Butch Ewing
Butch Ewing is a Full Stack Developer, Bass Player, Entrepreneur, Public Figure, Cancer Survivor, Ordained Minister, Comedian, and Dork.
A. There is no such thing as real evil in the universe. Evil is only an illusion.
B. Evil has always coexisted alongside good. The universe has two eternal opposing forces, like yin-yang in Taoism or the Force in Star Wars.
C. In the beginning there was only good and God, but sometime before He created the earth, God created evil as a thing lesser than Himself but still able to oppose Him.
D. Evil is not a “thing” per se but the absence of good. God created all things good but allowed His creatures to choose freely the non-good (evil).
WHAT IS YOUR BELIEF ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF EVIL?
Imagine you’re taking “Philosophy 101” in college. How would you respond to this multiple-choice question:
If a child were to ask you, “Where did Satan come from?” and, “Why did God create Satan?” how would you respond? What should we do when the Bible does not give us all the answers we want about a particular topic?
At some point after God created the world, Satan, one of God’s angels grew proud in his heart and rebelled against God’s authority. In response, God cast Satan and the rebel angels out of His presence and promised one day to destroy them forever. Although the Bible does not present many details about this heavenly rebellion, we do see a picture of pride going before destruction and the nature of sin.
Pride Leads to Rebellion and Judgment
The Rebellion of Heaven
Memory Verse
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8
1. Satan was an angel created to bring glory to God.
(Ezek. 28:11-15)
Why might it be easier for persons with abundant wisdom or beauty or wealth to be tempted to pride? What gifts from God are we humans inclined to take credit for?
Why might someone in a position of religious or spiritual leadership be tempted with pride more easily than others?
Voices from Church History
[The Devil] was not made wicked in nature but was good, and made for good ends, and received from his Creator no trace whatever of evil in himself. But he did not sustain the brightness and the honour which the Creator had bestowed on him, and of his free choice was changed from what was in harmony to what was at variance with his nature, and became roused against God Who created him, and determined to rise in rebellion against Him.
–John of Damascus (circa 650-750)
Voices from Church History
This angel was both by creation good and by choice corrupt…none else than the very author of sin who was denoted in the person of a sinful man: he was once irreproachable, at the time of his creation, formed for good by God…and associated with God, good with the Good; but afterwards of his own accord removed to evil.
–Tertullian (circa 150-240)
2. Satan grew proud and rebelled against God.
(Isa. 14:13-14; Ezek. 28:17-19)
Make a list of sins and trace their connection back to pride. What is the connection between idolatry and pride?
What can remind today’s rulers and tycoons and the powerful of the world that their moment is fleeting? How can you combat pride?
3. Satan was judged by God and cast out of God’s presence.
(Isa. 14:12,15; Ezek. 28:16)
Have you personally experienced what you consider to be divine judgment against your pride—a high-and-mighty “morning star” suddenly being cut down? Did you sense God’s wrath or God’s mercy in this action?
How does the coming final judgment against Satan and sin make us bolder in our mission to the lost to proclaim the King of God’s kingdom?
Voices from Church History
The one thing [Satan] tempts to is putting myself as master instead of God.
–Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Conclusion
The Bible does not answer all our questions about Satan. But two things we can take with us from this study. First is the sober reminder that Satan is not the only being to find that pride leads to rebellion and judgment—he is merely the first. This study challenges us to examine our own hearts—both past and present—to identify and repent of any hint of pride, which is taking credit for what God has blessed us with or desiring to be independent of God.
Second is the joyful reminder that God has never been thwarted by Satan’s evil schemes. Before God even created the heavens or Satan himself, He planned to interpose Himself as the solution. He determined to come to the world He permitted to fall and execute a plan for a Savior He devised “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). The result is that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:10-11). Satan’s puny revolt against heaven will, in God’s good time, give way to the final triumph of God’s beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19–22).
How does the biblical teaching about the origin of Satan and evil help us make sense of suffering? How do Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection overcome Satan and evil?
In the beginning, the original royal family—the first parents of our human race—were God’s people living in God’s place under God’s loving rule. Eventually, something happened to disrupt this beauty (more on that later), but for now we will focus on the lovely beginning when God’s kingdom was established on earth. We will see that God’s good purpose all along has been for people to live in His world under His loving rule.
God Planned for People to Live in His World Under His Loving Rule
The Kingdom on Earth
The Rebellion of Heaven: Pride Leads to Rebellion and Judgment
By Butch Ewing
The Rebellion of Heaven: Pride Leads to Rebellion and Judgment
At some point after God created the world, Satan, one of God’s angels grew proud in his heart and rebelled against God’s authority. In response, God cast Satan and the rebel angels out of His presence and promised one day to destroy them forever. Although the Bible does not present many details about this heavenly rebellion, we do see a picture of pride going before destruction and the nature of sin.
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