Question
Dear Gramps,
It has been said many times that Lucifer influenced one third of the hosts of heaven to follow him. However, this principle has been explained to me that it was a third part not one third. You can tear a piece of paper into three parts and none of them be equal in size. In fact, it was explained to me that those that actually followed Lucifer were a small amount, but still a third part. Meaning the three parts are these; the Great and Noble, the remaining part that followed Christ and the third part that followed Lucifer. Can you explain this principle more clearly? Thanks.
Richard
Answer
Dear Richard,
It would be nice if you could cite the source of your information, for I believe it to be completely fallacious. It is true that the phrase, “a third part” could mean one of three parts without regard to quantity. As you mentioned, one could tear a piece of paper into three pieces, give the first part to one, the second to another, and the third part, a very small piece, to yet another. In that statement the phrase did not relate to quantity, but to number.
I have searched through the scriptures and find no place where the phrase refers specifically to the number of parts rather than to the one-third quantity of the whole. Here are a few examples—
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. (Revelation 8:7-9)
When one speaks of the third part of a single entity, it must refer to quantity rather than to the number of pieces. One can’t imagine in the above scripture that the third part referred to an indeterminate fraction of trees that burned up, with two other fractions left over; or that an indeterminate fraction of the sea became blood, while two other indeterminate fractions did not.
How about in Nehemiah 10:32—
Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God.
Certainly the third part of a shekel could only mean one third of a shekel. The same concept can be the only interpretation of the following examples—
Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil (Numbers 15:6).
And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD (Ezekiel 46:14)
Referring to the third part of the hosts of heaven that followed Satan, the prophet Brigham Young states unequivocally that the spirits followed Satan were one-third of the hosts of heaven. That statement identifies a specific quantity rather than one of three groups.
“I do not think it took long to cast down one-third of the hosts of heaven, as it is written in the Bible. But let me tell you that it was one-third part of the spirits who were prepared to take tabernacles upon this earth, and who rebelled against the other two-thirds of the heavenly host (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.54-55).
Also, dividing out the Great and Noble as a segment to be one third part of the Father’s children, compared to two other parts, i.e., the rest of those who followed Christ and those who followed Satan, appears to be another arbitrary fabrication. Your anonymous source undoubtedly identified the Great and Noble from the Book of Abraham 3:22—
Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that we organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.
There is no indication in that scripture, nor in the concepts associated with it, that it represents a unique segment of the total population. The noble and great ones here referred to, are identified as those who will be rulers in eternity. But they are not the only ones who will inherit the celestial kingdom. So there are more groups to be accounted for in addition to the “remaining part that followed Christ.”
Gramps
