Pride Goes Before a Fall

Because of pride, Satan decided to exalt himself and place his throne on the sides of the north with the throne of God. He was convincing in his lie that he could be exalted like God. So convincing, that one-third of the heavenly hosts chose to follow him in his rebellion.

Even though Lucifer and his followers believed they could exalt themselves to be like God, their belief did not overpower the truth that God is light and light always overpowers darkness. As a result, Lucifer (Satan) was cast out of Heaven to the earth along with one third of the heavenly angelic beings who, instead of being exalted and glorified, were transformed into a fallen, demonic existence, confined within the atmosphere of the earth (Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:16).

When Lucifer was on the mountain of God, he was beautiful and full of music. The Scriptures imply that he was a being that led in worship. But there was a day when iniquity (sin) was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15). This iniquity, of course, was the pride in his thinking that he could be like God and rule with God. The error in his thinking was due either to the lack of his understanding, or his refusal to submit to the fact that he (an angel) was not created in the likeness and image of God and was never intended to be an heir, or to be considered a son of God (1 Peter 1:12).

Pride is a terrible thing and a characteristic of Satan. Pride is something that is never good. There is no such thing as good pride. That's like saying there is good sin and bad sin. No, all sin is bad and all pride is sin. There is not good adultery and bad adultery. There is not good stealing and bad stealing. Stealing is wrong. That's a characteristic of the devil: he comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Pride is not good.

Ezekiel 28 says, "Your heart was lifted up [that means it was prideful] because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor..." (vs. 17 explanation mine). Lucifer was beautiful, but when pride entered in, he wanted to lift himself up instead of using his splendor to exalt God.

When God gives a gift, whether it is singing, acting, teaching, or whatever the talent, it is humility when that gift is used for Him, because it exalts Him. But if the gift is pulled inside and used to exalt oneself, then that is a characteristic of the devil. That's what the devil did. He looked at his own majestic splendor and used it to attract the support of the angels to help him rise up against God, believing he could be like Him.

We were created to inherit salvation, but angels were not (Hebrews 1:14). When Lucifer decided he was going to be like God, he stepped out of his planned design and purpose and took one-third of the angels with him.

To learn more about pride,
check out Dr. Ollison's book, The Paradise of God.