Why was the devil kicked out of heaven?

Dear Chaplain: What did the devil do so wrong that he was kicked out of heaven? — Signed, Devilish Dear Devilish: Thank you for your question. First, the devil (chief evil spirit, also known as Satan) was not “the devil” when he was created. He was originally created by God, before the foundation of the earth to be a chief angel of God, who was the most beautiful of all of the angels.

The Bible describes him as being, “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty,” being covered in every precious stone. He was an anointed cherub placed on the holy mountain of God, blameless when he was created. In other words, he was created to be the best looking angel, the most talented, and to hold one of the highest positions in heaven. God named him Lucifer (morning or bright star) which described who he was.

However angels, like humans, were also created with emotions and free will.

After while, Lucifer’s beauty, talent and position went to his head. He became conceited, full of himself, forgetting that who he was and all that he had was not by his own doing, but rather because God blessed him with those things. Lucifer became so prideful that he wanted to be like God and actually attempted to establish his own kingdom, by convincing other angels to join his team.

But God is a holy God and heaven is a pure, perfect, holy place. Evil cannot dwell there. So Lucifer was kicked out of heaven; but he wasn’t kicked out alone, he took 1/3 of the heavenly hosts with him. When he fell his name was changed to Satan and his cohorts, the other fallen angels, became demons who are the same evil spirits that operate in the world today.

Bottom line, Lucifer was kicked out of heaven because he was full of pride, as described in Isaiah 14:12-14, “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! 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.” Pride is sin, and according to Proverbs 16:18, unchecked and unrepented pride will always precede a fall. (“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”) No one is exempt from the temptation of pride and all of us must be careful not to give in to thinking more of ourselves than we ought.

Some disciples found themselves in this situation in the 10th chapter of Luke, when about 70 of them returned from an evangelism mission and expressed to Jesus how excited they were that even demons obeyed them when they invoked his name. Jesus told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,” reminding them of how quick Satan fell due to pride. He instructed them to be humble and grateful and suggested if they were to be excited about anything it should be how they’ve received salvation through his name, which is eternal life.