Who
is the Devil?
C.S.
Lewis wrote, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can
fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to
believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They
themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or
magician with the same delight" (C.S. Lewis. The
Screwtape Letter. 1941, p. 3). This is certainly true about Satan.
Some people totally dismiss him as an impersonal force or somebody in a red suit
with a pitchfork. On the other end of the spectrum, many people attribute too
much power and importance to Lucifer. They feel that he is God's equal. What
does the Bible teach about Satan?
the
origin of Satan
1.
Two
passages in the Old Testament help us with the origin of the Devil.
"How
you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been
cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in
your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the
stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost
heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the
clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. But you are brought
down to the grave, to the depths of the pit" (Isaiah. 14:12-15 NIV).
"The
word of the LORD came to me: 'Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king
of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'You were
the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in
Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and
emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your
settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were
prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You
were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were
blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found
in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you
sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O
guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account
of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I
threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your
sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I
reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All
the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more'"
( Ezekiel
28:11-19 NIV).
In
these passages we can see that Satan was originally a high ranking angelic being
who was extremely beautiful and wise. He was given a position of power and
influence; however, due to his pride he wanted to take the place of God. He
sinned and was cast out of heaven.
2.
Satan wasn't the only person to rebel against God. In Revelation we read that
a third of all the angels in Heaven followed after Satan and rebelled against
God.
"Then
another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and
ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars
out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the
woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the
moment it was born" (Revelation 12:3-4 NIV).
"And
there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and
they lost their place in heaven. The 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. Then I heard a
loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and
the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of
our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled
down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the
earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with
fury, because he knows that his time is short'" (Revelation 12:7-12 NIV).
3.
In the Old Testament Satan's primary agenda was to destroy the messianic line
(Ester, Exodus, Nations against Israel, etc.).
4. When
the Messiah (Jesus) came, Satan tried to destroy him and to divert him from his
true purpose for coming to earth: the cross. (See also Matthew
4:1-11).
"She
gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an
iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The
woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she
might be taken care of for 1,260 days" (Revelation 12:5-6 NIV).
"When
the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman
who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of
a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the
desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time,
out of the serpent's reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water
like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But
the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river
that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth" (Revelation 12:13-16 NIV)
the
Devil's agenda
5.
Today the Devil is aware that he has but a short time on this earth; and thus,
his agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy.
Steal - steal
away the Christian's joy
Destroy - destroy
the Christian's witness and trust in God
Kill - the
Devil would like to like to kill every Christian if possible
"Then
the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the
rest of her offspring, those who obey God's commandments and hold to the
testimony of Jesus" (Revelation 12:17 NIV).
"The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10 NIV).
Satan's
Tactics
6.
Satan has been very successful in deceiving and tempting mankind. He seems to
operate by the old adage: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Bible gives
us Satan's strategies so that we can be prepared to resist him. The Devil
likes to tempt us in three areas:
The
lust of the Flesh
The
lust of the Eyes
The
Pride of Life
"For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John
2:16 KJV).
Two case studies are given to us in Genesis 3:1-6 and
Matthew 4:1-11.
How
To Successfully Resist the Devil
6.
The Bible tells us to "Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you." James
4:7 (NIV) The best way I know to resist the Devil is to know the word of God.
Memorize it, meditate on it, and guard it with your heart. Here are some
examples of Satan's one-liners and how to successfully resist them using the
word of God. The following examples are taken from The web page of Harvest Ministries at http://harvest.org/.
"Go
ahead and sin, no one will know."
"All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give
account." (Hebrews 4:13)
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked..." (Galatians
6:7)
"...be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers
32:23)
"God
will not forgive you."
"If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
"God
condemns you!"
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus..."
(Romans 8:1)
"You're
not going to make it. I'll get you. You'll fall again!"
"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall
anyone snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:2)
"Being confident of this very thing, the He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians
1:6)
Conclusion
Obviously there is a whole lot more that could be said concerning our Adversary
(like his different names, characteristics, etc.), than what's been covered in
this brief lesson. The thing that we need to keep in mind is that the Devil is a
real, literal, powerful foe that was defeated at the cross of Calvary. One day
he will be cast in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:1-15).
In Romans 16:20 Paul gives the following exhortation
to the Roman believers: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your
feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you."
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