- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
I'm in the midst of watching The Fuel Project, a series of short videos explaining the roots of satan's evil and his influence in the form of all the false religions of the world from Genesis to Revelation when he is finally defeated. Kim from The Mystery of the Ages sent it to me and I've watched 40 parts already and have found it to be interesting when describing the secular and biblically sound when referring to the bible.
In the first 7 parts, Satan's fall is explained, why and how. The narrator focused on Ezekiel 28 and especially verse 16 to describe how satan convinced 1/3 of the angels to follow him into rebellion against a Holy God whom they personally knew and worshiped. I've often wondered how angels who saw God's power in the creation (Job 1:6-7) and who visited the throne room (Ex 37:9) could possibly follow satan? What did he tell them exactly to make them a better offer?? That is answered in Ezekiel 28:14-16 --
"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. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned."
The scene here is a prophecy against the King of Tyre. The previous chapter is spent lamenting the city of Tyre (Lebanon) and its earthly ruler. But as we know from so many examples and passages in the bible, satan is often the puppet master pulling the strings behind the power that is shown through the earthly ruler. The Prince of Persia is another example. Satan is the power behind the throne, so to speak, in many cases. He is the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), prince of the powers of the air (earth and near environs; Eph 6:12) and at one point remember, he offered Jesus every kingdom on earth (Mt 4:8-9).
In the Ezekiel chapter the scene sifts from the earthly ruler in the flesh (Prince of Tyre, ch. 27) to the supernatural power of the King of Tyre (satan, ch. 28). It is said that wickedness was found in him and through his "widespread trade" he was filled with violence. In this case, the widespread trade does not mean economic traffic. Does one believe there were shops in heaven, with checkouts and money exchanged? No, surely not! What would satan possess that would be better than hat the angels already had? No, instead, the phrase widespread trade comes from the Hebrew word r'kullah, the main word rakil, meaning slander.
Satan went on a whispering campaign against God, the same as he did later to Eve ("Hath God said? Genesis 3). he went around and around and around ceaselessly to the angels, whispering that God was a tyrant, He was egotistical, He was withholding from them the good stuff, whatever that was. With Eve we know satan insinuated God was withholding the knowledge of good and evil. Whatever satan said to the 1/3 of the heavenly host that ended up following satan, it was lies and we know that he was a liar from the beginning.
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44). Devil means slanderer.
Revelation 18:12-14 alludes to this satanic lying bill of merchandise. When Babylon the false economic system is fallen, satan is accused of trading in "merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men." The last phrase, souls of men, is a merchandise not in the physical but in the celestial. A good, short study on 'Satan's Celestial Slander' is from Dr. Richard Davidson from Andrews Theological Seminary (7th Day Adventist) here. If you want a thorough examination of the Hebrew word for merchandising used in this context of Ezekiel 28 and the wider exhortations in the bible not to be a slanderer, go here. (Truth Magazine).
A whispering campaign according to Wikipedia, is "A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them." Whisper campaigns are considered unethical, but are used frequently in political campaigning as a strategy. If you apply all the corruption, lies, and unethical behavior from any current Presidential campaign in the US to satan's original merchandising campaign of busily flitting from angel to angel, painting himself as the better candidate for God-hood, you have the idea of the meaning behind the Ezekiel verse and satan's method of achieving it. No wonder there are so many prohibitions against slander in the bible!
His relentless whispering campaign worked. A third of the angels were swayed, followed satan, and are now forever damned.
If you also put in your mind the energy expended in any political campaign, and think of the Ezekiel verse where the visual image is of satan going all around heaven whispering his bill of goods to the angels, several other scriptures come to mind.
Job 1:1 "The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
Job: 2:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
Dan 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.""
It is the eternal restlessness of a fallen angel, now a demon, who seeks his will above all and is relentless in stalking the world and its inhabitants. One of the names for satan is Beelzebub (Baal-zebub) and the entire name is Lord of the Flies and zebub means fly. This kind of fly is a hard-to-kill, strong and biting fly that lives entirely by sucking blood of cattle or people. It is the zebub and also known as tsetse fly in Africa. Satan was given that name because he was supposed to be able to be lord over these much-feared flies that caused destruction to cattle and sickness to people. It is one of the reasons God sent a plague of flies to Pharaoh, to show HIS mastery over the flies in the face of helpless false gods. This name was given to the god because he was supposed to be able to avert the plague of flies which in that region was to be feared.Flies never settle for very long Anyone who is not saved will feel that eternal restlessness n his spirit as well. Satan is truly Baal-zebub, Lord of the Flies.
That is satan, flying here and there, to and fro, roaming up and down, claiming blood from victims and buzzing in your ear. There are two lessons here. One: satan is relentless. Flies always come back to garbage no matter how often you swat them away. Second: satan's lies are powerful. He cold sway angels who knew God in person, in heaven, for perhaps eons. Do you think he cannot sway you? I know he can sway me, if I let him. I use my flyswatter often: studying the Word. It is, after all, how Jesus rebuffed that pestilential fly, He repeated the Word back to satan in each temptation.
Jesus has won the victory. Satan is merely a created being who was completely crushed at the cross and only has been in his frenetic death throes this last 2000 years. But the time the Tribulation comes, he really panics, for he knows he has but a short time. (Rev 12:12). For us, though, beware slandering each other, engaging in 'widespread trade.' Do not be a fly, going here and there, whispering things that murder someone's reputation. Certainly be sterling in all your communications about the LORD. Because His are perfect unto us! And that is a campaign worth participating in!
In the first 7 parts, Satan's fall is explained, why and how. The narrator focused on Ezekiel 28 and especially verse 16 to describe how satan convinced 1/3 of the angels to follow him into rebellion against a Holy God whom they personally knew and worshiped. I've often wondered how angels who saw God's power in the creation (Job 1:6-7) and who visited the throne room (Ex 37:9) could possibly follow satan? What did he tell them exactly to make them a better offer?? That is answered in Ezekiel 28:14-16 --
"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. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned."
The scene here is a prophecy against the King of Tyre. The previous chapter is spent lamenting the city of Tyre (Lebanon) and its earthly ruler. But as we know from so many examples and passages in the bible, satan is often the puppet master pulling the strings behind the power that is shown through the earthly ruler. The Prince of Persia is another example. Satan is the power behind the throne, so to speak, in many cases. He is the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), prince of the powers of the air (earth and near environs; Eph 6:12) and at one point remember, he offered Jesus every kingdom on earth (Mt 4:8-9).
In the Ezekiel chapter the scene sifts from the earthly ruler in the flesh (Prince of Tyre, ch. 27) to the supernatural power of the King of Tyre (satan, ch. 28). It is said that wickedness was found in him and through his "widespread trade" he was filled with violence. In this case, the widespread trade does not mean economic traffic. Does one believe there were shops in heaven, with checkouts and money exchanged? No, surely not! What would satan possess that would be better than hat the angels already had? No, instead, the phrase widespread trade comes from the Hebrew word r'kullah, the main word rakil, meaning slander.
Satan went on a whispering campaign against God, the same as he did later to Eve ("Hath God said? Genesis 3). he went around and around and around ceaselessly to the angels, whispering that God was a tyrant, He was egotistical, He was withholding from them the good stuff, whatever that was. With Eve we know satan insinuated God was withholding the knowledge of good and evil. Whatever satan said to the 1/3 of the heavenly host that ended up following satan, it was lies and we know that he was a liar from the beginning.
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44). Devil means slanderer.
Revelation 18:12-14 alludes to this satanic lying bill of merchandise. When Babylon the false economic system is fallen, satan is accused of trading in "merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men." The last phrase, souls of men, is a merchandise not in the physical but in the celestial. A good, short study on 'Satan's Celestial Slander' is from Dr. Richard Davidson from Andrews Theological Seminary (7th Day Adventist) here. If you want a thorough examination of the Hebrew word for merchandising used in this context of Ezekiel 28 and the wider exhortations in the bible not to be a slanderer, go here. (Truth Magazine).
A whispering campaign according to Wikipedia, is "A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them." Whisper campaigns are considered unethical, but are used frequently in political campaigning as a strategy. If you apply all the corruption, lies, and unethical behavior from any current Presidential campaign in the US to satan's original merchandising campaign of busily flitting from angel to angel, painting himself as the better candidate for God-hood, you have the idea of the meaning behind the Ezekiel verse and satan's method of achieving it. No wonder there are so many prohibitions against slander in the bible!
 |
| Agostino Carracci, Whispering Angels |
If you also put in your mind the energy expended in any political campaign, and think of the Ezekiel verse where the visual image is of satan going all around heaven whispering his bill of goods to the angels, several other scriptures come to mind.
Job 1:1 "The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
Job: 2:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”
Dan 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.""
It is the eternal restlessness of a fallen angel, now a demon, who seeks his will above all and is relentless in stalking the world and its inhabitants. One of the names for satan is Beelzebub (Baal-zebub) and the entire name is Lord of the Flies and zebub means fly. This kind of fly is a hard-to-kill, strong and biting fly that lives entirely by sucking blood of cattle or people. It is the zebub and also known as tsetse fly in Africa. Satan was given that name because he was supposed to be able to be lord over these much-feared flies that caused destruction to cattle and sickness to people. It is one of the reasons God sent a plague of flies to Pharaoh, to show HIS mastery over the flies in the face of helpless false gods. This name was given to the god because he was supposed to be able to avert the plague of flies which in that region was to be feared.Flies never settle for very long Anyone who is not saved will feel that eternal restlessness n his spirit as well. Satan is truly Baal-zebub, Lord of the Flies.That is satan, flying here and there, to and fro, roaming up and down, claiming blood from victims and buzzing in your ear. There are two lessons here. One: satan is relentless. Flies always come back to garbage no matter how often you swat them away. Second: satan's lies are powerful. He cold sway angels who knew God in person, in heaven, for perhaps eons. Do you think he cannot sway you? I know he can sway me, if I let him. I use my flyswatter often: studying the Word. It is, after all, how Jesus rebuffed that pestilential fly, He repeated the Word back to satan in each temptation.
Jesus has won the victory. Satan is merely a created being who was completely crushed at the cross and only has been in his frenetic death throes this last 2000 years. But the time the Tribulation comes, he really panics, for he knows he has but a short time. (Rev 12:12). For us, though, beware slandering each other, engaging in 'widespread trade.' Do not be a fly, going here and there, whispering things that murder someone's reputation. Certainly be sterling in all your communications about the LORD. Because His are perfect unto us! And that is a campaign worth participating in!
Your post is timely for me. Thank you. I have watched all of the Videos from The Fuel Project and some of them twice. Not done with them yet either.
ReplyDeleteA lie or a partial lie is a lie, and used in a way to cast a bad light on something or someone is a way to poison it. Satan is working constantly to bring death and destruction. Christ has overcome and gained the victory and for those who follow him and stay under His authority will be protected.
I am going to say that Satan has been working in the establishment of all of Christianity to negate it's effectiveness by using the whispering campaign method.
I have seen error in our day that is beginning to show up in denomination's. Satan has somehow been able to use this to get people to submit to the authority of an organization instead of Christ and his Word. That is the biggest clue and the second one is how these establishments respond to the truth. A lot of them shrink back from the truth and will actually work in the background to negate the truth if the group feels threatened.
If any group that names the name of Christ as the object of faith and denies the Word which is also Christ, it is divided in it's allegiance. May it please God to give sight and courage to his followers.
Jeff
Thank you so much Jeff. That was well said, and very heartfelt. The whispering campaign is extremely effective. It brings to mind the warning from Jude 1:4, "For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
ReplyDelete'Crept in' reminds me of the stealthy plan of the "fifth pillar" to infiltrate in order to destroy from within.
Great post! I've bookmarked those videos. I have a list to catch up on, haha. I had wondered that myself, about that third of the angels.
ReplyDeleteI failed to put in the verses about the third: Revelation 12:7-12 shows war in heaven:
ReplyDeleteSatan Thrown Out of Heaven
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them[a] in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
A lot of people think satan was thrown out of heaven long ago, but he was not. He was demoted from his place as a covering angel (Throne Guard) but he still has access, as Job shows. However, there will come a day when the door is closed to him and his band forever (the third is mentioned in verse 4) and that happens in the mid-point of the Tribulation.
I also wonder about the war in heaven: the saints who are there and waiting for the time when their bodies will be reunited with their spirit, do they see the war? Are they in a different part of heaven? Do they help?
I still can't believe any angel seeing the creation of the world and shouting with joy as Genesis says, would be convinced that God isn't worthy of all obedience and glory. Satan is one smooth talker. I can't wait for the day when he is thrown into the lake of fire forever!
I can't wait for that day either, Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteI have a question. There types of fallen angels. I know some are principalities, princes, etc. And that is from the Bible (Ephesians). But I have heard some other people refer to a type of demon called a "watcher"--What is that? is that Biblical? Do you have any information for that?
ReplyDelete--great post
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this very TIMELY reminder. The Lord has been moving in a very powerful way in our lives lately, and it has been blowing our minds. So I should not be surprised that, yesterday, we have come under the attack of some very serious slander. The type that is totally untrue and very easily could destroy our ministry.
And yet, in turning to the Lord in complete trust and surrender, pouring myself into prayer and the Word of God (psalm 119) I find myself revived and hopeful. I know that this attack is just evidence that we are being used by God and the enemy is mad at us. Which is a good thing. And I know that the Lord will use this trial to strengthen our faith and give us an opportunity to handle things in a godly way.
No matter what happens to us in this trial, I will strive to honor the Lord. I will cling to Him more tightly than ever before, and I will not let this rob me of my delight in my Savior and Defender.
And may I guard myself. We are all tempted to speak gossip. May this trial remind me to guard my own mouth. Satan is the accuser, but My Lord Jesus Christ is the Interceder. When I see something gossip-worthy, may I pray for them and handle it the right way.
Thank you. I know the Holy Spirit put this on your heart to encourage many of us, but He also did it to encourage me!!!
RE: types of angels and the Watchers...
ReplyDeleteEz 28:14 refers to Lucifer as an angel who covers. It is an allusion to the cherubim over the mercy seat, which covered it with their wings. Or sort of an Honor Guard at God's throne.
We know of the strange angels Ezekiel describes, the angels that had wheels within wheels (Ez 1:10-18, Revelation 4:6, "they had eyes all around"). Who knows what kind of angels they are!
We know Michael is an archangel (Jude 1:9; Dan 12:1) and because the word archangel is never plural is can be surmised that Michael is head of all the angels. Michael presides over the angelic angels, satan presides over the diabolical angels. Jude 1:9 refers to a moment when Michael, shaking with fury at satan, won't slander the old devil, but only says "May the Lord rebuke you." Michael will have his day soon, though. In Rev 12:7, he and satan finally come to blows and satan and his followers are cast out of heaven for good.
Eph 1:21 refers again to the hierarchy, pointing out that Jesus is above all
"far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come."
Rom 8:38; 1Pe 3:22; Eph 3:10 also refers to the hierarchy. It has been supposed that the angelic orders are first divided into three with all the different orders of angels under that, with Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer at the head of each hierarchy. Because those are the only three named angels, this supposition came about. Michael is usually depicted as a fighting angel, so it may be supposed he headed the fighting division, Gabriel came to earth with messages so it may be supposed he is head of the ministering angels sent to earth. Lucifer was a covering angel so it may be he headed the angels who sing night and day "Glory be to God in the Highest!" and stayed in heaven. When satan took a third of the angels with him in the rebellion, he took all his contingent. Pure speculation, but there is a theory.
But what of the class of Watcher angels, you ask. The Watchers are actually mentioned in Daniel (but only Daniel.)
Dan 4:13 -“I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.
Dan 4:17‘ This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’
Dan 4:23-“And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’;
So Daniel takes the time each time to state clearly that the angel is a watcher and is a holy one. Looking up the word watcher in the Hebrew lexicon it refers you to an Aramaic word, watcher or watchful one. Jack Kelley's answer to who the Watchers are or were states:
"According to the apocryphal Book of Enoch, the “watchers” are angels stationed on Earth by God to watch over the people, like sentinels. In the time before the flood, the watchers became attracted to the human women they saw, and defected to marry them and live among men. The children produced by these relationships were the Nephilim of Genesis 6:4. They were mentioned three times in Daniel 4 by the dual name of watcher (or messenger) and holy one, and by Jude and Peter as being kept in chains for judgment."
More about the Watchers is all speculation beyond what Daniel, 2 Peter and Jude tell us of the rebellious ones.
So, yes, The Watchers ARE mentioned in the bible, in 3X Daniel. More information is given in the NON biblical book of Enoch.