Revelation 12:7-9 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. (NIV)
Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (NIV)
As we talked about last, Satan is here on the earth awaiting the time when he will eventually be thrown into the lake of fire. As he's here, what is he doing? Our first look at Satan in the Bible is in the garden with Adam and Eve. After God created man, he gave him the world to subdue. He handed it over into Adam and Eve's hands and gave them specific instructions.
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (NIV)
Genesis 2:15-17 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (NIV)
Also in the garden with Adam and Eve was a serpent whose body Satan had taken. When God banned Satan and his followers from heaven, he also stripped them of their bodies which meant that they could take other forms (we see this all throughout the Bible). At this point in humanity, we were made with spirits connected to God. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden and knew Him intimately. Yet we see that right away, Satan is trying to come between man and God.
Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Satan twists the Lord's words right away and tempts Eve with equality with God. The woman was deceived by the serpent and after she ate the fruit, she then gave some to her husband who knowingly and willingly sinned. Adam was not deceived, for God spoke directly to Him! At the moment when they ate of the tree and disobeyed God, they became spiritually dead and disconnected from Him.
1 Timothy 2:14 Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (ESV)
But another thing to understand is the transaction that happened between Satan and Adam. God had given Adam the earth to rule over. God also created mankind with free will. So when Adam decided to sin against God and obey Satan, he in turn handed over his rights to the earth right to Satan. Since this time, the world has "belonged" to Satan. Because God is perfect and cannot sin or lie and because of the free will he has given us, he cannot take back what Adam gave up until it is time. God gave Adam earth for a certain amount of time, like a lease. Once the lease is up, Satan will no longer be the God of this earth.
Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (ESV)
So this is what we need to understand from all this-- Satan runs this earth right now. Satan knows how much God loves us and he would do anything to spite God. His ultimate goal is to take us away from God and to fill our lives with destruction and pain, because that hurts God. If we are not born again, we belong to this world. If we belong to this world, we belong to Satan. That is why it is so crucial we make the decision to follow Christ and that we share this news with others so that they can be saved. Tomorrow I will talk more about the salvation we are offered through Christ!
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (NIV)
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (NIV)
1 Peter 5:8-9 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (NIV)
Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (NIV)
As we talked about last, Satan is here on the earth awaiting the time when he will eventually be thrown into the lake of fire. As he's here, what is he doing? Our first look at Satan in the Bible is in the garden with Adam and Eve. After God created man, he gave him the world to subdue. He handed it over into Adam and Eve's hands and gave them specific instructions.
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (NIV)
Genesis 2:15-17 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (NIV)
Also in the garden with Adam and Eve was a serpent whose body Satan had taken. When God banned Satan and his followers from heaven, he also stripped them of their bodies which meant that they could take other forms (we see this all throughout the Bible). At this point in humanity, we were made with spirits connected to God. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden and knew Him intimately. Yet we see that right away, Satan is trying to come between man and God.
Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Satan twists the Lord's words right away and tempts Eve with equality with God. The woman was deceived by the serpent and after she ate the fruit, she then gave some to her husband who knowingly and willingly sinned. Adam was not deceived, for God spoke directly to Him! At the moment when they ate of the tree and disobeyed God, they became spiritually dead and disconnected from Him.
1 Timothy 2:14 Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (ESV)
But another thing to understand is the transaction that happened between Satan and Adam. God had given Adam the earth to rule over. God also created mankind with free will. So when Adam decided to sin against God and obey Satan, he in turn handed over his rights to the earth right to Satan. Since this time, the world has "belonged" to Satan. Because God is perfect and cannot sin or lie and because of the free will he has given us, he cannot take back what Adam gave up until it is time. God gave Adam earth for a certain amount of time, like a lease. Once the lease is up, Satan will no longer be the God of this earth.
Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (ESV)
So this is what we need to understand from all this-- Satan runs this earth right now. Satan knows how much God loves us and he would do anything to spite God. His ultimate goal is to take us away from God and to fill our lives with destruction and pain, because that hurts God. If we are not born again, we belong to this world. If we belong to this world, we belong to Satan. That is why it is so crucial we make the decision to follow Christ and that we share this news with others so that they can be saved. Tomorrow I will talk more about the salvation we are offered through Christ!
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (NIV)
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (NIV)
1 Peter 5:8-9 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (NIV)
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