“The Bible calls Satan our adversary the devil, the accuser of the brethren, that old serpent, the enemy and various other names”.
So let’s track down this adversary of ours.
We gather from the Bible that at some point in eternity past God created the angels.
They are eternal spirit beings, but not created in the image of God. Man is the only creation to have that privilege.
Just like us, they were also created with the freedom and the ability to choose.
Angels are referred to as “heavenly hosts” and “armies of heaven” in the Bible. Amongst their various roles, they were also created to minister and assist us human beings.
They had rank and order.
The three highest ranking ones were Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer, each created with a different role and purpose.
Lucifer, who later became Satan the devil, was the most beautiful creation of them all. The beauty and the wisdom he had and still has today, is second to none.
The Bible says that he is the ‘angel of light’ [2 Corinthians 11:14].
The Bible suggests the prime role that he had was to oversee the worship in Heaven.
How It All Began
Lucifer began as an obedient angel. However, at some point, his beauty and his wisdom got the better of him and pride entered his heart. He became God’s adversary.
“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God”, he said with a pride-filled heart.
He continues,“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”.
Then he states his ulterior motive, “I will be like the most High.” [Isaiah 14:13-14]
He was seeking to usurp the Throne and Authority of God, the one who created him.
How can the creature be greater than its Creator? But that is the big risk God took, because His creations are created with the freedom to choose.
That is Who God is.
So in a bid to overthrow and replace God, he unsuccessfully led a rebellion and coup in heaven, after deceiving and getting a third of the armies of heaven to side with him.
The result was that he was thrown out of heaven to the earth. His place of eternal imprisonment called hell was set in place for him and the rest of his heavenly troops. His day of eternal doom has been appointed. It will happen.
Mission To Subdue And Have Dominion
When God eventually created man, he created him with a mission to subdue and have dominion over all the earth [Genesis 1:28].
But as we know that man succumbed to the deceptive temptation of Satan right there in the Garden of Eden.
He fell, and by the virtue of his falling he handed that authority and dominion that God gave him, to Satan the devil [Luke 4:6].
The curse set in as a result, and Satan became “the god of this world” [2 Corinthians 4:4].
Please refer to and read Crumb 0015.
The Role Of Satan Today
Today his sole agenda is to defile and destroy every bit and aspect of God’s creation.
He especially us men, who have been created in the “image of God”.
He has a deep hatred towards God and us. I would go as far as saying that his deep hatred towards us is ‘as perfect’ as God’s deep Love towards us, at least as far as the intensity of emotion is concerned.
Satan is our sworn adversary indeed.
Everything he learnt from God, he uses against God and us. He is a master deceiver and he is extremely good at it. He deceives both men and nations. The only way we can be wiser than him is through the Word of God. He has got the tremendous ability to deceive us even using God’s Word by very subtly twisting it and using it out of context.
He tried to use the same tactic on Jesus [Matthew 4:1-11] and [Luke 4:1-13].
It never worked.
But here is the thing. If the devil had the audacity to use this tactic on Jesus, the Son of God, he will surely use it on us.
That is why it is so important for us to be so thorough with the Truth of the Word of God.
We need understanding it in its right context, so that we never fall for his deceptions.
We must know why we believe what we believe
The great Apostle Paul admonishingly wrote, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth” [2 Timothy 2:15].
Here at Bread Basket Crumbs, we prayerfully, with God’s guidance, also seek to bring out the various Scriptures that Satan, through the voices of men, will subtly twist, in an attempt to bring doubt and confusion in our hearts.
We trust this will help and encourage you to dig deep and seek out the Truth for yourselves, because it’s all there.
The Psalmist confidently says, “Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me” [Psalm 119:98].
Final Conclusion
We often hear the phrase, “know your enemy”, which is undoubtedly true. Yes, we must know our adversary.
Peter warns us in [1 Peter 5:8] warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”.
We’d rather conclude by saying, “KNOW THE TRUTH”, which will more than just take care of our enemy. It will keep the devil where he belongs.
“UNDER OUR FEET”. [Romans 16:20]
Amen and Amen
The enemy can try to push us into a corner over certain things – so we meditate mutter and learn by repetition the verses that counter his attacks. Once I embarked on a monumental journey of learning that took all of 3 months to complete – at the end I looked to the Lord for assurance. Maybe even a little pat on the back. Then he spoke and dropped into my Spirit just one solitary verse. Romans 5v2. It was enough to stop my striving forever.
AMEN……Romans 5:2 is another powerful “Seal Dealer”