n) ONE OF THE MOST INTRIGUING and mysterious questions that we may ponder before Our Father is the following: What is our “old man”, our sinful nature, our sin all about? What is its true origin, its beginning, its essence, its character? Why it cannot be changed, abandoned or reversed? How can we understand it? I will share with you my vision received from the Lord concerning the beginnings of SIN as a principle, as law and as nature. It may prove important and very useful for us to see these spiritual matters as they may also give us deeper and clearer understanding of the very same processes which are taking place within us.
We must translate ourselves to the “time” well before the foundations of the world when evil had been already created, but SIN did not exist as yet. Then God created Lucifer, a Heavenly being so perfect and beautiful that, in my faith and vision, he stood just below the Son of God, below the WORD. There was no one in the whole creation of God, who would have been closer to the perfection and beauty of the Son of God than Lucifer. (Ez. 28:12-14) BUT he was not created in the Image of God as Adam was!
And then one “day”, Lucifer “became aware” of his beauty and wisdom and perfection with which he was created. He also observed his status and position and compared it to that of the Son of God. And when for the first time he started to compare, he became aware of his sense of dissatisfaction, jealousy, which sense came to him seemingly out of “nowhere”. There was never such a thing as “dissatisfaction” in Heaven before. Dissatisfaction as such is not sin, but it is “skirting” sin, it starts from something which is not “kosher”. Lucifer started to slide into evil, which he was aware of as to its existence, but not as to its awesome power, effects and consequences. These were not known as they never existed before Lucifer and only God could foresee or foreknow these consequences. It is not recorded whether God had ever warned Lucifer about the power, effects and consequences of evil. The fact is that Lucifer began to be drawn into it ever so slowly but surely, here a little and there a little… the same way as we have to draw ourselves out from it. (Is. 28:9,10) It thus seems that once we start sliding into evil, no one can stop us or reverse the slide… except God (see also Chapter 9[11] for details).
Finally, at some point in “time”, he became truly jealous of the Son of God because of His Greater Wisdom, Greater Beauty, Greater Perfection, Greater Status, Higher Position and Authority in the Universe bringing great worship to Him. He began to desire to be “like Him”. At that same point, a SPIRIT OF SIN, and of inequity was “BORN” in him, which spirit had never existed before. In order to be born, that new spirit of Sin needed both EVIL AND A LIVING BEING which would accept and begin to live that evil. So, the spirit of sin may also be visualized as “evil that had become alive”, that found its living expression. It produces a NEW KIND OF LIVING BEING that had never existed before Lucifer.
Let us try to visualize this spiritual fact by the following example. When a drop of the true Holy anointing oil is put into water, the water becomes tainted white; its nature is changed forever, you cannot take that white taint out of it. When a “drop of evil” is received by a created life, it also becomes “tainted”; its nature is changed for ever and you cannot take that “evil” out of it. EVIL absorbed by a created LIFE may be called the SPIRIT OF SIN. Two “ingredients” are required here to create a third, brand new “ingredient”.
Let us SEE and understand that SIN in its disposition is not a thing or an act, it is a SPIRIT THAT CHANGES THE NATURE OF ANY LIVING THING. When the heart of Lucifer was “lifted up” because of his beauty, PRIDE WAS “BORN” in him as the FIRST FRUIT AND THUS THE CHIEF CHARACTER OF THE NEW SPIRIT OF SIN IN HIM! This is the exact opposite of the Character of God and of His Spirit Whose first fruit is Love which is the chief Character of God. Hence, the SPIRIT OF SIN had become the chief enemy of the SPIRIT OF GOD in all his ways. It opposes Him in all things and resists Him in all things. Pride had become the chief feature of the character of Satan and of man.
This SPIRIT OF SIN became in Lucifer a SEED producing an “embryo” of the NATURE OF SIN. It started to grow in Lucifer into a PERSON OF SIN. This person of sin may be thus visualized as a MATURED FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OF SIN! Such a being then becomes a true SON OF EVIL.
This process is in its principle similar to the process of our Salvation where the SPIRIT OF GOD had become in us a Heavenly SEED which produced in us an “embryo” of the NATURE OF GOD. It is then supposed to grow in us into a NEW MAN – PERSON OF LOVE, JOY, PEACE, FAITH, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, MEEKNESS and TEMPERANCE. This believer becomes a MATURED FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD! (Gal. 5:22,23) and a true and perfect SON OF GOD.
When that altogether “NEW CREATURE OF EVIL” began to grow in Lucifer, it was the beginning of an irreversible and tragic change in Lucifer’s personality. He must have been aware of his own desires, but not necessarily of his pride and that he was about to sin against God, Whom he still may have served just before he sinned against Him. Sin and pride had not existed before, they were “unknown elements” in Heaven, not seen, not experienced, therefore, not understood and not perceived in their character and danger… except by God. And then this “NEW CREATURE OF EVIL” in Lucifer had matured into the person of SATAN, THE SON OF EVIL, THE SON OF PERDITION. (Jn. 17:12// 2Thes. 2:3). The character of Lucifer was completely changed.
When his jealousy led Lucifer to his first free-will decision in his heart (“he said in his heart”), the very first SIN AS ACT in God’s Creation was “BORN” (Is. 14:12-14) It was the first fruit of the SPIRIT OF SIN in general and of the spirit of pride and jealousy in particular. When we are jealous of somebody and have wrong desires that this jealousy produces, sin lies at our “door”. When we start taking steps to execute these wrong desires and jealousy, the sin enters into our “living room”. (Jam. 1:14,15; “when lust is conceived” = when we say in our heart) Lucifer was perfect in all his ways until this sin of iniquity was found in him. (Ez. 28:15)
BEFORE LUCIFER, EVIL EXISTED AS IT WERE A POISON IN A CLOSED BOTTLE. IT NEEDED SOMEONE TO OPEN THE BOTTLE TO BEGIN ITS DESTRUCTIVE FUNCTION, TO BEGIN TO GROW ITS OWN “FRUIT OF DESTRUCTION”. IN LUCIFER, EVIL HAD FINALLY FOUND ITS “LIVING EXPRESSION, ITS FRUIT” IN HAVING BEEN ABSORBED AND THUS LIVED BY A LIVING CREATURE. THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS DESCRIBED IN Gal. 5:22,23. THE FRUIT OF THE EVIL SPIRIT OF SIN IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
BUT FRUIT CAN ONLY BE PRODUCED BY A LIVING THING OR BEING. WE THEN CONCLUDE THAT SATAN AND HIS CHARACTER HAD BECOME AN IMPERSONATED EVIL. IT IS PRECISELY THIS CHARACTER THAT WAS PLANTED INTO ADAM AND EVE BASED ON THEIR CHOICE TO DISOBEY GOD. THIS EVIL CHARACTER REPLACED THE CHARACTER OF GOD AND HIS SPIRIT IN THE SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY OF ADAM AND EVE. THIS WAS THE WORK OF THE DEVIL! IT BECAME HIS GREAT VICTORY SINCE NO MAN COULD REVERSE THIS ACT OR EXTRICATE HIMSELF FROM THIS EVIL CHARACTER. THE DEVIL THUS GAINED THE POWER OF DEATH (HEB. 2:14), IN OTHER WORDS, THE ABILITY TO (ETERNALLY) SEPARATE OTHER LIVING CREATURES FROM GOD. THIS IS HOW DEATH AND SATAN’S POWER OF IT ARE TO BE INTERPRETED AND UNDERSTOOD IN THE SCRIPTURE.
Let us also SEE and understand that this SPIRIT OF SIN has its own intelligence, mind, will and power which it received from its “father” Lucifer at its conception, and from its “father” Satan at its maturity. This Archangel had great intelligence and power ruling (weakening) nations. (Is. 14:12) We should not be surprised that this spirit of sin is so cunningly intelligent and powerful that man has no chance to perceive its cunning character and deceptions, subdue them, overcome them or extricate himself from their grip.
THIS SPIRIT OF SIN WHICH “PRODUCED” SATAN, THE SON OF EVIL, HAD BECOME THE LIFE OF MAN, THE LIFE OF HIS “NEW SINFUL NATURE”. THE SPIRIT OF EVIL HAD CLAIMED NOT ONLY LUCIFER, THE ANNOINTED CHERUB THAT WAS SET UPON THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF GOD, (Ez. 28:14) BUT IT WAS NOW CLAIMING EVERY MAN BORN TO THIS WORLD AS IT COULD REPRODUCE ITS SEED OF CORRUPTION INTO EVERY NEW LIVING BEING BORN OF ADAM AND EVE!
The “sinful virtues” of the SPIRIT OF SIN (pride, arrogance, selfishness, stubbornness, disobedience, foolishness, fears and all the rest) are called the “FLESH” or the “old man”. Flesh opposes God in every way and at all times, it is His eternal Enemy which influences every man and is the source and cause of his eternal death (separation from God) and thus of his eternal damnation and suffering.
This is the evolution of evil and its effects and the true depth of tragedy of any living creature that is in the grip of its tentacles. There was no way back, there was no way to save man… except one!
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To be continued next week in chapter 5 – part 12
brother Hanola
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