This second teaching continues the series I started on Spiritual Warfare. "The Truth About Satan" will probably pull the rug out from under many of you regarding your knowledge of Satan and his power. But first, I want to address the common belief concerning the origins of Lucifer and how he came to be known as Satan. I have to tell you the truth I believed this very theory until the Lord revealed the truths I'm about to share from Scripture. It is my prayer that the Lord will confirm the truth of His word through this teaching, and that it will set you on a path to total victory over the devil.
The Truth About Satan
Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see you shall narrowly look upon you, and consider you, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms, that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the house of his prisoners? [Isaiah 14:15-17]
When we hear the name of Satan, most of us conjure up the image of an ugly, dark, and monstrous beast with long fangs, and razor sharp claws. Or perhaps, we view him as a sinister man-like creature with red eyes and wearing a black suit, or even the cartoon character with horns, a pitch fork and red suit. Television, movies, and books have certainly contributed to these images, which only magnifies a fear of the devil. Of course, the devil loves to see himself portrayed as such because the underlying fear it creates serves to empower him to an even greater degree. What the devil doesn't want you to know is who he truly is, and this is what I'm about to undertake. I want to stress that this is what the Bible says about Satan, and the devil will do anything to prevent you from receiving revelation of these truths because these truths will undermine his power in your life.
The truth is that the devil is not something to feare--specially for the Christian. As it is written of the devil in Isaiah 14:16-17: They that see you shall narrowly look upon you, and consider you, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms, that made the world as wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? The Lord here is telling us that we will be shocked by what we see when we finally see him.
The Origin of Satan
It has been commonly taught in the body of Christ that the angel Lucifer attempted to overthrow heaven and God, and as a consequence of his defeat, Lucifer was transformed into Satan, and was cast down to earth with 1/3 of the angels that sided with him. This doctrine has been based on one verse of Scripture--Revelation 12:3-4: And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
As I said before, this doctrine was developed from this one verse of Scripture and infers that sometime prior to Creation in Genesis, Lucifer and 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God and were cast down into the earth. Many believe that between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, there was a cataclysmic judgment of God that utterly destroyed the earth and Lucifer's kingdom, and that the earth was completely destroyed; and Genesis 1:2 was actually the re-creation of the earth. Consequently, Satan and all the demons are products of a pre-Adamic civilization that remained after this judgment. Then, when Adam and Eve were created, God let Satan loose into the Garden of Eden to tempt them, to see if they would be obedient; and of course, they weren't and their transgression propelled the world into a fallen state.
Many of you aren't going to like this, but I don't believe it happened this way. And I tell you, I struggled with it myself because of what I'd been told previously. But once you understand what the Bible teaches and also the nature of God, I believe you'll change your mind, so please read on with an open heart.
If you think about it, allowing the devil into the Garden with Adam and Eve, who didn't know the difference between good and evil, would be like a father placing his infant child in the same yard with a tiger or a lion. Do you think it was fair for God to have allowed the devil to come into the garden to destroy His children? If a parent would allow his or her child to play in the same yard with a poisonous snake or wild animal, we would insist the child be taken from them, wouldn't we? Social services would by all accounts bring criminal charges to a parent that would do such a thing. So how can we place ourselves to a higher standard than God? Think about this, if God is a good God and if He loves us the way He says He does, why would He do such an irresponsible thing? You see, we haven't fully understood God's love for us, and consequently, we have been deceived into believing that God would turn Satan loose in the Garden of Eve to destroy Adam and Eve.
I don't believe this is the way it happened at all. So, what happened then? Instead of God letting Satan in the garden to tempt Adam and Eve, I believe that Lucifer, the anointed angel, was sent to be a blessing to them. The Bible teaches us in Ezekiel 28:11-13 that Lucifer was in the Garden of Eden to help Adam and Eve. Being the anointed angel, Lucifer was sent to protect and help God's creation. Hebrews 1:14 says: that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. He was there on a godly mission and it was there Lucifer transgressed against God.
Let's read from Ezekiel 28:11-15: Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tryus, and say unto him, [this is actually God speaking to the devil in the same way Jesus spoke to Satan who was operating through Peter in Matthew 16] Thus says the Lord God: You seal up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You have been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold. The workmanship of your tabrets and of your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created. You are the anointed cherub that covers; and I have set you so. You were upon the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you.
Here, this passage is describing Lucifer in the garden in his perfect, angelic state--the anointed cherub that covered, to be a servant to mankind--not to tempt them. I'll address the reasons why later on, but it was in the garden where Lucifer entered the body of the serpent and enticed Eve and Adam into eating the forbidden fruit. [Genesis 3] This was Lucifer's transgression and rebellion against God--and not what is commonly believed from Revelation 12--that Lucifer organized 1/3 of the angels and attempted a coup in heaven. One thing we must also understand is that angels, like humans, are free moral agents, capable of exercising their own free will. So, even in Lucifer's godly, perfect state, he still exercised the free will to rebel against God. We see this in another verse of Scripture where in Genesis 6, the Bible states that the sons of God, referring to angels, saw the daughters of men and took them wives of all they chose, and there were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men... [Genesis 6:2, 4] This event is also referred to in Jude 6: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation...
Lucifer's Rebellion
As we discussed before from Revelation 12, most Christians have been taught that Lucifer and 1/3 of the angels attempted to overthrow God and heaven prior to Genesis 1, and that Satan was let loose in the garden to test Adam and Eve. As I said before, I believed the very same thing until I received revelation from another teaching and from what the Bible teaches. Let's think about this, we understand that Lucifer was filled with pride because of his beauty (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:17) and this pride actually caused him to think he could overthrow God. Did Lucifer think he could possibly win a war against God Almighty--even if he had every angel in heaven, much less only a third of them? Lucifer was filled with pride, but he wasn't so stupid to attempt a direct confrontation with God. He knew that the only way to successfully rebel against God was to acquire the power God had given man, and establish his own kingdom on earth.
As an angel, Lucifer's power was conditional and he saw that Adam and Eve had been given something that he didn't have--unconditional power and authority over every thing in the earth. In Genesis1:26-28 we read: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
When God created man, He gave him unconditional dominion over the earth. He didn't say that man's authority on earth was dependent upon anything--not even obedience. Most of us have been taught and still believe that man's dominion over the earth was conditional upon their obedience. This just isn't true. In Genesis 1:26-28, God does not place a condition on this dominion--He simply proclaims it. Many people will argue that once Adam and Eve sinned, God removed our authority and dominion over the earth, when in fact, it was man's choice--not God's-to give this power and authority over to the devil by yielding to him. The dominion God had given man was still present, but man chose to relinquish this power through sin and subsequently gave it to the devil. If God would have taken back this power, He would have gone back on His Word, which is something He does not do. The Lord said in Psalm 89:34: My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. We often apply man's standards to God in justifying what we would do instead of understanding the integrity of God's Word, which He has magnified above His name [Psalm 138:2].
Actually, Satan's attempt to overthrow God was done by getting man, His precious creation, to yield to him instead of God. Satan knew that he had no chance trying to overthrow God directly--even with 1/3 of the angels on his side. But, if the devil could get man to yield to him, the devil would be given the unconditional authority and dominion over the earth that was given to Adam at creation. I know what I'm about to say may offend someone, but this is what the Bible teaches. What we know from Scripture is that God has basically made man gods over the earth. The Lord Jesus said in John 10:34-36: Is it not written in your law, I said, You are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken, you say of him, whom the Father has sanctified, and sent into the world, You blaspheme; because I said, I am the Son of God? Here the Lord was quoting from Psalm 82:6-7: I have said, You are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. Since we were created in the image of God and were given so much power and authority over the earth, that we were, in a sense, gods--not in a divine way as God is; rather because God had given man complete and unconditional authority on earth.
Here's another verse of Scripture that supports what I'm saying. In Psalms 115:15-16: You are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens are the Lord's. But the earth has he given to the children of men. Again, this illustrates the authority and power God had given man at creation. Here's yet another verse of Scripture, but this one compares the power and authority of man versus angels. For unto the angels has he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that you are mindful of him? Or the son of man, that you visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. [Hebrews 2:5-8; Psalm 8:4-6]
I think Lucifer saw the power and authority God had given man, and seized upon an opportunity to satisfy his lust for power. In Isaiah 14:12-14 we can see some of Lucifer's thought processes: How are you fallen from heaven, O, Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne 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.
Here we see that Lucifer envied God [I will be like the most High]. Lucifer was a powerful angel and yet he wasn't content with his position and desired to take the position of God. Lucifer knew he couldn't do this with his own power, but he saw that if he could get Adam and Eve to yield to him, he would acquire the unconditional power God had given them. There is a principle of God that illustrates the truth behind Lucifer's strategy and is described in Romans 6:16: Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? I know this is a New Testament verse, but this is a law of God that was created before the foundations of the world.
By deceiving Adam and Eve into yielding to him, they would become Lucifer's servants and consequently their power would be transferred to him. He could take the authority given to mankind, and begin to destroy the kingdom of God, and start receiving the praise and glory he desired. In essence, the devil was holding man hostage and short of wiping out the entire human race, God had to honor His word, of which the entire world is upheld [Hebrews 1:3]. Because God loved man so much, He allowed the devil to become the god over this world [2 Corinthians 4:4] instead of wiping out the world and starting over again. Thus, Adam and Eve made Satan by virtue of willingly yielding to his deception. Thank God for the Lord Jesus who came to give his life a ransom for many. [Matthew 20:28]
Origin of Satan's Power
As I illustrated in the beginning, most people perceive Satan as some powerful being, superior to man in both power and authority. They believe he operates in the power of an angelic being. However, as Lucifer the angel, he possessed angelic powers, but when he transgressed against God, Lucifer was stripped of his angelic power and became Satan who possessed the power and authority God had given man by virtue of Adam and Eve's sin. This is important to our overall battle against the devil--that Satan is not using a superior power to come against us. Rather, Satan does not have any power on his own, but only the power we have given him by virtue of yielding to him. Again, I use Romans 6:16: Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? This is a very powerful truth.
Therefore, the power that Satan and his demons use against us is the power that God gave human beings--our own power. Again, Satan has no angelic power. Rather, he uses physical human beings to cooperate or yield to him. The only reason Satan is able to function is because people cooperate with him. Through our cooperation, we empower the devil to perform his destructive work.
Since Satan is a spirit, he has no authority to function on earth without the cooperation of a physical body. If you remember in Genesis that God gave dominion over the earth to physical human beings. Consequently, spirit beings need the cooperation of someone with a physical body to function on earth. This also applies to God, Who is a Spirit [John 4:24] and angels. This is the reason God had to become a man, so that He could have the authority to exercise the power to bring salvation. This truth is illustrated in John 5:26-27 when the Lord said: For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given life to the Son to have life in himself; and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. And also in Romans 5:17-19: For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
As a man, Jesus not only had the power of God, but the authority to use it. If no person had cooperated with God, Jesus would have never been able to come; and we see this in Luke 1 when Gabriel came to Mary to tell her about Jesus. Has anyone ever wondered why God sent the angel to Mary instead of just doing it? As I'm trying to illustrate here, God has to have a person cooperate with Him, and He needed Mary to exercise faith and agree with God's plan in order for it to come to pass [Luke 1:38]. Once again, we have to understand the integrity of God when it relates to His Word. He will not do anything contrary to His Word, and when He gave to man complete dominion (power and authority) over the earth, He bound Himself by His Word.
There are some of you who follow a Sovereignty of God doctrine that claims that since God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present, He can arbitrarily affect, control, or intervene in the affairs of men, as if we were quasi-pawns in a huge chess game. I even had someone write to me saying, "We are but instruments of His will." Brothers and sisters, this just isn't what the Word of God teaches. While I agree that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, He has limited Himself by His Word (outside of final judgment); and again this is revealed through Scripture. For time and space's sake, I'll offer two examples: Psalms 78:41 says, Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. This passage refers to the fact that the children of Israel, because of their disobedience, had limited God. The second is from the New Testament in Mark 6 when Jesus was in Nazareth. Mark 6:5-6 says, And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. Here, because of the unbelief of the people, the Lord Jesus could do--not would do--no mighty works. It was the Lord's will to do mighty works in Nazareth, but he needed cooperation from the people to do so. This happened another time in Gadara when the people asked Him to depart from their coasts [Matthew 8:34; Mark 5:17]. Again, outside of final judgment, the Lord needs the cooperation of physical persons to intervene in the affairs of men. And truly, final judgment is not based on the choice or will of God, but on our own choice. God loves us, and honors our own free will so much, that He allows us to choose to go to hell. It isn't God's choice for anyone to go to hell--it's ours. God wants everyone saved [Matthew 18:14; 2 Peter 3:9; Deuteronomy 30:19], but will everyone be saved? So, really, even in final judgment, the Lord honors our freedom to choose.
Spirits have more power than physical human beings, but they do not have the authority to use this power unless a physical person or body cooperates. Let's examine a scriptural application to this truth.
In Luke 8, Jesus had traveled to Gadara where He was met by a man possessed by a legion of devils. In verses 31-33, the devils besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was a herd of swine feeding on the mountain; and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
Here, the devils demonstrated that in order for them to function, they need a physical body to inhabit or cooperate with them--even a pig. The sad truth is revealed by the behavior of the swine. Unlike people, who glorify their satanic influences (homosexual lifestyles, violence, adultery, strife, lying, etc.) pigs instead choose to throw themselves off a mountain and commit suicide. It appears that these pigs were operating in more wisdom than many people do today.
I used this verse of Scripture in the previous teaching, but I'll reiterate it here. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour. [1 Peter 5:8] As I said before, the key phrase here is that the devil is seeking whom he may devour. He can only devour those who cooperate with him. These revelations are life changing, especially for those who have been taught that the devil uses some supernatural power to come against us. Again, as I described in the previous teaching, Satan's only tools against us are deception and temptation. He is a master liar and intimidator, luring people into strife, sin, wrath, and confusion. He cannot force you to do anything against your will. When you submit to sin, strife, or wrath, you have cooperated and empowered the devil to come into your life and bring destruction. And this destruction is not a result of Satan's power, but of the laws of God. God has set before you, life and death, blessing and cursing, and told you to choose life, so that you and your children would live. [Deuteronomy 30:19]
Brothers and sisters, the revelation of exactly who Satan is and the fact that he gets his power only from human beings is life changing. The level of power the devil has in your life is dependent on the level you submit to his lies and temptations. The freedom the Lord Jesus purchased for us is truly liberating--in that the devil cannot do anything to us outside of what we submit ourselves to. If you've understood what I've shared with you today, you will see the devil not as some powerful supernatural force to be feared, but as he truly is, a powerless, lying spirit. By understanding these truths, you will have a tremendous advantage over the devil by refusing to consent to temptation. All you have to do when you have a feeling, a lust, or temptation of some kind is to quit yielding to it. Yes, Satan is a factor in the world, but only because we have allowed him to be. The truth shall make you free and this is what the Bible is teaching us in James 4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Now, we can move forward to empowering you to be and remain victorious in this spiritual war. The next teaching "The Battle is in the Mind" will focus on the true spiritual battlefield and how to protect your mind from the deception of the devil.
