Where did Satan come from?

Q. Where did Satan come from? Did God create evil? Is Satan a created being? Has he always existed? Is he a fallen angel?

What a puzzle this seems to be, and yet how simply it is solved!

To answer the many questions here. . . 1st of all, God did not create evil. When Satan was first brought forth from God’s creative hands he was good. Satan has not existed eternally, he was created.

Revelation 12:7 - 9 NAS95

* And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,

* and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

* And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

This I believe is the clearest account of Satan’s activities before being cast down that I know of in the Scripture. We know it was Satan, in the form of a serpent, that tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. 

1 Chron. 21:1 says that Satan was responsible for causing David to commit sin. Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7 we see the activity of Satan in tempting Job.

Job 1:6-12

  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

 The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."

 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?

10 "Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

11 "But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face."

12 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.

He is called Satan, 

The Devil (Mt. 13:39); 

the Dragon (Rev. 12:3); 

Beelzebub (Matt. 10:25); 

Belial (2 Cor. 6:15); 

and Lucifer in the KJV in Isa. 14:12. 

He is referred to as the Evil One (Matt. 13:19); 

the Tempter (Matt. 4:3); 

The god of this world (age) (2 Cor. 4:4); 

the Ruler of the kingdom of the air (Eph. 2:2); 

the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31).

Two passages that are often used to teach about Satan are Ezekiel 28:11-19 and Isaiah 14:12-14. Both of these passages should be used with extreme caution.

Ezekiel 28:11-19

11  Again the word of the LORD came to me saying,

12 "Son of man, 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.

13  "You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.

14  "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.

15 "You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.

16  "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.

17  "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.

18  "By the multitude of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you.

19 "All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become terrified And you will cease to be forever."’"

One should always be aware of the context of a Biblical passage before trying to teach anything from it. In its context Ezek. 28:11-19 is a description of the King of Tyre. To go beyond this in explaining this passage is to go without biblical support. NEVER in Scripture is the context in Ezek. 28 used to speak of Satan.

Similarly, Isa. 14:12-14 speaks of the king of Babylon. The KJV adds “Lucifer” to verse 12 for unknown reasons. Isa. 14 is speaking in figurative language of the downfall of the nation of Babylon.

It could be said in both these passages that the King of Tyre and the King of Babylon were the very personification of Satan. In this case we can assume that certain characteristics of these evil kings are characteristics of Satan.

What we do know about Satan is this. He was a created being, an angel, who was judged because of his rebellion, which the New Testament hints was sparked by his pride (1Tim.3:6). Let’s read the passage, in speaking about the qualifications of an elder, Paul says:

1Tim.3:6

6 * and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

Satan is the one responsible for introducing evil to this world. Now he desires to devour God’s creation by tempting man to reject his Creator.

This is then the lesson we must learn. Satan--an angel created by God--was given the free will to choose whether or not he would obey God. He disobeyed, and that disobedience was evil.

Satan made himself evil by choosing to do evil.

In the same way, humans may choose to do right or wrong, and through their choices, evil flourishes.

So. . . it was choice that caused Satan to be evil, not an act of Creation. 

Author: Mike Scott

Source from : http://www.scripturessay.com/ 

Shared By : Sanjay Kishan