| Home | Our Hope | |
| Bible Study |
|
November 13, 2016 |
| Satan | ||
Have you ever wondered who Satan is and why he keeps up this fight against God that he can never win? Where did he come from? How did he come to be what he is? We may reason to ourselves that he must know he can't win against God so why would he continue to fight.
The Bible doesn't say a lot about who Satan is or how he came to be and what motivates him, but in this lesson we'll look at what is said.
Satan is a created being - an angel. Along with all the other angels, he was created on the first day of creation. Angels have free choice just as we do. He turned away from God and other angels did too. We refer to them now as fallen angels, evil spirits, or with other names.
It shouldn't be necessary to say that he is a created being and to provide proof from the Bible, but it is. The Mormons believe that he and Jesus are brothers. We know Jesus is God and Satan is not.
"You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 […] On the day that you were created [your workmanship was] prepared. […] 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:12-15)
We'll look at these verses in their context later. For now we just need to see enough to show that Satan was created in perfection, with great wisdom and beauty.
The Bible only provides the
names of two angels. Their names both end in "el" which is the short form of Elohim (God)
Gabriel - "God is my strength"
Michael - "Who is like God?"
Other non-canonical books list other angels, whose names also end in "el".
Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, claims to have spoken with an angel named Moroni, a name that does not end in "el"
Satan's name is not Satan and we do not know his name for sure. The names most people know of are really descriptions.
For example, the name Satan. This is a Hebrew word meaning "adversary" so it's more correct to say "The Satan" as the Jews do with HaSatan.
Another name is Lucifer. "Lucifer" means something like "morning brightness". It starts from a Hebrew word of uncertain meaning and comes to us by way of Greek and Latin and along the way picks up the meanings of "Venus" and "morning star". We see an example below from Isaiah.
How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! … (Isaiah 14:12)
This translation (NASB) uses "star of the morning" where other translations use "Lucifer". As mentioned above this is from a Hebrew word whose meaning is uncertain. We do understand the verse speaks of the brightness of his glory. We'll look at that some more later.
Another name is "Baalzebub" or "Beelzebub." This is the Hebrew name of a pagan god. It means "Lord of the flies."
There are also names like Devil and Demon. "Devil" traces back to Greek Diabolos, which means slanderer, and "Demon" traces back to Daimon (evil spirit) from Greek mythology.
Those are all descriptions, though, and not names. The most likely name in the Bible for Satan is Azazel but even this isn't certain. It fits the pattern for angelic names in that it ends in el, which is short for Elohim (God).
The Bible reference to Azazel comes from the sacrifices of Yom Kippor. These picture all the sins ever committed as being placed on the head of the goat for Azazel and the goat being driven out into the wilderness, which fits well with the prophesied end of Satan. The non-canonical Book of Enoch also refers to Azazel and refers to him as a fallen angel.
Many Satanic cults claim Azazel as his name. The goat is also commonly his symbol.
I don't suppose it should be a surprise that both DC Comics and Marvel Comics have an Azazel character. The Marvel Comics version of the character, seen in recent X-Men movies, has the classic characteristics, red skin, pointy ears, and pointy tail. He's only missing the horns and hooves. Of course these fictional characters are unrelated to the real one but it's still interesting that comic book companies would know the name Azazel, when almost no Christians know it.
The Bible's description of Satan's origin and fall come from prophecies. Remember that "prophecy" does not mean "prediction of the future". It means "God's word delivered through a prophet". Therefore prophecies can speak of past, present and future.
In these prophecies God is using a technique that is seen in many prophecies. God describes one thing as one being a "type" or "pattern" of another. They share some common similarities.
But you said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. 14 "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14)
In the context of these prophetic verses, the King of Babylon is being taunted by the Israelites. God's point is that the King suffers from the same problem as Satan in that they both thought too highly of themselves, tried to take what they could not have, and will suffer the same fate.
So Satan's failing was that he desired to be as great or greater than God. Notice one of the lies he used to deceive Eve in the garden of Eden.
The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5)
Satan is using the same bait that got him hooked - a desire to be equal to or greater than God. Look how he phrases it "God knows." Satan is saying that God has not told Eve she can be god so God can keep Eve down.
This is a fundamental problem in our society even today. We all want to be God. We all want to be in-charge. We want to do what we want - to be king of our lives. We want to tell God how he should be. We want personal power. We want to be self-reliant and self-sufficient - things no mortal can ever be.
Next we look at Ezekiel who also speaks of Satan and in the same way that Isaiah did - using a king who is a type of the Satan. In this case the king is the King of Tyre. Ezekiel goes into more detail than Isaiah so we'll go through it section by section.
Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, "Thus says the Lord God, 'You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared. (Ezekiel 28:12-13)
God says Satan was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Some other things are said about his glory that we don't understand. We do see that Satan was created with all this perfection.
Even now Satan retains this beauty "And not to wonder at this, for if he who is Satan resembles an Angel of light, 15 it is not a great matter if also his ministers imitate ministers of righteousness, … (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)
You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. 16 By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; … (Ezekiel 28:14-16)
Satan had a special purpose and God placed him in that position. He had everything. But there was evil in him and he went against the order God had setup. We know that he convinced other angels to do the same. This is probably the meaning of "by your trade" or "by the deals you made." Remember that the king of Tyre, the king of a sea-going trading people, is being shown to be a type of Satan. He too was corrupted by his deals, having been given much success but not happy with what he had - instead desiring what others had.
These verses also speak of God having planned for Satan to be a covering cherub (angel). This is a reference to the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. It doesn't mean, though, that Satan was to be a lump of gold on the Ark that the Israelites carried through the desert. Its a reference to a prestigious role on the Ark of the Covenant that is in Heaven. Remember that all the holy things God had Moses make were made in the pattern of things that were in Heaven. In short, this was an honored position.
Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. (Ezekiel 28:17)
Earlier these verses from Ezekiel said that Satan was created with wisdom and splendor (perfect in beauty). Now we see what happened. He was so impressed by his own beauty that it confused his wisdom. We have a saying for this, "it went to his head." In boasting of his great beauty he saw that God was more beautiful still and he was not content with what he had and he lusted after what God had.
I don't think I need to say how this has always been a problem for mankind. Just like Satan, our physical and mental abilities and appearance, everything that we have was given to us. Yet we get to thinking that somehow we are better than others because of it. How can we boast of what we have as though it was something we accomplished, when it was really given to us.
We've already seen that part of Satan's goal is to take as many people down with him as he can. But he has a bigger plan than that.
It's important to understand that Satan does not want to be the king over humans, as God does. He doesn't think he has a better plan for mankind than God's plan. He does not seek worshipers. He despises mankind. He wants all humans dead in their sins … or at least as many as possible.
To understand this we'll look at the 3rd temptation of Jesus where Satan says "bow down and worship me". This sounds like Satan does want to be king of the world.
And he said to him, "All these things I will give to you if you will fall down to worship me." 10 Yeshua said to him, "Depart Satan, for it is written: 'You shall worship the lord Yahweh your God and him alone shall you serve.'" (Matthew 4:9-10)
Look at Satan's pitch to Jesus, "as my second-in-command you can be their king and make the world better, all without dying." But Satan is a deceiver.
What is Satan's plan for these temptations? He wants the Messiah to turn away from God and to commit idolatry. What would be the consequences of that?
If Satan was successful, there would be no savior for mankind. All those prophecies in the Bible about what Jesus will do would become lies. Everyone stays in Sheol forever and there is no eternal life for us.
The consequences are actually much worse than that and we'll look at it in more detail in the next section. For now we only need to understand that Satan does not want to be king. We start to realize now that there was much more in the balance with these temptations. "Take as many of them with me as I can" was only Plan B. He has a bigger plan.
The Anti-Christ's kingdom, which is really Satan's kingdom, is another case where it appears Satan has a desire to be king over mankind.
Satan knows he will only be king for a short time (< 7 years). We'll look at that verse later. So, why bother trying to be king. The answer comes from asking about the purpose of this kingdom - to deceive as many people as possible. Revelation shows the anti-Christ and his kingdom to be the cause of the Great Falling Away, where many Christians turn away from God.
Even in the end of that kingdom, we see the purpose of that kingdom. The purpose for the Battle of Har Meggido (Armageddon) is to have as many people present for the Second Coming so they can be slaughtered and thrown in the Lake of Fire, along with Satan.
Jesus word's in Luke's parable of the nobleman who goes away to be given a kingdom (19:12), show the outcome. When the king returns he says, "bring those people who didn't want me to be king and kill them before me." This is a prophecy about that battle. Satan want's as many people to be there as possible.
There are other places in the Bible that seem to show Satan wants to be king. He is often referred to as the "Prince of this world" or with similar titles. This doesn't mean he wants to be their king. It only means the world has chosen him as king by their actions.
This is a hard question to answer. We have to wonder how it makes any sense for Satan to continue trying to fight against God. Surely that's a hopeless endeavor. If he doesn't want to rule the world, what motivates him?
Speaking through Moses in the verse below, God speaks about considering destroying the Israelites. He says something interesting about their enemies and Satan that helps us understand why Satan continues on.
I would have said, "I will cut them to pieces, I will remove the memory of them from men," 27 had I not feared the provocation by the enemy, that their adversaries would misjudge, that they would say, "Our hand is triumphant, and the Lord has not done all this." (Deuteronomy 32:26-27)
God is talking about the Israelites who will turn against him after Moses is dead. Instead of prophesying disaster for them as he did, he says he would have prophesied complete destruction and that any memory of them would have been removed from mankind as though they never existed. He says the only thing that stopped him was the words that would have come from their adversaries, including Satan, saying that they had won because God had not done everything through Israel that God had promised.
Really what he is saying is that he would have destroyed Israel except that he cannot lie. Of course, God knew what would happen from the beginning.
This gives us some insight into Satan's plan, though. He believes he can show God to be a liar.
When God issues a prophecy about the future, he takes a risk. If God were to tell you that you were going to die in a car crash the next day, what would you do? Would you get in your car and drive as you normally would? Would you run to a place where no car could go and thus make God a liar?
As Christians I like to think that we would go on as we normally would. That isn't Satan's plan, however. He hopes to show God is a liar, or cause that lie himself or through his angels. This is why we see him tempting Jesus in the way that he did. This is also why prophecy can't be as detailed as we would like it to be.
John says that God is the truth, he also says that there is no darkness in God. What would be the consequences if God is not the truth and there is darkness in him?
Hebrews says the Messiah upholds all of creation, which means it keeps running by his will and that of the father. If God was shown to be a liar, would anything exist? Would God even exist?
From Satan's perspective, ceasing to exist is better than an eternity of torment.
The other reason he persists is that he doesn't have another option. Forgiveness requires both repentance and atonement. Without those, sin results in death. Fallen angels would need a savior who would die in their places. They do not have such a thing and it likely isn't possible. The closer we are to God, the more he expects of us. The angels know God intimately. Their rejection of him is irreconcilable.
With that thought in mind, his goal may be "If I'm going down, I'm taking as many with me as possible", which is a suitably evil attitude.
Pure raw hatred may also be a factor. Perhaps he is so angry at losing the position he had that he can't get over it.
Satan is like the child on the beach that would never build a sand castle of his own but knocks down the sand castles that other children have built.
But a thief does not come except to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have whatever is abundant. (John 10:10)
This is what makes Satan worshipers doubly foolish. They worship a false God … who hates their very existence.
The role Satan has assigned himself is to be the adversary, or opponent, to all that God is and does.
We see him explicitly mentioned:
We also see him wanting to test the disciples to find flaws in them.
And Yeshua said to Shimeon [Simon Peter], "Shimeon, behold, Satan has requested that he may sift you all like wheat, 32 and I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail, and when you are restored, confirm your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32)
But Satan is limited to what God will allow. We see this most clearly in Job, where God must give his permission before anything will happen to Job. When he has permission though, he has great power.
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you." (Job 1:16)
Satan has many ways to deceive us.
For these are false Apostles and treacherous workers and they liken themselves to the Apostles of the Messiah. 14 And not to wonder at this, for if he who is Satan resembles an Angel of light, 15 it is not a great matter if also his ministers imitate ministers of righteousness, those whose end will be like their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
Neither should [an elder] be a young disciple, lest he be lifted up and would fall into the judgment of Satan; 7 He ought to have an excellent testimony from outsiders, lest he fall into shame and into the trap of Satan. (1 Timothy 3:7)
Paul's point here is that young believers should not be given such high positions that they would become puffed up about themselves. This is the same trap that Satan fell into and we should not set that trap for them.
Satan has 3 different roles as an accuser.
1. After Satan has deceived someone, he makes sure God hears about it.
Now is the deliverance and the power and the Kingdom of our God, for the Accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them night and day before our God. (Revelation 12:10)
2. I believe Satan also accuses us directly, telling us we are doing something wrong, when we aren't.
3. I believe Satan also accuses us directly by bringing up past failures, to convince we are evil or unworthy.
Satan especially targets pastors, priests, and those in charge of the flock. Why is that?
Satan also targets theological seminaries and Bible schools. Why is that?
How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! […] 15 Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12,15)
Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:16-17)
Notice the verses begin with "how you have fallen". Satan goes all the way from the heights of heaven to the earth first and later to the depths of the pit in Sheol. This agrees with other scriptures.
Shortly before the Second Coming, Satan (the Dragon) and his angels are kicked out of Heaven permanently and are confined to the earth or at least the universe.
And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his Angels fighting with the Dragon; and the Dragon and its Angels fought 8 and did not prevail, neither was a place found for them in Heaven. 9 And the great Dragon was cast down, that Chief Serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan, which deceives all Earth, and it was cast down on Earth and its Angels were cast down with it. 10 And I heard a great voice from Heaven that said, "Now is the deliverance and the power and The Kingdom of our God, for the Accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them night and day before our God, […]. 12 Therefore Heavens, celebrate, and those who dwell in them; woe to the Earth and to the Sea, for the Devil, who has great fury, has descended to them, as he knows that he has little time." 13 And when the Dragon saw that it had been cast down on Earth, it persecuted the woman who had given birth to the Male, [but she was protected]. 17 And the Dragon raged against the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her Seed, these who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Yeshua. (Revelation 12:7-17)
The verses above show us the first steps in Satan's destiny - cast down to earth. Later, at the time of the Second Coming He will be thrown down to the depths of the pit of Sheol. This matches what we see later in Revelation.
And I saw another Angel from Heaven who had with him the key of the Abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he seized the Dragon and the Ancient Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 And he cast him into the Abyss and shut and sealed the top of it so that he would not again seduce all the nations; after these things it is granted to release him for a little season. (Revelation 20:1-3)
Then, at the end of the 1000 year millennial reign of the Messiah, he will be released from the pit. He will begin to fight God again and be defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire.
7 And whenever the 1000 years are finished, Satan will be released from his imprisonment, 8 and he will go forth to seduce all the nations in the four corners of Earth: Gog and Magog, to gather them to war, those whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went to war upon an open place of Earth and surrounded the city of the camp of the Holy People and of the Beloved City, and fire descended from Heaven from God and consumed them. 10 And their Seducer, the Devil, was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where the Beast and the False Prophet are, and they shall be tormented day and night for the eternity of eternities. (Revelation 20:7-10)
If somehow or someway Satan were to give it all up, accept that God is greater than him, and repent, would it be possible for him to be forgiven? It's an unlikely scenario but thinking about it helps us understand other things.
First, angels are in a different class than us. They are spirit beings; we are a spirit within a fleshly body. They have full knowledge of God and his will; we do not. So the rules are different for them.
Second, forgiveness requires two things, repentance and atonement. We often forget the need for atonement but it was Jesus whose sacrifice atoned for us. That atonement is a payment that covers over the offense that was done to God.
As far as we know, there is no atonement for angels. The only atonement we know of is Jesus' sacrifice but it only covered mankind. If there is no atonement, there can be no forgiveness.
That doesn't mean Satan couldn't just give it up. There is nothing he could gain from that, though. His hatred for God and for mankind seems to be so great that it isn't a possibility.
What did Satan hope to gain from tempting Jesus? The only son, the Messiah would not be sinless and God would be a liar.
Why did Satan try to kill all the Jews? There are prophecies about them coming back as a nation and accepting Jesus. If they were all dead, those couldn't be fulfilled and God would be a liar.
Every prophecy is an opportunity for Satan to make God a liar? What we know of the end of the end-times comes from prophecies and there are many of them that must be fulfilled in the last 7 years. Given that, we might wonder how Satan could not succeed.
God knows what Satan is up to though. He has angels who work against such meddling. For example, an angel tells Daniel what has delayed him.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:13)
But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. (Daniel 10:20b)
Judas was unaware that he was fulfilling prophecy. In gamer terms, he would be called an NPC - Non-Player Character. He does what he does and thereby fulfills the prophecy.
Jesus was aware that he was fulfilling prophecy. He would be called a Player Character. He knows the prophecies and must fulfill those that involve him.
Satan is aware of the prophecies, some of which are about him. These are an open door for him to make God a liar. All he has to do is repent.
And whenever the 1000 years are finished, Satan will be released from his imprisonment, 8 and he will go forth to seduce all the nations in the four corners of Earth: Gog and Magog, to gather them to war, those whose number is as the sand of the sea. (Revelation 20:7-8)
Repentance appears to be beyond him.
We have to ask why God allows Satan to continue. Why not just throw him in the Lake of Fire right away. The answer isn't really clear. It appears that God is trying every possibility for mankind to have self-rule. Looking at history, there appear to be a sequence of different kinds of approaches that have been tried.
All of these failed. In the coming millennium, God will rule mankind with Satan chained up. That will succeed until Satan is released.
The point of all of this seems to be to prove that mankind cannot self-rule and that Satan is the reason, that all sin belongs to him and he will not repent. This justifies casting him and all sources of evil into the Lake of Fire. This proof is not for God, but for us, who do not know the future.
In this lesson about Satan we've seen that:
1 Azazel image https://www.pinterest.com/pin/132434045262701040
