2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In my last message, I mentioned the issue of the use of the word, "stars," in the Scriptures. Naturally, the term refers to the astronomical bodies we observe in the night sky. However, another more symbolic meaning has been revealed. Since we are dealing with Satan's origin, this becomes even more interesting, as well as useful "combat intelligence" to prepare us for successful spiritual warfare. Let me cite JOB 38: 4-7 again, where God is speaking to Job about creation. "Were you there when I made the world? If you know so much, tell me about it. What holds up the pillars that support earth? Who laid the cornerstone of the world? In the dawn of that day, the stars sang together and the heavenly beings shouted for joy." These stars are not celestial bodies in the night sky, are they? For a better understanding of what is meant here, we need to go back to the original Hebrew that was used in (7). The word used there was not "helel," which means "shining one." Instead, it was "bene-Eloheim," which means "sons of God." It's the same word that was used in JOB 2:1, "When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the Lord again, Satan was there among them." In fact, it also shows up in JOB 1: 6, "When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the Lord, Satan was there among them." From all of this, it is clear that the word, "stars," symbolically refers to angels. Understanding this also makes Isaiah's reference to Lucifer in IS 14: 12 as "bright morning star" much easier to comprehend.
There are some truths that come out of comparing IS 14: 9-15 and EZK 28: 11-19 that really help us to understand better the origin of the enemy. Let's look at them now. 1) Both passages speak of Satan as created in heaven not by mankind but by God. There no place in the Bible that ever says Lucifer was the son of a man and his wife. 2) Both passages speak of Lucifer's pride being the cause of his downfall. He "was determined to climb up to heaven and to place his throne above the highest stars." He said he "would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty." [IS 14: 13-14]. EZK 28: 17, "You were proud of being handsome, and your fame made you act like a fool. Because of this I hurled you to the ground and left you as a warning to other kings." 3) Both passages depict Satan has having been created to be beautiful and perfect. IS 14: 11a, "You used to be honored with the music of harps, but now here you are in the world of the dead..." EZK 28: 12, "'Mortal man,' He said, 'grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: You were once an example of perfection. How wise and handsome you were!'" 4) Both passages tell us that Lucifer was cast out of heaven and hurled to earth. That is backed up by REV 12: 9.
There is even more about stars that we should examine for illumination. REV1: 20, "Here is the secret meaning of the seven stars that you see in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." Can it be any clearer than that? Now, let's see how this applies to Satan. In REV 9: 1-2 John writes, "The fifth angels blew his trumpet. I saw a star which had fallen down to earth, and it was given the key to the abyss. The star opened the abyss, and smoke poured out of it, like the smoke from a large furnace; the sunlight and the air were darkened by the smoke from the abyss." We know that Satan will be kept in the abyss for while. REV 12: 7-9, "Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angles were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer. The huge dragon was thrown out-that ancient serpent, named the devil, or Stan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him." More colorful and clarifying Scriptures on this subject will be shared in tomorrow's message.
Maybe some of you are wondering why I keep going back to certain citations over and over again. I assure you it is not bore you. Each time we return to a citation, we do it in a slightly different context, hopefully never loosing sight of the way that doing this reveals important "combat intelligence." God lets us in on another layer of meaning each time we do this. You can also see the huge advantage we have when we look at cross-references as we study God's word. He is always better at explaining it to us than a human commenting on it. That is the reason we should always go directly to the Scriptures before consulting a reliable commentary on them. The Lord has convinced me that the best way we can be equipped for successful combat against Satan and his followers is to be grounded in His word, have an active two-way prayerful conversation with Him (allowing Him to speak first), and to engage with other believers in a righteous, Christ-like, and faith-building lifestyle. Think about how that truth impacts your own lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, You are all around us, eager to impart both faith in You and Your teaching to us. PS 139: 7-12 expresses what we must understand about Your omnipresence. "Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from Your presence? If I went up to heaven, You would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, You would be there. If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, You would be there to lead me. You would be there to help me. I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to You." We must join the Psalmist who pleads in PS 139: 23-24, "Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way." We are sinners who come before You today to humbly ask You to protect, guide, examine, and compassionately love us, despite our imperfections. We are willing to trust You and obey Your commands, even if they take us to the front lines of battle with the devil. You never allow spiritual warfare to go on for which You have not equipped us or have evil purpose. EPH 3: 20-21, "Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to His power which is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever! Amen." We are reminded by this verse of Who You are and why we should be eternally grateful that You loved us enough to give Your Son on the cross for us. We offer You our loyalty, worship, adoration, diligence, trust, obedience, praise, and eternal thanks. In Christ's name, amen.
As promised above, I will have more wonderful citations to shed light on the origin of the devil and why knowing this is so important to us tomorrow. Every time I spend time with God, He gives me more ways to see how much He loves each of us. Even when we are down in the dumps, in that seemingly wicked and painful wilderness time in our lives, our loving Abba is there. He is the Leader of a cheering section urging us to go on to win the race, to work hard using the tools He gave us to win the battle. That is because He knows it will further our sanctification, while at the same time getting His own work done. What greater love can there be than that which transcends the grave and brings us to a life of eternal joy and fellowship with Him? Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn