WEBVTT 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:04.820 This evening, with the Lord's help, we undertake 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:08.740 the beginning of a new series that will probably 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:11.140 last for the most of the summer on Sunday evenings, 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:18.079 dealing with our adversary, the devil. I don't 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:23.960 undertake this series lightly. It is a significant 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:27.839 one, an important one, because whether we like 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:29.960 it, whether we admit it, whether we realize it 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:33.340 or not, we... are involved in a spiritual struggle 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:38.020 with an enemy whose determined aim is to destroy 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:42.560 us and to render us ineffective for the glory 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:47.439 of God in this life. For us to experience victory 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:52.259 over this enemy, we have to be aware of him and 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:55.979 have some knowledge of him. Pity the army that 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:59.429 is ignorant of its enemy. that does not know 00:00:59.429 --> 00:01:05.030 the enemy's size or its aims or even its identity, 00:01:05.150 --> 00:01:09.370 which does not know its enemy's strengths and 00:01:09.370 --> 00:01:13.709 weaknesses. In order for us to have victory over 00:01:13.709 --> 00:01:17.290 the enemy, we must have some knowledge of the 00:01:17.290 --> 00:01:23.909 enemy. I recognize that this area of study, like 00:01:23.909 --> 00:01:28.060 few others, has about it a certain curiosity. 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:34.000 And there's a danger in that because it's possible 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.439 for us to sort of get trapped in our thinking 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:40.680 on this kind of a subject, and we don't want 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:44.959 to do that. We want to study it and then allow 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:48.799 God to cause that knowledge to make us enlightened 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:51.500 and stronger to face the enemy, but we don't 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:54.260 want to get sucked into it so that that's all 00:01:54.260 --> 00:01:57.340 we think about. That can lead to depression and 00:01:57.340 --> 00:02:02.219 spiritual problems. So as we undertake this study 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:04.159 tonight, I'd like for us to bow together in prayer 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:06.420 right now at the beginning and ask the Lord to 00:02:06.420 --> 00:02:09.060 enlighten us and to protect our minds and enable 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:14.159 us to study in a balanced way. Father, that is 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:18.060 our prayer, and we ask it so that we might be 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:25.659 victors and not victims of our enemy. and clever 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:29.479 he is. And it's our prayer that we might learn 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:34.360 about him without becoming morbidly curious. 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.060 And I pray that as we learn about him, we will 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:42.500 also understand more fully, perhaps, the victory 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:47.979 that we have over him in Jesus Christ. And this 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:51.500 we pray through our Lord and in his name. Amen. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.419 I'd like to begin this evening by turning to 00:02:57.419 --> 00:03:00.699 1 Peter chapter 5 and reviewing with you what 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:05.919 is probably a familiar verse. The Apostle Peter, 00:03:06.139 --> 00:03:09.800 in closing the book, reminds us of the importance 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:14.960 of humility. And it is interesting in the light 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.879 of that particular injunction in verse 6 where 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:20.599 it says, humble yourselves, that he goes on to 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:25.500 talk about our enemy, Satan. And as we begin 00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:28.000 to understand Satan, we know why in the context 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.060 of humility he suddenly thought of Satan. Of 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:33.020 course, the Holy Spirit was directing his writing. 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:36.439 But there's a reason why humility and Satan should 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:40.259 be tied together. But he says in verse 8, Be 00:03:40.259 --> 00:03:45.860 of sober spirit beyond the alert. Your adversary, 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:50.500 the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:56.580 someone to devour. The devil is the adversary 00:03:56.580 --> 00:04:01.740 of God and of God's people. Tonight I'd like 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:05.000 for us to think first regarding the reality of 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:08.099 the devil. Is there any proof that he actually 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:16.660 exists? The concept of a personal devil fell 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:21.360 on hard times in the last 200 years. Intellectually, 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:25.540 the idea that the devil was a personality and 00:04:25.540 --> 00:04:31.439 not just an evil influence, was rejected after 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:34.959 the Renaissance. The reason for that is because 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.759 the knowledge that came with the Renaissance, 00:04:37.980 --> 00:04:42.800 the increase of science, dispelled many of the 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:47.480 superstitions and the myths that came out of 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:52.089 the Dark Ages about the devil. And because of 00:04:52.089 --> 00:04:54.629 that, many threw, as it were, the baby out with 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:57.389 the bathwater and said, well, the whole idea 00:04:57.389 --> 00:05:01.370 of the devil is ridiculous. It is not intellectual. 00:05:02.029 --> 00:05:06.550 It is not rational. And so belief in the supernatural 00:05:06.550 --> 00:05:10.129 in general and belief particularly in an evil 00:05:10.129 --> 00:05:15.230 supernatural power was rejected until, interestingly, 00:05:15.689 --> 00:05:19.870 about the last 20 years. In the last 20 years, 00:05:19.949 --> 00:05:24.589 there has been a real upsurge in writings regarding 00:05:24.589 --> 00:05:28.930 the supernatural and regarding the realm of evil. 00:05:29.389 --> 00:05:32.870 And there has been an explosion in religion relating 00:05:32.870 --> 00:05:38.129 to it, even so much that Satan is worshipped 00:05:38.129 --> 00:05:42.550 by some people. As you may or may not know, even 00:05:42.550 --> 00:05:45.350 the Twin Cities area is quite caught up in this, 00:05:45.449 --> 00:05:49.480 for I have been told... that this area is one 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:52.800 of the leading areas, of the United States at 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:56.660 least, in the practice of witchcraft. There are 00:05:56.660 --> 00:06:00.939 many covens of witches which practice their particular 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:04.079 religion in this area, and all of that is involved 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:08.519 in this matter of evil. What evidence is there 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:12.100 that the devil really is, though? I'd like to 00:06:12.100 --> 00:06:14.540 talk first and briefly about the evidence of 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:18.670 rationalization. Observation. an interpretation 00:06:18.670 --> 00:06:22.790 of the facts about us in the world. The world 00:06:22.790 --> 00:06:25.529 we know from the Bible was created by a perfect 00:06:25.529 --> 00:06:30.670 and almighty creator. Therefore, we would expect 00:06:30.670 --> 00:06:34.790 that in this creation of his there would be harmony. 00:06:35.449 --> 00:06:39.610 But that is not the case, at least in this world. 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:44.769 For alongside of the happiness, the wisdom, the 00:06:44.769 --> 00:06:49.920 intelligence that is in the world, There is unhappiness 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:52.720 and sorrow. There is foolishness and ignorance. 00:06:53.100 --> 00:06:58.060 There is lack of intelligence. The lack of harmony 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:01.720 in mankind suggests that there is another personal 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:06.879 being involved, encountering God's plan and God's 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:12.480 program. Eric Sauer, in his book, The King of 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:16.589 the Earth, says, The existence of sorrow and 00:07:16.589 --> 00:07:19.949 evil throughout the world proves the existence 00:07:19.949 --> 00:07:25.930 of a transcendental, real, dynamic, hostile power 00:07:25.930 --> 00:07:31.970 not willed by God. The fact is that the devil 00:07:31.970 --> 00:07:34.769 is a spiritual being, he says, whose existence 00:07:34.769 --> 00:07:39.569 cannot in any way be assailed by philosophy or 00:07:39.569 --> 00:07:43.899 natural science. Since it is just in our world 00:07:43.899 --> 00:07:46.560 and in the universe immediately surrounding us 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.600 that we observe disharmony, death, destruction, 00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:54.199 even a purely speculative contemplation of nature 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:58.139 focuses on the conclusion that this world and 00:07:58.139 --> 00:08:00.660 presumably the solar system connected with it 00:08:00.660 --> 00:08:04.819 are the domain of this world ruler and potentate. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:10.189 And so Sauer's opinion, at least, is that God 00:08:10.189 --> 00:08:14.410 in some way has given this world and its immediate 00:08:14.410 --> 00:08:19.269 planets, our solar system, as the domain of Satan. 00:08:19.389 --> 00:08:21.750 I don't know that that could be precisely proved 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:24.610 in the Word of God, though he is called, as we'll 00:08:24.610 --> 00:08:26.889 see in a little while, the God of this world. 00:08:28.230 --> 00:08:31.709 But it is true, and even our probes to the immediate 00:08:31.709 --> 00:08:35.049 planets around us show that there is destruction 00:08:35.049 --> 00:08:40.190 and disharmony. there as well as here in the 00:08:40.190 --> 00:08:44.129 world. We have no way yet to observe beyond this 00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:47.129 solar system, but as we observe the stars, it 00:08:47.129 --> 00:08:50.309 would seem that out there, there is harmony. 00:08:52.230 --> 00:08:55.350 And so as we reasonably approach the situation 00:08:55.350 --> 00:08:57.950 of the world, the disharmony, the decay, the 00:08:57.950 --> 00:09:01.269 death, the sorrow that is here, it would seem 00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:08.340 only reasonable that there is a power base that 00:09:08.340 --> 00:09:11.879 is opposed to the Lord God Almighty who created 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:17.159 the world in perfect harmony. But then there 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:21.000 is the most important proof of Satan's existence 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.759 that is beyond man's ability to observe and reason, 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:29.299 and that is the evidence of revelation. For the 00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:33.240 Word of God declares that there is a personality 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:37.750 in the spirit realm who is called the devil. 00:09:38.629 --> 00:09:42.889 Not just an influence, but an actual personality. 00:09:44.429 --> 00:09:48.730 We see this early in the biblical record in the 00:09:48.730 --> 00:09:52.009 book of Job. I would ask you to turn there with 00:09:52.009 --> 00:09:56.789 me. We will on another occasion look in the book 00:09:56.789 --> 00:09:59.750 of Genesis, but tonight I want you to look with 00:09:59.750 --> 00:10:05.690 me at Job. Now when this man lived, is really 00:10:05.690 --> 00:10:08.049 unknown, but it's thought that he probably lived 00:10:08.049 --> 00:10:12.549 in the days of the patriarchs, that is, Abraham's 00:10:12.549 --> 00:10:16.269 general time frame. Therefore, he was a contemporary 00:10:16.269 --> 00:10:20.710 of that man. There was not any written revelation 00:10:20.710 --> 00:10:25.629 at that point. And yet Job had the true knowledge 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:33.259 of God and was a believer. In Job chapter 1, 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:37.960 we have an incident recorded in which Satan came 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:41.879 with the sons of God, which in the Old Testament 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:48.100 was a reference to angels, before the Lord to 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:52.720 present himself. And in verse 7, the Lord said 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:56.799 to Satan, From where do you come? Then Satan 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:59.399 answered the Lord and said, From roaming about 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:03.820 on the earth. and walking around on it. That 00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:05.919 seems to tie together so well, doesn't it, with 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:09.960 Peter's words. And the Lord said to Satan, Have 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:13.240 you considered my servant Job? For there is no 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:16.080 one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.080 man, fearing God and turning away from evil. 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:23.879 Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job fear God 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:27.500 for nothing? Hast thou not made a hedge about 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:30.100 him and his house and all that he has on every 00:11:30.100 --> 00:11:33.070 side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, 00:11:33.210 --> 00:11:35.970 and his possessions have increased in the land. 00:11:36.149 --> 00:11:40.029 But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that 00:11:40.029 --> 00:11:43.470 he has. He will surely curse thee to thy face. 00:11:44.529 --> 00:11:47.190 Then the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that 00:11:47.190 --> 00:11:50.509 he has is in your power, but only do not put 00:11:50.509 --> 00:11:54.470 forth your hand on him. So Satan departed from 00:11:54.470 --> 00:11:57.909 the presence of the Lord. Now, without going 00:11:57.909 --> 00:12:00.009 into detail as to what happened here, let's just 00:12:00.009 --> 00:12:02.509 notice several things regarding the evidence 00:12:02.509 --> 00:12:05.529 from the Bible regarding Satan. In the first 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:07.429 place, you will notice the personal pronouns 00:12:07.429 --> 00:12:10.809 regarding him. Not only here in this text, but 00:12:10.809 --> 00:12:13.750 in other texts that talk about him. He is not 00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:16.950 referred to as an it, as some kind of an impersonal 00:12:16.950 --> 00:12:20.529 force, but a personal pronoun is used of him 00:12:20.529 --> 00:12:23.730 in the masculine sense. Furthermore, you will 00:12:23.730 --> 00:12:27.769 notice that he expresses intellect. He is able 00:12:27.769 --> 00:12:31.929 to converse with God and respond to him. He is 00:12:31.929 --> 00:12:37.110 an intelligent being. He has emotions. For we 00:12:37.110 --> 00:12:41.129 see here that he disdained Job. He disliked Job 00:12:41.129 --> 00:12:45.210 because he was the object of God's favor and 00:12:45.210 --> 00:12:49.690 blessing. And for a cross -reference on this, 00:12:49.730 --> 00:12:54.250 you might consider Revelation. Chapter 12, where 00:12:54.250 --> 00:12:57.090 it talks about Satan being angry because God 00:12:57.090 --> 00:13:00.230 cast him down to the earth. And so he has emotions. 00:13:01.710 --> 00:13:05.429 And then he has will. For we see here that Satan 00:13:05.429 --> 00:13:09.710 purposed to destroy Job. And he was able to plan 00:13:09.710 --> 00:13:13.909 and to scheme to accomplish that. And so we see 00:13:13.909 --> 00:13:17.009 that he has the attributes of personality. He 00:13:17.009 --> 00:13:19.169 has will. He has intellect. He has emotions. 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:23.480 And then we notice also that he has a sphere 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:28.519 of activity described as the earth. As we said 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:31.120 before, that seems to be the realm where he is 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:34.259 somewhat limited, though at least on this occasion 00:13:34.259 --> 00:13:36.539 he was able to come before God with the other 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:41.399 angels to present himself in some sense. Furthermore, 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:43.960 we observe here that he has power to achieve 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:49.279 his objectives within the limitations set by 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:53.700 the omnipotent God. And so not only is he able 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:58.860 to will something and able to scheme it out so 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:02.419 that it will come to pass, but he has powers 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:06.899 within the limitations set by God to accomplish 00:14:06.899 --> 00:14:11.320 what he wants. Does this not tie together with 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:14.679 Ephesians chapter 2, where it speaks about the 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:18.720 course of this age, which is according to the 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.529 prince of the power of the air. In other words, 00:14:22.570 --> 00:14:27.470 Satan has schemed out a course for the age in 00:14:27.470 --> 00:14:31.570 which we live. He knows where he wants history 00:14:31.570 --> 00:14:35.230 to go. And within the boundaries set by God, 00:14:35.289 --> 00:14:40.789 God gives him the power to achieve that. And 00:14:40.789 --> 00:14:42.649 so we learn a great deal from this reference, 00:14:42.950 --> 00:14:46.230 one of the oldest references in the Bible relating 00:14:46.230 --> 00:14:50.440 to Satan and his reality. But let's go into the 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:54.039 New Testament, to Matthew chapter 4. And here 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:57.500 we see that the Lord Jesus Christ affirms the 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:02.159 personality of this evil one. Then Jesus was 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:05.659 led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:09.120 tempted by the devil. Notice that the devil did 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:13.139 not trap Jesus in the wilderness. Notice that 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:15.120 it was not the devil who led him out into the 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.879 wilderness to be tempted, but it was the Holy 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:22.159 Spirit. I have said several times, and maybe 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:24.720 you've heard me say it, that I believe that Satan 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:27.360 would like to have avoided this conflict recorded 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:31.340 in Matthew chapter 4. He would like to have avoided 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:34.620 this direct confrontation with the Son of God. 00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:38.379 But it was the Holy Spirit, by the will of God, 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.759 who led Jesus into the wilderness and there forced 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:44.519 the confrontation to prove the Lord Jesus Christ 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:50.309 to be sinless. and therefore worthy to be the 00:15:50.309 --> 00:15:55.289 Savior. And it says, After he had fasted forty 00:15:55.289 --> 00:15:57.590 days and forty nights, he then became hungry. 00:15:57.769 --> 00:16:01.789 And the tempter came and said to him, If you 00:16:01.789 --> 00:16:04.149 are the Son of God, command that these stones 00:16:04.149 --> 00:16:07.289 become bread. And he answered and said, It is 00:16:07.289 --> 00:16:10.190 written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but 00:16:10.190 --> 00:16:12.090 on every word that proceeds out of the mouth 00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:15.259 of God. And their conversation continues for 00:16:15.259 --> 00:16:17.360 several verses. Was Jesus talking to something 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:20.279 that was impersonal? Was he relating here to 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:23.799 just a force in the world? Not at all. He was 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:28.200 speaking to a personality, how be it a spirit, 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:32.080 yet a real personality. He was directing his 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:36.580 comments to one being, and then through him, 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:41.779 of course, to his whole army of angels. John 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:44.519 chapter 12 was another reference. Of course, 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:46.740 Jesus spoke regarding Satan a number of times, 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:51.919 but in John 12, 31, as it came close to the time 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:56.879 of his death, it says in that verse, Now judgment 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:01.759 is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:07.740 shall be cast out. And so he refers to Satan 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:13.529 here, calling him the ruler. of this world. Again 00:17:13.529 --> 00:17:18.130 in John chapter 14 in verse 30, he says, I will 00:17:18.130 --> 00:17:21.250 not speak much more with you for the ruler of 00:17:21.250 --> 00:17:26.430 the world is coming. He was talking about Satan 00:17:26.430 --> 00:17:31.269 and that climactic battle which involved his 00:17:31.269 --> 00:17:35.509 suffering, his death and resurrection. And he 00:17:35.509 --> 00:17:38.049 says the ruler of the world is coming. He has 00:17:38.049 --> 00:17:42.670 nothing in... In other words, there was nothing 00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:45.509 in the person of Christ that allowed Satan to 00:17:45.509 --> 00:17:49.609 possess him or to have any power or control over 00:17:49.609 --> 00:17:53.150 him. There was nothing of sin within Christ to 00:17:53.150 --> 00:17:56.470 respond to any allurement or temptation that 00:17:56.470 --> 00:17:59.069 Satan could throw at him. Jesus said, he has 00:17:59.069 --> 00:18:05.130 nothing in me. And then chapter 16, verse 11, 00:18:05.329 --> 00:18:09.859 where Jesus says, and concerning judgment, because 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:13.519 the ruler of this world has been judged. And 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:15.960 he's speaking here as though he's beyond the 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:18.839 cross, which is coming the next day. But he says 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:22.299 in that act at the cross, the ruler of the world 00:18:22.299 --> 00:18:28.279 is judged. The authority which he usurped from 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:34.859 Adam was regained by the Lord Jesus Christ when 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:38.940 he died and rose again. So the usurper has been 00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:44.660 spoiled as well as defeated. Now we find some 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:48.339 words in 2 Corinthians 4 from the Apostle Paul. 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:54.619 In verse 3 he says, Even if our gospel is veiled, 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:58.920 it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:04.420 case the God of this world has blinded the minds 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:08.160 of the unbelieving. that they might not see the 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:11.019 light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ, 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:15.500 who is the image of God. And so he tells us that 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:18.640 upon the unsaved there is a supernatural blindness, 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:23.799 and Satan has caused them to be blinded so that 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:28.380 they might not see the light of the gospel in 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:32.940 Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul affirms the reality 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:36.180 of Satan. What about the Apostle John? We'll 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:43.740 go back to 1 John 3. We've read his record of 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:46.180 Jesus' words, but let's see what he himself says 00:19:46.180 --> 00:19:49.579 by the inspiration of the Spirit regarding the 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:54.960 reason for Jesus' coming. 1 John 3 .8. He says, 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.339 The one who practices sin, that is, as a way 00:19:59.339 --> 00:20:04.609 of life, as a lifestyle, is of the devil. For 00:20:04.609 --> 00:20:08.369 the devil has sinned from the beginning. The 00:20:08.369 --> 00:20:12.450 Son of God appeared for this purpose that he 00:20:12.450 --> 00:20:16.529 might destroy the works of the devil. Did Jesus 00:20:16.529 --> 00:20:21.029 come just to destroy some imaginary works of 00:20:21.029 --> 00:20:25.410 an impersonal force? Not at all. He came to crush 00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:28.390 a specific rebellion of a personality in the 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:33.480 spirit realm. He came to destroy the works. the 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:37.019 devil we've read a verse from the Apostle Peter 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:40.759 back up a page or two to the book of James James 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:55.140 chapter 4 and verse copy down the wrong verse 00:21:03.150 --> 00:21:11.890 Do you see it? 4 verse 7? Yes. Somehow I got 00:21:11.890 --> 00:21:13.950 verse 16. Well, I must have meant to add the 00:21:13.950 --> 00:21:18.450 1 and the 6 and get the 7, huh? Typewriter is 00:21:18.450 --> 00:21:23.190 very smart. Submit therefore to God, resist the 00:21:23.190 --> 00:21:28.390 devil, and he will flee from you. So is James 00:21:28.390 --> 00:21:31.089 exhorting us here to resist something that doesn't 00:21:31.089 --> 00:21:35.029 exist? Of course not. He is telling us that we 00:21:35.029 --> 00:21:39.650 must resist the devil. Why? Because he is personally 00:21:39.650 --> 00:21:44.089 opposed to every one of us. Then let's go to 00:21:44.089 --> 00:21:47.049 the book of Hebrews. I won't even tell you what 00:21:47.049 --> 00:21:52.029 my typewriter did on this one. Hebrews 2, verse 00:21:52.029 --> 00:21:58.109 14. At least I know the verses right. Since then 00:21:58.109 --> 00:22:01.190 the children share in flesh and blood. He, Jesus, 00:22:01.329 --> 00:22:04.109 himself, likewise, also partook of the same, 00:22:04.210 --> 00:22:06.789 that through death he might render powerless 00:22:06.789 --> 00:22:11.809 him who had the power of death, that is, the 00:22:11.809 --> 00:22:15.670 devil. And so whoever the writer of Hebrews is, 00:22:15.869 --> 00:22:18.109 and there are many opinions on that, whoever 00:22:18.109 --> 00:22:20.529 this writer is, by the inspiration of the Holy 00:22:20.529 --> 00:22:28.180 Spirit, he mentions the devil. take from him 00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:31.799 the power of death, which in some sense he exercised. 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:34.359 And then I would have you turn to one other writer 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.619 in the New Testament, and this is Jude. And in 00:22:37.619 --> 00:22:41.759 the ninth verse of this little book, he says, 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:45.180 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with 00:22:45.180 --> 00:22:48.059 the devil and argued about the body of Moses, 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:51.640 did not dare pronounce against him a railing 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:55.480 judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you. And 00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:59.150 so Jude, again confirms the fact that the devil 00:22:59.150 --> 00:23:01.549 exists and that there was some time when he and 00:23:01.549 --> 00:23:06.849 Michael, the archangel, were in a dispute. And 00:23:06.849 --> 00:23:09.130 that time was when Moses died and it was over 00:23:09.130 --> 00:23:12.809 the body of Moses. And so is the devil a reality? 00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:17.009 One can hardly say that he believes the Bible 00:23:17.009 --> 00:23:20.230 to be the inspired word of God and say the devil 00:23:20.230 --> 00:23:23.869 does not exist. For I think we could say that 00:23:23.869 --> 00:23:28.559 every writer of the New Testament, in some fashion 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:31.420 affirms the fact that there is a personal being 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:37.200 called the devil and Satan. And he is found active 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.759 as well in the Old Testament. So we have not 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:43.119 only the evidence of rationalization, what we're 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:45.819 able to see around us and conclude by our reason, 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:49.960 but we have the sure evidence of what the Word 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:52.970 of God, the revelation of God gives us. that 00:23:52.970 --> 00:23:58.690 Satan is real, that he does in fact exist. Now 00:23:58.690 --> 00:24:01.109 let's talk for a moment about his identity. I 00:24:01.109 --> 00:24:03.750 want to go through this very quickly. Let me 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:09.789 just list for you at least 14 of the names, titles, 00:24:09.950 --> 00:24:13.809 or representations of Satan. We will not go into 00:24:13.809 --> 00:24:17.029 detail tonight regarding these. We've already 00:24:17.029 --> 00:24:21.789 called him the devil. The word devil means slanderer. 00:24:23.170 --> 00:24:26.769 Or criticizer. Do you realize when you and I 00:24:26.769 --> 00:24:29.670 fall into the sin of criticism that we are acting 00:24:29.670 --> 00:24:34.670 just like the devil? For criticizing or slandering 00:24:34.670 --> 00:24:40.230 or blaspheming, that is what the devil is all 00:24:40.230 --> 00:24:43.069 about. His very name means it. He is called Satan. 00:24:43.890 --> 00:24:47.930 The name Satan means adversary, which he is of 00:24:47.930 --> 00:24:51.470 God and his people. He is referred to as the 00:24:51.470 --> 00:24:58.210 serpent. probably because of his beguiling nature, 00:24:59.029 --> 00:25:05.009 his deceiving character. He is called the dragon, 00:25:05.150 --> 00:25:11.450 which may refer to his beastly nature. He is 00:25:11.450 --> 00:25:14.930 called the prince of this world, or the ruler 00:25:14.930 --> 00:25:20.009 of this cosmos, that is, this order of things. 00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:27.480 in the Bible refers to the orderly system which 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:33.240 Satan has put together in this world. It is a 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:37.799 system which holds within its power all of the 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:43.119 unsaved. They are victims of it. It is a system 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:45.880 of evil, and it is cultured, it is educated, 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:50.160 it is scientific, it is even religious, this 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:53.630 world system. But Satan is the one who is behind 00:25:53.630 --> 00:25:56.450 it, manipulating it, controlling it. Thus he 00:25:56.450 --> 00:26:00.470 is called the ruler of the cosmos. He is called 00:26:00.470 --> 00:26:04.130 the prince of the power of the air. That is, 00:26:04.150 --> 00:26:06.990 the ruler of the atmosphere, which in some sense 00:26:06.990 --> 00:26:11.450 is the realm of his domain, where he has power. 00:26:12.369 --> 00:26:17.099 He is called the god of this age. which tells 00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:20.200 us that he is the one behind the movements at 00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:24.460 any given point in history. He is the one who 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:28.720 brings to pass the fads, the heroes, the struggles, 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:32.920 the lusts of any given moment in history, which 00:26:32.920 --> 00:26:36.000 can be described as an age. He is the god of 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:42.440 this age. He is called Beelzebub. Beelzebub is 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:47.859 a title given... by the Jews to one of the gods 00:26:47.859 --> 00:26:51.359 of the Philistines. It literally means Lord of 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:56.079 the Flies, and would tie together Satan with 00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:00.380 idolatry and the worship of false gods. And of 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:03.539 course, Satan is very involved in idol worship. 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:09.519 He's called Abaddon in the Hebrew, or Apollyon 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:14.299 in the Greek. You may remember that we had the 00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:17.059 film Pilgrim's Progress, and that was the name 00:27:17.059 --> 00:27:19.660 that was used in that film of Satan, Apollyon. 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:23.019 The name means in either case, either Abaddon 00:27:23.019 --> 00:27:27.640 or Apollyon, destroyer. He is the one who destroys. 00:27:30.180 --> 00:27:33.299 He is called Belial, which goes back to the Old 00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:35.880 Testament and the name there. This name is found 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:38.599 in 2 Corinthians 6 .15 and does definitely in 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.730 that case refer to the devil. And it means that 00:27:41.730 --> 00:27:45.029 he is the personification of worthlessness and 00:27:45.029 --> 00:27:50.130 lawlessness. He is one in whom the mystery of 00:27:50.130 --> 00:27:54.130 lawlessness finds its source. And that mystery 00:27:54.130 --> 00:27:59.069 of lawlessness in this one who is called Belial 00:27:59.069 --> 00:28:03.089 will someday express itself in the man of lawlessness 00:28:03.089 --> 00:28:10.569 who is whom? Who is it? Right, Antichrist. He 00:28:10.569 --> 00:28:13.509 is called in Revelation 12 .10 the accuser of 00:28:13.509 --> 00:28:18.670 the brethren. He is called in 2 Corinthians 11 00:28:18.670 --> 00:28:23.450 .15 an angel of light. Actually, he disguises 00:28:23.450 --> 00:28:26.470 himself as an angel of light because he is the 00:28:26.470 --> 00:28:29.609 head of the power of darkness, but there is some 00:28:29.609 --> 00:28:32.049 means by which he is able to come across as a 00:28:32.049 --> 00:28:35.869 being of light. And then he is called Lucifer, 00:28:35.950 --> 00:28:39.400 which means son of the morning. And the final 00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:42.019 name I'll mention is that of the anointed cherub. 00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:45.960 Those last two names bring us to the third and 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:48.000 final point of our study for this evening, and 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:52.599 that is the origin of Satan. There are two passages 00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:54.779 in the Old Testament which seem to give us some 00:28:54.779 --> 00:28:58.000 insight into the origin of this one called the 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:00.579 devil. The first one that we'll look at is in 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:12.500 the book of Ezekiel, chapter 28. We have in this 00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:19.880 chapter of Ezekiel a word from God to the leader 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:28.160 of Tyre, one of the powers of that day. Verses 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:33.619 1 through 10 seem to clearly refer to the human 00:29:33.619 --> 00:29:41.240 leader of Tyre. But in verse 11, there is a new 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:46.960 tone. And although the leader of Tyre is still 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:50.339 addressed, he is called here the king of Tyre. 00:29:52.059 --> 00:29:55.220 And there seems to be a reference to one who 00:29:55.220 --> 00:30:00.200 is greater in power and in evil than the human 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:02.680 being mentioned in the first ten verses of the 00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:07.359 chapter. We believe... As do most Bible scholars 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:10.339 that beginning in verse 11, we have reference 00:30:10.339 --> 00:30:15.619 to Satan. Again, the word of the Lord came to 00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:19.779 me, says Ezekiel, saying, Son of man, take up 00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:23.059 a lamentation over the king of Tyre. In other 00:30:23.059 --> 00:30:27.180 words, this is a dirge. What is said here is 00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:29.799 sadness to the heart of God. God does not delight 00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:32.259 in recording what is about to be said. It is 00:30:32.259 --> 00:30:39.599 a lamentation. It is over the king of Tyre. The 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:53.440 word seal here literally means the pattern of 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:57.119 perfection. In other words, in this one who is 00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:00.059 addressed, there was the consummation of created 00:31:00.059 --> 00:31:05.579 perfection. There was absolutely nothing about 00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:08.660 this one who is addressed here that was imperfect. 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:13.680 He was full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. You 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:19.059 were in Eden, the garden of God. This undoubtedly 00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:23.240 does not refer to the Eden of Genesis, but rather 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:26.019 to the true Eden, the garden of God, which is 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:30.700 in the presence of the Lord. Every precious stone 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:33.900 was your covering. In other words, now he's going 00:31:33.900 --> 00:31:38.279 to describe the outer covering or garment of 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:42.819 this being. The ruby, the topaz, the diamond, 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:48.859 the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the lapis lazuli, 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:54.420 the turquoise, the emerald, and the gold, the 00:31:54.420 --> 00:31:57.640 workmanship of your settings and sockets was 00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:02.470 in you. I think it is the King James translation 00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:06.430 that talks about the flute and the lyre, is it, 00:32:06.450 --> 00:32:10.690 in this verse? The actual meaning of these Hebrew 00:32:10.690 --> 00:32:14.630 words, where my translation says settings and 00:32:14.630 --> 00:32:18.529 sockets, is unknown. But probably the meaning 00:32:18.529 --> 00:32:21.609 of them is describing the settings where these 00:32:21.609 --> 00:32:25.309 stones were. in the garment worn by this being. 00:32:25.430 --> 00:32:27.170 That's probably the meaning of it. It does not 00:32:27.170 --> 00:32:31.450 refer, most likely, to musical instruments, but 00:32:31.450 --> 00:32:36.250 rather to the settings of the stones in this 00:32:36.250 --> 00:32:41.190 garment. It was in gold. He says, on the day 00:32:41.190 --> 00:32:45.769 that you were created, they were prepared. And 00:32:45.769 --> 00:32:49.069 so he describes here a being that is almost impossible 00:32:49.069 --> 00:32:54.339 to describe in its beauty. It is a being of, 00:32:54.559 --> 00:33:02.140 could we say, psychedelic color. This angel that 00:33:02.140 --> 00:33:04.720 is described and called in a moment a cherub 00:33:04.720 --> 00:33:10.359 was glittering and dazzling with flashing colors 00:33:10.359 --> 00:33:15.579 because of his garment and these precious stones 00:33:15.579 --> 00:33:24.420 set in gold. You were the anointed cherub. Let 00:33:24.420 --> 00:33:29.700 me say a word for a moment about a cherub. Cherubim, 00:33:29.700 --> 00:33:33.619 the plural, seem to be the angels of the highest 00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:38.500 rank. There are those that are called seraphim, 00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:44.579 and then there are angels. The cherubim seem 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:47.299 to be those that are the very highest of all 00:33:47.299 --> 00:33:54.160 of the angelic order. a cherub, but is called 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:58.119 here the anointed cherub. In other words, one 00:33:58.119 --> 00:34:03.380 that had a special appointment. And that appointment 00:34:03.380 --> 00:34:07.420 seems to be that he covered. God says, I placed 00:34:07.420 --> 00:34:10.960 you there. You were on the holy mountain of God. 00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:13.619 You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. 00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:16.179 And in the Old Testament language, that means 00:34:16.179 --> 00:34:23.860 in the very presence of God's holiness. What 00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:27.860 this refers to when it says covers, and then 00:34:27.860 --> 00:34:31.480 again in verse 16 where it is translated covering 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:37.559 cherub, means he was the leading cherub or perhaps 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:43.420 the guarding cherub. The idea seems to be that 00:34:43.420 --> 00:34:48.679 this being, the anointed cherub, was the leading 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:57.349 angel. and that his responsibility was the guarding 00:34:57.349 --> 00:35:03.090 or the covering of the very throne of the holy 00:35:03.090 --> 00:35:09.610 God of the universe. No creature in all of God's 00:35:09.610 --> 00:35:14.289 creation had a higher, more honored position 00:35:14.289 --> 00:35:19.550 than did this anointed cherub. Verse 15, you 00:35:19.550 --> 00:35:22.800 were blameless in your ways. From the day you 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:29.199 were created until unrighteousness was found 00:35:29.199 --> 00:35:34.900 in you. And so we see his beauty in verses 12 00:35:34.900 --> 00:35:40.420 and 13. We see his duty in verse 14. We see now 00:35:40.420 --> 00:35:44.559 his iniquity. For it says that there came a point 00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:48.119 when unrighteousness was found in this being. 00:35:48.969 --> 00:35:51.449 And the penalty for that unrighteousness is found 00:35:51.449 --> 00:35:55.449 in verses 16 through 19. It says, By the abundance 00:35:55.449 --> 00:35:59.449 of your trade, you were internally filled with 00:35:59.449 --> 00:36:03.809 violence and you sinned. Therefore I have cast 00:36:03.809 --> 00:36:08.869 you as profane from the mountain of God, and 00:36:08.869 --> 00:36:11.989 I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from 00:36:11.989 --> 00:36:15.809 the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was 00:36:15.809 --> 00:36:18.610 lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted 00:36:18.610 --> 00:36:22.530 your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast 00:36:22.530 --> 00:36:26.050 you to the ground. I put you before kings that 00:36:26.050 --> 00:36:30.570 they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, 00:36:30.690 --> 00:36:34.610 in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned 00:36:34.610 --> 00:36:38.289 your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire 00:36:38.289 --> 00:36:41.250 from the midst of you. It has consumed you. and 00:36:41.250 --> 00:36:43.590 I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the 00:36:43.590 --> 00:36:47.610 eyes of all who see you. All who know you among 00:36:47.610 --> 00:36:50.190 the peoples are appalled at you. You have become 00:36:50.190 --> 00:36:54.130 terrified, and you will be no more. Now this 00:36:54.130 --> 00:36:58.329 prophecy of his penalty is very far -stretching, 00:36:58.349 --> 00:37:02.170 and it includes aspects that have not yet been 00:37:02.170 --> 00:37:07.030 carried out. But part of it has been. Satan was 00:37:07.030 --> 00:37:09.469 cast out of the presence of God. That was the 00:37:09.469 --> 00:37:14.570 penalty. immediately to the earth. You'll notice 00:37:14.570 --> 00:37:17.309 that he talks here about the unrighteousness 00:37:17.309 --> 00:37:21.070 and the abundance of his trade, which seems to 00:37:21.070 --> 00:37:23.349 be a reference to the fact that Satan, not only 00:37:23.349 --> 00:37:26.730 within his own heart, developed pride and rebellion 00:37:26.730 --> 00:37:29.610 against God, but he spread that among the angels 00:37:29.610 --> 00:37:33.070 of heaven. And there is the suggestion, at least, 00:37:33.070 --> 00:37:38.010 in Revelation chapter 12, verse 4, that a third 00:37:38.699 --> 00:37:42.739 of the angels of heaven followed him in his rebellion 00:37:42.739 --> 00:37:47.159 and were cast out with him. Now I want you to 00:37:47.159 --> 00:37:54.719 go back to Isaiah chapter 14 with me, and we 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:57.880 will probably close with this passage. Isaiah 00:37:57.880 --> 00:38:05.039 14, beginning in verse 12. Here is addressed 00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:10.320 the nation of Babylon. and its leaders. But again, 00:38:10.420 --> 00:38:12.699 there is language here that seems to surpass 00:38:12.699 --> 00:38:17.800 a human leader. And most Bible scholars take 00:38:17.800 --> 00:38:21.059 the language beginning in verse 12 to refer to 00:38:21.059 --> 00:38:25.559 Satan. How you have fallen from heaven, O star 00:38:25.559 --> 00:38:31.059 of the morning, Lucifer, son of the dawn. You 00:38:31.059 --> 00:38:34.900 have been cut down to the earth, you who have 00:38:34.900 --> 00:38:38.900 weakened the nations. But you said in your heart, 00:38:39.019 --> 00:38:41.840 and now we have a record, it seems, of his pride. 00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:47.039 And you will notice in verses 13 and 14, five 00:38:47.039 --> 00:38:51.320 I wills. This is what Satan said in his heart. 00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:54.739 I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne 00:38:54.739 --> 00:38:58.230 above the stars of God. referring probably to 00:38:58.230 --> 00:39:01.329 the angels. I will sit on the mount of the assembly 00:39:01.329 --> 00:39:04.269 in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above 00:39:04.269 --> 00:39:06.550 the heights of the clouds. I will make myself 00:39:06.550 --> 00:39:11.469 like the Most High. And so his pride caused him 00:39:11.469 --> 00:39:14.230 in the first place to desire to occupy God's 00:39:14.230 --> 00:39:21.849 place. He says, I will ascend to heaven. Secondly, 00:39:21.849 --> 00:39:25.949 he desired to rule over the angels. Not just 00:39:25.949 --> 00:39:28.070 to be the leading one and the greatest of them, 00:39:28.210 --> 00:39:30.849 but to rule over them and to command them so 00:39:30.849 --> 00:39:36.550 that they would follow him. The language in the 00:39:36.550 --> 00:39:39.190 last part of verse 13 is a little mysterious. 00:39:39.329 --> 00:39:42.389 I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the 00:39:42.389 --> 00:39:48.969 recesses of the north. That could refer to the 00:39:48.969 --> 00:39:59.079 fact that Satan desired to rule over the gods. 00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:04.920 When it talks here about the recesses of the 00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:08.780 north, there is language that is similar there 00:40:08.780 --> 00:40:13.760 to the pagan Babylonian thoughts of that day, 00:40:13.880 --> 00:40:17.099 for they looked upon the gods as living in the 00:40:17.099 --> 00:40:20.300 recesses of the north, and they felt that the 00:40:20.300 --> 00:40:24.050 gods lived on this mountain. the Mount of the 00:40:24.050 --> 00:40:27.550 Assembly. I think, though, that a better understanding, 00:40:27.610 --> 00:40:32.469 actually, of this is to tie it together with 00:40:32.469 --> 00:40:35.769 language found in Isaiah chapter 2, verse 2, 00:40:35.849 --> 00:40:38.869 which I'll not take time to read, but where the 00:40:38.869 --> 00:40:42.989 phrase refers to the kingdom, the rule of God 00:40:42.989 --> 00:40:46.070 on the earth. And what seems to be said here 00:40:46.070 --> 00:40:50.719 is that I will be as the Messiah. And I will 00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:58.239 rule in his place. He says, I will ascend above 00:40:58.239 --> 00:41:01.619 the heights of the clouds. The clouds are thought 00:41:01.619 --> 00:41:04.739 of as a part of the glory of God. He says, I 00:41:04.739 --> 00:41:08.460 will be above the glory of God. And finally, 00:41:08.460 --> 00:41:12.150 he says that his desire is to be... the Most 00:41:12.150 --> 00:41:15.630 High himself. I will make myself like the Most 00:41:15.630 --> 00:41:18.869 High. And his punishment is similar, verses 15, 00:41:19.030 --> 00:41:22.769 16, and 17, he has cast down. The Lord Jesus 00:41:22.769 --> 00:41:25.409 Christ said, I beheld Satan fall as lightning. 00:41:27.210 --> 00:41:28.769 Sounds like there might be a little lightning 00:41:28.769 --> 00:41:32.769 out there right now, doesn't it? Lightning falls 00:41:32.769 --> 00:41:40.030 suddenly, and it falls spectacularly. That seems 00:41:40.030 --> 00:41:42.340 to be the thought. in those words of the Lord 00:41:42.340 --> 00:41:46.559 Jesus. For in that instant of time when that 00:41:46.559 --> 00:41:52.179 sin congealed within this anointed cherub, that 00:41:52.179 --> 00:41:55.920 fast, he was cast out of heaven like the fall 00:41:55.920 --> 00:41:59.800 of a lightning bolt and with that kind of a spectacular 00:41:59.800 --> 00:42:04.980 occurrence. He was gone instantly from the presence 00:42:04.980 --> 00:42:08.139 of God along with those angels that were a part 00:42:08.139 --> 00:42:12.869 of his rebellion. What an amazing spectacle that 00:42:12.869 --> 00:42:16.670 must have been. You say, well, where did evil 00:42:16.670 --> 00:42:19.650 actually originate? Did God then originate evil? 00:42:20.670 --> 00:42:26.829 No. God created Satan, and evil originated within 00:42:26.829 --> 00:42:31.530 him. But then we ask the question, then, a holy 00:42:31.530 --> 00:42:37.969 God allowed sin to come to pass. That is right. 00:42:38.349 --> 00:42:44.380 Why? We don't know. In Deuteronomy 29, 29, it 00:42:44.380 --> 00:42:46.619 says that the secret things belong to the Lord. 00:42:46.679 --> 00:42:48.599 And frankly, this is one of those secret things. 00:42:49.639 --> 00:42:54.139 God created Satan in all of his beauty, giving 00:42:54.139 --> 00:42:57.300 him a free will and knowing in advance exactly 00:42:57.300 --> 00:43:02.179 what Satan would do. And God being the holy, 00:43:02.320 --> 00:43:08.210 righteous God that he is, chose to do that. even 00:43:08.210 --> 00:43:11.489 though he knew Satan would bring sin into the 00:43:11.489 --> 00:43:17.130 creation. We can say this much, that through 00:43:17.130 --> 00:43:20.570 what has happened, God has been able to reveal 00:43:20.570 --> 00:43:24.550 his glorious attributes to all of his creation, 00:43:24.789 --> 00:43:29.630 both to the angels as well as to mankind. Through 00:43:29.630 --> 00:43:32.150 the process of what has happened because of sin 00:43:32.150 --> 00:43:34.650 being found in Satan and his bringing it into 00:43:34.650 --> 00:43:37.980 the world, God has been able to reveal his mercy 00:43:37.980 --> 00:43:41.079 and his grace and his love, his justice, and 00:43:41.079 --> 00:43:43.059 all of the other glorious attributes that are 00:43:43.059 --> 00:43:48.139 his. Why he chose to do it this way, we do not 00:43:48.139 --> 00:43:52.199 know. Another question, and the final one, is 00:43:52.199 --> 00:43:55.460 why did God not execute immediate judgment on 00:43:55.460 --> 00:43:59.800 Satan? These words, I think, are helpful from 00:43:59.800 --> 00:44:04.269 John MacArthur. Now, when Satan fell, we... we 00:44:04.269 --> 00:44:08.750 do know that the world wasn't yet in sin. However, 00:44:08.889 --> 00:44:11.809 we don't know exactly when this fall took place 00:44:11.809 --> 00:44:14.409 or whether the world had even been created yet, 00:44:14.550 --> 00:44:18.329 but God had two choices. Once Satan and his demons 00:44:18.329 --> 00:44:20.650 fell, God could have just spoken a word and immediately 00:44:20.650 --> 00:44:24.250 destroyed his opponents or suppressed the rebellion 00:44:24.250 --> 00:44:27.369 until it occurred again, but God didn't choose 00:44:27.369 --> 00:44:30.789 to do that. God in his wisdom chose to give the 00:44:30.789 --> 00:44:34.199 rebel his full opportunity. to exploit every 00:44:34.199 --> 00:44:37.260 avenue of his power, all the way from his fall 00:44:37.260 --> 00:44:40.500 to the instigation of his final rebellion, which 00:44:40.500 --> 00:44:43.619 is yet to come, isn't it? Why did God allow it? 00:44:44.119 --> 00:44:46.900 Though the Bible doesn't explicitly say, I believe 00:44:46.900 --> 00:44:49.179 one good reason why God allowed this rebellion 00:44:49.179 --> 00:44:52.699 to infest his creation was to let it run out 00:44:52.699 --> 00:44:56.460 to its limits in exhaustion so that all creatures 00:44:56.460 --> 00:44:59.480 of all time might know that all avenues put together 00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:02.829 could never dethrone God. And when it is done, 00:45:02.909 --> 00:45:05.190 no one will ever doubt again that God's authority 00:45:05.190 --> 00:45:08.889 could ever be usurped. You see, the claims and 00:45:08.889 --> 00:45:12.369 I wills of Satan have their complete trial throughout 00:45:12.369 --> 00:45:15.650 time. And the entire universe is going to see 00:45:15.650 --> 00:45:19.489 once and for all that it is impossible to dethrone 00:45:19.489 --> 00:45:25.190 God. I think in conclusion that it's wise for 00:45:25.190 --> 00:45:30.050 us to remind ourselves of a couple of things. 00:45:31.559 --> 00:45:34.239 In the first place, let's remind ourselves of 00:45:34.239 --> 00:45:39.619 the terrible sin of pride. For it is pride that 00:45:39.619 --> 00:45:44.019 was Satan's essential sin. And out of that has 00:45:44.019 --> 00:45:48.019 come all of the other sins. Dear folks, let us 00:45:48.019 --> 00:45:51.159 beware of this condemnation of the devil, as 00:45:51.159 --> 00:45:55.420 it is called in 1 Timothy 3 .6. Let us eschew 00:45:55.420 --> 00:45:59.320 pride. Let us flee from it. For there is nothing 00:45:59.320 --> 00:46:02.989 in ourselves which should cause us to become 00:46:02.989 --> 00:46:07.650 proud and puffed up. Beware of pride and its 00:46:07.650 --> 00:46:13.190 awfulness. Secondly, I would say, let us also 00:46:13.190 --> 00:46:17.650 be aware of the war that we are in. For though 00:46:17.650 --> 00:46:20.690 we only live for a few years on this earth, we 00:46:20.690 --> 00:46:23.389 are a part of a scheme of things that is far 00:46:23.389 --> 00:46:31.940 bigger than that. and in some ways unimportant 00:46:31.940 --> 00:46:37.739 creatures. But God has chosen to give our being 00:46:37.739 --> 00:46:40.579 here in this world for this little time, and 00:46:40.579 --> 00:46:46.480 as insignificant as we are, great meaning. And 00:46:46.480 --> 00:46:53.559 he has chosen to be a part of this great conflict 00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:58.260 of the ages between good and evil. So let's be 00:46:58.260 --> 00:47:02.010 aware of the war. And let's ask God to make us 00:47:02.010 --> 00:47:05.929 effective soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let's not 00:47:05.929 --> 00:47:09.309 go to sleep in the middle of the battle. Let's 00:47:09.309 --> 00:47:11.329 not simply ignore it and think that it doesn't 00:47:11.329 --> 00:47:15.250 really exist or it'll go away. For we are involved 00:47:15.250 --> 00:47:20.210 as believers in Jesus Christ on the side of right 00:47:20.210 --> 00:47:24.389 and light. And let us fight as good soldiers 00:47:24.389 --> 00:47:29.519 of Jesus Christ. Would you sing with me? The 00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:33.900 little chorus found on page 97, along with the 00:47:33.900 --> 00:47:36.739 first verse that goes with it. Greater is he 00:47:36.739 --> 00:47:41.559 that is in me than he that is in the world. As 00:47:41.559 --> 00:47:45.239 we talk about Satan and his powers, let us remember 00:47:45.239 --> 00:47:48.920 that greater is he who is in us, the Holy Spirit, 00:47:49.159 --> 00:47:52.780 than he who is in the world. And that ours is 00:47:52.780 --> 00:47:54.960 the victory through our faith in the Lord Jesus 00:47:54.960 --> 00:47:58.289 Christ. As we learn about him, let's not focus 00:47:58.289 --> 00:48:01.210 on him, though we must study him to be aware 00:48:01.210 --> 00:48:03.949 of what he is and who he is. But let's focus 00:48:03.949 --> 00:48:07.110 on our great Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in 00:48:07.110 --> 00:48:10.769 whom we have the victory already. Would you stand 00:48:10.769 --> 00:48:13.510 with me and let's sing together the chorus and 00:48:13.510 --> 00:48:15.510 then the first verse and the chorus again.