Seasonal Scriptural Study of Satan [Archive]

mossrose

December 17th 2004, 05:40 PM

Okay. You asked for it. But I am doing it in smaller chunks, or it will be hard to get through.

I did this study several years ago for a ladies Bible study. Several sources were used, and they will be listed at the end of the study.

I don't know if you want people's comments in betwen, Rando, or if I should just keep posting.......

THE DEVIL, YOU SAY?

The better we understand our enemy the better we will know his limitations and inabilities.

Genesis chapters 1 and 2 give us the account of the creation of the earth and of man. But this is not the first creation. At the time of recorded creation, there were already living created beings in existence. In Job 38:4-7, God says to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth…when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” The “morning stars” and “sons of God” here refer to angels.

God had already created angels at some point before created history, by His spoken Word. Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him ALL THINGS were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- ALL THINGS have been created by Him and for Him.” And, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord form the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him all His angels! Praise Him all His hosts…let them praise the Name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created!” (Psalm 148:1-5)

All the angels in existence now were probably created at the same time. In Matthew 22:30 Jesus says, “For in the resurrection they (people) neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven”. Angels are without power to reproduce after their kind. If they cannot reproduce, there are no more of them made except through the creative power of God.

Angels are designated by masculine gender in Scripture (Genesis 18:1-2). “Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre…and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold three men were standing opposite him…”. (The only possible exception to this is found in Zechariah 5:9...”Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork…”. However, in context, it is more likely that these were demonic beings, not holy angels, since storks were named to be unclean birds in the Mosaic law.)

Angels are spirit beings. Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” As mentioned above, they cannot reproduce after their kind.

They do not die. Luke 20:36 says, “for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”

They are distinct from human beings. Psalm 8:4-5 (NKJV) says, “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honour.” And, Hebrews 2:6-8 says the same thing as it quotes this passage from Psalms.

Angels have great power. 2 Peter 2:10-11 says, “…and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”

Up next, "Ranks and Organizations of Angels"

Stay tuned......

mossrose

December 20th 2004, 01:40 PM

Okay, here is the next "page".

There are ranks and organizations of angels:

1. One Archangel is named in Scripture: Michael. (Jude 9 --“But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’")

2. Chief Princes. (Daniel 10:13 -- "‘But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.’”)

3. Ruling Angels. (Ephesians 3:10 -- “…so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.” )

4. Guardian Angels. (For all believers: Hebrews 1:14 -- “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”

For children: Matthew 18:10 -- "‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.’”)

5. Seraphim. Seraphim have to do with the worship of God.(Isaiah 6:1-3 -- “In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,‘ Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.’")

6. Cherubim. Cherubim guard the holiness of God. (Genesis 3:22-24 -- “Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever‘-- therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” )

7. Elect Angels. (I Timothy 5:21 --“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.”)

Angels were created to serve and glorify God, to praise and obey Him. Revelation 4 gives an example. John is describing heaven as it has been revealed to him. Verses 6 and 7 introduce us to the “four living creatures”, and verse 8 ends, “day and night they do not cease to say, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come’”. References are found not only in Revelation but all throughout Scripture, where angels are glorifying God.

Angels were also created to be ministering spirits to believers. Hebrews 1:4 says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”

Amazing Rando

December 22nd 2004, 01:01 AM

Hey Moss- Thanks for this! Forgive me if I'm jumping the gun here, but do you get to the assumption that the serpent in Genesis 3 is the devil? Are there any verses later in the New Testament perhaps that make this connection explicit?

mossrose

December 22nd 2004, 02:24 PM

How about I finish my study, and then we'll check out your question. It has been a long time since I read it myself, and being old and all, I don't remember if that is brought up or not.......

But, if not, I do know some verses in the NT that might answer that.

mossrose

December 22nd 2004, 02:30 PM

Third page......

Other areas of ministry to believers include:

1. Involvement in answering prayer. (Acts 12:5-7 -- “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And his chains fell off his hands.”)

2. Observation of Christians’ experiences. (1 Cor. 4:9 --“For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.”)

(1 Tim. 5:21 -- “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.” )

3. Interest in evangelistic efforts of Christians. (Luke 15:10 -- "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’")

(Acts 8:26 --“But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a desert road.)”)

4. Encouragement in the time of danger. (Acts 27:23-24 -- "‘For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.'“ )

5. Care for the righteous at the time of their death. (Luke 16:22 --"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.” ) See also Jude 9.

Angels have a ministry to the nations of the earth.

1. The archangel Michael seems to have a special relationship with Israel. (Daniel 12:1 ---“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.” )

2. Angels are God’s agents in the execution of His will for the nations. (Daniel 10:10-20 --
“Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
He said to me, ‘O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.

Then he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.’ ‘But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.’

Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.’

When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless.

And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, ‘O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.’ ‘For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.’

Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.
He said, ‘O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!‘ Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, ‘May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.’

Then he said, ‘Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.’” )

3. Angels will be involved in the judgments of the Tribulation. (Rev. 8, 9, and 16)

(Note: mossrose is a pre-trib, pre-millenial, Rapture-looking-forward-to type believer. Do with that what you will.....:hehe:)

The ministry of angels also extends to unbelievers, although we may not consider their acts to be “ministries”:

1. Angels announce impending judgments. (Genesis 19:13 -- “…‘for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.’” )

(Rev. 14:6-7 --“And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.’" )

2. Angels inflict punishment. (Acts 12:23 --“And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.”)

3. Angels will act as reapers in the separation at the end of the age. (Matthew 13:39 --“and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.”)

Next....."How Many Angels Are There?" Stay tuned......

mossrose

December 23rd 2004, 02:00 PM

(I sure hope I am not getting into trouble with all this back-to-back posting.....:smile:)

HOW MANY ANGELS ARE THERE?

Jesus said just before His crucifixion, “Do you not think that I can appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). A Roman legion was 6000 men backed up by another 6000 men, so 12 legions would be 144,000 angels that Jesus could have called in an instant! Now, in Isaiah 37:36, “The angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians…” ONE ANGEL would have been more than ample to help the Lord, but imagine 144,000 of them!

Revelation 5 :11, “And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels….and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands!” John was not trying to be exact here. He only wants to show us that the angels are innumerable. Hebrews 12 :22 mentions an “innumerable number of angels”. Some theologians suggest that because angels are referred to many times as “stars”, that their numbers are as immeasurable as the number of stars in the sky.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Some of the angels rebelled. Why would they rebel? They had an absolutely blissful situation with an absolutely holy God. They had been created in holiness. They had intelligence, the ability to communicate and to respond to God. They had emotions, will, they spent their time in praising God. They were responsible creatures, not robots. Why rebel?

They had a leader in their rebellion -- Lucifer. Matthew 25:41 refers to “the devil and his angels”. Revelation 12:3-4 refers to Satan as a “dragon”, “…and his tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven, and threw them to the earth…”. One third of the created angels rebelled with Lucifer, probably numbering in the billions (remember, that leaves twice as many holy angels!).

Not all of these fallen angels are running around loose. Some are locked up forever and some have been imprisoned for a little while. Jude 6, 7 (“And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”) and 2 Peter 2:4 (“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;” ) tell us of angels, believed to be those in Genesis 6:2,4, (“…that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” ) who cohabited with women and are permanently bound.

Revelation 9:14ff shows those who are temporarily bound (perhaps cast out of people by Jesus or His followers) who are seen here, released and coming out of the pit. Fallen angels have ranks, just as holy angels do, as listed in Ephesians 6:11-12 -- “Put on the full armour of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Amazing Rando

December 23rd 2004, 04:58 PM

(I sure hope I am not getting into trouble with all this back-to-back posting.....:smile:)

Not an issue as far as I'm concerned!

WHAT HAPPENED?

Some of the angels rebelled. Why would they rebel? They had an absolutely blissful situation with an absolutely holy God. They had been created in holiness. They had intelligence, the ability to communicate and to respond to God. They had emotions, will, they spent their time in praising God. They were responsible creatures, not robots. Why rebel?

They had a leader in their rebellion -- Lucifer. Matthew 25:41 refers to “the devil and his angels”. Revelation 12:3-4 refers to Satan as a “dragon”, “…and his tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven, and threw them to the earth…”[size=2]. One third of the created angels rebelled with Lucifer, probably numbering in the billions (remember, that leaves twice as many holy angels!).

Here we go- the idea of the rebellion of Satan and the angels... I was curious where it came from. This was one of the big questions I have. Rev 12 says:

7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down–that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Now... I admittedly know little about Revelation. I don't understand it, and I'm skeptical of the eschatology of people who claim to know it well enough that they can put it on a chart... but isn't it primarily prophetic in its apocalyptic language? I'm missing a few pieces of the puzzle here, I know, but why do you understand this passage in Rev 12 as referring to something that happened in the past? :huh:

Thanks Moss- this is interesting.

mossrose

December 23rd 2004, 07:30 PM

but why do you understand this passage in Rev 12 as referring to something that happened in the past? :huh:

If you read this passage in context with Isaiah 14:12ff and Ezekiel 28:11ff, it is referring to the past fall of the angels with Lucifer. I think the Revelation passage is giving a sort of, "I am talking about the dragon, Lucifer, who fell from heaven and took a third of the angels with him" context.

It is talking about the dragon, and making sure that the reader is aware that the dragon is Satan.

mossrose

December 24th 2004, 01:36 PM

I am having issues today with colours and stuff.....:mossrose:

Will post the next bits in a couple of different posts........there will be some stuff coming up here about Satan in Eden, Rando.....

WHO IS SATAN?

Satan is a real, living, personal being, a person. He is the leader of the fallen angels. What evidence is there of his existence?

Philosophically speaking, there is a perfect God, Who has created a perfect world that has somehow become imperfect. Without an adversary, how could this happen? The same God cannot create good, and then stand there and turn out opposition to that which He has purposed. It really doesn’t take a whole lot of logic to figure out that something is in opposition to what God has created.

There is great Biblical evidence for the existence of Satan. The strongest is that Jesus Himself believed in the existence of Satan. The Lord spent 10 verses in Matthew 4 talking to Satan (the temptation in the wilderness). He cast out demons all during His ministry on earth. In John 12:31, Jesus says, speaking to the people after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, that He is in conflict with Satan (“‘Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.’” ). Jesus knew Satan from before time existed. If we cannot take the word of the One Who created Satan, then who is left to believe?

The existence of Satan is taught in seven Old Testament books, and is mentioned by every New Testament author. For example:

Paul -- Ephesians 2:2 -- “…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”.

John --1 John 3:8 -- “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

And 1 John 5:19 -- “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

James -- James 4:7 -- “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Peter -- 1 Peter 5:8 -- “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

The whole of Scripture talks of the existence of Satan and tells us that he is very busy. You cannot believe in God without believing in the existence of Satan. He manifests himself greatly today and his existence cannot be denied.

mossrose

December 24th 2004, 01:38 PM

PERSONHOOD

Angels have personalities. Angels have names. God knows their names and calls them by name. Angels have emotions. They praise God, they defend God and they fight the demons. Angels have the ability to make plans.

Satan is an angel, albeit a corrupt and fallen one. He has a personality, emotions, names. He makes plans, seeking to deceive all of mankind. 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds shall be led astray from the simplicity and purity or devotion to Christ”. Satan can communicate. He spoke to Eve in the garden of Eden; he speaks to people all the time. Satan can choose or desire or will certain things, i.e. he chose to tempt Christ in the wilderness by using certain methods.

Personal pronouns are used to refer to Satan. Ezekiel 28:12-19 gives us a description of how beautiful Lucifer was before he sinned --

“'Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.

By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendour. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.’”

God has given to Satan accountability -- God will judge him because he has violated God’s standards. We find this in the following passages:

Genesis 3:14-15 -- “The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.’"

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

Revelation 20:2 -- “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;”

Revelation 20:10 -- “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Satan has been given proper names:

1. “Annointed cherub that covers” (Ezekiel 28:14-- “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.” ). A high ranking angel (only persons can be ranked).

2. “Prince of this world” (John 14:30 -- “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” KJV ). Ruler of the world system of evil including fallen angels and men.

3. “Prince of the powers of the air” (Ephesians 2:2 -- “…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.” ). Ruler of the empire of the atmosphere.

4. “God of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4 -- “…in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” ). “God” of this era, propagating his evil system.

5. “Prince of demons” or “ruler’ or “chief”(Luke 11:15 -- “But some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.’”) This is a reference to “Beelzebub” or “Beelzebul”, which means, “lord of the flies”. Beelzebub was a Philistine god, and the name was given to Satan.

All of these names speak of a ruler, or rank, authority, power, direction, planning and carrying out of plans, all attributes of personhood.

mossrose

December 27th 2004, 08:48 PM

SPIRIT

Angels are immaterial spirit beings, but are different from God. God is a spirit and is everywhere (omnipresent), but angels are limited and cannot be everywhere at the same time. They have spatial limitations and if they are “here”, they are on their way to somewhere else. Daniel 9:21 says, “while I was speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel…came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering”.

And, in chapter 10, beginning at verse 10, another angel comes to speak to Daniel, saying, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I came in response to your words”.

Sometimes the immaterial beings can materialize and take on a body. They might have wings, as those Isaiah saw in Isaiah 6:2, “Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” ; or they might be very beautiful as those who appeared to Lot in Sodom, so beautiful that the evil men in the city wished to have sexual relations with them when they saw them (Genesis 19:5 -- “…and they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.’" ). Demons materialized and cohabited with women, and the results wer strange giants in the land who were destroyed by the flood (see Genesis 6).

Because angels and demons are created beings, as we are, they are immortal, will live forever, either in the presence of God or exiled from Him.

The highest angel created is a “cherubim”. These angels have the highest rank, and are of such indescribable beauty and power that we cannot even begin to imagine what they are like. Cherubim are the protectors of the holiness of God (Genesis 3:22-24 --“Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever‘-- therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” -- and are sometimes seen proclaiming His grace.

mossrose

December 27th 2004, 08:59 PM

Three chief cherubim are named in Scripture:

1. Gabriel -- his task is to reveal God’s purpose and program for His kingdom. (Luke 1:19 -- “The angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.’” )

2. Michael -- “Superangel”, general of the angelic army, warrior angel (Jude 9 -- “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’")

3. Lucifer -- “Star of the morning”, or “shining one”, or “son of the dawn”, (Isaiah 14:12 -- "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!”). The most glorious of all the angels.

mossrose

December 27th 2004, 09:00 PM

In Ezekiel 28, the prophet is giving a warning to the king of Tyre, but beginning in verse 11, the words are now directed to the power behind the throne of Tyre. A description of Lucifer in all his glory is given:

1. He was made beautiful and perfect and full of wisdom (v. 12 -- "You had the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”)

2. He was in the Presence of God, the sum of all of God’s perfection (v. 13 -- "You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared.”)

3. He occupied a special place of prominence, guarding the throne of God (v. 14 -- "You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.” )

4. He was created perfect in the sense of moral soundness and integrity until he sinned (v. 15 -- "You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.” )

5. When he sinned God cast him out of heaven to the earth (v. 16-17 -- "By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendour. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.”)

(Isaiah 14:12 -- "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations!”)

6. He did not keep his sin to himself, but took one third of the angels with him (Rev. 12:4a -- “And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth…”)

7. God will judge him (Matt. 25:41 -- "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’” )

mossrose

December 29th 2004, 03:27 PM

Isaiah chapter 14 gives us a description of Lucifer’s sin. FIVE times Satan spoke the words, “I will”; his sin was clearly that of pride:

1. He would occupy the throne of God (v. 13a -- "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven…’” )

2. He wanted to usurp God’s authority over the angels; take over as ruler of heaven (v. 13b -- “I will raise my throne above the stars of God,” )

3. Satan wanted to take the place of Messiah (v. 13c -- And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.” )

The assembly is the centre of God’s Kingdom rule (Isaiah 2:2

2 -- “Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it.” ) and also (Psalm 48:2 -- “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King.” )

4. Satan wanted to usurp God’s glory (Isaiah 14:14a -- “'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;”). “Clouds” refer to the glory of God, as “stars” refer to angels, according to most theologians.

5. Satan wanted to be the possessor or heaven and earth (v. 14b -- “I will make myself like the Most High.'“ ). In Hebrew, “El Elyon”, translated as “the strongest strong one”, is a name of God, referring to His strength and sovereignty.

Isaiah 14:15 tells us how God banished Lucifer from heaven, his beauty corrupted, his angels along with himself doomed to the lake of fire forever (fulfilled in Revelation 20). "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.” )

Why did God not destroy Satan when He cast Him out of heaven? He could have destroyed all the rebellious angels then. The world was not in a state of sin then, if it had been created at all at that time. God chose to allow Satan to explore every avenue of his power, to run the limits of his opportunity, from Genesis chapter 3 until the Kingdom, so that rebellion would run its course, and all creation would, once and for all, see that God’s authority can never be usurped and He cannot be dethroned.

And, we are in conflict with evil now in every level of the universe:

1. God and Satan are in conflict -- Satan has access to the throne of God (Job 1:6 -- “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” )

2. There is conflict on the angelic level -- Daniel 10:13 tells us how Michael was sent to free another angel who was detained by a demon -- "‘But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.’” .

Jude 9 mentions how Michael disputed with Satan himself over the body of Moses -- “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’")

3. There is conflict on the human level -- the children of God and the children of Satan fight against each other (John 8:44 -- "‘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.’”)

Satan is active and aggressive in the war against God and God’s purposes in the world today.

mossrose

December 29th 2004, 03:28 PM

AARRRGH! I don't know why the colour keeps changing on me!

When I try to fix it, it makes it worse!

:argh:

So sorry......

mossrose

January 3rd 2005, 10:25 PM

WHAT IS SATAN LIKE?

First of all, Satan is NOT like God:

1. He is not self-existent, he was created. He is a creature.

2. He is not sovereign. He rules the demonic kingdom, but not beyond the boundaries that God has given him. He is, in a sense, in exile on earth and the domain around it. He operates completely within the sphere of God’s allowance. In 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul mentions the “messenger sent from Satan to buffet me -- to keep me from exalting myself!”. Here, God is even using Satan for His own ends, to bring glory to Himself!

3. Satan is not omnipresent (everywhere at one time). (See previous notes under “Spirit”.)

4. Satan is not omnipotent (all-powerful). 1 John 4:4 tells us that “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world”. What comfort this is for believers! Our God is far more powerful than Satan.

5. Satan is not omniscient (all-knowing). He cannot read our thoughts. 1 Peter 1:10-12 says: “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look.” This is saying that there are things which believers know (here, specifically, salvation) which angels do not even know or understand, but into which they “long to look”.

Satan is nothing more than an angel. He can predict our behaviour and knows through our actions and attitudes what is happening inside us. If Satan did know all, there would not be so much confusion in his own kingdom. For example, first he tried to prevent Christ from going to the cross (the temptation in the wilderness; Peter tried to discourage Christ). When these tactics failed, Satan worked overtime to SEND Christ to the cross. If he had known everything, he would have realized that the cross struck his death blow. He is extremely inconsistent.

NAMES AND TITLES THAT DESCRIBE SATAN’S CHARACTER

1. “Satan” is used 52 times in Scripture. For example, Zechariah 3:1-- “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.” ; and Revelation 12:9 -- “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” . “Satan” is Hebrew for “adversary” or “opposer”. Satan is God’s adversary, and the adversary of God’s holy angels and God’s people.

2. “Devil” is used 35 times. It means, “one who slanders” or “one who trips up”. He slanders God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Scriptures, true doctrine, the character of believers, everything that relates itself to God. (See Revelation 12:9 above).

3. “Old Serpent” found in Revelation 12:9 (above), Genesis 3, and 2 Corinthians 11:3 -- “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” . Means “crafty”, “subtle”, “wily”, “deceitful”. He is a subtle deceiver.

4. “Great Dragon” found in Revelation 23:3, 7 and 9 (See v. 9 above). Powerful and destructive, out to destroy.

5. “A Roaring Lion”, 1 Peter 5:8 -- “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour“. Lions roar only when they have their prey, not when they are chasing it! When they roar, it is too late for escape. Satan desires to capture men and devour them in their sin.

6. “Evil One”, John 17:15 -- "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”; 1 John 5:18 -- “We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” . Internal evil personified, a desire to corrupt everyone else as well. Also, “wicked one”.

7. “Abaddon” (Hebrew) or “Apollyon” (Greek), Revelation 9:11 -- “They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.” means “destroyer”. He attempts to destroy every good thing that God ever made, whether through physical death or spiritual death.

8. “Temptor”, Matthew 4 (the temptation of Christ in the wilderness). He entices men to evil.

9. “Accuser”, Revelation 12:10 -- “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” . He is busy accusing believers. Our Lord is our Advocate before God, defending us from Satan’s accusations. See 1 John 2:1 --”My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous…”.

10. “Spirit that works in the children of disobedience”, Ephesians 2:2 -- “…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” . He works in unbelievers, rules in their hearts.

mossrose

January 6th 2005, 11:49 PM

TERMS USED TO DESCRIBE SATAN

1. “Murderer”, John 8:44 -- " 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“. He began his career as a murderer with Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. He entices to murder. He has always tried to wipe out Israel and the Messiah with it. In 2 Kings 11:3, he attempted to wipe out the Messianic line which was down to one small boy, Joash. God protected the Messianic hope, as He did again in Matthew 2, when Herod massacred children in an effort to kill Jesus.

2. “Liar and father of lies”, John 8:44 (see above). He lies ALL the time and can NEVER be believed, and “there is no truth in him”. Revelation 12:9 states that he “deceives the whole world”.

1 John 2:21-23 -- “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.” tells us that all false religion is based on his lies. 1 John 4:1 instructs us to “not believe every spirit, but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God”. Satan tries to direct us into a preoccupation with the occult today to keep us from remembering his covert activities. A séance’ is obvious; a false teacher in a pulpit is subtle. 1 Timothy 4:1 refers to ‘seducing” or “deceitful spirits”, which is overt activity; “doctrine of demons speaking lies in hypocrisy” refers to covertly spreading lies, propounded by intelligent, well-educated, well-received people, ie. Mahatma Ghandi.

mossrose

January 6th 2005, 11:53 PM

SOME OF SATAN’S BEST LIES

a. Genesis 3:1 -- “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" “God is a cosmic killjoy”. God just loves to put people into frustrating situations, or lay down the Mosaic Law that no one can possibly keep.

b. Genesis 3:4 -- “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die!’” “God is a liar”. Satan tells us that God won’t really care if we sin because we are under grace. God won’t chastise us.

c. Job 1:6-11 -- “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’

The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.’

Then Satan answered the LORD, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about 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. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.’" “Believers are materialistic”. We only serve God because of the blessing He showers upon us.

d. Job 1:10-11 (see above). “Trouble in the life of a believer will bring about his defection”. God is a patronizer and keeps His followers by giving them good things.

e. Job 2:1-5 -- “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. The LORD said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’

f. Matthew 4:3 -- “And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’" “God does miracles to satisfy the physical”. God is a “cosmic genie”, a “supernatural magician”. Satan can do miracles to counterfeit God and we think they are from God. We look for these things and they captivate our minds. This is only doubt looking for proof, not faith.

g. Matthew 4:5-6 -- “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" “Exploit God’s promises”. It is ok to misrepresent what God says.

</P>

</P>

mossrose

January 6th 2005, 11:57 PM

Terms Used to Describe Satan, continued......

3. “Sinner”, 1 John 3:8 -- “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil“. He is a habitual, continual sinner. He entices others to sin. Jesus came not only to remove sin, but to destroy Satan.

4. “Oppressor of the saints”, 1 Peter 5:8 -- “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour “. He constantly stalks and oppresses, and tries to trap saints in sin.

5. “Perverter”. He has perverted everything that God has made: sex, alcohol, food (1 Timothy 4:3-4 -- “…men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;”. Some spiritual systems believe that spirituality is based on what they eat, ie. Vegetarians, Jewish dietary laws. The other extreme is gluttony (v. 4). Nothing is outside the boundary of Satan’s perversion.

6. “Imitator”, 2 Corinthians 11:13 -- “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ”. Satan mimics God. Good, upright, honest, respectful, religious men teach false doctrine under the guise of true religion. Satan appears as “angel of light” and beautiful. The Antichrist is portrayed in Revelation 6:2 (“I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer”) as appearing very much like Christ in Revelation 19:11 -- “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”

Amazing Rando

January 7th 2005, 02:37 AM

Thanks Moss- this is a good reference.

mossrose

January 7th 2005, 12:39 PM

I hope you aren't sick of it yet.......:teeth:

There is more.

But the issues with the font colour changes are making me nuts!!!

:doh:

mossrose

January 13th 2005, 01:41 PM

4. He oppresses his own people by:

a. Lusts: Romans 1:24-32 tells us how the body, the heart and the mind are all corrupted and abandoned to their lusts. “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonoured among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

b. Sickness: Diseases propagated by Satan and his demons are portraye all through Scripture.

c. Mental illness: Mark 5:1-20 tells us of the man possessed by many demons who caused him to do strange things and hurt himself, and Mark 9:17ff tells us of the man possessed by a demon that made him suicidal.

d. Death: In Revelation 18:2-3, Satan is destroying his own world system -- “And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.’"

Revelation 9:13ff demonstrates how demons are released from the pit to destroy one third of mankind.

5. He works at politicking. He infiltrates governments and nations. See Daniel 10; Ezekiel 28; Isaiah 14; Ephesians 6:12 -- “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

mossrose

January 13th 2005, 02:06 PM

HOW DOES SATAN WORK IN BELIEVERS? (EXPECT THESE!)

1. By creating doubts and struggles as he did with Eve in Genesis 3. He causes us to doubt God, His Word, His goodness, His concern, His love, and our security.

2. By motivating persecution. He loves to persecute the Church, and loved and continues to love to persecute Israel. See Revelation 2:9-10 -- “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

3. He hinders service. He doesn’t want us to do God’s work. 1 Thess. 2:18 -- “For we wanted to come to you--I, Paul, more than once--and yet Satan hindered us.” -- tells us how Satan hindered Paul from coming to Thessalonica -- more than once! The more effective the ministry, the more Satan wants to prevent it. See 2 Cor. 12:9-10 -- “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. ‘Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

4. He infiltrates the church:

a. Through phony Christians who are really Satan’s people and who worm their way into leadership. See Matthew 13:37-43 -- “And He said, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.’”

b. Through division -- 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 -- “But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree--in order not to say too much--to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” -- tells of the man who had caused trouble and had been disciplined under Paul’s advice. Now Paul says that the discipline has been effective and he should be brought back into the fellowship in forgiveness and love, or he will despair and be driven into sorrow. An overabundance of sound doctrine without love will split the church, just as too much love and not enough sound doctrine results in confusion.

mossrose

January 13th 2005, 02:09 PM

5. He tempts us to sin:

a. He causes us to trust in our own resources instead of the Spirit of God. In 1 Chronicles 21, David’s action in numbering Israel demonstrated his reliance on the number of warriors rather than on God. God was displeased and struck Israel. Put on the armour of God to prevent this (Ephesians 6:10-18).

b. He tempts us to lose faith in God. In Luke 22:31-32a -- "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail;” --Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked permission to separate him from his faith, but Jesus has prayed for him that his faith will be strong. 1 Peter 5:8-9 and Ephesians 6:16 encourage us to keep our faith strong.

c. He tempts us to lie. See Acts 5:3 -- “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?’”

d. He tempts us to immorality and uses today’s media as an agency, among other things. 1 Cor. 7:5 -- “Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self- control.” -- warns husbands and wives to stop depriving each other from intimacy so that they will not fall into temptation.

e. He tempts us to be preoccupied with the world. 1 John 2:15-16 -- “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” and 2 Timothy 4:10 -- “…for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.” -- warn us not to be beguiled by the world.

f. He tempts us to be proud. Sometimes a high position in church leadership is a dangerous thing. We are warned to be careful when choosing our leadership in 1 Timothy 3:2-6 -- “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

g. He tempts us to be discouraged and give up. 1 Peter 5:10 --encourages us to remember that no matter how bad things look, our “God of all grace, Who called us to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish us”.

mossrose

January 13th 2005, 02:10 PM

WHAT IS OUR DEFENSE AGAINST SATAN?

1. The present intercessory work of Christ (John 17:15-- "‘I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one’”. ).

2. The believer should never speak of Satan contemptuously (Jude 8-9 --“Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’" ).

3. The believer should be on guard (1 Peter 5:8 -- “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”).

4. The believer should take a stand against Satan (James 4:7 -- “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”).

5. The believer should use his armour (Ephesians 6:11-18 -- “Put on the full armour of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armour of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…” ).

It is clear that we are up against a formidable enemy. We must remember, however, that Satan is already a defeated foe! He was bested at Calvary, and his judgement will be pronounced at our Lord’s return. Until that day, we must follow the apostle Paul’s advice and be on our guard, and pray fervently for the Day of the Lord!

SOURCES:

John Macarthur -- “Satan and Angels” tape series

Charles C. Ryrie -- NASB Study Bible

NOTE: All Scripture used is NASB unless otherwise indicated.