Power of Instruments – Lucifer’s Roll in Music
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 through the years. I’ve always been unsatisfied with the reasoning, but in this two-part series, you will have an absolutely solid Biblical answer with understanding. I promise. Not only that, but this series will stir you up with excitement about praising the Lord.
This is a VERY SHORT overview of the Bible Study. Please see my downloads for the complete Bible Study for teaching.
Nothing penetrates the soul (mind, will, and emotions) faster than music, 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 we will briefly journey to that topic at a later time. The first part of this series is about how Lucifer fits into all of this, and then we’ll talk about what anointed Christian music can do for you. That will be a very exciting topic, so make sure you have a notebook with you. Let’s jump right into scripture!
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.
Now you’re wondering, “Where did the idea of a praise and worship leader originate?” According to Google, “The title and role of ‘worship leader,’ as it is known in contemporary churches, largely began in the 1970s within the North American Evangelical and Charismatic movements. It emerged as a new church office during the rise of contemporary praise and worship music, often tied to efforts to engage the baby boomer generation.” In years past, the only history I was able to find is that Marth Luther, the man who challenged the Catholic Church, encouraged congregations to sing some songs in the early 1500s. The set up of our church service praise and worship is very modern. While ancient Hebrews do sing and dance as part of their celebrations, it wasn’t part of their torah readings. There was a special room for music next to the Court of the Women. With that in mind…
Back to Ezekiel. “Workmanship” can also mean “craftmanship.” “Timbrels” means “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 had in him 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, 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 beautiful 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. He was most likely on Earth or the moon, but that’s a discussion for another time. Stars in the Bible also refers 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 here 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!” Intelligence without sound wisdom makes people seem stupid. Lucifer corrupted his wisdom with pride (Ezekiel 28:17). 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 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. That’s right, the translators didn’t like this verse, so they changed it. The Hebrew says Elohim. 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 have to be prophetic stones. If we search the clues, the answer is there. Lucifer got a glimpse of the future, which was man, in those fiery stones on the mountain of God. 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. He saw what would eventually be man seated with Jesus, but he obviously had no idea when or how.
What really happened here is that Lucifer was walking back and forth in the fiery prophetic stones and saw a glimpse of the future. He saw the creation of the Earth, and how it was meant for Adam. Lucifer wasn’t residing in Heaven while he was speaking the “I will…” statements. Because of his great splendor and position as Jesus’ personal angel, he may have thought the Earth and all the inhabitants would always be beneath him in beauty and position.
You might be thinking, “Did you just say Lucifer was Jesus’ personal angel?” The Bible says this in Isaiah 14:12, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
Angels are referred to as sons of God, and Jesus is referred to as the “Bright and Morning Star,” as we see in Revelations 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
Now, Jesus has a new personal angel. Obviously, Lucifer has been replaced.
Now we can see Lucifer felt his position was threatened by Adam. Imagine for a moment that the company you worked for brings in a new person that knows absolutely nothing, while you know the exact operation of the company. To make matters worse, this new person is dressed head to toe in the company’s best and here you thought your company’s jacket was the absolute best. Icing on the cake, now they will be permanently above you. This is why it’s important to act in love and never puff yourself up over position or be offended when you’re lowered in position.
Instead of Lucifer heading to the Earth or the moon and writing beautiful music to sing the prophecy to announce the creation of Adam, he decided to go “testify” to Yahweh in the court of Heaven. His complaint is recorded in Hebrews 2:5-8
5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one (certain one) testified in a certain place, saying:
“What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
David also picked up this “testimony” while spending time with the Lord and wrote about it in the Psalms. You might think, “No, the author of Hebrews means David when he said, ‘one testified.’” If the author of Hebrews was referring to David, he would have respectfully used David’s name or referred back to scripture with “It is written,” but he did not. The word “one” is tis in Greek, a definite pronoun, and is translated as someone, anyone, certain one, thing. Read it again, “For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one certain (angel) testified in a certain place (the court of Heaven),”
Are you still not fully convinced the author of Hebrews refers to Lucifer? The answer is in Psalm 8:4-6
4 What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels Elohim, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
“You have put all things under his feet.” David COULD NOT SAY THIS! This is not written in the past tense, as if David is saying this to the Lord.
There is something that we fail to understand with our modern western mindset, YOU DO NOT QUESTION THE KING. We see the Lord God of Heaven as our loving Father that we can speak with concerning whatever subject we like at any time. But what does the Bible say about questioning God?
Isaiah 45:9-10
9 … Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ …
Isaiah gives us an idea about these types of questions in the ancient world. When ancient readers with a middle eastern mindset read these verses, they more easily understood that the certain angel was protesting by questioning God.
Now that we see this was Lucifer’s protest, we can see he didn’t lack intelligence. The Bible tells us his wisdom was corrupted. Ezekeil 28:17 says of him,
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
Corrupted wisdom can make a person appear to be stupid, and we see here that angels are no exception.
Ezekeil 28:14
You were the anointed cherub who covers
Covering in this sense is like shade or a hat. What was Lucifer covering? The Earth, as we saw from his “I will…” statements, he wasn’t stationed in Heaven. Once he walked in the fiery stones in Heaven and caught a glimpse of the future; he would go back to the moon or somewhere above the Earth. He would play his prophetic tambourine music and sing the prophetic announcement of what he had seen in the stones. When he played his instruments and sang the prophetic song outside the Earth, it would hit the firmament, the metallic-water canopy covering the Earth, and the sound would travel all the way around the Earth.
Instead, Lucifer convinced one-third of all the angels he could be like The Most High. He could have Adam’s position once he played the prophetic music and sang the song over himself. He most likely promised the other angels a place of position under him on Earth, with his new-found dominion. The “I will…” statements we read above was the song he sang over himself. Also, don’t forget Lucifer recently watched Elohim (Father, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit) create the Earth with Words, and it most likely was first seen by Lucifer in the fiery stones. He took part in the power of prophesy and prophetic music. That’s far worse than a praise and worship leader.
After he plays his music and sings the song over himself, he falls to Earth like lightening. We see this issue brought up again when the Lord God has to sentence Adam, Eve, and Satan in the garden in Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
We know “her Seed” is Jesus, and we know Satan’s seed is the prophecy of man that he sang over himself. Satan taking the dominion from Adam is part of his musical prophecy. It was his plan all along, and he was seeking to do it all along.
Power of Instruments – Transforming Power of Playing Music
I don’t really want to discuss lyrics in any detail, but I don’t want to completely skip over them either. I will say briefly that some popular songs we sing in church do not line up with the Word. Singing things that are against the Bible can cause confusion in your soul or poison your faith.
David created almost all the modern instruments that we use today. If it was not David, then it was Solomon.
1 Chronicles 23:1-5 NKJV
1 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were officers and judges, 5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the Lord with musical instruments, “which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”
David had 4,000 men playing instruments. Can you imagine the thunderous sound of praise music going out over the land? Looking again at verse 5, this is an important scripture to meditate on for a while. David made instruments for giving praise to the Lord.
The word “praise” in our English Bible is very vague and generic. There are eight different Hebrew words that have been translated for us as “praise.” The word praise used by Daniel is “halal,” and it means 3 things:
- “Boast, and rave.” (full definition in download)
- “Clamorously foolish.” (full definition in download)
- “Celebrate, make a show.” (full definition in download)
Halal on instruments most often isn’t really welcome because we don’t see this in our English language.
Halal is used in the Bible 165 times according to Strong’s Concordance. When the word “praise” is used, it’s most often referring to this bold form of worship. You might be wondering why you haven’t heard of this word before, but you have! Halal is the root word for Hallelu, the beginning part of Hallelujah. Hallelu is praise in the imperative form, “you [must] praise.” Jah, or Yah is the shorten name of Yahweh. “Imperative” sounds a little rough, but the way it was explained to me is that “Hallelu” is a corporate call to praise Yah, or Yahweh in celebration type show. The next time you sing Hallelujah, remember to “get your bold praise on” with your instrument, or your voice.
2 Chronicles 20:21 NKJV
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should HALAL the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise (“yada,” meaning “giving thanks”) the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.”
Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals.
That scripture is worth repeating! “Prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals.” Musicians can prophesy without lyrics. Saying it’s gone means they had better worship music in the Old Testament than we do today. Lucifer was prophesying with music before any human or covenant. This issue is way beyond the Old Testament and New Testament, that’s why we looked at Lucifer first.
Let’s stop for a moment and define prophecy so that we’re all on the same page. Paul describes prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:3 NKJV
But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
Edification means improvement. Exhortation means to urge someone to act. Comfort means the easing or elimination of bad feelings. Revelational prophecy would be speaking future events, which is something entirely different. Prophesying into the future requires the gift of prophecy. I’m just saying let’s not roll everything into one lump and throw it into the trash. I would suggest seeking edification, exhortation, and comfort, the church is BADLY in need of these things! How many times through the years have we seen people cry when Amazing Grace even without lyrics is played? Praise the Lord! If the unsaved, non-anointed, Old Testament musicians had that ability, then how much more do the Spirit-filled Christians of today?
1 Chronicles 25:1, 3-4 NKJV
1 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was:
Skip down to verse 3.
3 Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord
There is specific mention of Jeduthun prophesying a second time with an instrument. In Hebrew, anywhere you see repetition, it means that what’s being repeated is significant. For example, we read Jesus saying, “Verily I say unto you,” but what He really said in Hebrew was, “I, I say unto you.” Repetition was their version of the bold button.
4 Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
Unlike many cultures today, in ancient Israel’s culture, names were very significant. In ancient Hebrew, inquiring about someone’s name is the same as inquiring about their character.
The name of Heman and his sons are one of the deep, hidden treasures to those of us who are reading in English. The father and first 2 names tell us what The Lord is looking for from the person playing the instrument. Not just anyone can pick up any instrument and prophesy. The remaining 12 names tell us what this prophetic music will do for those listening to the music. There is no mention of the daughter’s names.
What the Lord is looking for in a musician:
Heman – he who is faithful
(Detailed explanations for ALL NAMES are in the FULL study. Handout is in the FULL study!)
Bukkiah – proved of Yah (Yahweh) and pour out to Yah (Yahweh)
Mattaniah – gift of Yah (Yahweh)
What anointed music can do for us:
Uzziel – my strength is God
Shebuel – captive of God
Jerimoth – elevations, rise, raise, exalt.
“represents the state of being on a higher plane” or “moving in an upward direction.”
Hananiah – Yahweh has favored
Hanani – gracious, from the root word “Chanan,” which means “to show kind favor and be gracious”
Eliathah – God’s consent, but it’s derived from the words “ale,” which means “mighty, and power,” and “ooth,” which means to “come”
Giddalti – It means, “I have made great.”
Romamti-ezer – I have raised up a help
Joshbekashah – spiritual returning (away from evil and vice, and towards God) to dwell in rest, subduing a foe by force, and then taking into their possession the wealth of the defeated party
Mallothi – “I have spoken or uttered,” the root word of his name relates to the cycle of harvest, storage, and redistribution/overflow
Hothir – abundance or super abundance
Mahazioth – to see or have visions
Hand of The Lord
1 Samuel 16:14-23 NJKV
14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God elohim is troubling you. 16 Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God elohim is upon you, and you shall be well.”
17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”
19 … whenever the spirit from God elohim was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.
Yahweh, the God the Heaven, did not send a distressing or evil spirit upon Saul. The Hebrew says ELOHIM, and it’s up to the interpreter to translate that into the appropriate word: God, god, Gods (in 3 parts), or gods. Keep in mind that Baal is also called elohim in Hebrew, so one word can have many definitions.
There are so many good points in this story. I really like where the Bible says that, “Saul’s servant,” is the one who mentions how he can be set free through anointed music. Every time I read this passage, I wonder how the servant knew this information. He wasn’t an anointed priest, teacher, scribe, or temple servant, but just a regular servant. Even better, it’s one of the unnamed servants who speaks up and names David as anointed player. It leads me to believe that this servant had seen or heard of David’s playing driving out evil spirits, so he was able to speak with confidence to the king. Don’t forget that one doesn’t simply run their mouth to the king, as there could be dire consequences to unfounded claims! Thankfully, music does carry a deliverance anointing again and again. The Bible says, “whenever the spirit was upon Saul,” not just in that one instance, the spirit would depart. That means for us, there is no limit on the number of times we can be delivered through anointed music. Now do we need a demon to be delivered? No! We need delivered from stress, bad doctors’ reports, horrible people, gossip, difficult situations at work, and so on and on…
2 Kings 3:15
15 But now bring me a musician.
Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord:
When the anointed music plays, the hand of the Lord will come upon you. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will prophesy, but whatever gift God has given you can flow out. The Hand of the Lord only came upon Elisha because he was the only one with The Holy Spirit’s anointing, but now we all have The Holy Spirit inside us. Elisha was the only looking for the power of God, and he knew how to respond to it. That is the reason why you see some Christians on their knees in anointed music and others have that look on their face like, “We sang the bridge three times already. Hurry up or I’m gonna check my messages.” That’s why the Bible teaches us in the New Testament that we are all the same body of Christ, and that no one is more important than another because whomever is playing the music is just as important as the one pouring out the gift. If there was no musician, no prophecy. Now we’re all pouring something out, and all capable of responding.
Those of you that play an instrument, if you’re wondering how you can play anointed music… I can’t tell you, but only point you in the direction to The Holy Spirit to get you started. Treat the Holy Spirit like a dance partner. You’re going to do this together, but let Him lead. I am not anointed or gifted to play music; however, I am anointed to sing, but not on stage!! Guess what? We’re all anointed to sing off stage! Start out with your instrument, ask The Holy Spirit to join you, and play by faith. Expect at least a few additional notes to be there at the end of a chorus. That’s you working with the Holy Spirit. Eventually, entire songs will emerge when you learn how to play music with Him. For example, Amazing Grace. That was not written by a human, but The Holy Spirit through a man that people have been blessed by and singing for over 250 years. The effect of anointed music is so great that we can’t glorify humans for writing.
(Just read the song title and year)
Here’s a list of songs from The Holy Spirit through men that stood the test of time:
Amazing Grace – John Newton, England (1779)
How Great Thou Art – Carl Gustav Boberg, Sweden (1885)
Holy, Holy, Holy – Reginald Heiber, England (1826)
It is Well – Horatio Spafford, written in the Atlantic Ocean (1873)
Great Is Thy Faithfulness – Thomas Chisholm, Kansas, USA (1923)
Blessed Assurance – Fanny Crosby, New York City, USA (1873)
To God Be The Glory – Fanny Crosby, New York City, USA (1872)
Jesus Paid it All – Elvina Hall, Maryland, USA (1865)
At the Cross – Isaac Watts, England (1707)
What a Friend We Have in Jesus – Joseph M. Scriven (words in 1855) and Charles Converse (music in 1868), Ireland
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus – Helen Lemmel, England (1922)
There are a lot of modern spins on these songs, because they are filled with anointing, God’s power to bless. Always remember, those that want to exalt the Lord and not themselves are the ones that can work with The Holy Spirit better.
If you don’t play an instrument, or humming the song first works better for you, then start with that. The song is already prepared for you by the Holy Spirit. Just remember that before you start, the Holy Spirit is excited to communicate with you, and to play your instrument with you or sing with you. After you get a couple of notes or words to a song, keep playing them and keep expecting more. If you’re struggling with hearing the notes, sit under some anointed music by anointed musicians, and then work from their flow of music. The more you play or sing and invite the Holy Spirit to play with you, the longer the song will become, and the stronger and stronger the anointing will become.
Thank you for going through this study with me. I hope you’re more excited about praise and worship, music, and the anointing. Ask the Holy Spirit to pick up where we left off, and He will take you on an amazing journey in praise and worship to the Lord. This is the end of our study, but this is NOT the end for you and The Holy Spirit. This is just the beginning and an invitation from the Holy Spirit to sing, dance, and play instruments with Him. If you don’t play an instrument, you have hands to tap out a joyful noise to The Lord.
Christi
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