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Satan “In
the Hebrew Bible, as in mainstream Judaism to this day, Satan never appears as
Western Christendom has come to know him, as the leader of an “evil empire,”
an army of hostile spirits who make war on God and humankind alike.” (The
Origin of Stan, Pagels, pg. 39) The idea of Satan was one that evolved from the
Hebrew into the Christian concept. With an open mind, let us reason together. We
find that the word “Satan” appears first in Numbers 22:22 translated as
“adversary” and in Job the same word is translated Satan. These two
locations present Satan as an obedient servant of the Lord, which is contrary to
the New Testament position. It appears in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan is an
angel, actually a divine messenger is what it means. The
important thing to note is that Satan never once in the Hebrew Old Testament
describes a particular person. The
role of Satan is that of an adversary and as one reads the root of the Hebrew of
the word “stn” one finds it means an adversary. The corresponding Greek word
is “diabolos” which means one who throws something across one’s path. We
find in Job 2:1 that God, Satan and bene’
elohim (sons of God) were gathered together.
Verse two states that Satan came from roaming over the earth. It is
interesting to note that some sources of the Hebrew state that the word
“roam” “shut” in the Hebrew
implies or suggests that Satan was a roaming type secret police.
(Pagels pg.39) Satan
was found on the same classification, position or rank as the sons of God in
that he was in the presence of the Lord but this does not make him equal to God
or the sons of God. Yet he was a created vessel by God. Consider these
verses: Isaiah 45:7, Ex 4:11, John 1:3, Col.1:16. There
is no disagreement among scholars that Satan means “adversary.” But further
study of the Scriptures will reveal that God is even an adversary and the same
word is used. See 1 Chronicles 21:1. The usage of adversary in Numbers 22:22
where it first occurs, proposes God as the adversary. Some serious thinking and
pondering before God must be done in this area. Such a study as we propose will
shake the foundations of religiosity and all that typical religion suggests. But
the truth is the truth regardless of false religious doctrine. John
8:44 quotes Jesus saying in the NAS: “You
(Pharisees and Scribes see verse 3)
are
of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a
murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no
truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature for he is
a liar and the father of lies.”
It is obvious that Jesus is speaking to a group of people who are not literally
fathered by one person but rather spiritually are kin to devil. Note that
Jesus is addressing the issue of moral depravity, the whited sepulchre nature,
hypocrisy etc. We
must note that the Greek for devil is “diabolos.” One who is thrown across
your path to test you. This word, devil, is generally used in conjunction with
Satan. And is, in fact, considered synonymous. The reason the words are
considered interchangeable is based on Revelation 12:9 which reads: “And the great dragon was cast
out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole
world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” However,
the succinct point is that Jesus states devil was a murderer from the
beginning. This statement alone is contrary to normal traditional Christian
teaching. Fact is often different than fantasy. Most of the theologians believe
that devil was good and then fell. Their concept is based upon Isaiah 14 and
Ezekiel 28. However, Jesus clearly states that the devil was evil from the
beginning. The word “beginning” here means from the original starting point
of creation. This point will be discussed further as we proceed with the
discussion of cherubim. But suffice it to say that the word “beginning” is
in reference to the very beginning not some starting point that came
after the beginning. Note
the word
“stand” in John 8:44. The Greek is the imperfect tense and means
that the devil “was keeping his standing.”
By this it means that the devil was remaining in what he was from his own
creation point. He was faithful to his corrupt nature. The implication here is
that the devil was evil from the starting point. Since he was “not
in truth” he was in deception from the beginning. Yet, even though
theologians preach the fantasy of the devil being good and then falling, they
have not considered 1 John 3:8 which reads in the NAS: “...for the devil has sinned
from the beginning...” This could not be true of any other vessel.
Adam was good and then fell. But Satan, the devil, is first found as the serpent
in the garden and is evil from his first appearance. We find Jesus being tempted by the devil in Matthew
4:1-11. Jesus was tempted by Satan but was “lead
of the Spirit”
to be tempted. Here the word devil is used which is the Greek “diabolos”
meaning adversary. Have you ever had an adversarial role with your children in
order to cause them to think and make the right decision? I believe in the U.S.
it is called “playing the devil’s advocate.”
So who is the adversary? It is the same word used by Jesus when he states in
John 6:70 that Judas is the devil or the adversary. Yet, Judas was a man who was
called for the hour to fulfil the purposes of God (see our message on Enoch,
Elijah, Judas). Later we see Satan enter Judas at the last supper. The
adversarial nature, that adamic nature, that deceived nature enters Judas (Luke
22:3, Matthew 26:25). It is interesting to note that the word “diabolos” is
used with the prince of devils, like in Matthew 4:1, Revelation 12:9 or in
general for evil spirits as found in Acts 10:38, Ephesians 4:27, 6:11.
Thirty-eight times devil is used in the New Testament and thirty-four times the
word Satan is used. Again,
Jesus uses the example of Satan entering a man. Jesus states that Peter is Satan
in Matthew 16:23. Peter was a man
into whom a thought or spirit came into. Again it appears that Satan
is not a person. Both
Judas and Peter were men into whom came either a thought or a spirit. I might
consider a thought more valid because the carnal mind is at enmity with God’s
way, that would be adversarial (Romans 8:7). We
find 1 Chronicles 21:1 that Satan caused David to number the people which reads
like this: “Then Stan stood up
against Israel and moved David to number the people”
but if we read 2 Samuel 24:1 we find the following: “…the
LORD burned against Israel and incited David against them to say, ‘Go, number
Israel and Judah.’” Again,
we must reiterate that Satan means an adversary, one who stands in the way.
There is no doubt that Satan is a messenger, a divine messenger (an angel) in
that he is sent to do God’s bidding. Job clearly shows that Satan is
controlled by God. But could God reveal Himself as an adversary? I believe so
when He desires someone to take the steps necessary to follow His principles. We
find in Corinthians that Satan masquerades as an angel
of light - 2 Corinthians 11:14. We cannot doubt that he appears to be holy and
pure but in truth is the exact opposite of truth. However he can be conquered by
Christ which shows that he is less than Christ in power, not only because he is
a created vessel but because of his position also. We must not forget that
through Christ all things have been placed under our feet. We are victorious
because the serpent crawls on the earth (old Adamic nature) and we have now set
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. As
we have discussed he was created by Christ (John 1:3). Just because he was
cast out of heaven does not mean that he was good before he fell! Now
we find in Revelation 12:9 that John writes: “And
the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called
the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world; he was thrown
down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him.”
The word
“old” in the Greek is transliterated into English as the word
“archaic.” The actual Greek means from the very first starting age. If
one were to go to the root word for archaic we would find that it comes from
“archomai” which means to commence in order of time. The Amplified Bible
reads:
“And he gripped and overpowered the dragon, that old serpent of primeval
times...” A very close friend, J Preston Eby whose research is seen in
this paragraph , presents this thought:
“Man on the one hand, says a fallen angel, Satan, used the serpent in Eden.
God on the other hand, says that the original serpent is the Devil and Satan.”
So who is correct - theologians or the Scriptures themselves?” J.
Preston Eby The Serpent, Where did Evil Come From?, El Paso TX
1977 In
Revelation 12:9 we see the different names for Satan. Each has its place and is
interchangeable with the word Satan but at the same time each has its special
meaning and place of importance. The serpent we remember from the Garden of
Eden. It was not a literal snake that talked! One needs to know that the snake
was a symbol of the religion of Babylon. The book of Genesis was written many
years after creation, some say by Moses. If this is so, then it was written
around 1500 BC. The symbolism selected would be current ideas - and Babylon was
a great power then and would reemerge as a power centuries later too. The
serpent was the symbol of false religion - any religion that places itself above
God, which was the sin of Eve (we have a tape on this subject about Eve). We can note that Satan touches the creation that is
of the earth - where he was thrown down to. Adam was made of the earth. Satan
works on the flesh. In Matthew 4 we find Jesus tempted in three areas: ·
lust of the flesh (turn stones into bread), ·
lust of the eyes (seeing kingdoms to rule over) ·
and the pride of life (worshipping Satan). These
same three temptations are found in Genesis 3:6 that Eve partook of
and they effect the saint and they are: ·
tree was good for food ·
delight to the eyes ·
desire to be wise Again
we find the same three temptations in Revelation 21:8 which presents three areas
of failure: ·
First in importance is idolaters, sorcerers (Greek
pharmica - drugs) and liars. This represents spiritual corruption. ·
Secondly is murders and sexually immoral which
represents sins of the flesh. ·
Thirdly are things related to the carnal mind -
unbelief, cowardly. Thus all three areas of corruption are seen -
mental, fleshly and spiritual. Every possible realm is tested and the key is to
remain in the nature of God and not yield to the flesh, following the pattern of
Jesus. Remember when Satan entered Judas he went and conferred with the
Pharisees and priests? Satan always deals with false religion, that which is of
the Law and not of Grace. Paul
writes: “…deliver such a one to Satan for the
destruction of his flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus.”
This statement by Paul is to show that the desires of the flesh - lust of the
eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life have to be worked out in a person.
A person cannot be free, even a Christian, since Paul is writing about a
Christian in particular, until the desires are removed. These desires are in the
mental arena, the carnal mind that must be destroyed because it is at enmity
with God. The fullness of corruption must occur first (James 1:15, Matthew
23:32) before a person seeks deliverance. Hopefully,
we have shown that Satan is a spirit of corruption but not one spirit in
particular; that Satan is not a person; that Satan is a created being for a
purpose in God’s plan; that Satan did not fall but was evil from the
beginning; that Satan works on three different planes; that Satan is an angel, a
messenger. But there is more that must be determined concerning Satan and some
theological misconceptions that must be removed from the mind of Christians. The
concern is that these thoughts are so embedded that it will take centuries!
After all, if I say Satan to you automatically think of a red devil with a
pitchfork! Who then is Lucifer, if not
Satan? "How art thou fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
Morning!"(KJV) "What a fall from heaven
on high O Shining star of the dawn!" (Moffat) "How hast thou fallen
from heaven, O Shining One, son of the dawn!" (Rotherham) "How are you fallen from
heaven O light-bearer and day star, son of the morning!"(Amplified Bible) Note
how each translation NEVER uses the word "Lucifer" but goes directly
to the Hebrew and uses a transliteration of the word Shining star, Shining One,
Light-bearer/day star. Each of these translations is far more accurate than the
King James in the matter. We also note that these other translations are in
UNISON on what the word means! Peter
calls Jesus the daystar in 2 Peter 1:19 and how He is to arise in our hearts.
The Strong's concordance brings out that the Greek word is
"phosphoros" and can be translated as light-bearing or morning star.
Our English word from the Greek is phosphorus. Phosphorus gives off its own
light- light-bearer. Now, why would Peter, an inspired writer of the letter, being under the direction of the Holy Spirit, compare Jesus
as the day star with Lucifer (as
the KJV calls it) if Lucifer is the devil or Satan ? There surely is a mistake
here if it were so! But Peter does NOT draw that comparison; it is the erroneous
translation of the King James that infers such. Many
of you are aware of the theological teaching that Lucifer is Satan. This
teaching comes out of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. We shall look at these two areas
because it is a subject that deals with ‘angels’. First,
let me say that the KJV has created a monster doctrine because it translated and
thereby fostered a doctrine based on a word that is used only once in the
whole Bible. The word “Lucifer” should be translated like any other word
rather than created into a name. The American Standard and newer editions of the
Bible translate it correctly - “lightbearer.” The Hebrew “helel” means
shining one, brightness, morning star. It is not a person’s name just as Satan
is not a person’s name; just as Gabriel is not a person’s name. For
over 200 years the doctrine has been taught in evangelical churches that Lucifer
was Satan. Please reread that again. It has only been since the early 1800’s
that Satan has been taught as Lucifer. This doctrine has not always been taught.
It was not the belief of the early church. We
need to explore certain aspects of the truths about Cherubim (cherub is
singular, cherubim is plural, KJV cherubims is erroneous) and we should start
with the anointed Cherub found in Ezekiel and Isaiah. Please
read Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-16. Now the Essenes as well as the first
book of Enoch show a fallen angel. But these books are ‘extrabiblical’ and
should not be considered as valid in the light of the Scriptures themselves. Now
theologians use these two scriptural locations as the foundation for the
doctrine of Lucifer as Satan. Therefore it behooves us to reacquaint ourselves
with these scriptures. Ezekiel
28:13 states that this cherub was in Eden, the place of beginning of creation.
The word “cherubims” in the KJV is first used and found in Scripture
in Genesis 3:24. Cherubim being plural of cherub. The angel was given as a
guardian of the “way.” The flaming sword of the cherubim were to circumcise
the flesh of anyone who sought to reenter. They were not to keep anyone out, but
to make sure that no one entered with any carnality. But it is supposed that the
cherubim were placed there by God after the fall. Many writings indicate that
man was an angelic being before the fall. Could Adam have been a cherub? Now
we know that in Eden there were many things but specific to this discussion -
Adam, Eve and the serpent. The cherub was perfect until iniquity was found in
him (vs.15) Ezekiel states. It cannot refer to the cherubim since that is
plural. It is referring to one. Note he was perfect until iniquity was found,
but we know Satan was NOT a cherub don’t we? And we know that Satan was NOT
good and then fell since Jesus aid he was evil from the beginning. "For
the creature was MADE subject to vanity, NOT WILLINGLY, but by reason of Him who
subjected the same in hope." (Romans 8:20) "Thou
wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,TILL iniquity was
found in thee." (Ezekiel 28:15) So
then, what of this “iniquity?” Here
we see that the vessel was created with a malformation and the purpose was to
bring a positive end result. The truth here is that this cherub (vs.14) fell. I
have shown how man fell also in Romans 8:20 but we must not forget that Genesis
3 shows the fall of man also. Adam
was in a heavenly realm (Isaiah 14:12) and when sin occurred with Eve (the soul)
he like Christ stepped forth and bore her sin. For the iniquity in Adam was Eve,
the soul that sins dies (Ezekiel 18:4,) the carnal mind must be removed. Eve was
saved through child bearing in that Christ Jesus came through her. The iniquity
found in Lucifer, the Light bearer was Eve. What
is interesting is that there is no scripture that shows Satan fell because of
sin. There is scripture that shows he was cast down from heaven (Revelation
12:9) but that implies God forced him out and not that sin caused him to leave.
Even Job shows Satan had the right to be there with the sons of God. The other
point to remember is that Satan was “evil
from the beginning” (John 8:44) that is he was evil from his creation
and there was nothing good in him. The verse goes on to say that there was no
truth in him (Satan) but in contrast, we find that the cherub had good and then
iniquity was found in him. Thus the two cannot be the same can they?
Unfortunately most theologians think they are, believing a lie rather than the
truth. Imperfection
is ascribed to angels but never to Satan. Consider Job 4:18 in the KJV which
states: “Behold
he puts no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly.”
Romans 8:20 states in the KJV: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not
willingly, by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope.”
Folly
and vanity are similar. Verse 19 of Romans says the world looks for the sons of
God and Luke 3:38 states that Adam was a son of God. The
similarity here cannot be denied. Adam,
an angelic being, who falls from his heavenly estate when he sins fulfills
Romans 8:19 and Job 4:18. For the
sons of God were with God in the beginning. Now,
as we look at Isaiah 14:16 we find that the lightbearer is a man: “Is this the man…” it states talking
literally about the king of Babylon, but spiritually about the man of Babylonish
religion which is what Adam followed. Remember that Adam was deceived into
worshipping the serpent, that Babylonish religion. All false religious systems
are called Babylon in the Bible (Revelation 14:8 17:5). Eve fell for all the
desires as we have already indicated which are desires for “self” who is the
ultimate god of carnality. Only man sets himself up as God. Satan
cannot be a man, a person, as we have shown. But to emphasize this even more,
Ezekiel 28:2 states: “…Yet you are a man not a god…” Another confirmation
that this is talking about a man literally - the King of Tyre and spiritually a
man also. Besides, a man needs salvation, redemption, deliverance. If Lucifer
was a satan, he could be redeemed or saved because he is a spirit. As we read
further in Isaiah it states that the man will be placed in Sheol which is the
Hebrew for grave. Satan, as taught cannot be placed in a grave, only a man can
be. Saints
have been taught by doctrine that Lucifer is Satan. Yet, we can see clearly that
Lucifer (actually lightbearer) is a person and not a spirit. Secondly, the name
Lucifer meaning lightbearer is contradictory to what Satan is. Satan had NO
truth in him at all. He was the father of lies. He is darkness since there is no
truth in him at all. The word lightbearer means one that carries the light, i.e.
that there is NO darkness. This is in contrast to Satan and could not be the
same as Satan could it? In
summary, Satan is spirit and not flesh and blood. Lucifer, lightbearer, is a man
of flesh and blood. Men can be angles as we shall discuss later on and men can
be cherubim as is noted in Ezekiel and Isaiah that the lightbearer was a cherub
(28:14). Lucifer, Adam, had truth in him until iniquity was found but Satan was
evil from the beginning. The differences are too great to assume that these
verses are talking about the same thing, don’t you agree? In
2 Peter 1:19 we read in the NAS:
“We
so we have the prophetic word made more sure to which you do well to pay
attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the
morning star arise in your hearts.” The Morning Star is
Christ Jesus and Lucifer, the day star, was to be in the image of Him who is the
Morning Star. Satan could never be a vessel of light. There was no light in him
at all. In Revelation 2:26-28, the overcomer, the one who overcomes his fallen
nature, receives the Morning Star which Revelation 22:16 reveals clearly is
Jesus Christ. If Lucifer was Satan why would Peter be so excited and encouraged
about having Satan arise in our hearts? Foolishness. No, my friends, Satan is
not Lucifer. Lucifer
is the Latin word equated with the Greek word “phosphoros” which is used as
Christ’s title in 2 Peter 1:19. The
concept that Lucifer was Satan and fell from heaven is based on Luke 10:18 and
Isaiah 14:12. This idea developed in third century and some authorities do not
believe the correlation is true. This can be found in the footnotes of the
Amplified Bible. Phosphorous is a bright, burning, light. One that removes all
that is in its way - can be used for cleansing, although in wars it is used for
killing. Yet, Lucifer, here is one who gives light out of himself, even as
phosphorus has the ability to give light out of itself. “When
Jerome made his translation of the Bible from the Latin, termed the Vulgate
Version (383 A. D.), instead of simply translating “son of the morning,”
“day star,” or “morning star” he inserted the word Lucifer. This was the
name by which the ancients knew the morning star and was inserted as a means of
clarification.” Foundation
for Biblical Research, Lucifer is not
Satan, Pasadena, CA, 1979. Adam
was made in the image of God but was a failure. If you study the Isaiah and Ezekiel scriptures you
will find that the stones on the breastplate of the Light bearer are closely
related to the stones of the priest’s garments. The Light bearer was to be a
revelation of Light, even as Jesus was the Light of the world. Even as Jesus was
our high priest, so Adam was to be after the order of the Lord too. Even now
John states that we are a kingdom of priests in Revelation 1:6. SUBJECT
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