Before Satan was Satan, he was a glorious being: Isaiah 14:12: (KJV) “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!”
Being a “son of the morning” (or as the New American Standard Version says, the “star of the morning,” implying he was bright and beautiful, like a light in heaven.
This gives us a glimpse of the glory Lucifer had before his fall, before he was known as Satan. When speaking to Job, God revealed others with great heavenly glory at the beginning, as well as Lucifer, this morning star: Job 38:4–7: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements? …On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Jesus is the only other being described as a “morning star,” so Lucifer must have been created as a glorious being (Revelation 22:16).
As a morning star, Lucifer was given the immense privilege of overseeing God’s earthly family. He was protecting and guiding this new human creation on earth. Lucifer was chosen for this very specific responsibility.
Lucifer is allegorically referred to as the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:12–15: “…take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD, You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering:… On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.”
Obviously, the literal King of Tyre was never a protector in the Garden of Eden, so we know this is allegorical. He (Lucifer) is described as an anointed cherub; anointed in the sense of expansion; outstretched (i.e. as with outstretched wings). God appointed Lucifer to “cover” Eden and protect it. God gave the privilege of oversight of this brand?new, magnificent physical creation to one of His highest and most respected angels because it was so important. Yet Lucifer made a choice to enhance his own glory and splendor instead of God’s!
Quoting Bible Commentary by David Guzik on these verses in Ezekiel: “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned: Because Satan is spoken of here as the king of Tyre, God spoke of Satan’s sins in the same terms as Tyre’s sins. Tyre was a highly commercialized city-state focused only on winning a profit. Satan’s abundance of trading was found in his competitive spirit, his desire to be exalted above his associates (Isaiah 14:13-14). The dishonest business practices of the leaders of Tyre were a reflection of the dishonest, deceptive dealings of the spiritual power behind them. Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).”
Lucifer made this terribly destructive choice after being given the responsibility for caring over the new creation: Ezekiel 28:16–17: “By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, o covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground.”
To directly answer the question, the being we know as Satan was created as a beautiful heavenly being. The King James Version refers to this being as Lucifer. Lucifer was given the job of protecting the first humans, Adam and Eve, in the Garden, but he violated God’s trust and successfully tempted them away from God.
God allowed Satan to do what he did because He wanted humans and spirit beings to have the freedom to choose their behavior, also known as “free will.” He didn’t want to create robots that had no choice except to obey Him. God wants intelligent and willing obedience, rather than pre-programmed service to Him.
This means we (including Satan and the angels) have a choice in what we do. Lucifer (later named Satan) had free will to choose good, but he chose evil. He tempted Eve, who gave the fruit to Adam and then HE sinned too, causing a “chain reaction of sin” that affects all of us! God’s wisdom permitted Satan’s sin, even though it has resulted in temporary pain, sickness, and death.
This permission of evil for a time is providing an everlasting learning experience that will never be forgotten. God is allowing us to experience the painful effects of what the sin of disobedience brought. However, it’s important to remember God promised a future earthly kingdom, in which everyone will be raised from the sleep of death and given an opportunity to live a righteous, everlasting life without sin. When everyone is raised from death and begins obeying the kingdom rules, they will gradually receive blessings better than they could ever imagine.
Everyone will remember the powerful lesson that choosing sin produces terrible consequences that lead to death. Because they experienced first-hand the damaging effects of sin, we believe most people will choose to live good, righteous lives on a perfect earth. Revelation 21:4, NLT says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Why didn’t God stop Satan from tempting Eve? Because His plan was best for everyone to learn an everlasting lesson: sin and disobedience brings sadness and death, while obedience to God and His rules brings happiness and blessings.
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1305: “How Do Satanic Demons Influence Our World?”
Establishing the origin, power and methods of dark spiritual beings
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CQ Rewind Show Notes
