Ezekiel 28:12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; you seal 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 you were created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covers; and I have set thee so: you were upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 You were perfect in thy ways from the day that thou were created, till iniquity was found in thee.
There are many questions swirling around the issue of God’s decision to create Lucifer, even though God knew in advance that this particular being would at some time in the future, use his freedom of choice to cause much trouble in heaven, and later upon the earth. In trying to figure out the reasons why, some folks have stumbled in their understanding of God.
And others have ended up blaming God for all the resulting trouble, because in their minds if this angel was not created in the first place, there would have been different outcomes. Therefore, the study this evening will address squarely the reasons why God went ahead with the decision to create, beings that could, and would make trouble.
Before we delve into the study, there are certified truths and facts about God which we must grasp, as they would lay the foundation for understanding the decisions that were made by the Godhead.
[1] Whatsoever God decides to do, is not only His prerogative to do so, but it is also the best thing and the right thing to do, given the circumstances. God only does that which is just, right and best. Let’s read:
Deuteronomy 32: 3 Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
[2] Nothing takes God by surprise, for He knows the end from the beginning, and because He is able to accurately read all of the fine details of the future, He is able to plan and execute His decisions with a surgical accuracy that can at times baffle the minds of created intelligences.
Isaiah 46: 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
[3] In every decision that God makes, God carefully weighs the pros and cons, and thus, His decisions are always for the better, and greater good of the universe, and the beings He creates. In other words, even though by creating Lucifer, there would be a lot of pain, suffering, and trouble, at the end of the day, the pros will greatly outweigh the cons. Let’s read:
Isaiah 40:27 Why say you, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
[4] When trying to understand some decisions God has made, created intelligences like ourselves must defer to His omniscient wisdom, by giving Him the benefit of the doubt. In other words, if when folks read the Bible there are things we don’t understand, we should be humble and willing enough to believe that God knows, and does what is best. Let’s read:
Job 42:1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
3 Who is he that hides counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that which I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
[5] Last but not least, God, in His capacity as Creator and owner of everything, reserves the royal right to do whatsoever He pleases. Some may agree, while others may disagree with Him, but the bottom line is that it is His prerogative to do what He deems to be best. Let’s read:
Daniel 4: 34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most-High, and I praised and honored him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
Thus, with these important truths and facts about God in the forefront of our minds, let’s tackle the issue at hand: “Why God Created Lucifer” As God contemplated the issue of creating intelligent life, He saw that there would be certain risks associated with granting the freedom of choice.
Some intelligences would use the freedom of choice to walk contrary to God, and others would use it to walk in harmony with God. Thus, as the issue was mulled over in God’s mind, the issue of risk loomed large. Not only was it a mere possibility, but because God knows the end from the beginning, there were known risks that surfaced.
And thus, God would be faced with the prospect of making a well thought out, and deliberate decision to create a perfect being who He knows for sure will give trouble. And thus, the question before God was would He move forward with the decision, even if there are definite, and known risks.
This issue has plagued the minds of many persons, for they struggle with the idea of moving forward with a deliberate decision, even when God knows there are definite risks. So, let’s put the question up for consideration, so that it would be settled once and for all:
Should God knowingly move forward with a decision that definitely carries risk? And if so, would the pros outweigh the cons at the end of the day?
In seeking for the answers to this question, The Lord revealed to His servants that the very things which persons fault God for, we ourselves often do on a daily basis.
Just because something carries some level of risk, doesn’t mean to say you would have nothing to do with it. Almost everything we do, and anywhere we go, involves some level of known risk.
We travel by plane and car and by rail, others move to Florida where they know for certain that they will encounter hurricanes, and persons bet on the stock market and Bitcoin. All of these activities do carry a level of risk, and yet we deliberately and knowingly do them.
So, for persons to conclude that God did wrong, by deciding to create Lucifer, just because there was a level of known risk, will be to accuse God of the very things we often do.
Again, parents know that there are definite risks to having children. Like God, parents do know up front, not merely that it is a possibility that they would do evil; we know for sure that they will do evil, and yet, we go ahead and have children.
At least with God, He knew in advance that most of the angels would choose to do good but in our own sphere we know for sure that the kids would do evil. And if you don’t know, now you do. Let’s read:
Genesis 8: 21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.
Psalms 14: 2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Romans 3: 9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10 As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.
11 There is none that understands, there is none that seek after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Why is it then, that we still go ahead and have kids, when we know for sure that they will do evil, not as a mere possibility, but definitely? This raises further questions that must now be addressed: Is it a good thing to have kids, even though we know in advance that they will do evil? And if we answer yes, do the pros outweigh the cons?
We must remember in God’s decision-making about whether to move forward with the plans to create intelligent life with the freedom of choice, He also saw in advance that most of the angels would have chosen good. And since this would be the case, then the issue to be resolved was: will the pros outweigh the cons? Therefore, before we move forward, let us clearly delineate the pros and the cons, as far as God has revealed.
The Pros:
[1] Intelligence with the freedom of choice is a good thing, for one can build sterling character through the medium of choice.
With intelligence, persons can appreciate, decide, love, sympathize, understand, and thus, can make meaningful contributions to the universe and world in general. With intelligence and freedom of choice, persons can also invent, which is how we came up with artificial intelligence, that folks are now singing the praises of.
It was God-given intelligence and freedom of choice that made A.I possible, and thus, even though there are known risks, intelligence and freedom of choice are good things, in and of themselves. What we use them for is what makes all of the difference, but the capabilities, in and of themselves, are all inherently good. Let’s read:
Psalms 139: 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knows right well.
15 My substance was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Genesis 11: 4 And they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.
6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people are one and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 118] Here they decided to build a city, and in it a tower of such stupendous height as should render it the wonder of the world. Thus, their city would become the metropolis of a universal empire. The magnificent tower, reaching to the heavens was intended to stand as a monument of the power and wisdom of its builders, perpetuating their fame to the latest generations.
[2] The overwhelming majority of created intelligences in heaven, with the freedom of choice would use it for good, and not for evil. Let’s read:
Matthew 18: 12 How think you? if a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and go into the mountains, to seek that which is gone astray?
13 And if so be that he finds it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Planet earth is the only one of the very many that has gone astray, because all of the other created worlds with their intelligences and the freedom to choose, have done right. Thus, when Jesus speaks of the “One lost sheep” He is referring to our planet in the most literal sense.
There are numerous inhabited worlds out there in the universe, with intelligent beings who are free to choose just like Lucifer was. They too were granted the freedom of choice, but they all chose to remain faithful to God, of their own free will. Let’s read:
Job 1: 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
Job 38: 4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
These intelligent beings use their freedom of choice in a good way, and now, since they have seen with their own two eyes what is really involved in satan’s way of doing things, now that they have witnessed the “Cons” in human beings biting and chewing off each other’s heads, now that they have seen wars and rumors of wars;
Now that they have seen the “Cons” in the form of epidemics, famines, pandemics, hatred, racism, and fraud, injustice, sickness, death, diseases, suicides, drug addiction, alternative marriages, abortions, tax evasions, global warming, inflation, and genetically modified foods;
Now that they have witnessed the cons in starvation and artificial intelligence, in cyber-crime, sextortion, and pollution of the world’s oceans, their decisions, and choices have now been permanently cemented.
In other words, they will have absolutely nothing at all to do with sin, in any way, shape, or form, since they have seen the dire, and adverse results on this planet, and because of this, God’s gift of intelligent freedom of choice has been a good thing, not a bad thing, as is found in the one percent. Let’s read:
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 11: 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
[Early Writings pp 39] The Lord has given me a view of other worlds ….. and an angel attended me from the city to a place that was bright and glorious. The grass of the place was living green, and the birds there warbled a sweet song.
The inhabitants of the place were of all sizes; they were noble, majestic, and lovely. They bore the express image of Jesus, and their countenances beamed with holy joy, expressive of the freedom and happiness of the place. I asked one of them why they were so much more lovely than those on the earth.
The reply was, “We have lived in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and have not fallen by disobedience, like those on the earth.” Then I saw two trees, one looked much like the tree of life in the city. The fruit of both looked beautiful, but of one they could not eat. They had power to eat of both, but were forbidden to eat of one. Then my attending angel said to me, “None in this place have tasted of the forbidden tree; but if they should eat, they would fall.”
[3] The third “Pro” of creating intelligent life with the freedom of choice is that, not only would there be tremendous benefit to the universe as a whole, the universe itself would be put on an eternal basis of security through freedom of choice, as opposed to a robotic, preprogrammed stipulation.
One of the major flaws with artificial intelligence is that it cannot think, but must adhere to, and build upon that which has been fed into such systems by another intelligence. And thus, if it were to give us too much trouble, we can always press delete.
But with intelligence and freedom of choice we can think freely, rationalize, draw conclusions, and make deliberate decisions to serve, love, and obey God, in ways that would be permanent. More attention is to be focused on the powers of decision and choice, as it pertains to permanence and security.
It is true, that a person’s choice can be so deliberate and well thought out that it can become permanent to the point where it would never ever be reversed. This applies to both good and evil choices, for over a period of millennia, satan’s decisions to do evil have become set in stone, to the point where he cannot do anything else, even if he tried.
In other words, his deliberate choices become who he is at his very core, so that even though he is still a possessor of freedom of choice, he just will not do otherwise. That’s because deliberate decisions and choices become frozen into character permanently.
The same is true with righteousness, for our choices to do good could be so deliberate and well thought out that over a period of time, they could become second nature without the possibility of us doing otherwise, even though we still retain the freedom of choice.
It is because of this why iniquity would not arise a second time, not because God would permanently prevent us from doing evil, but because folks have deliberately chosen to accept Christ, and all that the decision entails.
This now brings us to a very grave, and important juncture in our study, where we must now confront the issue of responsibility for evil. Many Christians struggle with the thought that because God created Lucifer, God bears the responsibility for sin entering the universe. Thus, we must ask a direct question:
Does God bear responsibility for persons, and angels using freedom of choice to do evil, just because He created them with the freedom to choose?
Answer: He absolutely doesn’t. If they were kids He would be responsible, but if they were created as adults, with all of their intelligence, and reasoning powers up and running, whatever decision, actions, or choices they make are fully their own, and in no way the responsibility of God.
Just in case you didn’t know, Lucifer was not a baby when he was created. He was made as an adult with all of his reasoning and intelligence in tip top shape, and just like how God had doublechecked His work after Adam and Eve were created, persons can rest assured that the same routine was followed when the angels in heaven were brought into existence. Let’s read:
Ezekiel 28: 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created till iniquity was found in thee.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Then God double checked His work, to make certain that Adam’s adult powers of reasoning and freedom of choice were up and running perfectly. Like Lucifer, Adam and Eve were created as adults, not as kids.
Therefore, when God brought all the animals before Adam, to see what names he would give them, God never suggested any names, nor did He give him any clues, nor did He influence Adam’s mind or choice in any way, shape, or form. Adam’s intelligence went to work, untrammeled by any external influences, and he comes up with the exact names for each animal, and then he makes a deliberate decision to name them as such, and the rest is history. Let’s read:
Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
As parents, we are responsible for what children do when they are young, but when they reach the age of accountability and reason, with their intelligence in place, they are 100% responsible for the decisions or actions they take, even though we brought them into this world, knowing they would do evil.
O.J Simpson’s parents were never charged in court for whatsoever he did, or did not do. And this week, as the trials of the former president ramp up, folks will observe that his parents are not mentioned in any of the indictments as having any responsibility, even though they are deceased.
He is innocent until proven guilty, and persons are not to rush to any conclusions prematurely, but if the charges were to stick, his father, whose second name is Christ, will not be mentioned, even though he and his wife brought the former president into this world.
The implications of the study today are indeed grim, because the you and me have the opportunity, and the freedom to be the arbiters of our own destiny, through the freedom of intelligent choice.
God does not lock anyone into an inevitable vortex of evil choices, from which they cannot escape, and He does not coerce the conscience into doing either good or evil. Esau and Jacob were twins, growing up in the same church and reading their memory verse from the same Sabbath school quarterly.
Yet, through deliberate freedom of choice they soon parted ways, never ever to be on the same page, in this life, or in the life to come. God did not lock Esau into an iron destiny from which he could not free up himself. His ultimate failure was the result of Esau’s own doing.
Judas, Peter and all of the twelve disciples had their issues, since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But God being the equal opportunity God that He is, granted each of them the power to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out devils.
But again, through deliberate choices, Judas parted ways with the other eleven, and his decisions were set in stone, to the point where they would never be reversed, because his choices became baked into his character, so that he is who he is at his very core.
Therefore, as we stand upon the brink of eternity, as we seek a better understanding of why God created Lucifer it behooves us not to make the same mistake he and the fallen angels made, by using freedom of choice, and intelligence, to do evil.
Everything we deliberately decide to do etches itself into our characters and if persons were to habitually choose the good and refuse the evil, there will come a time when all our decisions would be permanently baked into our characters, and then it will be, if we have chosen the right, that God could safely take us to heaven, knowing the we would not give Him any more trouble for eternity.
We therefore end with two passages of Scripture to both encourage us and warn us of the very serious consequences of our choices and decisions. And, we hope and pray that God will enable, and strengthen us to choose in harmony with that which is right. Let’s read:
Joel 3: 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Deuteronomy 30: 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.
God Bless!