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In The Beginning Bible Study, Lesson 5

Adam

So, who was Adam? I know that you will say, “He was the first man to be created.” Yes, but who was Adam? Adam was not just a mere man. We saw first of all that Adam was given the right to name all of the animals, which gave him the authority over all the animals. He was given the right to eat all of the fruit from the trees except the Tree of Knowledge, but He could eat from the Tree of Life. He was the keeper of the garden. He would walk with God in the garden. Adam was one more thing: he was king over God’s creation. The land, the water, the vegetation, the birds, the trees—he was ruler over it all. 

Adam and Eve were created as eternal beings. The glory of God was around them. The rabbis said that prior to their sin, Adam and Eve were dressed in heavenly garments of light and had a kind of protective skin around them made of the same material our fingernails are made out of. In Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer 14:3 we read, 

What was the dress of the first man? A skin of nail, and a cloud of glory covered him. When he ate of the fruits of the tree, the nail-skin was stripped off him, and the cloud of glory departed from him, and he saw himself naked.

The same thing is said in Bereshit Rabbah 20:12, where different rabbis give different interpretations about what the garments were—but instead of before the fall, they offer these comments about Genesis 3:21, where God creates garments for Adam and Eve after their sin:

“And the Lord God made for the human and for his woman clothing of skin, and dressed them.” In the Torah of Rabbi Meir we find written “clothing of light”—these garments of the primordial human resembled a torch: narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. Rabbi Yitzchak the Greater says: This clothing was like fingernails, effulgent like pearl. Rabbi Yitzchak says: Like garments of the finest linen, like the kind that comes from Beit Sh’an. “Garments of skin” – because they clung to the skin. 

The idea of humans radiating light like this is also found in other rabbinic stories. For example, Devarim Rabbah 11 tells a story about when the angel of death, Samael, was sent to retrieve the soul of Moses. Note the description of Moses’ appearance: 

When he saw that Moses was sitting and inscribing the Ineffable Name, and that the splendor of his appearance was equal to that of the sun, and that he resembled one of the angels of the Lord of Hosts, Samael began to fear Moses.

Heavenly beings or humans who are in close contact with God having an appearance of light is found in various places in Scripture. Exodus 34:34-35 says, 

Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining.

When Yeshua was transfigured, “His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2). Those who partake in the resurrection will also shine when we receive our glorified bodies, perhaps in the same way that Adam and Eve did. Daniel 12:2-3 says,

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Yeshua likewise says that the righteous will have shining, glorious bodies in the resurrection: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

It was this light of glory that covered Adam and Eve so that they did not know that they were naked until they sinned and the glory of God left them. They were now mortal beings without the glory, and now their flesh was subject to death. The crown was now lost to the evil one. Scripture tells us in Psalm 8:5, “Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!”

When Adam sinned, Satan became the ruler of this world. 

John 14:30 says this, “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”

2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us, 

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Messiah, who is the exact likeness of God.

The Second Adam

After the first Adam sinned, God had to redeem man by sending the second Adam, that is, the Messiah. The idea of a heavenly Adam was not necessarily an innovation of the followers of Yeshua. The Hebrew phrase Adam Kadmon means “primordial man.” We recognize that Adam is the name of the first person that God created, and adam is the Hebrew word for “man” in general. Adam’s physical creation is described in the book of Genesis, as we know. However, the Rabbis questioned how it could be that a physical man was created in the image of an incorporeal God. The writings of the Zohar suggest that the physical man was created from the blueprint of a primordial, spiritual man, and it was this heavenly Adam who was the image of God; thus mankind is the image of God insofar as he was the imprint of this original heavenly Adam. So according to this Jewish interpretation, Adam was the first corporeal man, but he was preceded by a blueprint or ideal, spiritual man, Adam Kadmon, and created in this man’s image. 

This idea took varying forms in different schools of thought, and different Jewish mystics applied more or less of God’s attributes to Adam Kadmon as the image of God. These ideas didn’t fully develop until the Middle Ages, but some scholars believe that they existed in some form during the first century. The Hellenistic Jew Philo seems to speak of the same idea in his discussion of the creation of man. He contrasts Genesis 1 and 2. According to Philo’s allegorical method of interpretation, in Genesis 1 we see a description of the heavenly man, who is born or begotten in the image of God rather than created. This heavenly man is neither male nor female, but is the perfect representation of the Logos, the Word. We know that Yeshua as the Divine Word was present from the very beginning rather than begotten on the sixth day, but Philo’s interpretation is still interesting for its parallels. He then says that in Genesis 2 we see the earthly man who is constructed out of clay. Other scholars point to possible glimpses of this theology of a heavenly Adam in early rabbinic literature, such as Bereshit Rabbah 8:1, which says that when Adam was created, he was so large that he filled the entire world. 

Some scholars believe that the New Testament passages that compare Yeshua and Adam might have some common features with this school of thought, with the understanding that Yeshua was the Word even before creation, through whom all things came into being.

Colossians:1:15-20 tells us this about the second Adam, 

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

Philippians 2:6-11 also says, 

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Messiah Yeshua is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 2:14-17 tells us, 

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Like the first Adam, He will be the ruler of creation as Hebrews 2:5-9 tells us,

For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to Him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to Him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Yeshua, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

Sin entered the world through Adam, as Romans 5:12-17 says, 

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Messiah Yeshua, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Messiah Yeshua.

Yeshua died on the cross to redeem man of his sin, as Hebrew 2:10-13 continues. 

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.” And again, “I will put My trust in Him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 tells us, 

But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive.

We continue to look at the likeness of both Adams as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:40-47, 

There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

As all mankind have been born like the first Adam, we will one day all rise again in the resurrection, and we who believe will be like the second Adam, our Messiah, as 1 Corinthians 15:48-49 tells us, “As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.”

As we see here in Colossians 2:15, the second Adam, our Messiah Yeshua, won the victory over all the evil forces in the heavenly realm. “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”

Because of the victory of the second Adam, Messiah Yeshua, we too can have victory over the evil forces. 

As Ephesians 6:10-13 tells us, 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Luke 10:18-20 speaks of the power we have over the devil, and also our victory. 

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

The crown that Adam lost, Yeshua our Messiah retook, and one day we all will wear the crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:4 tells us, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Leviticus 8:9 speaks about a crown that was to be placed on the High Priest Aaron’s head: “He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” This is because Aaron represents Adam going into the Holy Place. After Adam was crowned, he entered the Holy Place, God’s presence in the garden. So too Aaron, after being crowned, ministered in the tabernacle. This represents Yeshua, the heavenly High Priest, who will one day wear the crown as He sits on the throne in the Kingdom. 

Zechariah 6:12-13 talks about the priest who sits on the throne, that is, Yeshua: 

Then say to him, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.’”

Zechariah 9:9-10 talks about Yeshua the Messiah and the peace that His earthly reign will bring: 

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

This passage was fulfilled in part when Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on a donkey prior to His crucifixion, and one day the rest will be fulfilled: His Kingdom will reign over all the earth.

And the last victory will be over death itself, as 1 Corinthians 15:53-55, tells us, 

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

If Yeshua is the second Adam, and we are the Bride of Messiah, then we can be compared to Eve. In preparation for the creation of Eve, Adam falls into a deep sleep: “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh” (Genesis 2:21). This is a foreshadowing of Yeshua’s death, since sleep is used as a euphemism for death, as in John 11:11-14:

After saying these things, He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Yeshua had spoken of his death, but they thought that He meant taking rest in sleep. Then Yeshua told them plainly, “Lazarus has died.”

In this sleep, Adam’s side was pierced to remove a rib, just like Yeshua’s side was pierced: “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34). Through this sleep (death) and the removal of the rib, God created a wife for Adam, just like believers become Yeshua’s wife through His death:

Husbands, love your wives, as Messiah loved the church and gave Himself up for her. . . . Because we are members of His body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Messiah and the church. (Ephesians 5:25, 30-32)

All things will come together, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:23-28, 

But each in his own order: Messiah the first fruits, after that those who are Messiah’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the Kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

One day the part of God that was drawn back to create space will be filled in, and there will be no need for time. Then as Isaiah saw in his vision, God’s train will once again fill the temple as we used for our example, the space that was created for man. We will live in God’s presence for eternity. For the Scripture tells us in John 14:20, “You will know at that time that I am in My Father and you are in Me and I am in you.”

So, one day we will all be in the Father, who will cover us with His glory, which is His presence, for our Messiah Yeshua is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

Psalm 36:5-9 tells us, 

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, Your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is Your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.

The Fall of the Angels

But this all leads us to the fallen angels: when did they fall, and why did they fall? Now, we want to say at this time that when Satan and the angels fell, it had to have been right before Adam and Eve fell, because as we said, before this time God called His creation good. 

Ezekiel 28:12-19 speaks a mystery about the fall of Satan: 

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.”

1. Were There Two Edens?

This Scripture in Ezekiel tells us that Satan, this angel, the image of perfection, was in the Garden of Eden. We know that the Jewish scholars believe that Eden was created before the foundation of the world. We read here that Satan was the guardian cherub who was on the mount of God, but we also see that after he sinned he was thrown to the earth. So can we surmise that Eden was located in the heavenlies? 

Remember what Yeshua told the thief on the cross? Luke 23:43 tells us, “And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’”

Was the Paradise that Yeshua was speaking of the same Paradise that Satan once dwelt in? Is there a Paradise in heaven and a Paradise here on earth? Could it be the same situation as the sanctuary—one in heaven and a copy on earth? As Hebrews 8:5 tells us, 

They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Let’s see if we can answer this question by taking a closer look into verse 14: “You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.” 

2. Holy Fire

The imagery in Ezekiel 28 takes us to the temple, as we see the image of Satan as the guardian cherub, or more specifically the “overarched” cherub, which makes us think of the golden-winged cherubs that guarded the Ark of the Covenant. God said to Moses that He would meet him between the wings of the cherubim, as Exodus 25:22 tells us, “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.” 

The ark is where the presence of God resided. In ancient literature, all deities did their business on mountains or in well-watered gardens. So I think that we can assume by the text that Eden is where God resided, and Satan was the angel that walked with God. 

So when we think of the fiery stones, this can only mean the holy mountain of God. We see that Mount Sinai, where Moses met God, was all ablaze with fire: “And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders” (Deuteronomy 5:23). We know that the bush was also ablaze with fire when God called Moses: “And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). 

These fiery stones also give us the imagery of the Urim and Thummim which the priest would use when inquiring of the Lord. These stones would flash with a fiery light in accordance to the answer given by God. 

Psalm 104:4 even speaks of His angels as fire: “He makes the winds His messengers, flaming fire His ministers.” 

And of course, we know that God Himself is fire, as Hebrews 12:28-29 tells us, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” 

So we see by this imagery that yes, there could be two Edens. Years later, God had the Israelites construct a place on earth that would become another Eden, and that place was the Tent of Meeting which later became the temple. For we know that over the Ark of the Covenant there was a cloud of fire. Exodus 13:21-22 also tells us, 

The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

This pillar of fire was the same pillar of fire that rested upon the ark when the people would settle from their journey in the wilderness.

So, let’s continue on as we discuss the fall of the angels.

We read in Luke 10:18, “Yeshua replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’”

We see again in Isaiah 14:12-15, 

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

We want to answer two questions: How could Satan have once laid low the nations? And isn’t Yeshua the one who is called the Morning Star? 

3. Let Truth Reign

In Ezekiel 28, Ezekiel has intertwined the imagery of the king of Babylon with Satan, comparing the fall of the King of Babylon to the fall of Satan. We know that the king of Babylon brought low the nations, as Isaiah 14:3-11 tells us, 

It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: “How the oppressor has ceased, the golden city ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers: he who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he who ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted and no one hinders. The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were cut down, no woodsman has come up against us.’ Hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.’”

So that explains how Satan laid low the nations. But this also corresponds to the fall of the Harlot of Babylon in Revelation 18:9-20, 

And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.” And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more—cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!” And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “What city is like the great city?” And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!” Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.

When one does not follow the true light, he will end up following the false light. 

Satan was not the angel of light, but only appeared as the angel of light to deceive mankind, as 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 tells us, 

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Messiah. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

In Roman astronomy, the name Lucifer was given to the Morning Star, which we now call Venus. The Morning Star appears in the heavens just before dawn, just before the sunrise. The name Lucifer comes from the Latin term lucem ferre meaning “bearer of light.” Isaiah was only implying that the two, the king of Babylon and Satan, were both deceivers. Today’s modern versions of the Bible have used the term “morning star” for Satan, but this term only refers to the Lord Messiah Yeshua and using it for anyone else is plain blasphemy.

In Revelation 22:16 Yeshua clearly says, “I, Yeshua, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” 

Numbers 24:17 tells us that Baalam prophesied about this star who would be the Messiah: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth.”

4. We All Have to Make a Choice

We have to ask ourselves, why did this beautiful, perfect angel fall? When God said he was the seal of perfection, we have to think: what does that mean? Back in the day when people would put a seal on their documents, it meant that they gave that document their utmost consideration and approval. We know that after every day of creation God said it was good, but of Satan God said His seal of perfection was placed upon him. 

How much more can you say than, “How could he have rebelled against God?” After all, God was his creator also. The angels, like man, have a choice, and when Satan made his choice to be like God, many angels made their choice to follow him.

In Revelation 22:9 the angel says this to John when he bows down to him: “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!” One day everything will be in Yeshua—man and angel and all will be in God. 

So the question is, why? Why did Satan fall? The story goes, in Jewish belief, that when God created Adam, Satan saw that God had a different relationship with man than with the angels. Man was made in His image and God loved Adam and Eve. God created and gave all of His creation into their hands and He crowned them with His glory. Satan became jealous. 

Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24 says that it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world: “God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of His own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.” 

Also, in the Latin Life of Adam and Eve, the first couple asks the devil why he is so intent on deceiving humanity and trying to make us fall. His response is that humans are the reason for his fall: 

It is for thy sake that I have been hurled from that place [heaven]. When thou wast formed, I was hurled out of the presence of God and banished from the company of the angels. When God blew into thee the breath of life and thy face and likeness was made in the image of God, Michael also brought thee and made us worship thee in the sight of God; and God the Lord spake: “Here is Adam. I have made thee in our image and likeness.” And Michael went out and called all the angels saying, “Worship the image of God as the Lord God hath commanded.” . . . And I answered, “I have no need to worship Adam.” And since Michael kept urging me to worship, I said to him, “Why dost thou urge me? I will not worship an inferior and younger being than I. I am his senior in the Creation, before he was made was I already made. It is his duty to worship me.” When the angels, who were under me, heard this, they refused to worship him. And Michael saith, “Worship the image of God, but if thou wilt not worship him, the Lord God will be wrath with thee.” And I said, “If He be wrath with me, I will set my seat above the stars of heaven and will be like the Highest.” And God the Lord was wrath with me and banished me and my angels from our glory; and on thy account were we expelled from our abodes into this world and hurled on the earth. And straightway we were overcome with grief, since we had been spoiled of so great glory. And we were grieved when we saw thee in such joy and luxury. And with guile I cheated thy wife and caused thee to be expelled through her doing from thy joy and luxury, as I have been driven out of my glory.

According to the Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer, the devil and his band of angels decided to cause the man to sin because they felt threatened by him. God proved Adam’s power when He gave him authority to name the animals: “When the ministering angels saw this they retreated, and the ministering angels said: If we do not take counsel against this man so that he sin before his Creator, we cannot prevail against him” (13:1). 

We know that Satan was also filled with pride, and we know what happens when one is full of pride, as Proverbs 16:18 tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Satan, even though he was the most beautiful angel and the highest ranking angel who stood before God, was not satisfied, for he too wanted to be God and have people bow down to Him. We see here the beginning of Humanism, the religion of Satan, which says we all are gods. Satan wanted to sit on God’s throne and reign over man and creation. So now Satan has become God’s adversary and the accuser of the brethren—for that is what the name Satan means, ”accuser,” proving to God that His mankind could and would also fall.

Satan comes to Eve as a snake to deceive her into thinking that if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they too would be gods. This religion of Satan has come all throughout history to today. Let’s pick up the story in Genesis 3:1-7, 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Eve was not the only one that Satan tempted, as we see in Matthew 4:1-11, 

Then Yeshua was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Yeshua answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Yeshua answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will bow down and worship me.” Yeshua said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.

We see here a similar situation where Satan used food to tempt, and again his motive was to get Yeshua to worship him.

So here in chapter 3 of Genesis we see the fall of man, and we see the possession of the serpent by Satan. Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer 13:3 says that the serpent was possessed by the angel Samael, which could perhaps be understood as another name for the devil: 

A parable, to what is the matter like? To a man in whom there was an evil spirit. All the deeds which he does, or all the words which he utters, does he speak by his own intention? Does he not act only according to the idea of the evil spirit, which (rules) over him? So (was it with) the serpent. All the deeds which it did, and all the words which it spake, it did not speak except by the intention of Samael.

This was the first time, but not the last time, that Lucifer would possess someone or something. We know that Satan entered into Judas as John 13:26-27 tells us, 

Yeshua answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So if Satan was cast out of heaven why do we still see him in heaven? We must understand that God created the heavens, which consisted of three levels. Remember, Satan wanted to leave his position to sit on the throne of God which was above the heavenlies, as Psalm 113:4-6 tells us, “The Lord is exalted over all the nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?“

5. The Accuser of the Brethren

As the accuser of the brethren, Satan has to come before God, the righteous Judge, to plead his case. We see him before God asking Him if Job was as righteous as God said He was. So God allowed Job to be put to the test. Job 1:6-12 says, 

One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 

“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have You not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out Your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Again, in Zechariah 3:1-2, 

Then he showed me Joshua the High Priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

But Satan does not work alone, for one third of the angels fell with him in his rebellion. These angels are called demons; and just as before their fall, the devil’s army of angels also have rank, as we see in Colossians 2:14-15:

Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

And yet again in Ephesian 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

We see this in Luke 10:17-19, 

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

Since we have looked into the beginning, let us now look at the end. Revelation 12:3-4 tells us, 

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.

Revelation 12:7-9 continues,

Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

The time will come when the accuser of the brethren will no longer be able to come and stand before God. He will be thrown out once and for all.

Revelation 12:10-12 tells us, 

Now the salvation, and the power, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 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.

Knowing that his time is short, the devil will go out to deceive the nations. This is what he is doing today. Satan will possess the one that will be called the Antichrist or the Lawless One, for he will be against the Torah (God’s Word). We see throughout history many people who fit the description of the Antichrist—Nero, Constantine (who changed the Appointed Times to pagan days), Hitler, and so many more, as John tells us in 1 John 2:18, “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.”

This is what the last hour looks like,

Revelation 13:1-6 says this: 

And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

Satan will finally have his desire fulfilled as being ruler of the nations. He will deceive them as he did Eve and everyone else throughout the centuries. His religion of Humanism, which says everyone is a god, will come to an end with the fall of Babylon. Yeshua will conquer the devil, and as Revelation 20:2 tells us, “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”