A Study By
Gary Ray Branscome
The words, “For in six days the LORD made
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,” tell us that the
angels were created during the six days of creation (Exodus 20:11). In other words,
the angels are included in the words, “all that in them is”.
Therefore, by the beginning of the seventh day God’s work of creation was
complete. At that time all that He created was holy, good, and pure (Genesis
2:1-2, Genesis
While the angels whom God created are spirit beings
who by nature are more powerful, intelligent, and glorious than man; they are
finite spirits who neither die nor reproduce, and whose power and wisdom is
limited. At the same time, the fact that Michael dared not bring a railing
accusation against Satan tells us that Satan is more powerful than the others.
[Hebrews 1:14, 2Kings 19:35, 2Samuel 14:20, Luke 11:17-18 and 15:10, Revelation
12:9, Matthew 18:10, Psalm 8:5, 1Peter 1:12 and 3:22, Matthew 22:30, Jude 1:9,
Mark 12:25, Luke 20:36, Ezekiel 28:13-14, Isaiah 14:12, 2Corinthians 11:14.]
However, in spite of Satan’s power, sin
brought him under condemnation. Moreover, the fact that the evil in man’s
nature is a reflection of Satan’s nature tells us that Satan wanted to be
God, for all sin is an attempt to overthrow God’s authority (John 8:44,
Isaiah 14:12-14, Matthew 25:41).
Through sin Lucifer ceased to be the bearer of light
and became Satan – the enemy, the accuser, the father of the lie. Since
one-third of the angels were carried down into spiritual death by his
influence, he was also the first murderer (Revelation 12:3-10, John
Since all sin is an attempt to overthrow God’s
authority, sin itself is rooted in the desire to be God, and the desire to
exalt yourself over others or make them do your will (which stems from that
satanic mentality) is the essence of pride and the opposite of love. That is
not to say that love is always the exact opposite of pride or hatred, for under
certain circumstances love not only requires us to condemn and fight evil, but
Satan is sometimes able to disguise evil as love. Nevertheless, those who do
Satan’s will always justify evil while condemning good.
Since the desire to exalt one’s race is
closely related to the desire to exalt self, racism is clearly a manifestation
of the satanic mentality. In fact, racists promote the lie of a superior race
because they want to lord it over other races. That is why they never view
their own race as inferior. At the same time, Satan uses the delusion of racial
superiority to blind those under it to the fact that their own nature is
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). What they
fail to realize is that by rejecting God’s evaluation of their nature for
their own delusion of superiority, Satan has them fighting against God by
trying to replace His truth with their lie (John 14:6, Psalm 146:5-6). [Note:
God is the one who determines what is true. In fact, if He did not have the
ability to determine what is true, He would be subject to and limited by the
truth. If that were the case, then the truth (or the one who did determine the
truth) would be His superior, and thus the true God. Therefore, Satan’s
rebellion could be viewed as his attempt to change the truth in order to make
himself God, which explains why Satan is the father of the lie (John 8:44).]
Although God originally intended for our nature to
reflect His righteousness, sin has so altered our nature that it now reflects
the deceitfulness and rebellion of Satan. That is why we are so quick to excuse
or justify our own sins (Jeremiah 17:9). Every time we excuse something that we
know to be wrong, we are attempting to make ourselves God by changing the truth
to suit ourselves.
In short, every sin committed by man is somehow
rooted in the satanic desire to make oneself God (self-deification). That
desire often manifests itself in the drive to control, dominate, manipulate,
and use others for the benefit of self. For example, the man who seduces a
woman does so only to gratify his own selfish desires. If he really cared for
her, he would not want her to sin. Therefore, any love that he thinks he feels
for her is really hatred disguised as love, and thus a delusion of Satan (1John
5:2). That being the case, all that he says about love is really an attempt to
make himself God by making his lie (that adultery is love) into the truth. In
the same way, any who excuse, defend, and promote wicked behavior are trying to
make themselves God, while showing only contempt for those whom they deceive
(James 4:4).
When it comes to idolatry, those who create idols
are attempting to make themselves into God’s creator. The worship of
idols is an attempt to overthrow the true God. In fact, every attempt to change
the truth of God into a lie is a rejection of the true God. That also is true
of atheism. The atheist denial of God is rooted in the same desire to be God
that is behind every other sin. In his book “The Gods Of
Atheism,” Vincent P. Miceli documents that fact
by citing a number of prominent atheists who have claimed that man is God.
Those who curse in God's name are seeking to make
themselves into the one who decides who should be damned (Matthew
Since the satanic desire to be God underlies the
corruption of our nature, that desire reveals itself most openly in the area of
religion. Not only do idolaters reject God’s authority, but one very
active cult promises godhood to those who follow its teachings. The church of
Rome officially designates the Pope as God on earth (Labb
IX Dist. :96
Another way false teachers attempt to make
themselves God is by trying to make their word into God's Word. We not only see
that whenever false Scriptures are written, but also whenever made up doctrines
and private interpretations are passed off as the Word of God. That holds true
for those who claim false revelations. [I once heard a man claim that God told
him that Christ would return 1985.] And, also for those who set themselves
above Scripture by either explaining away things it says or finding fault with
it as if they were a higher authority than its Author.
Because Satan is very subtle, it is not always easy
to spot additions to God’s Word. Sometimes they are disguised as
explanations and hidden behind reasoning that may seem plausible. The addition
may consist of hidden assumptions or conclusions based on those assumptions,
which contradict what the Bible explicitly says. For example: It is often
assumed that infants have no sins, even though the Bible tells us that,
“All have sinned,” (Romans
It is Satan (not God) who is to blame for all the
sin and suffering in the world. Those who want to blame God for man’s sin
are seeking to make themselves God by setting themselves over God as His judge.
At the same time, they are denying their own sin, by condemning others but not
themselves (1Corinthians
1- When was
Satan created?
2- Was Satan evil when God first created him?
3- What was the first sin?
4- What is racism a manifestation of?
5- What is every sin rooted in?
6- What does the satanic mentality desire?
7- What is behind the claim that man is God?
8- What are all who defy God's commandments attempting to do?
9- How are false teachers seeking to make themselves God?
10- Where is the desire to be God seen most openly?