Satan's self-delusion led him to sin, and the same self-delusion led a third of heaven's angels to follow him

[Alfred Persson]

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 1:8-11 NKJ)

Many miss the context, this is a proceeding of the "heavenly court" where "legal matters" were brought to be settled (Job 1:6 NKJ). Satan is directly contradicting the truth of God's statement, that Job is blameless. He claims he can prove God's evaluation of Job incorrect.

What could have been the result had God been proven wrong about Job? As God predicates His right to rule as Sovereign God on the fact He never makes mistakes (Is. 41:21-24), His right to rule would be questioned.

Given God's impeccable character, it follows God would "recuse Himself" and permit Satan and his angels to be their own masters.

But how could Satan entertain the idea God makes mistakes, given His infinite intelligence and wisdom?

We can infer his self-delusion from his argument, the premise Job served God for selfish motives. Satan must have looked deep into his own motives for serving God, and found selfishness there. He concluded "true love, love without selfish motives does not exist".

14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
16 "By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. (Ezek. 28:14-16 NKJ)

Satan then trafficked his lie in heaven and a third of heaven's angels choose to follow him, believing he could win the argument.

No doubt they projected their own selfish reasons for obeying God, onto others. A self-delusion that would convince one Third of the angels Satan was right:

3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven (Rev. 12:3-4 NKJ)

Does "true unselfish love exist"? What incontrovertible proof for it can be evidence in the celestial court?

The Incarnation of God the Son settled the argument, Jesus proved unselfish love exists when He made Himself of no reputation leaving behind all privileges and prerogatives of Godhood because He loved the Father more than life itself, and humanity He went to save:

4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:4-11 NKJ)

The Father proved unselfish love exists, when He gave His only begotten Son the “apple of His eye” so all who believe in Him shall not perish.

16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (Jn. 3:16-17 NKJ)

Therefore, both the Father and Son incontrovertibly establish unselfish love exists:

It is written:
By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. (Deut. 19:15 NKJ)

The incarnation of Christ so irrefutably proved Satan wrong demons cannot say “Jesus Christ came in the flesh”, they choke on the words as the terror of the LORD overwhelms all rational thought. The proverbial "nails in their coffin" spring from Christ's human flesh:

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 Jn. 4:2-3 NKJ)

Satan and his fallen angels "bet the farm" God would disqualify Himself from being God once it was proved "true unselfish love" doesn't exist. They will pay for their mistake for all eternity.

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying:`Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?'
18 "All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house;
19 But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. (Isa. 14:13-20 NKJ)

The irony! Satan argued God made mistakes but it was Satan who made the biggest mistake ever.

21 "Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob.
22 "Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come.
23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. (Isa. 41:21-24 NKJ)

 

[Alfred Persson]

not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. (1 Tim. 3:6 NKJ)
The metaphor refers to the clouding of the mind and judgment of a person as the result of becoming conceited because of such a rapid advancement.-Blight, R. C. (2009). An Exegetical Summary of 1 Timothy (p. 177). SIL International.

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isa. 14:13-15 NKJ)

Pride clouded Satan's thinking, opening the door to self-delusion clouding his mind and judgment. Pride, conceit was the beginning of his end:

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. (Prov. 16:18 NKJ)

 

[LeviR]

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" (Job 1:8-11 NKJ)

Many miss the context, this is a proceeding of the "heavenly court" where "legal matters" were brought to be settled (Job 1:6 NKJ). Satan is directly contradicting the truth of God's statement, that Job is blameless. He claims he can prove God's evaluation of Job incorrect.

What could have been the result had God been proven wrong about Job? As God predicates His right to rule as Sovereign God on the fact He never makes mistakes (Is. 41:21-24), His right to rule would be questioned.

Given God's impeccable character, it follows God would "recuse Himself" and permit Satan and his angels to be their own masters.

But how could Satan entertain the idea God makes mistakes, given His infinite intelligence and wisdom?

We can infer his self-delusion from his argument, the premise Job served God for selfish motives. Satan must have looked deep into his own motives for serving God, and found selfishness there. He concluded "true love, love without selfish motives does not exist".

14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
16 "By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. (Ezek. 28:14-16 NKJ)

Satan then trafficked his lie in heaven and a third of heaven's angels choose to follow him, believing he could win the argument.

No doubt they projected their own selfish reasons for obeying God, onto others. A self-delusion that would convince one Third of the angels Satan was right:

3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven (Rev. 12:3-4 NKJ)

Does "true unselfish love exist"? What incontrovertible proof for it can be evidence in the celestial court?

The Incarnation of God the Son settled the argument, Jesus proved unselfish love exists when He made Himself of no reputation leaving behind all privileges and prerogatives of Godhood because He loved the Father more than life itself, and humanity He went to save:

4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:4-11 NKJ)

The Father proved unselfish love exists, when He gave His only begotten Son the “apple of His eye” so all who believe in Him shall not perish.

16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (Jn. 3:16-17 NKJ)

Therefore, both the Father and Son incontrovertibly establish unselfish love exists:

It is written:
By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. (Deut. 19:15 NKJ)

The incarnation of Christ so irrefutably proved Satan wrong demons cannot say “Jesus Christ came in the flesh”, they choke on the words as the terror of the LORD overwhelms all rational thought. The proverbial "nails in their coffin" spring from Christ's human flesh:

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 Jn. 4:2-3 NKJ)

Satan and his fallen angels "bet the farm" God would disqualify Himself from being God once it was proved "true unselfish love" doesn't exist. They will pay for their mistake for all eternity.

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying:`Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?'
18 "All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house;
19 But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. (Isa. 14:13-20 NKJ)

The irony! Satan argued God made mistakes but it was Satan who made the biggest mistake ever.

21 "Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob.
22 "Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come.
23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. (Isa. 41:21-24 NKJ)

I think Isaiah was a prophet who spoke of things to come. And if we travel down to the prophecy of Jesus we read of those same things that are still yet to come.

 

[Alfred Persson]

I think Isaiah was a prophet who spoke of things to come. And if we travel down to the prophecy of Jesus we read of those same things that are still yet to come.

How does that pertain to the OP? What is your point?

 

[LeviR]

How does that pertain to the OP? What is your point?

It seems you are quoting the prophecy of Ezekiel and Isaiah as if they were speaking of events that happened long before their time.
I believe prophecy speaks of things yet to come.

 

[Alfred Persson]

It seems you are quoting the prophecy of Ezekiel and Isaiah as if they were speaking of events that happened long before their time.
I believe prophecy speaks of things yet to come.

Yes, I did about events long ago involving Satan, occurring before Adam and Eve.

 

[LeviR]

Yes, I did about events long ago involving Satan, occurring before Adam and Eve.

But prophecy speaks of things yet to occur.. For example:

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

The one who thinks such things is yet to come. It’s prophecy.

 

[Alfred Persson]

But prophecy speaks of things yet to occur.. For example:

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

The one who thinks such things is yet to come. It’s prophecy.

His past hope, for the future. Not a prophecy of something that will occur. Satan is doomed, lake of fire his future:

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isa. 14:13-15 NKJ)

 

[LeviR]

His past hope, for the future. Not a prophecy of something that will occur. Satan is doomed, lake of fire his future:

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isa. 14:13-15 NKJ)

So the war in heaven where Satan and his angels are cast down is yet to occur?

 

[LeviR]

His past hope, for the future. Not a prophecy of something that will occur. Satan is doomed, lake of fire his future:

13 For you have said in your heart:`I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isa. 14:13-15 NKJ)

I think Isaiah is prophecy, not history.

 

[Alfred Persson]

I think Isaiah is prophecy, not history.

It is, but perhaps I misunderstood you. Satan's hopes for ascension are past, his being cast out of heaven and into the lake of fire eventually, future. So its prophecy.

 

[LeviR]

It is, but perhaps I misunderstood you. Satan's hopes for ascension are past, his being cast out of heaven and into the lake of fire eventually, future. So its prophecy.

Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms, Isa 14:16

It seems he will appear to be a man. I suspect this Satan will rise up as a man and claim to be God . In fact, I suspect this man to be the man of sin who is to be revealed before Christ returns.

 

[Alfred Persson]

Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms, Isa 14:16

It seems he will appear to be a man. I suspect this Satan will rise up as a man and claim to be God . In fact, I suspect this man to be the man of sin who is to be revealed before Christ returns.

I think the prophecy has dual reference, to the King of Babylon Antichrist Beast, and his father Satan. Revelation has the Dragon appearing, so he can't both Dragon and Beast:

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (Rev. 16:13 NKJ)