Satan Perverts

 

Pervert:  to alter something from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was intended. (Oxford Languages)  

Satan can not create anything,  He can only pervert what God has created. Satan is NOT omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (with unlimited power), or omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time) like God.  But he is a spiritual force with minions whose existence and influence not should not be denied.

Cliff note version: Satan is an angel who was kicked out of heaven due to sinful pride and has been fighting God ever since.  His goal is to convince those who will listen to oppose God, hoping to deflect worship to himself.  

Some details:

Satan was created perfect.  Ezekiel 28:12 This is what the Lord God says: "You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty"  

Satan thought he could out god God.  Isaiah 14:13-14  (God speaking to Satan) "But you said in your heart, ' I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'"

Satan was kicked out of heaven with possibly one third of the heavenly angels who bought into his propaganda.  Ezekiel 28:17  Your heart was haughty because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.  I threw you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.  Revelations 12:3-4  Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven crowns.  And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and hurled them to the earth.  I cannot find anything in scripture that leads me to believe that fallen angels can repent and turn to Jesus.  Grace and mercy are gifts God gives only to humans. 

Satan is the prince of the earthly world, but his evil power is limited by God. (Ephesians 2:1-3 (Paul talking to the church of Ephesian referring back to before they were believers) And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.) God knows everything Satan is up to before Satan does.  Although we usually do not fully understand the suffering that God allows Satan to inflict, it is temporary for believers and it is all part of God's mysterious, unrevealed to us, plan.

Satan means "one who opposes".  His sole purpose is to oppose all things God:  His Word the Holy Bible, His plans and His followers.  He is an accuser (Revelation 12:10 (Loud voice in heaven speaking to John) "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.") a tempter (Matthew 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."), and a deceiver (2 Corinthians 4:4  The god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God).

At the end of times, God will throw Satan into the Lake of Fire. Revelations 20:10  And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever., 

But until that time, we need to deal with Satan and his posse of fallen angels who have been drop kicked out of heaven.  How do we do that?

1.  Pick the winning team.  Satan leads the "B" team, and will never defeat the "A" team captained by God.  God has control of the entire game. Any points the "B" team scores will be because God allowed it. The Bible is the "A" team's playbook - read it, study it, and ask questions about what you don't understand. The captain of the "A" team will take any member of the "B" team who wants to join.  It is never too late to switch to the "A" team.  Do not follow the "B" captain into the eternal Lake of Fire.

2.  When in a sinful state - anger, temptation, pride -  recognize it, repent, and call upon the Holy Spirit.  He will always come, and is capable of leading us away from all human sin.  Satan will try to convince otherwise, but he is no match for the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit works with the Son who took all past, present, and future sin of believers with Him to the cross.  

3.  Recognize, thank God, and tell others when you experience Satan's defeat in your life.  Countless times, instead of rushing into a situation "hot", I have prayed for God's guidance.  And the Holy Spirit always intervenes - my kid gets on task before the "nag", incorrect assessments of the situation surface before explosion, the words to address the situation in a more peaceful manner spew out.  But when I chose a "B" team mentality and go in hot, it never has a winning result.  I may get my immediate worldly desire (not really a "win"), Satan may turn my head from the destruction I created with my words, but the hurt/hate lingers.

Decreasing family dust-ups, repenting for adultery, finding Jesus in prison and asking victims for forgiveness, overcoming a heroin addiction - speak of all of them as they give hope to and encourage members of the "B" team to switch to the "A" team.

No one likes to play against someone who they know will beat them every time.  Satan goes after those he can continue to beat.  By knowing who God is, believing in Him, and calling upon His guidance and wisdom, believers are a threat to Satan.  They talk about Coach God and His goodness and how their lives have changed once they have joined His team. Satan knows that the more he messes with "A" team players, the more they resist, the more they talk "smack" about him, and the more they win.  He is more likely to leave believers alone as they pilfer from his team as they make disciples for Jesus.

Get off the Fence! Pick a Path!

 

Whether you are a believer or an atheist is determined by your trust in the opening verse of the bible,  Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Believers like myself have no doubt that there is a Being that can speak and breath anything into existence.  Atheists do not believe such a Being exists and look for other explanations as to how the universe came into existence.

While all believers agree there is a God the Father, numerous other bible topics are discussed and debated.  Exactly how old is the world?  Is a year in Abraham's time the same as a year today (no one lives to 137 anymore)?  Did Jacob ever find out that his 10 older sons sold Joseph, the 11th, into slavery?  When exactly does a believer's soul make it to heaven? Is Jesus the only way to heaven? 

A believer can follow the logic as to why an atheist reads Genesis 1:1 and says, "This is ridiculous, I am not reading any further."  And a believer can understand why Methuselah, Noah's grandfather who died before the flood at age 969, may or may not have actually lived anywhere close to 353,685 days (969x365). Genesis 5:25-27  Now Methuselah lived 187 years, and fathered Lamech.  Then Methuselah lived 782 years after he fathered Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

What is difficult for a believer and an atheist to understand is the agnostic.  How does someone read Genesis 1:1, say "I am not sure if there is a God who created the universe” and go no further?  A believer asks "if there is such a Being that cannot be empirically proven or disproven, don't you want to know more about Him?"  And an atheist, who cannot prove that God does not exist, would encourage an agnostic to prove that He does.  

The only way for an agnostic to get off the "Does He or doesn't He" fence is to read the bible and make an informed decision.  If there is no God, believers, agnostics and atheists all cease to exist when they die.  If there is a God, believers, agnostics and atheists will all be judged when they die, with believers receiving a much different fate than agnostics and atheists.  An agnostic has nothing to lose if there is no God, and everything to lose if there is.  Definitely worth investigating!

Most believers still want more faith, more assurance, and more God in their life.  Prayer, bible study, memorizing bible verses, fellowship with other believers, serving, and even fasting all may help grow faith.  But the most effective way to grow faith is to know God, and the best way to do this is to read His word, The Holy Bible.  John 5:39 (Jesus talking) You examine the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me. Faith develops and grows the same way for agnostics.  Get off the fence, read the bible with an open heart and mind, seek answers to passages that are not clear, listen to what this (potential) God of the universe has to say, and pick a path.

Of course there are agnostics/atheists who have read the Holy Bible and become/remain atheists.  The usual reason given is that a just God would answer reasonable prayers and not allow the tremendous suffering that has always been in the world.  It is more comforting for them to believe that God does not exist, than in a God who created the heavens and earth and has a big picture plan for eternity that includes judgment.  This is a path to choose.  Is it yours?