SUBJECT:  Evil and Sin

QUESTION:  Where did evil originate?  Satan was originally made perfect, so how did he go into sin? 

ANSWER:

God gave all the angels free moral agency.  They had the power to make decisions.   They did.  Beginning with Lucifer, they chose evil.

REGARDING SATAN

We are not told in definite terms how Satan became the evil one, but certainly it could be by no other process than a fall, whereby, in the mystery of free personality, an evil will takes the place of a good one.  In his free moral agency, he became jealous of God, the Father.

Long before man, one of the cherubim—his name in Latin is the familiar word Lucifer—had the honor of covering the very throne of God (Ezekiel 28:14), indicating a position of very high authority and power in God's government.  However, he was lifted up in his own vanity, became resentful and jealous of God, and finally rebelled against God's government.  He drew with him as cohorts a third of the angels.  These became evil angels or demons with Lucifer, now Satan the devil, as their leader.

History. Two Old Testament passages-Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19-furnish a picture of Satan's original condition and the reasons for his loss of that position (see below). These passages were addressed originally to the kings of Babylon and Tyre. But in their long-range implications, many scholars believe, they refer to Satan himself. They tell of an exalted angelic being, one of God's creatures, who became proud and ambitious. He determined to take over the throne of God for himself. But God removed him from his position of great dignity and honor.

Isaiah 14:12-14

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Ezekiel 28:11-19

11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest 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 thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Note:  We too believe that these scriptures clearly indicate Satan.  It says that, in his free moral agency, he was lifted up because of his beauty and corrupted by wisdom by reason of thy brightness.

Building upon this foundation, Revelation 12 sketches the further stages in Satan's work of evil. In his fall from God's favor, Satan persuaded one third of the angels to join him in his rebellion (Revelation 12:3-4). Throughout the Old Testament period he sought to destroy the messianic line. When the Messiah became a man, Satan tried to eliminate Him (Revelation 12:4-5). During the future period of tribulation before the Messiah's second coming, Satan will be cast out of the heavenly sphere (Revelation 12:7-12). Then he will direct his animosity toward the Messiah's people (Revelation 12:13-17). Revelation 20 notes the final phases of Satan's work. He will be bound for a thousand years and then finally cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:2,10). ~from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary

CONCLUSION: 

God did not make automatons in the human nor in the angelic realms.  He wants all creation to be obedient to Him by their own choice. 

This is what God is doing with man.  It is what He did with the angels.  It was God who planted a tree in the midst of the Garden called the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Clearly this knowledge was known of the angelic realm before it was known of man and for the same purpose as we stated.

Genesis 2:9

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Notice the commentary on this:

Genesis 2:8-17

In this quiet place of indescribable beauty, man was to enjoy fellowship and companionship with the Creator, and to work in accord with the divine blueprint to perfect His will. Magnificent trees furnished sustaining food, but man had to work to care for them. Adequate water supply was ensured by a vast irrigation system, a network of rivers that flowed in and about the garden with its life-giving waters. In order to lead man to full moral and spiritual development, God gave him specific commands and a specific prohibition to govern his behavior. He also gave him the power of choice and set before him the privilege of growing in divine favor.  Thus began the moral discipline of man. ~from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary

WE WOULD NOT KNOW EVIL/SIN WITHOUT THE LAW

Paul said it in Romans; he would not know sin but for the law.  God is the LAW GIVER.  He was so from the beginning, long before mankind.  Perfection is by God and God is the Law Giver.  Law gives us the knowledge of evil and sin.  Clearly this would be true of the Angels.  Satan made his own choice to sin and go against God.  He (Satan) continues this work with man (to turn them from God).  He will, of course, FAIL UTTERLY.

God states that the Spirit realm (God Family and the Angelic Realm) knew of good and evil.  Notice:

Genesis 3:22

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Note:  It would be absurd to believe that this knowledge and the law of God (which gives this knowledge) would be kept from the angels.

You asked: "How/Where could such evil "narcissism" come from since it was/could not have been placed there by God."  Answer:  He

DID place it there!!!  He placed the knowledge of it there.

You asked: "God IS all seeing/knowing/everywhere from everlasting to everlasting, therefore NOTHING can escape HIS sight/knowledge."  Answer:  Yes He is and He knew what was in Lucifer's mind all along.  He allowed him to make his decision.  God was not taken by surprise.  His plan is still on schedule.

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See letter “Does evil originate from God or Satan?”