Transcript

If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Isaiah 14.

Carolyn Arends writes, As a kid, I loved Mission Sundays, when missionaries on furlough brought special reports to the church. There is one visit I’ve never forgotten.

The missionaries were a married couple stationed in what appeared to be a particularly steamy jungle. They gave a full report on people saved, churches planted, and translations begun.

What has always stayed with me is the story they shared about a snake. One day, they told us, an enormous snake—much longer than a man—slithered its way right through their front door and into the kitchen of their simple home.

Terrified, they ran outside and searched frantically for a local who might know what to do. A machete-wielding neighbor came to the rescue, calmly marching into their house and decapitating the snake with one clean chop.

The neighbor reemerged triumphant and assured the missionaries that the reptile had been defeated. But there was a catch, he warned: It was going to take a while for the snake to realize it was dead.

A snake’s neurology and blood flow are such that it can take considerable time for it to stop moving even after decapitation.

For the next several hours, the missionaries were forced to wait outside while the snake thrashed about, smashing furniture and flailing against walls and windows, wreaking havoc until its body finally understood that it no longer had a head.

Sweating in the heat, they had felt frustrated and a little sickened but also grateful that the snake’s rampage wouldn’t last forever. And at some point in their waiting, they told us, they had a mutual epiphany.

“Do you see it?” asked the missionary. I leaned in with the rest of the congregation, queasy and fascinated. “Satan is a lot like that big old snake. He’s already been defeated. In the meantime though, he’s going to do some damage, but never forget that he’s a goner.

He told us, “We are in the thrashing time, but always remember, that it won’t last forever. Our Savior has already crushed the serpent’s head.”

By Christ’s Cross and finished work He defeated sin, death, and Satan. Col. 2:15 says Christ “spoiled” Satan and the demonic angels. He has crushed the Serpent’s head.

And Hebrews 2:14 says thru death Christ destroyed “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

He has been overwhelmed and conquered by our Savior, and it’s all downhill for Satan in the future. But today we are in the thrashing time, where Satan is desperately clinging to his false hope of still overthrowing the plans and purposes of God.

He’s a defeated foe, but he’s still dangerous as he wars against and seeks to destroy the Body of Christ through whom Christ is working today in reaching the world.

Satan is God’s enemy. And that being so, he is our enemy. And he attacks God through us. In 2 Corinthians 2:11 Paul writes, “For we are not ignorant of [Satan’s] devices.”

And it’s important for us to not be ignorant of Satan or his devices, so we don’t give him an advantage over us in the battle WHEN he attacks us with his schemes.

Isaiah 14:12 reads, “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!”

Satan is a created being. We could almost close in prayer with this! This is vital in knowing our enemy. He is not God, or a god. He is limited and not eternal. He is not all-knowing, all-powerful, or all-present. That’s why he can be “cast out” and “cut down.”

He was originally created as one of God’s highest angels. In his appearance he sparkled with all the jewels of created beauty. Ezek. 28:13: “Every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, emerald…gold…”

Ezekiel tells us he was “full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” (28:12). So the world’s pictures of him with a red suit, pitchfork and horns, is a ploy of Satan to deceive.

He was the “anointed cherub that covereth” Ezekiel 28:14 says.

He was created for God’s glory and as a cherub he was given the exalted privilege of “covering,” or guarding God’s throne, with continuous and unrestricted access to the glorious presence of God in the third heaven.

But he rebelled against his Creator and tried to usurp His power and glory, and his “heart was lifted up because of his beauty” and “iniquity was found in him” Scripture says. And as a result he led a great number of angels in a rebellion against God.

And his rebellion against God continues to this moment. Isaiah here speaks of a mighty leader whose unbridled pride has caused him to fall from his lofty position and be brought to destruction.

This leader is Lucifer, Satan himself, who this is ultimately speaking of. The name Lucifer given to Satan means “day star or shining one.” “Son of the morning” speaks to this shining one belonging to the morning, or being only a morning star.

The title of morning star as pertaining to Satan is a picture of how the light of a star in the morning vanishes when the sun rises, how the far greater splendor of the rising sun causes the morning star’s light to be swallowed up and to vanish.

And so Lucifer, the “angel of light” and morning star is overwhelmed by the rising of the “Sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2), who is Jesus Christ.

The once bright star “which didst weaken the nations” here is pictured here as fallen, cut down and defeated. Because Lucifer proudly asserted his will above the will of God, in the past he was “cut down” and fell from his position in the third heaven.

But in the present, Lucifer rules over the unbelieving world system and “weakens the nations” as v. 12 says. Satan is the controlling and manipulating spirit behind the world’s godless and wicked activities and its opposition of Christ and the Word and the Church.

Satan is “the god of this world” as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:4. And as he is, he works to “weaken the nations,” as verse 12 says.

On his radio program, Paul Harvey once read this, entitled: “If I were the Devil.” “If I were the devil, I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world.

“I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man’s effort instead of God’s blessings; I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

“I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue; I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership; I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

“I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings; I’d take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit; I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind,

“I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda; I would attack the family the backbone of any nation.

“I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and the movie screens, and I would call it art; I would convince the world that the homosexual lifestyle should be accepted and marveled;

“I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct; I would persuade people that church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naïve;

“And I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer and church attendance is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional.

“If I were the devil, I guess I would just leave things as they are.”

Satan is real. He is alive. And he is at work. Satan as the god of this world is working hard to weaken and destroy this country, and every other country in the world, because he hates man. He wants to destroy each nation, and each and every life.

He wants to blind the world to the gospel, and do everything in his power to keep men, women, boys, and girls from trusting Christ as their personal Savior.

Charles Spurgeon says this, “The preaching of Christ is the whip that flogs the devil. The preaching of Christ is the thunderbolt, the sound of which makes the demons tremble and all of hell shake.”

As believers faithfully stand for Christ and proclaim His good news we are on the front lines of the spiritual battle and we are in the devil’s crosshairs.

It should never surprise us that the world, which is under the sway of the devil, hates believers and hates God’s Word and hates our Savior. But people need the Lord, people are in danger of hell, and we need to stay in the fight and make Christ known.

Isaiah 14:13-15 says, “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.”

Satan fell because of his great pride. He exalted himself in the past and exalts himself now, but he has and he will be brought down and humiliated.

His heart is not bent in submission, and he remains defiant to this moment and full of arrogance in his rebellion against God, setting his will over the will of God.

We see a stark contrast between Satan and our Savior, who prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine be done.” Satan says the opposite, “my will, not Thine be done.”

Lucifer in his selfish determination to replace God Himself as the rightful ruler of all and refusal to submit to Him, instead says, “I will…I will…I will…I will…I will.” As here we find five foolish and fatal “I wills” of Satan.

And so as we’re not ignorant of Satan’s devices, we know Satan will tempt us in life with pride. He’ll tempt us to like him, do what we desire, to make much of ourselves, that we know what’s best, to refuse to submit to God’s will & His authority over our lives.

Satan’s ploy in the garden is the same ploy he uses today to tempt us to think that we shall be “as gods.” And we’ll be tempted in life to invert and reverse reality and live as if we call the shots, we know what’s best, and attempt to make God our servant.

When the truth is that God is in control, He knows what’s best, and we are to serve Him.

Though “fallen from heaven,” Satan says in his heart “I will ascend into heaven,” desiring the very abode of God to be his own, desiring the throne of God, to set himself up as supreme, not acknowledging the authority of God, or anyone being superior to himself.

“I will exalt my throne above the stars of God”—Satan as an angel is called a “morning star,” and the “stars of God” are a reference to the elect angelic host and speaks of how Satan desires the worship and adoration and homage and service of these angels.

“I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.”

Psalm 48:1,2 says, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”

This phrase here in Isaiah refers to Satan’s desire to rule and reign from the temple in Jerusalem, “the city of the great King” and be king over all, establishing his own kingdom on the earth. Imitation of God and His plans is Satan’s basic strategy.

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds”—speaks of his desire to rise to such immense and glorious heights that he would be so venerated and revered above all, that only he would receive all glory and honor and praise.

“I will be like the most High”—It’s interesting to note here the name for God used here, El-Elyon, means “the strongest strong One.”

You can’t be stronger than the strongest strong One, so he doesn’t desire to be different from God; he wants to be like Him. He knows he can’t be greater than God, but he wants to be like the strongest strong One who is over all.

But while Satan desires to ascend up, he will be brought down verse 15 says. He will be humiliated and he will be brought down to hell, “to the sides” or to the lowest depths “of the pit” of hell in the judgment of God.

Satan’s fall is in stages. He fell from heaven (v. 12), he is cast down to the ground (v. 12), and he is brought down to hell (v. 15).

So he was cast out of the 3rd heaven at his initial rebellion (Rev. 12:4). He will be cast out of the 2nd heaven to the earth during the Tribulation (Rev. 12:9).

He will be cast into the center of the earth in the bottomless pit for 1000 years during the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:2,3). He will be cast into the lake of fire forever (Rev. 20:10).

It’s down, down, down, down. And when God judges Satan, it will be the most severe of all judgment. Rev. 20:10 says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone…and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Proverbs 16:18 rings true for the devil and in our personal lives: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

“Satan” and “devil” are the names most commonly used of our spiritual enemy. His names and descriptions tell us a lot about him and his tactics. Satan means “adversary” or “opposer.” He is diametrically opposed to all that is good and all that is God’s.

Devil is from the Greek word “diabolos” and means “accuser or slanderer.” Revelation 12:10 tells us he is the “accuser of the brethren” desiring to have something evil that can be said of us, to discredit us and destroy our testimonies for Christ.

He is “Beelzebub” (Luke 11:15) or “lord of filth.” He is a “murderer” and “a liar and the father of it” John 8:44 says. He is the one “which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). He is the enemy of life and truth.

He hates man and deceives millions by false religion, false philosophies, false doctrines, false ministers, which lead people straight to hell.

He is called the “prince of this world” in John 16:11, and the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience in Ephesians 2:2.

He is the “ruler of demons” (Luke 11:15), the “tempter” (I Thes. 3:5), the “evil one” (II Thes. 3:3), “the great dragon,” “a roaring lion,” and “the serpent.”

In Scripture we see him opposing God’s work (Zech. 3:1), perverting God’s Word (Matt. 4:6), impeding God’s servants (I Thes. 2:18), hindering the gospel (II Cor. 4:4), and ensnaring people through false teaching, and appearing as an angel of light to deceive.

Paul talks about Satan’s “wiles” in Ephesians 6:11.

“Wiles” speaks of the devil’s methods, plotting, scheming, plans, strategies, and trickery by which he tries to make us fall in the Christian life and lead us away from Christ.

It’s like a game plan for a football game where you have a strategy against the opposing team and you run certain specific plays against them, and you have a plan to defeat your foe. You examine their weaknesses and you exploit them. Satan does this.

The trickery and the deceptive strategies & schemes of Satan have been very effective for thousands of years against mankind and it started in the Garden of Eden.

As Kent Crockett says, “The devil has a Master’s degree in Trickonometry.”

Think of the wisest man in the Bible, Solomon, the strongest man in the Bible, Samson, one of the most devoted men in the Bible, David, and how Satan schemed and plotted against these men and they all fell from the temptation of lust & fornication.

So if we think ourselves wise enough, strong enough, devoted enough to God, to stand against the devil, we should think again, and be strong in the Lord and His might.

Think of God’s chosen people, Israel, and how God told them over and over again about idolatry, and His hatred of it. But Satan schemed and Israel intermarried with pagan nations and idolatry was openly practiced in the nation, and he turned the people’s hearts from God, and they lost their witness as God’s light and they fell.

And the devil schemes against the Body of Christ seeking to make us fall, trying to turn our hearts from God, seeking to make us lose our witness as God’s light. Like with Adam and Eve, he plants doubts in our minds as to the goodness of God.

He seeks to lead believers away from their relationship with Christ, away from trusting in God in their daily lives. He tempts with immorality, worldliness, pride, and self-reliance. And he tries to discourage us for standing for God and His truth.

The term “wiles” was also often used of a wild animal which stalked and then unexpectedly pounced on its prey.

Ephesians 4:14 says, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”

The words “lie in wait” are the same Greek word translated “wiles” here. And Satan stalks us like this. He patiently lies in wait, watching us, observing our weaknesses, waiting for just the right moment to strike and attack us.

And so this shows us of the importance of having a consistent Christian life and testimony, and a faithful, ever-deepening relationship with God through prayer and His Word, to be ready, because we never know when he may strike.

In the United States, mountain lions are the animal regarded as the number one human predator. Author Craig Childs was on foot doing research on the lions in Arizona’s Blue Range Wilderness.

As he approached a water hole, he spotted a mountain lion drinking water. The lion did not notice his presence. When it finished drinking, it walked slowly away into a cluster of junipers.

After a few minutes, Childs walked to the water hole to identify tracks in the mud and record notes.

Just before he bent down to look closer, he scanned the perimeter, and there among the shadows of the junipers, 30 feet away, he saw a pair of eyes. He expected the lion to run away, but it walked into the sunlight toward him.

Childs pulled his knife and stared into the eyes of the lion. He knew what he must do. More importantly, he knew what he must not do. He writes this:

Mountain lions are known to take down animals six, seven, and eight times their size. Their method: attack from behind, clamp onto the spine at the base of the prey’s skull, snap the spine. I hold firm to my ground. If I run, if I give it my back it is certain, I will have a mountain lion all over me.

The mountain lion begins to move to my left, and I turn, keeping my face on it, my knife at my right side. It paces to my right, trying to get around on my other side, to get behind me. I turn right, staring at it.

Childs maintains that defense as the mountain lion continues to try to provoke him to run, turning left, then right, back and forth again and again, trying to get behind him. Finally, the standoff ends. The lion turns and walks away—defeated because of one who knew what to do in its presence.

The Apostle Paul had a knowledge of his adversary, Satan and his demons. Because he knew Satan’s methods and was not ignorant of his devices, he was able to stand against the wiles and attacks of the devil.

Satan is a human predator, and just as Childs knew what to do in the face of attack from the lion, so through knowing and trusting God and His Word, we can know what to do when he attacks, to first turn to the Lord and trust Him, and be strong in Him.

And in knowing our enemy and his methods and strategies, given to us by God’s Word and seen in the examples of his attacks on those in the Bible and in our experience in the Christian life, we too will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

And we can be strong in the Christian life knowing the truth of the words of the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” which says,

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.

“The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.”