Who was the devil before he became the devil ? The word devil is the term we often use for the tempter, accuser or the evil one who opposes all that God stands for, but he is known by many names in the Bible. Some of those names mentioned in the Bible are lucifer, satan and beelzebub. But no matter what name he goes by, his work is
always the same - to try and exalt himself above the one true God; Jehovah. He is relentless in his effort to put himself above our creator through any means possible.
The Bible tells us the reason he was ejected from heaven in Isaiah 14:12-14Isa 14:12 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!
13 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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. KJV; it was his own selfish pride of being number one, or maybe it's better said - to be the most high. We should always remember what it was that got satan thrown from heaven, it was his own pride, vainity, ego and self centeredness - this should tell each of us how important that a contrite, humble spirit is to the Lord. Jesus tells of seeing satan thrown from heaven to the earth in Luke 10:18And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. KJV. He was in heaven and beheld the fall of lucifer.
So what made the devil become so egocentric in the first place, the Bible gives us that answer in Ezekiel 28:14-17Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: 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 iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. KJV; it was the multitude of gifts and talents which God gave to him when he created him. Verse 16 of Ezekiel 28 shows us the reason the devil became the devil, by the multitude of his merchandise (all that he was given) he became evil, he wanted more - GREED set in. He let his own appearance become an object of self obsession and it made his heart black with envy and jealously. When thinking about the devil, don't get the wrong idea of why he became the devil, it was a heart thing - he had the wrong heart about everything. Don't let that happen to you !!
So who was the devil before he was the devil ? He was a created, powerful, beautiful angel who was extremely talented and gifted by God Almighty. But those very characteristics are what led him down the path of destruction. Self control, self importance and self disipline are 3 key things to remember when it comes to our faith.