Is Satan, the Devil Real? – Pastor Mike Taylor – http://www.churchofgod-usa.org/1/post/2013/08/is-satan-the-devil-real.html
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The bible speaks of a powerful angelic being that was called, in the beginning, Lucifer. The bible describes him as a most beautiful and powerful being that God had ever created. He was covered with the most precious of stones and his brightness was called “son of the morning.”
Ezekiel 28:12-13 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre,(Satan) and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.”
Ezekiel 28:14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. v. 15, You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.”
v.16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Lucifer was one of the main cherubs and was a powerful member of the Ark Angels, Gabriel and Michel being the other two mentioned in the Bible. He was an angel with great authority and possibly the most powerful of the three that served in the Temple of God. It was, until Lucifer became consumed with his own beauty and pride entered into his heart. Lucifer was as we are agents of free moral choice. Lucifer was the ruler of this earth, before our creation. His world was the one we now live on. What this earth was like before creation of Genesis 1, is not known, but the fossil records show that there was a world in times before our time, that was much different that what we experience now.
The bible speaks of a war breaking out in heaven as Lucifer convinced 1/3 of the heavenly host under his charge to rebel against God the Father, the Ancient of days with a deception that God wasn’t fair, or we deserve better, or some other lie that we can only theorize, but many angels followed him in war. Revelation speaks of this war:
12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 12:12-13 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. (Jesus Christ)
Unfortunately, Lucifer now renamed Satan the Devil, has been cast down to earth, his former abode and it is the same home that we reside in. Some people don’t believe he really does exist and it is one of Satan’s master strokes of deception, that he doesn’t exist. Some blame him for everything, or the “devil made me do it” as Flip Wilson used to say as “Geraldine’, or in the other extreme, they totally ignore him as any consequence in their lives. The bible gives ample proof that he is more than an adversary for the typical human being that is outside the protection of God the Father, through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit as protectors. Satan is a destroyer of men’s souls.
It appears that the more carnally educated a person is, the less Satan is regarded as real, and vice versa, the less educated a person is, the more the devil is blamed for everything. In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. Satan is called our “adversary.” Who is this angel that the masses fail to recognize as their adversary and the corrupter of their souls?
RULER OF THIS PRESENT AGE
I’m going to lay a foundation from the scriptures so that we will understand more of what we are dealing with.
Revelation 12:3-4, 9 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars [notice stars] of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. . . So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan [there he is identified], who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Stars are used in this passage and is a word used for angels. This was a major battle in heaven and the rebelling angels lost it and were cast out of heaven.
II Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment…..
Here we continue on our explanation of what has occurred on this earth long before us. Another step is clarified in regard to the positions that the angels (or demons, if we want to call them that) are holding at this time. There is some debate over the word used in Greek here that Peter describes as “chains”, but might be interpreted as a pit, or silo which we know is a long cylinder dug in the ground in ancient time, or above the ground to store grain in modern times, but is used here to denote a place of darkness, restraint, or prison. The word “Hell” here in the English versions comes from the Greek ‘tataroo’ and it means “a place of restraint.”
Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
So, this horde of demon angels who has as their chief commander, Lucifer, Satan the Devil leading them , but many of them were cast into a pit called Tarturos which was a place lower than Hades or the grave, and chained until judgment is brought upon them. How many demonic spirits does Satan have to do his bidding? The Bible speaks of thousands upon thousands administering to Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before Him in a vision given to Daniel chapter 7 of the throne room of God. Of the 1/3 of all angelic host that fell to the earth, it would be millions of demonic forces that attack mankind daily to tempt them to do evil, or come against them physically or spiritually. God gave each of these angels led by Lucifer dominion over this earth, and the responsibility to tend to the earth, as their domain, but they left it and rebelled, so God chained them to the earth in utter darkness, meaning no light of the Word of God, or the Father’s presence that brought them life. They were totally and forever separated from the love of God because of their rejection of His authority and His righteousness.
Jesus said Satan was a murderer and the father of lies….John 8:44
….He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
In summary up to this point, it’s clear how all of this fits together now, especially with those verses that we saw in Peter and in Jude; how clear it becomes when putting this together with Revelation 12, that what occurred was that God assigned the angels to the earth, that they were under their commander, Lucifer, who was the sum total of all that God could create by fiat and cram into a created being; that he was perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him. We see a picture of a being of awesome beauty, of awesome power, of tremendous intelligence, also though a creature of free moral agency.
We are not given a full description of what Satan looked like as Lucifer, if he was human looking, or what his shape was, but he was a created being of incredible beauty and brightness. But what was totally perfect, evolved by his own mind and actions into something totally perverse, totally wicked, and committed to destroying God’s creation of mankind, as they were given the promise of being the Son’s of God and entering into God’s Family.
Can you picture in your mind, what might have been the reaction that Satan took when he realized God’s plan to make Man in His own image? I’m only thinking out loud, as I have no idea what went through this angelic beings thought process, but it would explain why and how he felt that God was not fair, that God was putting these frail humans before Lucifer and his host of angelic beings. He was not satisfied with his station in the plan of God. He wanted more, more power, more authority, and rejected being submissive to any other power other than his. He wanted to be God.
What are we up against?
I think that it’s necessary for us to deal with the reality of one aspect of the situation. I don’t think that God wants us to hide from these things. Once you begin to see what is arrayed against us, you are going to know that it is by grace that we are saved. If we had to fight Satan and his demons without God being on our side, we would lose in the blink of an eye. It would be that one-sided.
We live in a physical realm, but there is a spiritual realm that we cannot see with the human eye. It is a war that is being fought all around us, and it is for the souls of men and the defeat of God’s perfect plan.
Satan is described as a roaring lion in 1st Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
A lion cares not for the prey, but to destroy the prey for food, to conquer it, to overpower the prey, to kill. So the analogy of Satan as a roaring lion gives you some idea of his intent. He cares not for you, he stalks you, he desires your destruction, and he desires to make God out a liar at your expense.
AN ARMY OF MINISTERING SPIRITS
In the book of Daniel, it gives you an idea of how powerful this force called Satan really is. Daniel had been praying for Israel for weeks, and the Messenger of the Lord came to him:
Daniel 10:10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
10:11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
This King of Persia in interpreted to mean probably Satan himself fought against this Messenger, which was most likely Gabriel and it required Michael to come to his aid as the Messenger has “wrestled” with the angel for 3 weeks in a spiritual battle to keep him from answering Daniel’s prayer. Can we get an idea of the power that this being that withstood the Messenger of God?
There is really a great deal of encouragement that comes from this section in Daniel 10. You can understand why the Apostle Paul and also the psalmist said that the angels are ministering spirits. They are ministering to the heirs of salvation. My reader these ministering Spirits are our protectors. This happened without Daniel even knowing what was taking place to prevent an answer to his prayer. These Ministering Spirits stand between us and certain annihilation, as that is Satan’s plan, to destroy every human being that he can convince to reject God and His free offer of grace found in His only begotten Son. He wishes to destroy you physically and ultimately spiritually for all eternity. He wishes you to join him in sure destruction in a fire burning with brimstone and sulfur that was designed not for men, but the devil and his angels.
Mankind is fighting a huge army of demons that have been cast down to earth to do the bidding of their chief captain, Satan. But our army, the army of God, is much stronger than the army we fight for all who believe. When Elisha prayed for his companion to see what was with them was stronger than what was surrounding the camp, as his servant was scared to death:
II Kings 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
6:16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
God struck this army with blindness and the army was defeated. So our army of 2/3 of the heavenly host are on guard to protect his chosen people, the elect, the children of God. But it is not enough just to believe that there is a God, you must do more.
WHAT MUST I DO?
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble!
The demons believe in a most powerful God, who is our Father, our Creator and they tremble at the very thought of Him.
They know God’s awesome power and they, unlike man, tremble! Maybe the better English word would be shudder before God! They recognize His power. They are terrified at the thought of God. They are thoroughly convicted that God is!
This verse goes a long way toward helping us to understand that saving faith is not the intellectual acceptance of a theological proposition, that is, that God is, but rather a belief that expresses itself outwardly in a changed life.
Do you understand what I said? The demons believe. They tremble in fear, but they will not obey God. We, too, can believe that God is. We give intellectual assent to a theological proposition. “Yes I believe that God is.” But we may not even shudder and most assuredly, most of mankind will not submit.
Satan is most assuredly very real. To deny his existence is to put yourself most vulnerable to his evil ways, his temptations, and the wiles within his power to destroy each and every one of you. His most distinct focus and deception is for you to deny he lives for if he doesn’t exist, then you erroneously believe neither does God. So why would you need the One, when the other doesn’t exist? But the bible proves that he does exist and is called the prince and power of the air, or god of this world, but God has made a way to defeat him:
Ephesians,
2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
To fight the good fight with must have the right armor, we MUST believe in the only begotten Son of God, in whom is the only Hope of defeating this most powerful adversary, Satan the devil. Don’t ever under-estimate his power.
Romans 10:9 that if thou mayest confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and mayest believe in thy heart that God did raise him out of the dead, thou shalt be saved,
10:10 for with the heart doth `one’ believe to righteousness, and with the mouth is confession made to salvation;
If you realize that Satan is a real power in this earth, then how can we fight such a powerful force that shows its evidence all around our world today, in wars, famine, suffering, and men doing unspeakable things to one another? I spoke of armor, what armor?
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
If you have not believed in the the Way, the Truth, and the Life, then you are already defeated. Satan has you exactly where he wants you. You can believe there is a power called Satan, or you can ignore him, because to him, it doesn’t matter, as long as you don’t believe in his ultimate defeat, Jesus the Messiah.
If you have believed, then live a life that testifies to that fact. Embrace the Lord Jesus Christ and let Him be your protector, your shield, you buckler, your high tower, and the only true God in your life. With His grace and mercy along with multiple millions of Ministering Spirits, he can defeat the wiles of the devil that only wish to destroy you, because my friend, Satan is indeed, very real.
This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying for God’s salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be a part of your life. If I can help you in any way, pray with you, counsel you, or just lend an empathetic ear to your cares, then drop me a line to realteam1999@sbcglobal.net ,
God bless you all, till we meet at Jesus Feet.
