The Biography of Satan the Devil

Well, again, the Day of Atonement 2015. This, indeed, is a day that pictures a future event regarding the judgment of Satan the devil and him being imprisoned for 1,000 years during the Kingdom of God.

But before we look at that incredible event and our final Scripture today, we'll go back to the book of Revelation that was just read a few minutes ago and read about that. But before we do that, I thought it might be beneficial for us to ponder the biography of this strange spiritual creature that we know of as Satan the devil.

And we'll find out a lot about him by looking at two different prophecies. Prophecies about this very spirit that became God's adversary. They will tell us a lot about his character, a lot about his nature, a lot about who and what he is.

So let's go to Isaiah chapter 14, beginning in verse 5, and we'll take a look at this first prophecy in which Isaiah weaves in a condemnation of the king of Babylon with a creature that he refers to as Lucifer.

Again, we're in Isaiah chapter 14, beginning in verse 5, and this is very prophetic.

This is a prophecy about the return of Jesus Christ. He's returned to earth. He's broken the staff of the wicked. The nations are fallen, and that being who in a continual stroke for 6,000 years struck the people of the earth with plagues and floods and drought and all the things that this creature put upon this earth.

But then the coming of Jesus Christ comes and things change. Verse 7, The whole earth is at rest and quiet. They break forth into singing. Indeed, the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon saying, Since you were cut down, no woodsman has come up against us.

This is referring to, as we'll see, this being called Lucifer. Verse 9, Hell, the Hebrew word sheol, which means the grave, the earth, a pit, sheol from beneath is excited about you, to meet you which you're coming.

It stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth, it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

Referring here, an allusion to the resurrections.

They all speak and say to you, Have you become as weak as we? Have you become like us?

Oh, this great spiritual being who is known as the prince of the power of the air, you no longer have any power. You no longer have any authority.

We were in our graves, we were dead, we're powerless, we lost all the pomp and glory in our majesty, and you're in the same condition we are.

Verse 11, Your pomp is brought down to sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments, the maggot is spread under you, the worms cover you.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning.

The Hebrew word is actually closer to son of the dawn.

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.

Stars of God, referring to the angels.

I will also sit in 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.

A lot of eyes in there. Rather selfish creature, isn't he?

Yet you shall be brought down to sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit.

So here the prophet beautifully weaves in a metaphor about the king of Babylon, who thought he was a god on earth, and this powerful spiritual being known as Lucifer.

The term Lucifer is Latin translation of the Hebrew word, and the Hebrew is Dei Star.

So in Hebrew it would be, O Dei Star, translated in English, son of the morning, or son of the dawn.

The prophecy is dual, with the physical king of Babylon being compared to his spiritual counterpart, Lucifer.

So this is a prophecy, and this gives us a few details about who and what this being is, when we call Satan the devil.

Before we pull all of these little bits and pieces together, we'll take a look at another prophecy in Ezekiel 28.

If you'll turn there with me in another unique scripture in the Old Testament, a different prophet, also compared a powerful human king, the king of Tyre, with Satan the devil.

Again, Ezekiel 28, beginning in verse 12. Ezekiel was inspired to write, Son of Man, take up on lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God.

Every precious stone was your covering, the sardus, topaz, the diamond, burl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, the emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.

Verse 14, You were the anointed carob who covers. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God.

Referring to, in symbolic language, the highest regions of the third heaven you can possibly be at. Right there, you served at the literal throne of God Almighty.

You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you by the abundance of your trading. You became filled with violence within and sinned.

Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O covering carob, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom.

Wisdom became deceitfulness, became manipulative. For the sake of your splendor, I cast you to the ground I laid before you kings, that they might gaze at you. And that's what will happen on the day of atonement. People of the earth will just gaze.

This was the powerful being that we were so frightened of. What's become of them? This was Satan, who had such raw evil and power over the earth and over men's hearts and minds and influence.

He's neutered. He's nothing. He's a nothing. That's exactly what will happen.

From these two prophecies, we can gather some information to understand a little bit more about this being we know of as Satan.

The first thing that we understand is that he is a spiritual, created being. He was created by God, just like you and I were created by God, but he's spiritual. He's not physical. He's not composed of matter.

He is a spiritual being who literally was created by God.

The second thing we discover is that he was created wise, instantaneously beautiful, and he served at the very throne of God himself.

He says he was the anointed carob who covers, just kind of inferring that when you read in the Old Testament about the Ark of the Covenant and how it had those two archangels that sat over the Ark and looked at each other and kind of their wings touched, and they were over the very presence of God.

Originally, this Lucifer, this being, may have been one of those two carobs who covered the throne of God.

The next thing we learn is kind of interesting, and this begins to answer the question why God has made us physical.

Without any prior examination, without any testing, he was instantaneously given power and authority and beauty and wisdom.

He didn't have to earn it. He was created that way and given all of those things. Didn't have to earn it. Didn't have to develop it. Didn't have to make right choices.

We have a phrase in our world today. We say that someone has given something handed to them on a silver platter.

This being was given beauty and wisdom and power and authority on a silver platter.

In time, he became vain. We don't know exactly when those first thoughts began to occur, but he became vain, and he thought he was as good as God, even better.

And that he should rule over the universe. And that's the first evidence that we have in scriptures of what we understand is the concept of sin. In this case, it was the sin of rebellion. It was the sin of betrayal. And if you can just imagine how the Creator may have felt with this being that he gave so much, that he loved so deeply. This being that he blessed and allowed right next to him in his throne. And the sense of betrayal that God must have felt. And then when we understand that, we can appreciate why the Ten Commandments, so many of them, guard against the sense of betrayal. God says, you're to worship me only. There can be no other gods before me. God understands he felt that sense of betrayal.

You should not commit adultery because God knows on a human level adultery is a betrayal. So many, even of the Ten Commandments, deal with the effects of that original betrayal when this being rebelled against God.

We know, number five, that he wanted to rule. He wanted to dominate. He wanted to control the universe.

Number six, he rebelled against God. And we won't turn to the scripture in the book of Revelation, but it strongly implies that one-third of the created angels followed him in his revolt against God. That's a pretty significant number. He was once part of the government of God, but he was terminated. He was fired because of his rebellion.

And as an adversary, he was restricted to the planet Earth, where he was in Eden, the Garden of Eden at the time Adam and Eve were created. We read where Ezekiel said, you were in Eden, the Garden of God.

So Adam and Eve were created, but they weren't created alone. They weren't all alone in that garden, were they?

Let's go to Genesis 2, verse 20. Genesis 2, verse 20. And let's see what this fallen creation says, how long it takes him to begin to intervene in the lives of Adam and Eve. Genesis 2, verse 20.

First few verses here are just commentary.

Adam said, this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of me. What a better companion could there possibly be that something that comes from me, who know me, can relate to me, can feel like me, and is made of the same materials as me. That's what Adam says.

God's original intent was for monogamy, and they shall become one flesh.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

So here we see that God created Adam and Eve in a beautiful physical paradise.

But God also allowed something else to be in that beautiful paradise. What we're about to read occurs only because God allowed it.

Because what happens here was part of his purpose for humanity.

The serpent didn't sneak in when God wasn't looking. God didn't say, oh, how did he get in there? Oh, my plans are... Oh, no, I gotta go to plan B. No, that didn't happen at all. God knew exactly what was going to happen, and it was through his will that Adam and Eve are facing, confronting, this talking snake. Chapter 3, verse 1. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. That shouldn't surprise us because it said in Ezekiel 28 that Lucifer, the disbeying, was full of wisdom. So it shouldn't be surprising that he was more cunning than anything else God had made.

And he said to the woman, I want you to notice that Eve has no fear. If a snake talked to my wife, I don't think she would quite react this way. If a serpent just started saying a few words to my wife, I don't think she would calmly begin to have a conversation and a dialogue with him. The only dialogue he would feel is probably the end of a broom handle, about the only dialogue he would feel.

But she has no fear. She's innocent. She has no... It's a God's creation. It's beautiful. There are different shapes and sizes and colors. And some fly and some walk and some slither. It's no big deal to Eve. She has no fear. And he says to the woman, has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? The woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.

And the serpent said to the woman, the master of the siever, you will not surely die. And that's the first recorded lie. Of course, she did die. And Adam died, and they're still dead today. They've been dead a long, long time. Eve and Adam died. And if there's no resurrection, they'll be dead forever. So this is a recorded lie that he tells them.

Verse 5, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Now, that's actually a second recorded lie, because no matter how much they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they will never be like God. God is eternal.

God isn't physical. God cannot die. They were physical and aging, and certainly subjectable to death. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for fruit, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she's tempted with the flesh. It's pleasant to the eyes. Beautiful. It might taste good. She's tempted of the flesh. She's also tempted intellectually.

We could say she's tempted of the spirit. I'll be smarter. I'll be wiser. I'll be more enlightened if I do this. She took of the fruit, and she ate, and she also gave it to her husband, and he ate. So why does God allow this to happen? Well, it is because of God's desire that humankind have free moral agency.

He formerly had created Lucifer perfect. He had given Lucifer many things. He also created many, many angels perfect, and they all rebelled against him. God was determined that his new family, the family he wanted to expand, would not start out as spirit in the sum of perfection. They wouldn't start out wise. They wouldn't start out as beautiful. They would be created physical, and they would be subject to aging. They would be, potentially, if they made the wrong choices, be subject to death. They would be given a choice to sin. They would experience the pain and suffering that result from that sin. So, in contrast to the way that he created Lucifer, and the way that he had created so many angels, he would create his physical creation, who he wanted to become part of his family, and immediately give them free moral agency, and let them learn to consciously choose good over evil.

In contrast to Lucifer, they would develop gradually. They would not be given greatness immediately. That's a promise. And that is why Adam and Eve were created physical, with God understanding that change is a process, and developing character is a process. You can't do that instantaneously. You just can't give anyone something and know that they will love you forever, until they have been tempted, and tested, and tried, and proven. Job, chapter 1 and verse 5.

Let's see an example of this in Job, chapter 1 and verse 5. Job, as we know, was an extremely righteous man. He had a human flaw, but compared to most men who lived, he was very godly and very faithful, and a very righteous man. And eventually God had to purge out some self-righteousness that Job had, but he was, as we would say in the world, he was an example of a godly man. Job, chapter 1, beginning in verse 5. So it was, when the days of their feasting had run their course, this is talking about Job's family, we're going to see how righteous he was here, that Job would send and sanctify them, and that he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings, according to the number of them all.

So even when his family got together and had feast or family reunions, he gave offerings on their behalf. And why? For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did regularly. That's a sign of a pretty righteous individual. Verse 6, now there was a day when the sons of men came to present themselves before the Lord, speaking of angels in this context, and Satan, the Hebrew word, is pronounced similar to what we say in English as Satan, it means an enemy, the opponent, also came among them, and the Lord said to Satan, from where do you come?

And Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it, Satan said, I'm just doing my thing, I'm being troubled, I'm agitating everywhere I go.

Satan is a great time waster, and he just goes back and forth on the earth, trying to stir up war, trying to stir up violence and hatred, and man to invent his own governments, and man to invent his own religions, and man to try to discover the meaning of life without God.

That's what Satan does, that's his profession. Verse 8, and the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, this is God saying this now, who fears God and shuns evil?

So Satan answered the Lord and said, does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him, and about his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land, but now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.

The Lord said to Satan, behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not lay a hand on his person, of which you cannot kill him. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

And that's all we're going to talk about in the book of Job here, the theme of the sermon today isn't the purpose of the book of Job, but what you should first notice about this situation is that God and Satan are on speaking terms.

They have a relationship, but they talk to one another. Later on, when Jesus Christ comes to earth, after spending 40 days in the wilderness, he has a conversation with the devil, so they are on speaking terms. But here's one of the points I want to point out, that everything that Satan did to Job, every trial, every affliction, was only because God allowed it.

God is in charge of the entire universe, and he allows Satan temporary dominion over the earth to fulfill God's plan of human character development. Ultimately, after some horrendous events in Job's life, he was blessed more than ever before. But more importantly than that, the character that Job developed through being tested by Satan will serve Job for eternity as a child of God in the kingdom of God.

And here's where I'm going with this. Physically speaking, everything we have can and eventually will be taken away from us. But Godly character remains forever. Let's take an example of our beloved Anne, who died recently. She once was filled with life. She had a home, she had a husband, she had her health. She was a fireball, those who knew her.

And I didn't even see her in what you might say is the pinnacle of her prime. I knew her when she was 50 years old. But she was physical. And time went on, and her husband died. Time went on, her health declined. Time went on, she couldn't stay in her beloved home. She had to leave her home. Time went on, she couldn't drive her car anymore. But Godly character remains forever.

Though all those physical things are gone, God will take that Godly character, which is the sum result of all of her life's experiences, the good things she did and the mistakes that she made, the challenges she faced, the obstacles she overcame. And God will take that character and resurrect her into an immortal body. And God will know for eternity that she will never betray him. That's a big difference between the experience that all of us have and the experience that Lucifer had when he was created.

Let's turn to 1 Chronicles 21 and verse 1. 1 Chronicles 21 and verse 1, we'll see how Satan works. This is not a mystery. I think we all know this, but I believe it's good to point it out, because we have to constantly be on guard, regarding our own self-talk and what we allow ourselves to dwell on, what we allow to remain in our mind. 1 Chronicles 21 and verse 1, now Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

So David said to Job and to the leaders of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. Now David knew that this was in direct opposition to what God had explicitly said, that kings were not to take a census of the people. And the reason God said that is because kings want numbers.

They want to know that I've got 100,000 men who have swords, and I've got 50,000 people who can shoot arrows, and I've got 5,000 chariot riders. Men want to put their strength in numbers. And God said, no, I am your God, you trust me.

So don't take a census of your armies. I am your army. So that's why God was very explicit about that, and David just ignored it. And Job, even his general, answered, may the Lord make his people 100 times more than they are, but my Lord, the king, are they not all my Lord's servants? He says, what does it matter if you count the people? Why then does my Lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel? Well, David didn't listen.

They took a census, a terrible plague came, and unfortunately many, many people died because of David's mistake. How did Satan move David to take a census when David knew it was against God's command? He put the thought into David's head. Well, isn't it any more complicated than that? That's how he moved David the number Israel. The thought came in there. The pop popped in there. Well, I wonder how many archers I have. I wonder how many people I have who can drive chariots.

And David's pride, thinking about how important his army is, how important big numbers would be, appealed to his vanity. And the thing that we need to understand, brethren, is Satan puts thoughts into our heads every day, just like this. And it's our task to recognize them for what they are. They're evil thoughts planted in our heads in an attempt to get us to do what we know is wrong.

David knew this was wrong. He did it anyway. You and I do things that are wrong. Sometimes we do them anyway, don't we? And that's not a good thing. So it's our task to recognize these thoughts that enter our heads. And our self-talk can be very negative. It can entice us to do things, to think about things, to expand on things we shouldn't be thinking about at all. So now let's go to Matthew 4.

If you'll turn there with me, we'll go to the New Testament and see how Satan attempts to tempt Christ to sin so that Jesus Christ can't be a perfect sacrifice for all humanity. Satan is going to tempt Jesus Christ with the strongest urges and instincts that a human being has. I want you to understand this about what Jesus Christ is going to do. What he is about to do, he must do alone, without any intervention of angels or the Father. This is one on one for the dominance of the universe. And Jesus Christ has to deal with this situation alone.

No divine intervention. So with that understanding in mind, let's now go to Matthew 4 and we'll pick it up in verse 1. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, some of us only had 39 more days and nights to go.

So if you think you're hungry right now, imagine how he felt. And he fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward. He was hungry. I still think that's one of the greatest understatements in the scriptural history.

Verse 3, now when the tempter came to him, he said, I want you to immediately notice, and I'll say this for the benefit of the wives, if you don't know that your man can have his manhood challenged and he doesn't like that. The tempter said to him, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. What's Satan going at here? He's going at Jesus' desire for self-preservation. The strongest instinct of a human being is to survive. When your body is under stress, whether you're sick, or whether you're hungry or thirsty, we just have that instinct beyond all measure to survive. Christ was literally starving to death physically. The temptation to obey Satan was to immediately eat. And this must have been very strong. We don't have all the detail, but I believe, most likely, that Jesus Christ had determined that until this confrontation was over, he wasn't going to eat anything. He just was not going to do it. The temptation to eat must have been very strong, and he also obviously questions the authority of Jesus Christ by saying, if you can do this. So he tempts Jesus, and Jesus, setting a good for example for us, when a wicked or evil thought enters our mind, he responds with a scripture. He responds with the word of God. Verse 5, And the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, so he's the very top of the temple in Jerusalem, and said to him, And if, once again, challenging his manhood, challenging his authority, If you are the son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you, And in their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. Obviously Satan is twisting scripture. And Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. So in this way, Satan is going after his self-determination. First it was his self-preservation. Now it's his self-determination. Satan questions, he challenges Jesus again by implying that he's not the son of God. Oh, if you are, prove it! Then do this! If you really are. He was trying to appeal to the vanity of Jesus Christ. If Satan could just get the Christ to prove, whether he was the son of God by jumping off the temple, Jesus would die in the fall. And if he died in the fall, he wouldn't fulfill his ministry. And he wouldn't become the sacrifice. He wouldn't shed his blood on the cross. And he would not become the ultimate complete sacrifice for all mankind. A very deceitful being that we're dealing with here. Who will try to manipulate us and deceive us and get us to do things that will destroy ourselves. And again, Jesus responded with a scripture, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Verse 8. Again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He showed him Rome. Showed had visions of the great Asiatic empire, China, the great Asiatic empires.

Perhaps, had a vision of the Indian populations in America at that time. In North America, there were Indian kingdoms. All, it says, all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. All the majesty of the kingdoms that existed at that time. And he said to him, All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.

Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God in him only. Shall you serve? Then the devil left him. And behold, angels came and ministered to him. The first attack Satan did was self-preservation. Go ahead, eat something. The second was self-determination. If your God prove it. Go ahead, just prove it to me, big man. Prove to me that you are the Son of God. And just jump off this pinnacle. You won't get hurt. And then now it's self-gratification. Satan is telling the Son of God that right now he could give Jesus all the nations of the earth to rule immediately.

You won't need to be crucified. You won't need to experience death. You won't need to wait two thousand years to return to claim your throne. I can give it to you right now.

And he could. Because Satan owns all the kingdoms of this world. And again, Jesus responded with a scripture. He shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Jesus said, I'm not going to fall down and worship you. That's sin. And if I sin, I cannot be the perfect sacrifice for humanity. I cannot shed my blood to save mankind. If I sin by falling down and worshiping you. In the New Testament, we're instructed in a number of ways regarding Satan's influence in this world. I'll just mention a few and then we'll actually turn to a few scriptures and look at them. In Luke 13 and verse 16, Jesus healed a woman who was bent over for 18 years.

She was just bent over and couldn't stand up straight. 18 years and he healed her on the Sabbath day. And he told the group of people who were condemning him for doing it on the Sabbath. He said, Satan had bound her. So brethren, some of the diseases we have in this world are the result of sin. A result of 6,000 years of human sin and a world that has fallen from God. The viruses we have that mutate and destroy people, kill people, continue to mutate.

The germs and the things that we experience in this life, it is a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. And leaving a beautiful, perfect paradise and what has occurred in this earth since that time. In Luke chapter 22 and verse 3, it says, Then Satan entered Judas, surname Descariot, who was numbered among the twelve. He went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains on how he might betray him to them. So we see that Satan has the ability to possess an individual who has cut themselves off from God.

He allowed himself to be vulnerable. He had allowed a root of bitterness in his heart against Jesus Christ. And he cut himself off from God and that gave him the ability to be wide open, to be possessed by the devil. In many accounts in the Gospels, individuals were possessed by demons, causing various forms of mental and physical diseases. So some of the diseases in the world are caused by demons.

But on the other hand, you've got to have balance. Jesus also healed many others and there is no mention in many healings of a demon influence in those diseases. So what it tells us is that there are some diseases that are influenced by demons, and there are diseases that are part of a fallen world that has lost its way from the paradise that was in Eden and that diseases have developed as part of human sin. The book of Revelation reveals Satan's activities as involving not only individuals, but involving nations. We know from the book of Revelation in chapter 12 that political forces can become the servants of the devil. And that's nothing new.

Political forces have been the servants of the devil for thousands and thousands of years. Revelation chapter 2 and verse 13 even speaks of a throne of Satan. So Satan literally has a throne because he dominates this world. Satan is a created, rebellious, and tempting evil power active in the earth, but his powerful existence does not excuse a person from personal responsibility. So though we talk about on the Day of Atonement, finally, giving Satan the responsibility that is due him, we in no way excuse human sin and human conduct because sin is a choice. And we no way excuse the conduct of human beings because of what this day represents.

Turn with me, if you would, to James chapter 4 and verse 7. God's children will not be tempted beyond our power to resist. James chapter 4 and verse 7, therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. He doesn't say, he may flee from you. He will flee from you. So we have the responsibility as the children of God to submit to God and to resist Satan, to resist those thoughts and influences that are around us, those thoughts that enter our heads, the negative environment that we may experience at work or at school or wherever we may be, we need to resist the devil.

And the Scripture says, if we do that, he will flee from us. In the same way that when he tempted Jesus Christ himself and Jesus Christ responded three times with the Scripture, Satan said, okay, you win. And Satan departed. And he'll have the same response to us. If we submit ourselves to God and we resist the influences of Satan. Now let's go to 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8.

Peter wrote, Be sober, be vigilant, in other words, be on your guard, because your adversary, our adversary is the same adversary God has, your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

And I can tell you that in the world that we live in, this lion is devouring human souls. He's devouring human spirit every day by destroying billions and billions of lives. But we're given an instruction here, verse 9. Resist him. Be steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. So where God has children called anywhere in the world, members and believers like us, anywhere in the world, they experience the same things that we do. They too have health issues. And sometimes they lose their jobs. And sometimes they're discouraged. And sometimes they have financial issues. So God loves us. It's not that God has forsaken us. It's that all of this is about creating character in us, by giving us the choice to choose, by giving us the opportunity to yield to the temptation or to resist the devil and say, no, I'm not going to do that. So when we're tested, we'll pass the test. Because this process, God knows, is a process that will ensure that he will have a family who loves him and is there with him for all eternity, and doesn't betray him like Lucifer and like one-third of the angels did, who had been given everything on a silver platter. I John, chapter 5 and verse 19. I John, chapter 5 and verse 19. John writes, we know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we may know him who is true.

Of course, that's Jesus Christ. The understanding that we have is that Jesus Christ lived the perfect life, that he made a sacrifice and he shed his blood, and that our sins are forgiven, and that we are the first fruits of God. We have been offered the gift of his Holy Spirit as a powerful guide, as a force to help us in our lives.

Continuing, that we may know him who is true, and we are in him who is true in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

So, brethren, the message God wants for us to understand today is that we're on a different journey. He created beings once, and he didn't like the results of the way that turned out.

For them, there was no choice. There were not tests, there were not conditions, there were not trials, there were not a learning process for Lucifer or the angels. They were given everything. They were given it all. And they proved themselves unfaithful. They proved themselves unworthy of serving God. So, when God came to the point in time in history that he wanted to create man, he created this beautiful garden, and he created Adam, and he created Eve, and he purposely allowed that serpent to be there. To begin a process that has continued since that time. And every day that you and I live, we have choices to make. And the right choices build within us the godly character that will last for all eternity. Yes, we'll get old, and our health will fail. Someday we'll come. We may lose our mates. We may lose our homes. We may lose all the material things that we thought were so wonderful that we strive so hard in this life. Someday it will be gone. But we'll last. What will last is our integrity, is our character, and that will last for all eternity. For our final scripture today, if you'll turn with me to Revelation, chapter 20, verse 1, which was read earlier in our sermon today. Because there's going to come a time when God will no longer allow the devil to influence humankind. The purpose of the devil will have ended. The firstfruits that he tested and persecuted will become immortal when Jesus Christ returns. The nations he had incited to war against Jesus Christ, those nations will have been destroyed. They won't exist any longer. God is about to, the next thousand years, create a beautiful, harmonious world that are ruled by Jesus Christ and his children, the children of God, kings and priests and servants who will together build a wonderful new world.

And God's plan for Satan will have ended for those thousand years. And for that reason, Revelation, chapter 20, verse 1, then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

And he cast him into a bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released a little while.

So today we fasted to draw closer to God and to realize our complete dependence on him.

Today we fast to mourn for the consequences of sin that still has most of humanity trapped in spiritual slavery.

But even in this, on this day of atonement, let us rejoice, knowing the rest of God's plan for mankind and for ourselves.

Let us rejoice. Let us resist this being, this devil, Satan.

Let us each and every day commit ourselves by staying close to God. Let us resist the evil influences. Let us make the right choices.

Let us say no to ourselves. Let us say no to Satan as he incites thoughts into our heads.

And let us continue on the journey that God has set us forward on and make the right decisions and build the character that God wants us to build and develop.

Because that, above all else, will last for eternity.

Have a wonderful day of atonement. And my wife and I don't have a chance individually to say goodbye to all of you.

We wish you a wonderful and inspiring feast at Tabernacles, wherever you may be going.

And we'll look forward to seeing you as soon as we get back.