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The Devil

A Cartoon Character, or Your Worst Nightmare?

What Do We Really Know About The Devil?

 

 

The Devil. Is he even real? Who is this Devil? What is the Devil, and where did he come from? Why is he doing what he does? What are his capabilities? How powerful is the Devil? How can you protect yourself from him? What will ultimately happen to the Devil? And are the Devil and Satan one and the same?

If you’re not very familiar with certain Scriptures, you might be surprised to know that the Bible has the answers to all of these questions.
 

We hear comments about the Devil, made by some very accomplished and intelligent people. And we have to wonder, “where did that idea come from?”. It isn’t Scriptural. So where else can you get accurate, reliable information about God or the Devil, if it’s not in the Bible? The answer to that question is ….nowhere!

It’s fascinating to hear people say they believe in God, but not the Devil. Perhaps that’s partially due to influences from the entertainment industry. From movies to books to music, even in cartoons, fictional depictions of the Devil have made him into everything from an enormous monster, ready to devour Cleveland; to a cute little mischievous imp, teasing the hero.

To a lesser degree, they’ve done similar things with Angels. Due in part to visuals like these, people even choose Devil or Angel costumes for parties, adding to the fantasy of it all. This seems to have resulted in an image of the Devil, somewhere between Count Dracula and the Easter Bunny. A figure made up, just for fright or fun.
 

If you believe in God, why should you believe that the Devil exists? The short answer is, “because God does”. The Scriptures are full of things that God has said about, and directly to, the Devil. Let’s then explore what the Bible, and therefore God, tells us about the Devil. Although these occurrences are scattered throughout the Bible, we’ll organize them and group things together, to try to give an accurate and complete picture.
 

The first appearance of the Devil occurs right at the beginning, in Genesis, in the Garden, tempting Eve to disobey God, thereby leading to the Fall of Man. Studying the Scriptures will reveal that the Devil has been deceiving and tempting Mankind ever since, leading to all of the evil and wickedness in the world.

Why deceiving? The deception is, that harming someone else for your benefit, will turn out OK, and somehow bring you happiness or satisfaction.

• A man kills his wife, so he can be happy with another woman.
• A person steals someone’s savings so they can have an easy, happy life.
• Hitler ordered 6 million innocent people killed, so he can be the master of a superior race.
• A priest does unspeakable things with a little boy, to bring the priest satisfaction.
• A soldier beheads an innocent person to show how powerful he is, and win his victory.
• A person with AIDS, deliberately infects another person, for the sexual pleasure.
• A woman lies to a judge, convicting an innocent person, so she can go free and be happy.

We could go on and on with examples of the deception; that you can achieve happiness or satisfaction at the expense of someone else’s pain or harm, and it will all turn out OK. The deception doesn’t stop there, with these horrible crimes, or sins as God calls them. The deception happens to everyone, on a smaller scale. A lie about where you were last night. An unnecessary rude comment, because the waiter made a mistake. Flirting with a married person. The Devil tells us, it’s no big deal.
 

God gave us one simple rule. Love Him and love one another.

Imagine for a moment, that you were God. Alright, too far out. Let’s try this. Suppose you had 4 dogs. Even that’s a little much, but let’s go with it. You love them all dearly. You’ve had them for years, you’ve trained them, you play with them, take them on trips, etc. You come home one day, walk through the door, to find a mess all over the floor, your favorite shoes shredded, a broken crystal vase, and two of the dogs bleeding from a fight. That’s pretty much how God feels when He looks down at us. We just don’t behave well. We don’t love one another, because we are deceived into be selfish. Our needs are more important than other people.

God created us, and He loves us dearly. And all God really wants is for us to love Him back, and to get along with one another. Is that too much to ask? Replace the imaginary of the 4 dogs, with 4 children you gave birth to. You would want from them, exactly what God wants from us, His children.
 

Let’s get back to the Devil, who by deceiving mankind, has put a wedge between God and His children. Who is he, what is he, and where did he come from? What powers does he really have? What control does he have over us, and what can we do about it? Read on for the answers to these questions, directly from the Scriptures.
 

So let’s start with what God tells us about who the Devil is.

 

Matthew 4: 1&10-11 (During the time when Jesus was tempted by the Devil, He identifies the Devil as Satan, confirming that the Devil and Satan are one and the same. Many other scriptures confirm this fact as well.)

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

 

The next logical questions are: What is the Devil and where did he come from?  What class of being is he? The startling answer to these questions is: he came from heaven, and he is/was an Angel. In fact, he was a very special Angel, with special qualities.

About 2,600 years ago, God spoke through His prophet Ezekiel, and through Ezekiel, God gave us a window into heaven. A rare look at things that occurred in heaven before the creation of the world. Of things yet to come, and of Satan.  By the time God spoke these words to Ezekiel, Satan had already been wreaking havoc here on earth, deceiving and tempting Man to sin. So perhaps God felt we should know more about the birth of sin. Most people think sin started in the Garden, with Adam. But it appears instead, that it started in Heaven with Satan.

In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 28 begins by speaking about the king of Tyre. Then in verse 12, suddenly God stops speaking about Earthly things and begins speaking about Heavenly things. Based on what God says here, combined with prophecies through Isaiah and in Revelation, it appears evident that God is revealing to us through Ezekiel, things about Satan.

 

Ezekiel 28: 12-19 (God speaking about Satan.)

¹² ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. ¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. ¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created     till wickedness was found in you. ¹⁶ Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub,     from among the fiery stones. ¹⁷ Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. ¹⁸ By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. ¹⁹ All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

Let’s break this down, to better understand what God said, and what it means:

 

Verse ¹³ ……on the day you were created they were prepared.

So Satan was a created being. Created by God.

 

Verse ¹²  …You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

The “seal of perfection” implies that Satan was the most perfect, beautiful, and the wisest of all the Angels.

 

Verse ¹³  …every precious stone adorned you ¹⁴ You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

Satan had it all. He had all the glory and all the honor, that anyone should ever want or need.

 

Verse ¹³  You were in Eden, the garden of God

Here God confirms that Satan was in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis, God simply refers to Satan as “the serpent”, but here God confirms that it was Satan. Elsewhere throughout the scriptures, Satan is referred to as the serpent, the dragon, the evil one, the prince of this world, the ruler of the kingdom of the air, Beelzebub, Beelzebul, and other names.

 

Verse ¹⁴  You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you.

A cherub is a class of Angel, and God made him as such. But God calls him a “Guardian Cherub”, meaning Guardian Angel. Could Satan have been assigned to Adam and Eve as their Guardian Angel?

 

Verse ¹⁵  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

Here God explains that when God created Satan, Satan was good. But Satan chose to become wicked and evil.

 

Verse ¹⁶  Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

Here God confirms that Satan introduced not only sin, but violence into Heaven. So God was forced to discipline him, and to expel him from his position, which no doubt enraged Satan.

 

Verse ¹⁷  Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.

Throughout the Scriptures God frequently condemns pride, and praises humility. Here God begins to explain why. In other Scriptures we will learn that Satan’s pride, caused chaos and a disaster in Heaven.

 

Verse ^17-19  …So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. ¹⁸ By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. ¹⁹ All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

Based on other Scriptures which we will discuss shortly, it appears that this part of Ezekiel’s prophecy is referring to events that had not yet occurred, at the time.

 

Side Note: Verse 14 says ” you walked among the fiery stones “, and verse 16 says ” I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones”. So what are these Fiery Stones? Since these are the only references in all of Scripture, using the term “Fiery Stones”, the short answer is, we don’t know what they are. However, that’s never stopped speculation. Some have said the Fiery Stones are the Tablets with the 10 Commandments which God gave to Moses. Others believe the Fiery Stones are the stars in the heavens. Perhaps the most interesting supposition asserts the following: We are told we are like “living stones” in 1 Peter 2:4-5.   Therefore, the Fiery Stones are those individuals who make up the kingdom of God, with Jesus being the Cornerstone. Fiery seems to denote heaven. Therefore, the conclusion is, the Fiery Stones are the citizens of heaven.

 

Next, let’s look at a prophecy which God gave to the prophet Isaiah.

 

Isaiah 14: 12-15 (As with the prophet Ezekiel, the prophet Isaiah begins his chapter 14 with God speaking about Earthly things and the king of Babylon. Yet in verse 12, once again God begins to speak of Heavenly things and of Satan.)

¹² How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! (KJV)

¹² How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! ¹³ You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne     above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. ¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” ¹⁵ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

 

Notice in the King James translation of verse 12, we see that “morning star” is translated as Lucifer. Thus indicating that Lucifer was Satan’s name before he was cast out of Heaven. God goes on to reveal that the reason Satan lost his place in Heaven was that he wanted to be equal with God. God says ” You said in your heart, I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will make myself like the Most High”.

What prompted Satan to be so bold? If we look back at Ezekiel’s prophecy, there’s no doubt it started as pride, which grew into conceit, then developed into arrogance, and ultimately self-exaltation.

 

Amazingly, we learned an awful lot about the Devil, from just 3 Scriptures.

So let’s summarize:

 

• God created the perfect Angel, named Lucifer.
• Lucifer was uncommonly beautiful and wise.
• God ordained Lucifer as a Guardian Cherub.
• Lucifer had all the glory and honor anyone should want or need.
• Lucifer was blameless and good.
• God allowed Lucifer access to the Garden of Eden.
• At some point Lucifer began to sin.
• Lucifer’s sinning led to wickedness and violence.
• Because of that, God drove Lucifer from his position in Heaven.
• Lucifer’s pride in his splendor, caused him to degenerate further.
• God ultimately expelled him from Heaven entirely, forcing him to Earth.
• At this point Lucifer lost his name, and is called Satan.
• At some point God will destroy Satan.

 

 

 

Ever wonder why our faith is so important to God? Why even as sinners, God is willing to grant us salvation, eternal life with Him, for nothing more than our faith in Jesus Christ? Ever wonder why God , keeps us at arm’s length? Why we’re down here on earth, and He’s in heaven? Ever wonder why we die?

This is it. The Scriptures we just discussed, hold the answers to these questions. To put it bluntly, God was burned, big time. Right there in heaven. He was betrayed, by His own heavenly creations. And that means the consequences of that betrayal, had eternal ramifications, because heavenly creatures possess eternal life.

After that disaster, why do you think God’s next creation, Earth and Man, was done the way He did it? By creating a separation between Heaven and Earth, and making Earth’s environment temporal rather than eternal, God was able to prevent Mankind from doing any further damage in Heaven, and from doing any permanent damage anywhere. Because Earth is a temporal environment, where Man’s lifespan is limited, any damage a man does is temporary, not eternal. That’s why our salvation, our entry into eternal life with God, hinges on our faith in Him. Because faith equals loyalty, and God needed to insure that Heaven is secure. If you were God, would you allow Hitler to enter heaven? Would you allow all the evil and wickedness that goes on down here on earth, entry into your home? Of course not.

 

Getting back to the subject at hand. Our natural curiosity pushes us toward wanting to know more. And those of us with a penchant for organizing things, would love to have an accurate timeline for all these events. But unfortunately we don’t.

 

Job 1: 6-7 (At some point though, Satan had unfettered access to both Heaven and Earth, as is illustrated in the book of Job. )

⁶ One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

 

Job 1: 8-10 (This Scripture confirms the protection and the blessings which God gives to those who love Him and make a genuine effort to obey Him. Notice, God didn’t say that Job was perfect, but that he “shuns evil”)

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

⁹ “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰ “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

 

Job 1: 11-12 (This is an example of God allowing Satan to test us. To test our faithfulness to God. But if you think that it’s unfair, consider the fact that God even allowed Satan to test Jesus, God Himself. And to do so, after Jesus was weak and battling with starvation.) In this Scripture, Satan said to God:

¹¹ But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” ¹² The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

 

Job 2: 1-2 (Once again we see that Satan had full access to Heaven and Earth, at some point.)

¹ On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

 

 

Revelation 1: 1-2 (The information about Satan which God gave to Ezekiel and Isaiah was remarkable. However 500 years later, Jesus and His Angels spoke to His Apostle John, from Heaven, as recorded in the book of Revelation. John was told and shown things that were simply stunning. Part of what Jesus gave to John, was a good deal more information about Satan.)

¹  The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw

 

In both Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s prophecies, we see that at some point, Satan is banished from Heaven. But what we don’t know is when that occurs, and what the circumstances were, surrounding the event. Previously many people thought Satan’s fall may have occurred as early as at the creation of the Earth, since Satan was present in the Garden of Eden. But remember the book of Job which took place after that, shows us that Satan had access to both Heaven and Earth for some time.

 

Chapter 12 of Revelation is presented here in full, and in chronological order, so as to present a complete and orderly picture of these events.

 

Revelation 12: 1-2 (Here God reveals the remarkable events surrounding Satan’s fall. Surprisingly it begins with the birth of Jesus.)

¹  A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

The woman is Mary, the Blessed Mother. Look at many of the statues and paintings of the Blessed Mother, and you will see her pictured with a halo of 12 stars above her head, an aura of light around her, and the moon beneath her feet. This Scripture was the inspiration for that art.

 

Revelation 12: 3

³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.

The dragon is Satan. As previously noted, Satan is referred to in the Scriptures by many names, the serpent and the dragon included. Notice, the Scripture says “another sign appeared in heaven“, revealing that Satan still had access to Heaven at the time of Jesus birth.

 

Revelation 12: 4

⁴  The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.

Her child of course was Jesus. One would suspect that from God’s point of view, this was the ultimate betrayal by Satan.

 

Revelation 12: 5-6

⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

 

This account of Mary and Jesus was described in Matthew 3: 13 “ When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him“.

At the last supper, the Apostle John tells us ” As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him“. As with Judas, Satan entered into Herod, to kill Jesus. This was an extremely bold move, for Satan had to know that God would not stand for Satan’s sins any longer, after this.

 

Revelation 12: 7-9 (And so He didn’t. This was the last straw, for God.)

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

This must have been horrible. Think about our wars here on Earth. The carnage, the pain, the suffering, the mutilations. And all of it here on Earth is just temporal. In a few years, the damage is gone, because the people involved have all passed on. But think about this war. In Heaven any damage or harm done, is eternal.

 

Revelation 12: 4

⁴ The dragon’s tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.

The implication here, is that a third of the Angels in Heaven, were cast out with Satan.

 

Revelation 12: 10-12

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. ¹¹ They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. ¹² Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

After many years of conflict between God and Satan, the culmination took place here. When Satan tried to destroy God’s plan to offer salvation to all mankind through Jesus Christ, God condemned Satan.

 

Revelation 12: 13-16

¹³ When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. ¹⁵ Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

Once again, this refers back to Matthew chapter 3. In verse 16 the Scripture tell us “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi“. And then in verse 19 ” After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.””

 

Revelation 12: 17

¹⁷ Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

From that moment, 2000 years ago, until today, Satan has been tempting and deceiving all Mankind into evil and wickedness.

 

 

It wasn’t over yet. Although Satan failed to kill Jesus as a child, he didn’t stop there.

 

Matthew 3: 16-17 (Jesus received His power and the Holy Spirit at the moment He was baptized.)

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

 

Matthew 4: 8-11 (Immediately after His baptism, Satan attacked Jesus once again. This time with temptation, attempting to steal Jesus from God.)

⁸ Again, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

 

John 13: 2 (Satan continued to attack Jesus throughout His ministry in order to disrupt the Kingdom of God. But fortunately, it appears that Satan didn’t understand God’s plan. So Satan saw another opportunity to kill Jesus, by tempting the Apostle Judas.)

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

 

John 13: 25-27 (Here the Apostle John gives us more detail concerning Satan’s temptation of the Apostle Judas.)

²⁵ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Satan ultimately succeeded in influencing the death of Jesus. Unfortunately for Satan, it was too late. Jesus had already brought the Kingdom of God to this Earth. He laid the foundation for His Church. And in His death, He redeemed all Mankind from the law of sin and death, bringing Salvation to all who believe.

 

Luke 10: 18 (Jesus was thoroughly familiar with Satan since Satan’s creation. Jesus knew what Satan was trying to do. While speaking to His disciples, Jesus said this.)

¹⁸ Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

 

John 8: 44 (While speaking to a group of Jews that wanted to kill Him, Jesus laid this severe indictment on Satan.)

 ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 

Luke 22: 31-32 Here Jesus warns the Apostle Peter (Simon), that Satan will tempt Peter, but that he will be strengthened by Jesus’ prayer, and recover.

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

It appears from this interesting Scripture that even after Satan lost his place in Heaven, and was cast down to Earth, Satan still has a relationship and communication with God. Notice that Jesus said, “Satan has asked to sift all of you”. Presumably he asked God, and apparently God granted the request. Otherwise Jesus would not have needed to pray for a good outcome.

 

Possibly you’ve heard someone say, “Satan’s already been defeated”. Meaning that Jesus was victorious over Satan. But, there’s a big but. God did what He needed to do. Now we need to do what’s necessary to defeat Satan in our lives. Because for us, it’s still not over yet. Our destiny is still yet to be determined — By us. Satan still has a great deal of power on this Earth. Just look around. See all the evil, wickedness, and horrible things that people do. All inspired by Satan.

 

Ephesians 6: 11-12 (Perhaps the Apostle Paul put it best in his letter to the Church at Ephesus. He gives us this amazing insight into what we are up against.)

¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

1 John 5: 19 (The Apostle John made this disturbing statement about Satan.)

¹⁹ We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

 

1 Peter 5: 8 (The Apostle Peter gave us this warning.)

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

 

Luke 13: 16 In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus rhetorically asks this question, confirming the power of Satan.

¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

 

James 3: 14-15 (The Apostle James explains that evil thoughts and deeds are inspired by Satan. )

¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, and of the devil.

 

Jude 1: 9 (The Apostle Jude shows us that even the Archangel Michael is forced to show respect to Satan.)

⁹ But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

 

 

Satan has the power to destroy us. Through temptation and deception Satan can destroy our physical bodies here on Earth, with sickness, disease, and addictions. Even worse, Satan can destroy our chance for eternal life with God. But what can we do about it?

Plenty! In the Scriptures below, Jesus and His Apostles instruct us how to battle Satan. Satan has a great deal of power on the Earth. But he also has significant limitations. Just as God limited what Satan could do to Job, God also limits what Satan can do to us.

Always remember, God is in control. Whatever Satan can do, God allows. God could put an end to Satan right now, if He wanted to. So why doesn’t He, you might ask? I suspect because of us. Remember our earlier discussion about the importance of our faith, and therefore loyalty to God. So important that our Salvation hinges on it. Perhaps God is allowing Satan to operate on this Earth, in order to reveal our decision to submit to God, or rebel against Him.

 

Deuteronomy 30: 19-20 (Thousands of years ago, God spoke this to His people, the Israelites. What He said to them applies to us today, just as much.)

¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life

That’s our choice: God’s way or Satan’s way. One of Satan’s deceptions is making people believe that there is something in between. That you can remain neutral, like Switzerland. There are millions of relatively good people in the world that haven’t made a choice. That won’t cut it. God said “choose life”, meaning choose God. He didn’t say “don’t choose”. Unfortunately not choosing, may be as bad as choosing Satan.

 

John 14: 4-6 (Speaking to His Apostles, here’s what Jesus had to say about it.)

⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 

Alright, let’s get back to how Jesus and His Apostles tell us to battle Satan.

 

Hebrews 2: 14-15 (The Apostle Paul gives us hope with these words.)

¹⁴ …so that by his death Jesus might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

 

1 John 3: 8 (The Apostle John explains that sin is what connects us to Satan.)

⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

 

2 Thessalonians 3: 3 (Paul tells us that God will protect us, but how do we receive that protection?)

³ the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

 

John 17: 15 (By praying. Here even Jesus prays to the Father for the protection of His disciples.)

¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

 

Matthew 6: 13 (This protection is so important, Jesus included it, as part of the Lord’s Prayer.)

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

 

James 4: 7 (The Apostle James explains that we must choose to resist the temptation.)

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

Ephesians 6: 16 (And finally, Paul explains that Faith is crucial to following God and overcoming Satan.)

¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

 

Thousands of years ago, God revealed in His prophecies to Isaiah and Ezekiel, that it would not end well for Satan. But God didn’t give us a lot of detail about it. After God came to Earth in the form of Jesus however, He began to reveal new details, and ultimately told us precisely what would happen to Satan.

Reading through the Gospels, you see that Jesus had many encounters with Demons. Why, and who were these Demons? Just as Satan was once the Angel Lucifer; the Demons were once the Angels that followed Satan, and were cast out of Heaven.

 

Here is what God tells us will happen to Satan and His Demons:

 

1 Timothy 3: 6 (Here the Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, reaffirms that pride and conceit was the root cause of Satan’s judgment.)

⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.

 

2 Peter 2: 4 (Here the Apostle Peter appears to be referring to the Angels/Demons which were cast out of Heaven with Satan. Notice, Peter speaks of them as being already confined and restricted, presumably from Earth. If that interpretation is correct, and God confined the Demons at some point, that may explain the fact that Jesus had so many encounters with Demons, and we don’t.)

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment

 

Jude 1: 6 (Here the Apostle Jude confirms what Peter just said.)

⁶ And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

 

Matthew 25: 41 (Here Jesus also speaks of the Judgment, and that Satan will be judged and punished.)

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

 

All of these Scriptures confirm that there will be a Judgment Day, and at that time Satan and his Demons will not fare well. However, it wasn’t until Jesus revealed the details of the events to the Apostle John, in the book of Revelation, that we have a fuller understanding of the outcome.

Chapter 19 of Revelation, describes the second coming of Jesus Christ, when Jesus returns to Earth with His Angels. It describes a battle that takes place between the Kingdom of God, and all the evil and wicked on the Earth. The Scripture appears to indicate that the followers of Satan will be completely destroyed, and that only the righteous will remain to inhabit the Earth. Then in Chapter 20, God reveals how He will deal with Satan.

 

Revelation 20: 1-3 (Here Jesus shows the Apostle John a vision of what will occur after that. )

¹ And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

This Scripture reveals that Satan will be restrained and confined for a period of 1000 years, and that during that time Satan will prevented from influencing matters here on Earth. But why 1000 years?

 

Revelation 20: 4-6 (During that 1000 years, the first resurrection will occur, comprised only of those people who had devoted their lives to God, during their lifetime. These people will reign with Jesus on this Earth, as priests. for that 1000 year period.)

⁴ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God…. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Since Jesus will rid the Earth of all the evil and wicked people, during the battle described in Chapter 19, and Satan will be locked away and sealed off, preventing him from contaminating the Earth with renewed evil, one would presume that this 1000 years will be a peaceful, holy period of time.

 

Revelation 20: 7-10 (For some reason however, at the end of the 1000 years, God releases Satan, who then starts all over again to spread evil throughout the Earth. Is God doing this to give Satan one last chance to repent?)

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

If God is giving Satan a final chance to repent, it doesn’t work. Satan not only continues to spread his evil throughout the Earth, but he wages another war against the Kingdom of God. Big mistake. This time, God has had enough. God doesn’t even confront Satan. In one fell swoop, God simply destroys all those who followed Satan. Then God sends Satan into something called the “Lake of Fire”, or “Lake of Burning Sulfur” for all eternity. Whatever this lake is, it isn’t good. The Scripture describes it as “tormented day and night for ever and ever”.

 

All this prophecy was given to the Apostle John a long time ago. But 600 years before that, God told His prophet Daniel (yes, the same one that survived the lion’s den), about the same course of events.

 

Daniel 7: 21-22 & 26-27 (Compare this Scripture to Revelation 20: 7 above. )

²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

²⁶ “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’

 

Yes, it’s a pretty fantastic story. One might ask, “how can you know for certain, that all this will happen”? You can’t. But God has given His prophets many windows into the future, throughout the Scriptures, and we’ve watched one event after another come to pass. So God has a pretty good track record. I for one, will put my money on God.

So if you’ve believed in God but not the Devil, and have now seen what God says, thinks, and does about the Devil, it might be time to reconsider that belief.

 

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