God's Masterpiece Part 1 – The Beginning
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, He made angels who were immaterial beings, pure spirits of glorious nature. Each spirit was so unique that each one was a species unto itself. Each one coming to a realisation of themselves and then their Creator, and immediately giving glory to its Creator. Being creatures who were pure spirit they knew many things instantly and God had made them with intellects far greater than any other creature He had planned. The heavenly spirits were more powerful than we could imagine and by their nature were the highest and most glorious in all of creation.
Among these heavenly spirits the highest and most powerful was a seraph named Lucifer. Lucifer was beautiful, he was one of the Burning Ones, a Seraphim made to burn with the Love of God, his creator. He was immensely powerful and intelligent. His angelic intellect allowed him to look deep into the future possibilities and he was able to extrapolate the fall of Man – creatures created in the image and likeness of God. Lucifer thought that, if God were to create such stupid beings with free will and then give them so much responsibility and power over material creation, of course they would disobey God and ruin everything. He was also able to foresee the Incarnation – God the Son, his Creator, becoming a man. He predicted God, not only assuming human nature, but quite possibly suffering and dying to save these wretched, stupid humans so that they might be restored into communion with Himself.
We don’t know exactly why Lucifer rebelled but there are a few possible reasons. The common thread in these stories has always been Lucifer’s pride, and refusal to love and serve his Creator.
One story is that Lucifer and a third of the heavenly spirits refused to love their fellow spirits out of pride. When God’s desire to love everyone was made known to them, they rebelled. Lucifer thought he was too good to love his fellow angels and to obey God’s Will.
Another story is that; Lucifer, when he extrapolated and figured out his Creator, God the Son, would be incarnate as a human to save those of a race that rejected God, he would have to bow down, worship and serve a Son of Man. Lucifer was too great and glorious by nature for this humiliation, and therefore he rebelled.
A third story, and this rings true for me, is that Lucifer, as we mentioned before, had figured out and foreseen the Incarnation. It was acceptable to him to bow down before the Son of Man as it was still God the Son, who although in human vesture, was still his Creator. But he learned of the Woman. The Woman who was just a human, her nature closer to an ant than to him, Lucifer, who was so magnificent as a seraphim, closer to God than anyone else. He learned that the Woman would be raised above all created beings, and by the grace of God become the Queen of the Angels, and of all creation. She would, after all, be the mother of the Lord of Hosts. The thought of bowing down in respect to her galled him. These humans were beings of flesh, smelly and dirty, they couldn’t fly or even have fur! So he rebelled and said – “Non Serviam!” (I will not serve!). In his pride he sought to overthrow God. He corrupted the music of the Creator and convinced other angels to join him.
Now Elohim (one of the names of God) could have struck Lucifer down. He had, after all, created Lucifer out of nothing. But Elohim chose to show His glory and power in a different way.
First, Elohim raised Michael, a lowly archangel. Michael was incredibly weak compared to the seraphim Lucifer. When Lucifer sought to place himself in the place of Elohim, Michael stood up to him and asked defiantly – “Who is like El?” (El was another name for God). El empowered Michael to wage war against Lucifer and his rebellious angels. Michael and the heavenly hosts cast Lucifer from Heaven, by the power of El.
'God had shown the power of His arm.
He had scattered the proud of heart,
He had pulled down the proud from their seat
And exalted the humble.'
