"The Great Reunion" Series

Two weeks ago we left off talking about the mystery of God’s will, revealed, or made manifest in these last days, according to God’s plan and purpose.

It is a mystery that, says Paul, had been kept secret for long ages past.

We glean from scripture that Lucifer, one of three archangels given names in the Bible, rose up in rebellion against his Creator, intending to take the throne. Now we don’t know when that happened. We don’t know if it was shortly after creation, or somewhere back in the eons of eternity. One hint we get is in the passage I’ll be reading to you in a moment, where God says of him, “...You had the seal of perfection; full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering; “

Those may be separate thoughts about this one to whom God is talking, but it could also be taken that after creation, and after God gave this particular angel rule over the beauty of Eden, his heart then became full of pride for his own beauty and he fell.

It is not made clear; but let’s look at what we do know.

In Ezekiel 28:11-19 the prophet speaks against the evil of the king of Tyre, and that king seems to represent Satan. As the prophecy progresses it becomes obvious that the Holy Spirit, through Ezekiel, is not talking about any mortal man:

“Again the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God, You had the seal of perfection; full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering; the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; it has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have become terrified, and you will be no more’.”

The prophet Isaiah gives us a more specific picture of the actual rebellion itself, in chapter 14, verses 12-14

“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High’.”

Was God taken by surprise? Did Lucifer, referred to as ‘star of the morning, son of the dawn’, disappoint God and force Him to come up with some plan to save His universe?

Hardly. It is my belief that this mystery we’re talking about here... this secret plan of God, hidden from long ages past, was discussed by the Holy Trinity, determined and finished long before Lucifer was even created.

If you’ve never read C. S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia”, I recommend them to you. They are supposedly children’s books, but there is much for the adult Christian to learn from them too.

In the first of the series, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”, four human children who have been transported magically to the world of Narnia, are having their adventures there. It is a place where a Lion named Aslan is symbolic of Christ, and an evil witch is representative of Satan. Edmund, one of the human children, has turned traitor and helped the White Witch find the other children, but Aslan has come on the scene to save the day. I want to read just a few extracted portions of this story for you: