The only reason for this study, the only one of it’s kind on this site, is for the purpose of the engaged Christian, the true believer, to know respectfully the greatest enemy of the world, saved sinners and lost sinners. He is also the source of many, if not all, the perils, snares, traps, and sins in the world.
People don’t know who he is. They look to stories, traditions, paintings, illustrations, folklore, mythology, legend, myth, and many other tales that all had their parts in distorting the truth behind the “Accuser of the Brethren”. That people trust an idea, representation, or interpretation of the devil and not the word of God is beyond me. The Bible has MUCH to say of our foe.
Today, the Devil has many names, with some examples being, Satan, Devil, Beelzebub, Belial, Adversary, the accuser, the deceiver, Dragon, Serpent, King of Babylon, Little Horn, the king of fierce countenance, the wilful king, the man of sin, the son of perdition,, that wicked, and Judas Iscariot. He is called by one or the other of these names 174 times in the scriptures.
He is called “the Devil, that old Serpent” Peter the apostle tells us to Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, WALKETH ABOUT, seeking whom he may devour.
Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Ezekiel 28:14-15
He is our adversary. Our enemy. The word of God is very descriptive of the deceptive one, the “accuser of the brethren”. Unfortunately, many people get there beliefs and stories of “the Devil” from other literary arts, works and ideas then that of the Bible. Because of this, you have a mash of what he truly is. That is how he wants it. For people to be deceived about him and who he is and what he is capable of.
Many, even professing Christians, believe in some deluded nonsense of a mystical, pre earth, “civil war” fought in heaven between the 1/3 of the angels with Satan in rebellion against God and his angels where the story dictates that Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven to earth.
This has been a commonly accepted teaching that is derived largely from John Milton’s book, “Paradise Lost” (1667), which describes Satan and his angels having been cast out of Heaven in or around the time of Adam and Eve.
Milton gives Revelation 12 as his reference, but Revelation 12 has not occurred yet as it is still a future event and has nothing to do with the Devils fall spoken of in Isaiah 14. Along with John Miltons literary work, came the art of Gustave Dore (1832- 1883) which illustrated amazingly accurate many Bible passages and excerpts from John Miltons “Paradise Lost”. These were good men who erred in dispensational theology. No foul to them, and no ill intent meant. I’m just explaining how these images and stories have come to be accepted in our psyche for centuries and have helped to dilute the actual truth and identity of Satan, or the Devil.
The Devil is absolutely a vital character in the word of God, and we should be diligent in knowing his devices and his guile. We should study his interactions with mankind to deduce his tactics and to know his trickery. He is absolutely worthy of no praise, no allegiance, no esteem, and no glory. He deserves the lake of fire that awaits him. He was a beautiful and radiant creation but he chose to esteem himself higher then the sons of God and God himself, which we will see.
Satan, or Lucifer is also one of the most complex characters in all of the word. He is extraordinary! He truly envelopes what evil is, and all that we fear. One cannot merely sit down and read a few passages of the scriptures to fully grasp the reality of the Devil. You can’t read Genesis 3 and just say, “ok, I won’t eat an apple. I got it!”
The devil, Satan, is the annointed cherub that covereth! He was once perfect. He is behind the scenes all throughout the scope of the Bible and all of human history. All the wars, nations, politics, genocides, atrocities etc, it’s because of him and his best friend, human nature.
When discussing the person of the Devil, one must remember that he is a heavenly being, a celestial being. A being that is not of this world. He could literally be described as a unidentified flying object. He has great, supernatural power and ability beyond anything we could fully comprehend, but he is limited by God. Read the book of Job.
Even more alarming is his affinity to interact with man to the intent to deceive and degenerate. He is skid row, he is the gutter, the derelict, the diseased, the polluted, the corrupt, the inexplicable, the unexplainable, the head scratcher, the question mark! He is the root answer for all that has gone wrong in 6,000 years of mankind's interaction with God his creator.
Though hell was “prepared for the Devil and his angels”, the Devil is not imprisoned in Hell, this too is misunderstood perception of a future event. He has the ability to “walk to and fro in the Earth” (Job 1). It is his world and kingdom now (Luke 4). He is ever vigilant and busy in his deeds and deception.
The only place where the Devil seems to no longer have liberty is in the “3rd” Heaven “where God dwelleth.”
Today, he is allowed of God, liberty to move about in the heavens, and Earth, however, he is not omniscient or omnipresent as God is, he can not see all, and be everywhere at the same time. He does not know all but he is VERY wise and intelligent.
The Devil, that wicked, is a great deceiver, and will even mimic what God does in order to deceive. Just a short study alone into the odd similarities between Jesus Christ, and the Anti Christ in Revelations are astounding and remarkable.
It shows just how far the devil goes in deceiving the world. This is his intent; in the future to appear as a savior, with signs, shewing great works, and wonders, great power and wisdom, to deceive a large majority of the world. (this is relevant when studying Islam's interpretation of the 12th Iman)
He also mimics God in a trinity. Remember, he wanted to exalt his throne above Gods! He duplicates and mimics. That is why religion is so dangerous. He has his own trinity, and it is found in the word of God. It is a satanic trinity; The Satanic Trinity is the Dragon, which is anti-God, The Beast, which is anti Christ, and the False Prophet, which is anti Spirit. These are seen and evident in the book of Revelation.
Now, when discussing his actual form, it can be quite complex. Though his original form was indeed a distinct, specially created Cherubim, it seems he has the ability to take on many appearances or similitude's. After he fell, it appears his form was changed to that of a “great red dragon”. Now this great red dragon is a massive creature. His appearance in Genesis 3 as a serpent or some form of primitive snake or reptile is not the earliest chronological mention of him. Job 1 holds the earliest mention of Satan, and in Job 41, it is no question as to who the Leviathan is. I have only seen one artist in mans history to come close to pegging him. You can’t imagine how fierce he truly is.
It is also indicated in scriptures that he has the ability to alter his form. We see this illustrated many times in the Scriptures. He has the ability to be or to appear as a serpent, an ox, a man, an angel, a great dragon, a beast, a leviathan, a he-goat, and even as a leopard and who knows what else. In Revelation, the devil is incarnated in a physical, visible person, the Antichrist.
But his origin and functioning, long before the creation of the earth, was as the “anointed cherub that covereth” (Ezekiel 28). He was created to glorify the Lord. He was to reflect Gods glory, a beautiful creature indeed. His original name was “Lucifer, Son of the Morning”. Lucifer means “light bearer”.
This was his position before Genesis 3. A beautiful celestial being with free will. As stated before, the Bible is not chronological. Isaiah 14 describes his fall is an event that had already occurred before the book of Genesis was written. When he tempted Adam and Eve, he had already fallen. With Adam and Eve, he took on the form of a serpent! This serpent could talk to humans.
His purpose was to glorify God, his creator. A Cherub has the face of an ox. He was the 5th cherub that is not present in Ezekeil 10 and Revelation 4. The class missing is the reptilian class (serpent), amphibian and fish included which makes for interesting studies.
He was to reflect the glory of God at the throne of God. His original form was beautiful, and beyond our finite comprehension indeed. He was the “anointed cherub that covereth.” From the wording of the scriptures he looks as he was created with all manner of precious stones and viols, pipes and tabrets actually in his physical body. Which means he possibly had the natural created ability to shine illuminate the majesty of God’s glory and reflect with brightness and in doing so, he also had the ability to make music from his body. Which also makes for very interesting studies.
He may “appear as an angel of light” but he is no angel. There is no indication whatsoever that Satan is or was ever an angel. Angels, in the scriptures, always appear as grown men, and do not have wings. Satan has wings because he is a cherubim. We assume that angels have wings because of their ability to ascend and descend between the Earth and the Heavens and as well from the art and interpretation of man’s view of angels all down through our history, but there is not one indication in the Bible that an angel of God has wings.
The Devil is a heavenly, created being. He was not “birthed” therefore he cannot be the brother of Christ, or brother of Michael the arch Angel, or simply a lesser god as many believe. He was an exalted creation, above the angels of God but NOT an angel of God. He was above “the stars of God.” He wants to be exalted. That is his aim, and he will have his day.
Now, the coming Antichrist will be “OF the wicked one” and will most definitely be the devil, actually veiled in flesh, as a man. It will be Judas Iscariot in the flesh but most assuredly he will have some other alias. He will be the incarnation of the Devil, in the flesh, on the earth, for 3.5 years, as the Lord did in his public ministry.
Since the incarnation of the AntiChrist happens in the Tribulation, it is still a future event which no man alive has witnessed. Just as the mystery of Godliness was Christ manifest IN THE FLESH, so will the mystery of Iniquity be Satan incarnated in the flesh.
It will be a real person with great power beyond any human. Supernatural, the real superman perhaps, or something to that extent, some sort of savior of mankind, the one who saves us all somehow. The world will worship after him. The believers will be gone at this point, after he is revealed.
The scriptures are very descriptive of his character. He is the “little horn”, “the Assyrian”, “a King of fierce countenance”, “the prince that shall come”, the “willful king”, “The man of sin”, the “Son of perdition”, “that wicked”.
In a coming “Tribulation”, he will rule the world as the “man of sin” for 3 ½ years, physically and visibly on this Earth, just as our Lord was publicly known on Earth for 3 ½ years. This will be the completion of Daniels 70th week in scriptures. At the close of this time period of 3.5 years, known as great tribulation, the devil, Lucifer, will then be imprisoned for 1000 years (Revelation 20). Amen! Then after that, only released to face his final doom. Amen!
Today, we see his Satanic influence everywhere! He is the behind the scenes man. He is the reason things are going haywire. He is the explanation for the unexplainable. “The whole world lieth in wickedness”. He has a role to fulfill. He works with Kings, and leads about Nations. He whispers to presidents and czars, dictators and warlords. He counsels with mass murderers and the corrupt.
He is the “Prince of the Power of the Air” in Eph 2:2. He is the “God of this world” in 2 Cor 4:4. He has been long working and long behind the evil, the manipulation, the corruption, the control and decay of our entire global society. But once he is revealed, then our redemption draweth nigh. That is our hope as believers! That before his demise, and the wrath of God ultimately falls on his head, we will be delivered in the last day. Amen...
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