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August 18, 2004
satan has always been a
mystery to most Christians and certainly to the world at large.
If I were to take a poll most would say that satan equals evil and
represents the dark side of this good (God) verses evil (devil) saga.
Many would say that he is a formidable opponent of God’s that will meet
his end in a final battle called Armageddon.
Most
of us have a mental picture of how we perceive satan will look, the red body,
hoofed feet, the long pointy tail, and the protruding horns from his head. But I
am convinced, that in that day, we will see a very different picture. I believe
that satan will be very attractive to look upon and a magnificent creation of
God. His intelligence, charm and magnetism will be evident without him saying a
word. After all, he was the highest-ranking angel in God’s kingdom before his
fall. It will be a stunning revelation for all to finally see. The book of
Isaiah paints a graphic picture of that day as the whole world awaits the final
judgment of satan.
“Hell
from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: It stirreth up the
dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from
their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto
thee, art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is
brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: The
worm
is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 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? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie
in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an
abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through
with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under
feet.” (Isaiah 14:9-19)
In
that final day, satan and his angels will be cast into the lake of fire
eternally where the beast and the false prophet have already been for 1,000
years.
I
have been asked, “What if in the end, satan pleaded with God to forgive him
and restore him to favor, would He?” First of all, that thought would never
ever cross satan’s mind. It’s just not within him and against every fiber of
his nature. That would be like a hungry lion and a lamb being placed in a pen
together. By morning, only one would be left. Why? Because it’s the lion’s
unchangeable nature that drives him to hunt, kill and devour the lamb, and that
can never be changed. You can train the lion for weeks, months, even years to
co-exist with the lamb, but the final result will still be the same.
satan
will never change his ways because it is against his nature. Knowing the truth,
he chose to rebel and to exalt himself above the very God of heaven. Therefore,
God turned him over to his nature, never to be changed, just as he did with
those found in Romans 1:20-32, who knowing the truth, chose not to serve God,
but to follow their own lusts. satan does not know he is evil because that’s
what he is and it is natural to him. Did God make him the way he is? No! satan
chose to rebel against God and God turned him over to his own desires and
forever that became his nature, never to be changed. He absolutely has no desire
to change now and never will.
At
his judgment he will bow and declare Jesus as Lord, but you can rest assured,
satan will never repent of his ways and he’ll go screaming, kicking and
cursing with everything that’s within him as he is cast eternally into the
lake that burns with fire.
Even though this is the
description of satan it should be noted that he only has as much power as the
Lord allows him to have. If he
destroyed cities or shook kingdoms (Isaiah 14:16 &17) it’s because God
allowed this to happen. Don’t get
me wrong, satan is a very powerful creature for which even the most powerful
angels are unable to contend with (Jude 1:9), but he is still just an angel, one
of God’s created beings. He has
limited power and knowledge just as any other angel would have and he doesn’t
fully understand salvation. Take a
look at I Peter 1:10-12:
10]
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
[11] Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which
was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ,
and the glory that should follow.
[12] Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us
they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have
preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which
things the angels desire to look into.
As I said, satan is just an
angel and only has knowledge of what God allows him to have knowledge of. I’m
sure satan has some knowledge regarding salvation or he wouldn’t oppose it so
much. How much is anybodies guess.
Whatever he knows God has
allowed him to know for the sole purpose of fulfilling His will.
Case in point, The Millennium Reign Of Christ.
When Christ comes back to planet earth to rule and reign for one thousand
years He will bind and remove satan from the earth for the duration of His
reign. But after the one thousand
years are up satan will be freed and returned to his original state.
He again will be free to roam upon the earth as before.
You would think he would have been rehabilitated, but satan has only one
desire and goal, to be worshipped as the supreme god of this world.
Their will never be a time he will not believe that he will ultimately be
God.
When
satan is released and comes back to earth he will find a world filled with the
knowledge of the Lord, financially prosperous and content…for the most part.
But even with the absence of satan man will look to rebel against the
Lord and his ruler ship. The book Revelation 19:15 says that the Lord will rule
the nations with a rod of iron. They
will find out quickly that all offenders
will
be swiftly dealt with and they will not prosper. Some will be put to death and
others will have their life shortened.
Everyone will make the trip to the holy city once a year and take part in worshipping the Lord. Those who refuse will not receive rain for their crops (Zechariah 14:17, 18) and God will curse the ground that they sow. Many will give the Lord lip service for the sake of prosperity, but in their heart, they will be far from Him. You may ask, “With all the prosperity and peaceful surroundings, why would anyone rebel against God? Besides, satan is bound for a thousand years and won’t be able to tempt man to sin!”
Why
Man Will Rebel
It’s
true that this world will be free of the tempting power of satan for one
thousand years. Why then would the Lord have to rule the world with a rod of
iron? After all, isn’t satan the reason why we sin? Not at all! Every person
that is born into this world is born with a sin nature (Psalm 51:5). Even though
everyone who is granted to enter into the millennium will be saved and filled
with the Spirit, as time goes on, that will change. During this time there will
be a population explosion, and as each generation passes, men will begin to
resist the grace of the Lord and choose their own way.
They
will not want to retain the Lord in their hearts. This rebellion will not be an
outward uprising, for the Lord will not allow that, but a rebellion of the
heart. Though they will obey, it will only be for the purpose of receiving
blessings from the Lord.
You
may ask, “How could this be possible?” Because satan is not the reason we
rebel against God. Rebellion is born within every man and resides within the sin
nature. He only uses this nature to manipulate us to sin against God. But
remember, satan is not on the earth at this time, he has been bound for one
thousand years, yet the Lord must still rule with a rod of iron. Why would
rebellion be a problem? Although the Lord will greatly bless man both physically
and spiritually, some will still choose to follow their sin nature as opposed to
allowing the Spirit nature to rule their life. Through all the prosperity, peace
and even the absence of Satan, man will still choose in their heart to live in
rebellion against God. This just proves what God has known from the beginning of
time, that man is a sinner in need of a Savior.
But
why would God loose satan to roam free on the earth again after He had him
bound? Noted author and speaker Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe gives this explanation:
“Satan
will be released from the pit and permitted to lead one last revolt against the
Lord. Why? As final proof that the heart of man is desperately wicked and can be
changed only by God’s grace. Imagine the tragedy of this revolt: People who
have been living in a perfect environment, under the perfect government of
God’s Son, will finally admit the truth and rebel against the King! Their
obedience will be seen as mere feigned submission, and not true faith in Christ
at all.”
As
shocking as it may be, after experiencing unprecedented blessings from God, the
number of those who will rebel is so large that it is quoted as being a
“number of whom is as the sand of the sea”. But the Lord will be fully aware
of satan’s plan and the rebellious heart of man. He will use this last
rebellion as a means of separating those who truly love Him from those who are
false professors.
Revelation
20:8 & 9 says that satan will go throughout the world, deceiving many and
gather his army together and surround the holy city Jerusalem. But the result of
their rebellion will be disastrous and end without threat or fanfare. “And
fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that
deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and
the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and
ever.” (Revelation 20:9b, 10)
This
battle will end in a flash of lightning! God will send fire down from heaven and
consume he armies of satan even before they reach that great city.
In the end, we will find out that satan was nothing more than a mere tool in the hands of God to workout His perfect will. Like all angels, he was created to do the will of the Lord even if his intentions are evil.
Pastor Malone