Lately I've been studying Satan.
Yes, I know, that seems strange, for Romans says to be 'excellent at was is good and innocent of evil,' but because of teaching I was asked to develop some lessons on the topic: 'Who is Satan?' Our uniformed friends here are wondering who he is, how he works, and how to tell the difference between God's work and the work of the Enemy.
At first I was a little annoyed at having to give him the time of day. It seemed like studying him and his schemes would be giving him some kind of attention that he does not deserve.
But, in the last few weeks, I have been reminded of his slimy ways and smooth lies and it has quickened me to be on guard. To be aware that even in the church he is the 'accuser of the brethren' (Rev. 12:10) and that he is able to use his deceptive nature to hinder Christians (1 Thess. 2:18).
So what else have I learned about this 'common enemy' (Matthew 13:39).
I was reminded that he was more than likely the most beautiful angel of all before his desires to be like God suffocated his created purpose; to worship.
I was reminded that 1/3 of the angels at that time were sent down to earth with him. (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, Revelation 12). And now more than likely they are serving him as his Demon army working for him to seek the destruction of all mankind. ( 1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 12:24).
I was reminded that he is the 'prince of this world' (John 12:31), the 'Father of lies' (John 8:44), and the 'spirit who is at work in those who are disobedient.' (Eph. 2)
I also re-read Job's story in the OT and the temptation story in the Gospel of Luke and was reminded how much authority and divine permission he actually has. Luke 4:5-7:
"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
It reminded me of the rulers of this world today. Russia's Putin, Iran's Ahmadinejad, Pakistan's Musharraf, India's Kumari, North Korea's Kim John Il, America's ?? and others.
If these rulers are not obedient to Christ and the Almighty God, Y-W-H, then Scripture says the 'Angel of Light' has full authority to work his schemes through them. He has the ability to tempt and destroy anyone.
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." Eph 2:2Yes, I know, that seems strange, for Romans says to be 'excellent at was is good and innocent of evil,' but because of teaching I was asked to develop some lessons on the topic: 'Who is Satan?' Our uniformed friends here are wondering who he is, how he works, and how to tell the difference between God's work and the work of the Enemy.
At first I was a little annoyed at having to give him the time of day. It seemed like studying him and his schemes would be giving him some kind of attention that he does not deserve.
But, in the last few weeks, I have been reminded of his slimy ways and smooth lies and it has quickened me to be on guard. To be aware that even in the church he is the 'accuser of the brethren' (Rev. 12:10) and that he is able to use his deceptive nature to hinder Christians (1 Thess. 2:18).
So what else have I learned about this 'common enemy' (Matthew 13:39).
I was reminded that he was more than likely the most beautiful angel of all before his desires to be like God suffocated his created purpose; to worship.
I was reminded that 1/3 of the angels at that time were sent down to earth with him. (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, Revelation 12). And now more than likely they are serving him as his Demon army working for him to seek the destruction of all mankind. ( 1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 12:24).
I was reminded that he is the 'prince of this world' (John 12:31), the 'Father of lies' (John 8:44), and the 'spirit who is at work in those who are disobedient.' (Eph. 2)
I also re-read Job's story in the OT and the temptation story in the Gospel of Luke and was reminded how much authority and divine permission he actually has. Luke 4:5-7:
"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
It reminded me of the rulers of this world today. Russia's Putin, Iran's Ahmadinejad, Pakistan's Musharraf, India's Kumari, North Korea's Kim John Il, America's ?? and others.
If these rulers are not obedient to Christ and the Almighty God, Y-W-H, then Scripture says the 'Angel of Light' has full authority to work his schemes through them. He has the ability to tempt and destroy anyone.
1 John 5:19 says, "We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one."
What did Jesus say about him? 'He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there in no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.' (John 8)
We know that Satan and his demon army has one sole purpose, and that is to lead us away from the truth of God. They use the spirit of divination, which includes fortune telling, tarot reading, witchcraft, horoscopes, channeling, casting spells, and interpreting omens. (Acts 16)
The demons cause some to be dumb, blind, deaf and even insane (see Mark 5 and other related stories). Satan incites people to do stupid things that oppose God's will, like when David took a census in 1 Chronicles 21:1 and when Peter opposed Jesus when he was sharing about his coming death on the cross in Matthew 16:23.
But the good news for the followers of Christ is that Satan and his demons know that Jesus is the Lord and True Savior of our world. They know that their time left on earth is short. (Rev. 12:12) Satan knows that with the return of Christ he is to be bound and will eventually be cast into the lake of fire forever and his demons will be imprisoned. (Rev. 20, 1 Peter 3:19, Jude 6)
And he knows that we have a choice. We can give him a platform to share his thoughts and lies with us knowing that through time we will weaken our resolve or we can 'resist the devil and he will flee...' (James 4:7)
1 Peter says that you must be "self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
He is lying to us. Even today, he is lying to us somehow, someway. Through the media, through the thoughts in our heads, through misdirecting the stupid things we say to each other, and through ways that we may not even yet know.
He is the accuser. His demons are working to 'divide' your family, your interests, your faith, and your heart (demon comes from the greek verb meaning 'to divide.')
If they can just get a piece of you then you'll be divided and that's all it takes.
Don't blame it on anyone else:
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12
Don't believe him.
4 comments:
I'm actually in the process of drafting a dissertation chapter (I imagine it's going to end up being about 30 pages) on Satan. I suppose I'm allowed to, being a Miltonist. :)
So what is your dissertation focused on again? I don't think I've heard.
BTW, it's been a long time since I've read 'Paradise Lost'. You've inspired me to read Milton again.
My dissertation takes a look at Reformation-era debates about humanity's capacity for good, looking at Shakespeare's Romans for the first half and Milton's Satan and Christ for the second. Basically I'm going to argue that Shakespeare and drama in general is more willing than is Milton to allow for some fuzziness with regards to people's orientations towards the Christian God, allowing for pagans to exhibit genuine goodness as characters even as the systems in which they exist are so corrupt as to destroy anyone approaching human happiness. For Milton, on the other hand, system doesn't matter; it's all internal.
The upshot of it all is that playwrights and poets are doing things in the 16th and 17th centuries that are just as philosophically/theologically subtle as Erasmus and Luther and Calvin, only in different vocabularies.
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