The Fall of the Devil

Good evening. It's good to see everyone back tonight as we continue our study of the subject of angels. We began this study Several weeks ago by looking at the angels in two categories. We would define angels as first What we would refer to as the elect Angels that's the language that the Bible uses that being those angels that Did not fall from grace that did not fall into sin that did not fall and run after the devil and so we call those angels the elect angels because that's the way the Bible describes them and We had several weeks looking at that.

Now we have moved on to We the the second category which we refer to as the fallen angels so we have those who are the elect or those who are Ones we wouldn't call them redeemed because angels do not have Salvation if angels fall there is no Savior for angels.

There is there is no salvation No repentance that the Bible describes for angels. It says if they have fallen they have fallen for good. In fact, the Bible says that God created hell For the devil and his angels that's actually part of the passage.

I'm preaching Sunday Matthew 25 says that the ones who at judgment are lost they are brought the nations are brought before the Lord and the the Sheep are put on the right side and they are taken into everlasting glory into the blessing of the kingdom prepared before the foundation of the world and Those who are on the left who who identify as the goats will be taken into the hell of fire Which was prepared for the devil and his angels.

That's specifically what the text says. It says the hell was created first and foremost for fallen angels and Men who go to hell men and women. Those of mankind who go to hell will have their punishment.

Alongside the devil the devil is not the warden of hell. He is not the chief magistrate of hell he is simply one other captive of God's eternal punishment. The Bible says Satan and his angels will be cast into the lake of fire years ago.

I did a Thing called judgment house. I was part of a troop that did a play and during the play people go in and they walk through various stages of the someone's life up until death and then they are judged and Some of them went to heaven and some of them went to hell and when you went to hell There was a hell scene and I played the devil if you can imagine some of you shaking your head.

No, I was I was The devil and I remember thinking this play is not right. Because I was in charge of hell Satan was in charge walking around as it were. Sending out demons to do his bidding and all as if that's the way things work in hell.

One of the things we have to remember the devil is not yet in hell. The devil will go to hell, but he's not there yet. Right now the Bible says he is seeking whom he may devour. He is like a roaring lion.

Seeking whom he may devour he is present in the world. He is active in the world and if we take the Situation with Job, we know there was at least a time when he was able to present himself before God.

Yet, there are those who would say that he is no longer able to do that since The Gospels when the Jesus said at the preaching of the gospel Satan fell as it were like lightning from heaven. And we see that described in the book of Revelation as well when he took a third of the angels with him.

And so some would say he's no longer Able to present himself before the Lord that that was something that was done prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again. I'll leave that up for your own personal Interpretation and study.

I won't try to seek to push you in one thought or the other. However, my thought is this. That if that is so he is at least still under the authority of God even if he cannot present himself Before the Lord with the other angels because he was able to do that in Job chapter 1.

He was presenting himself before the Lord as one of the angels and yet he was a fallen angel even at that time. And we know that by his attitude before God with Job He came in accusing Job and even accusing God he Job wouldn't be this way if you didn't give him everything he wants.

I mean, that's the Keith standard version, but you know, that's basically what he said. He said the only reason Job worships you is because you give him everything he wants. If you would just make life hard on him he would curse you and.

So God gives Satan the opportunity to make life hard on Job to demonstrate his faith. Sometimes that's a hard Lesson, there's a lot in the book of Job. That's not easy to understand. But the point of it all at the end of Job is what when Job stands before God and essentially asks why God says Were you there when I created the world?

Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth? Were you there? Can you put a hook in the snout of the Leviathan? No. Who are you? Oh man who answers back to God that's Romans chapter 9. Who are you?

I'm God. I do as I please in heaven and on earth and I have a purpose and all that I do. This might not be the most satisfying answer to some but it is the right answer God owes us. Nothing, certainly not an explanation.

So I went a little off there just kind of reminding you the Bible teaches the devil does exist. That's that we're this is actually our third week on the subject of the devil so far. We have looked at the fact that the devil does exist.

He is not just a creature of fiction. He is not just something that that was created during the Middle Ages to keep good Catholics in line. I've heard that argument that that he was created and I do. I do think that there is a Medieval picture people sometimes have the devil of big horns and goat legs and and things like that.

I don't know that the devil has such a has such an ominous appearance. I think he appears as whatever the most glorious thing we could ever desire. The devil is Desirous he's not To us as it were. I don't think he would come as a goat legged horned Beast.

I think he would come as a Good-looking thing or a thing to be desired. The Bible says he disguises himself as an angel of light. So for what reason so as to deceive many. So we've looked at the existence of Satan and last week.

We looked at the personality of Satan meaning he is a personal being he has intellect emotion and will. We looked at his names. He is called Satan the devil, which means slanderer. He is called Lucifer, which means bright star or morning star.

He is called Beelzebub. Which Loosely translated Lord of the Flies. No, not the book. But that's the the that's what that name means. Belial which means lawless. He's called the evil one the tempter the prince of this world the god of this age.

And why is he called the god of this age? Because he has so many who follow him who who even if they don't do it by their Will in the sense. I'm a devil worshipper. They do it by the will of the fact that they are denying God and and if you deny God then you are.

Then you are of your father the devil. Jesus said, you know, he said he said you believe you're of your father God. But really you're of your father the devil. The prince of the power of the air the accuser of the brethren an angel of light a serpent a dragon.

He's given all of these names and then we looked at the nature of Satan. We said he is an angelic being. We based this On the fact that he is he is accorded with the angelic hosts when he is described.

He is described and when the Bible talks about the devil and his angels. That would put him in the category of spirit being. We know what kind of being he is not. Satan is not God and He is not a God.

Because there is no other God than the God and This is why we believe in the Trinity. Because we believe Jesus has one nature with the father. There's not two gods. There's not three gods. There's one God and three persons share one nature, which is God.

That's what the Trinity teaches. We don't teach that Jesus is another God and the Holy Spirit is another God that would be Violating the doctrine of the scriptures which teach monotheism that there is only one God and.

So when someone says Satan is God or a God. It doesn't mean when the Bible says he's the god of this world. It doesn't mean that he has the quality and characteristics of Almighty God. What it means is he has a lordship over men.

And that's why it calls him the god of this world. Not that he has the qualities of God. What are some of the qualities of God that Satan does not possess? Omniscience. Satan doesn't know everything. What'd you say brother?

I couldn't hear. He doesn't possess love. Amen, and God is love. Very good. That's a good. I wouldn't have thought of that one. That's a good answer. What's another one? Omnipresence. He's not omnipotent.

He's not omnipresent. He's not omnibenevolent. That would be another way of saying love. What's another one? He's not yeah, he's not all-powerful. One that really gets me met my thought process he's not eternal.

There was a time when he was not. He is a created being. Everything other than God is created. That's that's important. People sometimes get to thinking that there's other eternal thing. There's one eternal all Eternal being and that is God.

Everything else is a created thing. Therefore Satan is creature not creator. He is he is spirit being but he's not God. So that's his nature now tonight. That was all just sort of bringing us up to where we have gotten tonight.

We're going to look at the fall of Satan. And we're going to try to look at Also his activity if time will allow but we're going to definitely look at the fall of Satan and I want to begin in Genesis chapter 3 if we could just find our place back to the opening part of the Bible.

Now we know I'm looking forward to preaching through Genesis in starting in September. Lord willing Genesis chapter 1 Gives us those great creation days and the events that happen during each one of those days.

And it culminates in God's highest Creation on this earth, which is the creation of man. How do we know man is God's highest creation? Because he says that it's the only creation that's made in his image.

That's the only thing that is made to bear the image of God. Genesis 1 26 and 27 says Mankind was created in the image of God in the image of God made he them male and female. So it's not just the guys ladies men and women bear the image of Almighty God.

Chapter 2. We get a different telling of creation not a contradictory telling but a more Specific telling of how God created man and woman. He created man first from the dust of the ground. He created woman second from the side of the man and they are in a relationship with one another.

They are married the Bible says because the Bible actually gives the end the language of marriage. It says for this reason a man will leave his father mother will cleave unto his wife and the two will become one flesh.

So Adam and Eve married by the hand of Almighty God and They are given one command. Eating out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You may eat of every other tree but do not eat of this tree, then we get to chapter 3 and that's Where we come to this?

Scenario with the devil. It doesn't call this the devil. It says the serpent, but we are well aware of the language here serpent is a is a is. Referencing the devil having taken a serpentine form. It says now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman. Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden and the woman said to the serpent? We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. But God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden.

Neither shall you touch it lest you die. Now I You'll hear me when I preach on this. I don't want to go too far. He didn't say don't touch it. She actually adds to the command of God here. God said don't eat of it, but this is an interesting little thing.

She may not have even heard this from God. She may have heard this from Adam. But that doesn't matter. There's a whole lot you go back and look she the commands given directly to Adam. It's likely he said don't even touch it.

The wasn't part of the command God gave them, but she says this. The point of the matter is she knows what not to do. She know don't even touch it. Verse four but the serpent said to the woman you shall not surely die.

What did he do? He called God a liar. Now, I don't know When the devil fell. We talked about this several weeks ago. I said, I don't know when Satan fell. There's no specific passage. No, we're gonna look at Ezekiel.

We're gonna look at Isaiah later that talk about the fall of Satan. I believe but it but there's no specific verse that says when it happened. But I know this if you're calling God a liar. You've already fallen.

So at this point he's fallen. He's calling God a liar. Some people think this is when he fell. I don't know. I know it was definitely. This is the result of the fall. What's the fallen man's natural response to the Word of God.

Not true. The fallen man's natural response to the Word of God is rebellion. And that's exactly what Satan is here. You shall not Surely die. God says you surely will die. I'm telling you he's a liar.

So right here we could go further. I don't want to again time is not my friend tonight. So we're gonna we're not going to go through all of it but ultimately just that statement you shall not surely die that is a Picture of the fall of Satan.

The attitude of Satan towards God as God's a liar. The attitude towards Satan or from Satan towards God is absolute rebellion. And what's he wanting to do? He wants to take Mankind with him. Why? Because of what I said just a few minutes ago.

Mankind is God's crowning achievement. Mankind is the only creature Made in God's image, you know angels. It never says angels are made in God's image but man is made in God's image and when man stands on the earth he stands as it were as Like a son of God.

Adam is called the son of God in certain passages. Not in the same way Jesus is a son of God, but created in his image. A special creation. Satan hates that. He wants to destroy that. So he goes right to the image-bearer and he does all that he can to destroy and he does a pretty good job.

Because he deceives the woman he causes the man to act and not outright rebellion and Causes there all of posterity all of their posterity to fall into sin. This is the fall of Satan and how he took mankind with him now in the books of Ezekiel and Isaiah.

We have what many scholars have surmised to be a description of Satan's fall prior to this event in Genesis 3 as I said last week. We have to be fair to the context of these passages in Ezekiel chapter 28 verses 11 to 19 if you want to go ahead and turn there you can.

Ezekiel chapter 28 verses 11 to 19 the actual Context is what we would what one who was called the king of Tyre remember Tyre and Sidon. This is the king of Tyre and you can see that it says in verse 11 moreover the word of the Lord came to me son of man raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre and Say thus says the Lord God now stop right there.

This is where many scholars see a Primary and a Secondary understanding and we see this sometimes in the New Testament where there will be a primary understanding and a secondary understanding. And there's sometimes the secondary understanding is is how it's applied to Christ.

An Old Testament Text might have an immediate fulfillment and a longer fulfillment what we call the right now and the not yet. Then and so this particular passage. Many scholars and I tend to agree Have said that this this section Speaks so clearly of what seems to be referencing the devil and his fall.

That it seems to be interwoven Into this statement, so I'm just going to read it. I'll let you hear it and maybe you'll see why it's verses 11 to 19 and we'll begin at verse 12. He says son of man Raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him thus says the Lord God.

You were the signet of perfection full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering sardius topaz and diamond barrel onyx and jasper sapphire emerald and carbuncle and Crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings on the day that you were created.

They were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I Placed you you were on the holy mountain of God in the midst of the stones of fire. You walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you in The abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst and you sinned.

So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God and I destroyed you. Oh guardian cherub. From the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

I cast you to the ground. I exposed you before Kings to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities and the uprightness of your trade you profaned your sanctuary. So I brought fire out from your midst and it consumed you and I turned you to ashes On the earth in the sight of all who saw you.

All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you. You have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever now. There are certain sections of this Which tend to cause people to say this is a reference to Satan and I want to just point those out to you.

The first is the reference to this particular Individual being in Eden the Garden of God. There were only three persons in the Garden of God that we are aware of from Scripture. There was Adam there was Eve and there was Satan or the devil and So if this passage is to be interpreted literally then this would have to be one of those three and So there is one of the arguments for this being a reference to the devil it says that this person was in Eden with Or in the Garden of God.

The second thing is that twice he is referred to as a cherub. What is a cherub? You remember? It was one of the angels, right? But it was it was the guard angel. The one that we said was there was two.

There's two types of angels that the Bible clearly describes the Seraphim or the burning ones the ones who surround the throne of God and worship and then there are the guardian angels the ones who are built for that.

They have the the wings that were designed for almost like armor and they are pictured as being those who guard the holy things. They're set outside the Garden of Eden. Wouldn't let Adam and Eve back in they were pictured over the Ark of God as the picture of the armor.

Or the protectors of the of the of the sacred Ark and so cherubs are a particular type of angel and. So that those two things are the reason why people would some scholars would say this is a direct Reference to Satan.

I think it's indirect. But I do think it's a reference to Satan when I say it's indirect I think the the Context is King. I Interpreted as it were. First a reference to the king of Tyre, but I think it has an underlying reference to Satan.

And so what do we learn about Satan? Well, if this is all referencing Satan, it tells us that he was made beautiful that he was made as a Creature of power and might that he stood he said he walked through the midst of the flames and he was beautiful and perfect until Iniquity was found in him.

When was the iniquity found in him? I don't know. No, no, I know that when he said You will not surely die. There was iniquity in him then because he called God a liar. Was it before that? Well something caused him to be there.

Some kind of hatred for God had manifest itself prior to make him want to be there. But ultimately we know that's the first time in Scripture. We see him act. Genesis chapter 3. Let's look now at Isaiah we've seen this passage.

The Isaiah passage is much shorter. It's only four verses. Isaiah chapter 12. No 14. Isaiah 14 12 and again the the king of Tyre is what was referenced in Ezekiel. This is the king of Babylon is referenced in Isaiah 14 but One of the reasons why people particularly see this as a reference to Satan is because the name Lucifer is used in The King James Bible in verse 12.

So if you have a King James, it says how you are fallen from heaven. Oh Lucifer son of the morning, but if you have a modern translation, it will say something like morning star or day star because it simply means bright one that word Lucifer think of like Elucidate or to make bright, you know those the word loose Has a root of lighting something up and so Lucifer means bright one.

But listen to it in context how you are fallen from heaven old day star son of dawn or Lucifer son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground you who laid the nation's low. You said in your heart.

I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high. I will sit on the mountain of the assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the clouds of the heights of the clouds.

I will make myself like the most high. But you are brought down to Sheol to the far reaches of the pit. Now you say well, that's a short section. Yes. It is and I think that primarily Men have seen it connected to Satan because of that use of the language of Lucifer there in verse 12.

However, there are what we call the five I wills of the devil. Even if this is not a reference to the devil. I Apply to the devil. Again, I I do think it's a reference to the devil. But but just saying even if it were not the five I wills are very clear.

I Will ascend to heaven above the stars of God. That's a statement of pride. I Will set my throne on high that is a again a statement of the the the self. The aggrandizing of the devil. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north.

He's he's just steadily going higher. I'm gonna be over the stars. I'm gonna be over the mountains. I'm gonna have the throne. I Will ascend above the heights of the clouds even higher. I Will make myself like the most high Satan.

I believe this. Satan wants to be God. And you say well what kind of a foolish creature thinks that he can out God. God. What kind of a foolish creature things he could do God better than God do God every one of us.

Every man fancies himself the God of his own life and were he given the opportunity. He would murder God if he thought he could take his place. That's the sinful nature of man. Every man given the opportunity Would take a knife to the throat of God if he could if he thought he could take his place.

Satan was created wonderful so much so that he thought he didn't need God and. So How about us? They were met somebody who was so fascinated with themselves. That they thought they acted like they were God.

Yeah I will imagine being as beautiful and as perfect as Satan. Created as as one like him and that's the picture. So why did Satan fall? Pride. I Think that's an easy answer to a difficult question. Why did Satan fall.

He wanted to be like God and What was the statement that Satan gave to Eve when he we didn't make it this far when we read Genesis 3 earlier. But what was the statement? God knows on the day that you eat of the fruit of the tree that you will be like him.

That was what caused Adam to want to eat the tree the fruit of the tree. The promise that you will be like God. Why is Satan called the God of this world? Because so many follow his example. We want to be like God not in a good way.

We want to be God. I've heard Illustration used to be like this if you if you imagine a little throne that sits in your heart a little chair. And there's only one person that can sit on it at a time. All of your life you were sitting on the throne of your heart until God came and he changed your heart and He got you off the throne and he sat on the throne and now the Holy Spirit sits on that little throne in your heart.

But what have we been doing ever since? Trying to fight to get back. That's what happens when we sin. That's our that's our attempt to make it back to the throne. You know, I saw something the other day made me laugh.

It was a one of these little pictures people put online and it was a parent saying something to a child. Why do I have to keep telling you not to do that? I should only have to tell you once and the next picture was the Holy Spirit picture supposed to be the Holy Spirit going.

Like really you're saying I should only tell you what about you. Yeah, I Do want to end tonight on Satan so so let me let me move now to the activity of Satan. This is the last thing and I'm just gonna ask for maybe maybe ten more minutes and we'll finish.

We'll finish Satan in the next week. We'll move to demons which really stays on the same Category fallen angels, but I tell you I'm about I'm about done with Satan. I won't move on. So let's talk a real quick about the activity of Satan because I think this is helpful.

There's two types of activity that we need to realize when we're dealing with Satan. The first is what we would identify as indirect activity and. The second is what we would identify as direct activity indirect activity and direct activity.

Indirect activity. The Bible describes the three great enemies of the Christian as what? What's the three great enemies of the soul? The world the flesh and The devil that's what the Bible describes is the three great enemies of the soul now.

I want to Show you this some of you have seen this illustration before a lot of people think of it like this as a person. That's that's a person. We deal with the world we deal with the flesh we deal with the devil and it's like three different categories of of dealing.

That's not Really How it operates it's more like this. I'll draw another man. He lives in the flesh the flesh lives in the world. The world is influenced by the devil. So it's not three different categories.

It's it's how the devil indirectly Assaults us. He indirectly assaults us through our flesh. Which is indirectly assaulted by the world which is indirect directly and indirectly influenced by him. Give you an example.

Let's bring it home. Let's say there are things that might make a man have lustful thoughts and so there might be a Some television program or something that's the world's opportunity to entice the flesh.

Right, or maybe there's something that really angers us and so the devil ensures that this is what we're. Maybe it's. When we're driving to work in the morning the traffic that we hate brother. We've talked about that some a little bit, you know different things.

Maybe it's the. And I'll bring that up because you know, we've talked about that so many times. It's it's we hate it. Maybe it's your. Maybe it's a person in your family. Who is? Who causes you great consternation and you just you just can't you driving you crazy.

You're angry all the time and. So that's an indirect road. That Satan is using either to increase your anger increase your lust increase your frustrations. Increase whatever because in those times and in those things you are less effective.

Is that not true that when you are angry and I see you know people come to church angry. You know, maybe maybe maybe mom made me come day. I didn't want to come. Maybe my wife made me. Well, my wife doesn't make me come.

I have to come. Maybe you know, yes, I don't get an option on Sunday morning. There's no chance. I'm getting out of it. But you know you you're here you don't really want to be or maybe somebody said something to you ugly on the way in.

Maybe somebody rubbed you the wrong way last week. You don't really want to see them. These are indirect ways. That Satan is using the flesh and the world to attack us now again. Those are indirect ways.

Now, let's look at the direct again. I'm cutting this a little short for time. What are the direct ways? Well in the Bible, we see Satan directly Dealing with certain people. He directly dealt with Christ in his ministry.

He tempted Christ in Matthew chapter 4. He sought to thwart Christ's work and he even possessed Judas. There's only a few people in the Bible that ever says was possessed by Satan. A lot of people possessed by demons.

But the Bible says Satan entered Judas and that a thought I Don't know that Satan's ever known my name. Remember what we said earlier. He's not omniscient. He's not omnipresent, I think Satan's got a lot bigger fish to fry than me.

I Think I've been dealt with by demons before now. I'm not. I've never heard them or seen them, but I think that there have been demonic Activities that I've dealt with in my life, but I don't know that I've ever had the big cheese as it were.

You know, and I I don't know if I could if I'm saying it too flippantly. But the point is he's dealt with me indirectly. He's dealt with some people. Absolutely directly. Judas received a direct indwelling.

Satan entered Judas when he went and Rejected Christ and and turned him over to the authorities. Satan also according to Scripture is Hindering the minds and the eyes of the unbelievers so that they would not understand or hear the gospel.

The Bible says Jesus gives a parable of the four soils. Remember he says I he said the sower went out and sowed a seed and he felt some of the seed fell along the path and some of it fell along rocky soil some of it fell along the weeds and some fell into good soil and then he goes back later and he gives a Interpretation he said this the seed that fell on the path was eaten by the birds and He said that is Somebody hearing the Word of God and Satan comes and snatches it away.

You ever seen that happen? I mean, you're obviously not seeing the devil physically. But you ever seen somebody hear the Word of God and they it's almost like there's there's not it's just not making it.

It's like it's hitting them and it's bouncing off like bullets off a Superman. All right, and that's the devil just now again. It might not be directly might be Satan or the demons, but whatever. That's an that's a direct work in Believers.

The Bible says he does some things. He tempts believers to pride. He tempts believers to materialism to immorality to lying. To discouragement you ever been discouraged. Charles Spurgeon Talks about the dark night of the soul.

He was a man who was a great wonderful preacher of the gospel, but he was also a man who dealt with severe depression and problems in his soul and He referred to those times as being. You know having dealing with oppression of spiritual oppression and that's what I don't believe Christians can be possessed by demons.

But I do believe we can be oppressed. And so he said why can't we be possessed. Well we are possessed by the Holy Spirit and. So I would just I would. I don't think the Holy Spirit allows a really bad roommate in to this.

I know maybe a silly way of looking at it. I just don't think the Holy Spirit would allow us to be possessed By demons or the devil, which is another reason why I don't believe Judas. Some people believe Judas was a believer who lost his salvation.

I don't believe that the Bible says he was. He was Marked out from the beginning for this condemnation, you know the Judas was not a believer ever. He didn't lose his salvation. He never had it. But so we see.

There's a lot and again I have a lot of script. I'd be happy to Photocopy this and give it to you because I've got all these scripture references here. I'm just for sake of time I'm moving through this.

The Bible teaches he hinders the ministry of believers. He promotes false teaching among believers and he promotes anger bitterness and division but his primary his primary activity is the activity of impersonating God.

The devil loves to impersonate God. I think that's what we see in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. He desires to be like God so he does. And so I want to end our study of the devil by reading from Reading just a short quote from this book.

This is from a Jay Oswald Sanders gives a description of the counterfeit nature of the devil's schemes. This way says Satan has his own false Trinity the devil the beast and the false prophet of Revelation 16.