Lucifer Will Inhabit the Form of a Man

Isaiah knew the devil would be permitted to physically appear before the human race. Notice his words: “How you have fallen from heaven, O 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 heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: ‘Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?’”

(Isaiah 14:12-17, italics mine)

Ezekiel knew that God would permit the devil to physically appear before the human race. Notice his words: ‘In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god’…. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god, I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor.  They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas. Will you then say, “I am a god,” in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a man, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you.’” (Ezekiel 28:2, 6-9, italics mine)

Paul knew the devil would be permitted to physically appear before the human race. He also knew the devil would proclaim himself to be God. This is why Paul calls the devil “the man of lawlessness” (not subject to human laws). “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sits himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God…. The coming of the lawless one [the physical appearing of the devil masquerading as God] will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They [the wicked] perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

(2 Thessalonians 2:4, 9-12, italics and insertions mine)

The appearing of the devil will come as an overwhelming surprise to the wicked. “The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the [lamb-like] beast, because he once was [visible], now is not [visible], and yet will come [out of the earth and be visible].” (Revelation 17:8, italics and insertion mine)

Because the devil will be permitted to inhabit the form of a man (as Michael/Jesus assumed the form of a man), Lucifer is called a man by Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul, and John. The devil will come with an army of demons who will look like human beings as well: “On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces…. The number of mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.” (Revelation 9:7,16) Thus, the devil and his demons will physically appear – a huge army of extraterrestrial beings, superior to mankind in every way. They will rise silently from the Abyss and descend to the earth, literally, out of the air.

(Revelation 9:3)

3.   Here is a third reason explaining why the lamb-like beast rises from the earth in Revelation 13 instead of the Abyss as in Revelation 9. God gave the Revelation vision to John about A.D. 95. To keep the contents of this vision a mystery for nearly two thousand years, God put the contents of this story in a cryptic way. Through the centuries, many honest-hearted people have tried to make sense of Revelation’s story, but it was not the right time. With God, timing is everything. We know the book of Daniel was sealed up until the time of the end, and now that Daniel has been unsealed, we understand the four rules that govern apocalyptic interpretation. Using valid rules of interpretation helps put the pieces together, so the careful Bible student can learn the intended meaning of Revelation.

Study the following verses and notice that Lucifer and his angels were cast into the earth; therefore, their release from the Abyss is synonymous with coming up out of the earth.  

“And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and lost their place in heaven. The great red dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to [Greek: into] the earth, and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9, insertion mine)

Comment:   The Bible says, “He was hurled [into] the Earth.” The Greek preposition eis is sometimes translated “in” or “into.” The idea here is that Lucifer and his angels were hurled into the earth “as a stone is hurled into a pond.” The stone becomes invisible as a result of being cast into the water. After the devil was hurled into the earth, he became invisible, and at the appointed time, he will be permitted (at the appointed time) to come out of the earth!

“Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like lamb, but he spoke like dragon.” (Revelation 13:11, italics mine)

“The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star [a holy angel] that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts [a swarm of angels] came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.” (Revelation 9:1-3-11, italics and insertions mine)

The angel said to John, “The [great red dragon] beast, which you saw [cast out of Heaven], once was [visible], now is not [visible because he and his angels were cast to the earth], and will come up out of the Abyss [when they are permitted to come up out of the earth and be visible] and [regardless of his invincible powers, Lucifer will] go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the [lamb-like] beast [with their own eyes], because he once was [visible], now is not [visible], and yet will come [up out of the earth and be visible].” (Revelation 17:8, insertions mine)

Comment: The glorious appearing of Lucifer will totally shock the wicked. They do not expect to see a majestic “being standing fifteen to seventeen feet tall who has the kind of power and glory that will attend Lucifer. Even more, they cannot imagine that this gentle and miracle working being would actually be the Antichrist! Revelation 17:8 eliminates a lot of wiggle room because the angel told John, “The beast which you saw, once was [in Heaven], now is not [in Heaven], and will come up out of the Abyss…” The only beast that John saw cast into the earth was the great red dragon. (Revelation 12:9) Since there is only one beast in Revelation who will come up out of the earth (Revelation 13:11), Revelation 17:8 forces us to admit that the great red dragon is the lamb-like beast who will be released from the Abyss at the fifth trumpet. Review these verses:

“Then I saw another beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon…. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth….” (Revelation 13:11,13,14, strikethroughs mine) 

Comment:   The lamb-like beast will be Lucifer masquerading as God. He will call fire down out of Heaven to prove to the wicked that he is truly God. His two horns indicate that he will eventually rule the world as lord of lords (control over the religions of the world) and king of kings (control over the nations of the world). The devil will eventually kill the work and influence of the Two Witnesses with his superior miracles. He will become the eighth king, that is, he will rule over the seven heads for a short time and he will lead the world into open rebellion against God’s covenant, His Ten Commandments.

Summary:   Lucifer is the angel king from the Abyss. Lucifer is the lamb-like beast that will rise out of the earth. His title in Hebrew and Greek (for Jews and Gentiles alike) means destroyer. The devil will be released on mankind to destroy the world. He will rise to a position of absolute power, but his power will not come from nations and people. He will deceive the world and lead it to destruction. The release of the devil on the wicked is consistent with the full cup principle. When a majority of people in a group reach a point where extended mercy has no redeeming effect, God always sends a destroyer. “… They [the wicked] perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, italics and insertion mine)

Now that we have carefully examined and determined the identity of the four beasts in the book of Revelation, we can proceed through the following two prophecies rather quickly:       

[top]