Risen and Fallen

There’s an old saying: “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” That may be true in one sense, but when we do things properly—God is faithful to reward us. There are consequences [positive or negative] for what is done. That is never truer than in the case of Jesus Christ, God’s only-begotten Son, and his archenemy, Lucifer.

Matthew 28:6:
He [Jesus Christ] is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Isaiah 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!

He Is Fallen

Lucifer fell because of his absolute pride, thinking that he was greater than his Creator, Who had made him what he was. Look at the context of Isaiah 14:12.

Isaiah 14:12-14:
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!
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:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Look at the progression of foolish and destructive thinking that led to Lucifer’s fall. He put his will above the Most-High God, his Creator. He said in the depths of his heart that he would ascend, exalt, ascend above, and be like God.  But this Lucifer [Latin for “light bearer”] was cut down to the ground. The Book of Revelation explains this fall and Lucifer’s future “reward” for his pride and arrogance.

Revelation 12:4,9,12:
And his [Lucifer’s] tail drew the third part of the stars [angels] of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child [Jesus Christ, the Messiah] as soon as it was born.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Proverbs 16:18 declares that “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Lucifer’s pride brought on his own destruction. He was a “haughty spirit” that fell and took a third of the angels with him. They are now the fallen angels that are called “evil spirits,” that Jesus so often confronted and cast out of people.

God’s forgiveness is always available when anyone repents of their evil. The Bible assures us that the Devil is never going to change his ways. His pride and anger will persist until he is destroyed in the future. God uses “fire” throughout His Word to describe ultimate and total destruction.

Revelation 20:10:
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Remember that “the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Our adversary is so angry that he wants to take as many down with him as he can. Paul warned Timothy about this.

I Timothy 3:6,7:
Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Today, people can fall into condemnation and judgment when they follow Satan’s subtle whisperings and deceptive ways. His ruse is to capture others and take them with him to destruction.

II Timothy 2:25,26:
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

But we can rescue people from the devil’s snare by preaching the salvation that is available through Jesus Christ! If they can repent and acknowledge the truth, they can recover themselves from the devil’s captivity.

He Is Risen

Jesus Christ is the complete opposite of Lucifer. Jesus knew that he was nothing without His Father’s support and strength. Whereas Lucifer’s pride brought destruction, Jesus’ humility brought exaltation. Jesus saw the scriptures come to pass as he believed and acted on his Father’s will. That includes the truth about pride and humility.

James 4:6:
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

I Peter 5:5:
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Philippians 2:8-11:
And being found in fashion as a man, he [Jesus] humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

To see more details about Christ’s humbly giving himself for us, you may enjoy another blog on

Staying Humble in a Pride-filled World.

God raised His Son from the dead, bringing eternal life to all who believe on him. Whereas Lucifer’s pride brought down angels and continues to lead people to destruction; Jesus Christ’s humility brings God’s deliverance and eternal blessings.

A “Perfect” Truth

Recently I’ve been teaching my 8^th grade Latin students about the “perfect” tenses. Simply put, all actions either occur now, before, or later. In the “present system” we call those tenses the present [he loves], the imperfect or past [he did love], and the future [he will love]. They show action that is still on-going. But when action is absolutely accomplished, we use the “perfect system.” That includes the present perfect [he has loved], the past- or plu-perfect [he had loved], and the future perfect [he will have loved]. The present perfect shows that “right now” something is completely accomplished.

The Bible says of Christ that “he is risen” in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. [That includes when the Judean religious leaders were concerned that this great truth would be known.] There is an interesting Latin word used for “he is risen” in the Vulgate Latin version.

Matthew 27:64:
Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen [surrexit] from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Matthew 28:6,7:
He is not here: for he is risen [surrexit], as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen [surrexit] from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

Mark 16:6:
And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen [surrexit]; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

Latin verbs have many parts to them. That includes person, number, tense, mood, and voice. Person is either first, second, or third. The one “speaking” is first person [I, we]; the one “spoken to” is second person [you, you all]; the one “spoken about” is third person [he, she, it, they]. As you can see the number of the person is either singular [I, you, he, she, it] or plural [we, you all, they]. Tense tells us the time when the action occurred: using either the present or the perfect system, as explained above. Mood of a verb means the “mode” or “manner” in which it occurs. There is the indicative mood that gives a simple statement. The infinitive mood makes the verb into a “thing” and is usually translated “to do” something. The imperative mood gives a command. Voice refers to the verb’s action in relation to the subject. If the subject transfers the action, it is active voice. If the action is transferred to the subject, it is passive voice. In “I love you,” the love is in the active voice. In “I am loved by you,” the am loved is in the passive voice.

This Latin word in Matthew and Mark for “he is risen,” surrexit, is grammatically the third-person singular perfect indicative active of surgō [I rise]. That means it is talking about a single person who “right now” has completed something. Jesus Christ has risen! I like the King James translation “he is risen” because it gives an even greater feeling of permanence. Jesus has risen for all time!

This same grammatical accuracy is also used of Lucifer’s fall in Isaiah 14:12:

How art thou fallen [Latin, cecidisti] from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

This Latin word cecidisti is the second-person singular perfect indicative active of cadō [I fall]. That means it is talking directly to a single being who “right now” has completed something. Lucifer in his pride and evil has fallen from heaven. In Isaiah 14, God uses the “second person” form of the verb to confront the devil directly and tell him exactly what he has done.

Just look at the beauty and accuracy of the Bible. Not only are we assured that the devil has fallen for eternity, we are completely confident in the “perfect” resurrection and future return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

I Thessalonians 4:16,18:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.