Day 240, more insights

Satan and his Influence Who is Satan? Does he exist? Yes! Just because we cannot see him does not mean he does not exist. But Satan is a person, not a force. He took the form of a serpent in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1), but we are not sure if that is how he looks today. The Scriptures often talk about his existence and we can see his influence every day. Satan’s fall Isaiah 14:12-15 tells us about Satan’s fall. In this Bible reading, Satan’s pride leads to his fall. It is similar to the future topple of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Daniel 4:28-32). How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning [or “Lucifer,” KJV ], son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol [the grave], to the recesses of the pit. (NIV) Satan’s revenge For his sinful pride, the LORD cast Satan and his myriad of angels down to the earth. Then, in revenge, the serpent (or Satan) tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan’s intent was to kill all humanity because they were created in God’s image. He succeeded, for through the seed of Adam, all people die. But then God stepped in. Physical death did not have to be the end of the story. The LORD was merciful to Adam, Eve, and all their descendants in offering them a temporary and future deliverance from sin. This is provided for everyone, even you and me. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.    And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. (Romans 3:23-24, Romans 5:15-16, NLT) Satan perverts sex. In Genesis 6, there are statements that the sons of God married the daughters of men and had children by them. Some theologians think the “sons of God” were fallen angels possessing men and having sex with the women of the earth (Genesis 6:1-4). If so, this was a perversion of God’s plan for the sexual relationship between a husband and his wife. God cast some fallen angels into the pit of hell for all eternity for some sexual sin, and perhaps this was it (2Peter 2:4; Jude 6-7). From the time of his fall, Lucifer (which means “morning star”) became known as Satan (meaning “adversary”) or the Devil. He is the enemy of God and everything good, the great deceiver and accuser of God’s people of every tribe and nation of the earth (Revelation 12:9-12; Job 1:6-11; 2:1-5). It is no accident that he tries to ruin marriage relationships by tempting us with pre-marital sex, pornography, adultery, and other deviant forms. Satan promotes evil Satan influenced Adam and Eve’s children and grandchildren and their descendants to do all forms of evil. When it came to a climax, God sent a flood to wipe out the whole earth, except for Noah, his sons, and their wives (eight people). After the flood, Satan influenced Noah’s descendants to rise up and build a tower so that they might be like God. The LORD was displeased with their arrogance and disobedience. They were supposed to fill the earth, not make a name for themselves. So, the LORD confused their languages, forcing them to disperse. The LORD then called forth a man (Abraham) to give birth to a chosen family line. They would be God’s covenant people. Abram was devoid of any unique stature or merit other than God’s grace. Satan also tried to kill that family and their nation, Israel, through strife and jealousy. When Jesus was born, Satan tried to have him killed but God told Joseph to leave Bethlehem and go to Egypt until the evil King Herod died. Then Jesus was sent to Nazareth and was raised there. Later, knowing God’s plans to send his own Son to save the world from sin, Satan influenced Jesus’ own people to have him killed. But, three days later, Christ rose from the dead to give spiritual life to all who believe in him. (more...) Satan’s continual activity Satan is evil in every way. From the beginning, he has continually attempted to ruin all of God’s plans, his people, and keep everyone from knowing the Lord so they might be saved. He is a thief, the consummate evil one, and he wants to take everyone to hell. He divides family and friends and nations and wants people to hate and kill each other. The devil wants people to be miserable and depressed, and he is the great deceiver. He wants people to be greedy for gain, use and abuse people, and commit murder. He is a murderer and the father of lies (John 8:44). The devil is behind racism and bigotry. He wants us to hate and destroy each other. Satan is the enemy of everything good that comes from God’s hands. He wants us defeated, he wants us to quit, and he wants us to abandon our relationship with God. The devil wants us to worship anyone or anything besides God. Beware! Satan’s ambassadors Satan does not work alone. “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, NIV). They are organized and formidable. Satan is limited in his power, knowledge, and presence, unlike God. However, he and his minions are still dangerous. Beware of them, don’t mess with occultic practices, and invite them into your life. They are dangerous and can hurt you. (Acts 19:13-16) The devil also works through false prophets and apostates. They masquerade as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) but are wolves in sheep’s clothing, destroying the flock (Matthew 7:15-20). For more information, you may want to read this blog post: https://rodneyharrier.com/true-or-false-religion-how-can-we-tell/ Satan’s end When the devil’s judgment is complete, he and his fallen angels will be cast into the lake of fire with the other demons or fallen angels. They will join the so-called “beast” and the false prophet (Revelation 20:2-10). In the end, Christ and his followers will win, but today there is a battle. He wages war with us, and we must prepare (1Peter 5:8-9a, Ephesians 6:10-18). But, we cannot fight the battles alone. We need to pray for the power of God’s Spirit to help us and use the sword of God’s word to defend and shield ourselves from his fiery darts. If you want to read more about this, you might want to go here.

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