ON SATAN

Where did Satan come from? .... Is he an angel?

Was he the serpent who tempted Eve in the garden, and if so why did he do that?

Why was Satan allowed to enter the presence of God in Job 1:6-12? And furthermore, why did God entertain a conversation with him about Job?

What did God mean in Ezekiel 28:11-19, when he said, Satan was the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty, and he was blameless?

Satan was a cherub, before His fall from grace, guarding the very throne of God in heaven, protecting the holiness of God. He occupied the highest of all positions. why was Satan anointed as a guardian cherub?

What did He do to get thrown out of the Holy’s presence? Isaiah 14:13-14 indicates that Satan’s heart desired to ascend into heaven, and exalt His throne above the stars of God and sit on the mount of the congregation, ascending above the heights of the clouds, to be like God.

Satan is not interested in going to hell, no, he is interested in taking God’s throne and ruling Heaven. Still, many people think Satan wants to be the devil, he does not... he wants to be God. In Matthew 4:9, he tells Jesus to “fall down and worship me, I’ll give you all the kingdoms of the world”.

Satan’s sin was to set his will against the will of God. You might say this is what you and I do every day. Isaiah 53:6 says, “ all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way”.

So the Great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelations 12:9

But in Job it is revealed that Satan has access to heaven today, not only does he have the right to be there, God may give him the right to test us. In Luke 22:31 Jesus said to Peter, “ Satan has desired to have you that he might test you.” And we know that Peter denied Jesus, something he regretted for the rest of his life.

When addressing the scribes and Pharisees, the Lord said, “ You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. John 8:44

It is interesting that Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” John 12:31 and in John 14:30 He continued, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me”. It is clear that Satan is the prince and power of the air and the god of this world.”

When you consider James 4:4, he said “ Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

1 John 4:3-4 says, “And every spirit that doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” That is the reason countries can’t make peace, the United Nations is not effective and there is so much turmoil on the face of the earth right now.

1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” and John 14:30, “ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world (Satan) is coming”.

When you place yourself in this picture, are you as worldly as you can be? Is Satan leading you around by your nose? Is it because of your response, to our world system? In 1 Corinthians 7:30-31, Paul reminds us that “... those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess... and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.”

How do you look upon things of this world? If the economy crashes, if America as we know it dissolves into social chaos, would it break your heart? Are you so wrapped up in this world that if it were taken away, your heart would be broken? I hope not, because, the fact is, that it will be taken away someday... then what will we do?

Satan is in a war with God, the battle is for the hearts and minds of all people, including you and I. That is why Paul say’s to “... put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. STAND firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6 13-17

Notice, we are not to attack (that would be fruitless) we are told to put on the armor and STAND. Our armor is spiritual, because the war is spiritual! Paul said “Above all, take the shield of faith, it is faith that allows us to withstand Satan’s firey darts and the door will be opened! Remember when Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

It is an awful condition to have sin in our lives while we are trying to carry on the battle, we can never win that way. We must rely on what the Lord says, “ Come now, and let us reason together, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are read like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18 and in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, it says, “but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and a helmet of the hope of salvation.

Satan is the ruler of this world, in a sense, he is the God of this world. Everywhere we go, we are living in his world and under his influence, that is, until we find Christ. Consider that Satan really has no worries about most of us, because we can’t escape from his rule, until we realize that our selfish nature is the root of our sinfulness and come to grips with the fact that we are hopeless and in need of a savior. When that begins to happen, Satan’s rule is threatened and he will use every power at his disposal (lust, greed, pride, jealousy, hatred, discord, selfish ambition, envy, drunkenness, orgies, rage, and the like) to lure us back to himself and away from our savior, Jesus.

Isn’t it clear? Satan is setting a trap for you and me, he is attempting to ensnare us. And it is tragic to see so many true believers being taken in by him, in many subtle and unsuspecting ways? We need to be alert, because Satan is loose in the world today. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

By the way, if you think Satan will show mercy to you, you are dead wrong. If he gets you in a corner without your armor, he will destroy you, just as he has, so many good men. He can ruin your testimony in an instant. He can absolutely ruin your life. That is why it is important to always put on the whole armor of God, so that you will be able to STAND.

In the end, we know God has already won the war, but the battle for our lives is still raging and Satan is testing us, and continues to be our greatest enemy. He is running the world we live in today and will do everything he can to keep us away from our savior. The nature of Satan is the power behind most nations today, and the source of the misery and heartbreak we see all around us. Can you believe how smart he is, that many of the people who are being affected, don’t even believe he exists? We should respect him, and frankly, we should be very afraid of him.

But when we feel afraid, we have the confidence that James foretold, “… submit to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Satan is smart, and may not ask you to go out and get drunk, in fact, it his methods may be very subtle... he might just as easily ask you to become very religious, as long as you are distracted by works or ritual and don’t have time to develop a personal relationship with your savior, Jesus Christ, and begin to trust in your redemption through His death on the cross!

Remember, “... faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Romans 10:17, The full armor is important, but most important is our shield of faith and the sword of the spirit (the word of god), and authentic relationships, without which, we may fall from grace!

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:1-7

End Note: Satan is called "the dragon," "the old serpent" (Rev. 12:9; 20:2); "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30); "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2); "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4); "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2).

The distinct personality of Satan and his activity among men are thus obviously recognized. He tempted our Lord in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11). He is "Beelzebub, the prince of the devils" (12:24). He is "the constant enemy of God, of Christ, of the divine kingdom, of the followers of Christ, and of all truth; full of falsehood and all malice, and exciting and seducing to evil in every possible way." His power is very great in the world. He is a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8).

Men are said to be "taken captive by him" (2 Tim. 2:26). Christians are warned against his "devices" (2 Cor. 2:11), and called on to "resist" him (James 4:7). Christ redeems his people from "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14). Satan has the "power of death," not as lord, but simply as executioner.

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