Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

By my understanding, angels were created to be holy beings, but also once had free will. This left them open to the sin of pride because of their exalted position, to which Lucifer succumbed (as recounted in Isaiah 14:12-14), causing him to attempt to overthrow God, with other angels joining him in that effort.

After they were cast out of heaven for their rebellion, the remaining angels (who had maintained loyalty and obedience to God of their own free will) became "elect" angels who were "sealed" in that condition, so that there would be no more such uprisings.

August 05 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Danny Hickman Supporter Believer in The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

The presumption in this question is that sin had a beginning, like it was born from something specific. That's like saying, fun or laughter had a beginning. Was jubilation born on the morning the 'sons of God shouted for joy?' (Job 38:7). Why did they shout, what did they get out of the laying of the foundation of the earth? It was instinctive, natural. They witnessed the power and wisdom of God and the beauty of his creative powers. They reacted by default. 

So what happened that made one of them plot to usurp God's authority? And how did his sinfulness spread to the angels who went along with him? 

Sin isn't a virus that attacks its victims. Romans 5:12 says, 'Sin came into the world through one man..' It didn't say sin had its beginning with that one man, Adam. It says Adam was the first to disobey God 'on the earth.' 

Satan lied to Adam and Eve; he deceived them. Was Satan told to stay away from Adam and Eve? Did he disobey God when he lied to those two people? 

There's this notion that sin can be defined neatly by saying 'it's the breaking of a law given by God.' But Romans 5:13 says, 'Sin was in the world before the law was given, but isn't counted where there is no law.' This isn't saying Adam's sin wasn't counted. Adam was given a law and he didn't keep it. 

Was Satan given a law? Was he told to never lie? Was he told to stay humble? If he was we weren't told about it. God wants us to rest assured that Satan's rebellion didn't surprise him. He tells us the names of the chosen were written in the slain Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world. That means this was all a part of his plan for life here. 

It's evident that the angels, like mankind, had/have what we call free will. Free will is tantamount to an option. (We can either run it or pass it, but we can't just stand still, the ball carrier has to do something with the ball). 
At least we know what we did wrong to lose our covering. What happened to Lucifer? Where did his rebellion stem from? He was described metaphorically as the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:15: "You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you." 

There it is! Now we know what sin is. Sin isn't the transgression of a law, sin is unrighteousness. Satan broke no rule, he was declared to be what Job was said to be: Blameless.. blameless doesn't describe an essence, it depicts actions. It means a person does what is right. It means a person refrains from doing what is wrong. Ezekiel's next verse says, ' In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;' meaning he then committed a wrongful act. Unrighteousness was already there, he just hadn't acted on it. 

'You were filled with violence in your midst...' What does that mean? What was happening? 'In the abundance of your trade...' That seems to say, 'A lot was going on.' 

Unrighteousness is defined in secular circles as 'wicked, morally wrong, not right, unfair, etc. Nothing is said of God; without God there is no unrighteousness, each party can decide for themselves what they think is right or wrong. Unrighteousness is opposition to God whether it is intended, known, or acknowledged or not. No action is required, it is and has always been a possibility. There's God's way and then there's everything else. His way and his thoughts are the only right ones. If we have the right thoughts about something we have his thoughts about it. The opposite doesn't have to be created by God, it's naturally there by default. 

Genesis 1 pronounced everything was created by God and was said to be good. So the question is where did "bad" come from, did God create it too? That's like the question about where darkness comes from. God created the light, but what about the darkness? It's there by default, you don't have to make it.

If you build a box and put nothing in it, you don't get credit for creating the emptiness of the box! It's empty by default.

September 28 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report