In Billy Graham's book "Angels" he brings out the pride and arrogance of Satan, by the five "I Wills" of Satan.
" Lucifer, the son of the morning, was created, as were all angels, for the purpose of glorifying God. However, instead of serving God and praising Him forever, Satan desired to rule over heaven and creation in the place of God. He wanted supreme authority! Lucifer said (Isaiah 14), "I will ascend into heaven." "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." "I will sit upon the mount of the congregation." "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds." "I will be like the most high." I...I...I...I...I.
Lucifer was not satisfied with being subordinated to his creator. he wanted to usurp God's throne. he exalted at the thought of being the center of power throughout the universe - he wanted to be the Caesar, the Napoleon, the Hitler of the entire universe. The "I will" spirit is the spirit of rebellion. "
The pride and arrogance of Satan led to his fall.
In John H. Sailhamer's book "Biblical Prophecy", he brings out the fall of Satan.
" Satan and his demons play a central role in the prophetic view of the future. Evil exists in God's good world, but it is not eternal. God will one day destroy Satan and remove his evil influence from His good creation. Evil came from a single rebellious act of a one-time great angel of God, Lucifer. In Jude 6 we are told that some angels "did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home." From several passages we can reconstruct a general outline of what the Bible teaches about Satan and his demons.
Satan and his demons are clearly fallen angels. They were created good along with the rest of God's creation. But they later rebelled and lost their standing with God and became God's eternal enemies. The Bible calls them "spiritual forces of evil, in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12). Through them sin and rebellion entered into the human race and the rest of creation (see Genesis 3). The serpent who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden was Satan. The very word "Satan," in fact, means "adversary."
We learn more about the fall of Satan in the prophetic imagery Ezekiel uses to describe the forces of evil in his own day. Ezekiel accuses the king of Tyre of the same sin of pride and arrogance that the angel Lucifer (Satan) displayed in his defiant rebellion from God's rule. Thus, by paying close attention to Ezekiel's imagery (Ezek. 28:11-19), we can catch a glimpse of the events that led to Satan’s fall. Originally, Satan was "the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" (28:12). He lived "in Eden, the garden of God" (28:13), surrounded by beauty prepared for him when he was created (28:13). He was "blameless in [his] ways" (28:15). All this changed, however, when his "heart became proud on account of [his] beauty" (28:17) and his wisdom was corrupted (28:17).
Isaiah used similar imagery as he describes the fall of Babylon (Isa. 14:3-23); through it we can add to our picture of the fall of Satan. Satan is the "morning star" (Lucifer), "fallen from heaven" (14:12)...Pride and power lay at the heart of his sin. it is thus no accident that Satan’s first temptation of Eve centered on her desire to "be like God" (gen. 3:5).
The Biblical writers take seriously the threat of Satan and his angels. They pose the central threat to God's kingdom. Their end, however, is sealed (Rev. 20:7-10). "
By George Konig
October 8, 2006
www.georgekonig.org
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