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Lesson 3 - Satan, Our EnemyIntroduction: In our last two lessons we learned how to develop a relationship with God. In this lesson we will study about Satan. Who is he? Is there really such a being? And if there is, has he existed from all eternity? Is he therefore another god, an enemy god, who is in conflict with Jehovah? We will answer these questions in this lesson. 1. Where did Jesus say Satan came from? Luke 10:18 (Luke 10:18 NKJV) "And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." [The Further-study verse is Jude 6] 2. Why did Satan fall from heaven? Isa. 14:12-15 [2 Peter 2:4] (Isaiah 14:12-15 NKJV) ""How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! {13} For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; {14} I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' {15} Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit." 3. How did Satan come into being, and what was he like? Eze. 28:15 (Ezekiel 28:15 NKJV) "You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you." [Note: In verse 12 of this chapter Satan is referred to as the "king of Tyre." Just as the Lord was the real king behind the human ruler in Israel (I Chron. 29:23; Zeph. 3:5), so Satan was the real king behind the pagan kingdoms of Babylon and Tyre. Thus at certain points the prophecies of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 reflect in a graphic manner Satan's own characteristics. Col. 1:16; Ps.148:1,2,5] 4. Since Satan was created as a holy and perfect angel, what change took place in him that caused him to be cast out of heaven? Eze. 28:13, 14, 17 (Ezekiel 28:13-14 NKJV) "You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. {14} "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones." (Ezekiel 28:17 NKJV) ""Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you." [Note: Satan was "perfect" until "iniquity was found" in him. Ezekiel 28:16 says, "You sinned . . . O covering cherub." Satan thus became the first sinner, or, according to 1 John 3:4, 8, the first transgressor of God's law. 1 John 3:8 says, "The Devil has sinned from the beginning." In other words, he was the originator of sin. Ps. 80:1; John 8:44] 5. Who were expelled from heaven with Satan? Rev. 12:7-9, 12 [ Matt. 25:41] (Revelation 12:7-9 NKJV) "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, {8} but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. {9} So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:12 NKJV) ""Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."" 6. How did this world become involved in Satan's rebellion? Gen. 3:1-6 (Genesis 3:1-6 NKJV) "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" {2} And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; {3} "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" {4} Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. {5} "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." {6} So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." [Note: As Satan later worked through the king of Tyre, so in Eden he used a serpent as his medium. Therefore the "serpent" also became one of Satan's titles (Rev. 12:9). [ Rom. 5:12] 7. In the beginning, Adam was made the ruler over this world (Gen.1:26). But after Satan caused Adam to sin he lost that dominion. Who then claimed rulership of this world? Luke 4:5-7 (Luke 4:5-7 NKJV) "Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. {6} And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. {7} "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."" [ John 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:12] 8. What does Satan do to those who oppose truth? 2 Tim. 2:25, 26 [John 8:34-44; Eph. 2:13] (2 Timothy 2:25-26 NKJV) "in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, {26} and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." 9. What warning does Peter give to Christians living in the last days? 1 Peter 5:6-9 [Eph 6:10-18] (1 Peter 5:6-9 NKJV) "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, {7} casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. {8} Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. {9} Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." 10. How will Satan work in the last days, and who will he deceive? 2 Thess. 2:8-10 [Rev. 16:14] (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 NKJV) "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. {9} The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, {10} and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." 11. How will Satan disguise his work and workers in the last days? 2 Cor. 11:13-15 [Matt. 4:5, 6] (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NKJV) "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. {14} And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. {15} Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." 12. How can we overcome Satan? Rev. 12:11 [1 John 3:4-8; James 4:7, 8] (Revelation 12:11 NKJV) ""And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." Commitment: Many people have wondered how a God of love could permit the sin and suffering in the world today. But God never intended it to be thus. God never made sin or suffering. He gave all His beings, including the angels, the power of choice; and one of those angels, the highest angel in heaven, chose to rebel. Then our first parents joined him in that rebellion. Thus sin entered our planet. Satan is at war with God and is seeking through intrigue, deception, and force to cause our eternal destruction. The Bible reveals his plans and disguises. It also reveals a Savior--Jesus Christ--who will save us from Satan. Will you study His Word and allow Him to save you from the wiles of the Devil?
Further Study VersesQuestion 1 - Further Study (Jude 1:6 NKJV) "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;" -->Back to Study Question 2 - Further Study (2 Peter 2:4 NKJV) "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;" -->Back to Study Question 3 - Further Study (1 Chronicles 29:23 NKJV) "Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him." (Psalms 148:1-2 NKJV) "Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! {2} Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!" (Psalms 148:5 NKJV) "Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created." (Zephaniah 3:5 NKJV) "The LORD is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame." (Colossians 1:16 NKJV) "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." -->Back to Study Question 4 - Further Study (Psalms 80:1 NKJV) "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!" (John 8:44 NKJV) ""You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." -->Back to Study Question 5 - Further Study (Matthew 25:41 NKJV) ""Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:" -->Back to Study Question 6 - Further Study (Romans 5:12 NKJV) "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned;" (Revelation 12:9 NKJV) "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." -->Back to Study Question 7 - Further Study (John 14:30 NKJV) ""I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me." (2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV) "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV) "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." -->Back to Study Question 8 - Further Study (John 8:34-44 NKJV) "Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. {35} "And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. {36} "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. {37} "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. {38} "I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." {39} They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. {40} "But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. {41} "You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father; God." {42} Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. {43} "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. {44} "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (Ephesians 2:1-3 NKJV) "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, {2} in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, {3} among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." -->Back to Study Question 9 - Further Study (Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV) "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. {11} Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. {12} For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. {13} Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. {14} Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, {15} and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; {16} above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. {17} And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; {18} praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints;" -->Back to Study Question 10 - Further Study (Revelation 6:14 NKJV) "Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place." -->Back to Study Question 11 - Further Study (Matthew 4:5-6 NKJV) "Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, {6} and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"" -->Back to Study Question 12 - Further Study (James 4:7-8 NKJV) "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. {8} Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." (1 John 3:4-8 NKJV) "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. {5} And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. {6} Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. {7} Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. {8} He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." -->Back to Study
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