The Enemy of God

We previously read about God’s goodness in all He created.  But somehow, He had an enemy in what He created.  Who is this enemy of God?

 

Look carefully at the photo, above. Could this lovely angel really be God’s enemy? I chose this photo precisely because the enemy of God is almost always in costume when he is dealing with human beings.  But God sees through all disguises.  His enemy, however, targets humans.  He fools, seduces and lures us into sin.

So who is this enemy of God?

He is called Satan many times in the Bible.  This article tells us that he has other names, like the devil, the dragon, the evil one.  The one he is called most frequently is Satan. The name means “accuser”.

Where did Satan come from?

Here’s a link to a pretty decent article that uses scripture to explain what is somewhat beyond our understanding. Basically, God created Satan with power and beauty.  From what we know of our thrice holy God, God cannot be the author of evil.  But at some point in the long ago past, this powerful and beautiful creature turned against his Creator and became a liar and a murderer.

In a nutshell, Satan hates God and wants to be god. His hatred of God is expressed by this; Satan wants to kill and destroy every thing God has created.

God sees Satan’s enmity every second of every day. However, we do not.  Satan is good at hiding his true nature from human beings.

However, God, who wrote the Bible for our benefit, often unmasks him.  Here, Jesus does it in John 8, speaking to some Pharisees.

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44

Like this angel statue, Satan is cold and unfeeling. Nevertheless, the enemy of God can appear to be beautiful, warm and caring.

Satan is by nature a liar and murder with deadly lusts. Underneath his disguise is always a monster beyond anything Hollywood has contrived. But Satan can appear beautiful! The Bible warns of Satan’s deceptive appearance:

14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

When Satan attacks human beings, he most often comes in disguise.

We will observe this big time when we look at how Satan approached the woman in the Garden of Eden. When we get there, we will see how he flattered her, lied to her and confused her.

In fact, Satan’s methods are false and confusing on purpose.  This is how he rolls.

In the following descriptions, we catch glimpses of him.   Commentators are not in agreement about whether they actually describe Satan himself, or whether they describe evil world rulers.  Here, I am taking the position that many hold; at times the language sounds like the description of an earthly ruler, and at times it sounds like Satan himself.  So my answer would be “both”.

Satan is the original rebel against God, and the original inspiration of all rebellion.

Therefore, it makes sense that at times God is giving us a glimpse of Satan, standing behind these rulers.  Therefore we can see what deep desire motivates Satan and what his plans are to achieve it.  Here is one such passage.

“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 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;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14-12-14

This passage also tells us Satan will not achieve what he desires.  This is Satan’s future, according to God Almighty:

15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.  Isaiah 14:15

How does the text suggest that this being is Satan?

We read how some beautiful being named Lucifer fell from Heaven.

As we read the text, we can  almost smell Satan. This is a spiritual being who was once in heaven. God has now cut him down to the ground. This being aspired to be not only equal to God, but above God.  If you read the whole passage, (recommended!) it is not easy to discern when the writer is describing Satan or the King of Babylon.

Disguising himself behind God’s creation is a tactic of the enemy of God.

We see it again here in Ezekiel 28 in the description of the King of Tyre:

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13a You were in Eden,
the garden of God. . .

14 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.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.

Here, God tells us that God made this “cherub” beautiful and blameless. However at some point in the long ago past, God found wickedness in this creature. He became the enemy of God.

It is all downhill afterward!

16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth; Ezekiel 28:16-17

Once again, we must look closely to distinguish between the earthly ruler and Satan.

The ruler of Tyre is part of it, as described in the verses just before the ones quoted above.  But who is ‘behind” him? It is the one who embodies the telltale hatred of God and deception of Satan, who whispers seductively in the ear of a wicked king.

We will witness this confusion of Satan and animal when the Serpent approaches the Woman in the Garden of Eden.

However, here God gives us a clear glimpse of  His enemy.  This being was created an “anointed cherub”.  He lived in Eden.

This creature first sinned in heaven, on the very mount of God.  God expelled him from His holy mount.  God cast this being to earth.  Therefore, both here and in the Isaiah passage, God is unmasking Satan.

But do we always see him behind the mask on our own?  We often do not.  It is my hope that these chapters will shine light on some Biblical tools with which to see His activity.

So does Satan give women special treatment?  Oh yes. And not in a good way. The enemy of God is the enemy of the woman.

If you remember nothing else I’ve written, remember this: Satan is your enemy.  It might be helpful to re-read The Mystery Of Woman, about how God created us. God has a good plan for us.  Satan constantly tries to twist and subvert the plan God made for women.

In conclusion, is it any wonder that there was confusion when the woman encountered the serpent in the garden?

He was just a friendly serpent, wasn’t he? He was “winsome”, wasn’t he?

We will look at this incident in more detail next time, when we look at the temptation of the first woman in Genesis 3. We will see how the enemy of God became the enemy of not just the first woman, but all women!

Application: Have you encountered the enemy of God?

Has Satan ever deceived you, masquerading as a human friend who made sin look delightful and pleasurable?   Even worse: has Satan ever used another person to deceive you and lure you into rebellion against God? Has God unmasked him before you as you realized what was happening to you?  What have you learned from this realization of who was behind what happened to you?

How can you resist Satan and defeat his plan to destroy you?