On the Origin of the Fall of Lucifer

Both Isaiah and Ezekiel rightly describe the fall of Lucifer and rightly ascribe his motive as being one of pride. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-29. But neither prophet relates exactly from where this pride came. Ezekiel implies in 28:15 that this iniquity just suddenly appeared, as if from nowhere.




Colossians 1:16-17 teaches that God created all things, "visible and invisible." This means that God not only created all things we can see, but also all things we cannot see such as "ideas" and "emotions." Therefore, God created "pride," but God has never used "pride," or any other of the infinite things He has created, except in creative and useful ways. In fact, God does not even know how to use any thing He has created except in creative and useful ways. God wanted Lucifer to feel "proud" of his beauty and position that God had given him as long as his "pride" was properly balanced by "humility."



But something strange suddenly happened to Lucifer. He used his free will to annul his "humility" and exalt his "pride." In other words, Lucifer misused the emotion called "pride" and turned it to an exaltation of himself and rebellion against God. It is no accident that the Old Testament word for sin is "khata" which means "missing the mark," and the New Testament word is "harmarta" which also means "missing the mark." Sin is the misuse of God's creations; that is, "missing the mark" by failing to use the things that God has created in the useful and creative ways that He has intended.



II Thessalonians 2:7 informs us that iniquity is a mystery. This has to mean that it is a mystery even to God. But this mystery does not diminish God's omniscience or omnipotence in the least because God's infinite creative knowledge and power can accomplish anything good. The Word of God often equates sin and evil with "vanity," which means "emptiness." "Emptiness" can never diminish God's infinite power and knowledge, for "emptiness" is exactly where sin came from and exactly where it will be sent when God cleanses His universe.