once he held an exalted place as covering cherub with knowledge through connection with God and found joy in executing divine commands with love, but when he began to think his wisdom was inherent rather than derived and that he was as worthy as God to receive honor, he would not submit his will to God's will and prostituted all his noble capabilities to oppose the counsels of the Most High. After his fall he used his powers to control other fallen beings, misrepresent God, stir rebellion against Christ as heaven's Commander, and continually seek to influence human minds by subtle arts, wielding his knowledge of God's attributes to misinterpret the divine character and setting the pattern all apostates follow. He watches every movement to fill places in disguise, working upon human minds to draw them away from saving perishing souls.
He can still appear as a beautiful being, even as an angel from heaven, disguising himself in an attempt to overcome as he attempted with Christ in the temptation. He was the most lovely being in the world, perfect in loveliness and glory given by God, yet fell because that glory did not make him as God's only-begotten Son, so he wanted the highest place and insinuated coming change in the heavenly courts. His original beauty means wicked men imbued with his agencies are not necessarily degraded-looking beings.
His iniquity is seen in ascribing to God all the evils to which flesh is heir, representing God as delighting in the sufferings of creatures and as revengeful and implacable. His cruel and revengeful character was not given by God but developed after iniquity was found in him by his own choice, yet he now ascribes that character to God, casting a gloomy shadow between man and God so that through accumulated misrepresentations many worship a false god clothed with his attributes instead of knowing the true God, leaving the world in ignorance and moral darkness with no reflection of truth until Jesus the light of the world comes as divine Instructor to dissipate darkness and reveal God. Having sought to dethrone God and take the place of the Most High and been cast out, he originated the doctrine of eternal torment as punishment for sin in order to lead men into infidelity and rebellion, distract souls, dethrone reason, and make people believe God is arbitrary and harsh.
Educated and disciplined in the heavenly courts where he gained knowledge of good as well as evil with wonderful learning and agency in the sanctuary, he retains enough of that endowment even fallen to display remarkable wisdom when it suits his purpose. He stole the livery of heaven and now mingles the precious with the vile, and this mingling gives him power to deceive and to exercise influence in his usurped dominion. He imparts enchanting sentiments and inspires agents with thoughts that appear elevating and noble, disguising temptations under goodness as an angel of light to make men believe him friend rather than enemy, as when he came to Christ with quotations of Scripture to overthrow Him with specious temptations, and in this way has deceived the race. He still quotes former glories as though they belong to him, presenting that light with sophistry so people think him excellent and good, then leading them to perdition, though the same excellencies can be possessed undefiled. His fall did not destroy his powers or make him a beast, for he kept mighty strength and wisdom and has grown more artful, learning the most successful manner to tempt men, strong enough to face and taunt Christ and carry Him to the pinnacle and high mountain, and he will exercise power wonderfully upon the present generation far inferior in wisdom to Christ and almost wholly ignorant of his subtlety. He exults when regarded as fiction or made light of by childish illustration or as an animal, because being thought inferior leaves minds unprepared for wisely laid plans so he almost always succeeds, whereas understanding his power prepares minds to resist successfully, and in marvelous manner he affects bodies of those inclined to do his bidding. Because he separated from God yet retained precious gems of thought given by God, so writings of pagans and infidels and men of master minds with priceless gifts who separate from God contain elevated thoughts attractive to mind set in error to give luster to sentiments inspired by the prince of evil; he was the light-bearer sharing God's glory next to Jesus in power and majesty, sealing up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, in Eden with precious stones for covering, the anointed cherub upon the holy mountain walking among stones of fire, whose heart lifted up for beauty corrupted wisdom for brightness and defiled sanctuaries by iniquities and traffic, so he is cast to ground, laid before kings, brought to ashes by fire from his midst, a terror never to be anymore.
His rebellious works begun when he sought preeminence and commenced war in heaven, working angels until deceived into war against God while loyal angels would not yield Christ's preeminence next to God, are being repeated on earth in strange things, especially in America since San Francisco was destroyed by fire. He disguises himself, brings confusion, and enlarges small differences among believers. Those fallen angels still work upon human minds, getting jots and tittles and little differences magnified and made prominent to bring confusion and disagreement, hinder truth, and draw minds from saving souls. After coming to earth he entered with zeal into commercialism, laying plans to turn the world into commercial strife and uncivilized conditions and to be his own god restrained from heaven's plans, though the Lord forbade and remains Ruler, and the same selfish rebellious spirit can take hold of people and divide their work.
Next to Christ in the heavenly courts and perfect from creation until deciding he was entitled higher, when sought to be corrected he would not be corrected but held his own judgment as unchangeable and infallible. When any man will not yield his own way but persistently follows his own judgment as never to be revoked, he takes that position and claims infallibility, and the Lord has no further use for him unless changed and reconverted. His fall through self-sufficiency and pride after standing as covering cherub is the pattern, so those today following the same course will fall as he fell, for even great wisdom cannot make one a safe guide when making own judgment supreme instead of relying on God, and ambition and selfish desire entering lead to ruin of others. He became proud of own ideas and plans, pursued wicked ambition, refused correction so justice required expulsion, warning against claiming infallibility and against boasting of scientific study to blind associates and placing confidence in human greatness; against his sophistry of peace and safety stands Christ's warning of sudden destruction and declaration the righteous will be kept by God's power through faith unto salvation.
His self-exaltation in supposing he should occupy Christ's place and even God's stands opposite to Christ, the higher Being next to God who left royal courts to live humanity's life and experience its afflictions. Christ's humility rebukes human pride and calls to humble as He did in true conversion, self-denial, self-sacrifice and obedience to God's words rather than mere theoretical knowledge whose influence the Lord does not accept.
His history proves nothing is gained by jealousies, for through craving his own glory, jealousy of Christ and refusal of secondary place seeking to be highest next to God even wanting Jesus second to him, his glory was extinguished and he became fallen. Those knowingly rebelling against God's law follow the same course begun when he desired supremacy with sympathizers cast out, and cannot enter heaven where sin and rebellion have no place. The iniquity began in himself as jealousy and evil surmising because not in God's position, leading him to declare man bound if making God first and last and best, before which there had been no disaffection or occasion to speak of allegiance, whose origin in perfect creation is a mystery laid on sinner and skeptic, so safety is only standing firm on God's truth in Christ the rock and standing loyal by Prince Emmanuel lest ensnared, for those departing from faith for not following light including led-astray ministers follow this fallen angel, while the righteous are kept by God's power through faith amid sudden destruction.
His self-exalting rebellion remains a power to influence people, and history is to repeat itself. His rebellion began aspiring to supremacy given to Christ, opposing God's appointment of Christ as heaven's chief ruler until overcome and cast out with deceived angels to continue war against God, so since his fall humanity faces choice between serving God and joining the sinful party until Christ the Captain meets satanic agencies to save earth's inhabitants.
As fallen leader cast out of God's courts after being created perfect until iniquity of pride over beauty lifting heart and corrupting wisdom for brightness, for which God expelled him to ground and will bring to ashes as terror nevermore, he now leads all presenting doctrine contrary to the Bible, giving masterly mind to supposedly wise men to fabricate bewitching theories infatuating minds, exalting men with honor above God and turning from obeying truth. Once an exalted angel full of beauty, charm and powerful intellect who thought himself equal with God, rebelled, led astray heavenly angels, was cast out and set up his own kingdom to allure the world to his banner, his power, false theories, temptations and snares can be discerned and resisted only through individual experience of receiving knowledge of Jesus Christ, for without divine aid there is no escape.
On earth he planted his standard and established a rival kingdom after turning from allegiance in a holy joyful home as covering cherub and being cast out with rebellious angels, seeking to make people reflect his apostate character. In that rival empire all powers of evil combine opposing God's influence, and actuated by intense hatred for dishonored God he works to attract men to himself and conform them to his nature, eclipse every ray of light, efface God's likeness, plant his throne between worshiper and God, and lead men to invest entrusted talents in building his kingdom so he, not God, is worshiped.
His fall proves intellectual ability and high position do not prevent rebellion, for he was a very intellectual being holding high place among angels before finally becoming rebel. Knowledge alone without sanctification becomes in the enemy's hands a power to destroy its possessor, and many minds of superior attainments without sanctification are still led captive by his power, while only sanctified knowledge God imparts is of right quality and tells to His glory.