Satan Demystified
Let’s play a little mind game today…
Please say: John……Ada……Mercy, Grace……Your Name….STOP!
Now Say: Satan….Satan…..Satan ……..STOP!
Now please mention Jesus….Jesus….Jesus….STOP!
If I were to see you physically, I’d probably notice a reluctance and carefulness when mentioning Satan. Right……?
But did you have a similar feeling when you mentioned Jesus?
I can bet you felt; peace, hope, power, might, assurance and everything soothing and comforting when you mentioned Jesus.
Nobody wants to meet Satan. Imagine if you received a mail inviting you to dinner in some luxurious place, and the invite came from Satan…….(gasps!!!). An unquantifiable quantum of fear may immediately just flow through your entire body that you’d immediately head for the loo.
But why do people get the jitters with the name Satan?
Let’s try another game….
If you have an electronic bible, locate the ‘search’ area and just type in ‘Satan’.
What do the scriptures that pop up tell you about the personality Satan? Or maybe you were even too scared to type in that name?……hahaha…
My Bible gives a picture of Satan that suggests a Bad Guy figure….Satan appears to be all about doing some not so nice things.
He deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3),
he provoked David to number the children of Israel against God’s will (1 Chronicles 21:1),
he entered into Judas to betray Jesus (John 13:27),
he tormented Job’s flesh for days (Job 1:12),
he filled Ananias heart with lies (Acts 5:3),
he binds people with sickness and disease (Luke 13:16, 2 Corinthians 12:7),
he resists good (Zechariah 3:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:18) and so much more…..
Anywhere in the Bible Satan is mentioned, there seems to be an associated evil or not very nice occurrence…..
So who exactly is Satan?
The Bible identifies him as a specific character. He is a being. He moves, has powers, has followers/children, he knows the bible, etc. So Satan is a being unfortunately related often in the Bible with evil. Satan is the Devil (Revelations 12:9).
In John 10:10, Jesus tells of a ‘thief’ whose job is to Steal, Kill and Destroy. The 2 characters described in John 10:10 are;
a. The thief (Satan)
b. The person speaking (Jesus Christ).
Satan works through devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).
The 3 temptations of Jesus Christ as narrated in Matthew Chapter 4: 1-11; provides more insights into the traits and personality of Satan;
1. He knows the Bible and twists it into a subtle lie (verse 6, Genesis 3)
2. He comes to the Temple/Church (Job 2)
3. He is a tempter (verses 3, 6, 9) and most times tempts Believers/Christians based on a modified version of the Word of God (Genesis 3: )
4. He can tempt anyone. If Satan tempted Jesus, then no one is exempt.
Pause please:
Do you think Satan physically ‘carried’ Jesus Christ on his back or on his shoulders to the wilderness, pinnacle or high mountain?..
I think not. I believe Jesus Christ walked with His 2 legs under Satan’s influence, to all those places…
Verse 1 says; ‘then Jesus was LED up….”. The devil led Jesus to the wilderness, high mountain and pinnacle. That’s instructive for all Believers; you may not physically ‘see’ the devil when tempted…..and he may show up in familiar places (remember Jesus referring to Peter as Satan?).
5. Satan tempts with;
(i) Bread (food);
Jesus’ first temptation was to turn stone to bread. It was not a coincidence!
Eve was tempted to eat from a tree named; ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. A tree Eve thought looked good for food, pleasant to the eyes and one that can make one wise.
(ii) The ‘glory’ of the kingdoms of the world (money, wealth and power)
(iii) an Urge to ‘prove’ God (Matthew 4:6). Any day you become Really tempted to ‘show’ that you know God to anyone, recognize it as a likely spirit of Satan. And if God did not direct your actions (for His own glory and to profitably boost the faith of others), you’d only be obeying Satan and will be thoroughly messed up.
A few other characteristics of Satan I’d like to highlight here:
6. He has followers (1 Timothy 5:15; “for some are already turned aside after Satan”).
7. He is a father to some (John 8:44 “ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do).
Sometime ago, I lost my Ipad and was really sad because of all my notes stored up in it. I hoped and hoped that I’d find it, but didn’t. One day, the Spirit of God opened my eyes to see that Satan and his children also come to church!! (Selah).
8. Satan’s is a murderer and CANNOT tell the truth. (John 8: 44 “…..he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because THERE IS NO TRUTH IN him….”
We see that Satan has powers (Acts 26:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:9) with which he DECEIVES the whole world (Revelations 12:9) and he has a synagogue of liars, murderers, and everything evil (Revelations2:9, Matthew 12:26, 1 Timothy 5:15).
So if you find yourself in any ungodly gathering where you are promised ‘heaven and earth’, it can only be a lie with an ultimate aim to kill and destroy you as well as steal you away from the Kingdom of God.
Little wonder then people get quite anxious and jittery when they hear ‘Satan’. Poor guy with so much mess around him…..
Now, what are some of the important things a Believer must know about Satan?
1. Jesus saw him fall as lightening from Heaven (Luke 10: 18) and he transformed into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
2. Satan is the present lord of the world/age, an authority Adam handed over to him in the Garden of Eden. And he is roaming about the earth causing a lot of havoc as is his nature. He does not know how to be any different!
3. But he has no power over a child of God that has not been allowed him by God (Job 1:12, 2 Corinthians 12:7). Importantly, though we live in this world, we are not of this world. Our citizenship is of Heaven. We are Not under Satan’s Kingdom and should always know that.
4. Satan’s works are TIMED (Revelations 12:9).
5. And although Satan fell down from Heaven to Steal, Kill and Destroy, Jesus Christ CAME that we may have life and have it More Abundantly. It’s like saying, yes o, somebody came down to earth before me and spoilt things a bit, but take heart, fear not, don’t be dismayed or worried, BECAUSE I (Jesus), I have come to render his works null, void and of no significance!
Oh my goodness, Jesus Christ HAS COME and resides in me, so Satan has absolutely no powers over me. He may try a few tricks, but the TRUTH still remains that Jesus Christ Came and nullified all his works and gimmicks.
This is a REALITY that every Child of God must walk in.
6. Everyone born of God overcomes the world and its lord through believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (1 John 1:5). That singular act changes your citizenship and destiny. You become Translated into another Kingdom, not of this world, but of God. The Kingdom of God.
And you MUSt live on earth with a full consciousness of your Heavenly citizenship. There is no sickness in Heaven, the streets of Heaven are paved with gold (doesn’t sound like a poor place), so resist poverty and sickness.
7. If Satan (in all his roamimgs) misses his way and comes around your neighbourhood, simply Rebuke and Resist him and he will flee (Zechariah 3:2, Psalms 68:1, James 4:7).
Recognize that every GOOD and PERFECT gift comes down from the Father of Light (JEHOVAH), in whom there is No darkness, no evil, and no badness of any form!!!
Jehovah CANNOT be bad. He is All good!
Even if God wanted to punish man for any wrong doing, I believe that Jesus Christ will not allow Him. As our Advocate, Jesus is Constantly saying to The Father; “they are not guilty of any sin, because I paid the ETERNAL price with my precious blood”.
Did you notice in the scriptures above, all the time Satan would come and meet God, to sort of ‘take permission’ to inflict a child of God?
If it looks evil, bad and destructive, I believe you know the culprit…..
My Father is ALL GOOD. I Believe so. …..
Halleluyah!
Have a victorious day and walk in the reality of who you are in Christ Jesus.
Love Always
Grace Obomanu.
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