The Origin of Sin, Part 3

The bible has a way of taking us back in time. The inspired word of God brings to life the truth and description of everything written in His book. In His word, He shows us the past, the present, and the future. As Genesis 1:1 shows us, God is eternal and has no beginning or end. Jeremiah declared, “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” (Jeremiah 10:12). The earth was created to be occupied; it was not created with confusion, nor was it formless. This may appear contrary to what we read in Genesis 1:2, but Isaiah 45:18 tells us that “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”

One theory for Genesis 1:2 is called the “Gap Theory”. Scholars believe there is a gap between the time God created the earth in Genesis 1:1 and the time the earth became without form and void in Genesis 1:2. I’m not saying who’s right or wrong. The word “was (הָיָה) in Hebrew is intransitive and can be used as either was or became. Genesis 1:2 could read as the earth became without form and void. Either way, we know that God is not the author of confusion, so what happened? Let’s take a look at the origin of sin from the word of God.

In Luke Chapter 10, when the seventy disciples return to Jesus after being sent out in pairs to the cities, they are joyful that even demons are subject to them in Jesus’ name. That is a pretty exciting reason to be cheerful; however, in verse 18 of chapter 10, Jesus says, “ I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Why did Jesus use the word lightning and why did Satan fall from heaven? It’s at this point where we can turn back in the bible and see the fall of Satan. The origin of sin!

At this point, I encourage you to read Ezekiel chapter 28 and Isaiah chapter 14. Isaiah prophesied from 740 BC to 680 BC, and Ezekiel prophesied three times from 605 BC to 586 BC. Both prophets tell us about the origin of sin. Let’s take a look at what they say. Ezekiel tells us twice that Satan is a created Cherub. For this study, I’m going to use “angel” instead of “Cherub.” The emphasis is that he is a creation of God. He is no match for an almighty God and is subject to God’s laws and God’s word—but we shouldn’t underestimate the devil’s influence or power either. When the devil tempted Christ, Christ did not deny that all the kingdoms of the world were delivered to the devil to give to whomever he wished (Luke 4:6). Now that would be like me offering you the Brooklyn Bridge; I wouldn’t have any takers because everyone knows I don’t own it. Paul calls the devil the prince and power of the air in Ephesians 2:2. Peter tells us we are pilgrims on a journey. Hebrews 1:9,10 presents Abraham as a man of faith in a foreign country, waiting for a city with a foundation, whose builder and maker is God. Lord thy kingdom come thy will be done. The 13th verse again says ‘These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” We have an idea of who Satan is in the New Testament; we often hear of him as the Anti-Christ. Isaiah calls him an abominable branch (vs 19). Jeremiah and Zechariah call our Messiah a “Righteous Branch” (Jeremiah 23, Zechariah 6). The church must understand that for the devil to be like God, he will imitate God. That is one use of the word “Anti” in the New Testament. The Anti-Christ will come into the world seen as a saviour when in fact he is an abomination to God.

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