Did God Create Satan ?
In a series of lessons on the subject of Satan, we’re left with this question; Is Satan a created being? Did God create Satan?
We know from Genesis 1, verse 1, that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And throughout that first chapter of Genesis, we’re given more details about the creation of the physical heavens and the sun and moon and stars. And we’re given details about the creation of everything that fills the earth; All the plant and animal life, including man himself.
Along with the creation of all these physical things, the bible also tells us of the creation of something spiritual. Namely, we’re told in Genesis 2, verse 7; “Then God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life.” And of course, “the breath of life” refers to man’s spirit.
Then we read this, in Isaiah 42, and verse 5; “Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens, and stretched them out. Who spread out the earth and that which comes from it. Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it.” So then God created “spiritual beings” when He created mankind.
Have you ever wondered where all the spirits come from, that God gives to every human being, that’s ever been created? Does God create a new spirit, with every new body created? Or, are there already an innumerable number of spirits “waiting” you might say, to be assigned to a human body? Since everything that’s ever been created, was created in just six days, isn’t it possible that all the spirits that will ever occupy a human body, already exist? Interesting question, isn’t it? I’ll just leave that one there as a thought question.
Were Angels Created ?
What about the subject of angels, who are also spirits. Hebrews chapter 1, and verse 14, asks this rhetorical question, speaking of angels; “Are they not ALL, ministering spirits, sent out to render service, for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”
The bible seems to suggest that there may be an innumerable number of angels, at least innumerable for a human to count. Jesus said in Mathew 26, verse 53; “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and he will at once, put at My disposal more than 12 legions of angels?” A Roman legion was about 6,ooo men. So that would be about 72,000 angels, at once, given to Jesus. How many legions of angels exist? A thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand? Maybe an endless amount of angels exist. We don’t know.
But where did they come from? Well, God DOES tell us where they came from. The bible tells us that God created the angels.
First of all, where is the home of angels? Galatians 1, verse 8 says; “But if we, or an angel of heaven, should preach to you a gospel, contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” An angel OF heaven.
Jesus said, in Mark 13, verse 32; “But of that day or hour, no one knows. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” The angels IN heaven.
So it’s clear, that the angel’s home, is in heaven, they are OF heaven. They’re a part of heaven. Now listen to Colossians chapter 1, and verse 16; “For by Him, all things were created, IN the heavens, and on earth, visible and invisible. Whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers or authorities. All things were created by Him, and for Him.”
So then, since the angel’s home is in heaven, and they are OF heaven, and ALL things in heaven were created by God, and for God, therefore, God CREATED the angels, FOR His specific purposes.
Now here’s an interesting question; Did God create the heaven, that is home to the angels? That same heaven which is also home to God Himself. Listen to Isaiah 66, verse 1; “Thus says the Lord, Heaven is My throne, and the earth My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And a place that I can rest?”
God is in His “rest” right now, and the angels are there, serving His purpose. But did He create His “place of rest”, this “Highest Heaven”, or has it always been there, just like God Himself has always been there? Isn’t that an interesting thought? And if God DID create His “place of rest”, where was God before he created it? (Another thought question)
When Were Angels Created ?
How about the question of WHEN God created the angels? That’s something that we just can’t answer, because of the simple fact that the bible doesn’t tell us.
Listen to Genesis 2, verse 1; “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their host.” I suppose that it would be logical, to assume that the angels were created during this same time period, when the heavens and the earth were created, “and all their hosts”. But, most of the time, the bible makes it quite clear, that it’s referring to the physical creation, when it speaks of “the hosts of heaven”.
A perfect illustration of this is in “Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse 19. Listen; “And lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them..” God isn’t talking about His resting place here. He’s not talking about the “Highest Heaven”. He’s talking about the “middle heaven”, where the planets and the stars are.
Many times the phrase “the host of heaven” refers to the physical things of this earth, as well as the things above the earth. For instance, it says in 2 Kings 17, verse 16; “And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves, molten images; Two calves, and an Asheroth, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.” An Asheroth is a statue of a female goddess. And that statue, along with the molten calves, are called “the host of heaven”.
What that means is that the people forsook the worship of GOD, and began to worship “all the host”, of what God had created. And that’s exactly what it says in Romans 1, verse 25; “And they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped the creature, rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen.”
So then we can see, that when the bible says; “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts”, it doesn’t necessarily refer to the creation of spiritual beings, but rather, it refers to the physical creation. Although I certainly can’t say that the angels are definitely NOT included in the phrase, “all their hosts”. They very well may be included in that phrase.
Another opinion that a lot of people have, is that the angels were created BEFORE the physical creation. One passage of scripture that’s cited for that belief, is Job chapter 38, verses 4 thru 7.
Here’s what it says; “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me if you have understanding. Who set it’s measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were it’s bases sunk? Or who laid it’s cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God, shouted for joy.”
So, people say that the sons of God, that shouted for joy, must be the angels. And if the angels shouted for joy when God set the measurements of the earth, then they must have already existed BEFORE the earth was created.
Now that might sound at first, like logical reasoning, but it’s not. Verse 7 also says that “the morning stars sang together”, at the same time that the “sons of God shouted for joy”. So then does that mean that the stars were also created, BEFORE the earth was created? No, that’s NOT what it means.
In Genesis chapter 1, verses 2 thru 13, God describes the creation of the earth, and it’s waters, and it’s dry land, and all it’s vegetation. THEN, in verses 14 thru 16, God tells of the creation of the “lights in the sky”. Specifically, the sun and the moon and the stars.
So then, in that passage in Job chapter 38, God isn’t giving us a chronological order of creation. But what He’s saying, is simply; Where were you, when I created all my wonders?
Here’s what we know for sure, about when the angels were created. It was BEFORE the seventh day, because, “by the seventh day, God completed His work which He had done. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Genesis 2, verse 2)
And I don’t know if you remember this or not, but in a previous lesson, I gave you scriptural evidence that God’s seventh day of rest has never ended. God entered His rest, on the seventh day, and that rest will last eternally. It’s the very same rest, that WE will enter, if we remain faithful to Him. “There remains therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” (Hebrews 4, verse 9) God has already entered that rest, and He’s waiting for us, to join Him.
What About Demons ?
Now I’d like to consider what the bible calls, the demons. That word “demon” is used 63 times in the new testament. And it means simply.. “an evil spirit”. It says in James 2, verse 19; “You believe there is one God, you do well. The demons also believe and tremble!”
There are spirits who believe in God, but because they’re “evil spirits”, they won’t obey God. There are people in the world today, who have evil spirits. Just like there always have been those with evil spirits, who refuse to acknowledge God. That “spirit within” that prompts people to either not acknowledge God, or not obey God, is indeed an “evil spirit”. It is the very “spirit of opposition and disobedience to God”.
We’re told in Romans 1, verse 21; “For even though they KNEW God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks. But they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
The people in Jesus’ day, accused John the Baptist of having an evil spirit. Jesus said in Mathew 11, verse 18; “For John came neither eating or drinking, and they say; He has a demon.”
And they also accused Jesus of having an evil spirit. Jesus had accused the Jews of not keeping the law of Moses. He said in John 7, verse 19; “Did not Moses give you the law, and none of you carries out the law? Why do you seek to kill Me? And verse 20 says; “The multitude answered; You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?” You see, they wouldn’t admit how they felt about Jesus.
When the people said that both John the Baptist, and Jesus had a demon, what they were really saying, was; You’re crazy! John lives in the wilderness, eating locusts and wild honey. And Jesus thinks we’re out to kill Him. You’re both crazy, you’ve got demons.
Evil spirits are spoken of in the new testament, as having the power to posses a person, against his or her will. And those evil spirits could make a person “crazy”. And they could make a person violent, or even sickly. And sometimes they gave the person, almost super-human strength.
But Jesus, being God, had the power to cast those spirits out of the people who were possessed by them. But where did those spirits come from? Did God create them, for the purpose of tormenting people? That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Doesn’t that seem contrary to the whole will of God? That an evil spirit would be created and be able to just “take control” of us. There’s so much we don’t know.
A lot of people view these demons, or evil spirits, that possessed individuals, as mental disorders. Mental illnesses can cause some very strange behavior in people. And they can absolutely “posses” a person. Is that a valid explanation for people who were “demon possessed”?
Of course, other individuals have evil spirits, by their own choosing. Just like the ones who know there’s a God, but choose to not honor Him as God, and get caught up in their own speculations. Just like we saw from Romans 1:21.
In either one of those cases, God wouldn’t have had to ever “create” those demons, would He? They would be what you might call, “naturally occurring” caused by the free will of humans to disobey God. God will never force anyone to obey His word. He has given us more than ample evidence for faith, but some people are simply “driven” by an “evil spirit”. We learn from Romans 10:17.. “So then faith comes by hearing the word of God.” God has supplied us with His word, testified to by the very apostles and others who walked right there with Jesus. But some people will always reject the evidence, no matter how compelling it may be.
What About Satan ?
But what about Satan? Satan.. “The very spirit of disobedience to God”. The very opposite of God. The adversary, and the opponent of all things that are good. What are you left with, when you take away good? Aren’t you left with evil? What are you left with, when you take away obedience to God? Aren’t you left with disobedience to God?
Did God create disobedience? Did God create sin? No He did not! Humans “created their own disobedience and their own sin, but refusing the counsel of God.
Jesus said you’re either for Me or against Me. It’s either one way or the other. Here’s His words in Luke 11, verse 23; “Whoever is not with me, is against Me..”
What do you have left, when you take away heat? You’re left with cold. You don’t have to create the “cold”. All you have to do is take away the heat. Cold is, the absence of heat. In the same way, sin is the absence of righteousness.
God is righteousness. And the opposite of God, is unrighteousness, or sin. God, by His very nature is everything good. God is the epitome of good. And when God created man, He created him intrinsically good. In other words, man is good “by nature”. But when man leaves the “good” spirit behind; When he separates himself from that “good spirit”, he’s left with the spirit of evil.
When you stop patterning your spirit after God’s spirit, you’re left with an evil spirit. You’re left with “a demon within you”.
A Jewish Opinion
I was having an email discussion with a Jew, who calls himself, “a Torah observant Jew”. That means he accepts the Torah, as his complete guide in life, and he faithfully follows it. The Torah is a Jewish term for the first five books of the old testament.
Ariel, is this man’s name. And Ariel says, that Torah observant Jews, believe that Satan was created by God, and is used by God, to “test” His people. Just like God created the angels for His own purpose, that purpose being “to render service to those who will inherit salvation” (Heb 1:14), These Jews believe that God created Satan for His own purpose also. That purpose being, for “testing”.
God DOES use evil, and He does use evil people to test, and even to punish His people when necessary. Just like God used Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. And just like He used the Babylonian kings, to test and punish Israel.
But God didn’t create the “evil” in those people. They made their own choices, even though God did indeed, “use” those evil people to accomplish His own will. Remember how God used the evil choices of several people, in the story of Joseph? Go ahead and re-read the story of Joseph, the youngest son of Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel.
Look at the classic example of how God used evil things, to test His faithful servant Job? And all those evil things which came upon Job, were evidently initiated by the very spirit of evil, which is called satan.
I better bring this to a close. In conclusion then, I can NOT tell you for a fact, that God created Satan for the purpose of testing His people. Even though we have the examples of God USING evil, to accomplish His purposes, the bible never tells us that God CREATED the evil that He “uses”.
But neither can I tell you for a FACT, that God did NOT create Satan. The bible doesn’t tell me, one way or the other. God tells me that the spirit of evil is there, it’s real! But He doesn’t tell me where it came from.
It says in Isaiah 45, verses 6 & 7; “That they may know, from the rising to the setting of the sun, that there is NO one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. The One forming light, and creating darkness. Causing peace, and creating calamity. I am the Lord, who does it all!”
But exactly HOW the Lord does it all, He doesn’t always reveal. Here’s something that I know for sure though. Both, the creation of God, and the word of God, are the most interesting, and the most awesome, and the most amazing things, that we could ever imagine, and they have the power to save souls! It’s no wonder, that we worship God.
