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“I
will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her Seed” Genesis 3:15 (NASB)
The
Bible begins with an amazing conflict between Satan and a woman!
As
early as the third chapter of Genesis, shortly after the creation of
the first human pair, we witness a mysterious scene of conversation
between the serpent and the woman.
“Now
the Serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the
Lord God had made. And he said to the woman Indeed has God said, ‘You
shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?’”. Genesis 3:1
The
background to this famous conversation is not recorded in the Bible
in explicit detail, but one can draw certain conclusions based on
what may have been the underlying reasons for such attempts on the
part of the serpent to entrap the woman.
In
order to understand this encounter between the serpent and the woman,
and to properly measure its enormity and peril, we must return to the
ions before the creation and view the events that transpired prior
to, and shortly after, the creation of the world.
The
Serpent
In
Genesis 1:1 we have the record of the creation of the universe.
When
the universe did came into being we do not know. Scientists estimate
that some time around 20 billion years ago, through an explosive
process called the “Big Bang”, the universe came into being.
The
Bible confirms this and clarifies that this “Big Bang” was
engineered and conducted by the creator: God!
Many
Biblical scholars, and I subscribe to their views, believe that
something cataclysmic happened shortly after the creation of the
material universe: the rebellion and the fall of Satan and the rise
of an evil empire of fallen and depraved spirits who invaded the
universe in order to destroy its order and the
habitational
environment for God’s ultimate masterpiece: Man!
In
Isaiah 14:12-17 we read an interesting account, perhaps that of Satan
falling from God’s presence.
12”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!
13
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;
14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the
Most High.’
15
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To
the lowest depths of the Pit.
16
“ Those who see you will gaze at you,
And
consider you, saying:
‘
Is
this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who
shook kingdoms,
17
Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who
did not open the house of his prisoners?’
In
this passage we notice several facts:
-
Lucifer,
Son of the morning, fell from Heaven. The question is when did he
fall? I believe he fell sometime after the creation of the universe,
but prior to the creation of man. Most Biblical scholars point to
the vagueness of the word, “Hayah” in
Genesis 2:2. The verse reads:
And
the earth was
formless
and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the
Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
The
word translated “was” may also be rendered to mean “became”
which is perhaps the more accurate rendering since the word Hayah is
a dynamic word and not a passive one.
If
“became” is a better rendering of the word “Hayah”, then one
may conclude that an event of cataclysmic proportion caused such deep
and massive void and darkness. Further evidence of such catastrophic
disfiguration of the planet earth may be seen by the way the writer
connects this void and darkness with the actions of the Holy Spirit.
It seems that the movement of the Holy Spirit upon the surface of the
waters was a reactionary movement and not a mere speculative or
observatory one.
The
Spirit of God is seen rushing to remedy this disastrous outcome and
rapidly transacting with the earth elements to bring about the ideal
environment necessary to sustain and nurture all forms of life,
especially that of humans.
This
reactionary statement in verse 2, coupled with the verb used to
describe the consequential condition of the earth, leads us to not
only speculate but confidently state that Lucifer, the son of the
morning fell from the presence of God, due to his rebellion, between
verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1.
-
The
root cause of the fall of Satan is revealed in verse 13 of Isaiah
14.
Lucifer’s
agenda was to ascend to a position of prominence and pre-eminence
equal that of his creator.
“‘
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;
14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I
will be like the Most High.’”
Lucifer
is seen here attempting to rise above all angelic beings and become
equal to God. The term “stars of God” speak of God’s heavenly
hosts, namely the angels employed in the service of the throne of
Heaven. He, Lucifer, conspired to be above all hosts and powers. He
desired equality with the Lord. In his view dualism was an acceptable
cosmic arrangement. God and Lucifer to co-exist as co-equals! Two
equal powers exerting their power and influence on the creation
below. Zoroastrian
doctrine
of Ahuromazda (God) and Ahriman (Satan) resemble this thought
pattern.
The
Bible rejects duality and co-equality of powers in the universe.
There is only one creator and one ultimate reality and power and that
is God!
Notice
the lust for equality with God is precisely the same enticing words
the serpent used on the woman!
"For
God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened,
and you
will be like God,
knowing good and evil."
Genesis
3:5
What
he desired to achieve and failed horribly, triggering his expulsion
from the heavenly realms, is now being injected into the thoughts of
Eve!
-
Lucifer,
the son of the morning, caused the desolation of the world. In verse
17 of Isaiah 14 it states,
“Who
made the world as a wilderness”
The
action of this creature destroyed the newly created earth and made it
as arid and void as a wilderness. This is consistent with the
description of the earth in Genesis 1:2 and the reaction of the
Spirit of God in response to such ruin.
We
can therefore conclude that Satan who had decided to oppose God at
every turn was set to confront Him at every corner and to be a menace
to His plans and purposes. The grandest of these plans and purposes
was the creation of man, who was to be created with the image and
likeness of God and with the ability to exercise independent and free
will decisions and power that would ultimately destroy the son of the
morning.
Did
Satan know of God’s intentions to create man prior to his fall?
Was
the Genesis story of serpent’s encounter with Eve an intentional
and premeditated event?
The
answer to these questions may tell us more as to why the Bible was
written and to what end does the Biblical history look forward to.
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