1927AFC070519 – A Serious Falling Out
Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Luke 10:18 – 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. …”
¡Que la bendición esté siempre con ustedes y que Dios los bendiga, Amados! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd!) Today I am led to this short – but extraordinary – statement by Jesus. It is one of those passages that references Jesus as “The Ancient of Days;” recall that John the Baptist say “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.” Jesus just told everyone he saw Satan get tossed out of Heaven. Did that happen before or after God created the heavens and the Earth? Final answer: We don’t know. What we do know is that Jesus knew who Satan is before earthlings did, because Satan, a.k.a. Lucifer, was there “in the beginning” to louse up the lives of the beings created in God’s image and likeness. Who is this fallen angel, and why is it important to know about him?
Jesus said he saw him fall from Heaven. This is recorded here: 
Isaiah 14:12 – 12 How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
He was an Angel of God – some make him out to be a “Worship Leader” in the Heavenly realm – and he decided he wanted to be God. We call him Satan or the Devil. We first hear of Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1 – he “stood up against Israel, and incited David to count the people of Israel.” He is first referred to as the Devil in the New Testament. The terms are roughly equivalent. Satan is a devil and a devil, like Satan, is one who “stands against” – opposes, accuses, contends – against us, the earthlings. Satan, also referred to by his angelic name Lucifer, the “Angel of Light,” is that angel which rebelled against God by desiring to be “greater-than-or-equal-to” God. His rebellion cost him his place in Heaven, and set the course for everything he has done since then. (See 1 Samuel 15:23 for God’s view of rebellion) When he was cast out of heaven (See Isaiah 14:12-15), he took many of his followers with him. He is the prosecutor who charges us with sin and attempts to bend us to his will by twisting the truth; he is a liar. Satan looks like this in Hebrew: שָּׂטָן (Satan) {saw-tawn’}, meaning “enemy” or “adversary,” who is always opposed to God’s will, constantly plotting against God and all of humanity. The word Satan is not properly a name, but rather a quality of essence – it describes what he does. Often in the Old Testament the word occurs with the demonstrative article “ha” as in ha-Satan – the accuser, the enemy, the prosecutor, or the persecutor. There are about 10 occurrences of this sort of reference in the first two chapters of Job. Another example is in Zechariah 3:1–2 where God is the “Counsel for the Defense” and Satan is the “Prosecuting Attorney.” One small point I would like to make is that the word is pronounced seɪtən (sayt-n) not seɪntən (saynt-n). There is only 1 (one) N in that word, and it is at the end of the word.
In the Greek version of the Old Testament, he is Σατανᾶν, ς (Satanan or Satanas) {sat-an-as’}; he is also referred to as διάβολος diabolos {dee-ab’-ol-os}, a slanderer who throws misrepresentation of Truth into our path. He is the Prince of Demons, the Old Serpent, Old Scratch, and Prince of the Air. He gained Adam’s right to God’s Garden when Adam gave the Serpent a higher level of trust than he gave God. Satan’s minions (which are not at all like the cute little yellow creatures so popular these days) are called Fallen Angels – δαιμόνιον (daimonion) {dahee-mon’-ee-on} – evil spirits who are the messengers and ministers of the devil. They serve him by plaguing us with lies and more lies attempting to get us to trust ourselves rather than God; in short, they try to get us to commit their sin of opposing and rebelling against God in all things. Jesus saw Satan fall and I sincerely believe he was expecting him to show up when he went into the desert to fast and pray.
Here are some other passages where this lying snake is identified:
Job 1:6-9 – 6 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan* also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? *Or the Accuser; Hebrew: ha-Satan.
Romans 16:20 – 20 The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
1 Corinthians 5:4b-5 – When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 – 12 And what I do I will also continue to do, in order to deny an opportunity to those who want an opportunity to be recognized as our equals in what they boast about. 13 For such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their deeds.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 – 9 The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, 10 and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, 12 so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.
Matthew 25:41 – 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
Revelation 2:9 – 9 “I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews [in Smyrna] and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. …”
Revelation 2:13 – 13 “I know where you are living, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives. …”
Revelation 20:1-10 – Read the whole passage for the context of the following:
- Revelation 20:2-3 – 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while.
- Revelation 20:7-8 – 7 When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea.
- Revelation 20:10 – 10 And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
John 6:67-71 – 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
John 8:44 – 44 You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
We see quite a lot of this contemptuous maligning – slander and libel, “mud-slinging” – in politics today. The root word for all of this is Διαβάλλω (diaballó) {dee-ab-al’-lo} which gives us διάβολος (diabolos) {dee-ab’-ol-os}. It is someone who is slanderous, making false accusations, and defaming character. Such a one is called a slanderer; a false accuser; it is someone who is unjustly criticizing another to cause hurt (malign) and condemn with the objective of dissolving a valid relationship; the intent is always malicious even if the information is truthful (which is quite often not the case!). The goal of causing division is the preemptory goal in this just as it is in the rebellion against God by Lucifer and his angels, the demons. Of course, God had a plan for this from “In the Beginning.”
We see that first in Genesis 3:15 – 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. Another example is in Zechariah 3:8 – 8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. Yes, you are correct! That is the RADIX JESSE, A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The fruit he will bear is the fruit of Truth, and Truth will conquer and destroy both the lie and the liar. This is what the Apostle Peter meant in 1 Peter 5:8 – 8 Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. How do you avoid this prowling, growling, hungry lion? WITH CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Learn to discern in every concern to prevent his return. And how does one discern evil? Is evil something of the natural world, or of the supernatural – the spiritual? See what the Apostle Paul says here:
1 Corinthians 2:11-16 – 11 For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual*. 14 Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” [Refers to Isaiah 40:13] But we have the mind of Christ.
*Having the Spirit of God.
Woe to those who say, “I don’t believe in the Devil. God wouldn’t do that to anyone.” Belovéd, God believes in the Devil enough to warn us about that ancient Evil and to rescue us from his clutches. Maybe it’s best we follow God’s example. Otherwise we could end up in a serious falling out like Lucifer did.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.
