This study, in its complete and original form, may be found at

BibleBell Chronicles
http://www.biblebell.org/angels/satan1.html

- All scripture herein is quoted from the King James Bible (1611) -

A Study of Satan

Part One: Satan's Beginnings

The angels KNOW

In the very instant that you become a
Christian you are "sealed with the Holy
Spirit."

Being sealed, you are a MARKED In whom [Jesus] ye also trusted,

person. Who knows what the mark is? after that ye heard the word of truth,
Perhaps the mark says, "God's the gospel of your salvation: in whom
property." Perhaps it says, "God's child" also after that ye believed, ye were
or "God's soldier." sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.
(Ephesians 1:13)
Whatever that mark might be, every
angel in the universe immediately For we wrestle not against flesh and
KNOWS exactly who and what you are. blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of
To God and His holy angels, you are a the darkness of this world, against
cherished loved one. spiritual wickedness in high places.
(Ephesians 6:12)
To Satan and his legions of evil angels,
you are an ENEMY. Moreover, these
spiritual hosts of wickedness fully intend
to engage you in a deadly serious
wrestling match. You are in a battle!

1
 Know your Enemy
Rule One in any battle is KNOW YOUR ENEMY. Accordingly, the goal of this essay is
to teach you about Satan, the chief of all your enemies. Herein you will learn of Satan's
origin, his nature, his goals, and the tactics he will use against you. Most importantly,
you will learn how to gain the victory.

Know this for a certainty –

One of Satan's main tactics is to DENY HIS OWN EXISTENCE.

Failing that, he seeks to ensure that anyone who teaches that he DOES exist is
promptly laughed out of town.

Foundational information – There are angels called kings and princes

God's angel visits Daniel

In the days of Daniel chapter 10, the
prophet Daniel and the people of Israel Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked,
were held captive in Persia. They had and behold a certain man clothed in
been enslaved for many years. linen, whose loins were girded with
fine gold of Uphaz:
Daniel prayed and fasted for three
weeks, seeking God's answer as to when • His body also was like the beryl,
the Israelites would be set free. • and his face as the appearance of
lightning,
Finally Daniel's prayers were answered • and his eyes as lamps of fire,
by a visit from an angelic person, whose • and his arms and his feet like in
appearance is described by the verses colour to polished brass,
alongside. • and the voice of his words like the
voice of a multitude.
But why had God's messenger taken
three weeks to respond? (Daniel 10:5-6)

2
 God's angel explains
God's angel immediately explains to
Daniel why he had been so long in
coming. Namely, God's angel had been
engaged in battle for 21 days with "the Then said he [God’s angel] unto me,
prince of the kingdom of Persia" and Fear not, Daniel: for from the first
"the kings of Persia." day that thou didst set thine heart to
understand, and to chasten thyself
before thy God, thy words were heard,
Assisted by "Michael, one of the chief and I am come for thy words. But the
princes," God's angelic messenger had prince of the kingdom of Persia
finally been freed to come to Daniel. The withstood me one and twenty days:
chief prince Michael who aided God's but, lo, Michael, one of the chief
messenger was an archangel (Jude 1.9), princes, came to help me; and I
the defender of the nation Israel (Daniel remained there with the kings of
12.1). Persia. (Daniel 10:12-13)

The prince and kings of Persia who

battled God's angel were themselves And it came to pass that night, that the
ANGELS, not humans. angel of the LORD went out, and smote
in the camp of the Assyrians an
• Humans could not even have hundred fourscore and five thousand:
seen God's angel as he passed and when they arose early in the
through their territory. morning, behold, they were all dead
• Moreover, mere humans cannot corpses. (2 Kings 19:35)
successfully take on an angel in
direct battle, as is clearly
demonstrated by the quoted
passage from 2 Kings 19:35.

Foundational information – In Ezekiel, the king of Tyre is an angelic being

The anointed cherub

Moreover the word of the Lord came
unto me [the prophet Ezekiel], saying,
The passage alongside is addressed to Son of man, take up a lamentation
"the king of Tyre." This king is clearly upon the king of Tyrus [Tyre], and say
an angelic being for the following unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
reasons:
• Thou sealest up the sum, full of
• There are angels whom the Bible wisdom, and perfect in
calls princes and kings. beauty...
• The king of Tyre is said to have • Thou art the anointed cherub
been "perfect in thy ways from that covereth; and I have set
the day that thou wast created...” thee so:
• The king is referred to as “the • thou wast upon the holy
anointed cherub.” A cherub is an mountain of God; thou hast
angelic person, not a human. walked up and down in the
This is proven by many Bible midst of the stones of fire.
verses, including but not limited • Thou wast perfect in thy ways
to Genesis 3:22-24 and 2 Samuel from the day that thou wast
22:11. created, till iniquity was found
in thee.
(Ezekiel 28:11-15)

3
 Foundational information – In Ezekiel, the king of Tyre is Satan

The rebellious king

The king of Tyre is an angelic being.

In our OPINION the king of Tyre is Satan.

The reasons for this opinion are as
follows:

• Throughout the Bible, Satan is [God said to the King of Tyre:]

consistently characterized as By the multitude of thy merchandise
God's premier enemy, a rebel they have filled the midst of thee with
against all that God stands for. In violence, and thou hast sinned:
fact, the Hebrew word "satan" therefore I will cast thee as profane
means "enemy" or “adversary”. out of the mountain of God: and I will
• Like Satan, the king of Tyre destroy thee, O covering cherub, from
rebelled against God. the midst of the stones of fire.
• Like Satan, the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:16)
conducted his rebellion in God's
own heaven.
• Like Satan, the king of Tyre
sinned and became God's
enemy.

In Luke 10.18, Jesus reports: “I beheld And he [Jesus] said unto them, I
Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Like beheld Satan as lightning fall from
Satan, Ezekiel 28.17 states that the king heaven. (Luke 10:18)
of Tyre was cast down from heaven, “to
the ground”.

The origin and physical nature of Satan – Satan is a created being

A rebel by choice [Spoken to Satan as king of Tyre:]

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the
day that thou wast created, till iniquity
Unlike God, Satan has not always was found in thee.
existed. Instead, Satan was created
(Ezekiel 28:15)
by God.
Praise ye him, all his angels: praise
However, Ezekiel 28.15 clearly states ye him, all his hosts... Let them
that Satan was NOT created evil. Rather, praise the name of the LORD: for he
when God created Satan, God gave him commanded, and they were created.
the ability to make moral choices. (Psalm 148:2-5)

As you shall see in Part Two of this For by him [Jesus Christ] were all
essay, it was Satan's OWN choice to things created, that are in heaven,
rebel against God. and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones,
or dominions, or principalities, or
powers: all things were created by
him, and for him.
(Colossians 1:16)

4
 The origin and physical nature of Satan
Satan was created before the earth or humans existed

At the throne of God

Job 1.6 describes a scene wherein "the Now there was a day when the sons of
sons of God" and Satan presented God came to present themselves
themselves before the Lord in heaven.
before the Lord, and Satan came also
Thus, it is apparent that the "sons of
among them. (Job 1:6)
God" are angelic beings.
[God said:] "Where wast thou when I
Job 38.4 and 38.7 show that the sons of laid the foundations of the earth?
God were present when God created the ...and all the sons of God shouted for
earth. These angels shouted for joy at joy?" (Job 38:4 and 38:7)
the wonder of God's creative act.

Clearly, therefore, angelic persons,

including Satan, were created by God
BEFORE He created the earth and
humans.

The origin and physical nature of Satan – Satan was created to fill up the sum
of beauty and intelligence among all God's creatures

God's pattern

"Thou sealest up the sum" – When God

created intelligent life forms, He
evidently had in mind an upper limit as
to how much wisdom and beauty He
would bestow on any particular one of
God said:] Son of man, take up a
his creatures. In Ezekiel 28:12 this limit
lamentation upon the king of Tyrus,
is referred to as "the sum."
and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of
• To a frog, God bestowed a small wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
percentage of "the sum." To a dog, (Ezekiel 28:12)
God bestowed a higher percentage
of "the sum." And so forth.
• On Satan, however, God bestowed
the FULL LIMIT – "the sum" of
wisdom and beauty. Thus, Ezekiel
28:12 says that Satan "sealest up
the sum, FULL of wisdom, and
PERFECT in beauty."
• In other words, Satan is the most
intelligent and most beautiful
creature that God ever made!

Of course, we are talking about

EXTERNAL beauty here. As to Satan's
heart, we shall see in Part Two how it
became quite black and ugly.

5
 Satan's original job and domain – Satan's original job was to serve as an
anointed guardian of God

Guardian of God
Guardianship is the main job of So he [God] drove out the man; and
cherubim (plural of cherub), as is he placed at the east of the garden of
demonstrated by Genesis 3:24, and as Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword
is illustrated by Exodus 25:18 and 25:22 which turned every way, to keep the
(See also Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10). way of the tree of life.
(Genesis 3:24)
As stated in Ezekiel 28:14, Satan is the
[God said:] And thou shalt make two
cherub who was anointed by God to the
incredibly high honor of serving as a cherubims of gold, of beaten work
personal guardian unto God's presence shalt thou make them, in the two ends
of the mercy seat....And there I will
and holiness.
meet with thee, and I will commune
with thee from above the mercy seat,
from between the two cherubims
which are upon the ark of the
testimony, of all things which I will
give thee in commandment unto the
children of Israel.
(Exodus 25:18-22)

Thou art the anointed cherub that

covereth; and I have set thee so: thou
wast upon the holy mountain of God
(Ezekiel 28:14)

A Side Issue
Why would the all-powerful God need [God said:] See now that I, even I, am
guardians? The simple answer is, God he, and there is no god with me: I kill,
doesn't NEED anything or anyone – and I make alive; I wound, and I heal:
guardians or otherwise. Rather, for neither is there any that can deliver out
reasons God has not seen fit to reveal, of my hand.
He has CHOSEN to administer His (Deuteronomy 32:39)
creation in and through His creatures,
angelic and human alike.

6
 Satan's original domain was Planet Earth

Three Heavens
In the Bible there are three places called And God said, Let the waters bring
"heaven" - forth abundantly the moving creature
that hath life, and fowl that may fly
above the earth in the open firmament
• 1. The earth's atmospheric of heaven. (Genesis 1:20)
envelope or sky, from whence
falls the rain. (Genesis 1:20) And he brought him forth abroad, and
• 2. The celestial heaven, wherein said, Look now toward heaven, and tell
the stars are located. (Genesis the stars, if thou be able to number
15:5) them: (Genesis 15:5)
• 3. The "third heaven" called
Paradise, whereat God's throne I knew a man in Christ above fourteen
is located. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) years ago, (whether in the body, I
cannot tell; or whether out of the body,
I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an
one caught up to the third heaven. And
I knew such a man, (whether in the
body, or out of the body, I cannot tell:
God knoweth;) How that he was caught
up into paradise, and heard
unspeakable words, which it is not
lawful for a man to utter.
(2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

Realm of the
Heavenly Places
The spiritual hosts of angels reside in To the intent that now unto the
"the heavenly places" wherein the stars principalities and powers in heavenly
and planets are located. places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God
The heavenly places are govern-mentally (Ephesians 3:10)
organized into principalities, powers,
and so forth. For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of
It is conceivable that angels occupy the
the darkness of this world, against
entirety of the celestial heavens which
spiritual wickedness in high places.
we call "outer space."
(Ephesians 6:12)

7
 A Garden of Minerals
Satan's original domain was Planet Thou hast been in Eden the garden of
Earth, where he resided in the garden God; every precious stone was thy
of God called Eden. covering, the sardius, topaz, and the
diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the
• This was NOT the Eden that God jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and
made for Adam and Eve. the carbuncle, and gold: the workman-
• The Eden of Adam and Eve was a ship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes
garden of vegetation -- "every was prepared in thee in the day that
tree that is pleasant to the sight, thou wast created. (Ezekiel 28:13)
and good for food."
(Genesis 2:8-9)
And the LORD God planted a garden
On the other hand, Satan resided in an eastward in Eden; and there he put the
earlier version of Eden which was a man whom he had formed. And out of
garden of minerals -- sardius, topaz, the ground made the LORD God to
diamond, and so forth. grow every tree that is pleasant to the
(Ezekiel 28:13) sight, and good for food; the tree of life
also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of knowledge of good and evil.
(Genesis 2:8-9)

Summary of Part One

Satan’s original nature

• Satan is a cherub, created by God.
• Satan was created "perfect all in his ways" -- NOT evil.
• Satan was created before God created the earth and humans.
• God created Satan as the most intelligent and beautiful of all His creatures.
• God anointed Satan to serve as a guardian of God's presence and holiness.
• Satan's original domain was Planet Earth, in the garden of God known as
Eden.

8
 Part Two: Satan's Rebellion

Foundational information - Isaiah identifies Lucifer with Satan

More about the Enemy

In our OPINION ‘Lucifer’ is Satan
because:

• Throughout the Bible, Satan is How art thou fallen from heaven, O
consistently characterized as Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
God's premier enemy, a rebel thou cut down to the ground, which
against all that God stands for. didst weaken the nations! For thou
In fact, the Hebrew word ‘satan’ hast said in thine heart,
means "enemy" or “adversary.”
• Like Satan, Lucifer became an • I will ascend into heaven,
enemy of God. (“I will exalt my • I will exalt my throne above the
throne above the stars of God...”) stars of God:
• Like Satan, Lucifer rebelled • I will sit also upon the mount of
against God and sought to take the congregation, in the sides of
God's place. (“I will be like the the north:
most High...”) • I will ascend above the heights of
• Like Satan, Lucifer ascended into the clouds;
God's own heaven in order to • I will be like the most High.
conduct his rebellion. (“I will
ascend into heaven...”) (Isaiah 14:12-14)
• In Luke 10:18, Jesus reports that
He witnessed Satan “fall like
lightning from heaven.” Isaiah
And he [Jesus] said unto them,
14:12 states that, like Satan,
Lucifer fell from heaven. I beheld Satan as lightning fall
("How you are fallen from from heaven. (Luke 10:18)
heaven, O Lucifer...")

9
 The Goals of Satan’s Rebellion

Satan's goals in rebelling against God are clearly defined by the

five “I will's” of Isaiah 14:12-14 as shown below...

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like
the most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

The "clouds" here may be the clouds above planet Earth, the
domain that God assigned to Satan. Satan desired to ascend
above those clouds and permanently take over God's own
kingdom in heaven.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be
like the most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right

hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the
angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which
thou sawest are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:20)

"Stars" are a symbol of angels, as defined by Revelation 1:20.

Satan wanted to rule over all the angels of God, and no doubt
desired their worship as well.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be
like the most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

10
 “Congregation” is the full assembly of the heavenly host. "Mount"
is the summit point, the position of highest authority which is
God's rightful place of kingship. Clearly, Satan desired to displace
God as ruler of the universe.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be
like the most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

Notice especially the title that Satan uses for God. Satan wanted
to be like "the most High." This title of God (El Elyon in Hebrew)
literally means “the strongest of the strong.”

Satan could have selected from among many other titles of God.
For example, Satan could have used El Shaddai, which means “the
breasted one who feeds His children,” but he didn't. He might
have picked “Yahweh Rohi” which means “the Lord our
shepherd,” but he didn't.

Satan's goal is obvious. Satan wants God's POWER and AUTHORITY,

but he doesn't want anything to do with God's nurturing and
leadership attributes. Satan wants absolute power, but without
the responsibility of having to care for anyone but himself.

Not my will but Thine

Notice the sharp contrast between Then cometh Jesus with them unto a
Satan's “I will's” and the Lord's own place called Gethsemane, and saith
attitude in the garden of Gethsemane. unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I
go and pray yonder...And he went a
• Satan's attitude was totally self- little further, and fell on his face, and
centered, prideful, and arrogant. prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be
• The Lord's attitude, even though possible, let this cup pass from me:
He was facing a cruel death on nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
the cross, was that of complete wilt. (Matthew 26:36-39)
meekness and submission unto
God. After this manner therefore pray ye:
• Three times Jesus prayed to His Our Father which art in heaven,
Father, saying, "NOT as I will, but Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
as thou wilt." come. Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10)

11
It is equally important to notice what the Not a novice, lest being lifted up with
Lord taught you about YOUR attitude pride he fall into the condemnation of
toward God's sovereignty. the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6)

• In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches you

to say to your Father in heaven,
"THY will be done."

If you pray with any other motive than

loving trust and submission toward God,
you are falling into the condemnation of
the devil!

The flaw in Satan's character that led him to rebel

Mirror mirror on the wall

Satan is the most beautiful and
intelligent of God's creatures. [Spoken to Satan as king of Tyre:]
Thine heart was lifted up because of
Ezekiel 28:17 tells us that Satan, in thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy
effect, fell in love with himself. He was so wisdom by reason of thy brightness...
enamoured with his own beauty and (Ezekiel 28:17)
intelligence that he deluded himself into
thinking that he and he alone was worthy Not a novice, lest being lifted up with
of worship and adoration. pride he fall into the condemnation of
the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6)
1 Timothy 3:6 gives the name to Satan's
downfall. That name is PRIDE –
the big "I".

The Bible is very clear about the dangers of pride

and glorying in oneself:
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man
glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he
understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise
lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in
these things I delight, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Glory not in oneself but in God!

12
 What Satan's rebellion in ancient times was NOT

NOT "war in heaven"

And there was [in the future] war in
heaven: Michael and his angels fought
Revelation 12.7-9 does NOT describe
against the dragon; and the dragon
Satan's original rebellion against God. fought and his angels, And prevailed
That chapter relates, rather, to events not; neither was their place found any
that will take place in the future, as we more in heaven. And the great dragon
shall show in a Part 4 of our study of
was cast out, that old serpent, called
Satan.
the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth
the whole world: he was cast out into
the earth, and his angels were cast out
with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)

NOT a contest of strength

When Satan rebelled he did NOT engage
God in hand-to-hand combat.

• The idea of anyone attempting to For by him [Jesus Christ] were all
defeat God by a contest of strength things created, that are in heaven,
is utterly absurd. and that are in earth, visible and
• According to Colossians 1:16-17, invisible, whether they be thrones,
the universe and all its living or dominions, or principalities, or
creatures exist ONLY through powers: all things were created by
God's will. him, and for him: And he is before
• Moreover, all the universe is held all things, and by him all things
together by God's will and God's consist. (Colossians 1:16-17)
will alone.

In short, all that God would need to do to

‘fight’ Satan would be to simply ‘forget’
that he even existed. Satan is quite
aware of this fact.

13
 The true nature of Satan's rebellion

"Trading" in rebellion
As is clearly stated in Isaiah 14:13,
[Addressed to Satan as Lucifer:]
Satan's original rebellion against God
For thou hast said in thine heart,
was a ‘heart battle.’ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God
Satan's ‘merchandise’, ‘traffick’ or trade, (Isaiah 14:13)
as referred to in Ezekiel 28:16-18, may
have consisted of inciting God's angels [Addressed to Satan as king of Tyre:]
to join his rebellion. By the multitude of thy merchandise
[trade] they have filled the midst
In other words, Satan engaged in a of thee with violence, and thou
whispering campaign designed to cast hast sinned...Thou hast defiled
doubts on the goodness, justice, and thy sanctuaries by the multitude
worthiness of God. of thine iniquities, by the iniquity
of thy traffick [trade]
Satan's ‘trading’ methods are further (Ezekiel 28:16-18)
described by events that later took place
in the Garden of Eden, and in God's own
throne room. Read on!

Tradesman in the Garden

Revelation 12:9 tells you that “serpent” And the great dragon was cast out,
is a symbol or personification of Satan. that old serpent, called the Devil, and
As Satan's tool, the serpent in the Satan, which deceiveth the whole
Garden of Eden solicited Adam and Eve world... (Revelation 12:9)
to join in Satan's rebellion.

Now the serpent was more subtil than

Notice Satan's ‘trading’ methods... any beast of the field which the LORD
God had made. And he said unto the
• First he created doubt – woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall
“Yea, hath God said...?” not eat of every tree of the garden?
• Then he accused God of lying – And the woman said unto the serpent,
“Ye shall not surely die...” We may eat of the fruit of the trees of
• Finally he accused God of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree
withholding good things from which is in the midst of the garden,
His creatures – “For God doth God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it,
know that in the day ye eat neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
thereof, then your eyes shall And the serpent said unto the woman,
be opened, and ye shall be Ye shall not surely die: For God doth
as gods...” know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened, and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil. (Genesis 3:1-5)

14
 Tradesman at the throne
of God
Job (Chapter 1) describes an event that Now there was a day when the sons
took place in God's own throne room. In of God [Angels] came to present
the presence of God and the angelic host themselves before the LORD, and
of heaven, Satan continued his battle for Satan came also among them...
the minds and hearts of God's creatures.
Then Satan answered the LORD,
Notice Satan's ‘trading’ method at God's and said:
throne, for it is somewhat different here
from the method he used in subverting
Adam and Eve. • Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge
about him, and about his house,
In this case, Satan is saying (in effect), and about all that he hath on
“The only reason anyone obeys and every side?
serves God is because God BRIBES
• thou hast blessed the work of
them with wealth and protection.” his hands, and his substance
[possessions] is increased in
the land.

But put forth thine hand now, and

touch all that he hath, and he will
curse thee to thy face.

(Job 1:6-11)

Walk a mile in Job's sandals

Even today, Satan's rebellion continues
unabated. But know for a certainty that
his methods have not changed. There is
one big difference, however – YOU ARE
NOW THE TARGET!

• Just as he did with Adam and

Eve, he now seeks to make
YOU doubt God's honesty
and goodness. For unto you it is given in the behalf
• Just as he did with Job, he of Christ, not only to believe on him,
now seeks to prove that YOU but also to suffer for his sake.
will abandon your love and (Philippians 1:29)
obedience of God when bad
things happen to you or your
loved ones.
• Moreover, whenever suffering
afflicts you, Satan tries to make
you question whether God cares
or even exists.

15
What is the Biblical answer to Satan's And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast
repeated accusations that God is thou considered my servant Job, that
unworthy of love? How does God there is none like him in the earth, a
respond to Satan's charge that people perfect and an upright man, one that
only serve and love God through fear feareth God, and escheweth [shuns]
and bribery? evil? (Job 1:8)

Ephesians 3:10 clearly proclaims that To the intent that now unto the
YOU are God's reply to those vicious principalities and powers [Angels] in
accusations. You are God's exhibit heavenly places might be known by
NUMBER ONE to Satan and all the the church [believers in Jesus] the
angelic hosts of heaven. manifold wisdom of God
(Ephesians 3:10)

[“The holy angels, who look into

the mystery of our redemption by
Christ, could not but take notice of
this branch of that mystery, that
among the Gentiles is preached the
unsearchable riches of Christ.”
(Matthew Henry – from commentary
on Ephesians 3:10)]

Summary of Part Two

Satan's method of rebellion

Satan's rebellion against God began uncounted eons ago, and continues even today:

• He rebels by trading in deceit and slander, NOT by engaging in a contest of

strength.
• His goal is to subvert the hearts and minds of angelic and human creatures, to
turn them against God.
• He seeks to draw angels and humans away from service to God and towards
worship and service to Satan instead.
• In applying this strategy, Satan is striking at God’s only “weakness,” namely His
infinite capacity for LOVE. God LOVES. And because of His great love, God will
not coerce or force His creatures to love Him in return.

The question yet to be answered is this: Will God's love be victorious against Satan's
insidious weapons – lies, greed, and lust?

16
Part Three: Campaign to stop the Messiah

READ ME!
In His Bible, God did not see fit to record every
little detail of Satan's activities and motivations.
Therefore, a large portion of the narrative that
follows is based on “reading between the lines”
in the record which God HAS seen fit to reveal.

MANY Bible scholars have reached similar

conclusions to those set out in this paper.

• So, this narrative is "orthodox" –

not simply a piece of speculation.
• At the same time remember that
God's truth is NOT arrived at by
a vote of the majority.

How do you separate someone’s OPINION from

the facts supplied by God? In every case, this
narrative quotes the main Bible verses on which
these opinions are based. As a good Berean
(Acts 17:11), you should...

• Read the verses themselves

• Talk to God
• And THEN decide how much to accept.

Special Note: In this study, Lord Jesus is

sometimes referred to as human. And that is
true. The incarnate Jesus is fully human AND
fully God, at one and the same time.

17
 God's judgment of Satan for his rebellion

Who will rule the earth?

When Satan was divested of his dominion over Planet Earth, he was
undoubtedly curious to know who God would choose to reign in his
place. Would God give rulership of earth to some other powerful
angel? Worse yet, would God give dominion to Michael, the
archangel who was Satan's hated enemy?

God's decision on this matter was surely a source of amazement, not

only to Satan, but also to the entire host of heaven.

Instead of placing earth under angelic rulership, God created a NEW

kind of creature to exercise dominion...

God's surprising decision

The new creature that God made to rule
the earth was – MAN!

Satan could readily see that this new

creature was not a spirit person. No, this And God said, Let us make man in our
creature – this “Adam and Eve” – was a image, after our likeness: and let them
puny bag of fragile flesh and bones, have dominion over the fish of the sea,
bound to the earth by gravity and the and over the fowl of the air, and over
creature's need to eat and breathe: the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that
• Not able to freely roam the creepeth upon the earth.
universe, as Satan could. (Genesis 1:26)
• Not nearly as beautiful as Satan.
• Not nearly as intelligent.
• Not nearly as powerful.
• Not even able to see Satan, unless
Satan himself willed it.

Satan was determined to challenge

these puny humans for earth's
rulership. And he had no doubt
that he would win!

18
 KEEP the garden
Adam was warned that he had an enemy:

• This warning was contained

in Genesis 2:15, where God And the LORD God took the man, and
commanded Adam “to keep put him into the garden of Eden to
[guard]” the garden of Eden. dress it and to keep [guard] it.
(Genesis 2:15)
• The word “keep” in Genesis 2:15
translates the Hebrew word
So he [God] drove out the man; and he
shamar, which means “guard.”
placed at the east of the garden of
• The same Hebrew word appears
Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword
again in Genesis 3:24.
which turned every way, to keep
[guard] the way of the tree of life.
Yes, Adam was put on notice that an (Genesis 3:24)
enemy would come. This is why he
was told to guard the garden. And
Satan DID come.

Devil serpent
In the guise of a serpent, the enemy
undertook his treacherous subversion
of Adam and Eve. Revelation 12:9
defines this serpent-enemy as a tool or
personification of Satan himself.

Satan's first target was Eve, the woman. Now the serpent was more subtil than
1 Timothy 2:14 tells us that Eve was any beast of the field which the LORD
deceived by the serpent's lies, but Adam God had made. And he said unto the
was NOT deceived. woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall
not eat of every tree of the garden?
• Do you say, "Shame on Eve?" (Genesis 3:1)
Read on.
• Genesis 3.6 tells us that Adam And Adam was not deceived, but
was right there with Eve when the woman being deceived was in
the serpent deceived her. the transgression.
(1 Timothy 2:14)
• Adam was not deceived. After all,
God had warned Adam (not Eve)
that an enemy would come. And when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it was
• Even so, Adam stood silently pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be
by and allowed the serpent to desired to make one wise, she took of
trick Eve. the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave
• Shame on Eve? No, no – also unto her husband with her; and he
SHAME ON ADAM! did eat. (Genesis 3:6)
• Because Adam failed to heed God,
Satan's ploy succeeded.
• Whether they knew it or not,
Adam and Eve had joined
Satan's rebellion against God.

19
 Satan grabs back his dominion
By virtue of Adam's wilful disobedience Again, the devil taketh him up into an
of God, Satan usurped mankind's exceeding high mountain, and sheweth
dominion over Planet Earth. him all the kingdoms of the world, and
the glory of them; And saith unto him,
In Matthew 4:8-9, Jesus did not contest All these things will I give thee, if thou
Satan's right to offer Him rulership of all wilt fall down and worship me.
the kingdoms on earth. (Matthew 4:8-9)

Satan's dominion over earth is further [Jesus said:] Hereafter I will not talk
attested to by his titles, “prince of this much with you: for the prince of this
world” (John 14.30) and “god of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
world” (2 Corinthians 4.4). (John 14:30)

In whom the god of this world

hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should
shine unto them.
(2 Corinthians 4:4)

God promises to send a Messiah

Genesis 3:14-19 records the judgment
that God pronounced on the human race
because of our sin in the garden of Eden.
From that time on, childbirth would be
painful and people would die.
[God said:] And I will put enmity
At the same time, however, God gave the between thee and the woman, and
first hint that He would some day provide between thy seed and her seed;
mankind with a Messiah, the man Christ it shall bruise thy head, and thou
Jesus. shalt bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3:15)
God did not mention Jesus by name.
Instead, God gave Jesus the strange
title of “her seed.”

Satan immediately understood what God

was saying.

• The Messiah would come to do

battle with Satan.
• Satan would bruise the Messiah's
heel – a non-fatal blow.

But the Messiah would bruise Satan's

head – a FATAL blow.

20
Suddenly, Satan had a new foe to conquer. A foe that Satan knew only as “her seed.”
Of course, Satan missed the significance of the fact that God called the Messiah "her
seed" – a title which meant that the Messiah would be a child of a woman, and ONLY
of a woman.

This title that meant that the Messiah would be VIRGIN-born!

Satan felt certain that his new foe, the And in process of time it came to
Messiah, would be a child of Eve's. pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of
When Eve gave birth to two children -- the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Cain and Abel – Satan waited to see And Abel, he also brought of the
which of them was the Messiah. firstlings of his flock and of the fat
thereof. And the LORD had respect
Genesis 4:3-5 records that God unto Abel and to his offering: But
respected Abel, whereas He did not unto Cain and to his offering he had
respect Cain. Satan decided, Aha! Abel not respect. And Cain was very wroth,
was undoubtedly God's Messiah. and his countenance fell.
(Genesis 4:3-5)
So Satan moved Cain to slay Abel. This
would get rid of the Messiah. Or so he
thought. [Jesus said:] Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye
Jesus confirmed that it was Satan who will do. He was a murderer from the
caused Abel's murder when he declared beginning, and abode not in the truth,
him “a murderer from the BEGINNING.” because there is no truth in him.
(John 8:44)

Satan's second attempt to prevent

the coming of the Messiah
But Satan's murder of Abel was to no And Adam knew his wife again; and
avail, for God gave Eve yet another she bare a son, and called his name
child, whose name was Seth. Seth: For God, said she, hath
appointed me another seed instead
Satan realized that murdering Seth of Abel, whom Cain slew.
wouldn't work – God would simply (Genesis 4:25)
provide Eve with another son.
And GOD saw that the wickedness of
So Satan set out on a different course. man was great in the earth, and that
He began a campaign of fostering every imagination of the thoughts of
mankind's sinful nature. This included, his heart was only evil continually.
in particular, perverting mankind's (Genesis 6:5)
natural sexuality.
And the LORD said, I will destroy man
This campaign must have lasted many whom I have created from the face of
decades, but the end result is clearly the earth; both man, and beast, and the
described in Genesis 6:5 – the human creeping thing, and the fowls of the air;
race eventually became so totally wicked for it repenteth me that I have made
that God would not permit its continued them. (Genesis 6:7)
existence.

21
 Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD
Satan was counting on what he
considered was one of God's greatest But Noah found grace in the eyes of
weaknesses, namely, His holiness. the LORD. (Genesis 6:8)

Satan KNEW that God's holiness would

compel Him to destroy a human race that And he [Elijah] said [to God], I have
was totally and irrevocably committed to been very jealous for the LORD God of
wickedness. And this destruction of hosts: because the children of Israel
sinful humanity would mean that NO have forsaken thy covenant, thrown
MESSIAH would come to defeat Satan! down thine altars, and slain thy
prophets with the sword; and I, even I
But Satan soon discovered that he didn't only, am left; and they seek my life, to
take it away... Yet I [God] have left me
know as much about God as he thought.
seven thousand in Israel, all the knees
In fact, down the many thousands of
which have not bowed unto Baal, and
years that have followed the incidents
every mouth which hath not kissed
described in Genesis chapter 6, Satan
STILL hasn't got the message. Namely... him. (1 Kings 19:14-18)

• Never underestimate the power And we know that all things work
and loveliness of God's AMAZING together for good to them that love
GRACE! (Genesis 6:8). God, to them who are the called
• No matter how wicked the world according to his purpose.
may become, God ALWAYS (Romans 8:28)
preserves a faithful remnant of
humanity (1 Kings 19:18).

God will always bring GOOD out of even

the worst of circumstances because
"ALL things work together for good to
those who love God." (Romans 8:28)

Because of God's grace, Noah and his family were preserved

from God's judgment on the human race.

Satan's second attempt to prevent the Messiah had failed.

But he didn't give up.

22
 Satan pinpoints the Messiah
Satan again attempted to subvert the
entire human race by leading them to
revolt against God and build the Tower
of Babel (Genesis 11). But here again,
God foiled Satan's plan.

Even so, Satan was still determined to

prevent the Messiah from coming, but Now the LORD had said unto Abram...
how? and in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3)
Out of all the many thousands of Noah's
descendants, from whom would the
And God said unto Abraham...
Messiah be born? Unless Satan found
in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
the answer to that question, he wouldn't
(Genesis 21:12)
know whom to destroy.

Then Satan overheard some vital clues. 13: And, behold, the LORD stood
above it, and said [to Jacob], I am the
• Satan listened in to God's LORD God of Abraham thy father, and
promise to Abram (later named the God of Isaac: the land whereon
Abraham) in Genesis 12. He thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to
listened and learned that the thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the
Messiah, God's blessing to all dust of the earth, and thou shalt
mankind, would be a descendant spread abroad to the west, and to the
of Abraham. east, and to the north, and to the
• Later, Satan learned that the south: and in thee and in thy seed
Messiah would be a descendant shall all the families of the earth be
of Abraham's son, Isaac. blessed. (Genesis 28:13-14)
• And later still, a descendant of
Isaac's son, Jacob.

Satan had now pin-pointed his target.

If he could wipe out all of Jacob's
descendants, there would be NO
Messiah.

23
 Genocide – attempt #1
Now let’s look at Satan as he spins his
plots in the days of Exodus Chapter One:

• At that time, all of Jacob's

descendants (called “Hebrews”)
were enslaved in Egypt, at the
mercy of the king (Pharaoh).
• Moved by Satan, the Pharaoh And the king of Egypt spake to the
ordered the midwives to kill all Hebrew midwives, of which the name
of the newborn male Hebrews. of the one was Shiphrah, and the name
(Midwives assisted women in of the other Puah: And he said, When
childbirth.) ye do the office of a midwife to the
Hebrew women, and see them upon
the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall
Satan's plan was simple yet deadly.
kill him: but if it be a daughter, then
she shall live. But the midwives feared
• If all the male Hebrews were slain, God, and did not as the king of Egypt
the Hebrew race would disappear commanded them, but saved the men
within a single generation. children alive. (Exodus 1:15-17)
• There would be no descendants of
Jacob, and NO MESSIAH could be
born to defeat Satan.

In other words, Satan attempted

genocide – the extinction of an entire
race of people!

But the midwives, at risk of their own

lives, obeyed God rather than Pharaoh.
Satan's plan was again foiled.

Genocide – attempt #2
Satan again attempted genocide
against the Hebrew people (the Jews), 13 And the letters were sent by posts
as recorded in the Book of Esther. into all the king's provinces, to
This attempt also failed. destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish,
all Jews, both young and old, little
The Bible records MANY further attempts children and women, in one day, even
by Satan to prevent the coming of the upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth
Messiah. We won't list all of them. It will month, which is the month Adar, and
suffice to say that every attempt failed. to take the spoil of them for a prey.
(Esther 3:13)
How could anyone ever defeat God's
plan? Well, Satan thought he could.
And he continues to think this!

24
Good news and bad news
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

Precisely at God's appointed time,

the Messiah, Jesus, was born.

BAD news for Satan.

Good news for mankind!

So Satan set out at once

to murder the Messiah.

And when they were departed, behold, the

angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a
dream, saying, Arise, and take the young
child and his mother, and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young child to
destroy him. (Matthew 2:13)

Again, Satan failed.

Over the years as Jesus grew up, Satan longed

for the opportunity to tempt Him into disobeying
God. He had succeeded in tempting Adam and
was certain he would be equally successful in
tempting Jesus – after all, Jesus WAS human,
and humans were so pitifully weak and sinful.

At long last, he got his opportunity.

Incredibly...

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the

wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
(Matthew 4:1)

25
 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into
Satan had finally got his chance!
the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
He could now tempt Jesus to the
(Matthew 4:1)
maximum extent.

And when he had fasted forty days and

It was God Himself who gave Satan
forty nights, he was afterward an
this opportunity! In fact, God
hungred [hungry]. (Matthew 4:1)
INSISTED that Jesus face this test.
(Matthew 4:1)
And when the tempter came to him, he
said, If thou be the Son of God,
Moreover, God required that Jesus
command that these stones be made
go without food or water for FORTY
bread. But he answered and said, It is
days and nights while He faced
written, Man shall not live by bread
Satan's wiles.
alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:3-4)
Satan must have been delighted!
Then the devil taketh him up into the
Adam had enjoyed a full stomach, holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle
and was surrounded by a plentiful of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou
supply of food and water, and yet he be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for
yielded to Satan. it is written, He shall give his angels
charge concerning thee: and in their
Here, Jesus was starving and on the hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any
verge of death from dehydration. time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again,
Satan thought the Messiah would be Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
a PUSHOVER! (Matthew 4:5-7)

Seeing that Jesus was greatly Again, the devil taketh him up into an
weakened by hunger, he first exceeding high mountain, and sheweth
tempted Jesus with food. Failure. him all the kingdoms of the world, and
the glory of them; And saith unto him, All
Satan then tempted Jesus with these things will I give thee, if thou wilt
incredible power, wealth and fall down and worship me. Then saith
influence. But all to no avail. Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan:
for it is written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve. (Matthew 4:8-10)

Satan must have been incredibly frustrated by this!

But the battle was far from over.

Satan would be back!

26
 Victory at last!
Satan made many additional attempts Then assembled together the chief
on the life of Jesus, one of which is priests, and the scribes, and the elders
recorded in Matthew 26:3-4. All failed – of the people, unto the palace of the
except the final one. high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
And consulted that they might take
At last Satan was successful and Jesus Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
was charged with blasphemy and (Matthew 26:3-4)
sedition.

Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do

• In an illegal trial, based on lying
then with Jesus which is called Christ?
testimony, Jesus was sentenced to
They all say unto him, Let him be
death.
crucified. And the governor said, Why,
• When Governor Pilate sought to
what evil hath he done? But they cried
commute the grossly unfair
out the more, saying, Let him be
sentence of death, Satan incited the
crucified. (Matthew 27:22-23)
mob to cry, "Let him be crucified."
• Pilate gave into their demands and
Jesus was crucified. And he bearing his cross went forth
into a place called the place of a skull,
Satan rejoiced. Victory at last! There which is called in the Hebrew
must have been a great celebration by Golgotha: Where they crucified him,
Satan and his demon hoards for three and two other with him, on either side
days and three nights! one, and Jesus in the midst.
(Matthew 19:17-18)
Then Sunday morning came and the
“impossible” happened.

More good news and bad news

This was the BEST of all possible [The Angel proclaimed] He is not here:
news for mankind! for he is risen, as he said. Come, see
the place where the Lord lay.
And VERY BAD news for Satan. (Matthew 28:6)

Satan suddenly realized that what he had

thought was his victory was, in fact, I am he that liveth, and was dead; and,
God's victory. behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;
and have the keys of hell and of death.
(Revelation 18:1)
Praise ye the LORD!

Not only was the Messiah alive, but he had defeated death
and would be alive forevermore!

27
 The Messiah withdraws from battle
Satan knows the Bible very well, as was And the LORD shall be king over all
abundantly demonstrated by his use of the earth: in that day shall there be
Scripture in Matthew Chapter 4. one LORD, and his name one.
(Zechariah 14:9)
Satan must have been greatly troubled
when recalled the Biblical prophecy that
the Messiah would become King over all And when he [Jesus] had spoken
the earth. (Zechariah 14:9 and several these things, while they beheld, he
other Bible verses make this prophecy.) was taken up [to heaven]; and a
cloud received him out of their sight.
No doubt Satan fully expected the (Acts 1:9)
Messiah to immediately begin His
conquest of Satan and his demonic
forces, but instead he got a pleasant
surprise. Rather than engaging in battle,
the Lord ascended into heaven.

Satan had been given a stay of

execution.

What is the Messiah waiting for?

Satan must have wondered why the risen Then cometh the end, when he shall
Lord withdrew from the battlefield of have delivered up the kingdom to God,
planet Earth, just when victory was even the Father; when he shall have
easily within his grasp. put down all rule and all authority and
power. (1 Corinthians 15:24)
Perhaps, dear reader, you wonder too?
The Bible gives the answer. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count
1 Corinthians 15:24 tells us that the slackness; but is longsuffering to
Lord's final conquest of the world and us-ward, not willing that any should
of Satan will mark THE END of the world perish, but that all should come to
as we know it. repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Don't you get it yet? Jesus delayed his The LORD hath appeared of old unto
conquest because of YOU! me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with
an everlasting love: therefore with
Jesus had to postpone THE END so that lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
you could be born, and receive him, and (Jeremiah 31:3)
become his own. (2 Peter 3:9) According as he [God] hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the
Why? Because he loves you. He always world, that we should be holy and
has. (Jeremiah 31:3; Ephesians 1:4-6) without blame before him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the
Jesus still delays his coming? Why? adoption of children by Jesus Christ
What has yet to happen before he can to himself, according to the good
return? pleasure of his will, To the praise of
the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
made us accepted in the beloved.
(Ephesians 1:4-6)

28
 Meanwhile...

[Jesus said:] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the

prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how
often would I have gathered thy children together, even as
a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye
shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord. (Matthew 23:37-39)

Now that Messiah has ascended to heaven, Satan's new

and most urgent goal is...to PREVENT the Messiah from
returning.

Why? For the simple reason that the Second Coming of the
Messiah spells DOOM for Satan, and Satan is fully aware of
this fact. Remember, he knows the Bible in all its detail.

Can Satan prevent Jesus from coming again? Maybe he

thinks he can. In Matthew 23:37-39, Jesus stated very
clearly that he would not return until the nation of Israel
asked him to do so. In other words, the people of Israel
must ACKNOWLEDGE that Jesus is the Messiah and
PRAY for his return.

What is Satan's plan to stop the Lord's return? It appears

to be fourfold:

1. Neutralise or destroy any and every person who

proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah. This means that,
as a born-again Christian, YOU are one of Satan's
targets.

2. Destroy all members of the Jewish race, and thus

eliminate any future possibility that they might call on
Jesus as the Messiah.

3. Neutralise or destroy any nation that supports Israel's

continued existence. This means the USA is a prime
target. Satan is determined to destroy America, whether
by war, by rot from within, or both. Have you noticed any
signs of rot lately?

4. Wipe out Israel itself.

29
 Satan has never ceased his attempts to destroy the
Jewish people. They have been persecuted relentlessly
throughout history, particularly by the Church of Rome.
This persecution culminated in the Holocaust under Nazi
Germany, a deliberate, carefully planned and highly
successful attempt to eliminate a huge proportion of the
Jewish people.

Israel itself has been subject to numerous attempts to

destroy it since its foundation in 1948, including the
Six Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Several nations today, many quite powerful, have

publicly pledged to destroy the state of Israel.

Summary of Part Three

Even from the ancient days of Adam and Eve, Satan has known that
his ultimate defeat will come at the hands of the Messiah.

• As recorded in the Old Testament, Satan repeatedly attempted

to prevent the Messiah's birth by destroying his ancestors, the
Jewish people, but he failed.
• When the Messiah was born, Satan then began a campaign to
murder him. He finally succeeded in having the Messiah falsely
convicted and crucified. But God resurrected the Messiah and
Satan again had failed.
• No doubt Satan expected the resurrected Messiah to
immediately engage him in battle. To Satan's pleasant surprise,
however, the Messiah instead ascended into heaven, where he
remains to this day.

Satan is well aware that the Messiah has promised to return to earth,
but only when the Jewish people acknowledge him as the Messiah
and pray for his return.

Accordingly, Satan's goal is now either to destroy Israel or to prevent

Israel from recognizing Jesus as the Messiah.

His targets are Israel, the nations that support Israel (including the
USA), and all born-again Christians.

30
Part Four – Present Activities & Final Destiny

Satan counterfeits the churches of God

Satan has his own synagogues and
churches. Some of Satan's counterfeit ... I [Jesus] know the blasphemy of
churches even profess to be Christian them which say they are Jews, and are
and have the words “Jesus Christ” in not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
their title. (Revelation 2:9)

Satan's churches are empowered, not

by God's Holy Spirit, but by a different For if he that cometh preacheth
spirit, even a demon spirit. Sometimes a another Jesus, whom we have not
church is empowered by Satan himself. preached, or if ye receive another
But make no mistake, Satan's churches spirit, which ye have not received, or
and religions DO have great power and another gospel, which ye have not
charisma. accepted, ye might well bear with him.
(2 Corinthians 11:4)
Satan's churches preach “gospels,” but
these gospels differ from the gospel of
Jesus Christ as given in the King James
Bible.

• Sometimes the difference is quite

large.
• More often than not, however, the
difference is VERY subtle – just
enough to lead a person astray.
Satan is prepared to work slowly
to get results.

Satan moulds counterfeit Christians

In order to sow confusion and lead Another parable put he forth unto
people astray, Satan works particularly them, saying, The kingdom of heaven
hard to plant counterfeit Christians in is likened unto a man which sowed
Bible-preaching churches. good seed in his field: But while men
slept, his enemy [Satan] came and
These are just like the tares that Jesus sowed tares among the wheat, and
warned about in Matthew Chapter 13. went his way. But when the blade was
(A tare is a weed that looks like wheat.) sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also. So the
servants of the householder came

31
 and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou
sow good seed in thy field? from
whence then hath it tares? He said
unto them, An enemy [Satan] hath
done this. The servants said unto him,
Wilt thou then that we go and gather
them up? But he said, Nay; lest while
ye gather up the tares, ye root up also
the wheat with them. Let both grow
together until the harvest: and in the
time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
Gather ye together first the tares, and
bind them in bundles to burn them: but
gather the wheat into my barn.
(Matthew 13:24-30)

Satan counterfeits the preachers

and teachers called by God

Not only does Satan seek to plant false For such are false apostles, deceitful
Christians among true believers, but he workers, transforming themselves into
is especially keen to plant false the apostles of Christ. And no marvel;
preachers as well. for Satan himself is transformed into
an angel of light. Therefore it is no
The Bible warns us of this danger, but great thing if his ministers also be
many miss its importance. As a result, transformed as the ministers of
they listen to preachers whose words righteousness; whose end shall
and teachings do not accord with be according to their works.
scripture. (2 Corinthians 11:13-14)

If their listeners were to “rightly divide” Study to shew thyself approved unto
the word of God, they would not fall into God, a workman that needeth not to
this cunning trap. Just as a wall divides be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
two houses, the Word of God separates of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
or divides truth from falsehood.
These [the people of Berea] were more
Like the people of Berea (Acts 17:11), noble than those in Thessalonica, in
who checked even the words of Paul that they received the word with all
to see if they were fully in accord with readiness of mind, and searched the
scripture, every true believer must scriptures daily, whether those things
ensure that the teaching he receives were so. (Acts 17:11)
in his or her church is in complete
agreement with the Word of God.

32
 Satan counterfeits the doctrines of God
Most preachers today are educated in
Bible seminaries. Thus Satan has
concentrated a great part of his efforts
on infiltrating these seminaries and
sowing disunity and falsehood. His
efforts have been richly rewarded.

Today many (but thankfully not all) Bible

seminaries have counterfeit teachers.
While highly proficient in all aspects of
Biblical study, they are NOT God’s
people.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,

Rather than teaching the truths of the
that in the latter times some shall
Bible, they teach counterfeit doctrines
or “doctrines of devils.” These include depart from the faith, giving heed to
such lies as: seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy;
having their conscience seared with a
• LIE - The Bible is not the literal hot iron... (1 Timothy 4:1-2)
word of God.
• LIE - The Bible contains many
errors and often contradicts itself.
• LIE - Those parts of the Bible
that are in conflict with so-called
“scientific truths,” such as
evolution, are merely myths
or parables.
• LIE - Alternative sexual preferences
are okay.

Note that the Bible says this will be a

particular problem “in the latter times.”

33
 Satan counterfeits the miracles of God

Jesus gave clear warning that “miracles” For they are the spirits of devils,
done in his name do NOT, in and of working miracles... (Revelation 16:14)
themselves, prove that they are of God.
Satan can and does perform counterfeit
miracles. [Jesus said:] Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
In some churches, so-called ‘miracles’ – prophesied in thy name? and in thy
uncontrollable laughter, uncontrollable name have cast out devils? and in thy
movements, speaking in ‘tongues,’ name done many wonderful works?
‘miraculous’ healings, and the like – And then will I profess unto them, I
have taken on the appearance of a never knew you: depart from me, ye
carnival sideshow. that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23)

1 Corinthians 14:32-33 makes it clear

that God does not ‘take-over’ a person's Even him, whose coming is after the
mind or cause him to lose self-control. working of Satan with all power and
However, Satan does. signs and lying wonders
(2 Thessalonians 2:9)
Yes, God often does choose to heal
people. But he does NOT indulge in
cheap theatrics to entertain or impress And the spirits of the prophets are
an audience. A healing that brings fame subject to the prophets. For God is not
to a human person or institution is NOT the author of confusion, but of peace,
Biblical. as in all churches of the saints.
(1 Corinthians 14:32-33)
The Biblical way of healing (James
5:14-15) will involve a PRIVATE prayer
session in the pastor's study or at the Is any sick among you? let him call for
sick person's bedside, NOT on TV! And the elders of the church; and let them
Not in a packed room of cheering people. pray over him, anointing him with oil in
the name of the Lord: And the prayer
Jesus is very clear about the private and of faith shall save the sick, and the
personal nature of true prayer (Matthew Lord shall raise him up; and if he have
6). He even compared prayer with “vain committed sins, they shall be forgiven
repetitions” and “much speaking” to the him. (James 5:14-15)
prayer of heathen. (Remember that
heathen worship Satan.)
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into
God is not the author of confusion or thy closet, and when thou hast shut
theatrics (1 Corinthians 14). But Satan is. thy door, pray to thy Father which is in
secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly. But
when ye pray, use not vain repetitions,
as the heathen do: for they think that
they shall be heard for their much
speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto
them: for your Father knoweth what
things ye have need of, before ye ask
him. (Matthew 6:6-8)

34
 Satan counterfeits the Messiah
There have been many examples of And Jesus answered and said unto
modern false prophets, such as Sun them, Take heed that no man deceive
Myung Moon, Joseph Smith and you. For many shall come in my name,
Charles Taze Russell. Others, less saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
well known, have deceived many. many. (Matthew 24:4-5)

According to Jesus, many false

Christs are yet to come.

Satan counterfeits / perverts the word of God

Satan has many counterfeit books that Now the serpent was more subtil than
purport to be the word of God. These any beast of the field which the LORD
include: God had made. And he said unto the
woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall
• Book of Mormon not eat of every tree of the garden?
• The Apocrypha ... And the serpent said unto the
• The Koran woman, Ye shall not surely die: For
God doth know that in the day ye eat
• The Upanishads
thereof, then your eyes shall be
• Bhagavad Gita
opened, and ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil.
What are especially significant (and (Genesis 3:1-5)
sinister) for Christians are Satan’s
repeated attempts to counterfeit the Therefore the Lord himself shall give
Bible, the very word of God. He has you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
been doing this by promoting numerous conceive, and bear a son, and shall
translations and versions which very call his name Immanuel.
subtly distort the word of God. Here are (Isaiah 7:14)
just a few of many possible examples...
Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
• Some translations change the word and shall bring forth a son, and they
“virgin” in Isaiah 7.14 to “young shall call his name Emmanuel, which
woman,” thus raising doubts about being interpreted is, God with us.
the virgin birth of Jesus. (Matthew 1:23)
• Other translations are even subtler.
They use “virgin” in the main text, but
insert a footnote that questions the
accuracy of their own translation.

Given that the Gospel of Matthew makes

it perfectly clear that the word “virgin”
was intended by Isaiah, there can be no
doubt that many of the people who
‘translate’ these ‘Bibles’ are being
deliberately mischievous. Satan makes
extensive use of pseudo Christians to
cunningly change the word of God.

35
In many cases, the distortions are so
blatant that there can be no doubt the
translators were deliberately trying to
pervert the word of God.

For example, one translation changes In the beginning was the Word, and the
John 1.1 to read “and the word was a Word was with God, and the Word was
god” instead of “and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
God.” (This change was made to
support the false doctrine – endosed
by Satan! – that Jesus was created by
God.)

Satan will counterfeit the resurrection of Jesus

During the Tribulation described in the
Book of Revelation, the Antichrist will ...the beast [Antichrist] that ascendeth
ascend from the pit (abussos), thus out of the bottomless pit shall make
counterfeiting the resurrection of Our war... (Revelation 11:7)
Lord Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the Antichrist will bear the And I saw one of his [Antichrist] heads
marks of an apparent “deadly wound” as it were wounded to death; and his
– perhaps the scars of a severed head. deadly wound was healed: and all the
world wondered after the beast.
The fact that the Antichrist lives, despite (Revelation 13:3)
this mortal wound, will make it SEEM that
he has in fact been resurrected from the
dead.

36
 Right to the very end,
Satan will continue to do the following:

Wherefore we would have come unto

you, even I Paul, once and again; but
Hinder the work of God's servants.
Satan hindered us.
(1 Thessalonians 2:18)

When any one heareth the word of the

kingdom, and understandeth it not,
then cometh the wicked one, and
catcheth away that which was sown in
his heart. This is he which received
seed by the way side. (Matthew 13:19)
Blind the minds of unbelievers
to the truth of the gospel.
In whom the god of this world [Satan]
hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them.
(2 Corinthians 4:4)

And the great dragon was cast out,

that old serpent, called the Devil, and
Constantly accuse Christians Satan...for the accuser [Satan] of our
before God. brethren [Christians] is cast down,
which accused them before our God
day and night. (Revelation 12:9-10)

So went Satan forth from the presence

of the LORD, and smote Job with sore
boils from the sole of his foot unto his
Afflict people with physical, mental crown. (Job 2:7)
and spiritual diseases – assisted by
his demon hoard. And, behold, there was a woman which
had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years,
and was bowed together, and could in
no wise lift up herself. (Luke 13:11)

Let the husband render unto the wife

due benevolence: and likewise also the
wife unto the husband... Defraud ye
not one the other, except it be with
Strive to undermine the sanctity of consent for a time, that ye may give
marriage and family life. yourselves to fasting and prayer; and
come together again, that Satan tempt
you not for your incontinency.
(1 Corinthians 7:3-5)

37
 And that they may recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil, who are
taken captive by him at his will.
(2 Timothy 2:26)
Tempt and ensnare people
with his wiles. Put on the whole armour of God, that
ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

Satan's final destiny

Armageddon
On a dire, dreadful day in the future, For they are the spirits of devils,
Satan will make one gargantuan attempt working miracles, which go forth unto
to prevent the Messiah's return. His the kings of the earth and of the whole
whole campaign will focus on the total world, to gather them to the battle of
destruction of Israel. that great day of God Almighty.
(Revelation 16:14)
Satan's armies will gather from around
the world and mass on the plains of And he gathered them together into a
Israel, in the vicinity of a hill called Har place called in the Hebrew tongue
Megiddo, near the city of Jerusalem. Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16)

Thus will begin “the battle of that great

day of God Almighty.”

Very shortly after this battle commences,

it will look as if the entire Jewish nation
will be completely destroyed – every
man, woman and child. Satan will take
NO PRISONERS.

38
 The Messiah Returns
Israel receives the Messiah
Just when it appears that Satan has
[Israel calls upon the Messiah] Come,
achieved ultimate victory, the remnant
and let us return unto the LORD: for he
of Jews still alive will finally recognize
hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath
Jesus as their Messiah and call upon smitten, and he will bind us up.
him to come and save them. (Hosea 6:1)

And Jesus WILL come and he WILL save

them! And I [the Messiah] will pour upon
the house of David, and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of
grace and of supplications: and they
shall look upon me whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn for him,
as one mourneth for his only son, and
shall be in bitterness for him, as one
that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
In that day shall there be a great
mourning in Jerusalem, as the
mourning of Hadadrimmon in the
valley of Megiddon. And the land
shall mourn, every family apart; the
family of the house of David apart,
and their wives apart; the family of
the house of Nathan apart, and their
wives apart;
(Zechariah 12:10-12)

39
 The Battle of Armageddon

The final battle commences

The Messiah, Our Lord Jesus and his And I saw heaven opened, and behold
armies, will come down from heaven, a white horse; and he that sat upon
riding white horses. him was called Faithful and True, and
in righteousness he doth judge and
Are you a born-again Christian? Then make war. His eyes were as a flame of
YOU will be following close behind him! fire, and on his head were many
crowns; and he had a name written,
The Messiah will confront Satan's armies that no man knew, but he himself. And
near a place called Bozrah. he was clothed with a vesture dipped
in blood: and his name is called The
Word of God. And the armies which
were in heaven followed him upon
white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean.
(Revelation 19:11-14)

And I saw the beast [Antichrist], and

the kings of the earth, and their armies,
gathered together to make war against
him [Jeus Christ] that sat on the horse,
and against his army.
(Revelation 19:19)

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of

thee; I will surely gather the remnant of
Israel; I will put them together as the
sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the
midst of their fold: they shall make
great noise by reason of the multitude
of men. (Micah 2:12)

Behold, he shall come up and fly as

the eagle, and spread his wings over
Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart
of the mighty men of Edom be as the
heart of a woman in her pangs.
(Jeremiah 49:22)

40
 The Battle is Over!

With a single word – the “sword which And I saw the beast, and the kings of
proceeded out of his mouth” – the the earth, and their armies, gathered
Messiah defeats the enemy. together to make war against him that
sat on the horse, and against his army.
• The hellish armies are destroyed. And the beast was taken, and with
• Satan himself is bound and cast him the false prophet that wrought
into prison. miracles before him, with which he
deceived them that had received the
mark of the beast, and them that
Thus begins the Kingdom Age (which
worshipped his image. These both
we will not explore in this paper).
were cast alive into a lake of fire
burning with brimstone. And the
remnant were slain with the sword
of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeded out of his mouth:
and all the fowls were filled with their
flesh. (Revelation 19:19-21)

And I saw an angel come down from

heaven, having the key of the bottom-
less pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that
old serpent, which is the Devil, and
Satan, and bound him a thousand
years, And cast him into the bottom-
less pit, and shut him up, and set a
seal upon him, that he should deceive
the nations no more, till the thousand
years should be fulfilled: and after that
he must be loosed a little season.
(Revelation 20:1-3)

41
 Satan's last stand and final destiny
After 1000 years, God will release
Satan from his prison in the
bottomless pit.

Why will God release his enemy? And when the thousand years are
God doesn't say. Perhaps our expired, Satan shall be loosed out of
gracious and merciful God will give his prison, And shall go out to deceive
Satan one final chance to repent – a the nations which are in the four
thousand years to think things quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog,
over. to gather them together to battle: the
number of whom is as the sand of the
Some have asked if God would sea. And they went up on the breadth
of the earth, and compassed the camp
forgive Satan, were he to repent.
of the saints about, and the beloved
Many Christians are convinced that
city: and fire came down from God out
he would.
of heaven, and devoured them. And
the devil that deceived them was cast
In any event, Satan does NOT into the lake of fire and brimstone,
repent but launches into yet where the beast and the false prophet
another futile attempt to destroy are, and shall be tormented day and
God's people. night for ever and ever.
(Revelation 20:7-10)
This marks the END of God's
tolerance. Satan is banished for all
eternity to the lake of fire.

42
 Note: The following section was added by the webmaster of www.zephaniah.eu.
It is based on the writings of Bill Schnoebelen.

Some closing remarks about Satan

and his power
1. Satan can only be in one place at one time. However, his demon hoards
are located all over the planet.

2. Satan is not all-knowing – he depends on his demon hoards to supply him

with information.

3. Satan does not know the future. He cannot prophesy. But he does know
the Bible inside out.

4. Satan has comparatively little power in the lives of born-again Christians.

His great strength is his incredible skill in the art of deception and
disinformation, and his tireless ability to devise an endless supply
of lies, including lies of devastating subtlety.

5. Satan is unoriginal. He has no creativity whatsoever. Most of his works

are distortions of what God has already made. He continually recycles
the tired old lies he has been using for centuries.

6. Satan is incredibly intelligent and would appear to have an extensive

knowledge of what we know today as science and technology. He also
has an amazing grasp of human psychology and human weakness.

7. Satan is an egomaniac. He is still convinced that he can overcome God.

His pride often means that he overplays his hand. He believes his own
lies.

8. Satan cannot comprehend compassion or self-sacrifice. He is in every

sense a psychopath.

9. Satan has absolutely no power whatever compared to God.

Posted 18 April 2009

Copyright William P Tisdale [Bible Bell Chronicles].

Slightly amended version compiled for website www.zephaniah.eu.

43