Today we will examine the origin of sin and why God continues to allow pain and suffering to go on. I realize this is a heavy topic because most everyone has known someone whose life was cut short way too soon or we at least have seen news reports of one kind of violent tragedy or another. Yes pain and death have been a part of this earth's history since very near the beginning of time. The question we will examine is did God create the devil? When I say the word devil what comes to mind? A red leotarded figure with a tail and horns and a pitch fork? What does the Bible have to say about all of this? Our scripture reading for today comes from the book of Ezekiel chapter 28 verse 12 through to verse 17 which reads, "12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 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. 14 Thou art
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. 15
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee,
O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/EZK.28.KJV
So who exactly is Satan and why is he here and seemingly allowed free reign? Our Scripture reading indicates that he was a perfect cherub in heaven until iniquity or sin was found in him and that he was a created being. Isaiah 14 gives us some more light on the subject. starting in verse 12 and continuing to verse 15. "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."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/ISA.14.KJV I heard a sermon like this from my father once and he said that in the middle of all PR-I-DE is an "I" problem. Satan said repeatedly I will, I will, I will. Luke 10:18 reads, "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." 1 John 3:8 says, "He that committeth sin is of the devil;
for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/1JN.3.KJV Revelation 12:3,4,7-9
gives us more of the story when it says, "3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." https://my.bible.com/bible/1/REV.12.KJV So in the beginning Satan was a created angel who became prideful because of his beauty and he and 1/3 of the other angels were cast out of heaven to this earth. Satan wanted to be God, he wanted the worship of the other angels and 1/3 of them had decided to follow him instead of God. Revelation 22:8-9 tells us that angels are not to be worshiped. "8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I
fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me,
See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book:
worship God."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/REV.22.KJV In the first two of the ten commandments we find this law Exodus 20:3-6 "Thou shalt have
no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/EXO.20.KJV Only God is deserving of our worship. According to Job 2:2 which says, "And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it";
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/JOB.2.KJV Satan has been walking around on this earth since it's creation, he is not off in a place called hell. Make no mistake there WILL be a real hell, but it is not now burning, more on that in another sermon.
So how does Satan feel about humans? Revelation 12:12 "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!
for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/REV.12.KJV And 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/1PE.5.KJV Satan hates us all and would rather see us dead than anything else. Satan uses every method that he can to deceive, discourage and destroy us, God's creation.
https://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/study-guide/e/4979/t/did-god-create-the-devil-
The book of Job gives us many insights as to why bad things happen to "good" people. (Read the first two chapters) The synopsis is that Job was a good man and Satan asked God for permission to hurt him and God granted the permission. God must allow Satan some leeway in order for everyone in heaven and on earth to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin. The good news is that one day very soon God will put and end to all of the sin and suffering and we will never again have to worry about pain, suffering or death. Isaiah 45:23 "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/ISA.45.KJV Nahum 1:9 "What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end:
affliction shall not rise up the second time."
https://my.bible.com/bible/1/NAM.1.KJV
Ezekiel 28:12-17
| D | C | D | B | E | E | N | D | H | D | N | K | T | M | D |
| E | O | E | R | M | B | R | T | E | O | R | H | S | O | I |
| T | V | T | I | W | E | I | O | I | R | T | O | E | D | A |
| P | E | N | G | A | A | R | T | F | E | A | V | L | S | M |
| U | R | I | H | S | U | A | C | R | E | E | P | A | I | O |
| R | I | O | T | T | T | O | E | H | R | R | Y | E | W | N |
| R | N | N | N | N | Y | V | C | Y | A | C | E | S | R | D |
| O | G | A | E | W | O | R | K | M | A | N | S | H | I | P |
| C | U | M | S | C | E | T | N | R | M | I | D | S | T | S |
| L | A | T | S | A | C | E | B | S | A | R | D | I | U | S |
| L | I | F | T | E | D | U | T | I | T | L | U | M | S | S |
| U | E | E | F | R | N | P | R | E | C | I | O | U | S | E |
| F | D | R | A | C | E | R | I | H | P | P | A | S | O | N |
| A | E | G | L | F | R | O | M | O | U | N | T | A | I | N |
| P | N | E | R | Y | T | I | U | Q | I | N | I | N | A | M |
|
| ANOINTED | BEAUTY | BEEN |
| BRIGHTNESS | CARBUNCLE | CAST |
| CORRUPTED | COVERETH | COVERING |
| CREATED | DIAMOND | EDEN |
| EVERY | FROM | FULL |
| GARDEN | INIQUITY | LAMENTATION |
| LIFTED | LORD | MAN |
| MERCHANDISE | MIDST | MOUNTAIN |
| MULTITUDE | OUT | PERFECT |
| PRECIOUS | PREPARED | SAITH |
| SAPPHIRE | SARDIUS | SAY |
| SEALEST | SON | SUM |
| THEREFORE | TYRE | WAST |
| WISDOM | WORKMANSHIP |
