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Who is the Devil? Is there only one? People's beliefs concerning the Devil (called Satan) can range from the silly to the absurd—from a person in a red suit with horns who sits on your shoulder urging you to sin, to just a symbol personifying evil. Satan is an angel, he is not a god, but wants to be recognized as God by mankind (Isa. 14). Satan is the greatest creature (Cherubim angel) God had made. Which does go against Jesus being an angelic creature, for then he would be greater. In Ezekiel 28:11-12 “You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty “ “Wisdom and beauty” (vv. 11-12). The Hebrew expression sealed up the sum means “to fill up a pattern” or “to fill up a blueprint.” (Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum) With each species God made they were made to a pattern, and there was limit. But when it came to this creature who was to cover the throne of God, he was filled with all the wisdom and beauty God could put into a creature. Thus making him filled with wisdom of God before He transgressed in heaven. These two areas wisdom and beauty: Satan is the wisest and the most beautiful of any creature God had made. Some have said if mans IQ were as high as 170 or more this makes him a genius. Satan would top a million. He is a strategist, a general who is at war, so he becomes a military strategist. You do not want to play a game of chess with him. Satan was created as a holy angel. Isaiah 14:12 possibly gives Satan’s pre-fall name as Lucifer, more accurately “Day Star”. Ezekiel 28:12-14 describes Satan as having been created a cherubim, the highest created angel. Satan is pictured as being the priest in Heaven, leading the worship of God. as the anointed cherub that covers (Ezek.28) He was the guardian of God's throne, and when he fell he was no longer in the position of the high priest in Heaven who led in worship. He fell from his position and it changed his nature forever.He became arrogant and decided he wanted to sit on a throne above that of God (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:15), as he was above God’s throne. Notice the 5 “I will” statements in Isaiah 14:12-15. Because of his sin, God barred Satan from living in heaven (though he still has access). Satan is a unique spirit being who also led a heavenly revolt against God as he was not satisfied to do this on his own and was subsequently cast down into the earth (Luke 10:18) The Bible defines Satan as an angelic being who fell from
his position in heaven due to the sin of pride and is now completely
opposed to God, doing all in his power and ability to oppose God's purposes on
earth by his people. His personal name, “Satan,” means “adversary.” This name indicates Satan’s basic nature: he is the enemy of God, of all God does , and of all God loves.Satan is the ruler of this world and the
prince of the power of the air (John 12:31;2 Corinthians 4:4;Ephesians 2:2). He
is the influence of the majority.
I Jn. 5:19 "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." The Devil studies humanity and studies individuals to find their weakness and offers his way to them through orchestrating circumstances that would target them to be connived by his scheming. He uses people that are able to be moved easily, others he has to work on. Because he operates by pride he always wants to get his way and will not give up. He seeks to elevate his throne above God. He counterfeits all that God does, and is an inventor of false religions. He is the spiritual source behind false worship and idolatry. Satan Ezekiel 28:11-19 is addressed as the power and representation of the king of Tyre. This prophecy contains wording whose description cannot be of a mere mortal. The earthly king of Tyre is liken to the ancient one who fell. There is a correlation made to each. Ezek 28:12-17 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, 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 "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. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. The king of Tyre is said to be “anointed as a guardian cherub,” but fell by pride and “expelled” by God Himself from the angelic gathering in heaven. he is used as earthly example of the one in the garden. Despite the pictures, He is not an ugly creature, a manlike being in red with a pitchfork and tail (he is ugly on the inside). Satan transforms himself into “an angel of light,” a description that explains that he still has the capacity to look like he did before the fall to deceive. The bible says he and his ministers can also look like light or appear to represent the true light when they come to deceive you. He is known as the tempter, seducer, and most importantly the father of lies. In other words the originator of lying. When you see people lie they are acting in his nature. John 8:44-46 speaking to the Religious men that opposed him “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.” Jesus spoke only the truth, the Devil speaks only lies, it is what comes natural to him because his wisdom is corrupted. Jude states -"the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation" (Jude 6)? An "estate" and a "habitation" is their place of dwelling. When God asked Satan what he had been doing, Satan replied "Walking the earth." (Job 1). Satan and his demons will be incarcerated to earth during the tribulation period. (Rev.12) There are a couple of passages which refer to the judgment of earthly kings which also refer to Satan. Isaiah 14:12-15 is addressed to the king of Babylon (verse 4), but the description fits that of a mere man, but a more powerful being called “Lucifer,” which means “Day star,” is used here to describe someone who sought to overthrow God’s very throne and replace it with his own. It also blames city violence and the confusion on his working. Thus he is the destroyer. Isa 14:12-18 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit."Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?' "All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house” These are known as the 5 “I will’s” of Satan that were not spoken out loud but were the motivation of pride in his heart. Mt. 12:24 the Pharisees accused Jesus of having authority from the Devil, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." The Jews refer to Satan as “Beelzebul,” derived from “Baal-Zebub” (“lord of the flies”), a false god of the Philistines in Ekron (2 Kings 1:2-3,6). Flies are maggots that live in garbage. which is a very condescending charge. Jesus explains that if he is called Satan and is destroying Satan’s kingdom then it is divided, and it will fall.(v.25, 26) Mt. 12:27-28 "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges." But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” In other words they are watching the exercise of Gods authority which is a foretaste of the kingdom to come. When Satan and the demons rebelled, God cast them out from their heavenly habitation, and they became wandering—disembodied—spirits (2 Pt. 2:4; Jd. 6). They seek to possess human beings is to recover that lost capacity to manifest physically. Something that God's faithful angels can still do (Judges 13:3-21; Heb. 13:2). Only God's holy angels have the power to become physical with visible bodies that look like men. The fallen angels always try to use or take over a body and mind by disguising themselves (1 Cor.11:13-14). Before Adam and Eve were ever created, Satan and his demons had become disembodied spirits. They have the ability to inhabit the bodies of animals, when God specifically permitted it (Mark 5:12–13). Satan may have manifested himself to Eve in the form of a serpent, not with his own body but God had to allowed him to do use a creature from the garden. We see this allowance when Christ gave permission for those demons to take possession of the swine.Satan is but one angelic creature, but he employs the other angels that followed in his rebellion as his military advance. They are in a constant battle for the souls of mankind, misleading them and distracting them from the truth. The Bible has various metaphors to reveal the activity of Satan and his ways. In the parable of the four soils, Jesus likens Satan to the birds that are there to steal the seed (the word of God) from the hardened ground - their heart (Matthew 13:4,19). Giving people no chance to consider the truth. Satan appears as the sower of weeds among the wheat (Mt 13:25, 28) in the world. Satan is also compared to a wolf in Jn. 10:12, and a roaring lion in1 Pt. 5:8, with a voracious appetite for his prey. In Revelation 12:9, Satan is identified as the “great dragon . . . that serpent of old, referring to the serpent who deceived Eve (Gen. 3:1). Doctrines of devils is said to be demons inside the church at the end of the age misleading the saints. This is the work of the fallen angels opposing the truth among those who believe at the very end before the return of Jesus. He lied from the beginning in Gen.3 in his first conversation with Eve. This is our best example of the teaching of demons, they subtly twist the truth and make it into a lie. They see what they can get away with as they lead one on to their ultimate goal of ruination.
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