What made Lucifer turn away from God?

Q. What made Lucifer turn away from God?

There are two passages in the Bible that are addressed, in the first instance, to pagan kings, but in which many interpreters see a further reference to Lucifer (the “light-bearer”), the angel who has now become known as Satan (“the accuser” or “the adversary”).

One passage is in Isaiah, and it is a “taunt against the king of Babylon”:

How you have fallen from heaven,
    morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”
But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
    to the depths of the pit.

The second passage is in Ezekiel, and it is a “lament concerning the king of Tyre”:

“‘You were the seal of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden,
    the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
    topaz, onyx and jasper,
    lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
    on the day you were created they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
    for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
    you walked among the fiery stones.
You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created
    till wickedness was found in you.
Through your widespread trade
    you were filled with violence,
    and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
    from among the fiery stones.
Your heart became proud
    on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
    I made a spectacle of you before kings.

I agree with the interpreters who caution that these passages should be understood, in the first instance, in their original context, as references to pagan kings whom God is going to judge. However, the prophets announce these judgments through what might be called an extended metaphor. They draw a series of comparisons between these kings and the “morning star, son of the dawn,” the “guardian cherub.” This means some mighty angel who fell from a glorious state into ruin, just as these kings are going to do. The description of this angel’s rebellion and judgment fits what is said about Satan in the rest of the Bible.

So we can infer from these passages—I am convinced this is a legitimate use of them—that the angel formerly known as Lucifer turned away from God because of pride. He did not regard his created power and beauty as gifts from God to be used in the grateful service of God. Rather, he thought that because he was so powerful and beautiful, that meant he was like God or even greater than God, and he rebelled to try to take the throne of the universe away from God. But his power was created and so finite, meaning that it was inconsequential compared with God’s infinite power. God effortlessly crushed his rebellion and expelled him from his former position. For reasons that we do not fully understand (which I discuss in various other posts), God has allowed this being, now known as Satan, to continue to exist and to have some freedom of operation. But we know from the Scriptures that in the end God will judge and punish him definitively.

In the meantime, the example of Lucifer is a clear warning to all of us. Ideally we will all become aware of the talents and capabilities that God has built into our lives. It is important to know how God has gifted us so that we can concentrate on serving him with those gifts and not try to do something else at which we would be less effective. But our mindset must be, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” We should see all of our abilities as gifts from God to be used in grateful service to him.

So, the short answer to your question, “What made Lucifer turn away from God?” is: “Pride.” This raises a further question: How can we escape the dangers of pride, which clearly are very great? Through the humility that comes from gratitude. Whenever we become aware of any capability, whenever we achieve any success, we should say, “Thank you, God, for this gift. Please enable me to use it humbly and gratefully in service to you.”