After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea. “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” (Revelation 7: 1-3, NIV, Emphasis provided).
Gracious God, we need Your help in this warfare against evil. We need for You to help us as we study Your Word. We commit the keeping of our minds to Your care during this time of study, in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
“Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts, absolutely.” This is a true saying. We will observe it being fulfilled, in retrospect, in the life of the Adversary. Lucifer was powerful. After the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the next in position was Lucifer. That was a superlative position for a created being. But for Lucifer, it was not enough. He wanted more. Scripture tells us, “And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Revelation 12: 7). Today we will be considering the reason for the war in heaven, and the reason that Lucifer was cast out. This will serve as an introduction to the second half of our study on, “Guarding The Entrance To Our Minds”.
The Bible tells us of the extraordinary beauty and talent conferred upon Lucifer at creation. Obviously, it became more than he could handle; and suddenly, it was not enough! There is astonishment at his fall! “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!” You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned, on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ ”
There are several factors to be considered here. Let us begin by asking the question, “What was wrong with him wanting to be, “like the Most High?” In order to attempt giving an answer to this question, it is important for us to note that there is a difference between being “like the Most High,” and “godlikeness.” In the book Education, page 18, we read, “…godliness, godlikeness, is the goal to be reached.” Another factor to be considered are motives. If you will observe the emphasized portions of Isaiah 14, a pattern will emerge that is very revealing. “I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned;” on the utmost heights; above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. There is an obvious desire to compete with “the Most High,” and outdo Him! His motives were wrong!
After studying what was wrong with his desire to be like God, let us now consider why he wanted to be “like the Most High!” What was behind his wrong motives? In one sentence: He wanted to be worshipped! There are two main reasons why people worship. One is because of love; the other reason is because of fear. God gave human beings free choice, knowing that we could choose to worship Him, or not. His desire is that we worship Him because of our love for Him. Satan preys on people, and holds them captive. Their motive for worshipping him is not important to him. His supreme objective is to be worshipped, in place of God!
We will continue tomorrow.