October 26, 2020
The Judgments of God – Satan and The Fallen Angels (part 2)
“The Judgments of God” (Part 2).
Satan and The Fallen Angels.
On October 25th, 2020, Pastor Eric spoke on “The Judgments of God (part 2): Satan and The Fallen Angels”.
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Video Transcript
Welcome to part two of our series The judgments of God – Discovering why grace is so amazing.
Last week in our intro, we discussed why talking about this topic is so important and also talked about how we should look at this.
Watch The Judgments of God – part 1.
Today we look at our first example. And this judgment happened not to people but to angels.
And more specifically Satan and the angels who followed him in his rebellion also know as fallen angels.
Now this is important for us to know because although the Bible talks a lot about God it also talks a lot about the devil.
I read some troubling statistics way back actually that the Barna group put together and then the New York Times quoted, over 1000 people were randomly called and asked if they believed in God and 95% said yes that they believed in God and they also believed in a place called heaven however, the same people who were asked that question, 62 percent of them said that Satan is not a living being but simply a symbol of evil. Additionally, 8% of them had no opinion.
So a lot of people were saying they believe in God but they didn’t believe there was an actual real devil.
And I have to say if you believe there is a God, the God of the Bible, then, because this is the same source, the same reference and authority that you base your faith on, you should also believe what the Bible says about the devil.
We can’t pick and choose what we believe and what don’t believe from this book.
Either you believe it all or you reject it all.
Someone said one of the devil’s greatest strategy was to fool people into believing he did not exist.
And I believe there’s some truth to that, it’s one of the reasons he disguises himself.
So the Bible talks a lot about the devil.
Who was the devil before he was judged ?
What did he do that literally got him expelled from heaven and made God create a place called hell or also known as the eternal lake of fire built specifically for him and his angels?
What is the devil doing in the meantime?
We are going to look at all of that.
Who was the devil before the fall?
Well the devil also known as Satan was once, believe or not,
a beautiful, intelligent and powerful angel named Lucifer.
According to some of the references we have in the Bible, Lucifer would of been in heaven with authority and with a function. The name Lucifer, means “star of the morning”.
We get a description in Ezekiel 28:14-15 NIV
And many scholars agree here that even though it mentions a human king the king of tyre in this passage that it’s actually referring to Lucifer himself
Some have suggested that these verses may actually be dealing with a human king of Tyre who was empowered by Satan. Perhaps the historic king of Tyre was a tool of Satan, possibly even indwelt by him.
But as we examine this text, Ezekiel gives us glimpses of the superhuman creature, Satan, who was using, if not indwelling, him.
And this is what he says Ezekiel 28:14-15 NIV
You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
So based on what we know he was beautiful, smart and powerful.
He was created good but something happened.
Listen to Isaiah 14:12 NIV
How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
Lucifer did something that got him expelled and kicked out of heaven.
We’re going to look at that in just a moment, what did he do to get such a judgment from God but first,
here’s a few things we learn from this:
Important things to know about the devil
The devil is a created being.
The devil is not the creator he is a created being.
And if he is created being, that means he has limits.
One of those limits is he is not omnipresent. He cannot be in more than one place at the same time.
You often hear Christians who say “the devil is all day always trying to attack me” and that is just simply not biblical.
That being said, he could have fallen angels or demons working for him but he is not there all the time everywhere at the same, he is not omnipresent.
Because he was created and is not he creator.
Another thing we learn here is:
God created him and the angels with free will
When God created this angel he was good.
He started out well. He wasn’t born the way he is today.
He didn’t have a devil that tempted him to be evil.
He couldn’t have the excuse many are saying today “oh, the devil made me do it”.
God did not create the devil as we know him.
He willingly rebelled against God on his own free will. And the Bible says a third of the angels followed him in his rebellion.
So this reminds us that God has not created Ais or robots that are programmed to do everything he wants them to do.
As we can see with the fall of Lucifer and the fall of a third of angels,
God gives us free will, even the fallen angels had free will.
We chose to obey God and submit to His will, His word and His principles or we choose our own way.
So in the beginning, Lucifer was actively worshipping and serving God in heaven until he did something that got him kicked out.
Jesus said:
I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
Jude 6 talks about this too:
6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
What could have possibly happened to get him kicked out and get ⅓ of angels excommunicated from this perfect and wonderful place called heaven?
What made morning star change to adversary?
Lucifer changed to Satan?
One word = Pride.
1 Tim 3:6 when speaking of the qualifications of elders and overseers this is what Paul said:
He starts at verse 1
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be…
He goes with a list of qualifications and one of them is found in verse 6
1 Tim 3:6 NKJV
not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
This confirms that the devil was judged because he became puffed up with pride.
The sin that corrupted Lucifer was self-generated pride.
Now, why was he puffed up with pride?
Well, apparently he would have become so impressed with his own beauty, intelligence, power, and position that he began to desire for himself the honour and glory that belonged to God alone.
Lucifer was not satisfied with worshipping God; instead, he wanted to be worshipped.
A few verses that speaks about this:
Ezekiel 28:12,15.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ” ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
Ezekiel 28:18
I threw you to the earth.
This doesn’t mean that Satan had no further access to heaven, for other Scripture verses clearly indicate that Satan maintained this access even after his fall.
Job is an example of that
Revelation talks about Satan being the “accuser of the saints”.
He makes accusations to God about Christians.
So it seems like he has access to roam the Earth and go to heaven as God permits him.
But he has lost that place as a residence and he was stripped of his authority in heaven.
But I want us to stop here and think about what caused his fall because there’s a few things we learn from this.
First, you can feel like you are the top of your world, the peak of your career, the top of your life in regards to finances, top of your world in terms of influence.
I’ve heard many say in the last few months I’ve never felt more healthier more fit in my life.
You can feel like you’re at the top and you could be at the top, but if you’re not alert, awake, watchful you can fall just like the devil fell.
This Echoes the warning the Apostle Paul gave in
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Some people fall because they feel strong and they’re not watchful.
Some people fall because they put their faith and confidence in their own strength.
Some people fall because they boast in their beauty, they boast in their knowledge or intelligence.
Paul talked about knowledge being something that could puff up people:
1 Cor. 8:1 NIV
We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
People fall because they boast in their own knowledge, intelligence.
They could become arrogant, looking down on others calling them all kinds of names.
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Take heed to what Proverbs 16:18 says:
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
You could feel like you’re at the top, you could even be in heaven as Lucifer’s life shows us, you could be working for God, you could be known as a spiritual man a spiritual woman but take heed, “let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
Jeremiah 9:23 ESV
23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”
Secondly, something else we learn from this is that pride is a serious offence in the eyes of God.
It got a third of angels, it got Lucifer kicked out of heaven, that should be enough to show us how serious this is.
In fact this was the very same sin that made Adam and Eve fall, pride.
They believed the lie that the devil said to them that they could be like God if they ate the fruit that was forbidden.
Pride is a serious offence.
Listen to James who articulates this clearly
James 4:6
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
I looked up the Greek definition for the word oppose and it’s even more serious than it appears. The word oppose here means antitassó and it means : “to range in battle against, to set oneself against”.
It has a very old military term to it that was used for placing a soldier in a specific platoon with a specific function which was often a definite order to attack or resist.
God opposes the proud. He sets himself against the proud.
So if pride is such a big deal, then we must ask how can we spot pride in our life how is pride manifested so we could repent if we do have any form of pride in our lives.
How is pride manifested?
By the way, I didn’t come up with this list here.
Someone said:
Pride filters down into the core of worry and anxiety, exposing a lack of trust in God. It is an over-concern with ourselves, a disposition to exalt self, to get above others, to hide our defects, and to pass for more than we are.
Pride will make you self centered.
Another sign that pride is present in you as that you have become :
Unteachable
You Get irritated if someone tries to teach them something.
You have the know it all attitude.
Too smart for a formal education or training. You don’t listen to others, you don’t finish your phrases with question marks, you never read or educate yourself.
And you think that your ideas and your opinions and your conclusions are the ones everybody needs to be around all the time.
Pride.
Pride is also found in a person that can’t:
Say I’m sorry.
Because if you say you’re sorry that means you admit that you did something wrong but deep down inside you don’t think you do anything wrong.
And the closest you’ll get to an apology it will be something like
“well, you know, I’m not perfect” and you will justify your actions as if it’s someone else’s fault all the time.
Pride can’t take responsibility for its actions it will always blame it on a third party.
The step in becoming a believer of Christ is to confess our sins to Christ
That requires humility.
To realize that what we have done is wrong and evil in the eyes of God.
And until you can do that, your pride will keep you away from God.
This is the biggest one,
Pride is obvious in your life when you:
Refuse to submit to God.
Lucifer refused to submit to God’s Authority and wanted to take his place.
Pride has a hard time to submit.
Pride sees submission as a form of weakness, but God see submission as a form of strength.
Pride wants people to submit to their ideas and their opinions and their authority but pride doesn’t want to submit to authority. It wants control.
And the way we submit to God’s authority is by submitting to His Word. As followers of Christ this is our foundation. It’s not Netflix, it’s not Hollywood it’s the Word of God.
We may be living in this world, we may have a culture but as Believers of Christ we need to have the culture of the Word of God in us. We need to let this word shape us shape our values shape our perceptions the lens of our eyes. Because we are citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Listen to:
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This is how we submit to God’s will, its by knowing His will by reading this Word and practicing it.
If you don’t you won’t understand the will of God and you may even be offended by the will of God and you will be deceived.
Don’t let pride keep you away from this book.
Don’t let Pride keep you from submitting to the King of Kings in The Lord of Lords.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.