Where Did the Devil Come From?
Copyright © March 1, 2024 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
All scripture verses are from the New International Version of the Holy Bible.
Introduction
After we finish eating our supper each evening, and after our kitchen table has been cleared of food and dishes, then our family sits down at the table and we listen to each of our grandchildren read the next story in their Storybook Bible. The children take turns and each child reads out loud and we all listen. Each child has an illustrated bible based on the child's age.
One evening in February one of my grandchildren, Levi McClintock age 9, was reading a summary story of the book of Job. When he finished reading he turned towards me and he asked, "Where did the devil come from?"
I answered his question using the information about the origin of the devil that appears in the Holy Bible.
Later I realized that it might be a good idea if I included my answer here on my website.
Discussion
To establish the origin of the devil we must first establish the origin of God.
To establish the origin of God we need to use the Holy Bible.
God is eternal. God always has been and God always will be. God had no beginning and God has no end. The following scripture verses confirm this one simple basic fact.
Deuteronomy 33:27
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
Psalm 93:2
2 Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.
Exodus 15:18
18 "The LORD will reign for ever and ever."
The eternal God created everything. Before God began creating things, nothing existed except for God.
God spoke everything into existence except for man. God formed man from the dust of the ground and then God breathed His Spirit into the man and the man became a living eternal soul.
The following scripture verses describe how God created everything.
John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The above verses clearly say that God created everything. God created the heavens and the earth. And God created all living things, including fish, birds, insects, animals, mankind, and angels.
When God finished creating everything God said that everything He created was good. The following scripture verses verify that everything that God created was good in His sight.
Genesis 1:10,12,18,21,25
10 And God saw that it was good.
12 And God saw that it was good.
18 And God saw that it was good.
21 And God saw that it was good.
25 And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 2:7
7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 1:31-32 and 2:1
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning -- the sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
Since the Holy Bible was written for people, the first chapter of the Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth. But all the detailed information in chapter one is about the earth. In chapter one the Bible does not provide any specific details about heaven and the angles except to say the God created everything. But the Bible does clearly say that everything that God created was good.
God gave each of His living creatures the "free will" to make decisions for themselves. In other words, God did not create "robots" that had to do everything in exactly the same way.
One of the angels that God created was called Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub, or the serpent, or the dragon, or the devil. Although the devil originally began his life as a good angel, the devil had the freedom to choose what he would do and what he would not do. And the devil made the decision to rebel against God. The devil was able to convince approximately one-third of the angels in heaven to follow him and they made war against God and the other angels. But the devil and his angles lost the war and they were cast down to the earth. The following scriptures describe this event:
Revelation 12:7-9,12
7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down -- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. . . .
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
Isaiah 14:12-15
12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
In the New Testament of the Holy Bible Jesus Christ confirms the above events when Jesus said:
Luke 10:18
18 "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
God cannot lie and God does not tempt us to do evil.
Titus 1:2
2 God, who does not lie,
Hebrews 6:18
18 it is impossible for God to lie,
James 1:13
13 For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
However, the Holy Bible does say that the devil is a murderer and a liar and that the devil cannot be trusted.
John 8:44
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Most of us know the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-34 and that the serpent deceived Eve into eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This was how evil entered the world and it is the reason that death entered the world.
And the Bible says that the devil is still able to deceive people into doing evil.
2 Chronicles 11:14
14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Job 1:6-7
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
God even allowed His Son Jesus Christ to be tempted by the devil in the wilderness.
Matthew 4:1,10-11
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. . . .
10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, God accepted Jesus death and Jesus' Holy Blood as the full payment for all our sins. Everyone who accepts Jesus as Savior will live forever in heaven with God, and with Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit.
However, those who reject Jesus will suffer the same fate as the devil and the devil's fallen angels (or demons). After the devil rebelled against God, God created hell as a place of eternal punishment for the devil and his demons. Hell was not created for people. But anyone who follows in the footsteps of the devil, and who refuses to accept the pardon offered to them by God through His Son Jesus Christ, will be cast into hell and they will be chained in one spot for all eternity.
Matthew 25:41
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' "
Revelation 20:2-3
2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
Revelation 20:7-1
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth -- Gog and Magog -- to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The devil is not the ruler of hell. When the devil is eventually cast into hell forever, the devil will be a prisoner in hell. The devil will be chained in one spot and the devil will be tormented forever.
The devil and every demon knows that Jesus is the one and only Son of the Eternal God.
Mark 1:32
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Luke 4:33-36
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!"
35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!"
The devil and every demon also know that Jesus Christ has the authority and the power to cast the devil and every demon into hell (the Abyss).
Luke 8:27-31
27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" 29 For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
31 And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
The Holy Bible also contains God's advice on how to avoid being deceived by the devil.
1 Peter 5:8-9
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
James 4:7-8
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
1 John 3:7-10
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Conclusion
Now that you have read some of what the Holy Bible tells us about the devil and about demons, do you believe that God and His Son Jesus have the authority and the power to limit what the devil and the evil demons can do to us while we are here on this earth?
A demon cannot possess a person who has accepted Jesus as Savior and who has received the gift of the Holy Spirit into his heart. If the Holy Spirit is in your heart then a demon cannot enter into your body and take control of your actions. The only thing a demon can do is tempt you to do something that you know you should not do. Please remember that the devil could only tempt Jesus but the devil could not force Jesus to do something that was wrong.
However, if you have not yet accepted Jesus as Savior and if you do not have the Holy Spirit in your heart, then you are defenseless against any demon that wants to deceive you, and who wants to lead you astray so that you will be cast into hell when you die.
John 3:16-18
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."
Please remember that one of the thieves who was crucified with Jesus asked Jesus for mercy and that thief is in heaven with Jesus right now. But the other thief refused to believe in Jesus and that thief is in hell right now (Luke 23:32-43).
May God Bless,
Grandpappy.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com