We know the first sin was pride. It happened in heaven and it was horrific. Satan, Lucifer as his given name is said to be, was made beautiful and blameless in all his ways (Ezekiel 28:15). Then he sinned because he was proud of his beauty. (Ezekiel 28:16-17a). His wisdom was corrupted. Satan lost his place in heaven. (Ezekiel 28:17b).
Satan, still called Lucifer, was angered because of this, and he made five vows. Foremost, he said in his heart that he will be like the Most High. (Isaiah 14:13-14).
Then satan set out to enact his evil plan. His sin was pride, but he enacted his sin through another sin: GOSSIP and SLANDER. Lucifer became Satan the accuser and tale bearer.
Satan is a title that means "one who resists". The name, or the title, depending on which interpretation and book of the Bible is using it, also means accuser. (Revelation 12:9–10). Satan accuses God and he accuses God's people. In the famous scene at the beginning of Job, satan is seen accusing Job of only being righteous because God has blessed him. In Genesis 3, satan is subtly accusing God of being dishonest in His dealings with Eve. (Genesis 3:1-5).
This verse tells us more about satan's accusing and slandering activities.
In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; (Ezekiel 28:16).What trade? There is no merchandise in heaven. The trade referred to here is from a word meaning merchant, likely a spice merchant, going hither and yon, out and about, selling. But the word is from a root word meaning gossip monger, trading on gossip, going hither and yon, here and there, tale- bearing. Proverbs 20:19 uses the same Hebrew word, rakal, as in the Ezekiel verse,
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.
So satan the accuser was proud. He thought he deserved to be higher than God, and went about here and there slandering God and tale-bearing to the other holy angels in order to accomplish this.
What were the other angels' reaction?
"Pish", they all said! "Look at God, just LOOK at Him, on His throne with the train of His robe filling the temple! We were there when He created everything and it was very good and we shouted for joy! Get behind me satan!"
No.
A third of the angels believed satan's lies and slander. They, who were holy and blameless, and who saw the face of God, and observed His works from a first row position, believed satan's slander.
If they did, how about us in our sinful flesh, under heaven and not in it, and only too willing to hear slander about someone else? What are the chances for us? We're sitting ducks for believing lies, gossip, and slander - all of satan's abundant trade.
Satan's first sin was pride. He said and believed these things in his heart. But how did his sin come out? How did he act upon it? Slander/gossip/tale-bearing. If you (or I) go about up and down, hither and yon tale-bearing, we are acting satanic. Think of pride sitting upon a magic floating carpet that's going here and there. Or the wind that is carrying the milkweed seed.
This activity is the action upon which pride is carried out. When we slander or gossip, we are putting ourselves in the same position as satan did when he did it. Do we want to mimic satan?
Think about it.
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Further reading:
It Takes Two
How Should Christians Respond to Attacks and Insults?
What does the Bible say about slander?
Satan- What Is He Like?
