Lucifer Trilogy I

O jealous angel! Did your anger rise,
When God selected His Son to be King?
His became the glory that lit the skies,
When yours had made the walls of heaven ring!
Fairest of all, you were; furnished the light
That pierced the darkness of the eastern sky;
The Morning Star that overthrew the night;
Of God's creation, no one rose so high!
Did wounded pride incite your war on God?
Or jealousy turn your world upside down?
How else explain the foolish path you trod,
Seeking as your own the Son's lawful crown?
But God knew it all! He planned for you
To test each man, to save so very few!

God knew when He created archangel Lucifer, His chief-of-staff, so to speak, that this one would betray Him. So He must have planned Lucifer for the role he has played---to create evil by rebelling, seeking the throne for himself. Of all the angels, he was the fairest and had the most power, except Michael. That is why God let him live after he lost the first battle in heaven; God hurled him and his one-third part of the millions of angels to earth, where he is allowed freedom to tempt all men and keep them, if possible, from choosing God's offer of salvation (See Revelation Chapter 12 for account of the first battle.).

Lucifer was in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were created there; in the form of a serpent he succeeded in inducing them to disobey God, thus winning them physical death and condemnation to hell, and all men to follow. Had God not come to earth as Jesus and died in payment of the wages of men's sins, all men would have gone to hell; those few who accept his gift of grace and faith in Jesus as Lord are saved from the fate Adam secured for the human race. We can see that God needed Lucifer, now known as Satan, to test the sincerity of love of those men who profess to love Him prior to His admitting them to heaven. When Jesus returns to earth, any man who has not accepted Him will be too late.

Perhaps God is grateful in some way for the testing services of Satan and thus allows him to continue living and doing his evil work in assuring the purity of those redeemed by the blood of Christ. If not for Lucifer, would some other angel have furnished this vital service by sinning first? We have learned enough about God's nature to know that He allows men many chances to repent and be reaccepted into His fellowship. Why not Lucifer? Is there no second chance for him? How about the angels condemned with him? Does he keep them in line by force, or are they, as angels, incapable of repentance? The Bible says (in Hebrews 2:7) that man is "made a little lower than the angels", but I'm glad I'm a man, since I am given a second chance.