Orthodox Christianity Does Not
Explain Sin’s Origins or Satan’s Fall
Historically Christian dogma rested on ignorance safely ensconced behind the wall of limited biblical hermeneutical interpretation. Churches could provide little explanation to comfort believers during times of crisis. This left believers easy prey to those false teachers who had easy explanations based not on Scripture but on simply believism. This is the foundation for the introduction of heresy and confused doctrines.I believe Scripture does give us some insight into the origins of sin but not in simple narrative form. The explanation is there for those who study the Bible systematically. I present my thesis below in abbreviated form limited by the brevity necessary for this post.
I make three assumptions based on Scripture. First, Bible clearly teaches that there is nothing new under the sun (Ec 1:9-10). Paul echos this thought when he wrote, “No temptation has over taken you that is not common to man” (1Co 10:13). Not only are these words of comfort but they are also informative. God through Solomon teaches that since creation there has been nothing new, including sin. Paul reinforces this concept; i.e., there has been no new temptation (sin) introduced since man was created. Hence, sin must have had its origins before creation. Second, God’s plan of salvation was in place before creation; that is, in eternity past. This presupposes sin since God speaks of salvation which is forgiveness of sin (New Covenant (2Co 5:17; Ep 1:3-10)). Third, Heaven, which is outside of this creation, is also outside of time; it is always present tense. Thus, events depicted without specific time references may not have occurred as commonly supposed; i.e., God declared Job a righteous man in chapter one but Job was not saved until chapter forty-two (Job 1:8; 42:1-6). God’s statement occurred in Heaven but was not realized in time until Job had gone through his trials realizing his need for repentance and faith in God (Hagiozo Process). So, let us retire to a scene in Heaven and listen in to a calling.
The Question: Who is Worthy?
What if Others Also Answered?
Based on our three assumptions this question could have occurred before Creation but not answered until after Calvary and not completely fulfilled until sometime future to ourselves (Re 5:1-5). Notice, verse three implies there was at least one attempt by someone else to open the book; however, that entity was not worthy. Since this originally occurred in Heaven man is not in focus. The search for someone worthy was ongoing until after Christ died on the stauros, rose again, presented Himself to the Father and was found worthy (Ps 16:10-11; Jo 20:16-17). Thus, while Christ was the Messiah there were at least one if not two others who also vied for the position of being Messiah but were found unworthy.
Cain clearly was raised believing that he was “the one” based on the name given to him by Eve; Cain is derived from the Hebrew given and stated by Eve when she named him. He was the given one who would fulfill The Promise to defeat Satan (Ge 3:15: 4:1-10). Yet, Cain was not accepted by God, not because of his offering but because of his pride while Abel (worthless one in Hebrew) was accepted by God because of his humility. Obviously, Cain did not take this well and killed Abel; however, God had told Cain that if he does well he would be accepted and that sin lay in wait for him and he must rule over it. This is impossible with man who already is sin personified since conception (Ps 51:5). But, to be the sacrifice for sin one must be sinless; thus, the Messiah would have to be in perfect control in the flesh to never sin. Cain obviously did not meet this criteria. Yet, Christ makes the curious statement that the Devil is the father of sinful man (Jo 8:43-44). Therefore, Lucifer must have also vied for the position of Messiah before Cain and been found unworthy causing him to sin as evidenced by Christ saying Satan was a liar and a murderer from the moment he sinned. We also know from Christ that anger is the precursor to murder: spiritual and physical (Mt 5:21-26).
Satan is the picture of the
Disenfranchised seeking Equality
Isaiah and Ezekiel wrote prophetic passages that describe Lucifer‘s fall (Satan is his title: Accuser). Lucifer was the greatest of the created beings (angels) who reflected God’s glory leading to his great pride in his close position to God (Ez 28:12-17). Yet, he forgot one important point, in God’s plan the angels were to serve man in eternity future (He 1:14). In addition, there was the call, “Who is worthy?” If he became Messiah then he would be as God and man would forever be under him. It was at that moment of arrogant pride that Lucifer became Satan, accusing God Of injustice (Is 14:12-15)! His opportunity to improve his lot was rejected and in his anger he led a third of the angels to follow him, becoming the demons (Re 12:1-6). His lies led to the fall of both angels and man bringing spiritual death to himself and countless others; this is murder, spiritual separation from God. He was consigned to the Lake of Fire but this has yet to be fulfilled (Mt 25:41; Re 20:7-10). Notice that the Lake of Fire was first prepared for Lucifer showing that he sinned before man; indeed, he brought sin to man.
What Lucifer and Cain did not understand is that created beings can never atone for sin, not even their own. They are finite making their sacrifice insufficient. Only God could provide Himself as the acceptable substitute for sin satisfying the wrath of God (Ge 22:8). While Lucifer sought to be God, he was created by God and therefore insufficient. Man, born in sin, was also insufficient and not an acceptable sacrifice due to his inherent sin nature. This applies to all people. All who reject the gospel of God show they want to be gods and control all others; was this not the original promise of Satan to Woman (Ge 3:5)?
Thus, Lucifer lost his position on the holy mountain due to his anger over God’s rejection of his worthiness. Christ was invited up to the holy mountain when He entered Heaven after His resurrection (Ps 24:3-5). Thus, the parable of the Wedding Feast is an apt illustration of this original conflict (Lk 14:7-11). Satan, Cain and all sinners seek to forcibly take the honored positions while Christ did not seek the position but was sent by the Father to be the sacrifice (Mt 11:12). He was given the position of honor because of His acceptable death. Repentance is the recognition that one is sinful and worthy of death; humbling one’s self before God who gives the gift of New Covenant salvation.
One of the qualities of sin, pride of life, seeks to elevate self over all others (1Jo 2:15-17). When Cain wandered to the land of Wanderers (Nod) he developed cities; i.e., civilization with laws and enforcement of those laws by force. Governments throughout history have always been the mechanism by which sinful people rule over others. Today, this is evidenced by the socialism movement since the 19th century. Both national and international socialism seek to have an elite few, who exempt themselves from their own rules and dominate the masses under the guise of equality and fairness. Lucifer wanted equality with God but he despised inequality with man. This is always the way with sinners. Such were each of us until God saved us through His Son (Ac 4:11-12). Now we are learning the humility of Christ lest we be devoured by the pride of Satan (1Pe 5:6-11).
Scripture does gives us answers to the question of “why”? The bastion of ignorance behind which many churches hide offers no comfort. It is poor hermeneutics that relies on ignorance for its defense when the Bible is so rich in explanations. This is the richness God has in His word for those who humble themselves to study under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit (1Co 2:12-14). The call still goes out today. The lost deem themselves worthy revealing their unworthiness. They still rage against God and will to the very end (Re 20:7-10). Are you worthy? The saved find worthiness only in the Lamb (1Co 1:21-30).