Page 77 - Foundations

The Fall of the Anointed Cherub

Cherubim Covering the Ark of the Covenant

There are a great many diverse and incompatible doctrines existent today concerning the identity of
that being that the Bible calls Satan, the devil, the great dragon, and the serpent of old. Some have
suggested that the Scriptural references to this being are to be understood as a metaphor for the carnal
mind of man. Others suggest that passages that have traditionally been understood to be descriptions
of this angelic being known as Satan/Lucifer are in fact speaking of Adam, of human rulers upon the
earth, or of something else entirely different.

It would be exhausting to seek to refute all the diverse views on this subject, so I will limit my
discussion to a few of the more common doctrines that I frequently encounter. My main approach will
be to build from the Scriptures a composite description of this being that is present from the very first
book of the Bible when he tempts Adam and Eve to sin, to the last book of the Bible where he incites
humanity to open warfare against God and incurs the just punishment of being cast into the lake of
fire. Because Satan is such a central figure throughout the Bible, and has persisted as the chief
adversary of humanity, it is important that Christians have an accurate understanding of this being.

The first appearance of man’s ancient enemy in the Bible occurs in the third chapter of Genesis where
Satan appears in the form of a serpent to tempt the man and the woman.

Genesis 3:1-5
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And
he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the
woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you
die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

About 14 years ago a brother in Christ that I knew through our participation at the same church began
to take some classes at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Mercer began as a Southern Baptist
University, but became so liberal in its views that the Baptists eventually ended all association with