In my absence I have drastically changed my views to the point that the story of Lucifer’s fall seems not only possible, but provable, to an extent. This change in views is based largely on my rereading of the Bible and my completion of the book I mentioned earlier, Glimpses of the Devil.
Here is my argument for the Lucifer/Satan connection:
In the Old Testament, Isaiah makes this statement:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” -Isaiah 14:12-15
Isaiah is comparing Nebuchanezzar to Lucifer, in this case a figure who thought that he could become greater than God but was cast down to Hell. While some may argue that this is referring to Venus, that can be disproved. While the name is the same, the story that Isaiah ties to it is different. It is possible that Isaiah identified this mystery figure who rebelled against God as “Lucifer” because it is the name attributed to Venus in a legend. In the legend, Venus suffers a terrible fate. The name Lucifer means “morning star.” So, Isaiah identified this once-exalted figure who suffers a terrible fate with the name Lucifer, just as we today might call a traitor “Benedict Arnold.” It was not uncommon around that time period to “borrow” names from a mythological figure with similar attributes to the figure being named. So, perhaps this exalted angel was not named Lucifer. But that is the name that I identify the traitorous angel with, just as Catholics know the pope as Benedict and not Joseph Ratzinger.
In the New Testament, Jesus makes a statement with a striking resemblance to Isaiah’s statement:
“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” -Luke 10:18
Yes, I know I refuted this statement as evidence before, but because this statement does not resemble a typical metaphorical statement of Jesus’ and because it resembles the verse from Isaiah, I take it as proof straight from Christ’s mouth that Satan fell from Heaven, which fits with the story recounted in Isaiah.
Then, I take the following passage from Glimpses of the Devil:
“‘So many times I have heard it said that God created us humans in His own image. What does that mean? I’ve wondered. What I concluded, ultimately with certainty, is that being created in God’s image means, above all else, God created us as creatures with free will - with total free will, the freedom to choose whatever we want, no matter how wise or stupid, the freedom to move in any direction at all. In other words, we are created with a freedom that demons don’t begin to have and that you yourself, Satan, can hardly begin to understand. Even though most Christians think of angels as exalted beings, higher than themselves, it finally dawned on me that this common Christian vision is wrong. The reality, I believe, is that by giving us free will God created us higher than the angels, that it is not the angels who are superior to us but we who are more fortunate than them. And that’s why you hate us, isn’t it, Satan? You hate human beings so much because God decided to create them higher than even you who were once the bearer of light and the chief of all angels. Oh yes, your position was once exalted indeed, and you simply could not stand it when God decided to create creatures even more exalted than you. No, you would not stand for it. You refused to tolerate it. And that is why you rebelled against God, isn’t it? And why you have hated the human race from its beginning.’ The snake [The possessed. The author speaks extensively about the snakelike appearance of the possessed throughout the whole experience] had stopped writhing, intent on looking at me with murderous rage. I knew it would never admit the correctness of what I had just said.” -Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist’s Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption, pp. 187-188
I do not know why the author chose the word “correctness” to describe what he had preached, but I am sure that, since he is foremost a scientist (as he states in his book), he does not take the word “correctness” lightly.
What do I have to say about my sudden conversion? Nothing except: God works in mysterious ways.
