The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: At the heart of Satan's rebellion was he forgot something. He forgot that he was a creature.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans says one reason pride is dangerous is that it can affect your memory.

Dr. Tony Evans: What was the cause of his rebellion? He forgot that the only reason he was a cherub, the only reason he was on the showroom floor, somebody else put him in that position.

Guest (Male): This is the Alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. You may picture the devil as a cartoon, complete with horns and pitchfork, but the Bible paints a different picture. Today, Dr. Evans explores the background behind Satan's rebellion and how that fight affects you and me. Let's join him.

Dr. Tony Evans: Here we have in Ezekiel 28 a description of Lucifer before the fall, Lucifer before his rebellion. It is in understanding Lucifer before his rebellion that you'll understand why he rebelled. Let's look at his perfections.

Verse 12 says, "Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, you had the seal of perfection. You were a flawless being. You were full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Not a scratch to be found anywhere.'"

Verse 13 says not only did he dwell in Eden, but look at this: "Every precious stone was your covering. The ruby, the topaz, the diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper." He says at the end of verse 13, "On the day that you were created, they were prepared." Notice verse 15, "You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created."

We're told that this being called Lucifer—the word means shining one—that was his original name. That's who he was. He was flawless. In other words, part of his brilliance was in his makeup. Satan, or back then Lucifer, was God's showpiece.

When you go buy a new car, they have the showroom floor. The showroom floor is where they want to show you. It's where the cars don't get to get dirty because they're not outside. There are no flaws. The most perfect vehicle is placed on the showroom floor. And if you and I could have gone to heaven back then and we would have asked God, "Show me your best work," he would have said, "Check out Lucifer, the diamond-studded one whose brilliance arrayed heaven, perfect in every detail."

Notice his place along with his perfections. Verse 13 says, "You were in Eden, the garden of God." Verse 14 says, "You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked in the midst of the stones of fire." To put it another way, he got closer to God than anybody else. But then comes the awesome perversion.

Like in the famed story, one day he passed by a mirror and stopped. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" Watch it when you stop in front of a mirror too long, because when you stop in front of a mirror too long, the mirror has a way of reflecting your own glory back to you.

Look at all this glory. Look at how good you are. I don't have to keep leading everybody else to God. Look at me. The text says in verse 15, "You were blameless in all your ways from the days you were created until unrighteousness was found in you." Verse 17 gives us the bottom line: "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor."

There it is. We are told that Satan's perversion was that he took the gifts of God, and rather than recognize them as the gifts of God, they became an end in themselves. At the heart of Satan's rebellion was he forgot something. What did he forget? Well, it's mentioned a number of times in this passage.

The end of verse 13 says, "On the day you were created." The second line of verse 15 says, "From the day you were created." He forgot that he was a creature. There it is. What was the cause of his rebellion? He forgot those diamonds didn't show up by themselves. He forgot that that appointment did not occur by himself.

He forgot that the only reason he was a cherub, the only reason he was on the showroom floor, the only reason he was a diamond-studded, jasper-studded, onyx-studded being that brought the house down—the only reason that any of that was true was because he was a creature. He was created. That is, somebody else put him in that position.

The shining one thought that he was who he was because that is who he was. And his heart was lifted up because of his splendor. He looked in the mirror and said, "You the man. You are the man. You don't have to do this any longer. You don't have to be number two for long. No, you are the man." He forgot his creatureliness.

Isaiah chapter 14 gives us the content of his rebellion. The content of his rebellion is simply negative volition. Volition has to do with the will, which means that when God created angels, he created them with volition, that is with the ability to choose. God did not mandate robotically their will.

The question is asked in verse 12, "How are you fallen from heaven, O star of the morning?" That is, Lucifer, son of the dawn. "You have been cut down to earth. You have weakened the nations. But you said in your heart..." God opens up the curtain on Lucifer's heart and lets us see what he was thinking, and by the way, he always knows what you're thinking.

Lucifer said five things. Number one: "I will." Negative volition. "I will ascend to heaven." Now, he doesn't mean for a tour. He already had access to heaven. He already had access to God. He was already walking among the stones. He was already moving among God's presence. He was already on the mountain of God, Ezekiel 28 says. So he's not talking about going to pay a visit.

He's talking about ascendancy. In other words, "I am going to ascend with a view to occupying the throne." It was an occupancy ascension. "I want to ascend to a position, not just ascend to a place. In other words, I want that post. I don't want to serve somebody else at that post. I want the post for me. I will ascend and I'm going to sit in that chair."

Two: "I will raise my throne above the stars of heaven." Job 38:7 says stars refers to angels. So he wanted to rule over all the angels. "I want the angels when they get together to find out how to make me, Lucifer, look better. And I don't want to have to answer to somebody else about whether the angels are being faithful to them. I only want the angels to be faithful to me and my throne. I want to be in charge."

He was fairly successful according to the Scriptures because it says one-third, Revelation 12, of all the angels joined him. Thirdly, "I will sit on the mount of the assembly." Isaiah 2:2, Psalm 48:2 says that the center of the assembly is the center of God's kingdom rule to control the affairs of the universe.

In other words, Satan didn't want to pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done," but "My kingdom come and my will be done." What Satan is saying is, "I want to be in control of the show. I want to set forth the plan. I don't just want to execute somebody else's plan. I want this to be my show. I want to be in the center, sitting on the mount of the assembly. I want to be managing the kingdom."

Fourthly, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds." Oh, this is a cute one here. He's not talking about ascending above the clouds you see above you as you fly in an airplane. That's not what he's talking about. What are the clouds? You don't have to turn there, but Exodus 16:10, Exodus 40 verse 33 says that the clouds reflect or refer to the glory of God.

The Bible says, "And the glory of God came down in the clouds." So the clouds were not just clouds; it was that in which the glory of God and through which the glory of God was manifested. You see, this guy wants glory. This dude wants glory. He can't hang out when we're worshiping God because we are giving to another that which he so desperately wants for himself. Okay? Not only that, but when we worship God, that reminds Satan of what he used to do. He wants the glory.

Guest (Male): Dr. Evans will return in a moment to explain why God lets Satan get away with his arrogance when he continues this message from his series "Angels: Good, Bad, and Ugly." This two-volume collection answers all your biggest questions about who these supernatural beings are, what they can and cannot do, and the role they play in our life and faith.

Right now, we'd like to send you this complete collection along with Tony's companion book "Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle." In it, he explains how many of the problems we face are actually symptoms of a deeper spiritual conflict and shows how believers can experience victory by relying on God's power instead of their own strength. This resource package is our thank-you gift to those who make a financial donation to help support the ministry of The Alternative. To take advantage of this special offer, just visit tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our resource team members help you. I'll repeat that contact information after the second part of today's lesson.

Picture yourself surrounded by crystal clear waters, warm Caribbean breezes, and the kind of quiet that allows you to hear from God in a fresh way. This February 28th through March 7th, you're invited to join Dr. Tony Evans and friends for a seven-day Caribbean cruise—a journey of rest and renewal. You'll visit beautiful ports of call like Nassau in the Bahamas, the pristine shores of Grand Turk, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, even stopping in a private island designed for pure relaxation. And in between, you'll enjoy peaceful days at sea, perfect for reflection, fellowship, and rest. Along the way, you'll experience powerful Bible teaching from Dr. Evans and other speakers, uplifting worship, and meaningful connection with a community that feels like family. If your soul needs refreshing and your spirit needs renewal, this is your invitation. Find out more and make your reservation today at tonyevans.org. That's tonyevans.org.

Dr. Tony Evans: Let me tell you something about God's glory. Turn to Isaiah chapter 42, verse 8: "I am the Lord, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images." Chapter 43, verse 10: "You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me, there was no god formed, and there will be none after me." Not a lot of room here for god-making.

44 verse 6: "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, 'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me.'" Chapter 45, verses 5 and 6, you kind of get the impression Isaiah means this. He says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other besides me. There is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known me, that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun there is no one besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other."

There ain't gonna be no "we" God. He wanted to share something that is unshareable. He wanted to divide something that is indivisible, and that is the glory of God. God lives for his glory, that is for the demonstration of his greatness. Glory means to show off, to advertise, to manifest, to put on Wall Street and market. God markets himself. He is one of a kind and therefore he will share his glory with no man, nobody.

Satan wanted to share his glory. Fifthly, watch this now, here's the bottom line: "I will make myself like the Most High. I like what he has," and what did he have? Independence. God was answerable to no one outside of himself. That's what he wants. Any of you have any kids like that? Independent. They don't want to be answerable to anybody out of themselves.

Now, Satan's sin was so grievous, and the reason why it is so hideous is that he wasn't tempted to do this because there was nobody to tempt him. He came up with this all on his own. He had intellect, he had opportunity, he had service, he had fellowship. You say, "Why did God allow it?" God allowed it so that he could demonstrate that when you don't do it his way, it won't work.

The curse of Satan's rebellion, look at the curse. He rolled the dice, thinking he could upset heaven, dethrone God, but they didn't come up seven and eleven. He fell into the law of unintended consequences. He would discover that even when you sin, you sin according to God's rules, not yours. He would come to understand that he was not just the devil, he was God's devil. He would understand that when you rebel against God, you can control the rebellion, but he will determine the outcome.

So what happened? According to verse 12, the boy fell. In fact, verse 12 says you were cut down to earth. You were booted out. He lost his position and privilege. Verse 12 lets us know, because in falling from heaven, he lost his position, his privileges permanently. Verse 16 says they will gaze on you and ponder over you, saying, "Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who nations shook?"

Now look at Revelation 20, verse 10. Now you can understand the doctrine of hell and the angelic conflict: "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." See, hell was never made for a man. It was never made for a woman. But many men and women will go there because that is the God that they wanted.

So actually, hell is the answer to the sinner's prayer. You said you don't want God to be your God, you don't want Jesus to be your savior, you want to live for this world, then God says, "Fine. I will let you live for this world. I will let you have the God that you wanted, but you have to understand, while you can control the decisions, I control the consequences."

So it's your choice. But I just want you to know I got a pot over here for Satan and his angels. Everybody who followed him. You say, "Well, maybe one day Satan will repent." Can't repent. How do I know? Because Hebrews 2:16 and 17 says Christ's death was a sacrifice for men and not for angels. So even if the boy wanted to repent, he couldn't repent because he wouldn't have a savior.

The death of Christ did not include angels, only men. The death of Christ was to show off to angels through the conversion of men the power of God's grace. And so we close with the correction of Satan's rebellion. A few highlights for us to live by.

Principle number one that is the correction of his rebellion in your life: God will go to enormous lengths to preserve his glory. That's what I want you to walk away with. Listen to me. God will spare nothing to preserve his glory. You say, "Well, I don't know if God really does that." Oh, ask Nebuchadnezzar. Because if Nebby was in the house, he would tell you, "Don't ever do what I did, standing on the porch talking about, 'Look at this great Babylon that I have built.' Don't ever do that, because my nails started to grow, and hair started to come all over me, and I crawled like an animal for seven years."

"Oh, but I learned my lesson because when I got back to my sanity, I let it be known there's only one God in here." So let me tell you, God will bring you down to the dirt. That is why what happened to the serpent? The serpent had to crawl on his belly. Why did God curse the serpent to crawl on his belly? Because he had been used by Satan to take the glory of God. And when you take the glory of God, God will put you on your face and you'll be crawling in the dust until you give him back his glory.

You don't believe me? Ask Herod. Herod was riding around in his chariot and the people were saying, "Look, there's a god." Herod said, "Yes, I'm a god." The next phrase in the verse says, "And the worms ate him up," because there's not room for two gods here.

James 4 says humble yourself before God. 1 Peter 5:5 says humble yourself before God. Humbling yourself does not mean you stoop below yourself. It just means you stand as tall as you can against something higher than yourself. A little boy came to his father one day and said, "Dad, I measured myself and I'm eight feet four inches tall." Father said, "No, you're not eight feet." "Yes, I measured myself, that's how tall I am."

Father went and looked what he measured himself with: a six-inch ruler. And a lot of us think more of ourselves because we measure ourselves against the wrong people. So we're better than Joe. Joe's a drug addict, so I'm okay. No, that's a six-inch ruler. No, you got to measure yourself against the right standard. Stand as tall as you want, just make sure the standard is right. And all have sinned and fallen short of what? The standard, the glory of God. That is the standard.

Guest (Male): And if you're ready to do that and to start a real relationship with the Lord, stay with us. Dr. Evans will return to tell you how to make that happen for yourself in just a moment. Now, today's lesson was titled "The Rebellion of Satan," and the full-length version, including material we didn't have time to present on the air, is available as part of Tony's current two-volume series "Angels: Good, Bad, and Ugly."

This complete 12-message collection offers practical biblical insight into the unseen spiritual world and the battles believers face every day. Remember, when you make a donation to help support this ministry, you'll get the complete Angels series on CD, USB flash drive, or digital download along with the empowering companion book I mentioned earlier, "Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle." Together, these resources will help you recognize the enemy's tactics and learn how to stand firm in God's authority and strength. This is a limited-time offer, so contact us right away at tonyevans.org or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 where team members are available around the clock to assist you. That's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org.

And a quick reminder, in addition to these daily lessons from Dr. Evans on the Alternative broadcast, he also leads meaningful and timely discussions with special guests on his Unbound podcast. You can listen to those conversations whenever and wherever you hear your favorite podcasts. The credit card is a relatively recent invention, but Dr. Evans says the choice to buy now, pay later has been around since the beginning of time. On Monday, he'll talk about how this principle works in the spiritual world as he takes an in-depth look at the character of Satan. But right now, he's back with this final word for us.

Dr. Tony Evans: If you've been listening to the broadcast and you have yet to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, we can resolve that right now. I'm going to say a little prayer. I want you to pray it after me, but you've got to mean it for yourself.

Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner and I know I need a savior because I can't save myself. So right now, I trust you alone because you died for me and arose for me to be my sin-bearer. You are now my substitute, and I'm believing you to forgive my sin and to give me eternal life. Thank you for the free gift of salvation that you have given to me. Help me to live a life to please you. In Jesus' name, amen. Welcome to the family, and we'll keep ministering to you for your spiritual growth through our broadcast. God bless you.