The Holy Spirit in the 21st Century



Lesson 5

The Devil

The newspaper headlines document the unimaginable: a famous and well-respected man has been arrested for a serious crime. He and several of his colleagues have been under investigation and now they are facing criminal charges. They are preparing a vigorous legal defense and the upcoming trial is expected to be vicious. Stunned, you can hardly believe what you are reading.

As appalling as these kinds of news reports are, they are minuet in comparison to the greatest crime and resulting battle that has ever happened – when Satan and his cohorts rebelled against God.

1. His Origin

• "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. 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. "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. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. Ezekiel 28:12-15

• "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. Ezekiel 28:17

• For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Isaiah 14:13-14

Lucifer, “Morning Star,” was created and anointed by God to be a mighty guardian angel. Spectacular in beauty, intelligence, wisdom, he rose to a prominent leadership position among all of God’s angels. He was in a position to influence the other angels, and freely did so – when he fell, one third of the angels fell with him.

As Lucifer’s authority increased, he began to love the sense of power and self-importance he derived from his position. Not only that, he developed a fixation with his own beauty and intelligence. He became filled with pride, conceit and a grand sense of self-importance. (Note: 1 Timothy 3:6: not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.) It is important to note that his idea wasn’t to replace God, but rather to be equal with Him, a tactic that he still uses today as he competes with God for our priorities. Note the below Scripture:

• Isaiah 14:14: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

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2. His personality

The Bible speaks of the devil as a personality, not merely an evil influence. The Greek Word for devil is “Diablos” meaning of repetitiously throwing something, striking it again, again and again until the object being struck has finally been penetrated. We also see from scripture that he has:

• Will – (Satan 14:13-14)

• He is highly intelligent; having knowledge and reasoning abilities – (Job 1:6-11; 2:1-5)

• He has memorized Scripture and knows Christian doctrine – (Matthew 4:6)

• He knows that Jesus Christ is the perfect Son of God – (Mark 1:23-24)

• He has supernatural powers and performs acts – (1 Chronicles 21:1, Job 2:7; 2 Corinthians 4:4)

• He desires worship – (Matthew 4:8-9)

• He has a purpose (John 13:2) or rather, an anti-purpose – (Mark 4:15)

• He uses lies, half-truths, and deceit – (2 Corinthians 11:14)

He is both an instigator and reactionary. He starts fights and his objective is to frustrate and obstruct God’s Kingdom in any was he can.

While God’s angels have heavenly bodies, Satan and his demons are evil spirits who, having no body, must look for someone or something to inhabit (Matthew 12:43-45)

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3. His Names and Titles

|Name: |Reference: |Meaning: |

|Abaddon and Apollyon |Revelation 9:11 |Destroyer, The angel of the bottomless pit |

|Accuser of the brethren |Revelation 12:10 | |

|Adversary |1 Peter 5:8 | |

|Angel of light |2 Corinthians 11:14 | |

|Anointed Cherub |Ezekiel 28:14 | |

|Antichrist |1 John 4:3 | |

|Beelzebub |Matthew 12:24,27 |Dung god; lord of the flies |

|Belial |2 Corinthians 6:15 |Worthless; wickedness |

|Devil |Matthew 4:1,5; Revelation 12:9 |Accuser, slanderer |

|Dragon; The great dragon |Revelation 12:3,m 9; 20:2 | |

|Enemy |Matthew 13:39 | |

|Father of Lies |John 8:44 |` |

|God of this world |2 Corinthians 4:4 | |

|Leviathan |Isaiah 27:1 |Huge sea monster or snake |

|Murderer |John 8:44` | |

|Serpent, Old Serpent |Genesis 3:1, 14; Isaiah 27:1; 2 Corinthians | |

| |11:3; Revelation 12:9; 20:2 | |

|Prince of the devils |Matthew 12:24 | |

|Prince of the power of the air |Ephesians 2:2 | |

|Prince of this world |John 12:31; 14:30 | |

|Satan |1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 1:6; John 13:27; Acts |Opponent; adversary; arch-enemy |

| |5:3, 26:18; Romans 16:20 | |

|Tempter |Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5 | |

|Wicked/Evil one |Matthew 13:19, 38 | |

| | | |

His names reveal his personality. Look at the warning that Peter wrote to us in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (NKJV) the Christian must always be on guard against the enemy of our souls and never give him a foothold to destroy that which God has done in our lives. (See Romans 6:11-14)

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4. His Defeat

a. At the Time of His fall:

• Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.' "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! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. Isaiah 14:12-15

• "By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. Ezekiel 28:16-17

• And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. Revelation 12:16-18

• His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. Revelation 12:4

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b. In the Garden of Eden

• So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." Genesis 3:14-15

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c. By Christ in the Wilderness

• Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.' " Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER YOU,' and, IN THEIR HANDS THEY SHALL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU DASH YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.' " Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.' " Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.' Matthew 4:3-10

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d. At the Cross

• Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Colossians 2:15

• Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil Hebrews 2:14

• And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelation 1:17-18

5. His Destiny

• He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. Revelation 20:2-3

6. His Final End

• Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:7-10

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Conclusion

• The devil has great power, but only God is omnipotent.

• The devil has a lot of knowledge, but only God is omniscient.

• The devil has a network of demons but he is limited to where he can be at one time; only God is omnipresent…(and God has twice as many angels as the devil does)

• The devils power is still subject to the will of God – (Job 1:12, 2:6; Luke 22:32-32; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

• We need to resist the devil – (James 4:7)

• We need to remember that Jesus is interceding on our behalf – (1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 7:25; Luke 22:31-32)

• We need to be vigilant, aware of the devil’s plans and schemes – (1 Peter 5:8-9)

• We need to deny the devil any foothold in our lives – (Ephesians 4:27)

• We need to understand that God has given us everything we need to stand in the spiritual warfare against the schemes of the devil – (Ephesians 6:10-18)

• When the enemy comes to us as “the accuser of the brethren, “ reminding us of our past, we need to stand up in God’s authority and remind him of his future.

Finally, we don’t have to be afraid of him; he needs to be afraid of us. We are part of God’s victorious army – the devil leads a loosing force. At the end of it all, we win…he loses! Now that is the perspective we need to keep. AMEN!

Additional Notes:________________________________________________________________ ______ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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WE BELIEVE in the personality of Satan/Devil who, by his influence, brought about the downfall of Man, and now seeks to destroy the faith of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: Genesis 3:1-15; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8; John 13:2

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