Who made the devil?

I asked a number of Christians questions covering a wide range of topics on the devil and I got in some places weird looks, others gave me evasive answers and still many others asked me to prove that there is devil. I asked one Christian whether Devil has ever been a topic of sermon in his Church. He looked at me and said, such should never be preached from the pulpit. It must not be discussed in the Church. Is it therefore any wonder why many Christians are so ignorant about the devil and his activities? That is also partly responsible for the fact that many Christians unwittingly fall victim to the devil’s tactics. One of the responses I got which I want to discuss in this message is: “Who made the devil?” One man went as far as to say, "Could God have made a mistake in creating the devil only to regret it after his creation and now is not able to take him off the world?"

There are two important passages in the Word of God concerning the origin and fall of the devil.

The origin of the devil is related by Prophet Ezekiel in his book. Ezekiel predicts concerning the judgment upon the city of Tyre in Chapters 26 and 27 and in the first part of chapter 28. This prophecy has long been fulfilled, for the city was sacked  by Nebuchadnezzar in 573BC and later destroyed never to be rebuilt by Alexander in 332BC. In the second half of Chapter 28, the Prophet goes beyond the earthly scene, and describes for us, the origin and judgment of a vile and vicious non-human creature the devil. Let us now read the description together.

“Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘thus says the Lord GOD: “You were 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: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.  You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. “You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.”’” (Ezekiel 28:11-19)NKJV 

Let us take a few key words and statements in this passage:

“You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” 

No human being is ever described in these terms rather on the contrary the Bible says of human beings; “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “There is none righteous, no not one.” There is none who understands.” (Romans 3:10-11)

“You were in Eden, the garden of God” 

This is a reference to the host of Cherubim that were in the Garden. Some have speculated that this may be a reference to Adam, but the Genesis account nowhere speaks of Adam’s clothing as being bejewelled with every precious stone, and then lifted in beautiful settings of finest gold. On the contrary, the Bible talks of Adam and Eve as both being naked and not ashamed. After they sinned, God clothed them with the “Tunics of skin” (Genesis 3:21)

“The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.” 

Here Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost writes: “Musical instruments were originally designed to be means of praising and worshipping God. It was not necessary for Lucifer to learn to play a musical instrument in order to praise God. If you please, he had a built-in pipe organ, or, he was an organ.  That is what the Prophet meant when he said; “The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created” Lucifer, because of his beauty did what a musical instrument would do in the hands of a skilled musician, bring forth a psalm of praise to the glory of God. Lucifer didn't have to look for someone to play the organ so that he could sing the doxology – he was a doxology” (Your Adversary, the Devil, pg 16)

“You were the anointed cherub who covers;” 

First he was anointed. In the Old Testament, there were three anointed offices; that of the prophet, priest and king. Here is a suggestion that Lucifer may have originally been created to function (under Christ) as heaven’s prophet, priest and king. But he failed! This may be the reason why God separated these offices.

We are now ready for the second important passage in the Word of God concerning the origin and fall of the devil. Let us turn to the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah and read together from Isaiah 14: 9-15:

“Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.’
 The Fall of Lucifer
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.” NKJV

Let us note a few features of this passage. First let us note the five foolish and fatal “I wills” of the devil.

‘I will ascend into heaven,’ 

Obviously the devil was thinking of the third heaven, the very abode of God. In Second Corinthians 12:4 Paul talks of a man caught up to the third heaven into paradise and heard in-expressible words, which it is not lawful for man to utter (verse 4)

‘I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;’ 

This is probably a reference to the angels of God. The devil desired the worship of the angels. Only God should be worshipped. Jesus reminded the devil of this when He said; “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. (Matthew 4:10)

“I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;” 

Lucifer would attempt not only to control the angels, but also the worship in the congregation of God’s people. He wants to enter there and control the size and number of the starry galaxies also. He wants to take over the “executive office” of God somewhere in the north and sit on His “very office desk.”

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,” 

This is a reference to the Shekinah glory cloud of God. The devil would want to come to God’s people as God and thus take over the glory of God.

‘I will be like the Most High.’ 

The word translated “Most High” is El Elyon. This is most revealing of what the ambition of the devil was. This name literally means “The strongest strong One” The devil wants to be the most powerful being in heaven and on earth. God has a number of names out of which the devil could have picked one to call himself. Why did he not pick El Shaddai which means “the breasted One”, - the One who feeds His children? Of course, he is not interested in nursing and feeding the children. He is only interested in raw power. Why did he not choose to be called Jehovah Rohi, a name which means “the Shepherd God”. But he would not touch a name like that. The reason is obvious; Satan coveted God’s strength, but was not the least bit interested in His feeding and leading attributes. Whenever or whoever Satan leads he leads the one to destruction only!

In conclusion, God did not create the devil. God created a beautiful cherub endowed with all that would make him praise and worship God in His Holiness; but pride entered into the angel because of his beauty and he organised the greatest coup d’état in all history to overthrow and usurp the powers of God. Of course, God is in perfect control. The devil failed and has since then been deceiving angels and human beings to fall with him and share in his fate which God has reserved for him in the end.

God bless you all.

For more reading on the devil, visit the series: The Devil