2026-07-17
Good morning, Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit directs me to continue writing more about heaven. To do that we will again visit the questions posed last week. 1 Why does God leave us with an incomplete picture of heaven? 2 Why does He allow our faith to be tested as it is? 3 Why are some people faithful to Him and some not? 4 Why is having God’s mark of ownership so important? 5 Why does the evil one (Satan) tempt us? 6 What is heaven like? Today, I’m directed to turn our attention to question 5.
To have any understanding of why the evil one tempts us, we must look into his back story. At one point, he was God’s treasured angel in charge of worship in heaven. He may well have been an archangel like Michael only assigned with a different task. God gave him the name of Lucifer, which means “bright morning star.” The Father created Lucifer to be “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty” [EZK 28: 12b]. “Every precious stone adorned you…your settings were made and mountings were made of gold …you were anointed a guardian cherub…were on the holy mount of God; walked among the fiery stones…blameless in your ways until wickedness found you” [EZK 28: 13-15].
The phrase, “O how the mighty fall” certainly applies to Lucifer. God’s words in EZK 28: 15-17, 19 give us understanding of how all the trouble started and will end. “Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. 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…All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.” We learn more from IS 14: 11-15. Lucifer’s voice had been like the sound of harps. “All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you…how you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have 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 mouth of assembly…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.”
Thus, Lucifer (soon to be Satan) began a war in heaven between the angels who loved and obeyed God and that one third of the heavenly host who sided with Lucifer. War is contagious, and when God flung the evil one and his followers to earth, they infected the Garden of Eden. Despite God’s instructions to the first humans, Adam and Eve, not to eat the fruit of the tree “in the middle of the garden,” they did, carrying the infection of sinfulness to mankind (the original sin) [GN 3: 1-6]. The only place in the Scriptures that gives us a glimpse of heavenly spiritual warfare is in DN 10: 10-14—his vision of Michael answering Daniel’s prayers of 21 days.
Both the writer, John Milton, and poet, Dante, have written about the devil’s sinfulness. The consequence of sin is death, meaning spiritual death [RO 6: 23]. 2 PET 2: 4, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, put them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment…” REV 20: 10 tells us the devil’s fate. The names used in the Scriptures for the evil one tell us about him. Satan means “accuser;” he is described to be “a murderer and a father of lies” [JN 8: 44]. IS 13: 12-14 reveals Satan’s bravado, his evil objectives. More of his evil is seen in IS 14: 17. Sin is borne of pride, violence, aggression, mean-spiritedness, jealousy, and most of all coveting. All of this will culminate with the great battle of Armageddon, the time at which God will exert the power Satan tried to usurp, separating the “sheep from the goats” [MT 25: 32]. Eventually, God will say, “Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” [MT 25: 41].
PRAYER: Dearest Father, the devil and his followers will meet the end You have set for them in Your perfect time. In the meanwhile, we have an explanation for why sinning mankind hasn’t learned from their history. We must all make the choice, using the free agency You have so generously given us, as to if we will become Your faithfully obedient servants and friends, or we will serially reject You. The objectives of the “children of disobedience” are here to tempt us, but You love us enough to give us the both the will and the ability to overcome them. With the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross, we can be “born again” and can be adopted as Your children; that’s a demonstration of Your love for us [JN 1: 12-13; JN 3: 16]. It is with this decision, praise and thanks to You, and love that we pray in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands me to write about question 6 next week: What is heaven like? In the meanwhile, I urge you to read each citation given in today’s devotion with an understanding of the decision God has given us—whether or not to be “Christ followers.” It’s easy to be down in the mouth when we watch or read the news these days. That is why studying the Scriptures is so crucial to our wellbeing. God never lies or allows the world’s sinfulness to happen without a righteous motive. It is necessary to Him to determine who is evil and who is not. Have confidence that He will eventually sort out the two factions. Remember, MT 7: 13-14 (The narrow and wide Gates). We must ask ourselves, “Which choice will I make? Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace be with You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2026. All Rights Reserved.
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