Have you ever noticed in Revelation 12:9 that John identified the root cause of all the world’s deception to be none other than Satan?  That shouldn’t be a surprise, but have you ever noticed what was the philosophical basis for that deception?  It is of additional interest to discover that John tells us that this same dark force was also “cast out of Heaven” and was the “serpent of old.”  Isn’t it unique that Jesus called Satan the Father of Lies (John 8:44). Wonder why?  What could be the lie that won him the title “Father of Lies”?

To begin our thinking about this idea, let us consider a few salient questions in this same vein.  First, why is modern evolutionism disconcerting to Biblical faith and practice?  Second, what is the underlying motive for modern evolutionism, and what does it have to do with the greatest deception of all time?  Finally, what is the mutually exclusive nature of evolutionism and Biblical creation, and what bearing do these two models have on learning and worldview development?

I have noticed while working in other countries, (Russia, France, Germany, Philippines, Mexico, Guatemala, and Canada to name a few) that evolutionism has the same hold on the imagination of the people there as in the USA.  This could not be coincidental!  There seems to be a worldwide attempt to violate the authority of God and His Christ by trivializing the history and scientific reality of Genesis.  But who, or what group would be capable of marshalling such an ageless attack against the authority of God and His Word?  They would certainly not be human!

Have you ever thought about sin; what it is, how did it originate and what is it’s source?  To these questions we again appeal to the apostle John, “whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4,NKJV).

The last clause of this verse literally states that, “ the sin is the lawlessness.”  Both articles are in the text!  Could it be that John is showing us in these passages (Revelation 12:9 & 1 John 3:4) that the original sin and its perpetrator deliberately designed this heinous act to challenge God at the foundation of His authority—HIS CREATORSHIP?  I think so!

The Bible records the content of this original rebellion in Isaiah 14:12-15 as five lawless statements:

These statements are all volitional in source and since the will never acts without the direction of the intellect, we should also take notice of Ezekiel 28:15.  While the entire passage in Ezekiel (vs. 11-19) are in direct reference to the evil manipulation behind the godless reign of the King of Tyre; Ezekiel, nevertheless, uses this context to identify the primary motive and manner of Lucifer’s original sin.  Verse 15 is the key!  That Lucifer was “perfect” in all his ways from the day of his creation until “ iniquity ” was found in him, demonstrates his deceptive use of reason.  His first victim was himself!  I think it is also interesting to know that the word “iniquity” also means lawlessness.

Here is the sixty-four dollar question.  Why would this great archangel have rebelled against his own creator, if he really believed God was his Creator?  It would have obviously been a no win situation!  Could it be, at this time, that he didn’t recognize God’s creatorship? Maybe so!  I think the answer to this question is suggested in Psalms 104:3-4 (NKJV):

“ He lays the beams of His upper chamber in the waters…who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.” 

This passage tells us that God “made” His angels while the upper chambers (second story or upper level) of the Earth were still in water.  Plainly, the time of this action was early on day one of the creation week just after the beginning declaration that made the space/mass/time continuum (Genesis 1:1).  While the Earth was shrouded in a watery blanket, God created His angels; and Lucifer—the covering cherub—was created perfect in all his ways.

This being the only verse that mentions the time of the creation of angels in association with the creation week, it helps us understand that the rebellion did not happen until some time after day seven, because God, Himself, pronounced all days of the first week to be “good.”  This use of the word “good” is understood in the widest sense of the term since God made the pronouncement.

So sometime after the first week of creation (Genesis 1:1) the “covering cherub”, known as Lucifer, allowed thoughts of pride to enter his heart (1 Timothy 3:6), and then he made the high treasonous statements recorded in Isaiah 14.  Thus the foundation of evolution was born, because any philosophy that denies God’s absolute authority over His creation, also denies His ownership of the creation, and is an evolutionary system.

These five treasonous “I will” statements formed the philosophical foundation for all rebellious thought and acts of disobedience from then until now simply because they could not have been contemplated, in the first place, without rejecting God’s absolute Creatorship, Ownership, and Authority over all things.  Thus the first sin was evolutionary in content.

It seems, therefore, that Lucifer looked around during his first few conscious moments just after his creation and saw God and the water covering the newly created Earth, and then pride arose in his heart as he thought,  “The only real difference between me and God is our order of appearance.  Both of us came up out if this water, therefore, I can be in charge if I want to be.”   This viewpoint can easily explain why most of the ancient civilizations arising after Babel (Genesis 10) described their gods and goddesses as having evolved from a watery chaos.   “This was Lucifer’s best guess as to his own origin, and so this is what he would use to persuade men to join the battle with him opposing the God of Creation for time immemorial”. ¹  

Dr. Henry Morris indicated that while this scenario is inferential, it has a significant Biblical and historical justification, and means “that the very first evolutionist was not Charles Darwin, or Lucretius or Thales or Nimrod, but Satan himself!  He has not only deceived the whole world with this monstrous lie of evolution but has deceived himself most of all.” ²

Now what does all of this mean? It means that evolutionism is not scientific at all!  As a matter of fact, the biggest deception in this whole dispute is that it is about science.  Both creation and evolution are outside the narrow purview of scientific inquiry.  But most of all, it means the greatest lie ever told was the story that God is not the absolute Creator. Thus evolutionism forms the philosophical basis for the mystery of iniquity, for lawlessness has no chance in a world that acknowledges God as Creator and Owner!  Conversely, Biblical creationism is the foundation for all aspects of the Kingdom of God, for nothing in the Bible is true if Genesis 1-11 is not true! Therefore, this conflict is a battle between Kingdoms and not a struggle between science and religion.

G.   Thomas Sharp Ph.D.

Reference Notes