ALONE WITH GOD------

QUESTION: Will you please explain about Lucifer; who he was? So many people think he was the devil.

ANSWER: I will insert here an excerpt (the first three pages) of my small booklet Was the Devil Ever in Heaven? which was published by Faith Publishing House a few years back and can still be obtained there. The discussion in these first three pages focus specifically on Lucifer.

"In Isaiah 14:12 it speaks of Lucifer falling from heaven, etc. and makes mention of his being ‘cut down to the ground’ who DIDST weaken the nations." I will insert here the full text of Isaiah 14:12, and another thought not in the booklet which I am quoting. The full verse says, "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!" The margin here says "O day star" and "Son of the morning," both refer to the light bringer. How could the Holy Spirit so complicate things as to refer to the devil in this text as the "Day Star" and then refer to Jesus as the "Day Star" in II Peter 1:19? Another complication would be in referring to the devil here as "Son of the morning," or light bringer, and in Ephesians 6:12 refer to him as "The ruler of the darkness of this world." In Revelation 22:16, Jesus referred to Himself as the "...Bright and morning star." The Holy Spirit makes no such mistakes as ascribing to the devil descriptions which belong to Jesus and it is evident that no reference is made in this text to the devil at all.

Now going on from the booklet. "To begin in the middle of a thought always does violence to the thought and causes one to miss the proper meaning. The thought here of which this 12^th verse is only a part, begins with the 4^th verse of this chapter and continues through the 23^rd verse. This puts the 12^th verse down in the middle of the thought.

"The 4^th verse says, ‘That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say,...’ This makes it clear that the remarks made here refer to the king of Babylon and to no other. The thoughts concerning the proverb against the king of Babylon are continuous from this 4^th verse through the 23^rd verse. I request anyone who does not agree with this interpretation of this scripture to show where the line of thought changes and the remarks are directed to another person other than the king of Babylon. The 4^th verse introduces the proverb against the king of Babylon and continues through the succeeding verses to tell of his violent acts in the earth against other nations and peoples for which the judgments of God are pronounced upon him, and in the 22^nd verse he mentions judgments against Babylon which show clearly that the subject is still under consideration.

"Now, let us take a direct look at this 12^th verse which mentions Lucifer who is said to have fallen from heaven as being cut down to the ground who DIDST weaken the nations. This, then, was some judgment upon him for something he had done before this came to pass. Could it then refer to the devil? Could he have weakened the nations while he was still in heaven and then later been cast out of heaven for having weakened the nations? Could he have done any evil work in the earth while he was still a pure angel in heaven? Of course not!

"On the other hand, the king of Babylon did do these things and became so exalted in his heart that he said he had done all these things with his own hand. The Babylonish Kingdom was the first universal kingdom that history records, and her king subdued and weakened and brought under subjection all other nations. Hence the reference to him who DIDST weaken the nations.

"The 4^th chapter of Daniel, verses 12 and 13, will throw much light on this 14^th chapter of Isaiah. In verses 10 to 16 is given a vision that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had. Let us read it: ‘Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.’

"In the 19^th verse, Daniel begins to interpret his vision to him and refers to the tree, etc. and in the 22^nd verse he says, ‘It is thou, O king, thou art grown...and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.’

"This corresponds exactly with the 13^th verse of the 14^th chapter of Isaiah, which reads: ‘For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:... Nebuchadnezzar was proud in heart and said the same thing in different words in the 30^th verse of the 4^th chapter of Daniel after he had subjected all the kingdoms of the world to himself. Listen to him: ‘The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of MY power, and for the honour of My majesty.’

"In Daniel 4:25, Daniel proclaims unto the king what is the decree of the most High concerning him. ‘That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.’

"In Daniel 4:31-33, we find that this judgment actually came on Nebuchadnezzar and just how serious it was because that in his heart he was lifted up with pride and exalted himself in his heart even unto heaven to the exclusion of the God of heaven and did not acknowledge Him but said he had done all this with HIS OWN HAND, etc. Thus he fell from heaven (the exalted position he held and attributed unto himself in his heart) and was cut down to the earth and humiliated beyond any other man we have any record of."

Let us take note that in numbers of instances in the Scriptures, ruling monarchs and dignitaries of high rank in the governments of the kingdoms of men are spoken of as bright luminaries of the heavens (high places among men) the same as celestial beings and bright luminaries are in the kingdom of heaven and in the spiritual realms.

QUESTION: When or how did the devil come into existence? Did he always exist as does God, or did God create him? Also, will you please explain Isaiah 45:5-7?

ANSWER: This question of the devil’s origin often comes up and seems to never be resolved conclusively in people’s minds. This is possibly due to the fact that there is no direct scripture stating when and how he came into existence; also the widespread teaching in Christendom today is that he was once a bright angel in heaven whose name was Lucifer and he became exalted and lifted up with pride and through jealousy and envy started a rebellion in heaven in which he was the loser and was cast out of heaven and came down to earth. All of this doctrine is based on a misunderstanding and wrong conception of certain scriptures. If the questioner in this case will purchase the booklet Was the Devil Ever in Heaven? from Faith Publishing House, P. O. Box 518, Guthrie, OK 73044, it gives a concise treatise on all those scriptures.

I, personally, cannot conceive of a holy God creating an unholy devil. That runs averse and contrary to the principles of truth set forth in the Holy Scriptures. Also, the idea of jealousy and pride ever getting into heaven and producing a rebellion and war up there is entirely foreign, to my thinking. If it were so, how could we have any assurance or find comfort in our hope in Christ of eternal peace, happiness, joy and security, which are the things that prove an anchor to our souls in our times of temptations, trials and sufferings in this world? If such a thing ever, at any time, got into heaven, could we have any definite assurance that it could not happen again?

As to the idea of God creating the devil, I will refer the reader to a few scriptures which in my mind present an impossibility of this ever having happened. Jesus said in His sermon on the mount, in Matthew 7:16-18, Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. In James 3:11-12 we read, Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Again we read in Job 14:4, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? no one. All the foregoing scriptures are saying the same thing; viz., that an infinitely holy God could not possibly have created an infinitely unholy devil, and all scriptures bearing on this subject confirm this. Again in Genesis 1:31 we read, And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good....

Could it be then that God created the devil a holy and righteous being and he fell from that into a degenerate, corrupt and vile being afterward? For the following reasons, I hardly think so. Jesus said to certain of the Jews of His day who were disputing with Him (John 8:44), Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. In I John 3:8 we read, He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.... We see, then, that he was a murderer, a liar, and a sinner from the beginning. He started out that way and has never changed. In regard to the beginning we read in Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. That is as far back as we can go with any degree of certainty. Everything before that is purely speculation. I would advise you not to try to delve into that. Now if that is the devil s beginning or if he existed back before that point in time is really not important. This is the first time he appears on the scene of action. He used the serpent to seduce Eve and through her, subsequently, to seduce Adam, and from there started the corrupt stream of sin in all its categories; all the misery, ruined lives, all sickness, grief, sorrow and trouble that the world knows or ever has known. So he was an evil being, a murderer, liar and sinner, at the time of beginning that we know anything about.

Now in concluding this part of the discussion, I would admonish every reader that you not waste time trying to figure out where the devil came from nor how he got here, but rather recognize that he is here now in very real form and just settle it in your hearts to steadfastly resist him in the faith and give no place to the devil lest he gain some advantage of you and seduce you, too.

Now a few thoughts and scriptures on Isaiah 45:7, ...I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." Evil has a meaning of moral evil (sin). But we could never think of a holy God ever producing or creating that. He gave His only Begotten Son, Jesus, to save us from that, so we could never rationally, reasonably think of Him creating that. But there is another meaning to evil such as famine, pestilence, war, and various kinds of calamities which God at various times has used to bring judgment upon people (even His own) because of their sins and injustices, etc., to punish them and bring them back in line with Him. In II Chronicles 20:9 Jehoshaphat prayed, If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. In I Kings 8:33-34 Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple, When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. This is one of the things which Jehoshaphat prayed for and classified as evil. God decreed the overthrow of Nineveh for their wickedness and sent Jonah to pronounce judgment on them. He did not want to go on that mission so went the other way. After Jonah had spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish which God had prepared for that purpose, he decided to go, and he did go to Nineveh and began to announce in their streets the message, ...Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. (Jonah 3:4.) The result was astounding! All the Ninevites, from the king on down, turned from their evil ways and repented and called mightily on God, and God saw and heard their repentance and turned from His purpose and spared them. Jonah 3:10 says, ...And God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. The evil, in this case, was the destruction of the city of Nineveh by whatever means God chose.

Job referred to all his trouble and grief the loss of all his animals, children, and his physical affliction, etc. as evil. In Job 2:10 he said to his wife, ...What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?...

There are numbers of other scriptures on this line, but I will go no further with it now. These are the kinds of evil God creates and uses for His purpose in chastising nations, cities, individuals, etc., for their sins, and to correct those wandering off-course from the straight and narrow way. But never moral evil. God forbid.