Lesson 20

When God created the angels, he gave them the ability to choose to do good and follow him in the ways of love. The Bible does not tell us how long the angels continued to follow in God’s loving ways but it does have a few passages most scholars believe describe when the angels chose to go their own way. These verses’ interpretations need to be applied to Satan by the reader, as they start out describing a worldly king, then switch to compare him to Satan, as they place him in a time where no human could have been. As with other parts of the Bible, the reader needs to discern what is literal and what is referring to a different subject and context. To glean all the information as God had intended from the scriptures, it is imperative that all words are translated directly from the original text. In these accounts, the angel’s choices led to war, destruction and a new evil presence within the created realm of God, before the creation of man. God didn’t create Satan as evil but allowed him and the angels to choose their own path. The number of angels that followed Satan is never given but is also cryptically referred to elsewhere. Do you believe these verses are referring to Satan and the angels? Do you believe these were actual events that took place or are they only part of a religious story not based in reality? How do you think the Bereans understood these scriptures and should their example affect what we believe?

Isaiah 14:12-16 King James Version
12 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! 13 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: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

Revelation 12:3-4…7-9 International Standard Version
3 Then another sign appeared in the sky: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and knocked them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born. 7 Then a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels fought back. 8 But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.