Isaiah 14:12 tells us that Satan was the “Daystar [for Lucifer, according to Latin], son of the morning.” Just as the daystar is the leading one among the stars, so Satan must be the head of all the angels. The title “son of the morning” shows that he was there early, in the morning of the universe. Thus Satan, from the earliest days of the universe, was the head of the angels, bright as the daystar.
Satan’s origin was wonderful. He was God’s anointed cherub, the one closest to God, holding the highest position in God’s creation. He had not only the kingship, but also the priesthood. But he was deprived of his position and offices when he rebelled against God. Now God has chosen us to be His priests and kings, to take over Satan’s position and offices, to put him to shame, and to glorify God.
Ezekiel 28:15 says that Satan was perfect in his ways from the day he was created. Of course, God did not create an evil Satan. God created a good and perfect archangel. But at a certain time, this archangel, the anointed cherub, rebelled against God.
Satan rebelled against God because of pride in his heart. Ezekiel 28:17 says that his heart was lifted up because of his beauty, that he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness. He “sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” (Ezek. 28:12). This means that he had the full measure of completeness and was short of nothing. But he gazed on his beauty and was proud. He looked at his brightness, and because of his brightness he used his God-given wisdom to commit sins and do unrighteous deeds, and thus corrupted his wisdom. To look at what God has made us and to forget God Himself always tempts us to be proud. Pride was the cause of Satan’s rebellion. In our experience, all the natural virtues and spiritual gifts can be utilized by the Devil to make us proud. Even the Apostle Paul could “be exceedingly lifted up by the transcendence of the revelations” (2 Cor. 12:7). The proud Devil is still walking about on the earth, seeking the proud ones whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). The only way to resist him is to humble ourselves. “Gird yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). The Lord Jesus is a good example in this matter. Satan exalted himself, but the Lord Jesus “humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:8). Thus, the Lord Jesus overcame Satan, and Satan had nothing in Him (John 14:30).
The purpose of Satan’s rebellion was to exalt himself to be equal with God. In Isaiah 14:13-14 we find that five times Satan said, “I will”: “I will ascend into heaven...I will exalt my throne...I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation...I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” Satan wanted to be equal with God. That was the purpose of his rebellion against God.
Satan initiated the rebellion against God with the evil intention to overthrow God’s authority (Ezek. 28:15-18; Isa. 14:13-14). Not only did he rebel, but a great part of the angels who were under his hand also rebelled. In Revelation 12:4 and 9 we see that one-third of the heavenly stars, that is, one-third of the angels, followed him. (In Revelation stars represent angels.) In Matthew 25:41 the Lord Jesus refers to “the Devil and his angels.” Ephesians 2:2 describes Satan as “the ruler of the authority of the air,” and Ephesians 6:12 tells us of “the rulers...the authorities...in the heavenlies.” These rulers and authorities were the angels under Satan’s hand, ruling over the pre-Adamic universe. When Satan rebelled against God, most of his angels followed him in his rebellion, becoming the fallen angels, the evil spirits. Today, in the universe there are two categories of angels, good angels and evil angels. The good angels stand with God; the evil ones are allied with Satan against God.
The living creatures which were on the earth at that time also joined Satan in his rebellion. Thus God judged them with water and they became the demons on the earth. Their lodging place is in the water. Man’s body is also their temporary dwelling place. Matthew 12:43 says, “Now when the unclean spirit goes out from a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it.” This shows that the lodging place of the demons is in the water. If they cannot find water, they make the physical body of a human being their temporary dwelling place (Matt. 12:44-45).
Why do demons like to get into water or into a human body? In his book, Earth’s Earliest Ages, G. H. Pember has made a scholarly and thorough study of this matter. Geologists and archaeologists have discovered that the earth is not merely six thousand years old, but much older. Some have discovered fossil remains of bones which are thousands and thousands of years old. But according to the Bible, there are only about six thousand years from Adam to now. Mr. Pember found the answer. Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 there was a period of time which he called the interval. No one can say how long this interval was. At any rate, it must have been a very long period of time. After studying this matter thoroughly, Pember inferred that at a certain time after the original creation, Satan and his angels rebelled. Pember also inferred from the biblical record that in this pre-Adamic age there existed on the earth some living beings and that they also joined Satan in his rebellion against God. Thus Satan, his fallen angels, and these living beings were all judged by God. After they were judged by God, these beings lost their bodies and became disembodied spirits. This is the reason that demons want to enter a physical body. The water with which God judged them became the deep where the demons must live. Pember even proved that under this deep water there is the so-called abyss. The deep water is the demons’ dwelling place.
One day, while the Lord Jesus was sailing across the sea, a strong wind blew and a great storm arose. He commanded the wind to stop and the storm to be silent (Matt. 8:23-27). Why did the air become windy and the water stormy? Because there were the fallen angels in the air and demons in the water. They knew that the Lord Jesus was going over to the other shore to cast out demons (Matt. 8:28-32). Thus they raised up the wind and the storm to frustrate His coming.
In the pre-Adamic age, the evil angels and the living beings followed Satan in his rebellion against God to form the kingdom of Satan. Its sphere is the so-called world including the earth and the air. Today, in Satan’s kingdom there are the fallen angels in the air, the demons in the water, and the fallen human beings on the earth.