Satan

by B.A. Livingstone

Satan, known by many names such as the Devil, Lucifer, the dragon , the evil one, and the god of this world had his beginning as the greatest being God ever CREATED.

It was God as CREATOR who by reason of his own will caused a CREATURE to come into existence who was the highest form of spiritual power and intelligence. When he was created, or why he was created, we do not know, yet God’s word tells us a great deal about the being originally named Lucifer, the anointed cherub that covereth. Ezekiel 28:14.

Lucifer means light-bearer, or brightness and is called the “son of the morning” or what we call the morning star. It is evident that at his creation he was special, for we read of him:.

‘Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth…. Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee...Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou has corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness…” Ezekiel 28:14, 15, 17

From these words we learn that Lucifer from his creation was PERFECT in wisdom, PERFECT in beauty and was the anointed or High priest who covered the throne of God.

From this position he reflected God’s glory to all of God’s creation in a kingdom of pure and holy light. And by reason of his brightness and wisdom given to him by God, he was by rank, the highest of all the created order of beings. Lucifer then, was a king and held the office of priest over principalities, powers, might’s and dominions, Angels, cherubs, seraphim and men today. From this lofty position as anointed Cherub pride began to take hold him as we read in Isaiah 14:12-14:

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my thrown above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high.”

It was at this moment when Lucifer’s heart was lifted up that he actually believed that he was equal with God and claimed,

“I am a God, I sit in the seat of God..” Ezekiel 28:2

Lucifer the creature, chose to exercise his will over the will of his creator and set himself against God. Thinking himself to be wise, he became a fool.

This is when Lucifer became SATAN, a Hebrew word meaning “adversary” and when used as a verb means “resist”. Evil had now entered God’s creation in the form of an adversary resisting God at every angle and turn. The ultimate chess game of good versus evil had begun, and God reacts by quickly pronouncing Satan’s doom.

God casts Satan out of the kingdom of light in Glory, the Holiest of Holies, and places Satan in a VERY large box of darkness, and death, or what we call our present universe. A universe filled with sin, death and darkness, uninhabitable and without life.

For this God shall destroy Satan for we read,

”I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire...I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thy traffic (meaning Satan slandered God to the angels) therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and .” Ezekiel 28:16-19)

The battle of wills had begun, Good vs. Evil, Light vs. Darkness, God vs. Satan. This is the great conflict of the ages, Life vs. Death.

Satan’s doom is inevitable, he will not live forever, but shall die and be turned to ashes so that men will tread their feet upon him.

This has set the stage for the plan of the ages that has transpired over the eons of time. God is light, and in Him is no Darkness. Where once He was all in all, light with no existence of darkness, he is now separated from his creation by Sin. Sin that has entered God’s creation by one of his creatures exercising his free will bringing with it death, darkness and chaos into God’s creation.

Satan has his army of angels that inhabit this universe. An army that is billions strong, all adversaries to God and his plan to gain that which has been lost through the forfeiture of Satan and his will.

Satan and the sin that he brought forth is occupying literal time and space in God’s creation. To help you see this, think of a large white sheet that has a tear in it. That tear in God’s creation is the darkness we see every night. It is that tear that must be mended, so that God can again, be ALL in ALL, no more death and darkness.

We know that in the darkness of the heavens above Satan and his fallen angels and dominions find their home. When we read the book of Daniel, we find Daniel praying to God for an answer. Daniel tells us God had sent an angel or messenger to give Daniel his answer. What we are told is truly amazing when the angel reveals to Daniel that God had sent him with his answer twenty one days previous. The angel said it took that long because the fallen beings that inhabit the darkness above RESISTED him! But he finally got through when Michael the Arch Angel came and fought with Satan’s band of angels allowing the messenger to get through to earth! He Leaves Daniel by telling him that “I will now return to fight...and there is none that holdeth these things but Michael your prince.” Daniel chapter 10

God had cast Satan and his angels into the starry heavens, but there will soon come a day when they shall all be cast toeven further to the earth in the great war that takes place above us.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon: and the dragon fought with his angels, and prevailed not; neither was there place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7-9

It is not a question as to what will happen to Satan, God has pronounced judgement and it shall be meted out in full measure. Satan, the greatest created spiritual power and intelligence, who once occupied the highest sphere, will someday soon be brought down to earth where God will utterly destroy him. Turning him into dust for the ground, he shall die the death of a man, for in the end, he shall commit himself to a human body, just like God in Christ did 2000 years ago. You will know him as the Antichrist, and he shall die like a man.

But God, since the fall of Satan, has set forth a Divine plan of the ages that would allow another being of a different order, created from dust itself, to ascend to the highest sphere, there to occupy and replace that which has been forfeited by Satan and his angels. A being that would do so out of love for his Creator.

This Satan knew, “Behold, thou art wiser then Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:” Ezekiel 28:3as God’s adversary, set out to resist God’s plan.

This plan is the story and purpose of the ages as set forth in the bible, from Genesis 1:2, where God begins to restore the earth. It was an earth that had perished by water (2 Peter 3:5-6) that was void and without form as darkness covered the deep from the destruction of the judgement that fell upon Satan as he was cast out into this universe. A universe destroyed by water where the great Dragon, the Leviathan got his name as he swam through the deep.

But God turns his attention to redemption and we read of a MAN being formed out of the dust of the ground and he was given the name Adam (or red clay).

Satan knew that he must get to Adam, for God gave Adam Dominion over the earth and the Animals. In other words, he made Adam a king, a future rival to Satan.

Satan being wiser than any other created being used this wisdom to get to Adam and his wife Eve. Just as Satan was CAST out of the Garden of God’s holy mountain, Satan would see to it that Adam was cast out of the paradise of God.

When Satan approached Eve in the garden, he spoke to her as an angel of light, (2 Corinthians 11:14) for the word serpent is the Hebrew word for Nachash, meaning shining one.

Within the Garden were two very special trees. One was the Tree of Life, the other the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, both bearing a very special fruit. Adam and Eve were told NOT to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, for if they did, THEY WOULD SURELY DIE, for from dust they were formed and from dust they would return. They did not posses immortality, but were on probation as it were until a time when they would have right to the Tree of Life to gain immortality.

Satan knew that if he could get them to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam would lose his right to the tree of Life and die. This would give Satan a victory and throw a kink in God’s plan of the ages, so he thought.

So Satan did what he does best and LIED to Eve when he told her.

“And the serpent (Shinning one) said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die;” Gen 3:4

This is probably the single GREATEST LIE ever told! God had said, “...Thou shalt SURLEY DIE.” Gen 2:17

Adam had sinned, and his judgement was swift and sure. Paradise would be lost and Adam would certainly die. And because of Adams sin, we shall all die,

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12

Yet man still believes to this day that he is in possession of an immortal soul and that he shall never die. Satan has deceived the world from the beginning for ,

“He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44

But God, being infinite in wisdom knew all of this from the beginning, and now set out to redeem man from death. For Adam was attacked by a being greater than he, and for this, God would send him a saviour, a redeemer who would deliver him from his certain death.

This was the plan of the ages that God had set forth, that he would stoop down to the level of man and redeem him from the power of sin and death by his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Cor. 15:26

Satan brought sin and death into God’s universe, and Adam brought sin and death to this world. We are all going to die. This is the enemy, and Satan would have you believe you will live forever, that you have no need of a resurrection through belief in Jesus Christ. This is the GREAT LIE of Satan.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Here is set forth life’s greatest realities:

Life’s greatest reality—SIN

Life’s greatest certainty—DEATH

Life’s greatest offer—THE GIFT OF GOD

Life’s greatest issues—DEATH and LIFE

Life’s greatest choices —– WAGES or GIFT

Life’s greatest medium— THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

Satan would have you believe he does not exist, that there is no war in heaven and that the darkness you see at night is normal.

God will fill that which has been forfeited by Satan through the Death of His Son,

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor 5:21

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious god news of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 2 Cor. 4:3-4