From the time I became old enough to attend Sunday school, I became aware of Satan, the universe’s ultimate bad guy. Early in the book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve were still wet behind the ears, Satan first pops onto the scene hawking his wares of doubt and deception to the gullible housewife Eve, who feel for it hook, line and sinker. A little later in life I discovered by reading the book of Job that we really get a flavor of the purpose of Satan in this book that is a basic microcosm of the history of man on earth and where it seems were are just pawns in the spiritual warfare going on all around us in this, “I think he will, I know he won’t” scenario.
How much do we know about Satan? Just who is Satan and what can we find out about him? I believe we can gain some awesome insights to the character of Lucifer (Satan’s name) from two complimentary chapters in the bible…Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.
I had read the passages from Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 a few times before, but for some reason, I had never read them to the depth that I explored them this time…there are some deep insights and inferences here within these passages that really reveal the character of the Oppressor (as Satan is referred to in Isaiah 9).
I’ll begin my journey in Isaiah 14 simply because it comes first in the list. In the first verse of Isaiah 14 the Lord is talking about His people after they have regathered in their land (something that the nation of Israel has done once again) as we all know. In verse three it says He will give them rest from their sorrows and fears that had plagued them for centuries. Who was the oppressor that was plaguing them?
Isaiah 14:4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased! ESV
It appears in verse four that the oppressor is the king of Babylon. This verse gives us a clue about something deeper, for there was no king of Babylon, to speak of in Isaiah’s day, especially as a political entity for Isaiah lived in the eighth century BC which was about one hundred years prior to the rise of Nebuchadnezzar II, the first king of the Babylonian Empire…who then is being referred to as the king of Babylon? Satan is referred to as the king of Tyre in Ezekiel’s comparable passage and, by inference, I believe Satan is who the Lord is referring to here in this passage in Isaiah. There are several places in the bible where we get either direct references, or inferences that Satan is behind the rulers of this world. Below I have listed seven attributes of Lucifer that I find in both Isaiah and Ezekiel.
Attribute 1 Satan is referred to as a king in both Ezekiel and in Isaiah (Isaiah 14:4 and Ezekiel 28:12)
Attribute 2 It seems that Satan was the top dog in the cherubim hierarchy from Ezekiel 28:13, 14.
Attribute 3 However we find he was lesser than Christ in two ways; he was a created being (Ezekiel 14:13), as were all the other angels, and he was the son of the morning (Isaiah 14:12) Christ is referred to as the morning star in Revelation 22:16, therefore son of morning is and underling position, in my opinion.
Attribute 3 Satan is very beautiful from Ezekiel 28:12-13
Attribute 4 and his vanity, or pride because of his beauty caused his downfall, we find in Ezekiel 28:17
Attribute 5 Even though the scripture implies The Lord was proud of Satan and trusted him in Ezekiel 28:14 and he was considered perfect, this wasn’t good enough for him and his sense of self-worth created a delusion of equality with The Creator of all things…(what a delusion)
Attribute 6 Satan was cast out of heaven to the earth from Ezekiel 28:17-19 and Isaiah 14:12.
Attribute 7 Satan is intrinsically evil toward the people of the earth we find in Isaiah 14:6, as well as the whole book of Job.
There are several more we can dig out of these interesting passages, and I combined a few, but these are the first attributes of our most powerful adversary that popped out at me. All I can say, is I’m happy the Trinity is on our side as our defenders, because folks, we have no chance against Satan.
What is Satan’s origin? He was created as a Cherub, a top level angel and was apparently given a position as top dog in the hierarchy. He was created with amazing beauty and he was extolled and trusted by Our Lord.
What is his agenda? His agenda is to become, and to prove that he is equal in all respects to The Lord. That didn’t work out very well in the beginning and he was booted out of heaven when his plot was discovered, so part of that agenda is to turn the creation that he is in charge of…that he is king over…against the Creator and to have them worship him instead…something that, in part seems to be working…at least temporarily.
What is his destiny? His agenda seems to be working temporarily, but we have read the last few pages and we know the eventual outcome of the story…he is utterly destroyed in the end.
God Bless Jim
11-16-20
- We read throughout the scriptures about Satan and it teaches us about the deep, malevolent nature of this evil super angel enough for us to hate him and that is good. However, Jude 9 is an astounding verse that should cause us to step back a bit, for this verse teaches that regardless how evil, how dastardly or how horrible we may think Satan is, we are not to maliciously disparage him, for he is still a creature of rank. Despite how Michael the Archangel felt about Satan, he dared not revile him. That verse has made me aware of how I should think before framing my words about Satan or any dignitary I may not care about.
jimbussell 