Isaiah 14:12-14
12 "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!
13 "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.'
NASU
I have a love hate relationship with scary movies. I love to “not watch” them. I mean I want to, but as soon as something really scary comes out, I shut my eyes and cover my ears. It’s really silly if you think about spending your hard earned money to get into a movie and “not watch” it. But I do, so now you know. There are some stories contained in the Bible that at times I must admit I want to “not watch” them, especially when the discussion begins about demons, or Satan. But God lets us know that we need to be aware of him (Satan) and his schemes. God also give us comfort by letting us know that He (God) has our back. So this blog entry will begin a series of entries that discuss the Resident Evil, the enemy of our souls.
Before we go very much deeper let me say a few things about Satan that you need to know.
1. Satan is not without beginning, he is not eternal. He was created, there was a time when he was not. He is not self existent.
"You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. Ezekiel 28:15
2. Satan is limited. Each time he desires to do something, he must ask God for permission.
3. He is not equal with God. He is most likely equal with Michael another Arch Angel. (we’ll discuss this later).
That is good news. If Satan was self-existent, infinite, opposite of God, we would have something to fear. I am not saying that he is weak, dumb, and easily overcome, but he is no match for God.
A snap shot about his desires:
Isaiah 14 contains five “I wills” of Satan. They give us a deep look into the mind of our greatest foe. Lets deal with the first one.
Isaiah 14:13 "But you said in your heart,
'I will ascend to heaven;
The statement “Heaven” actually is a reference to three distinct places. There are 3 heavens. Paul let us know this in his writings to the Corinthians:
2 I was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. 3 Whether my body was there or just my spirit, I don't know; only God knows. 4 But I do know that I was caught up into paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be told. 5 That experience is something worth boasting about, but I am not going to do it. I am going to boast only about my weaknesses. 2 Cor 12:1-5 NLT
The first heaven is that which surrounds the earth, we call it our atmosphere. The second heaven is the interstellar space, this is referenced in scripture as the place where the angels live. And finally there is the third heaven, this is the Holy of Holies the place where God exists and lives. Lucifer along with the other angels would travel from the second heaven to the third heaven to offer praise and worship to God. Lucifer, at some point, got tired of being a visitor to God’s home and made up his mind he would take it over. Lucifer’s first “I will” reveals that he wanted God’s Place. Does Lucifer, who we now know as Satan or the Devil, still compete for God’s place? How?
What do you think?
12 "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!
13 "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.'
NASU
I have a love hate relationship with scary movies. I love to “not watch” them. I mean I want to, but as soon as something really scary comes out, I shut my eyes and cover my ears. It’s really silly if you think about spending your hard earned money to get into a movie and “not watch” it. But I do, so now you know. There are some stories contained in the Bible that at times I must admit I want to “not watch” them, especially when the discussion begins about demons, or Satan. But God lets us know that we need to be aware of him (Satan) and his schemes. God also give us comfort by letting us know that He (God) has our back. So this blog entry will begin a series of entries that discuss the Resident Evil, the enemy of our souls.
Before we go very much deeper let me say a few things about Satan that you need to know.
1. Satan is not without beginning, he is not eternal. He was created, there was a time when he was not. He is not self existent.
"You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. Ezekiel 28:15
2. Satan is limited. Each time he desires to do something, he must ask God for permission.
3. He is not equal with God. He is most likely equal with Michael another Arch Angel. (we’ll discuss this later).
That is good news. If Satan was self-existent, infinite, opposite of God, we would have something to fear. I am not saying that he is weak, dumb, and easily overcome, but he is no match for God.
A snap shot about his desires:
Isaiah 14 contains five “I wills” of Satan. They give us a deep look into the mind of our greatest foe. Lets deal with the first one.
Isaiah 14:13 "But you said in your heart,
'I will ascend to heaven;
The statement “Heaven” actually is a reference to three distinct places. There are 3 heavens. Paul let us know this in his writings to the Corinthians:
2 I was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. 3 Whether my body was there or just my spirit, I don't know; only God knows. 4 But I do know that I was caught up into paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be told. 5 That experience is something worth boasting about, but I am not going to do it. I am going to boast only about my weaknesses. 2 Cor 12:1-5 NLT
The first heaven is that which surrounds the earth, we call it our atmosphere. The second heaven is the interstellar space, this is referenced in scripture as the place where the angels live. And finally there is the third heaven, this is the Holy of Holies the place where God exists and lives. Lucifer along with the other angels would travel from the second heaven to the third heaven to offer praise and worship to God. Lucifer, at some point, got tired of being a visitor to God’s home and made up his mind he would take it over. Lucifer’s first “I will” reveals that he wanted God’s Place. Does Lucifer, who we now know as Satan or the Devil, still compete for God’s place? How?
What do you think?
5 comments:
I believe that he is. When he tempted Jesus in the wilderness he must have thought he had a chance to win or he wouldn't have done it. The same is true today, as he tempts each and every one of us. If he didn't believe he could win that would mean he believed God is God and would have bowed to Him long ago.
Yes, everyday we fight our demons which are from him, but as long as we keep our faith and trust in GOD we all will be okay. He is not strong enough.
When Satan tempted Christ , offering Him the kingdoms of the world - if only Jesus would worship him, The Enemy showed how he wants what should be Almighty God's alone - worship. Lucifer Still wants people to worship him by worshiping anything that is not God
I have to agree with the other posts. I believe Satan desires what is God's b/c Satan is always tempting us. Satan knows our weaknesses and tries to use those against us in order to get us on his side. I know I couldn't face a fight with the devil by myself. I am glad that the Almight God is on my side. That He has won the battle and that I am in His Army!
Satan is always after God's place! That is why he is always at work tempting us to take God off the throne of our heart, and serve ourselves (which, essentially, is the same as serving Satan). He starts in our thought life, which is why it is so important to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ", and to be aware of Satan's methods of opperation. When we know our enemy, it is so much easier to battle him. What's more, when we realize that our "Commander-in-Chief" has unlimited power and resources, and that we have access to those resources (the Bible says God always provides a means of escaping temptation), we realize that we can overcome temptation! The trick is realizing that the choice is ours...we have to be active in the battle. We are instructed to "put on the full armor of God". We must choose to wield the 2-edged sword. God has given us every resource we need to do battle against our invisible foe...and if God is for us, we can't lose!
Post a Comment