When He thus brought into existence the material, physical universe, the angelic hosts, whom He had created before this time, shouted for joy: "When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy!" (Job 38:7).

This verse proves positively that the celestial beings were created prior to the material universe.

We are scriptural in coming to the conclusion that there are ranks and orders of the heavenly hosts. Proof of this position is seen in the fact that there was but one "anointed cherub." In an examination of Ezekiel 28:1-19 we find that in the first ten verses of this chapter the prophet was speaking to the literal king of Tyre of his own day. But in verses 11-19 obviously his vision was enlarged, and he was given a view of the primitive earth and of him who is known in other portions of the Scripture as "the god of this world":

11 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared. 14 Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God: thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee. 16 By the abundance of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, 0 covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I have cast thee to the ground; I have laid thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee; it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee: thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being (Ezek. 28:11-19).

Though the prophet still speaks of and to the king of Tyre, verses 11 and 12, it is evident that the description far transcends the personality and the role of any mortal man. He was righteous when created and continued in this condition for ages--until unrighteousness² was found in his heart. He is called the "anointed cherub" and "the cherub that covereth." He walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire (vss. 14-17). As the anointed cherub, he was upon the holy mountain of God. The stones of fire here referred to can be understood by a glance at Ezekiel, chapter 1. In this passage the prophet was given a vision of the throne of Jehovah³ upon which one like unto a son of man was seated. This throne upon which Jehovah was seated was placed upon a pavement which, in turn, was resting upon the stones of fire. It becomes evident from the reading of this passage that this cherub was occupying the highest position in the universe under the Triune God.

Moreover from verse 12 of Ezekiel, chapter 28, we learn that he was the very embodiment of wisdom and was perfect in beauty. Of him it was said that he sealed "up the sum" or pattern. The significance of this statement is that this being was the highest creature whom God could bring into existence. There was therefore none other like him.

In various passages of Scripture we read of the cherubim. This word is the plural of the noun, cherub. They are associated very closely with the throne and the presence of God and with the tree of life. Their first appearance upon the historic scene is recorded in Genesis 3:22-24:

"22 And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever--23 therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

Here we read the account of God's dispatching certain cherubim with a flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life. In the most holy place of the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple, forms of cherubim were made and placed upon the mercy seat. Likenesses of them were inwrought into the curtains and tapestry of the most holy place.

Since there was one anointed cherub and there were also the cherubim, we may conclude that the anointed cherub was the generalissimo of the hosts of the Lord, and that the cherubim, though of similar species with their generalissimo, were nevertheless under him. For a fuller description of the cherubim read Ezekiel, chapters 1, 10, and 11.

In Isaiah, chapter 6, we read of seraphim who constantly sing the triple holiness of God and look forward to the time when the whole earth will be filled with His glory. These celestial beings have six wings each.

6 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa. 6:1-3).

In Revelation, chapters 4 and 5, we see living creatures in the presence of God who are engaged in singing the same song, and who, like those which Isaiah saw, have six wings. We are logical in identifying the living creatures of the Book of Revelation with the seraphim of Isaiah's vision. We are also correct in concluding that they--the seraphim--are superior to the ranks and orders of angels.

There are also those celestial beings, who are called angels. We read of the seven angels that stand before the throne of God: "And I saw the seven angels that stand before God; and there were given unto them seven trumpets" (Rev. 8:2). We also learn of Michael, the archangel who stands for the Jewish people: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people" (Dan. 12:1). The Scriptures have much to say of the hosts of angels. In Daniel 7:9,10 we get a wonderful vision of the myriads of those who will attend the judgment scene when the Almighty pronounces sentence against the Antichrist in the future. In Psalm 103:19-22 also we see vast hosts of them.

From the data which we have seen, we are logical in concluding that there was a great spiritual hierarchy under God consisting of the anointed cherub, the cherubim, the seraphim, and all ranks and orders of angels. For the sake of clarity and visualizing the situation, we may think of various planes or levels, upon which the different creatures were placed by the Lord. In speaking thus, I am thinking in material terms. With this mode of expression let us think of the anointed cherub, the generalissimo of the Lord's hosts, as occupying the highest plane--next under the Godhead in authority, might, power, and dominion. On the same plane, but lower in rank and in order, are the cherubim. On a lower plane let us think of the seraphim. Then on a plane underneath that on which the seraphim are located are the various ranks and orders of angels. Finally, on a still lower level than the one on which the angels stand is man, who was created in the image of God--made a little lower than the angels. In the scale of living creatures the animals are on a still much lower level than man. But of course they cannot in anywise be compared to him who, according to Genesis 1:26, was created in the image and likeness of God. A conference in the Godhead was held and a decree was issued that the persons of the Godhead, after having created the animals, would bring into existence a new type of creature, who should be made in their image and likeness. This creature was man.

When anyone looks at the Hebrew word bara' (which, when translated, means create) in all of its appearances, and notes its significance in each case, he sees that it connotes the bringing into existence of a being of an entirely new type, which is different from all preceding species. This fact shows that man did not evolve from any of the lower forms of life, but that he was the result of the direct creative activity of the Almighty.*

Men are different from, though lower than, the angels, who do not propagate their species. "And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given m marriage: 36 for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection" (Luke 20:34-36). But man was given the power to perpetuate his kind--to beget sons and daughters in his own image, thus to engender offspring having immortal spirits, who must spend eternity somewhere. What a tremendous responsibility the possession of the power to engender these immortal spirits lays upon man! No wonder God is very explicit in instructing man regarding the marriage relationship.

Having glanced at the citizens of the great kingdom of God, from the anointed cherub down to man, we see that all were given that priceless endowment of freedom of choice and the exercise of the will. Let us represent the ability to make choices by the following graph:

In the center of the horizontal line is the zero point, through which a vertical line passes. To the right are the innumerable choices that God's creatures can make. They can select that which is good, that which is better, or that which is best. Moreover, they can choose that which is poor, or poorer, and still again that which is poorest. In making these various choices, they can still remain on the right or positive side of the zero point. So long as they stay thus to the right side of the zero, they are still exercising their priceless faculty, the power of choice, the freedom of the will, and yet are still within the will of God.

On the other hand, they can cross over the zero point to the left, choosing to do that which is bad, or that which is worse, and finally that which is worst of all. Of course the moment they, figuratively speaking, cross the zero point to the negative side, they are pitting their wills against God's and are no longer within the limits of His will--hence they are out of fellowship with Him. But in their crossing over and making choices that are contrary to the will of God, they are still exercising the God-given faculty of choice with which they were divinely endowed. Though they cheat themselves out of fellowship with Him in whom they live, move, and have their being, and cast His blessings from them. He is forced, under the regime which He has instituted, to allow them to continue to exercise their choices contrary to His will. Should the Almighty circumvent any of His creatures the moment that such a one crosses over the zero point to the left side and goes contrary to His will, the Lord would cease to be the reasonable, rational being that He is and would become a despot, acting contrary to the foundation principle upon which His government is built, namely, the self-determinative choice of free beings. In thus repressing such free action of His creatures, God would destroy fundamentally the foundation of His entire regime. His whole kingdom would thereby be thrown into chaos. For this reason He permits all His creatures who cross the deadline over into the forbidden land of rebellion against His expressed will to continue to live and to carry on their own activities as free beings, exercising their God-given faculty of choice.

By their crossing over the boundary line which separates the territory of the divine will from that of opposition to Him, they wreck their intellectual and spiritual natures to such an extent that they are in opposition to all that is good and holy and are henceforth unable to submit themselves to the desires and purposes of the Almighty in His development of "the plan of the ages." This fact is seen by a glance at the anointed cherub, together with all whom he influenced to cross over the borderline. We see that this creature was changed into the inveterate enemy of God. He became entirely possessed by wrath toward God and all that is holy, true, and pure. Every time he does anything, he is motivated by sinister desires and acts in direct opposition to the will of God. The same thing is true of those fallen spirits who followed his leadership, and of whom we read throughout the Scriptures. Man in his fallen state is of a similar attitude, for the Apostle Paul declared that "the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be..." (Rom. 8:7). From all this data we can see that all of God's creatures, whenever they cross the deadline into the forbidden territory, wreck their spiritual nature and become obsessed, more or less, with a diabolical hatred of God and His will.

As just stated, whenever they cross over into the forbidden territory, they are disqualified for doing the will of God. He can no longer use them in His original number-one plan for them. This is true of both men and of angels. Whenever they thus disqualify themselves for doing His will within the realm of righteousness and justice, the Lord still uses them, or rather overrules their actions and makes whatever they do contribute to the advancement of His plans and purposes. He makes even the wrath of man to praise Him:

"Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
The residue of wrath shalt thou gird upon thee" (Ps. 76:10).

The Scriptures are abundant in their testimony concerning the purity and the holiness of God. Being a holy creature, He could not and would not create any evil, in any form. This fact is evident from the further fact that His very nature revolts at the least taint of unholiness. We may therefore conclude that the entire universe which was created by this Holy Being was free from the least taint of that which is unholy. "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempteth no man" (James 1:13). Though God did not create evil in any form, we see the evidence of its presence throughout the world. From what source did it originate? My answer is that the anointed cherub who pitted his will against that of the Almighty is the author of this evil power, or force, which we call sin and which has contaminated and corrupted the world and all things therein. Can Satan create anything? Most emphatically, no. God alone is asserted in the Scriptures to be the one who is able to create; that is, bring into existence that which had no prior form nor substance before the specific act of creation. Every time the word translated create is used in the active voice, God is the subject. He therefore is the one and only one who can create.

In this connection it is highly important that we learn what we can about this one who has wrought such havoc throughout the universe. Without this knowledge a person cannot understand what is constantly going on in the world.

The Scriptures are a progressive revelation; that is, they often mention a doctrine by giving a mere suggestion or hint at some fact in its first appearance in the sacred record. Later on, when the demand arises for a further revelation on the same subject, additional light is given. Thus the disclosure concerning the doctrine in question is a gradual growth. It therefore becomes necessary for anyone to trace a given doctrine from its first mention through the Bible in order that he might get the full and complete picture of that which is taught.

The first allusion to him who is known in the Scriptures as Satan, the adversary, and the devil is found in Genesis, chapter 3. In this basic passage we learn that the serpent, who was wiser than all the beasts of the field, approached Eve in such a conniving and subtle manner that she was deceived and was thus led to disobey God. The result of the fatal step, which she took in partaking of the forbidden fruit, was the fall of the human race and the coming of the curse upon the earth.

When a person understands man's original position of supremacy and authority over the earth, the fowls of the heavens, and the beasts of the fields; and when he recognizes the terrific consequences of this one act of disobedience, he immediately becomes apprehensive of the presence, power, and activity of one greater than a literal serpent. An unsophisticated person--who has no theories to support and no preconceptions to uphold--immediately senses the fact that the one causing such a world-shaking and history-making calamity on this occasion was some sinister being with a gigantic intellect, cunning, and power far superior to those of man, who was behind the scenes, and who was directing that first great act of the tragic drama of human history. The keen Bible student senses and recognizes the presence of such a creature in this record, accepts unquestioningly this fact, and searches for more light on the subject.

Confirmation of this hypothesis is found in the fact that, after Adam's disobedience and consequent fall, the Lord God "drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen. 3:24). This new situation demanded the placing of the mighty cherubim--the highest order of celestial beings created by the Almighty--together with the flame of a sword at the east of Eden to keep the way of the tree of life lest man in his fallen condition should put forth his hand, take of the tree of life, and live forever. His thus becoming immortal in his present corrupt state would have doomed the entire race, all of his progeny, to utter condemnation for all eternity. Hence man was driven out of the Garden, and a contingent of powerful cherubim (cherubs) was assigned to the position of guarding the entrance to the tree of life. Why such a powerful safeguard with the flame of a sword? Certainly such a force was not required to prevent Adam and Eve's approaching the tree of life and partaking of its fruit! There were good and sufficient reasons for the Almighty's calling forth such a formidable array of power to do duty on this occasion. The necessary inference suggested by all the facts is that there was an opposing hostile host that might launch an attack to force an entrance to the tree of life. That there is such an archenemy of God and man, who has a vast army of servile spirits at his command, we learn from other portions of the Word of God. That this vast host was threatening the situation on this occasion is demanded by all the facts presented in Genesis, chapter 3.

It is true that the Lord God Omnipotent could have used His mighty power and eliminated all possibility of any further rebellion. But under His moral regime He would not handle the case thus. On the contrary, He acted in accordance with the great fundamental principles upon which His government is established.

We generally speak of this great enemy of all good by the name appearing in the Hebrew text by which he is called--Satan. This name is a general term that indicates simply an adversary. The one who opposed another was--whether he was good or bad--in the original Hebrew usage called a satan, an adversary. This word finally took on a more specific meaning and became the usual name of one who opposes. In the process of time, however, it became more specific and developed into a proper name. It appears in this category in II Samuel 24:1ff and I Chronicles 21:1ff. These two passages are parallel accounts of the same event. In the Samuel passage Jehovah is said to be the one whose anger was kindled against Israel, and who moved David against the people, causing him to number them--to take a census of the nation for determining how many were eligible for military service. In the Chronicles account Satan himself is represented as standing up against Israel and moving David to take this census. Each of these passages supplement the information appearing in the other. By taking both together we see that God, the Sovereign of the universe, was stirred to anger against Israel because of their sin and moved David to do that which brought punishment upon the disobedient people. But the Lord Almighty used Satan--who is always ready at hand to do such things and to pervert all good, if possible--in moving David to do this thing which was in disobedience to God. God was, of course, behind the scenes, using Satan who likewise stood behind as an invisible actor in this drama. David accepted Satan's suggestion and numbered Israel. What anyone does through his agent or servant, he himself does. Since the people of Israel stirred up the wrath of God against themselves, the Almighty had to punish them. Both David and Israel were out of fellowship with God at that time; both therefore had to be punished. One sin, unrepented of, calls for another. To number Israel for military purposes on this occasion was an act of distrust in God. David had, at that time, through his sins unrepented of, wavered in his spiritual life. He ceased trusting God as he usually did and looked to the arm of flesh for deliverance. Since he was in this condition, the Lord allowed Satan to move him along the same groove into which he had fallen--to meet the problems of his day in his unbelief and his trusting the arm of flesh. God took him where he was, allowed him to go on in his self-determined manner, and punished both him and Israel for their disobedience. In thus dealing with them, the Lord used Satan.

An excellent example of God's using men, who are out of fellowship with Him or who do not know Him, is found in Deuteronomy 13:1-5.** The false prophet in this passage against whom God gives this warning is certainly an Israelite, for he arises out of their midst. Being a false prophet, he assuredly is out of fellowship with God. He may be able, by a spirit of divination, to give, as his credentials, a sign or wonder, which actually comes to pass.

The fact that his prediction comes to pass is no guarantee that he is sent by God. The people are warned to examine carefully the message of every prophet. If he is trying to get them to forsake Jehovah their God and to go after other gods, they are to recognize the fact that he is false, and that the spirit working through him is of the evil one. They are therefore to turn from him and to put him to death.

In giving this warning, the Lord revealed the fact to Israel that He would use such imposters to prove His people--to demonstrate whether or not they really and truly love Jehovah their God. He would not move men to become false prophets and to dabble into the occult. When, however, they of their own volition do descend to that plane, the Lord uses them in forwarding His plans and purposes for blessing others. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee..." (Ps. 76:10). All who remain faithf