God created the angels with a free will, and God also created man with a free will. If the angels and man had been created without a free will, the Son would not be able to gain any glory, because anything which is dead has no meaning. If the angels and man, who were endowed with a free will, had allowed the Son to be the Head, the Son would have gained the glory. Yet the angels rebelled, man fell, and God's eternal plan was frustrated. God's original intention was to express the glory of Christ through all things and particularly through man. Because of the angels' rebellion and man's fall, God's plan was frustrated.
According to God's ordination, the Lord took on the form of an angel before His incarnation, and He took on the form of a man after incarnation. In the Old Testament He was the Messenger of God (Gen. 22:11-12). In the New Testament He was made in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7). The Lord took on the form of an angel temporarily. He took on the form of an angel for the purpose of revealing Himself to man. However, the Lord has also taken on the form of a man eternally. In the New Testament the Lord not only took on the form of a man but also became a man. Hence, the Lord's relationship with man is much more intimate than His relationship with the angels. Hebrews 2:16 says that God did not give help to the angels but to man. In God's plan the Son is joined with man, not with angels. Perhaps the angels are quite aware of this fact.
Revelation 12:4 tells us that when Satan rebelled against God, one third of the angels went with him and joined his rebellion. The word Satan in Greek means "the opposer." How did Satan become Satan? How did he rebel against God? What is the history of his rebellion? We can find the facts about Satan in Ezekiel 28:11-19 and in Isaiah 14:12-20. These passages show us how he was created, his original position before God, his beauty, his latter rebellion, and his ultimate fate.
Ezekiel 25 uses seventeen verses to describe the destruction of four kingdoms — Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. Between verses 26:1 and 28:19, there are seventy-six verses that describe one kingdom — Tyre. This is because the king of Tyre in 28:12 is a type of Satan. Therefore, the Bible places special emphasis on this kingdom and its king. All the adjectives used in verse 28:12 are superlative in nature. "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty." He was "full of wisdom." This wisdom was probably used originally to understand God's will. Therefore, Satan had the function of a prophet before his fall.
Verse 13 says, "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 Eden referred to here is different from the Eden spoken of in Genesis 2:8. This Eden denotes God's dwelling place in heaven. The precious stones denote God's light, and gold signifies God's glory; Satan had both. In comparing the precious stones that covered him and the stones that covered Aaron, we see that God had probably appointed him to be a priest (cf. Exo. 25:7; 28:9-14).
Ezekiel 28:13 continues, "The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." Pipes require breath to produce sound. Hence, they signify life. Tabrets move the heart and express love. The tabrets and pipes signify God's delight. Musical instruments are always linked to the kings (1 Sam. 16:23; Isa. 14:11). This shows that he was a king. These three things reveal that Satan functioned as a prophet, priest, and king at the same time.
"Prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created" means that he belonged to the previous world, distinguishing him from the prince of Tyre in verse 2.
Verse 14 says, "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth." The word "anointed" means that he was separated for God's commission. "Covereth" refers to the covering of the ark, the place where God's righteousness (signified by the blood) and God's glory (signified by God's appearance) are found. The cherub's duty is to lead men to worship the Lord (Rev. 4:9-10; 5:11-14). He was the one commissioned by God to lead the created hosts to worship God's righteousness and glory. This again shows his priesthood.
Verse 14 continues, "I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God." In the Bible mountains signify an administrative center. The great mountain in Daniel 2:35 typifies God's kingdom. The mountains in Revelation refer to God's administration centers. In this verse we are told that Satan was in the seat of God's administration and ruled over all things of that world.
"Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire." The stones of fire refer to God's light. This shows that he had intimate fellowship with God. According to Ezekiel 1:26, the cherubim are positioned under God's throne. This is confirmed by the picture in Exodus 24:10 and 17. This means that he was very close to God.
Ezekiel 28:15 says, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created." Everything that God creates is perfect. Verse 15 continues, "Till iniquity was found in thee." The word "till" indicates a long period of time. God did not create a Satan; He created a cherub. After God's created cherub fell, he became Satan. The iniquity he committed brought sin into the universe.
Verse 16 says, "By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned." Mr. Pember said that the word "merchandise" can be translated as "slander." The word devil in the original language means "the accuser" (Rev. 12:10). Satan's way of merchandising is to bribe men's hearts with little gifts and favors, as Absalom did.
"Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God." The word "profane" can also be translated "overstepping." It means going beyond one's rightful place. As a result God cast him out and stripped him of his rule.
The phrase "O covering cherub" reminded him of his name. "And I will destroy thee, O covering Cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire." This means that the fellowship was broken. But this does not mean that Satan could no longer go to God; it merely means that spiritual fellowship was terminated. Being cast out from the holy mountain denotes being stripped of his administrative post and the fact that he could no longer rule the universe. Being destroyed from the midst of the stones of fire refers to being stripped of the spiritual fellowship and the fact that he could no longer come near to God.
Verse 17 says, "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." He became proud because of his beauty, and he overstepped his boundary. He also corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness. As a result he was cast to the ground. Originally his sphere was the universe. Now it is limited to the earth.
Verse 17 continues, "I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee." These kings were the angels who ruled the world together with Satan. But only one-third followed him. Those angels who did not follow him still rule the universe, and they are the kings referred to in this verse. (Psalm 82 shows us that there are many rulers in the universe.)
Ezekiel 28:18 says, "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee." This is the punishment of fire. The first world was destroyed by fire.
Verse 19 says, "All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." After this verse the description switches back to the prince of Tyre spoken of in verse 2.
Isaiah 14:12-20 also gives us some facts about Satan. Verses 12 through 14 describe his past, while verses 15 through 20 tell us his present condition.
Verse 12 says, "How you have fallen from heaven,/O Daystar, son of the dawn!/How you have been hewn down to earth,/You who made nations fall prostrate!" "Daystar" refers to the morning stars mentioned in Job 38:7. The phrase "son of the dawn" refers to the fact that he was the first one created in the whole universe.
Verses 13 and 14 say, "But you, you said in your heart:/I will ascend to heaven;/Above the stars of God/I will exalt my throne./And I will sit upon the mount of assembly/On the sides of the north./I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;/I will be like the Most High." He said "I will" five times. This was the cause of his fall. This was not just a matter of the heart but a matter of the will. The "heaven" in verse 13 is different from the "heaven" in verse 12. The "heaven" in verse 12 is in contrast to earth, whereas the "heaven" in verse 13 is above "the heights of the clouds." This is God's administrative center, the place where God conducts His business. Satan's goal is to be God. He was higher than all the archangels already (Jude 9), yet he was not satisfied with this. He wanted to be equal with God.
Genesis 1:1-2 speaks of God's judgment on the world at that time. When one-third of the angels rebelled with Satan, there was a change in the universe, and God executed great judgment upon it. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Heaven includes not only heaven but also the angels. After God judged the rebellious Satan, the earth became without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
The first world that God created was good (Job 38:7; Isa. 45:18), because God is not a God of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). Yet the earth became without form and void through God's judgment (Jer. 4:23-26). The Bible shows us that the earth is the center of the universe. In the future, everything will happen on the earth. We can say that the earth is the center stage of the universe.
Due to Satan's rebellion, the earth has become marred with sin, and heaven is also tainted with sin. According to Leviticus 16:14-15, when the priests offered the sin offering for the propitiation of sin, they had to bring the blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it before the propitiation cover. Hebrews 9:24-26 tells us that Christ has entered the tabernacle not made with hands, the heavenly tabernacle, and has offered up Himself as the sacrifice. According to Colossians 1:20, the extent of propitiation or redemption is not limited to the earth; it includes heaven as well. Even heaven itself needs to be redeemed. According to Isaiah 30:26, the sun is tainted with sin and will be healed and restored to its original state. Of course, the earth has suffered the greatest judgment from God. God's explicit will is seen in Ephesians 1:10, which is to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. His dealing with Satan through man is according to His permissive will.
