Devil, Satan, Serpent, Dragon

 

Revelation 20:2

And he laid hold on the dragon, 

that old serpent, which is the Devil,

and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Devil

The word ‘devil’ appears 145 times in Scripture. Of these, 43 refer to ‘devils’, or ‘demons, demonic unclean spirits’. The other 102 are most definitely referencing Satan, the devil. Revelation 20:2 lists all four of these in one verse, thereby giving us the knowledge that Satan is called devil, serpent, and dragon. 

Revelation 20:10

Manipulator

Matthew 4:1, 5, 8, 11

Roaring lion 

1 Peter 5:8

Murderer, father of lies

John 8:44

Contender: 

Jude 1:9

Held the power of death

Hebrews 2:14

Transgressor

1 John 3:4-8

Fallen in fury

Revelation 12:12

Thief

Matthew 13:19

Luke 8:12

John 10:10 (implied)

Dragon

The word ‘dragon’ in regards to Satan occurs 13 times in The Book of The Revelation to John. 

Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9 (2x in vs7), 13, 16-17

Revelation 13:2, 4, 11

Revelation 16:13

Revelation 20:2

Isaiah 27:1

Satan:

The name Satan appears 82 times in Scripture according to Nave’s Topical Reference Bible and Torrey’s Topical Textbook. I’ll just list a few. 

Revelation 20:7

Fallen from heaven

Luke 10:18

Prince of this world

 John 12:31 

Accuser

Luke 22:31; Revelation 12:10

Deceiver

The god of this age

 2 Corinthians 4:4

2 Corinthians 11:19

Executioner

Luke 13:16; 2 Corinthians 12:7

Evil Cohort of Lawlessness

2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10

Hinderer

1 Thessalonians 2:18

Tempter

Matthew 4:3, 10

Angel of light

2 Corinthians 11:14; Galatians 1:8

Schemer

Ephesians 6:11

 Serpent

Genesis 3:1, 2, 4, 13-14

Isaiah 27:1

Revelation 12:9, 15

Revelation 20:2

From Genesis to Revelation these names of Satan are made known to us that we might be forewarned against our adversary. To keep us alert, watchful and aware of his tactics that we might avoid his pitfalls, traps and snares. Which truly can only be done when we turn our heads and our hearts to Jesus Christ, He Who is Faithful And True, KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. 

Jesus Christ cannot turn against God for He is God. He never breaks a promise (Faithful). He never lies (True). He is Ruler over all kingdoms (KING OF KINGS). He is Master over every dominion (LORD OF LORDS). 

Jesus loves us. Satan hates us. Jesus died for us. Satan kills us. 

Jesus shepherds us. Satan devours us like wolves. Jesus wants the best for us. Satan wants us to fail and fall short. Jesus is The Light of The World, the glory of God revealed. Satan is the angel of light, disguising his intentions with deceit and confusion. 

Satan is a master manipulator and all who manipulate the Truth of God’s Word for their own selfish desires are of Satan. Those who rebel against God, believing that they are right and He is wrong, are fools and will find, to their dismay, regret and torment, that God is NEVER WRONG and has NEVER LIED about Who He Is. 

There are many liars in the world today. It is our responsibility as Christians to know The Word of God intimately, that our walk with Him would be so strong and faithful, that we would be able to discern who is of God and who is not. Recognizing the liars for who they are and exposing their lies to be false.

Even in churches which profess to be God’s houses, there is an increase in the wolf population. Though their good deeds are public proclamations of charity and kindness, their core is rotten; yet, they gain in popularity, though not in discipleship. Their pews are full, but their hearts are empty of the knowledge and personal relationship values of God and His Christ. 

Any site or author who denies God is God is antiChrist and cannot be trusted. These people are following the angel of light. I will not name names. The anointing of The Holy Spirit not only reveals knowledge, but imparts wisdom into the born again believer: we know when to speak and when not to speak. We open our mouths and He fills us with The Word which needs to be spoken. 

Satan is real. He is not a made-up being, nor does his appearance match any of the images in which he is depicted. What he used to look like in heaven is now tarnished and stained by his sin, his transgression against God Almighty.

 His eternal punishment is yet to come, which is why God created hell: for the devil and his angels. For one-third of heaven’s angels chose to rebel with Satan, who was called Lucifer, and so received God’s condemnation upon themselves, as well. 

[Isaiah 14:12-15] [Ezekiel 29:12-19] Though both of these passages are literal judgments against specific kings, they are also judgments against Lucifer. And his angels are judged. [Job 4:18; Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 12:7-9; Matthew 25:41].

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in The Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of The Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 

Repent: change our thoughts, the way we think and turn away from our sins which we have been committing. Turn to God and ask for His forgiveness, which He willingly offers to any who seek Him out, through the blood of His Christ, His Lamb, Who died on the cross in our place. Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

Baptized: submersed beneath the water, as a public confession of faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. It is an outward display of the inward change which our God has wrought within us. 

Remission of sins: pardon, forgiveness, deliverance, released from a debt or obligation. It is the removal of guilt from a person’s heart/soul, thereby freeing the person from the bondages of sin. Are you that person? Have you, indeed, been to Jesus for the cleansing power of His forgiveness. Are you redeemed by the blood of Lamb?

 I am redeemed by the blood of God’s Lamb; His Christ lives in me by faith in His Name. His Holy Spirit fills me and empowers me to rise up and speak out The Truth of God’s Word. 

Come to Jesus. Today is your day of salvation. 

2 Corinthians 6:2

For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!

 

In Jesus' Name - Is All Righteousness [Part Two]

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU. The Lord is Righteousness.

What is sin?

 

 

     Sin seperates us from God. And when we are separated from God, we cannot hear Him speak. Nor can we see Him. He is a far away God instead of an ever near God. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. The Lord is Present cannot be seen or known when sin has its way.

 

Genesis 2:1 Records the first time God said "Don't".

 

Genesis 3:1-7 Eve listens to the serpent, the medium through which Satan worked, and disobeys God. When Adam saw her eat it and not die, he ate it, too.

 

     The primary sin would be not listening to God. Disobedience, rebellion. We now have an inherent sin nature within all of us. We have an awareness of what is right and what is wrong. But in order to grow in righteousness we need more than just a whiff of right and wrong. We need a Teacher to direct us in our ways and help us mature in the righteousness of Christ.

     We are created by God with another inherent ability: the power of choice. We can choose to do right or we can choose to do wrong. When we choose sin, we are turning our backs on God, and and closing our ears so as not to hear Him speak. In our sin, we become arrogant and prideful. Just like Lucifer was before he got thrown out of heaven after he lost the war against God. Lucifer is the reason sin exists at all.

     God created a beautiful angel and named him Lucifer, meaning brightness, the morning star. Isaiah 14:12 describes his downfall from heaven and the reason he attacked his Creator. Ezekiel 28:11-19 describes how God created this creature. God did not create evil. Lucifer looked upon his own beauty. He knew he was the anointed cherub. He knew God had covered him with every precious jewel, and gold. Also, the music within Lucifer was placed there by God on the day in which Lucifer had been created. The purpose for which he was created was to worship his Creator, God. Instead, Lucifer chose to worship himself.
     He set himself above God; he willfully and deliberately desired to be worshiped and declared war against God after convincing one-third of God's angels that he deserved all the glory instead of God. He was wise in his own eyes because he was corrupt. His light was corrupted because his wisdom was corrupted first. And he was corrupt because evil had corrupted him. Evil was born in Lucifer; pride filled his being and arrogance ruled him. A multitude of evil was found in him; he was filled with violence and sin [Ezekiel 28:16].
     He was profane and God threw him out of the mountain of God. The day is coming when God will fully destroy him publicly. Lucifer's sanctuaries are defiled: his word is broken (liar), his music is polluted and profane, he prostitutes and slays. A sanctuary is a holy place, a hallowed place, a consecrated place. And, yet, his are defiled making his sanctuaries unholy, unhallowed, unconsecrated. Every thing he was when God created him, he has defiled and ruined because of his evil ways and wickedness in high places.
     Ephesians 6:11 The devil is wily. He is sneaky, deceitful, cunning. Ephesians 6:12 He is a principality, a power, a ruler of darkness of this world; he is spiritual wickedness in high places. Matthew 4:1 is the first time he is referred to as 'devil', which means false accuser, slanderer, traducer.  Traducer is the opposite of praise. He was created to praise; but in every thing he does and every word he says, is the opposite: he deliberately misleads they who listen to him.
     1 Peter 5:8 The devil is our adversary, he walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. What is a roaring lion? Why is the devil referred to in this way? [for Christ is also known as a lion: The Lord is The Lion of God, He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.] A roaring lion is one who makes his presence known, that those around him would be fearful and wary. A lion roars when on the hunt, instilling fear in his victim, his prey, making it harder for said victim to escape; where can you run to, when you are fearful of every direction. For the roaring of the lion lingers and makes escape almost impossible. And if the roaring lion is able to overcome you, he will take you with him. Satan knows his destination and wants to take you with him. He would rather see you in hell suffering and screaming for all eternity than see you believe God and accept Christ as Lord.

     In the animal kingdom a lion's roar can hit 114 decibels, equivalent to a jet engine and louder than a jackhammer. It can be heard as far away as 5 miles [8Km]. Fear brings the sound closer, making a person believe that death is nearby and that there is nowhere to turn. This is an illusion created by the devil. There is only one way out of this illusional maze: and that way is up. The only way to go up is to go to your knees and cry out to Jesus to save you. And He does.
     1 Peter 5:10 BUT GOD (two of my fave words). But The God of ALL GRACE, Who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after we have suffered a while, makes us perfect, established, strengthens, settles us. We have a Savior, He will keep the lion at bay.
     1 Chronicles 21:1 Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel, which was a sin against God's Word, as David was reminded in verse 3 by Jo'ab. A census was taken and the people were numbered and God was displeased and smote, or punished the nation of Israel. Though the king had ordered, because the people complied, all of them were punished for disobeying The Word of God. When man's laws go against God's law, God's law is to be obeyed first.
     The name Satan means adversary, the arch-enemy of good, the opponent, withstand. God is good all the time. Satan is wicked all the time. God is Love. Satan is hate. God is Righteous. Satan is unrighteous. God is Holy. Satan is unholy. God is Judge. Satan will be judged. God is Sanctifier. Satan is unclean. God is Shepherd. Satan is a thief. God is Truth. Satan is a liar. God is Strength. Satan is weakness. God is The Banner Over Me. Satan is a worm beneath my feet. God is Healer. Satan is deceiver. God is Redeemer. Satan is destroyer. Every thing God IS, Satan is the opposite.
     He is real. You know this, for you see the world around you. We are in our predicament because of the sinful nature in every person. There seems to be an abundance of hate every where you look. Your fingers take you around the world or into your own backyard via the internet. You and I are able to view, from a distance, the chaos that is increasing in our world. Leaving this world for another is not an option for the majority of us. And burying our head in the sand like an ostrich is not a good solution either. 



     If you want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem, you will need to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. You will need to make a decision for Christ instead of a decision to ignore Christ. It is a lack of integrity that prevents many from making the choice to acknowledge that God is and that God is holy. You may think you are without options in the midst of chaos and destruction, but you are not: Jesus died for you that you would not continue to be separated from God. It is sin that prevents you from getting near God. It is sin in your life that prevents God from hearing your prayers. If your prayers are getting answered, it is not the God Who created the universe and everything in it that is answering your prayer: it is the god of this world, Satan. He is determined to continue to deceive you.
      Why does Satan want to deceive you? To prevent you from knowing God. To prevent you from seeing God or hearing God's voice or knowing God's heart. Satan will do every thing and any thing he can to convince you that the only god you need is the god that is within you. This is a lie. There is no god within you. It is not your energy that will heal you, nor can anything in nature or the heavens bring you peace. The power of positive thinking will only take you so far; you need Jesus Christ in your life to take you all the way to God. Without Jesus, you are lost in the dark.
      Why continue to walk a dark and lonely path, when there is a Light waiting for you to turn on your heart and believe that He is real? Yes, life is hard. And being with Jesus is hard, too. But He takes most of the burden on Himself and gives us His strength to hold us up. All you have to do is ask Him. Ask God to forgive you of all your sins. Turn from your wicked ways and begin to live a holy life, a life of integrity and morals, and reasoning. Seek The Holy Spirit of God to receive the power He has to lay on you, that you, too, may search God's Word in power and humility, asking Him to reveal God to you. I do. I ask Him to reveal Himself more and more when my Bible is open. I get lost in The Word.Not the kind of lost where you can't find yourself, but the kind of lost where a person loses track of time. Time does not stop when I am reading my Bible; it is that time ceases to exist.

O Lord my God, You are my Strength and my Love, In You I rest and am blest,

     Be Gracious to me, O G-D and have mercy on me when I fail You. You are my desire and I live to please You. Be not far from me when I am weak, but stay near me JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. The Lord is Present. You are my JEHOVAH, my God. You are my Love and my Law; in Your Word I live and speak and walk. Bow low Your ear to hear my prayers, O Lord, for I love to listen to You when You speak. Your voice is as thunder to the distant crowds, but when You are with me, Your whisper is close to my ear. Stay near me Lord, for fears are making themselves known. Make Yourself known Lord and keep me near Your heart and in Your hand.
     You are my Strong Tower; none can tear You down: and in You I am safe and sound. You have given me a sound mind and a broken heart. Raise up a standard in me that I may ride forth and defeat the enemies that have beset me on every side. For You, O Lord, are my Savior and my Strength. In You I bear witness that Your Testimony is everlasting and for ever more.
     In Your Word is Light and Life. You have given Your Word to me that I might have light and life, also. And, Lord, I love You for keeping me, I love You for saving me and I love You for staying near me and instilling within my heart Your Peace and Your Hope. Thank You for choose me and calling my name out of the darkness. I will praise, O my Lord, for all of my days. I will preach Your gospel when ever and where ever You call me, open my mouth and fill my mouth with Your Words. For while I hunger for more, there are many who hunger for crumbs.
      In Jesus' Name, the Name Above All Names, the Name of The Only Begotten Son of God,
these things I ask and give Your praise and glory for. Amen. And Amen.


In Jesus' Name is ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. ALL POWER. ALL STRENGTH. ALL WISDOM. ALL HEALING. ALL FORGIVENESS. ALL GLORY. CREATOR OF ALL. LORD OF ALL.