When it comes to asking questions about Satan . Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.”
Many of these unbelievers tell us the teaching on the existence of satan came from parents who wanted to scare their children into doing good by saying, “If you aren’t good the boogie man is going to get you!”
Illus: To say there is no devil is like walking in the forest and saying there is no trees.
To say there is no devil makes us think of the boxer who was boxing this fellow and he was beating the stuffings out of him.
• After the first round he came to his corner and had a bloody nose. His trainer said to him, “Go get him champ, he has not laid a glove on you!
• After the second round he came to his corner and had a bloody lip. His trainer said to him, “Go get him champ, he has not laid a glove on you!
• After the third round he came to his corner and had two black eyes. His trainer said to him, “Go get him champ, he has not laid a glove on you!
He turned to his trainer with a bloody nose, fat lip and two black eyes and the fighter took his mouthpiece out and said, “You keep telling me that he never laid a glove on me. Do me a favor and keep an eye on that referee because somebody is beating the devil out of me!”
The Bible tells us Matthew 10:28 And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The Bible tells us he is the worst enemy we have and he should be treated just that way. HE IS OUR ENEMY AND HE WANTS TO DESTROY US!!!
Illus: I like the way the Prime Minister of Israel, Netanyahu view Israel enemy.
He was being interviewed on television about their conflict with the Palestinians. He was asked by a reporter what he thought Israel’s position should be toward the Palestinians. He shock this this liberal reporter when he said…
• “We should destroy them!”
• The liberal reporter said, “All of them?”
• He said, “All of them!”
• And the reporter said, “Isn’t that radical!”
• He said, “Not in the least, because that is their goal toward Israel. They want to wipe Israel from the face of the earth.”
We Christians are at war with satan, and we need to recognize he is our enemy and he wants to destroy us!!!
In this sermon I want to show you two things:
(1) The war in heaven
(2) The war on earth
First, let us look at...
I. THE WAR IN HEAVEN
HOW DO WE KNOW THERE IS A DEVIL?
First, because the Word of teaches there is a devil.
He is called in the Bible:
1. Angel of the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:11).
2. Accuser (Rev. 12:10).
3. Belial (II Cor. 6:15).
4. Adversary (I Peter 5:8).
5. Beast (Rev. 19:19).
6. Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24).
7. Deceiver (Rev. 12:9).
8. Dragon (Rev. 12:7).
9. God of this world (II Cor. 4:4).
10. Liar and murderer (John 8:44).
11. Serpent (Rev. 12:9).
12. Prince of this world (John 12:31).
13. Tempter (I Thess. 3:5).
14. Prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2) .—Selected
SECONDLY, If the Bible did not teach the existence of Satan these things that we see each day should be proof there is a devil.
The physical evidence of Satan’s existence is quite clear on this planet:
• Sin,
• Broken marriages,
• Illnesses,
• Murders,
Theft,
• Rape,
• Abortion,
• Homosexuality,
• Child molesting,
• Terrorism – beheading
• Mass shootings
On and on we could go. Yes, there is plenty of physical evidence of the existence of Satan.
Because there is a devil the Bible tells us in
I Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
Every day the Bible teaches satan “Walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”. He wants to destroy us and our children.
Illus: Dr. Billy Graham said, “Don’t think of Satan as a harmless cartoon character with a red suit and a pitchform. He is clever and powerful, and his unchanging purpose is to defeat God’s plans at every turn – including His plans for your life.”
I want to ask you a question. Who is the devil?
Now ladies, this is not a good time to turn and look at your husband or you husbands to look at your wife. Just play it safe and look at your children!!!
The devil is a masquerader of masqueraders!
Illus: Red Skeleton was a great comedian. He was known as “Man of a thousand faces”. He could masquerade as:
• Clown
• Hobo
• Nice looking man
But when it comes to masquerading the devil is the greatest!!!
Look how he masquerade himself the King of tyrus in Ezekiel 28:11-13, “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”
Some in interpreting these three verses they ask...
(1) Is God’s Word talking about the King of Tyrus?
(2) Is God’s Word talking about satan?
I can prove to you from God’s Word He is talking about Satan.
Notice, this individual in Ezekiel 28:11-13 in these three verses this individual is:
• Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
• Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God. (Notice, this individual was in the Garden of Eden at one time)
These two things pertain to satan not the king of Tyrus.
Let me explain how God was talking to Satan even though it may appear that He is talking to the King of Tyrus.
Let me explain it this way, remember in Matthew 16:21-23, the Lord said, “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
Notice, in response, Jesus directed his rebuke towards Peter, but In actuality he was really talking to Satan.
HERE IS THE PROOF HE IS TALKING ABOUT SATAN IN EZEKIEL 28!!!
Here we find our first HINT that the person He really was talking to was Satan, for the King of Tyre lived at least three-thousand years after humans were banned from the Garden. SO HE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING THE KING OF TYRE!!!
WHAT IS THE EXPLANATION?
Let me explain it this way, something we forget in dealing with this passage is that angels have the ability to transform themselves into different forms.
For example, Hebrews 13:2 gives us some insight into this Scripture. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
The logical deduction is:
• That Satan (the fallen angel) took the form of a snake (In the garden).
• But he also took on the identity of the King of Tyre.
Notice, in Genesis 2:8 through 3:24, in the garden of Eden there are only four characters mentioned:
(1) God,
(2) Adam,
(3) Eve,
(4) The Devil who masqueraded himself as a serpent.
These are the only four creatures that were in the garden. The king of Tyre, therefore, could not possibly have ever been in the Garden of Eden.
Satan assumed the identities of the serpent and the king of Tyre.
PERHAPS THESE ARE THE EARLIEST EXAMPLES OF IDENTITY THEFT
Listen, the devil can masquerade as almost anyone or anything he wants to masquerade as.
WITH THIS IN MIND I NEED TO ISSUE A WARNING HERE!!!
Illus: Do you ever hear of people talking to the dead. This is called a séance. In the séance DOES SOMEONE THAT LOOKS LIKE A DEAD LOVED ONE APPEAR TO THEM? Yes, someone appears to be a loved one, but it is Satan who has changed himself into the form of a loved one.
This is dangerous stuff and when people do this they are opening themselves up to the devil that can appear in different forms.
What is being said in Ezkiel is directly to the devil himself, not the king of Tyre.
Look at Ezekiel 28:11-12: “Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus (the devil), and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.”
Notice, Satan is full of wisdom and exceedingly beautiful.
Actually he is the most beautiful and the most intelligent being that God ever created.
His intelligence might be as much as a thousand times greater than human intelligence.
He is so much smarter than human beings that he is easily able to deceive us.
Illus: Have you ever played with someone that is smart in playing checkers? Some people are so smart they know exactly what you are going to do and when you make your move they start jumping all over the board.
As Christians anytime we have to deal with Satan we need to understand that he has had thousands of years to learn things about us humans. HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO TEMPT US TO DO EVIL.
That is, he knows what it takes to make us tick.
Illus: For example, we parents had been around for many years before our children were ever born and we parents know of dangers our children do not know about.
And Satan has been around for thousands of years and he knows things about humanity that we do not know.
He is the most beautiful creature and intelligen that God has ever made.
Notice, in describing God in In the book of Revelation in Rev. 4:1-3, God was described using precious stones and gems as comparisons.
Why? Because these stones are something we can relate to as something beautiful.
If God’s Word described God with arms and legs we would see God as no more than man. But when we see these precious stones it tells us that God is BEAUTIFUL!!!
But not only does he Bible use PRECIOUS STONES in describing God, the Bible also use PRECIOUS STONES IN DESCIBING SATAN.
Notice, in Ezekiel. 28:13 stones are used when describing Satan also. “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. ”
God’s Word here is describing Satan’s beauty the way HE WAS CREATED!
Satan, the most beautiful being that God ever created.
• Notice, God also said about him, Ezekiel 28:13, “The workmanship of thy taberets and of thy pipes (Beautiful voice) was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.” He had a beautiful voice that God gave him when he was created.
• Notice, God said about him In Ezekiel. 28:14, “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so.”
• Satan was above all the other angels. His position was second only to that of God Himself.
• God not only created Satan as the most beautiful and most intelligent being in all the universe, but also gave him the highest position. Look at Ezekiel. 28:15 “Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
Satan could visit throughout the entire universe and was free to come and go in God’s throne room, the holy mountain of God, into the presence of God Himself.
The question is, DID GOD CREATE THE DEVIL?
Of course he did, He is the creator of all things. Look again at Ezekiel 28:13, “The workmanship of thy taberets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”
God created him to be intelligent and beautiful, but God did not create him to be evil
No! In Ezek. 28:15 says, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
HOW DID THIS TRANSFORMATION COME ABOUT TO BECOMING THE BEST CREATURE TO BECOMING THE WORST CREATURE?
Consider what might happen to a human being if he or she were extremely intelligent and beautiful.
Illus: Often people start to make it big in Hollywood. All of a sudden they have fame, beauty and money and they cease being the people they once were.
I remind you that Satan was created the most beautiful creature that God ever created. He was given position of power and had an abundance of wisdom.
It does not take much imagination to see that he could become intensely proud of his beauty and intelligence.
This experience has happened over and over again on the earth to people who were not even the most beautiful or the most intelligent. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO SATAN.
Satan pride caused a war in heaven and God won that war in heaven and literally threw satan out of heaven to earth.
But satan was able to take one-third of the angels with him.
The angels had a free will and the reason we know that is that they chose to follow satan.
We have been looking at THE WAR IN HEAVEN, but now I want to show you-
II. THE WAR ON EARTH
Before earth and mankind there was God in heaven with His created beings that God had created to worship and serve him. But when this war took place in heaven, things began to change.
The question is often asked: Why did not God simply get rid of Satan as soon as he began to cause trouble?
IF GOD HAD WANTED TO HE COULD HAVE DESTROYED SATAN AND THE ANGELS THAT CHOSE TO FOLLOW HIM.
God wanted COMPANIONSHIP in heaven and He created us for COMPANIONSHIP ON EARTH.
God created beings with intelligence and free will because He wanted their companionship.
LOVE AND COMPANIONSHIP SIMPLY CANNOT BE FORCED.
You can not make anyone LOVE YOU!!!
Had God created a race of robots to love and obey Him, He would not have had companionship.
Illus: For example, could a lonely person find the love and companionship he wants by buying a little windup doll to repeat over and over again, “I love you; I love you; I love you”? Of course not!
Forced love and companionship and devotion are meaningless. LOVE MUST BE THE RESULT OF FREE WILL.
Love, companionship, and devotion are meaningful only if the person bestowing the love has a choice NOT TO LOVE.
Illus: When a father comes home from work in the evening and his small daughter comes running out of the house and jumps up and puts her arms around his neck and says, “Oh Daddy, I love you,” the father is pleased and happy about his daughter’s actions because they were spontaneous. She was not forced to act that way.
God feels the same way about His ANGELS AND US. We must have a choice, or our love, devotion, and companionship would mean nothing to Him.
In 1 Corinthians 4:9 we are told that this is exactly the purpose for which people were created on this earth: “For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
The word “spectacle” is translated from the Greek, which means “theater.”
The earth, therefore, is the theater of the universe where mankind is on the stage of life to show that they love the Lord because OF WHO HE IS not because they are forced to love and serve Him.
Illus: Remember Job in the Old Testament. Satan accused him before God saying the only reason he loved and served God was because God had built a fence around him and blessed him with wealth.
But when that fence was taken down and the blessing of God removed from his life Job proved that he truly loved the Lord Jesus.
You see, the war in heaven between God and the devil has been moved down to the earth.
• The fallen angels decided to follow Satan.
• This war was moved to earth and now we are choosing who we will follow.
Make no mistake about it, that war that began in heaven is still taking place. The only difference is that now:
• The angels have made their choice.
• And now we are making our choice who we are going to bow to.
And remember, the same thing that will happen to those fallen angels will happen to those on earth who choose to follow Satan.
Conclusion:
This war that started in heaven continues today on earth. But according to the Word of God we know, as far as God is concerned, this war has been won.
In Revelation 19:20, we read, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
The devil will cease to exist one day as far as we are concerned. But in the mean time we have to deal with this rascal everyday of our life.
You see, no one else may know your weakness toward sin, BUT HE KNOWS:
(1) It might be material things
(2) It might Fame
(3) It might be power
(4) It may be sex
He knows all of our weakness.
But aren’t you glad to know: “GREATER IS HE THAT IS WITHIN US THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.”
It is not by our might or by our strength that we are victorious. We are victorious because there is VICTORY IN JESUS.
Conclusion:
Let me share a verse of scripture that tells us how we can win this war with satan. This scripture only has six words in it, but if you use this scripture you can defeat the devil every time.
The scripture is in Ephesians 4:27 “Neither give place to the devil.”
Illus: Alcoholic anonymous group teaches alcoholics always remember you are an alcoholic and if you take one drink you are doomed.
And when it come to this war with satan if we give him an inch he will take a mile.
When it comes to the devil we have looked at:
I. THE WAR IN HEAVEN
II. THE WAR ON EARTH
