No Coincidences

Tag: Lucifer

  • Satan is Jesus’s Older Brother

    Satan is Jesus’s Older Brother

    Stay with me.

    Before I go down this path let me acknowledge some things:

    1. We don’t understand how time works in eternity. It’s likely everything I’m about to say is nonsense from the eternal perspective. Still, have some fun with me. I know I got your attention with that title.
      • It’s very possible that God “adopted” billions of intelligences at the same time. Meaning, It didn’t go Satan, then Jesus, then Moses, then you, then me, etc. It’s probably not that simple. Anyways…

    Now that’s out of the way, I think there is a fun thought experiment/argument to be had that despite Jesus Christ having the title of “Firstborn”, Satan might be “older” than Jesus.

    Everything in this world symbolizes Jesus Christ. Everything points to Him (Moses 6:63, 2 Nephi 11:4). 

    There are some individuals from history that are clear types and shadows of Jesus Christ.

    Examples:

    1. Joseph of Egypt
      • Savior of his people and all of Egypt
    2. Moses
      • Liberator of Israel
    3. Nephi
      • Led his people to the Promised Land
    4. David
      • King of Israel
    5. Isaac
      • Inheritor of all that Abraham had and father of Israel (Jacob)
    6. Jacob (Israel)
      • Father of the covenant people of Earth
    7. Joseph Smith
      • Restorer of the Gospel on Earth (through Jesus Christ, of course)
    8. Peter
      • Leader of Christ’s church after Christ’s ascension
    9. Abel
      • In the likeness of his father, hearkened to the voice of the Lord
    10. Ephraim
      • Received the birthright, descendents are responsible for the gathering of Israel

    All of these men represent Jesus Christ in different but very clear and obvious ways. 

    What do all these men have in common? None of them are the oldest in their family. None of them are the firstborn.

    Interesting, right?

    “Well, but, the scriptures say Jesus Christ is the firstborn of God. Clear as day,” said a hypothetical someone arguing against my point.

    What if “firstborn” has meaning closer to heir, covenant son, preeminent one?

    Psalm 89:27 speaking of David, King of Israel, reads:

    “I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.”

    David was the youngest son in his family.

    In Genesis 22:2 God says to Abraham:

    “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…”  

    But Isaac wasn’t Abraham’s only son. He also had Ishmael. Maybe Isaac was his covenant son. 

    Jeremiah 31:9 reads:

    “For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

    None of Ephraim, David, or Isaac were the firstborn. Yet they were each described as such in varying ways.

    Now Jesus’s words about Himself:

    “I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn” (D&C 93).

    This is a captivating feature of scripture. There is a repeated theme of an older brother rejecting His younger brother who receives stewardship over him. 

    Cain opposed Abel.

    Ishmael yielded to Isaac.

    Esau opposeed Jacob.

    Joseph of Egypt was rejected by his older brothers.

    David was initially overlooked by his older brothers.

    Are these older brothers representative of Satan, the way the younger brother is representative of Jesus?

    Sound familiar? (Satan’s Story and Satan’s Story Continued)

    Maybe all these examples are meant to teach us something. It’s hard to be an older brother and yield leadership to your younger brother. What if Satan had taken another route and humbly accepted Jesus Christ? What if he accepted Jesus Christ’s position as “firstborn of the Father”, the chosen one, God’s beloved? What if Cain didn’t oppose Abel? Where would Cain be now?

    Also, what if Joseph of Egypt’s brothers accepted his position of power over them from the beginning? Joseph wouldn’t have been able to complete his earthly mission of saving all of Egypt. Sometimes, maybe, we need opposition (2 Nephi 11).

    But what happens when older brothers do humbly yield to their younger brother? Joseph Smith’s older brothers were legendarily supportive of his calling as God’s prophet. Esau famously humbled himself and reconciled with Jacob. Moses’s older brother Aaron appears to have accepted Moses’s role as prophet most of the time. Amazing things happen when older brothers can humble themselves.

    What if Laman and Lemuel could have humbled themselves before Nephi? Think of the love, peace, and prosperity that could have existed among the Nephites in the Americas. But then we wouldn’t have had all the lessons the Book of Mormon teaches us about opposition.

    God’s plan is perfect.

    It’s fascinating to look at scripture from a broader perspective, look for patterns, and try to grasp all that God wants us to learn and understand.

    While I prefaced this post saying it could be somewhat silly of an exercise, I stand by it. I think it’s a good exercise to review the scriptures in out-of-the-box ways and try to see the patterns God may be trying to teach us.

    Wherever in the birth order Jesus Christ and Satan landed, we know they were “older.” We know that God chose Jesus Christ to be His Son, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind. We know God doesn’t make mistakes. I’m grateful for what the scriptures teach me about Jesus Christ and that they can constantly strengthen my testimony of Him and all that He did for me.

  • The Many Literary Parallels to Satan

    The Many Literary Parallels to Satan

    I’ve always been struck by the parallels to Satan made in so many fantasy fiction books. I think the authors of these fictions are writing from a place that their soul understands, even if they don’t fully remember it here on earth, in this life. I guess these parallels aren’t too surprising given that Satan is the personification of evil, so, if you’re writing a fiction with evil characters, your evil will mirror him at least in some way.

    One major example is Voldemort. It’s been a long time since I read the Harry Potter books. I just re-read book 1 with Ivy. I’m anxiously awaiting Ivy getting older so we can continue this greatest books series of all time together. Since it’s been so long since I read them, I can’t remember all the intricacies of Satan’s comparisons to Voldemort. There is the obvious – great wizard (Son of the Morning) turned evil and selfish, wanting dominion, power, and control. Voldemort was opposed to all things love. It was ultimately love that was his downfall because he couldn’t see its power.

    I recently read A Guide to Tolkien by David Day which is essentially an encyclopedia of Tolkien information – all things Lord of the Rings. It is not meant to be read cover to cover (I’m weird), but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned so much about the mythology Tolkien created that gave me so much more appreciation for The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series. I’ve read all those books and seen the movies, but reading this book gave me a glimpse into the wonderful world Tolkien produced from his mind.

    In The Lord of the Rings world, Sauron was not the first evil of Arda (earth, or Middle-Earth). Sauron was actually the first leitenant of a greater evil called Melkor. In the Lord of the Rings mythology, there are 15 beings called Valar. They are essentially Gods who helped create and maintain the earth. One of these Gods was Melkor, one of the greats. Here is what is said about him in A Guide to Tolkien:

    “Last of the Valar is he who in the beginning was mightiest of the Ainur. He was named Melkor, “He who arises in Might”. He owned in part the powers of all the Valar (children of God), but chiefly his realm was Darkness and Cold. He moved over Arda (earth) like a black cloud that was dreadful to behold, like the World’s nightmare come into daylight. All evil that was and is in the World had its beginning in Melkor, for he revolted against Iluvatar (God) in the Timeless Halls and came to Arda in rage, wishing to make his own kingdom. He brought corruption into the World, and with him came a part of the Maiar (people who followed or served the Valar) twisted by his malice. He made his fortress, Utumno, and his armoury, Angband, deep under the mountain roots of Middle-earth. In Arda he waged five great wars against the Valar and put out the fairest lights of the World by destroying both the Great Lamps and the Trees of the Valar. 

    “In the beginning Melkor appeared in forms both fair and evil: his wiles were many and even Manwe the First King was deceived.  Yet after the Darkening of the Valinor, he always assumed his evil form and the Elves called him Morgoth, the “dark enemy of the World”… His countenance was evil, for the fire of malice was in his eyes and his face was twisted with rage…Yet, in the War of Wrath, all this power was destroyed, though Melkor summoned Dragons, Balrogs, Orcs, Trolls and every other evil being to his aid. This was the end of him, and, though much of his evil and some of his servants remained, he alone of the Valar was driven from the spheres of the World and now dwells for ever in the Void.”

    Sound familiar?

    All evil in the world had its beginning in him.

    He revolted.

    He came to Earth in rage.

    He wished to make his own kingdom.

    He brought corruption into the world.

    He brought with him followers (the sons and daughters or God, or in this case, the followers of the Valar).

    He made his home deep in the mountain roots of Earth.

    He waged war against God (the Valar).

    In the beginning he appeared in forms both fair and evil.

    The dark enemy of the world.

    His countenance was evil.

    He was driven from the spheres of the World and now dwells forever in the void.

    Tolkien was a religious man. But his religious traditions knew nothing of the true premortal scope of Satan’s actions. In writing this, it was like Tolkien was creating a character he knew from a previous life, someone his soul remembered, though his mind did not. 

    Art imitates life. In this case, art imitates eternity.

  • Will Hitler be Forgiven?

    Will Hitler be Forgiven?

    Before I share this, I will state the obvious. Hitler the man did heinous, horrible acts. He caused as much pain and heartache as any soul ever has on this earth. In writing this silly thought experiment I in no way intend to make light of the horrible choices of others. I believe I will have a hard time forgiving some of the acts I see during life reviews at the great judgment. Forgiveness, thankfully, won’t be for me to decide. I don’t know who will be forgiven for what. I know some will need to ask for forgiveness and likely won’t. I know some will receive forgiveness that we can’t comprehend. I trust in God. Now onto my silly post. Please don’t take the main character too seriously.

    I had a thought while I was in the shower, and it stemmed from this question – will Hitler be forgiven? The mere mention of the idea is enough to get me canceled. 

    The beauty of the plan of salvation and something only the Church of Jesus Christ proposes an answer to, is that God will save all His children and how that could be accomplished.

    The thought I had in answer to this question was – maybe Hitler will be forgiven, only God knows. If someone like Hitler could be forgiven, what change would need to take place in a soul like that for that to happen?

    We see momentous changes in mortality. We can see transformations over small courses of time. Think of someone you’ve seen change over the course of 5, 10, or 50 years. A lot of changes can happen to a spirit over the course of 50 years. Now imagine 1000, 5000, and 10,000 years. How about 3 billion years? Those numbers are hard to imagine. What amount of change could happen in a millennium? A lot, I imagine.

    On the other hand, that amount of time can also show the great weaknesses of a character. A lot of change can happen in a billion years and if there are any flaws in character, cracks become gulfs. Eternity is a long time so luckily we have a long time to change. But if we aren’t working toward perfection, our flaws will grow.

    I have read comments in near-death experiences about the malleability of the soul during mortality compared to after death. I’ve read analogies that compare the soul while here on earth to wet cement while the soul post-death being like settled cement. I believe that’s what makes mortality so critical. Our lack of knowledge and need for faith one way or the other, in a way I don’t understand, allows us to change in ways not possible once this life is over.

    The beauty of the plan of salvation is that God will save all His children that want to be saved. That’s the critical part. The desire to be saved. That’s also something becoming increasingly scarce in our society, the ability to forgive.

    Christ and God will know and understand all, and they will be forgiving beyond all measure.

    Which leads to the question, if we’re going to use Hitler as our abstract understanding of evil: will Hitler want to be saved? Will Hitler want to stand before God and Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, the one who had to suffer for Hitler’s sins, who had to suffer for all the pain Hitler caused? Will Hitler want to stand before Jesus Christ? Will he have the humility to seek that forgiveness? If the evils of Satan touched his heart and soul as deeply as they seemed to – desire for power, hate, etc., will Hitler want to stand before them?

    Will Satan want to be forgiven? No. He won’t. Envy, evil, and hatred have poisoned his once angelic soul (Isaiah 14:12).

    No one can be forgiven if they willingly continue to deny Christ and ”crucify” Him anew.

    Will Hitler have the humility to bow before Christ and beg His forgiveness?

    I can’t imagine that level of change. It’s hard for me to picture that from someone who did such horrible things and strayed so far from the light. That is millenniums of change which is change my mind can’t fathom.

    What I also can’t imagine is how I can ever be made perfect. Me, with all my flaws, judgements, unkindnesses, shortcomings, deceits, greed, and selfishness. How can I be made perfect? I believe it will take a long time.

    Maybe Hitler will change and be forgiven for his sins. I believe if that’s possible it will take time.

    If we love the gospel plan and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s ability to forgive us for our mistakes, we have to accept that they will forgive others too.

    The gospel plan is beautiful. For one and all.

    None of us deserve the redeeming love and a sacrifice willingly given of a God. Jesus Christ, spit upon and bleeding, shed his mortal blood and gave up his immortal spirit so we can live again. I am grateful for what He did for me and I recognize every day that I don’t deserve it. It makes me love Him all the more.

    Forgiveness isn’t something that should be taken lightly. It is serious.

    But when I stand before Him, and I humbly kneel, I believe He will forgive me. And for that moment, I’ll give anything.

  • Craftiness of the Devil

    Sometimes I marvel at how sneaky that doggon devil is.

    One example is how kids are bombarded by inappropriate images. The most childish of cell phone games are interrupted by scantily clad cartoon (or real) women. It’s the craziest thing.

    Another example occurred to me recently.

    When I try to search for the rating of a movie, it often takes me 4 or 5 searches to find out if it’s R, PG-13, etc. I always get the Rotten Tomatoes rating!

    This, of course, is the product of a bigger issue. That issue is all the garbage that exists in the media.

    The LDS church has a cultural policy that I’m not interested in looking into the history of. That “policy” for lack of a better word (“suggestion” or “guidance” may be better words), is to not watch Rated R movies.

    Growing up, I HATED this rule, and pretty immediately rebelled against it. It may have been the first LDS thing I rebelled against, actually. Remember, I’m the kid who dumped out my mom’s Coke because it had caffeine and was against the Word of Wisdom, or so I thought. I’ve been watching Rated R movies for as long as I can remember. I distinctly remember watching Chucky Halloween night when I was under 8 years old. It was made for TV, but still not meant for a 6-year-old.

    That is where my point is leading. Made for TV murderous doll OK because it’s TV-MA?

    For as long as I live I will never forget the movie I watched that made me decide I was done with Rated R movies. That movie was The Hateful Eight. I will say no more about that. Luckily for me, Beth came to a similar conclusion from her own movie. Her movie was Hereditary. We concluded around the same time that we were done with rated R movies for very different and yet oddly similar reasons.

    They made us feel icky.

    That’s what I remember about the Hateful Eight. I finish all movies I watch. I treat movies the same way I treat books. If you start it, you finish it. I was watching Hateful Eight when Beth came over (before we were married). I finished this scene. I left with Beth for whatever we had planned. I remember not being able to get this grotesque, gross, vile stuff out of my mind. I felt sick to my stomach. I felt dark. I felt dirty. I finally asked myself, why am I doing this to myself? I don’t have to finish the movie. I didn’t finish the movie. It was the last rated R movie I “watched.” That was 2017 or 2018.

    Has it been easy cutting out rated R movies? Nope (some of you will get that reference). There are inevitably movies I want to see sooo bad, but they’re rated R. This has led to discussions with friends. I’ll hear things like, “Well it only swears this many times and the violence and sex isn’t that bad.” My thinking is, you draw a line and you stick to it. End of story. But by the way, pretty much every movie is rated R. So this change has led to basically watching 95% less movies. A fortunate side effect.

    If you doubt that, check movies in theatres right now. You might find a couple that aren’t rated R. They’re either cartoons or Marvel, and even that is changing.

    So here’s my even bigger point about the craftiness of the devil.

    That guidance to not watch rated R movies was never about rated R movies. It was about what we consume and let enter our minds. I’ll never get that image from Hateful Eight out of my mind, but it taught me something, and it made me grow. It made me learn what I do and don’t want to enter in through the light of my body (Matthew 6:22-23).

    So you cut out rated R movies. But what about TV MA? What about murder dramas? What about all this media out there? Where do you draw the line? I’ve started cutting out TV shows mid-season. Remember, me, the person who tries to finish whatever I start. I was really into (a stupid show) Love Craft County. Then it got bizarre and disgusting. I stopped. I’ve never watched Game of Thrones. My favorite show ever is Breaking Bad. How do we figure it out?

    My point is, you can’t even search and find out if a movie is rated R anymore. The devil is crafty. We consume more and more trash more and more often. I say this as someone who also consumes trash.

    And what’s happening around us? You look up and your 13-year-old brother has seen something like 150,000 violent acts depicted in media. How crazy is that? Is that OK? Do we really have to wonder about depression and all this crap kids are dealing with? It’s insane.

    The devil is crafty. He blurs the line everywhere we turn. It’s so much harder to protect ourselves. He never stops working.

    I don’t know how to conclude this so I’ll just say, I took a step by cutting out rated R movies. I’ve been happy with that decision, even though I’ve probably had to miss out on some good movies. I think I’m better for it though.

    *Posting this years after writing it and on one hand I’m proud of my continued commitment to avoid rated R movies. On the other hand, I’m disappointed with my continued viewing of TV-MA material. But I’m also proud of the overall amount of television I’ve cut out of my life. There’s just not enough time to watch TV anymore.

    So I’m proud and I’m disappointed. But that’s life. God knows our efforts and He knows I’m trying. I’m not meant to be perfect in this life, though I’ll try, and fail. That’s why I’m grateful for Jesus Christ.

    The devil seeks us. We need to be hyper-vigilant to make sure we stay on the side we want to be on. Every day is a battle.

  • Satan’s Story Continued: What I learned from the Qur’an

    Satan’s Story Continued: What I learned from the Qur’an

    In Satan’s Story, I explored the origins of Satan before we came to earth.  This was back when we knew Satan, in the premortal existence.  This was when he was attempting to (mis)lead us.  It was an interesting revelation for me to learn what led to Satan’s revolt.

    If you haven’t read that post, you can click the link (Satan’s Story) above to read it.  It’s not required to understand this post.

    In this post I’d like to explore a little more about the Father of all Lies (John 8:44).

    I’d like to give the same sort of disclaimer I gave in the first post.  My interest in studying Satan is to further my testimony of One person.  That is Jesus Christ.  By studying Satan, I am studying the exact opposite of all that Jesus Christ is.  By studying Satan, I hope to understand him better only to avoid the same traps he is laying today that he laid in the premortal existence.  Those traps led to 1/3 of our brothers and sisters coming out in full rebellion to the light and love that created us.

    First, an update.  After I finished writing and had posted Satan’s Story (part 1), I started a book called Islam by John Alden Williams.  This book contains a quick historical overview of the beginning, development, growth, laws, and customs of Islam. 

    The book started with reviewing portions of the Qur’an (Koran? Quaran?).  While reading, I came across some interesting text about Satan. 

    I’ve found there are many translations of the Qur’an, similar to our modern day Bible. This was the text provided in the book (my own emphasis and commentary in parentheses added):

    “We created you, then we shaped you,

    then we said to the angels: ‘Bow yourselves

    to Adam’; so they bowed themselves,

    save Iblis (Iblis = Satan)-he was not of those

    that bowed themselves.

    Said He (God), ‘What prevented thee to

    Bow thyself, when I commanded thee?’

    Said he (Satan), ‘I am better than he; Thou

    createdst me of fire, and him Thou

    Createdst of clay.’ (God created Adam out of clay)

    Said He (God), ‘Get thee down out of it;

    It is not for thee to wax proud here,

    So go forth; surely thou art

    Among the humbled.’

    It goes on to provide other interesting details about Satan being cast out of heaven.  I find it interesting that so many of the world’s religions and especially the many sects of Christianity have such unique views on Satan’s story.  I think the mythology and legend of Satan in all cultures goes to show the significance of Satan on all of us here. 

    Another noteworthy item from the above, notice the first two lines. We created you. We said to the angels. Who are we? If it is only God, why is he referring to we? Joseph Smith taught and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints theology teaches us that we is referring to Jesus Christ and God.

    That portion of Satan speaking in the Qur‘an I found to add somewhat to the idea that Satan ultimately revolted because he was jealous of Adam and prideful, feeling he deserved the honor that Adam received. We see that pride is the great detriment to all souls. Pride took Satan from “an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God” to one called Perdition, who fell, who the heavens wept over. (Doctrine and Covenants 76:25-27)

    The book goes on to say that Adam inherited the earth with his wife.  While there “Satan whispered to them…And he swore to them, Truly, I am for you a sincere adviser.”

    So, we see that Satan was a liar and has always been a liar, “from the beginning” (D&C 93:25, John 8:44).