“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12).

“Lucifer” means light-bearer. The name occurs here, only, but there is no doubt as to who is in view. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Why was he cast out? “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13,14).

The ability to say I will or I will not is one of the prerogatives that God has instilled into His creatures. Obviously, Lucifer’s I will is in direct opposition to God’s will. Consider Ezekiel 38:23: “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

The first time God said I will in the Bible was when He promised Adam a help meet for him: “I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18). The second time He used the phrase, He spoke directly to the serpent: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). The two I wills are joined in conflict, and have been, until this day.

There is another exercise of the will, however, that involves the destiny of the individual when he responds to the invitation to salvation and says, I will. The awful alternative is for him to say, I will not. Even though “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6), the sinner would then have nothing to look forward to but “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (II Peter 3:7). ADE

“Lucifer” means light-bearer. The name occurs here, only, but there is no doubt as to who is in view. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Why was he cast out? “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13,14).

The ability to say I will or I will not is one of the prerogatives that God has instilled into His creatures. Obviously, Lucifer’s I will is in direct opposition to God’s will. Consider Ezekiel 38:23: “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

The first time God said I will in the Bible was when He promised Adam a help meet for him: “I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18). The second time He used the phrase, He spoke directly to the serpent: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). The two I wills are joined in conflict, and have been, until this day.

There is another exercise of the will, however, that involves the destiny of the individual when he responds to the invitation to salvation and says, I will. The awful alternative is for him to say, I will not. Even though “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6), the sinner would then have nothing to look forward to but “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (II Peter 3:7). ADE