5 Did Elohim create Satan the devil?

Did Elohim create Satan the devil?

To understand what is happening in the world today and what will happen in the near future, we must back track to events that occurred before the creation of mankind about 6,000 years ago. The account of how a high-ranking spiritual being of extraordinary beauty, power, and intelligence named Lucifer an anointed cherub and his angels became known as Satan and his demons is a fact most people are not even aware of today. But it is also one of the keys Elohim gave us to better understanding mankind’s purpose and destiny, which is linkedto the pre-historic conflict that began with Lucifer’s rebellion against Elohim.

In fact many people alive today and in the past ridicule/d the Scriptural account of how the world began, because they find anomalies in archeological discoveries made throughout the past six thousand years, which they maintain, do not match up with what is recorded in the Scriptures. Here in South Africa school going children are nowadays taught about all the different religions of the world, including the theory of evolution; the idea is that when they grow up, they will be able to make an informed decision about which religion they should follow. An educational program presented to scholars on TV about evolution recently,ridiculed Churchianity for teaching that the world is only about six thousand years old. Fact is that most people are unaware of the fact that YHVH created the universe millions of years before He recreated the earth to be inhabited by spirit bearing mankind, who would eventually become His children. They also do not know that after Satan’s rebellion, the universe became formless and void (transliterated as ‘tohu-vav-vohu’ in the Hebrew Tanach); the condition the earth was in, in Genesis 1: 2. We need to understand that Elohim did not create the earth to be in the chaotic condition described in verse 2 of Genesis 1, as also witnessed by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 45: 18, saying: ‘For thus says, YHVH who created the heavens (He is the Elohim who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am YHVH, and there is none else.”’

YHVH is not the author of confusion, but of law and order, and of peace, as is confirmed in the first part of first Corinthians 14: 33, as follows: ‘For Elohim is not an Elohim of confusion but of peace.’YHVH did not create the world in disorder to later straighten it out again.But, what the Scriptures are telling us in Genesis 1: 1 is:“In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and earth”and it was good, and in Genesis 1:2; ‘and the earth was (or became) formless and void…’or chaotic. So it is clear that in the period between the two verses, a rebellion took place, causing the once perfect earth to become a mess. We read about a discussion Elohim had with Job in Job 38: 4 – 7 saying to him: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth! Tell Me, if you have understanding,(5) Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? (6) On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, (7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of Elohim shouted for joy?’ Verse 7 informs us that the angels sang together and shouted for joy after Elohim created the earth, implying a perfect and glorious creation. However their joy was in due course followed by disappointment, since verse 13 talks about a shaking of the earth to deal with the wicked.

Now, let’s consider what the wickedness was that cause the physical destruction of the entire surface of the earth. We can be certain that it was definitely not due to any sin of humanity, since there had been no man on earth until the sixth day of the recreation of the earth. Even though the chaos that came about was not due to the wrongdoing of any human at that time, living beings populated the earth because a sin was committed on earth that resulted in the condition of confusion it wasin before its recreation. But, what kind of life populated the earth, prior to Adam and the six days Elohim spent in recreating the earth? Rav Kepha gives us a hint to what happened in the first part of 2 Peter 2: 4, saying: ‘For if Elohim did not spare angels when they sinned.’ Then in verses 5 & 6, Rav Kepha mentions the two occasions during which mankind sinned after the recreation of the world when Elohim destroyed the perpetrators, saying: ‘And did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven other, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (6) and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter.’ Elohim destroyed the surface of the region in which these cities were located, because of the sins committed by those who lived in them, as an example for us not to live like their inhabitants did. Yet, today similar things are happening throughout the earth. Continuing with the same topic in Jude 6 &7 we see a further description of what happened to the sinning angels, but also to the inhabitants of these two cities, as follows: ‘And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. (7) Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.’ From this we see that angels inhabited the earth together with pre-historic animals and plants before Elohim blotted out with water everything that Satan had done.

These angels abandoned their proper abode, but we have the assurance that the world to come will not be in subjection unto angles aswe read in Hebrews 2: 5, in this way: ‘For He did not subject to the angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.’ This as well as the witness in first John 5: 19 informsus, that the present world is in subjection to fallen angels, as follows: ‘We know that we (those called and chosen at this time) are of Elohim, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.’ But, how did these fallen angels obtain control over the world? We see that Satan is called the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4: 3 & 4, in this way: ‘And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, (4) in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of Elohim.’ Yahshua also referred to Satan the devil as the leader of the fallen angels in amongst other in John 12: 31, saying: “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out.” In fact in agreement with this, we read from Revelation 12: 9, ‘And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with Him.’ As the image of Elohim, Yahshua who existed from days of eternity (as per Micah 5: 2), saw when Satan was thrown out of heaven, as He told those whom He sent out to proclaim the coming kingdom of Elohim in Luke 10: 18, saying: “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.’

To see the account of Satan unfold, let’s turn to Isaiah 14 and start reading from verses 3& 4, where Isaiah speaks to the house of Jacob, saying: ‘And it will be in the day when YHVH gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, (4) that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased, and how fury has ceased!’But, who is this king of Babylon Isaiah is talking about? This tells us that he was the one who disrupted the earth, causing all the trouble over the past 6,000 years. It is only when we read further in Isaiah 14 that we discover his identity, but we also know from the prophecies described in Revelation 17 & 18 that he will be the future ruler over the resurrected Babylon or ‘Holy Roman Empire’, the system described in Revelation 13 which will receive power from Satan.We read further from verse 12 – 14 of Isaiah 14: “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! (13) But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars (angels) of Elohim, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north (where Elohim’s throne is). (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ The former archangel Lucifer was in charge over a third of the angels who followed him in rebellion. He had a throne, but wanted to invade heaven to dethrone Elohim.

We are given more details about this cherub who became Satan in Ezekiel 28. Commencing from verse 2 we see that the human prince of Tyre, as a type of the present system that will get much worse in the future, is referred to as being wealthy and surrounded by perfect beauty, thinking to himself, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of Elohim.’ We see from 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 Rav Shaul telling the Thessalonians about the great falling away from the faith, before the coming of Messiah, when the man of sin will appear, saying: ‘Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the coming of Messiah) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (4) who opposes and exults himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of Elohim, displaying himself as being Elohim.’Then, similar to in Isaiah 14, the human type is elevated to the spiritual realm as Satan in verse 12 of Ezekiel 28, in this way: “Son of man take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says YHVH Elohim.“The entire prophecy beginning in Ezekiel 26 -28 refers to Satan, and not to the ruler of the ancient city of Tyre, but to the immediate future before the coming of Messiah to remove Satan from his position as ruler of the earth. The prophecy focusses on the end of Satan’s rulership over the nations of the earth. It, accordingly speaks about Satan himself, from the middle of verse 12 to 17 of Ezekiel 28, as follows: “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (13) You were in Eden, the garden of Elohim; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared. (14) You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain (Government) of Elohim; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. (16) By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of Elohim. And I have destroyed (removed) you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (17)Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.’This is definitely not talking about a human being, since Elohim would not say of a human that he seals up the sum of wisdom, beauty and perfection – this is talking about the created being as shown in verse 14.

This being was at the very throne of Elohim; he once was one of the cherubs depicted in the model of the heavenly throne of Elohim, which Moses had to make for the tabernacle in the wilderness, as described in Exodus 25: 17 – 20, in this way: “And you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubit wide. (18) And you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. (19) And make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. (20) And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat.” We see that Satan was once one of the cherubim whose wings spread out and covered the throne of Elohim, butwas at that time thrown down to the earth, because of his rebellion against Elohim.

At this point, let’s summarize what we’ve covered up to now. After creating the heavens and the earth in a perfect state, the angels shouted for joy. From this we understand that the earth was populated by angels from the time the universe was first created. At that time Lucifer, a super archangel sat on a throne and was part of the administration of Elohim’s government, having been at the very throne of Elohim. Elohim placed Lucifer on the throne on earth to administer His government over the earth’s angels. For thousands of years there was peace, joy and happiness on earth, until as it says in verse 15 of Ezekiel 28, unrighteousness was found in Lucifer. To be sure, Elohim did not create Satan the devil, but a perfect archangel named Lucifer. But because like with us, Lucifer and all the created angels were endowed with free moral agency – minds that could think and reason, with the right to make choices and decisions. Eventually in the course of time Lucifer became arrogant because of his beauty and perfection and he became envious of Elohim’s power. He therefore conspired with the angels under his authority to invade the third heaven, to take over Elohim’s throne over the universe. In a similar way Satan will use his deceptive power to convince the ‘Prince of Tyre” that will in the future cause this public figure to claim that he, a man is G-d. Lucifer was no longer the ‘light bringer’, but became Elohim’s adversary. His third of the angels, united with him in his rebellion, and they fought against Elohim and the other angels, which resulted in chaos on the earth.Satan, who was perfect in all his ways prior to his rebellion, sinned with full knowledge, and as a result and because he was a spirit being, could not return to Elohim in repentance. As human beings we do not have all knowledge, and when YHVH dispelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden He also partially blinded them. As flesh and blood humans, we may return to Elohim in repentance and will be forgiven, provided we do not sin willfully.

David described Elohim’s reaction to Satan’s rebellion in Psalm 18: 7 – 15, saying:‘Then the earth shook and quaked; and the foundations of the mountains were trembling and were shaken, because He was angry. (8) Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and fire from His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. (9) He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. (10) And He rode upon a cherub and flew; and He sped upon the wings of the wind. (11) He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. (12) From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, hailstones and coals of fire. (13) YHVH also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones and coals of fire. (14) And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, and lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. (15) Then the channels of water appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Thy rebuke, O YHVH, at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils.’ At this point the earth shook and quaked and went out of course, as the prophet Jeremiah described in Jeremiah 4: 23& 24, saying: ‘I looked on the earth and behold it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. (24) I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.’ Rav Kepha also wrote about this event in 2 Peter 3: 5 & 6, saying: ‘For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of Elohim the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, (6) through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.’ YHVH had to bring judgment upon Lucifer and as a result the contaminated earth perished. The earth’s axial position shifted by more than 23 degrees and caused a pendulum effect to the waters of the earth, moving it back and forth, until it eventually came to rest. Evidence ofanimal hordes (including dinosaurs) and plant fragments destroyed by the churning waters, flooded the continents with animal fossils and destroyed plant life, bearing witness to this earth’s shaking catastrophe. This was much worse than the flood at Noah’s time, since the world in Noah’s day was not destroyed and his ark drifted only a few hundred miles without sails. The catastrophe caused by Lucifer’s rebellion carried masses of ice and rock for thousands of miles and the earth underwent a catastrophe, known by geologist as the ‘Ice Age’, during which all physical life forms perished and the earth became formless and void.

It was at that point that YHVH decided to recreate the heavens and the earth. He also decided not to create his future children as spiritual beings, but to initially create human kind from physical matter, in His image with the mind power to think and plan and ‘create’. They too would have free moral agency to decide between good and evil. They had to prove throughout their lives that they would follow Elohim’s way of life and ultimately develop His perfect character, by which time He will change them into spiritual beings. When YHVH originally created the universe through his word, He did not create darkness. But, even in Lucifer’s rebellion when he caused the earth to be totally destroyed, the all-knowing Elohim used the darkness that resulted to provide night for physical man to rest in. In addition YHVH used the destruction that Satan caused to place fossilized fuels, such as oil and coal, at our disposal for use in the advanced technology that He inspired us to develop during the past hundred years or so, before Yahshua’s return to come and rule us, for a thousand years.

We need to understand that the three archangels, as well as all the other angels were never destined to become more than the servants of Elohim. They were never destined to become children of Elohim, and were not created to procreate themselves in any way. Not a single one of all the myriads of angels created by Elohim can be begotten of Elohim and born-again into the family of Elohim, as His children. After the rebellion of Satan, and the destruction of the universe, when YHVH recreated the earth, He created humans and for the first time gave them the potential to become born-again Sons of Elohim to rule the earth and ultimately the entire universe under Yahshua the Messiah. The problem facing mankind at this time more than before, is that Satan is fully aware of these truths and hates us with a vengeance. Satan and his demons view us as a serious threat to their way of life. With this perverted view, Satan who tried to usurp all Elohim’s power and authority, considers human beings as opponents, since Elohim has destined mankind to replace him and his demons as rulers of this world. It is for this reason that Satanis the adversary of both Elohim and His future children, as is evidenced by his name in both Hebrew and Greek, given in Revelation 9: 11, in this way: ‘They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon (meaning destruction), and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.’ Satan hates Elohim’s plan of salvation for all mankind depicted by the annual Feast Days which He introduced to Moses in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, and it is for this reason that he deceived especially those who claim faith in Messiah, about the pagan holy days that they are commanded to keep annually.Satan deceived Eve to believe she has an immortal soul in the Garden of Eden, when he told her in Genesis 3: 4, saying: “Ye shall not surely die.’ Since that time, he has succeeded in ‘selling’ his aspirations and ultimate destiny to gullible mankind, as their main religious doctrines – which are totally un-scriptural. Yes, Satan wanted to go to heaven, so the churches teach a doctrine of going to heaven. Lucifer is a spirit being and is therefore immortal – the churches teach that flesh and blood human beings are immortal. Messiah said that an everlasting fire awaits Satan and his demons – and similarly the churches teach that an everlasting fire awaits all sinners.This is what distracts these millions of deceived people from believing the true gospel about the coming Kingdom of Elohim.

Because Satan knows his time is short, Rav Kepha warned those of us living at the time of the end saying in first Peter 5: 8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”It is also for this reason that Rav Shaul warned us in Ephesians 6, to put on the whole armor of Elohim, saying in verse 12: ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places(four kinds of demons).’ We cannot afford to be ignorant of Satan’s tactics as Rav Shaul warns in 2 Corinthians 2: 11, saying: ‘In order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.’ Continuing in Ephesians 6: 13 Rav Shaul wrote: ‘Therefore, take up the full armor of Elohim, that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.’He informs us in verses 14 – 17 what the full armor of Elohim consist of, saying:‘Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, (according to Psalm 119: 142 & 151 Torah and all Elohim’s commandments are truth – so we need to study and obey the commandments of Elohim, totemper our animal instincts with Torah) and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (we practice righteousness by doing what YHVH requires of us in Torah, such as keeping Elohim’s Sabbaths, eating only kosher food; nor stealing or killing, nor committing adultery, wearing tzitzit, etc.), (15) and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE (believing and proclaiming the gospel of the coming Kingdom of Elohim, knowing that despite the current hopeless condition of the world, there is something much better coming when Messiah will return to rule the world from Jerusalem.); (16) in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith (Elohim’s plan of salvation for all mankind, depicted in His annual Feast Days given in Leviticus 23) with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. (17) And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION (faith in Messiah, the Helmet of Salvation, who came to redeem us from our indebtedness because of not obeying Elohim’s commandments, to cover our sins), and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Elohim.’ This will ensure that we are protected from the attacks of these four kinds of demons, who targets different areas of our bodies, through the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and deception;namely our heads (minds), upper bodies (hearts), hands and loins (private parts), but also our legs and feet.

But this is not all, Rav Shaul continues in Ephesians 6: 18 – 20, saying:‘With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, (19) and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, (20) for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.’This is the only way in which to overcome Satan and force him to flee from us. Fact is that without knowing and preaching the true Gospel (the gospel about the coming kingdom of Elohim) and obeying Torah, modern Churchianity has no leg to stand on. It is as Yahshua taught in John 5: 46 & 47, saying: “For if you believed Moses you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. (47) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” Moses wrote the Torah and Yahshua gave us the good news about the coming kingdom of Elohim, but sadly most church-goers today reject both the true gospel and the writings of Moses. Even though Satan has been cast down to the earth, he and his millions of demonsare still trying to take dominion from Elohim. In fact Yahshua revealed that Satan will once again try to take rulership from Elohim, in Revelation 12: 7, saying: ‘And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war.’ We see from verse 9 that Satan would be cast down again, in this way: ‘And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.’ Verse 10 informs us that this will happen shortly before Messiah returns to establish Elohim’s Kingdom on earth. It will be at that time that Satan will bring great wrath upon the entire earth, as witnessed in verse 12, as follows: “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

Even though Satan will bring great wrath to all the people on the earth, we see from verses 13 – 17, that his main aim will be to destroy Elohim’s congregation of called out believers, in this way: ‘And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. (14) And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, form the presence of the serpent. (15) And the serpent poured water (armies) like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. (16) And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. (17) And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of Elohim and hold to the testimony of Yahshua.’After Satan is cast down to the earth for a second time, he will realize that his time is very short, before he will be restraint completely for the next thousand years whilst Messiah will rule the world from Jerusalem.

It is then when he will do everything in his power to try and destroy the remnant of believers called out of the world by Elohim – especially the ones not accounted worthy to escape. We see further from verse 14 – 16 above that Elohim will provide His congregation with protection away from Satan’s wrath. But, because some in the congregation of Elohim will not be accounted worthy to escape, they will have to go through fiery trials in order to wake up spiritually as witnessed in Revelation 3: 14 – 19, as follows: “And to the angel of the congregation in Laodicea write: The Amein, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning (or beginner) of the creation of Elohim, says this: (15) I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. (16) So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (17) Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, (18) I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments (Torah), that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. (19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent.” We have been warned and have time whilst it is still ‘today’ to straighten out our lives; to start keeping Elohim’s commandments and believe in what Yahshua did and taught whilst He was on earth, withall our hearts(what we believe) and souls (how we live our lives) . Think about it!