Satan is so glad at his success when many are deceived by thinking that there is no Satan, or Devil or demon or Heaven or Hell. We must thank God for His Word, His Truth and the Spirit of Truth to help us discern what truth is and what falsehood is. God’s Word confirms the existence of Satan and his fallen angles as well as warns us to be cautious, sober, watchful, prayerful and vigilant to stand firm and win the spiritual battle. The Apostle John saw and recorded, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,… And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev 12:7, 9). There was war in heaven! This is the spiritual battle. Michael, the archangel, and his holy angels were fighting against Satan and his fallen angels! And here God’s Word exposes Satan’s true colour with his names (from Zohdiates).
Dragon (drakon): A dragon, a huge serpent, so-called because of his sight which is very acute. In the NT, drákon is used only symbolically for Satan (Rev 12:3-4, 12:7; 16:13; 20:2).
Serpent (ophis): A snake, serpent. In the NT, standing symbolically for Satan (2 Cor 11:3 in allusion to Gen 3:1; Rev 12:9). It refers to the serpent because it eyes its objects attentively (Mat 7:10; Mark 16:18; Luke 10:19; 11:11; 1 Cor 10:9; Rev 9:19). Used for the brazen serpent (John 3:14). Used as the emblem of wisdom or cunning, e.g., in a good sense (Matt 10:16); in a bad sense of maliciousness (Matt 23:33).
Devil (diabolos): A false accuser, used for the devil. Satan is called by that name because originally he accused or slandered God in paradise, being averse to the increase of man’s knowledge and happiness (Gen 3:5; John 8:44, the children of the devil). In Rev 12:10 Satan is called ho kategoros (G2725), the accuser, as if he were standing in a court of law. The devil still slanders God by false and blasphemous suggestions and because he is also the accuser of the brethren before God (Rev 12:9-10 [cf. Job 1-2]).
Satan (Satanas) transliterated the Hebrew Satan (H7854), adversary, the same as Satan (G4566). Satanas occurs thirty-four times in the NT. This is one name given to the prince of the devils. In his name as Satan, he is the opposer, the adversary of both believers and unbelievers. Satanas is the prince of the fallen angels (Mat 4:10; Mark 1:13; Rev 12:9) and is also used as a general word for evil spirits or devils (Matt 12:26; Mark 3:23, 26; Luke 11:18).
Then, Satan is the cursed angel Lucifer (Isa 14:12), who used to be perfect with a high position among created angels (Ezek 28:12-15) but was cursed due to his pride, arrogance and rebellion. Satan means adversary and he is also called the Devil, the great dragon, the old serpent (Rev 12:9), the adversary (1 Peter 5:8), the god of this world (2 Cor 6:15), the prince of this world (John 12:31), the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), the wicked one (Matt 13:38-39; 1 John 2:14), the enemy (Matt 13:25, 28, 39), the tempter (Matt 4:3), a murderer and a liar (John 8:44), the accuser (Rev 12:10), Beelzebul (Matt 12:24), Abaddon (destruction) and Apollyon (destroyer) (Rev 9:11), etc. Knowing his time is but a short one (Rev 12:12), Satan and his demons are working hard to attack God’s Word and lure as many as they can away from God’s Truth and salvation in the Saviour Jesus Christ. Do you and I vigilantly beware of Satan and his deception and attacks?
No comments:
Post a Comment