Satan

RV157-01

Lucifer

Satan

The Lake of Fire

Satan is a Liar

Satan in this Scripture, we are told, would indeed bruise the heel of Christ, which meant that He would die on the cross, but Jesus Christ would deliver a mortal blow to the head of Satan, which is what He did on the cross. The Lord Jesus thus would save believing sinners from the lake of fire, who did nothing more than to trust in Him to save them. God, who is a God of truth, kept His word.

Since that time, Satan has, in one way or another, been trying to deceive the human race about the meaning of this great event which we call Christmas. What Christmas is all about is the coming of the Savior of Jesus Christ. But this is the one thing that Satan does not want people to know about. He lies to people about the fact that Jesus Christ is the only way into eternal life in heaven. He has created a variety of religions in the human race, all of which have their own saviors and their own ways of salvation, none of which will work. It is important for us to be aware of the fact that today Satan is lying in a more desperate way than he has ever before, and that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ, no matter what all of the rest of the world may say.

The world is now under an enormous satanic deception. We have young men and women in Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East, standing on the verge of a great war – a war which will indeed be devastating in its enormity and its consequences of death. And for questionable purposes as it may be, one would think that on this occasion, the significance of Christmas would be prominently promoted among American troops. But instead, Americans are told, "Don't expect great Christmas celebrations. Don't expect great Christmas programs. This would offend our host country for whom we have come to die – the Arab nations and their oil fields."

You tell yourselves, "This is too crazy. Americans wouldn't do that. Why would Americans say, 'We want you men to stop holding these Bible studies that you're carrying on in your tents? We want to keep your Bibles out of sight. The Bibles promote Jesus Christ, who is offensive to the Arabs. Why would American military forces subject themselves to that? Why would American leadership do that?" It is because we have a national government that wants to become integrated in a world government. Satan is pulling the thing together that he's always wanted to do. You cannot have a world government if you don't have a unified world religion. And you can't have a unified world religion around Jesus Christ. He is the offense to all Arabs; to all Jews; to all Buddhists; to every New Ager; and, to most everybody in the world. He is an offense to most of the human race. So, don't talk about Him.

Why are American soldiers being told to pull the American flag patch off their uniforms that they wear on their arm sleeves? Did you ever stop and wonder about that: "Take those American flags off your shoulder patches." Why? Because when you walk around with an American patch on your shoulder, people will think you're representing the United States instead of the United Nations. The reason the patches are being ripped off is because we are under a United Nations flag, because we are engaged in an enormous satanic exercise of world unity as the immediate preparation for world government.

If you don't think that you are living in dramatic times, and that big things are going to happen within your lifetime, you should see your doctor immediately tomorrow, because there's something wrong with you. You are out of touch with reality. Things are rolling so fast. I get into contact with people who are kind enough and who are in sensitive places. (Why? I'll never know.) My phone rings things; I receive things through the mail and other information sources; and I receive tapes that are not widely available. All of this keeps coming to me all of a sudden. Things that I have found out this past week, I wouldn't even dare tell you. They are so outlandish that you would think that I was one of the all-time great flakes indeed. And yet, they are from people who know what they're talking about. Until I can get a better grip, and really confirm that some of these things are what have taken place (and I don't doubt for one moment myself that they have), I'm reluctant even to mention it so that it gets on tape, or so you hear it. But I can tell you that they're awesome.

There's a power in this world; he is the archenemy of God; he has moved into high gear; he is bringing the world rapidly into his religious system and into his political system; and, most Americans are too stupid and too uninformed of Scripture to be able to put together why an American patch is just torn off of a uniform, and why Christmas celebrations are subdued. They haven't caught on to what is going on.

War in Heaven

Satan today has access to the third heaven, the very throne room of God. He comes in there, by God's requirement, to report periodically on what he has been doing, and he comes there by choice in order to accuse Christians in their sin. Particularly if you are a Christian who bears a prominent place of some influence, your name (you may count on it) is being mentioned before the throne of God, in accusation on the lips of Satan when you fail to obey the Word of God and the will of God, and do not immediately cover your tracks with the confession to maintain your position of fellowship with the Lord. The believer, of course, is secure in his salvation. He is secure in his destiny to heaven. But like the prodigal son, he may be led into sin by listening to Satan's human agents who pass on the lies of their master. This great, angelic war in heaven takes place, and dramatic consequences immediately are unfolded.

The Bible reveals that Satan has authority over all nations. He directs all government policies. Satan, through unregenerate men, or through carnal Christians, determines the policies says of nations. We have this reflected in the Old Testament in the statement in 1 Samuel 16:13-15: "Then Samuel took the horn and oil, and anointed him (David) in the midst of his brothers. And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward, and Samuel arose and went to Ramah. Now the spirit of the Lord departed from soul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. Saul's servants then said to him, 'Behold, now an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.'"

Here we have a divine judgment as to who is going to be the head of the Jewish nation. When the Jews were finally permitted to select a king, they selected somebody from the tribe of Benjamin, which was not the royal tribe. God always intended for the Jewish people to have a king. That was made clear in the Old Testament. But the problem was that they chose the wrong tribe, and they chose the wrong time. They insisted on their own timing, and it was the wrong time for a king. So, they chose Saul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin, and he proved to be a real disaster.

However, God's in charge. Here God said, "Samuel, let's set the thing up right now. I will not put the right man on the throne. I am the one who determines who rules over nations. And David is going to rule over this people. You go and perform the ceremony of anointing." And at that point in time, one of the demon angels, that also reports to heaven, was dispatched by God, gritting through his teeth and hating it every moment. He was dispatched by God to now terrorize Saul, who had committed himself to antagonism toward God, and had disobeyed God on the occasion of the destruction of the Amalekites, thereby having committed the sin unto death, and was now doomed to die.

Spiritual powers govern the politics, the social policies, and the economies of nations. Never make a mistake about that. Spiritual forces of evil govern the economy of the United States. Spiritual forces of evil govern the political scene of the United States. Spiritual forces of evil govern the social Paul says of the United States. Satan is in charge. Wars and conflicts on earth are simply the expressions of opposing spiritual forces. This is a struggle between light and darkness.

We have this exemplified in 1 Kings 22:19-22. Wars are spiritual conflicts expressed on earth: "And Micaiah said, 'Therefore here the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on His right and on His left.'" This is the occasion when Ahab, the very wicked king of the northern kingdom of Israel, had talked Jehoshaphat (a comparatively godly man, ruling over the southern kingdom of Judah) into joining him in a battle that was gathering at a place called Ramoth-Gilead. Jehoshaphat should not have gone into this. It almost cost him his life, but God said that He was going to use this occasion to take the life of Ahab.

Ahab had been consulting with the prophets, and the prophets of God were telling him the truth: "Don't go. You're going to fail. It will be a disaster." He didn't like the reports, and he kept trying to get someone to tell him what he wanted to hear. Now, Micaiah, the true man of God, sees what is really going on. Here is heaven, and here is God's throne room, filled, on the right hand with the holy angels of God; and, on the left hand, the demon angels are standing there at this convocation. The Lord Yahweh says, "'Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' And one said this while another said that." God is getting advice from the angels: "Let them in, and let's discuss this. How are we going to get Ahab to take bad advice, to go into this battle, and he'll get killed?" By a random shot of an arrow that somebody just shoots in the air, and, of all things, it hits him in an unlikely chink of his armor in a vital place, and by the end of the day, he's dead.

Well, He got all kinds of opinions, and then notice verse 21: "A demon spirit stepped forward, stood before the Lord, and said, 'I will entice him.' And the Lord said to him, 'How?" And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then he said, 'You are to entice him, and also prevail. Go and do so. The demon says, "I'll do what I do best. I'll lie. There's one thing we demons know how to do, and that is to lie. We've all gone to lying school. Our master runs lying 101 and 102, and I have a Master's Degree in lying. I'm good at it. I'll con him. He'll believe me. I'll take his advisers, and I'll instill in their minds to tell the king to go to battle." That's how the devil works. He instills in your mind the wrong thing to do. If doctrine doesn't counter it, you're dead.

Along comes this demon spirit, and God says, "OK. We'll use your plan. Go do your work." You see, a sovereign God controls everything. He is in charge of everything that Satan does, and of all the demons, and He uses evil to work His ends. God uses His creation and human leaders to carry out His plans by their response to demons or to the holy angels.

The spiritual warfare in heavenly places also affects what goes on on earth. That's our point. What happens in the spiritual warfare in heaven affects things on earth. An example of that is in Daniel 10:1, which is a fascinating part of the Word of God. It exemplifies that the themes of spiritual warfare in heavenly places affect the things on earth: "In the third year of Cyrus, King of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who is named Belshazzar. And the message was true, and one of great conflict. But he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth. Nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed."

Daniel has been given a vision concerning the suffering that is in store for the Jewish people. He has been given a vision not only of the near suffering, but he has been given a vision for the ultimate long-range suffering over the centuries, and the enormous suffering to take place in the tribulation. Daniel is greatly upset by this, and he asks God for some further information. And Daniel is a prophet. He is used to talking to God, and operating on God's system, as He operated in those days. He is used to calling God up; to receiving an answer; and, to be given guidance. It was a wonderful system – when God used direct communication to prophets.

So, Daniel knows that when he comes in a proper way to God for information, he's going to get the information. A whole day goes by, and nothing happens. Several days go by, and nothing happens. A week has gone by, and nothing happens. And Daniel begins wondering, "What's wrong here?" Two weeks go by. 21 days have gone by, and not a whisper from God with whom he communicates regularly. Daniel doesn't know what is going on. What he doesn't know is that there's a warfare in heaven involving the angelic messenger who was sent with the answer, and that this warfare is affecting what is happening on earth; namely, that Daniel is not getting the word back.

Verse 4: "On the 24th day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and, behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. His body was like beryl, and his face had the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of tumult. Now I, Daniel alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision. Nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves."

Daniel sees a magnificent angel, and he is afraid. But the people with him don't see the angel, and yet they sense that something dramatic is taking place. They're awed by something that they can't put their finger on, and they run away to hide themselves, and leave Daniel alone.

Verse 8: "So, I was left alone and saw this great vision. Yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. But I heard the sound of his words, and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face with my face to the ground. Then, behold, a hand touched me, and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, 'Oh, Daniel, a man of high esteem, understand the words that I'm 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 in humbling yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.'"

Daniel must think to himself, "But that was three weeks ago that I directed my words to God, and I haven't heard anything. Yet this angelic being says, "We heard you right off the bat, the minute the words were out of your mouth. But the prince of the Kingdom of Persia, a demon spirit who governed the nation of Persia at that time, was withstanding me for 21 days. Then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia."

What you have here is the picture of this powerful angel. This may be Gabriel. Gabriel is often used as the angel to carry and transmit messages from God. But this angel who is carrying the message was confronted by a more powerful force of demonic, angelic beings. And he could not break through. He fought them, with all the power and the great, enormous capacity that angels have for combat, for three weeks. And he could not break out of the encirclement that had been placed about him. What was required was an angel of greater power – of a higher rank. So, Michael the Archangel and the guardian angel of the people of Israel came through; broke the blockade; and, after three weeks, permitted the angel messenger (perhaps Gabriel) to come on through with the message. The demon prince, which had been governing Persia, had prevented the delivery of this message. So, Michael fought him.

Verse 14: "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."

Verse 15: "And 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, 'Oh my Lord, as a result of the vision, anguish has come upon me, and I retain 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. And he said, 'Oh, 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.'" Daniel was so taken aback by all this, and he was so overwhelmed by the sufferings in the vision that God had given him that were ahead for the people of Israel, that he was simply beside himself, and emotionally washed up. The angel strengthens him.

Then in verse 20: "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'm going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come (another demon angel governing Greece). However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.'"

Daniel 11:1: "In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.

So, this interesting passage of Scripture then goes on and gives details from this angel concerning what is coming ahead for the people of God. But the point is that it is very clear that there are angelic forces, between the demon angels and the angels of God, which govern what goes on on this earth, and which influence what goes on in this earth. And when we see wars on this earth, we should also be aware that it is probably an expression of a spiritual warfare in heaven itself.

Well, Michael and his angels know that Satan and the demons are doomed in the end. They're losers. They have lost the angelic warfare. They don't fear Satan, but they do respect his power. That's the problem. Satan, once had a great deal of power that he used in the right way. Now it has become a very loathsome evil creature, and he still has the power. That's why, in Jude 9, we read the interesting statement about when Moses died. You could read about Moses' death in Deuteronomy 3:4-6. Moses was not permitted to go to the Promised Land, so God led him up on a mountain to die. The question became: who was going to be the mortician for this man now? Something had to be done with the body of Moses. Satan came on the scene and said, "I want it. I want the body of Moses. I can use this body as a relic. I can make a religious relic out of him."

This is something like what the Russians have done with Lenin, who lies in a tomb in Moscow, in a glass-enclosed case. You can walk in there, and look on the face and the body of their savior, Lenin, who brought them the workers' paradise of communism that they loved so much. Moses would have been a terrific relic.

The Roman Catholics love this. They love to get the bones of saints, or the big toes of a high priest or somebody that they can worship, and get carried away with, and get them toward God. A toenail drives them crazy if it came from one of the feet of the apostles.

So, Satan knows how to work with the stupidity of man. He wanted the body of Moses to use as a religious relic. God sent Michael to take the body, and secretly to bury it, and to remove it from the control of Satan entirely. When Michael got there, he found Satan standing over him with a shining, bright white sword in hand, ready to do battle. Michael knows this guy is doomed. Michael knows he's a loser. Michael knows that the time is going to come when he and Satan are going to face each other in a climactic battle, and it's all going to be settled forever. But he also knows that Satan is an enormously powerful creature.

So, here in the book of Jude, we have a little insight of what took place on that mountain in that confrontation. And 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 he said, "The Lord rebukes you." Michael could have said a lot of abusive things to Satan, and gotten away with it. But instead, Michael says, "The Lord rebukes you, and Lord will deal with you. Now get out of my way. I'm going to execute my mission." And indeed, the power of God came, and moved Satan out of the way. And Michael took that body, and buried it secretly, out of reach of Satan.

What we have in Revelation 12:7 is this final battle in heaven, which is now taking place between the angels of God and the angels of Satan. There was war in heaven between the good angels and evil angels in middle of the tribulation. In the meantime, Satan, before this war comes about, today, is attacking the work of God on earth, which is being done by spiritual Christians who are members of the church, the royal family of God. In Revelation 12:8-9, we have the outcome of this war described for us.

Verse 8 says, "And they (the demonic forces) were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found them in heaven. The word "they were not" is the Greek word "ou." This is the strong negative. They found that they are absolutely no match for the angels of God under the leadership of their General, Michael. They simply were not strong enough. And what this word "strong enough" means is that they simply did not have the strength. They did not have the combat strength to overwhelm Michael and the angels of God.

Satan and his demon forces have been defeated from the day that their coup failed in heaven. Since then, God has tolerated Satan's presence in heaven. God has allowed Satan to come into the throne room. God has allowed the demons to come into the throne room. He has allowed Satan to run his course of evil, and to establish clearly his moral guilt. The weapons and the tactics of the angelic warfare are not known to us. We know that angels have enormous powers and abilities. An angel can move a whole mountain. Angels have unbelievable capacities, but angels, in some way, can subdue other angels. They have some kind of weapons where their strength can be used against opposing angels.

Well, this is going to be a battle royale of powerful warriors which we Christians will view from heaven, and God gives the victory to Michael. This loss to Michael will humiliate and enrage Satan beyond imagination. So, we are told that there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. There was not any single place open for them. So, suddenly, Satan is denied access to the third heaven. Yes, he can wander around in the interstellar spaces of the second heaven. Yes, he can wander around in the atmosphere of the earth, which is the first heaven. He can be in the first and second heaven, but now the throne room of God, the third heaven – he is completely removed from that. He loses the battle, and now, he who could walk into heaven in the mid-tribulation, suddenly finds that his period of toleration is at an end. God, would had pronounced sentence upon Satan so many centuries ago (the sentence of deliverance to the lake of fire) now begins to execute that sentence.

The first stage is to deny him access to heaven, and to put him down to the earth. Now he can no longer assail, before God, the saints of God in heaven. Suddenly he is banished from the presence of God, and like a lightning bolt, he is thrown out of heaven. This is what it appears like when Satan is literally thrown from heaven to the earth. This is what Jesus referred to in Luke 10:18. There, in preview, Jesus said, "I saw (that is, prophetically, Jesus saw) Satan fall from heaven like a bolt of lightning."

Now Satan is going to be limited to the earth as the sphere of his activities. Satan said that he would ascend into the third heaven and replace God. He said that this is what he was going to do. You can read about that in Isaiah 14:13-14. Instead of rising to that third heaven to replace God, he's booted out of heaven, and he's eventually going to end up in hell. So, he goes from heaven to earth. From the earth, he's going to be pitched into the pit of the abyss. Revelation 20:1-3 tell us that. And from the earth, he'll be removed to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

So, it's going by stages. God is executing his judgment in three stages: First of all, Satan is now (in the middle of the tribulation) booted out of heaven, and he can only operate on the earth. Then, after the tribulation is over, he'll be taken off of the earth, and put into the pit of the abyss (a holding tank) for the 1,000 years of the millennium. At the end of the millennium, he'll be taken out, and after one more attempt of trying to rally forces against God, he will be taken and forever put into the lake of fire. And thus God's sentence will have been fully executed. Satan has proven to be a mighty being, but God is almighty. Satan's ambition to be like God is totally devastated.

Now Satan realizes, when this happens to him, that the rest of the story is bound up in just three-and-a-half years. He knows the Daniel's timetable. He knows that the tribulation has ticked off three-and-a-half years. He knows that he is now three-and-a-half years away from the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and from being put into the pit of the abyss.

It was the Lord Himself who, on the cross, laid the groundwork (the basis) for this total destruction of the works of Satan. In 1 John 3:8, we have this stated: "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: that He might destroy the works of the devil."

In time, all the traces of Satan's evil is going to be removed from creation because God is going to create a new heaven in a new earth. All of the places where Satan never roamed and never touched (and thus was contaminated in some degree) is going to be remade. 2 Peter 3:10-13 and Revelation 21:1 tell us about the creation of this new heaven and this new earth. So, the battle is over. Satan is thrown out of heaven. There is no room found for him.

The Names of Lucifer

A Dragon

Now to people who know their way around in Scripture, when they saw E.T. (the extraterrestrials coming in), and this creature that the little boy became so attached to, and this creature that had such marvelous, miraculous powers for good – this was an attempt to acclimate you to taking a dragon to your bosom. A dragon is reptilian, and he is a hideous creature. This symbol for Lucifer, is particularly used in connection with his control of human governments. He controls human governments as a beast (as a loathsome reptilian). The Bible tells us that this dragon is thrown down. The Greek word is "ballo." This is the word which is used when you throw a ball, and Satan is thrown out of heaven like a ball. He is simply expelled. The dragon Lucifer is bodily thrown out of heaven along with his demons. This is the fulfillment, as we indicated, of Luke 10:18 – Jesus seeing Satan expelled from heaven.

Everybody in heaven who views this dramatic expulsion is going to rejoice that the bad guy of the universe has finally been brought down. Talk about a stadium of people watching an athletic event who burst out in a frenzy of cheers! You can imagine what's going to happen in heaven when all of the people who have suffered martyrdom during the tribulation; all of the Christians who are up there; and, all of the people of God from the Old Testament who are in heaven watching this scene, and finally seeing Michael come to physical grips with Satan; lift him over his head; and, throw him toward the earth like a bolt of lightning. And all of his demons are sucked in with him, in his tail wind, as he goes down to the earth. And heaven's doors are permanently and forever closed against them. This is going to be one dramatic event, and the world of believers up there is going to cheer.

Serpent

Eve, it seems to me, was a little flaky right here. She had not had the experience of talking with animals before. And, all of a sudden, a creature comes slithering out (perhaps at that time, and we suspect, walking in an upright form). He comes up and says, "Hey, Eve. How are you doing?" Most women would suspect: "That's kind of funny. A talking snake? I never talked with any of the animals. I mean, there's no Doctor Doolittle up here to work out the problem of talking to the animals. This is something goofy." Instead of being on her guard, and backing off, and saying, "I can't talk with you until my husband gets home from the office," she just goes right on and talks with him, because she swallowed the whole deceit. And that's one of the things about Lucifer: He is the great deceiver.

Verse 4: "And the serpent said to the woman (that is, serpent Lucifer said), 'You shall not die, for God knows that in the day that you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil.'" Lucifer says, "You'll finally realize that you are like God. You'll realize what Shirley MacLaine has found out – that she is God. Isn't that wonderful? God is trying to keep you down, Eve. Bite the fruit. Get your husband to eat it. You'll be glad you did.'"

What the name "serpent" does is stress the subtlety of Lucifer, in causing people to get trapped in sin, and then to experience the suffering. It is like the people who get trapped with drugs, and then wonder how they could have ever been so foolish, when the suffering follows.

It is, of course, not without reason that ancient cultures regularly represent their chief god with the figure of a serpent. Just go down to some of the Aztec and Mayan ruins in Mexico, and you will see this clearly displayed. Everywhere, repeatedly, in those ruins, you'll find the carvings and the images of a serpent, because that represented their god, and indeed it was their god, Lucifer.

People who do not think that Lucifer is a real person are themselves victims of his subtlety.

The Devil

The primary characteristic of Lucifer is to propagate falsehoods, but remember that these are falsehoods which are wrapped in truth. Do you realize that nine-tenths of a can of rat poison is good, nutritious food? It's only one-tenth that has the fatal poison in it. The good stuff is what attracts the rat. It smells good to him; it tastes good to him; it satisfies hunger; and, it puts out his lights, just because of the one-tenth of the poison that was in it. So, the next time you're a little short of food, get a can of rat poison. Just pick out the bad stuff, and you can eat the rest. It's good food. It won't hurt you. Do you want to try that?

The whole world does it all the time, with all the lies that Satan gives. His lies are always wrapped up in truth, and people do not understand because they are not oriented to doctrine. They do not understand a truth that is slanted, so that they spot the poison. His primary characteristic is to propagate falsehoods wrapped in truth.

It was a lie, which, of course, was used to deceive Eve into using her volition to sin against God. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tells us that she was deceived by that lie. Lucifer's deception of Eve was also, by the way, an act of murder. It was an act of spiritual and physical murder. Here in John 8:44, Jesus points out that this liar is also the original murderer. All the false things that people believe about God are the work of the devil.

Then finally, there is the name that is so familiar to us. This also is brought in: the name "satanas." This word means "adversary," and it stresses Lucifer's opposition to God and all that God represents. Lucifer is public enemy number one of both God and man. Anything in our society today which is compatible with the will of God is attacked by Satan. Satan hates God, and he is devoted to frustrating the plans of God.

This array of names of Lucifer makes clear the identity of the one who has been thrown out of heaven: "The great dragon, thrown down, the serpent of old, who is called the devil, the slanderer, and liar, and Satan, the adversary of God, and who deceives the whole world." This is the one who pretends to look good while destroying those who follow him.

In 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, the people who listen to Satan appear to be angels of light (of truth). 1 Peter 5:5 says, "Satan is walking around, trying to see which of you are going to be foolish enough (careless enough) to let him get you. The only defense that a person has against Lucifer is doctrine in your human spirit, and maintaining your position of temporal fellowship, so that God the Holy Spirit can lead you with the truth of the Word of God.

What Satan does is that he proceeds to deceive the whole world. The word "deceive" looks like this "planao." This word means to create a false impression. It connotes seducing somebody by leading them into error. In Ephesians 4:22, we have the expression "the lusts of deceit;" that is, the lusts the old sin nature which are incited to be expressed by the deceit of Satan. Satan is constantly going around saying, "It's OK to indulge your lusts. It's OK, even if those break the moral laws of God. It won't hurt you. Satan is going around, and he is deceiving the whole world. This is a different word for "world" than we usually have. It is not the "kosmos" world. It's the word "oikoumene" means "the inhabited earth." So, what he deceives is specifically human beings – individual persons of society. These deceived human beings then act upon the deceit of Satan with policies that are a destruction to society as a whole.

"And he has led nations of the world to oppose (to ignore and to disobey) God." And he does this through individuals that he deceives. So, Satan is the great deceiver. When he is put into the pit of the abyss during the 1,000 years, Revelation 20:3 points out that one of the reasons for this is to stop him from deceiving the leaders of the world's nations: "And threw him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer until the 1,000 years were completed."

Today, people look for guidance from prominent figures in society, who themselves are deceived by Satan. People look to John Lennon. People look to Shirley MacLaine. People look to Carl Sagan, who says, "In the beginning was the cosmos. There never was anything but the cosmos. There never shall be anything but the cosmos." What is he telling us? He is saying, "The cosmos is God. The material world is God." And we all listen to him as the great man of science.

Lucifer makes fools of people at all levels of society. He makes fools of the smart ones, and of the stupid ones; of the high IQs, and of the low IQs, by deceiving them; of the educated, and of the ignorant; of the rich, and of the poor; of the gifted, and the talentless; and, of the sincere, and of the hypocrite. Satan makes fools of them all. Human reason claims that it can discern truth from falsehood, and it comes up with humanism as the epitome of the truth, which is the worst falsehood of all.

It was not so long ago that I had a man who looked me eye-to-eye and said, "I can look like any other human being in myself, and I know what is right and what is wrong," and he was doing a lot of things that were wrong, if you use the standard of Scripture. Why would he say that? He's no dummy. He's smart. He said that because he has been deceived by Satan to think that he has the capacity in himself, without having to go to the standard of the Word of God to match it up, to know what is the right thing to do, and what is the wrong thing. And what he is doing is everything in life that he should not be doing, by the standards of the Word of God.

All of the human philosophies, that the great thinkers of the world have come up with, are nothing but bunko games of Satan. The human agents of Satan are put on the front of culture; of cordiality; and, of concern. But at heart, these agents are uncouth; they're hateful; and, they're self-centered.

Satan is pitched out of heaven. Then verse 9 closes with the statement that he is thrown down to the earth. He is limited now to that sphere of operation for the last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation. And his angels, the demons, are thrown down with him. What a dramatic ending to the one who said, "I shall be like the Most High."

Satan is a deceiver, and he can deceive you and me as Christians. Peter gives us good advice: "Take heed. Be aware that Satan is walking around trying to get you to follow ideals, and to invest your life in things that are useless; that are pointless in the long haul; that are passing; and, that you will look back from eternity and wish that you had done better. If you understand that he's out there, and that he has his eye on you, you may be more inclined to keep your eye on the Lord.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1990

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