Isaiah 14:12-17 – 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. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

In Job 41, when God is describing leviathan, He says, I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion. God is talking about Satan, who is the king of the children of pride. Mankind has had a mortal enemy from the beginning, and God has revealed him to us. We have a God that reveals mysteries and secrets, whose light shines in the darkness. Like the kings hiding in the cave in Joshua 10, Satan does not want to be brought into the light and dealt with. But God does just that. 1 John 5:20 says that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding. Satan has been revealed, he is the devil, the dragon, that old serpent – he is our enemy, he has been from the beginning. Satan is a created being, his name was Lucifer before he fell. He is the spiritual father of all unbelievers today, unbelievers are taken captive at his will – 2 Timothy 2:26. Satan’s ways are subtle and deceptive, he does not appear as he truly is, the Bible says he can appear as an angel of light – 2 Corinthians 11:14. His ministers can appear as ministers of righteousness. This is when he is most effective. Without the word of God, we would not be able to discern his existence, activity, ways, and means. Jesus said of Satan, He was a murderer from the beginning – John 8:44. He is the father of lies. He is an accuser, a deceiver, our adversary. He wants to enslave us, to kill us, to take us to hell, to shut us in the pit and throw away the key. Satan is a beast. He cannot be negotiated with, he cannot be talked down, he cannot be reasoned with, the Bible calls him a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour – 1 Peter 5:8. In our own strength we cannot even begin to prevail against him.

Isaiah 14 reveals that Satan was originally called Lucifer, it reveals his heart, his plan, his subterfuge, his end. Ezekiel 24 says he was the anointed cherub that covereth. He was beautiful, he was perfect, he was comely. Ezekiel 24:15 says Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Lucifer was lifted up with pride. He had I will in his heart. This is in contrast to Jesus, who came to do the Father’s will. Jesus said, not my will, but thine – Luke 22:42. Lucifer wants to be like God, he wants the praise, the glory, and the honor. The Bible says, Thou hast said in thine heart. God knew his heart, like he knows our hearts. Jesus said, I beheld Satan like lightning fall from heaven – Luke 10:18. Lucifer fell, the Bible says he will be brought low, he will be brought down to hell. His end is the lake of fire. His followers will follow him into eternal damnation. It will be too late for unbelievers, when they finally see him for who he is and say – Is this the man? Satan is not outside of God’s control. He never has been, he never will be. Satan can only do what God allows him to do – Job 1. If God was to remove his longsuffering and restraining hand, Satan would destroy us all in a heartbeat. All the filth, pain, suffering, evil, murder, abuse, perversion, corruption, wickedness in the world can be traced back to Satan. Satan caused man to sin in the garden of Eden – Genesis 3. Satan became man’s master, the spiritual father of mankind. The Bible calls Satan the god of this world – 2 Corinthians 4:4. He is the prince of the power of air. He is the ruler of the fallen angels, the devils. When Satan entered into Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus, he went out into the night – John 13:30. Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of darkness. The Bible describes the blackness of darkness – Jude. Have you known the blackness of darkness? Jesus said, Night cometh when no man can work – John 9:4. Get saved while it is today, do not face the eternal darkness of separation from God. Isaiah 9:2 says The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Satan wants to imprison us. The Bible says he openeth not the house of his prisoners – Isaiah 14. He is not going to release you, do not look to him for freedom or solutions to your life. He blinds the minds of unbelievers. He devours the seed that falls by the wayside in our hearts – Matthew 13. He doesn’t want you to receive the saving word of God. He wants to keep you dead in trespasses and sins. Satan brings us into captivity through causing us to sin. 1 John 3:8 – He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Satan uses the world to entice and allure us into sin. The Bible says that the world consists of the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, and the pride of the life – 1 John 2:16. He uses these to make us fall. In John 8:34 Jesus said, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. When Adam sinned in the garden, he became a servant of sin. The whole human race has fallen under the curse. Satan is the spiritual father of all unbelievers, unbelievers cannot but walk according to him – Ephesians 2. Our sins have separated us from God. Our sins will send us to to hell. Isaiah 59:2 – But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. The Bible says that Satan right now has access to heaven, he accuses us before God day and night – Job 1, Revelation 12. He tells God about the sins we are committing, how we deserve hell and wrath and judgement. He desires to have us. God’s longsuffering, mercy and grace is the only thing standing between us and Satan having his way with us.

How can this seemingly hopeless situation be fixed? If we are not saved, we cannot resist him. So we need to be saved to begin with. We need the walls of salvation to keep our enemy out – Isaiah 60:18, Nehemiah.  We need the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the message of hope, which is the solution. The gospel has destroyed Satan. Romans 16:20 says that the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The feet that bruise Satan are the feet which bring the gospel. Romans 10:15 – How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! The gospel is what frees us, it is a message of peace with God, it is the glad tidings of good things, it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth – Romans 1:16. When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts as our Lord and Savior, we are translated out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness.  Colossians 1:13 – Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

Our victory lies in repentance and faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We go from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.   He came to set the captives free – Luke 4:18. Hebrews 2:14 – Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. Isaiah 42:7 – To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. It is the precious blood of Jesus Christ, shed at Calvary, that has freed us forever from Satan. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb – Revelation 12. Zechariah 9:11 – As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. It is Jesus’ blood that sets us free, it takes us beyond Satan’s grasp. Jesus’ pure, sinless, incorruptible blood has broken Satan’s grip on us.  We enter into Christ’s victory on the cross. Psalm 79:11 – Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die. Psalm 142:7 – Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Psalms 146:7 – The LORD looseth the prisoners.

As the blood of the passover lamb broke Pharaoh’s hold on the children of Israel, so the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ frees us from slavery to Satan. Like Pharaoh pursuing the children of Israel in the wilderness, Satan’s persecution can go no further than the Red Sea – Exodus 14. Death and hell have been swallowed up in victory. As Pharaoh was, Satan is drowned in the depths. As Moses said to the children of Israel of the pursuing Egyptians, Ye shall see them again no more. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. This is why death is so victorious for us, it is us passing into an eternal presence with the Lord. It is passing beyond the reach of Satan, we will suffer no more, we will see our enemy no more.  O death where is thy sting, o grave where is thy victory? Satan had the power of death – Hebrews 2:14. Jesus has it now. Revelation says Jesus has the keys of hell and death – Revelation 1:18. People who go to hell today go because they chose not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ – John 3. Jesus has paid for their sin, he offers eternal life as a free gift, we need but accept it. The times of ignorance are over, repent and believe the gospel – Acts 17:30. Satan is going to hell, and ultimately the lake of fire. Don’t fear Satan, fear the Lord as Jesus forewarned – Luke 12:15. Jesus said, The prince of this world is judged – John 14:30. Jesus said of Satan, he hath nothing in me. It is Jesus that intercedes for us, while Satan accuses us, we have Jesus, standing before God, making intercession for us – Hebrews 7:25. Jesus is our defense. The Lord Jesus Christ is supremely victorious over Satan and his army. The devils cringe at his name, they know their days are numbered – James 2:19. Jesus is going to return to the earth, the kingdoms of the world will become his, they are his, he just has to take them – Revelation 11:15. He is waiting for the Father to give them to him.

We cannot do battle with Satan without the word of God, we cannot do battle in disobedience to the word of God. After we are saved, we have the ultimate victory, but we still have an ongoing battle with Satan. He will persecute us. As Pharaoh said, so Satan will say, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? – Exodus 14:5. He wants to derail us, shipwreck us, to reduce our impact on the lost world, he doesn’t want others to be saved because of us. He wants to bring the believer back to Egypt. As with disobedient Israel and Judah, he will carry us off to Babylon if we persist with our sin. Satan wants to bring the vessels of God into his house to serve him – Daniel 1. Samson is an example of a believer who could not conquer the sin in his life. He persisted in sin, and fell into Satan’s snare. Judges 16:21 says the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Satan will triumph over us unless we have the Lord Jesus Christ, unless we remain in the safety of the Scripture. We cannot enter the promised land as captives of Satan. But as Joshua was able to lead the Israelites into the promised land, we need the captain of our salvation to lead us into victory over the Devil, the world, the flesh – Hebrews 2:10. Do not be ignorant of his devices – 2 Corinthians 2:11. Ephesians 6:12 – For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. We need God’s word, because it is God’s word alone that throws down and builds up – Jeremiah 1. Jeremiah 23:29 – Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Satan cannot possess us, but he can surround us. Satan’s power over us is a bluff, he will try to cower us down like Sennacherib attempted to do with Hezekiah. In 2 Chronicles 32, Sennacherib’s rampaging, all conquering Assyrian army marched to the gates of Jerusalem. Sennacherib fired a torrent of propaganda at Hezekiah. Similarly, Satan tests the reality of our faith in God. Like Hezekiah, we have to run to God for help. Satan does not come with a label declaring himself and his intentions. In many cases, we do not know what has hit us. He does not need to persecute unbelievers, because they are already deceived, they are in his kingdom, they are assimilated in the world, they are already conquered.The Book of Job shows us that Satan can attack in many different ways, he can take our health, our wealth, our loved ones. He will hit you right where it hurts the most. He finds the chink in your armor that no man can see. Satan can sift us as wheat, will our faith fail not? Thanks be to God that we have an intercessor that prays for us, that will see us through. God uses Satan to prove us. It is through the fiery trials that the reality of our faith is proven. It is God that brings us through these trials, our end is better than our beginning. Will we still love God or curse him when he takes our health, wealth or loved ones? In Revelation 12, the Bible says the dragon opened his mouth and sent a flood after the woman. He will send a flood to carry us away, just like he has sent a flood of false teachers carrying false Bibles bringing false doctrines producing false converts into churches today.Are you built upon the solid rock? Or will will you be tossed like a wave of the sea, will you be like a reed shaken with the wind?

Satan can make offers far too good to refuse. We need God’s power to refuse if we want it. Satan has an offer for all of us, the offer is a lie. It’s just a matter of how well he can dress it up to suck you in. It is like the allure of the strange woman in Proverbs 5:3. Her footsteps take hold on hell. Satan offered Jesus the kingdom in exchange for worshipping him. In Genesis 14:21 the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. In Mark 8:37, Jesus asked, What will a man give in exchange for his soul? As Pharaoh offered Moses compromises to stop the plagues, so Satan will offer compromises to us today. If we compromise with the devil, we will never escape the bondage of Egypt. What offer has he made to you? Only through the power of Scripture, It is written, can we resist Satan. Jesus defeated him, Jesus in us defeats him.Even though Satan’s attacks may be painful, as long as our faith is genuine, as long as we have Christ in us, we will be victorious. We can look back on these times as defining points in our life. Satan’s painfully inflicted scars can become a badge of honor for Christ as he turns defeat into victory for us. This is like what Jesus did on the cross. When he died, he had the greatest victory man will ever see for all of eternity. It is through death that he had victory over death. Death could not hold him. Satan’s cunningly devised plans were laid to waste. The same gallows that Haman had made for Mordecai were the very gallows that Haman himself was hung on – Esther 7. 1 Corinthians 2:8 says had the princes of this world known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The Bible records the day when Jesus met the devil possessed man of the Gadarenes. Mark 5:5 says he was night and day in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting himself with stones. He ran to Jesus. In Mark 5:8 Jesus said to him, come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. In Luke 8:35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. Jesus is the answer. He will clothe you. He will restore you. If you are imprisoned, if there is no hope, if you are in darkness, call upon the name of the Lord. We cannot do battle with the devil ourselves, and like the woman with the spirit of infirmity who could not lift herself up, we need to look to Jesus to set us free from the bonds of Satan. He has the authority and power to free us. The devils obey him, they flee from his presence, they tremble at his word. Let Jesus set you free. Enter into Christ’s victory, and his rest.

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