Tag: satan

Posted in bible, jesus, judgment, satan

Back to Basics: Who is Satan?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Satan is real.

He was God’s covering cherub, it is believed the highest of the high angels, and the most beautiful. (Ezekiel 28:14-17). Since he is an angel he is therefore a created being, thus, under God’s sovereignty. The eternal clash between good and evil is not one of equal opposites, but one of rebellion of a created being against an uncreated, holy powerful God. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

We hear satan’s actual voice three times in the Bible. Once in Genesis 3:1-5 when he (as the serpent) is talking with Eve in the Garden of Eden. There, he insinuated to Eve that God is not good enough to her by not letting her have all the fruit of the Garden. The second time we hear him speak, it’s in heaven to God about Job. (Job 1:7-11). There, he told God that God was being too good to Job. The third time is when satan tempts Jesus. (Luke 4:1-12). In that scene, he used several the schemes in his arsenal (temptation of the body, temptation of power, temptation of testing God) and when he failed, he went away until another opportune time. (Luke 4:13).

These scenes tell us that satan has many schemes in his bag of tricks, he is not hesitant to use them against people, or Jesus or even GOD, and that he never quits.

Satan is mentioned in the Gospels twenty-nine times. And twenty-five of those times, Jesus is the one talking about Satan. Satan is mentioned in seven Old Testament books and every New Testament book.

He has different names to which he is referred. That Old Serpent, Adversary, Devil, Satan, (which is a title)

Satan is a real person. He is not allegory, a metaphor or a figment. If you believe he is an allegory or figment or just an evil force, then you destroy the integrity and truthfulness of every NT book, each Gospel, a quarter of the Old Testament, and the character of Jesus. It is not possible to disbelieve satan is real but also believe the rest of the Bible is truthful, historical, prophetic, and the word of God.

He is real and thus has a will, goals, plans. He is seen spoken of in Isaiah 14:13-14,
But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’

So his goal is to supplant God….usurp God…BE God!

Satan is not in hell. He is not the ruler of hell. So where is he? He is roaming up and down upon the earth. (Job 1:7, Job 2:2; 1 Peter 5:8). Satan is the prince of the air. (Ephesians 2:2). Satan is in heaven accusing the brethren. (Revelation 12:10; Job 1:6). God has granted limited and temporary sovereignty to satan, for he is the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). From this we see that satan has been granted much latitude by God on earth, the air and in heaven.

Satan is busy! He is accusing the brethren, roaming the earth, fighting the holy angels, sowing tares among the wheat, ensnaring the unwary, polluting the doctrine. He is wreaking devastation and destruction. (John 10:10). And much more!

What is satan’s destiny? When satan rebelled in the primordial past, God prepared hell for satan and his angels. (Matthew 25:41). There will be no offer to repent and no opportunity to come to salvation. The devil and his angels’ futures are fixed. (John 16:11). Meanwhile, God uses their evil for our good and His glory.

During the time since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, satan has been allowed latitude in each of the three spheres of earth, air and heaven. However, midway through the Tribulation, he will be thrown out of heaven and access will no longer be granted to him or his angels. Perhaps satan thought he would be able to go on like this forever. God’s patience is longsuffering, but it does have an end, and satan gets tossed. He and his angels will be furious and will wreak their fury on the population of the earth. Woe to the people! (Revelation 12:7-17).

At the conclusion of the Tribulation, satan will be thrown into the abyss and locked up for 1000 years. When 1000 years is over, he will be let out for a little while to foment one last, short, rebellion that God puts down with a word. (Revelation 20:3; 8). Finally vanquished, he will be thrown into the lake of fire, the place prepared for him in the prehistorical past. His angels will be thrown there too, (Revelation 20:10) along with every person who followed him. (Revelation 20:15).

If you are a believer and are struggling or strong or persevering or weak: He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. We need not fear satan, but we do need to appreciate his capabilities and thus rely on the Holy Spirit more than ever. And to the lost: make no mistake, satan is real.

Oh, woe to those who disbelieve Jesus’s words about future judgment for sin and His word to John in Revelation about the Book of Life. If your name is not written in it, you will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever.

Look at the cross! God’s love of humanity- expressed through Jesus-  triumphed over evil and sin and death! (Colossians 2:13-15). Holiness wins too. (John 9:39). All one needs to do is look at the lake of fire- the place prepared for the devil and his angels, and all those who follow satan. (Matthew 12:30-32). Unless you believe in Jesus, you are actually following satan by default. When you die, you will follow satan right into the Lake of Fire.

A caution: Satan is real, powerful, and we are continually warned in the Bible not to dally with him or his flavors of sin and perversion. It’s dangerous to ignore these sober warnings from the One who knows all! However it’s just as dangerous to excessively focus on the devil. Some people look for him around every rock, attribute every major and minor thing to satan, and see him as an equal with God battling it out for the universe.

Our own sin nature advances satan’s goals for him much more than we’ll ever know. We are usually too puny to even be bothered with by him. Focus on obeying Jesus and slaying our own sin, while being mindful we do have an actual living adversary. Balance is best.

Now for some encouragement to the brethren:

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” (John 12:31).

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Thanks be to God for Jesus!

Those are a few facts about satan. As always, read the word for yourselves to see if these things are true.

Further Reading

The Wiles of Satan, William Spurstowe (Puritan Paperback)

GotQuestions essay, Who is Satan?

Ligonier devotional, The Devil

The Devil’s Wiles, 37 minute sermon by Sinclair Ferguson

Posted in theology

Satan’s relentlessness

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’d mentioned the famous quote from John Calvin as I concluded a recent series on idols and idolatry, that our hearts are idol factories. Our own flesh betrays us constantly. But add to that failure, satan’s pressure of constant temptation. (Idolatry series below)

Is “Trad wife/life” an idol?
What IS idolatry?
How to make an idol: Example, Nehushtan
Idolatry: Did you know of these two false gods?
Idolatry finale, roundup & resources

One must always be vigilant. I’d read a startling thought in Spurstowe’s book The Wiles of Satan. One of satan’s strategies is to tempt us. We know that. But an even wilier strategy is to “cease to tempt, or to feign flight.” Have you ever thought of that? It’s to provoke our pride. We SEEM to have won the battle. We think, ‘Oh great, I’ve got this temptation licked! I got the victory of that sin!’ But no. Just as we release our guard, satan comes back!

We see this satanic relentlessness in the Bible.

Example : The Demon Possessed slave girl. Acts 16:16-18a,

It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave woman who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” Now she continued doing this for many days.

Note that she did this “for many days”. Paul was greatly annoyed, the verse says. In the original Greek, the word greatly annoyed meant “exhausting, depleting grief which results in “piercing fatigue.” “

Satan relentlessly troubles us till we become so exhausted we either give in to the temptation or we destroy our witness with anger or some other un-Christian behavior. Oh, if we all had the same power Paul had to simply banish the demon away! But we don’t.

Example : Satan came to Jesus three times in the wilderness. Luke 4:1-13. Note that satan tempted Jesus in the first place! Satan’s arrogance is such that he thought he could tempt the Sinless One to sin! If satan opposed Jesus in this way, then for certain he and his minions will oppose you and me.

Of course satan couldn’t budge our Messiah, but note how he departed. Not in defeat, but in promise of continuing the battle:

13And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Satan is always prowling. (1 Peter 5:8). He roams to and fro upon the earth, Job 1:8 says. Satan has a God-given access to everything on the earth, and that includes people (wherever God said satan could go or as far as he could go). He tried to get at Job continually, but could not until God allowed satan to get increasing access to him. Job was probably the most perfect man on earth ever (not sinless, but morally upright). And that is why satan wanted him. God put a hedge of protection around Job…until He didn’t. No one on this here earth can expect continual protection from satan.

Our soul is safe if we are truly converted, but our heart can be tempted. When we fall into sin, especially a public sin, then satan, his minions, and the world rejoices, saying “There goes another hypocrite!”

1 Timothy 3:7 speaks of the importance of remaining above reproach for leaders. The reason being a leader’s reputation must glorify God. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

The same is true for us women even though we are not leaders. We must maintain a good reputation. 1 Timothy 5:10, says we should be having a reputation for good works. This is because our reputation is not our own, but of Jesus in us.

Jesus protected Himself through prayer and fasting. One of satan’s tactics is to SEEM to let up on you but he is just biding his time to come at you again. Our own flesh even more so. Don’t let up! I do let up occasionally, to my own shame. But just because we are not being tempted at present, it is likely that the devil’s minion is simply releasing us to our own pride. He always waits for a more opportune time. Do not get snared!

Posted in theology

What does satan know about us?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This was a question asked of me on my The End Time facebook page.

Good question. What DOES satan know about us?

Resource: Answers in Genesis, Who is Satan?

First of all let’s remind ourselves who satan is. Satan is actually a title. It means Adversary. He seems to have been a high angel, maybe the highest. Until sin was found in his heart and he decided he wanted to usurp God from His throne. Satan chose to sin. This is recounted in Isaiah 14:12-14. Then satan convinced a third of the angelic host to side with him, and there was rebellion in heaven. Unholy angels, fallen angels, are now called demons in common vernacular.

Satan (probably originally named Lucifer) and his minions fell from God’s favor and became enemies of God, and by proxy of the Israelites then of the Christians. Anything holy, good, or God-like – satan hates.

When God created the first man and woman, satan came down and messed with them, and convinced them to oppose God by disobeying and doubting His word. And we have been off and running ever since.

God is allowing satan and his evil ones latitude to do their worst, as part of God’s plan for humankind. Eventually, they all will be thrown in the Lake of Fire and punished forever for their rebellion.

Satan is known also as the Devil, Evil One, The Serpent, The Dragon.

There are two ways to interpret the question, what does he know about us humans, what does he know about each saint individually?

Satan cannot read our mind, whether we are saved nor not saved. Only God has the ability to know our thoughts and our heart (1 Kings 8:39; Acts 1:24). Satan cannot know our internal thoughts of each individual.

Resource:
–Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached about Good Angels here.
–LLoyd-Jones’ companion sermon about the unholy angels is lost but the transcript is here: fallen-angels-sermon-transcription-lloyd-jones

Collectively though, satan has been observing humankind for thousands of years. He is wily and subtle. He knows what our desires are in general. He tempted Eve with them, (Genesis 3:1-5) and he even tempted Jesus with them! (Matthew 4). Those desires are listed in 1 John 2:16; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

As he observes us (or more likely, his minions, most of us do not rate personal interference by satan himself), he simply sees what we press toward, what we say, how we act, and melds our temptations to what he or his demons observe in us.

I am not a fan of CS Lewis EXCEPT for his book The Screwtape Letters, which is an accurate and somewhat chilling recounting of a temptation of a Christian man from the perspective of an older demon educating his nephew demon on how to get the man away from Jesus.

Also it must be said, our own sin nature bedevils us more than demons haunting us. Mainly, satan and his demons leave us to our own devices, which if we do not kill that sin crouching at the door (Genesis 4:7), will have us- as the cartoon shows-

I am reading a Puritan Paperback called The Wiles of Satan. It’s by William Spurstowe. A Puritan Paperback is an updated language and a shortened version of the original. It has lots of scripture references and details how satan operates. I recommend it.

The author fleshed out the concepts and the one about speediness… eye opening. Satan does press us to do it, do it now! If we resist, and resist for a long time, then satan capitalizes on the frailty of our flesh and wearying us so that after a while of resisting it suddenly seems easier just to do the sin than spend the energy opposing his temptation. Man, we really ARE helpless sheep ripe for the slaughter!

But God! He made a way for us to oppose our sin nature, the world, and the devil. If we confess with our mouth and believe on Jesus, then he will save us and send the Holy Spirit to indwell us and be the Helper to resist. Most of us aren’t Job, where the devil personally provoked and hurt him. But demons are around, you can sometimes see them in the behavior of a false teacher (like Kenneth Copeland, as Justin Peters has said). The Bible tells us they do tempt us. So let’s not give them anything to tempt us with. The more we pursue holiness, the more the devil and his army will flee from us.

Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

FURTHER READING

Grace to You: Can satan hear our thoughts?

The End Time: Angels part 1

Podcast Haunted Cosmos (if you’re into the weird and strange)

Questions about Angels & Demons (All)

Posted in theology

If you think you can ‘bind satan’, think again

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Some people think they can ‘bind satan.’ They strut around uttering words to the effect that they’ll ‘tie up the strong man’ while busily casting Jesus’ name before them like a magic charm.

Other people don’t take satan seriously. They rely on senses to ell them what’s true, and thus, since they can’t see satan they underestimate satan’s strength. Either kind of thinking causes too many people to rely on their flesh to conquer sin.

Underestimating satan, or worse, inflating our own power to deal with sin, the devil’s lies, and his thievery, is a woefully inadequate way to handle one’s walk in Christ. Let’s take a precise look at the power that satan possesses (power which is at Christ’s behest and allowance)-

When the devil strutted into heaven and the LORD asked satan where he had been, satan said roaming up and down upon the world. He isn’t omnipresent. That is, satan can’t be in all places at once like Jesus is, but he is a supernatural being who can in a second be in Australia, then Thailand, then Kansas. He really does have free rein at the present time to wander at will upon the earth and perform his evil plots (again, within limits of God’s plan and purposes).

The LORD asked satan to consider Job, and the devil was immediately incensed with how the LORD protects Job. Note that the devil knew of Job, there was no extended explanation as to who Job was and where he lived. Satan knew immediately of whom the LORD was talking.

Satan said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” (Job 1:9-10).

Job had a lot of possessions, so it’s obvious satan had been watching Job for a long time if he knew of how the LORD had blessed Job by increasing Job’s holdings.

Observe, Satan knows who the super worshipful are. He may or may not know personally of the minor Christians like me, but he definitely knows the super Christians. He knew of Paul, (Acts 19:15) and he knew of Job. The conversation went on, and the arrangement was confirmed.

Now, to the meat of it- satan’s power. Job had 7000 sheep. Satan caused fire from above to kill all 7000 at once! The servants were killed too, with 1 survivor. Think of the power of satan to cause lightning powerful enough to slay thousands of sheep all at once, and the precision to kill all the servants, except one. Just ponder that for a second!

Not that we need a scientific explanation for obviously supernatural occurrences like satan’s slaying of 7000 sheep and many humans at once- except 1- but this doesn’t normally happen. Here is some lightning strike and animal kill info from John Jensenius of NOAA. Jensenius is a lightning expert-

“Animals do tend to group together in storms and huddle under trees. If lightning strikes the tree or somewhere nearby, the entire group can be killed. We don’t know how common this is because it’s hard to track, though usually it’s herds of 10 or 20 animals that get killed. When animals or people are in groups, most are being killed by the ground current. First, there’s a direct strike — this is what most people think of when they think of lightning — that hits the tree or maybe the ground nearby. The energy then spreads along the ground surface, and if you’re anywhere near that lightning strike, you absorb it and get shocked.

Job had 3000 camels. Camels need about 2 acres per camel. They can eat a variety of vegetation but they need 5 ounces (140 grams) of salt every day. They must be groomed and checked, just like any other cattle. That’s a lot of camels requiring a lot of care and guarding, so there must have been many servants. Satan simultaneously incited the heart and mind of three bands of raiding Chaldeans. Satan possesses great quantities of power to be able to incite so many men so quickly and get them organized to the extent that they raided all the acres where camels grazed at once.

Habakkuk 1:6-7 says of the Chaldeans,

“For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That grim and impetuous people
Who march throughout the earth,
To take possession of dwelling places that are not theirs.
7“They are terrifying and feared;

Job had 1000 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, which the Sabeans took all at once and killed the servants with the sword. (1 lone survivor again). Note the language in the verses, “While he was still speaking” over and over.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary says, “I alone am escaped—cunningly contrived by Satan. One in each case escapes (Job 1:16, 17, 19), and brings the same kind of message. This was to overwhelm Job, and leave him no time to recover from the rapid succession of calamities“

Satan knew where Job’s children would be. Think on that for a moment. He knew they’d be together and which house. He killed all 10 of them at once, by raising up a mighty wind. Note the language in the verse from Job 1:19, “a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house.”

Wind usually comes from one direction at a time. A tornado would swirl and direct wind from all 4 compass points. Satan caused what was likely a tornado within seconds of being allowed to do it by God, and it was strong enough to smash the house to bits and kill everyone inside. He did this in succession with raising the Chaldeans, inciting the Sabeans, and pouring out fire from heaven (likely lightning).

And people think they can raise a puny fist and bind this powerful being?

And people think they can handle their sin in their own power? Satan caused killing thoughts in the Chaldeans and Sabeans, thousands of men all at once. You can resist your own flesh in your own strength?

There is one being who is more powerful than satan. Jesus, the Lion of Judah! He has conquered satan, all the demons, death, and hell!

And one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5).

Jesus is worthy, powerful, magnificent, and perfectly wise. His Spirit will aid us in slaying sin and resisting the devil. We must rely on our God every moment for all our helps. We are stupid sheep, stuck in a ditch, rescued, only to dive into the ditch again! (have you seen that clip? It’s funny and sad at the same time!) If you think for a minute that “I’ve got this!” you don’t. Jesus does though. If you are IN CHRIST, in Him, he is your very present help in times of trouble, which means every day. Sin troubles us every day. Rely on Him alone. He is perfect.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Sheep clip (video) This is exactly us! We are stupid.

Does Satan have the power to control the weather? (article)

What are cherubim? (article)

Angels: God’s Invisible Army (sermon)

Satan: How does he operate? (sermon)

Posted in theology

How did satan become so evil? Where did evil come from?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The most asked question and the most offered objection to Christianity are the two in the headline. Philosophers have struggled for eons to describe and resolve “the problem of evil”. Sproul called it “The Mystery of Iniquity“. If you expect an answer to the questions above, I don’t have them. Not because I haven’t thought about them, nor because I am too dim to understand philosophy, but simply because the only revealed truth we have about satan, the Bible, is silent on the subject. And that’s good enough for me.

Continue reading “How did satan become so evil? Where did evil come from?” →
Posted in theology

Stand firm, sisters. Here’s how

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Satan is relentless. We see him pursue the Jews in Revelation. He is prophesied to have had most of them killed in the world’s worst holocaust, (Revelation 12) satan then went “to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17). Those will be the Christians. Satan wants to steal, kill, and destroy, that’s it. There isn’t an ounce of compassion, love, kindness, or anything in satan. He is all dark, all sin.

Continue reading “Stand firm, sisters. Here’s how” →
Posted in theology

Just imagine if someone came up to you and said this!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Bible is clear that there is a devil, and that he was an angel who fell and now opposes God and all He stands for. The Bible isn’t too frequently forthcoming on explicit information on the old snake but it does reveal some.

I keep going back to Isaiah 14:12-14,

How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;c
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’

It’s utterly astounding how a cherub of the highest order (Ezekiel 28:14) could say these things even if they were in his heart. Given God’s omniscience, saying those things in your heart is the same as shouting them from the mountaintop.

Just imagine if someone came up to you and said-

I will enter your home,
I will sit in your recliner,
I will eat at your table,
I will lay in your bed,
I will be master of your home and the people within it.

The crime is always more potent and punished to a higher degree considering who it is against. As my pastor teaches, if two peasants slapped each other in the face in the street, most people may say who cares, the crime might be ignored or just punished lightly. If a peasant gained entry to the throne room of the King of the land and he ran up to the King and slapped him, the peasant would be executed.

If you were offended just at the thought that someone would come to you saying he will enter and master your home, just imagine the cosmic treason of that intent when it’s a creature saying it against the gloriously holy Ancient of Days!

Just imagine the restraint the LORD displays by not smiting that being immediately. Instead, He allowed Lucifer, now satan/adversary, to live. God uses Him to advance His purposes on earth and in heaven.

We should maintain a healthy and righteous hate against all that satan is, and a holy and righteous love for the Lord in His holy habitation.

Who is like the Lord our God,
    who is seated on high,
who looks far down
    on the heavens and the earth?
(Psalm 113:5-6)

unspeakable glory.jpg

Posted in prophecy, theology

What will become of the devil? Satan’s end

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Part 1: I will vs. I AM
Part 2: From Lucifer to Satan: The Devil’s origins

On Friday I posted a comparison of the statements in the Bible that satan and God made. The named angel Lucifer, later known as satan or the devil, said in his heart that he will ascend higher than the most high, and also made four other blasphemously rebellious declarations. These are found in Isaiah 14:13b-14.

God and Jesus had made several I AM statements declaring who He is. The more well-known I AM statements Jesus said are found throughout the book of John from chapter 6 to 15.

On Saturday I posted an essay exploring satan’s origins. At one time he was a holy angel. When God made the world, he had not fallen yet. Lucifer was praising God for His creation (Job 38:6-8). The holy angels had not fallen when God pronounced the creation very good. (Genesis 1:31). However, sometime after the world was made and after the 6th day, we meet satan in the garden, impugning God’s character and tempting Eve to rebel. By then, he was fallen and evil. Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 describe Lucifer’s fall.

Ever since Genesis 3 when we first meet satan, he has ceaselessly been stalking the world. His activity is to steal, kill, and destroy. His incessant desire is to usurp God and thwart God, and meanwhile, to send as many people to hell as possible. (John 10:10).

Will satan always do these things? What will happen when the Kingdom comes and Jesus is enthroned on earth for 1000 years, administering justice and ruling with His rod?

Well, God has plans for satan. He always has. His future plans for satan include the following.

After the rapture of the saints (the moment when God calls his church members dead and alive up to heaven) then God will unleash satan to do his worst. Jesus said this time will be the worst known on earth, ever. (Matthew 24:21-22). God will allow satan to do his worst because rebellious Israel still needs to be punished. Their punishment has not come. God paused his attention to Israel after His resurrection in order to build His church. (Matthew 16:18.) When the full number of the church is met, God will return His attention to Israel, overseeing their Time of Jacob’s Trouble, as the Great Tribulation is known. (Jeremiah 30:7; Romans 11:25).

During this period, Satan will be allowed to overcome the saints through the antichrist. (Revelation 13:7). He will hunt the Christians who come to faith after the rapture, and kill as many as possible. (Revelation 20:4). He will raise up, influence, and indwell the antichrist. The “whole world” marvels after this beast and acknowledges his power. (Daniel 7:23; Revelation 13:3, 5, 7). This is why Jesus said the time will be the worst ever on earth. It is the devil’s time.

Though satan has the earth’s kingdoms in his hand at this period of time, (Luke 4:4-6), and is god of this world, (2 Corinthians 4:4) he will finally be taken off the leash he has been on.

However sometime during the Tribulation, likely midway thorugh, satan’s access to heaven will be denied. He and his cohorts will be thrown out of heaven finally, and this enrages satan. Again, this will be a terrible time. Satan’s rage will drench the world in blood. Again, this is the sovereign will of God.

Then Jesus returns. When the iniquity is full and in His timing Jesus determines the punishment has been met, and Israel cries out for the savior, He will put a stop to satan’s evil acts. Satan will be thrown into the abyss for 1000 years and locked up. (Revelation 20:3).

After the thousand years, satan will be let loose again, for a very short time, in order to deceive the earth a final time. You see, after Jesus returns, the earth’s people repopulate. Some saints survive the Tribulation and they procreate. Even though Jesus will be present one earth ruling and reigning, sin will still be present on the earth and in men’s hearts. In order to determine who will be allowed into the final kingdom after the earth and heaven is remade, satan will be allowed to deceive to draw them out.

Those people who harbored blasphemy in their heart will be drawn to the serpent, whose venom will overflow. They war against Jesus. The war will be quick, though. See Revelation 20-

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,

And satan finally, blessedly,

was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10).

In summary, the schedule of events for satan over the next years is:

–Church Age: allowed to do evil, on a leash
–Tribulation: Allowed to do evil, off the leash.
–Millennium: Bound in the abyss
–End of Millennium: Allowed out of the abyss, mounts a war, is quashed immediately.
–Eternal state: Tormented in the Lake of Fire forevermore.

Names: Satan is also known as the serpent, the dragon, and the devil. (Revelation 20:2).

Part 1: I will vs. I AM
Part 2: From Lucifer to Satan: The Devil’s origins

Further resources

Sermon: The Origin of Evil

Devotional: God’s Devil

Lecture: Before the Time (How demons operate)

demons

Posted in theology

From Lucifer to Satan: The Devil’s origins

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Part 1: I will vs. I AM

Satan fell. (Isaiah 14:12, Ezekiel 28:11-19). We do not know when, because the timeline for God’s creation of the universe and all its beings (including angels) is not specifically mentioned in scripture. We know that they were already created when God created the world, because they praised God for it. (Job 38:6-8). We know none of them had fallen by the conclusion of the sixth day when God saw all that he had made, and declared it very good.

By the time of Genesis 3, satan was a fallen, evil, sinful creature. Revelation strongly intimates that he caused a third of his cohorts to fall with him. (Revelation 12:4).

What happened? How did satan get this way?

Lucifer, the highest and most beautiful

There aren’t a huge number of verses describing satan before or after his fall, but beyond Genesis 3, the main texts are in Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Revelation. The longest passage about Satan before his fall is found in Ezekiel 28 beginning at verse 11 and going through to verse 19. His name is actually Lucifer, one of three named angels (Michael and Gabriel being the other two).

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:”

In the above verse from Ezekiel 28:11 we read about the ‘King of Tyre.’ In the immediately previous passage we read a lament over the prince of Tyre. These two laments are normally interpreted as the prince being the human ruler of Tyre, with satan being the evil force behind the prince, influencing the prince to do evil. We also learn that Satan was in the garden of God, and is a class of angel called a cherub.

A cherub, or plural, cherubim, according to the ATS dictionary is

an order of celestial beings or symbolical representations often referred to in the Old Testament and in the book of Revelation. The cherubim are variously represented as living creatures, Ezekiel 1:1-28 Revelation 4:1-11; or as images wrought in tapestry, gold, or wood, Exodus 36:35 37:7 Ezekiel 41:25; as having one, two, or four faces, Exodus 25:20 Ezekiel 10:14 41:18; as having two, four, or six wings, 1 Kings 6:27 Ezekiel 1:6 Revelation 4:8

You were the signet of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings
and your engravings.
On the day that you were created
they were prepared.
You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
(Ezekiel 28:12-14)

Apparently Lucifer was beautiful, adorned with precious stones and radiating perfection. His job was to guard God at the highest of the highest places, His throne. It was the highest honor.

When we read the descriptions of the cherubim, they are definitely not the cherubs we have unfortunately been presented with in our culture since the Renaissance. They are not tiny chubby babies with rosy cheeks and stunted wings. They are depicted in art and carvings in the Temple as majestic, powerful, and mysteriously beautiful. They are described below in words in 2 Peter 2:10-11 as majestic and powerful.

Peter’s verse opens with noting that the false prophets blaspheme angels all the time. But even evil angels have a majesty and a dignity because they transcend time, are empowered by God, and they see His face. Before his fall, satan was the highest of these dignities. Afterward, though he is now the very embodiment of evil, he still retains a dignity that is beyond humanity. That’s what the verse is saying here:

Bold and willful, they [false prophets] do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.

Continuing in Ezekiel 28, sadly, the beauty and power Lucifer was given caused pride in his heart. He became polluted with sin.

You were blameless in your ways
rom the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.
In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;

What does the ‘abundance of your trade’ mean? It is said that wickedness was found in him and through his “widespread trade” he was filled with violence. In this case, the widespread trade does not mean economic traffic. Does one believe there were shops in heaven, with checkouts and money exchanged? No, surely not!

The phrase widespread trade comes from the Hebrew word r’kullah, the main word rakil, meaning slander.

Satan went on a whispering campaign against God, the same as he did later to Eve (“Hath God said? Genesis 3). He went around abundantly and ceaselessly to the angels, whispering that God was a tyrant, He was egotistical, He was withholding from them the good stuff, whatever that was. With Eve we know satan insinuated God was withholding the knowledge of good and evil. Whatever satan said to the 1/3 of the heavenly host that ended up following satan, it was lies and we know that he was a liar from the beginning.

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44).

Devil means slanderer. Satan wanted something else besides God so much that he slandered God’s character to get it. What was it that he wanted?

Isaiah 14:12-13 has the answer.

You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’

Lucifer wanted to be like God. And isn’t that what he tempted Eve with?

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, (Genesis 3:5a)

Fallen, but still under God’s authority

The punishment of satan’s evil, declaring rebellion in his heart against God was to be cast down from heaven. Ezekiel 28 continues the story:

so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
By the multitude of your iniquities,
in the unrighteousness of your trade
you profaned your sanctuaries;
so I brought fire out from your midst;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
in the sight of all who saw you.

Isaiah mentions the fall, too:

12 How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!

 15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.
(Isaiah 14:12-13,15)

However as we see from Job and 1 Kings 22, satan and his cohorts to this day still have access to heaven. (Job 1 or 1 Kings 22) They still appear to God in heaven. They still stalk the heavenlies and strut in the holy place. God allows this for His sovereign purposes. However, satan and his evil cohorts operate only within the limits God sets. The ones that did not, who stepped out of their first estate and went beyond God’s limits, are chained in the abyss. (Jude 1:6). The remaining ones pursuing evil on the earth have a horror of being put into the abyss. (Luke 8:31), so they remain disobediently obedient.

In another example of the evil angels still having access to heaven, we see that God used a lying spirit to deceive Ahab, (2 Chronicles 18:18-22).

So is it sure that as of now, Satan and his demons come and go in heaven as well as on earth. However, one day the door to heaven will be shut and satan and his 1/3 of the evil host will be denied access to heaven permanently. More on this in the next part, Satan’s End!

Names:

Lucifer means light-bearer, shining one, morning star, (Strong’s Hebrew 1966).

Satan means adversary (Strong’s Greek 4567) or accuser. Out of the 18 times we read the word satan in the Old Testament, 14 of those refer to the fallen angel Lucifer in the book of Job.

Satan opposes the proclamation of the gospel and therefore opposes God’s people, especially pastors and preachers. Satan opposes God by snatching away the seed (the word) that was sown in people’s hearts (Mark 4:15 ; Luke 8:12). He also thwarts God’s people as in the example of stopping Paul from traveling to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 2:18).

Devil means (as it is used in the verse from Jude 1:9,
diábolos (from 1225 /diabállō, “to slander, accuse, defame”) – properly, a slanderer; a false accuser; unjustly criticizing to hurt (malign) and condemn to sever a relationship.

lucifer.jpg

Posted in theology

I will vs. I AM

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Satan made 5 ‘I will’ statements, declaring what he planned to do. Jesus made 7 I AM statements, declaring who He is.

Satan boasted:

‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
(Isaiah 14:13b-14).

Jesus declared:

Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. (John 10:9)

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (John 11:25-26)

Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

You notice that satan boasts of what he plans to do. God already IS.

The amazing thing is that satan, whose name is Lucifer, (satan is a title meaning adversary or accuser) actually thinks he can become superior to God. More amazing, is that satan convinced a third of the Angelic Host of it. They followed satan in a heavenly rebellion.

Tomorrow, the origin of Satan. We will look at the scriptural record to see who satan is and why and how he fell.

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