Iron Sharpens Iron, Men Strengthen Men

Happy New Year Guys-

I know that I have mentioned in past blogs how important it is when preparing for a battle, to know your enemy. In the case of Satan, I believe that to be even more true because of how ruthless he is. I am sure many of you have heard of the famous Chinese General Sun Tzu who wrote the book, The Art of War. Well, in that famous book, Tzu had a quote where he said, “Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.”

That makes real sense because if you know your enemy, you can predict what they might do. In this case, the simple translation is, if you ignore your enemy, they can overcome you, but if you study them and have knowledge of them, it certainly improves your chances at victory. So, guys, that is the reason I wanted to write this small, 6-part series on The Story of Satan. Because hopefully, after reading, you will have a better understanding of what the Bible says about the evil one and what YOU need to do to prepare versus just what the world tells you.

My intent is to provide you with as much detail in my shorter blog format including many of the scripture references so you can review and decide for yourself what you think. This may not be obvious, but this 6-part series is just the cliff notes version of what the Bible actually says. There is a great deal more for you to explore and I highly recommend doing so if you find this even the least bit interesting. 

Why is this so important?

Because the Bible tells us that while Satan is the prince of this earth, more bad guys are coming and their job is to change your mind about God…and I do not want you to do that. I want you to be strong in your faith. The Bible says these people will preach so effectively that even the very elect…the so-called experts, will be deceived. Read this scripture below.

​​For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  Matthew 24:4

So I do hope you will read and learn about our common enemy in this series so that you can better prepare yourself for the future. Let’s get started-

Who is Satan and where did he come from?

First of all, his name, Satan: (Hebrew Meaning – Accuser/ Adversary)

The Bible has many other names for him including, the prince of the power of the air and god of this world but the King James Version of the Bible calls him Lucifer, which has a very unique meaning shown below.

Satan was a great and powerful angel who was created by God to be perfect and good. To say he was amazing in his beginning is an understatement. From a human perspective, he would not be like anything you or I have ever seen. He was a blaze of light, very powerful and he was appointed to be minister at the throne of God which meant he was very important in the hierarchy of heaven. 

BUT, even before the world began, meaning before the earth was created, Satan rebelled against God and became the chief antagonist to Him and all of humanity. Read this explanation verse from Ezekial:

“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. 13 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. 14 “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. 15 You [were] perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.

[Eze 28:12-15 NKJV] 

I know there is some symbolism in the Bible which makes some of these scriptures difficult to read and understand but the above verses describe Satan when he was created and frankly, how amazing he was. He was created, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty…and he was established on the holy mountain of God…and all of that went away when iniquity was found in you. What is iniquity? The dictionary categorizes it as; ​​immoral or gross injustice or wickedness. A wicked act; sin

The bottom line is that even while he sat on the mountain top, he rebelled against God and was cast down out of heaven.

The name Lucifer means:

Old English, from Latin, ‘light-bringing, morning star’, from lux, luc- ‘light’ + -fer ‘bearing’. Lucifer (sense 1) is by association with the ‘son of the morning’ (Isa. 14:12)

Here is a verse from Isaiah that describes the fall of Satan from heaven:

 “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! [Isa 14:12 NKJV]

Important facts to understand:

In his rebellion against God, Satan drew with him a multitude of lesser angels, who are identified, after their fall, with both demons or evil spirits. Satan and many of these lesser were exiled to earth and the atmosphere around it, and operate within this sphere under the permissive will of God.

To be more specific, Satans initial rebellion as I mentioned above, took with him literally a third of heavens angels as evidenced by scripture below;

His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.  [Rev 12:4 NKJV]

Again, more symbolism in the book of Revelation but this indicates that the stars are the angels that were banished to earth. Additionally, a part of this rebelling brood of angels are still bound in Hell while the rest of them are free to operative and exist under Satans dominion and control (more to come on this later)

Part 2 coming soon-

Read, Think, Pray.

That is all I am asking-

Until next time guys-