Question:
SINCE IT’S THE DEVIL THAT MAY CAUSE US TO SIN, WHO MADE LUCIFER REBEL?? WAS IT GOD’S WILL FOR HIM TO DO THAT? BECAUSE IF IT WERE NOT, WOULDN’T HE HAVE DESTROYED HIM?
Answer:
Satan may tempt us to sin, but he cannot make us sin. Notice the situation with Eve. Genesis 3:1-7 says, “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And WHEN THE WOMAN SAW that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, SHE TOOK of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; AND HE DID EAT. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” It was Adam and Eve’s choice as to sin or not — and they chose to go ahead and disobey God.
All living creatures that God has made have free wills — man, angels, and animals. The serpent (a snake) yielded itself to be used of the devil, and thereby received a curse upon it. Genesis 3:14 says, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; UPON THY BELLY SHALT THOU GO, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” The snake still crawls on its belly today, because of that occasion.
It is obvious that man has a free will, from the passage above, where Adam and Eve sinned.
Angels also have free wills. Satan was an angelic creature — one of the cherubs. Ezekiel 28:13-15 says, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. THOU ARE THE ANOINTED CHERUB that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
How did Satan fall from such a lofty position? Pride was his problem. Isaiah 14:12-15 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! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” Satan was created with a free will, and in his pride, he wanted to take over God’s position.
Satan’s day is coming that he will be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10 says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Not only will the devil spend eternity there, but so will all of mankind that exercise their free wills and reject the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Matthew 25:41 says, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
God allows Satan to roam for these centuries, because man also has a free will, and must make a choice. He will either follow those who would entice him to sin; or he can come to God who loves him and wants to save him. Which choice have you made?