The Deceiver
Who is Satan? Also called Lucifer, the devil, the accuser, the dragon, the serpent, and the enemy, Satan is a fallen angel. God created the angels sometime before the creation account of Genesis chapters one and two. Satan, along with many other angels (who became demons) rebelled against God. There was war in heaven, and Satan and his followers were cast out of heaven. Satan is strong and very intelligent, but he is not as strong as God because God created him. God is the only uncreated being in all the heavens and the earth. Satan knows and sees much, but unlike God, he is not all-knowing. Isaiah chapter fourteen, though addressed to the king of Babylon, speaks to Lucifer, or Satan, the spiritual power behind that king:
“How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart; ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15)
Notice Lucifer’s five ‘I wills.’ He wanted to be exalted above that place that God had assigned to him. Not content to be the son of the morning, he wanted a throne above God’s throne. He wanted to be king over the heavens and the earth. Instead, he became the prince of darkness, and God will cast him into the pit, the lake of fire, along with all the other evil angels who followed him in rebelling against God. Likewise, in Ezekiel chapter twenty-eight, he is addressed as the power behind the king of Tyre. God said that he was wise but that he became proud. He was the anointed cherub. God had established him on the holy mountain of God, and he was perfect until iniquity was found in him. He was filled with violence from within, and he sinned. His heart was lifted up because of his beauty. His wisdom was corrupted, so God cast him down. Satan’s pride, ambition, and rebellion created disharmony in heaven. God judged him and cast him out of His presence. Our holy God is a just and faithful judge over angels, men, and nations. (Ezekiel 28:11-17; Job 1; Job 2)
Judgments in the Garden
After the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, God judged the serpent, making him a loathsome creature. God also gave a promise that a Seed of the woman would come – Jesus, who would bruise Satan’s head, while Satan would only bruise His heel. Here in the third chapter of Genesis, immediately after sin entered the world, God promised that a deliverer would come who would defeat Satan.
Eve’s judgment was that pain in childbirth would be increased, and women would be subject to domination and abuse by men. This was not God’s original design for relationships between men and women. We who are in Christ are set free in Christ to honor and respect each other as heirs together of the kingdom of God. (Ephesians 5:21-33)
Adam’s judgment was that instead of tending the garden and enjoying its fruit, he would now labor to earn his living in a cursed world. Adam and Eve were now separated from the tree of life and they would return to the dust as God had said. Death came to Adam and Eve, and all their descendants, but God had a plan.
Discovery Bible Studies
Lesson 8: The Deceiver
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- Many names are used in the Bible for Satan (the serpent, the accuser, the dragon). What names are used for him in this passage?
- What happened to Lucifer?
- What five “I wills” did he speak in his heart:
- Who or what was Lucifer trying to become?
- Compare what Lucifer says in his heart here to what he said to Eve in Genesis chapter three.
- What does this passage tell us about what leads to sin?
- How is Satan addressed in this passage?
- What was Satan before he became evil?
- Unlike God, Satan was a created being. He was perfect until what happened?
- What changed his heart and corrupted him?
- What three temptations did Satan bring to Jesus?
- How did Jesus respond to each temptation?
- How can we follow Jesus’ example when faced with temptation?