Is it OK for Christians to listen to secular music if the lyrics aren’t bad? That’s a question that many pastors and youth pastors have attempted to answer. I’ve always been unsatisfied with their reasoning, but in this series, you will have an absolutely solid Biblical answer with understanding. I promise.
The issue of music has been at the forefront of my mind lately. I wanted to share what I’ve learned through the years so that no one falls into the same ditch as a man who is close to my family has just done. He was born again, baptized in the Holy Spirit, a tither, a regular church attender, a giver, and a Bible reader. He came from a background of growing up in the Catholic Church and listening to demonic heavy metal music, but he gave his life to Christ and made a radical change. As time went on, some 10 plus years later, he found out that a couple of the bandmembers of his favorite metal band got saved. A warning bubbled up in my spirit to tell this man, “Just because they got saved doesn’t make their music OK to listen to. Proceed with caution and use wisdom when listening to what they have to say.” These band members may have a regenerated spirit, which is none of our business to judge, but they didn’t allow the Holy Spirit to touch their soul (their mind, will, and emotions). They stayed under their original band name and continued to collect money from what the devil built in their lives, and this man slowly followed them on their path back towards hell. Along the way, this man picked up his old bands back again and started getting backstage passes to meet these people and buying their expensive memorabilia. The demonic rage that had been cleaned out of him had returned. This man, who’d never even had a speeding ticket, was recently incarcerated. After some time, he was released, but later that same evening of his release, he returned right back to jail.
Some may say, “He was never saved to begin with!” That deep discussion is for another time, but the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:3,
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
This situation that happened with the backslidden man has to do with putting junk into his soul, particularly music which penetrates the soul faster than anything else humans can generate. That’s why I feel quite passionately about sharing on the topic of music without lyrics. Most Christians can already spot good and bad lyrics, but I may share on that topic at a later time. The first two parts of this series is about how Lucifer fits into all of this.
Ezekiel 28:13
You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.
Before we dig into the issue of Lucifer, it’s important to point out the ever-popular teaching of how Lucifer was the head of praise and worship in Heaven. I just don’t see that in the Word, and I have never seen it. I’ve looked at this verse in Hebrew, and I’m still not seeing that popular teaching in the Word. When I learned how to write sermons years ago, and I took a look again while writing this, one of the tips to help pastors is often to, “read Biblical commentary.” That’s where I think these unbiblical teachings get passed around like wildfire. Is it possible that he was the head praise and worship leader? YES! But does the Bible actually say that? NO! Most likely, he was not a praise and worship leader because something else is going on here.
Back to Ezekiel. “Workmanship” can also mean “craftmanship.” “Timbrels” means “tambourines,” but I imagine that they’re some type of spectacular tambourines. Some translations of the Bible take the Hebrew word “tofe” (tambourines) and translate it to “settings,” referring to stones set in jewelry. The problem with this theory is that the same word “tofe” is used for what Miram, the sister of Moses, took to play after the parting of the Red Sea. Unless you believe she took jewelry settings in her hand to sing to the Lord, then what Lucifer has are tambourines. In reference to the pipes, the Hebrew word “neqeb” is used, which means “bezel,” or a pipelike setting around an object. Using the Bible to interpret this, it seems to mean that the stones and gold covered him as part of his clothing. Think of it like the breastplate of stones worn by the high priests who entered the Holy of Holies. That might be a small idea of how Lucifer was adorned. All the stones that the Bible mentions that Lucifer was wearing are in the high priest’s breastplate, with the exception of turquoise. Later on, you’ll see that Lucifer was a type of high priest. As for his tambourines and bezels, it could be inside or outside. There is no definite indication from Scripture whether they were internal or external. We can only speculate. The bezels could have held the precious stones. When he played the tambourines and created music, it’s possible that the light of God shone through Lucifer from the bezels (pipes or caverns) and lit up the stones as the music played. Again, this is all speculation, but that would be a stunning sight to see.
Isaiah 14:13-14
13For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
From this verse, we see Lucifer was not in Heaven when he said these things in his heart. He was most likely on Earth or the moon, but that’s a discussion for another time. Stars in the Bible could also refer to angels, especially in reference to Satan. In Revelations 12:24, John talks about Satan’s tail drawing one-third of the stars of Heaven and being cast down to Earth. “Congregation” means “appointed time, season, or meeting place.” One of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible is where Lucifer said, “I will be like the Most High.” Lucifer did not say he WOULD BE God, or he would be a god, he said he would be, “LIKE GOD!” If you read “like” in Hebrew, the word “damah” means “likeness, similitude, resemble, or compare.” Pastors, teachers, and ministers keep saying that Satan is stupid. No, God didn’t make a stupid angel. Intelligence without sound wisdom makes people seem stupid, and Lucifer corrupted his wisdom. Lucifer knew He couldn’t kill or overthrow God. He had a different unwise, yet intelligent plan.
Who is like God? Let’s go back to Genesis 1:26,
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Man is like God. It wasn’t God that Lucifer wanted to be, but a man! You might be wondering what this has to do with musical instruments, everything! We’re getting there!
In Psalm 8:5, we’re told our position,
For You have made him a little lower than the angels God (Elohim), And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
If you look angels up in Hebrew, it says, “ELOHIM” which mean GODS. Elohim is the triune God, the trinity, God in 3 parts. Ancient Hebrew doesn’t have any lower-case letters or even periods or commas. They just wrote. I would do very well as a Hebrew scribe. This word “ELOHIM” is translated as “God” 2,346 times, and as “angel” only once here in this scripture. What’s actually happening here is that the person or team doing the translation determined that we were made a little lower than the angels. The Hebrew says Elohim. If we were made a little lower than the angels, then why are they here to serve us? Exactly, let’s believe the original Hebrew, not the English that didn’t start showing up until almost the 1400s.
Lucifer said: Throne above the stars angels of God
Man has: Dominion over the angels (Psalm 8:5)
Lucifer said: Sit on the mount mountain of the congregation at the appointed time
Lucifer said: Ascend into Heaven
Man is: Raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places (at the appointed time) in Christ Jesus, (Eph 2:6)
Lucifer said: Ascend above the heights of the clouds
Man can: Spiritually come boldly to the throne of grace, which is far above the clouds, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
Lucifer said: I will be like the Most High
Man: We ARE like the Most High (Gen 1:26)
Now that we see that Lucifer wasn’t trying to be God, but he was trying to be a man, it’s easier to see what he was really doing in Ezekiel 28:14, 16
14 You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
16 And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
The fiery stones are prophetic stones. Lucifer got a glimpse of the future, which was man, in those fiery stones on the mountain of God. He didn’t see the entire future, otherwise he would have been able to stop it. You might think, “Whoa whoa whoa… wait… what?” Yes. Go back and look at what Lucifer said. It’s all the prophetic and the future. God’s throne was already above the planets, the stars, and the angel stars. He said, “sit on the mountain at the appointed time.” The mountain actually belonged to God; it would be far-fetched to believe He didn’t ever sit on His own throne on His own mountain. What would be the appointed time that God sits on His throne? That’s not written in the Bible. Isaiah said he saw the Lord sitting on His throne in chapter 6, verse 1, so it can’t even be still to come. He saw what would eventually be man seated with Jesus, but he obviously had no idea when or how.
We’ll stop here for this week. This is a topic that you may want to discuss with the Holy Spirit. It’s very different from the unbiblical teachings we normally hear. Next week we’ll look at scripture to learn that Lucifer was actually Jesus’ personal angel.
As you meditate on this new information, and speak with the Holy Spirit, I ask that your mind be enlightened with understanding of what the Scriptures are saying to us.
Christi
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