The Fundamental Beliefs

Now, again, so you know, we have the Ambassador Bible Center to be thankful to for providing the slides for us. Jim Franks teaches the classes on fundamental doctrines, and these are the slides that he's put together to go along with the subject. So, as it says, today's class deals with Satan the Devil, and we have a picture of the booklet we have, Is There a Real Devil? Now, as you can see here, Choices. It says, Come on, come on, it's either one or the other. You're in trouble if you do, and you're in trouble if you don't, as it shows here.

There are different ideas about the Devil. There are those who think that Satan the Devil is simply a figment of our imagination, something that's made up to scare people. Some believe he's a real being. Some don't believe he's a real being. There are those who think that Satan the Devil is just the evil in everybody, and they don't believe you of the Scriptures. What we want to see today is what does the Bible actually say about Satan the Devil, and what does it teach? In Revelation, if you've got your Bibles handy, let's notice what the Bible has to say about Satan.

Revelation 12, verse 9, says, So the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old. So you find Satan is described as a dragon. Of course, here we have whether this is exactly what he looked like or not. No one's ever seen him, but it's a picture of a dragon to illustrate what Satan might look like.

And then if you'll notice in verse 13, it says, Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman, which is the church. And then verse 16, But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. So we find that Satan is described as a dragon.

He's a great dragon, our serpent. And back in the Garden of Eden, we know that he appeared to Adam and Eve as a serpent. In the Constitution of the United Church of God, our fundamental belief is 2.1.3 on this topic, we believe that Satan is a spirit being who is the adversary of God and the children of God. That Satan has been given dominion over the world for a specific period of time. Satan has deceived humanity into rejecting God and his laws. Satan has ruled by deception with the aid of a host of demons, who are rebellious angels, spirit beings who followed Satan in his rebellion.

Now, if you'll go back to verse 9 here in Revelation chapter 12, you'll notice. It says, So the great dragon was cast out, the serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. So what we find is that the whole world, all societies, have been deceived by Satan the devil. So as it says here, Satan, our fundamental belief teaches that Satan is a spirit being. He's been given dominion over the world.

He rules by deception and with the aid of a host of demons. A summary of our belief about Satan the devil, just another way of putting it out there. One, he's a spirit being. Two, he's the adversary of God and his people. Three, he has dominion over this world. Four, he has deceived humanity. Five, he is aided by a host of demons. So, you know, those are five things that you find in our fundamental statement. Now the question comes up, does Satan exist? Is he real? Or is he just some image?

What you do find is that Satan is deceived man into thinking that, you know, he's just a, you know, a character, a cartoon character, somebody who runs around with a pitchfork saying, hehehe, and poking people and so they have that type of an idea. But most people don't realize that he's an extremely powerful being. In Revelation chapter 20 verses 1 and 3 and verse 10, it says, As I saw an angel come down from heaven, and he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Now we know that there are angels, and as we realize with Satan the devil, he was an angel, a righteous angel at one time, who rebelled against God, as we'll see. Seven Old Testament books mention Satan, and you have them listed here. Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Job, Psalm, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. Some of them are indirect references. Some of them specifically refer to him by name. But he is mentioned in the Old Testament. Every book in the New Testament mentions Satan or the devil. Christ refers to the devil. Let's go back here to Matthew 13, and verse 39.

Matthew chapter 13, and verse 39, where you read, Christ said, The enemy who sowed them, talking about the parable of the tares here, sowing tares among the good seed, among the wheat, the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. The reapers are the angels. So if we believe the Scriptures, there is a literal being called Satan the devil.

Jesus Christ referred to him, and every writer in the New Testament referred to him. Now, the outline of the class, or I might say what we will cover in this Bible study, is Satan, his origin and fall, Satan as a literal being, the character of Satan, or the lack of character of Satan, the names of Satan, the activities of Satan, the reward of Satan, and saints are given victory over Satan. So this is what we will be covering in the Bible study here today.

So first of all, we will start with Satan, his origin, and fall. In Ezekiel chapter 28, we might go back to Ezekiel 28. Ezekiel chapter 28. Let's notice. If you remember here, it's talking about the King of Tyre, and the King of Tyre is a type of someone, as we obviously have a type. Verse 12, Son of man, take up a lamentation for the King of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God, You are the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden, the Garden of God. Well, there was no King of Tyre who was alive back when Ezekiel wrote, who had been alive back in the Garden of Eden. It says, Every precious stone was your covering. And it goes on to mention it. Notice the last sentence in verse 13, which was prepared for you on the day that you were created. So here is a being who was a created being. Angels are created beings.

Each one was a separate creation. Verse 14, You were the anointed carob who covers. And then verse 15, You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created till iniquity or till sin was found in you. And then verse 16, By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy you or banish you, O covering carob.

What was his problem? Well, your heart was lifted up because of your beauty and you corrupted your wisdom. So notice we have a summary here in verse 13. You were needing the garden of God. He was on the holy mountain of God. In verse 14, verse 15, You were perfect in your way from the days that you were created. And you were perfect in your ways till iniquity was found in you and you sinned.

And your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. So this is describing a being who was all the way back in the Garden of Eden and was on God's holy mountain who was perfect. Yet, he sinned. He was filled with iniquity and he was lifted up because of pride and vanity. Same thing that gets all kinds of human beings into trouble. Their own vanity, their own pride and ego. Now, continuing this, Isaiah 14 is sort of a parallel chapter. Isaiah 14, verses 12 through 15. Notice here what he says.

Verse 12 says, How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, the Son of the Morning? So you find that Satan, before he sinned, was apparently a great archangel by the name of Lucifer. And it says, O Lucifer, Son of the Morning, have you been cut down to the ground? You have 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 are a symbol of angels. I will sit on the mountain of the congregation on the farther sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. Notice, I, I, I, I, I, I, all the way through here. The emphasis is on him.

So he says, summarizing it here, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit upon the mountain of the congregation. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

And I will be like the Most High. So again, you find all of the inward-turning thoughts that he has.

Satan and his demons were cast down to this earth. In Luke 14, 18, Christ said, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from the heaven. So he was cast to this earth. 2 Peter 2, 24 says, For if God spared not the angels that sinned. So these were angelic beings who sinned, but cast them down to hell. Now the word here for hell, well, let's, let's go back. The word for hell is charteroo. And you find, I think we'll come back to this a little later on. It's where Satan was cast down and restrained. He's not free to roam anywhere in the universe he wants to. Apparently God, he does have occasionally access to God's throne. But basically Satan and the demons are restricted to this earth. Now, Satan is a literal being. We find that Satan has intellect. 2 Corinthians 11, 3, As the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness. So here was Eve and she was deceived. He is a crafty being.

He's smarter than what most people give him credit. Satan has will, has willpower. 2 Timothy 2, 26, And that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. Now, when you and I are called by God, have his way of life, his truth revealed to us, the Bible very clearly shows that we are to do the will of God. We're to follow what he tells us.

Here you find that human beings have been taken captive by him to do his will, what he determines, what he wants people to do. Again, Revelation 12, 9, His deception. 2 Corinthians 4, 4 says, He is blinded people.

Satan has emotions. You find in Revelation 12, verse 17, when God takes his church to a protect some place of safety, the dragon was enraged with the woman. So he can get angry.

He can become bitter, and he can strike out. So he is a literal being.

Satan and his demons are literal beings and not just influences.

Now, that doesn't mean they don't influence. It just means they're a literal being. Matthew 17, 18, Jesus rebuked the demon, and he came out of him. So here was a man, Matthew records, who was actually demon-possessed, that Jesus Christ cast the demon out of the man.

Satan and his demons can talk and shout. Luke 4, 41, and demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, You are the Christ, the Son of God. So they can cry out, they can shout.

And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? And so Satan answered the Lord and said, just walking to and fro throughout the earth. So again, they talk, they communicate, they have the ability to reason, think, and if you can deceive all of humanity. See, somebody who's deceived doesn't know he's deceived. And that's, if you want to call it, the beauty of deception.

Deception is where somebody is doing something and they don't know that they've been deceived about it. People are deceived about beliefs, about actions, and all of these areas.

Satan and his demons walk to and fro. Matthew 12, 43, says, When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. They also seek to be worshiped.

Luke 4, 6-7, the devil said to him, All this authority I will give you, if you will worship before me, all will be yours. So what Satan the devil wanted was Christ to fall down and worship him. So Satan has tried to get mankind to worship him. Psalm 106, verse 36, it says, They served their idols, which became a snare to them, talking about Israel. They even sacrifice their sons and their daughters to demons. So you find that, anciently, who Israel worshiped in false worship, Satan, his demons. So summary of Satan as a literal being.

He has intellect. He has will. He has emotions. He is referred to as a literal being. He can talk and shout. He can walk to and fro. He seeks to be worshiped.

So there are probably any number of other points that could be brought out, but these are the most obvious about Satan the devil being a literal being with the demons along with him. So that's the first point we covered was Satan, his origin and fall.

Satan as a literal being. Now we're going to look at the character of Satan.

What kind of character does he have? Well, he is presumptuous.

In Zechariah 3, verses 1 through 2, it says, Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan.

So here was Joshua, the angel of God had been sent to help Joshua, and along comes Satan to oppose him. You might remember back in the book of Daniel, which I don't think it's recorded here in these notes. Daniel 10. You'll find where Michael came out to help and to come to Daniel. And he was withstood by powerful false angels, and he had to fight against them.

You'll find that the character of Satan is that he's very proud. Ezekiel 28, 17.

Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. Go back to that. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

Pride is the main motivation of Satan the devil. As I brought out the other day, he refuses to admit that he's ever been wrong. He does not believe he's wrong. And so therefore, he tries to get mankind to believe that they're right. And even if human beings practice things contrary to the Bible, contrary to the Scriptures, people will still hold on to the fact that they think they're right. He's also very subtle and cunning, which leads to deception. 2 Corinthians 13, 11. Says, But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. That is in Christ. So you find again that he's a very subtle, cunning being.

He has self-ambition.

Revelation 13, 4.

We read, So they worship the dragon who gave authority to the beast. The beast is of political power to come up here in the end time.

But they worship the dragon, and they worship the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?

So you find again, Satan's desire has always been to be worshiped.

When he saw God the Father, he saw all the power that the Father has.

He wanted to be exalted above God, exalt his throne above God.

He didn't want to just have the position that Christ had. He wanted to be above the Almighty God, God the Father.

So he tried to take over God's throne. He was cast back down to this earth.

So a summary of his characters. He's presumptuous.

He's proud.

He's subtle and cunning. He's full of deception.

He's full of self-ambition.

So again, his origin and fall.

He's a literal being.

We've seen his character.

Now let's take a look at some of the names of Satan the Devil.

Normally, you try to name something for what it is.

We have the United States of America.

What does that mean?

Well, we've got 50 states, and we're supposed to be united.

We give allegiance to a central government.

And each state has its own power, but they are united.

When you name something, when we name our children, normally we try to pick out a name that has some significance to us.

You can name all kinds of names.

They have different characteristics. So the Bible very clearly calls Satan by certain names. And let's notice here.

Names and attributes of Satan.

Ephesians 2.2, he's called the prince and power of the air.

So we have to realize that he is the power of the air. He's the one who broadcasts.

As Mr. Armstrong used to say, Satan the devil broadcasts. And just as we have radio waves going out, and just as we have TV waves going out, so Satan the devil, his demons broadcast their thoughts, their approach.

2 Corinthians 4.4, we might go back and read that, because it says that he is the God of this age.

2 Corinthians 4.4, verse 3 says, But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

So he has blinded the minds of people, but he is called the God of this age.

So he is a false God.

And you look around the world, and you see all of the gods that are worshiped.

And you begin to see that this is true.

He is called the prince of this world.

He is called the prince of demons.

So in other words, he is in charge of all of them.

He is also called the accuser of the brethren.

So rather than you find that Satan the devil goes around accusing.

And any time we begin to accuse one another, we have to realize, where does that spirit, that attitude come from?

Luke 10, 18, he is referred to as Lucifer.

He is the wicked one.

Revelation 12, 3, a dragon, already referred to that. Dragon, a serpent, Genesis 3.

He is called the adversary.

What is an adversary? Well, he is somebody who hinders you, fights against you. He is your adversary.

If you have a basketball team, you are playing another basketball team, they are your adversary. They are trying to win, you are trying to win. Well, he is our adversary to try to keep us out of the kingdom of God.

Matthew 12, he is referred to as Beelzebub.

He is referred to as the devil.

He is a murderer.

He is a liar.

A tempter.

What if you had somebody like this living right next door to you?

A liar, murderer, tempter. You know, somebody who is an accuser.

You really would not want that individual next door to you.

He is referred to as the enemy.

A roaring lion.

The destroyer. Actually, in Revelation, it refers to a pollen and a bodon. Both of those words have as their root to destroy.

One is a destroyer.

Destruction, in other words, this tells us what he does.

He is out to destroy. He is a thief.

So, what you find, all of these describe Satan the devil. Now, actually, if you were to go get a Bible dictionary, I don't know how many of you have a Bible program on your computer. But if you've got a Bible dictionary, just type in the word Satan, names of Satan, something of that nature. I've done that before.

You could probably come up with 50 or 60 different references to Satan and the Bible. It's amazing the number of references.

I'm not just talking to talk about him. I'm talking about that name him and give some type of an attribute.

So, when the Bible describes him, it doesn't describe him in glowing terms. It doesn't say, you know, you want him anywhere around you. He is the enemy of all people and especially of God's people. So, again, what we've covered so far is Satan in his origin and fall, a literal being, the character, the names.

Now we'll look at some of the activities of Satan and the devil.

Satan is a king and has dominion. Let's go back to Revelation 9, verse 11.

Revelation 9.

And you'll notice here, it talks about this power coming up out of the bottomless pit. It says, the fifth angel sounded, was given keys to the bottomless pit, and out of this pit came locusts, scorpions, and you drop down to verse 11.

And it says, and they have a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew is Abaddon, which means literally destruction.

But in the Greek, he has the name Apollon, or destroy.

So what we find is that the future world power that's going to rise on the scene is going to have a king over them who's going to influence them and direct them.

And it's Satan, the devil.

In Acts 26 verse 18, notice what we try to do with preaching the gospel, to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light, darkness being a symbol of deception, light of understanding, from the power of Satan to God. So we try to turn people away from the power of Satan the devil to God.

Satan's motive is to destroy.

John 10.10, the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy.

And so you find that Satan the devil's objective is to destroy.

What Satan has tried to do is, number one, get man to destroy himself.

And he's doing a pretty good job of it. We finally come to the point today where we can destroy ourselves through atomic bombs, nuclear warfare, biological warfare, chemical warfare.

We're polluting ourselves off the face of the earth.

You can look at many different things. But Satan will eventually try to get man to go to war against man to the point to where all life would be destroyed.

Remember back here in Matthew 24, let's turn back to Matthew 24, chapter and verse 21, Matthew 24, 21, says, Then there shall be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world, until this time no one ever shall be.

And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. There's a lot of the more modern translations. They saved the life.

But for the elects, say, those days will be shortened.

Then if anyone says to you, look, here is Christ, or there do not believe him.

For false Christ, false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I've told you before. Now, you'll notice here it says no flesh would be left alive.

It was not possible until the advent of the atomic bomb for all flesh to be destroyed off the face of the earth. Prior to that time, mankind used spears, bows, and arrows.

They used axes. They used swords to fight with one another. Then we got guns. And, you know, just bigger guns. But, you know, we had guns. We had TNT.

We had gunpowder. We had all of this. But it was not until we developed nuclear fission and that we were able to drop a bomb. You see, all it would take is one bomb, one or two bombs, strategically placed in this country to be detonated a few miles above the earth's surface that would totally paralyze this country because it would knock out everything electronically. Every computer goes down. Every car stops. Every pump stops pumping gas.

You know, your ATM machine doesn't work anymore. Everything stops because we're so tied in to the electronic age, computers and all. So, the Bible says, at that time, when it's possible for all life to be destroyed, that's the time that Jesus Christ is going to have to come back. Verse 34, Matthew 24, assuredly I say to you, this generation, what generation?

Well, Christ's generation has already died and gone. But this generation, the generation that he's referring to here, where it's possible to destroy all life, this generation will by no means pass away until all these things take place. So, all these things will take place. So, Satan's motive has been to get man to destroy himself because he doesn't want to see man in the family of God ruling over him and the demons. 1 Peter 5, verse 8, your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. So, he tries to devour us, likewise. 2 Peter 5, verse 9, Satan hinders the work of God also. This is one area where he strives very mightily. Mark 4, 15, says these are the ones that fall by the wayside.

Again, the sowing of the seed where the Word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the Word that was sown. So, you find when the Word is preached, the gospel goes out, people hear it. Satan the devil comes along and immediately he takes the Word. He snatches it away.

He diverts their attention to something else so that they become involved in other things.

1 Thessalonians 2, 18, therefore we wanted to come to you, even I Paul, time and again.

But Satan hindered us. So, Satan the devil threw obstacles up, roadblocks, and Paul was simply not able to come to Thessalonica to help them. He had raised these churches up. He wanted to come back, and in this particular case, he wasn't able to make it. Satan also afflicts mankind. 2 Corinthians 12, 7, Paul said, Lest I should be exalted, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me.

There's been all kinds of speculation as to what was this messenger of Satan, but it was something that Satan had put there to buffet him. It was a thorn in the flesh.

So, Satan can't afflict men. Remember, there was one case of a woman who had been bent over, had this affliction for a number of years, and was a demon, and cast the demon out, and she was healed. So, even those types of things take place. Satan lies likewise. Notice the first lie that Satan the devil told mankind was a lie concerning the immortality of the soul. Now, the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made. He said unto the woman, As God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden.

And notice, in the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

So, Satan came along and said, You won't die. While we know the Bible says the soul that sins it shall die. Ezekiel 18, verses 4 and 20, it repeats it twice, the soul that sins it shall die.

You find, as the book of Ecclesiastes talks about, that we, when we're dead, the dead know not anything.

We don't know anything. It's the living. You and I know that we will die, but the dead don't know anything. And so, we do not have an immortal soul. Those words are never mentioned in the Bible.

It says here, a chart expressing the reality.

We have Christians. We have the flesh. We have the world. We have Satan. And we find that Satan works on the flesh. We have the world as an enemy. We have Satan the devil as an enemy.

And we have the flesh as an enemy. These are the three enemies that we have to work against.

I'm not exactly sure about all of this chart the way it's charted, but I think I know the theory behind what's presented there. Satan's weapons of warfare. When Satan fights against you, how does he come after a human being? Well, number one, he puts doubts in people's minds.

The doubt that God exists, the doubt that God will intervene on your behalf, God makes a promise. He puts a doubt in your mind whether God will actually do what he says he will do.

So his number one weapon is doubt. Number two is guilt. Satan wants us to feel guilty.

And we know that when we repent of our sins, that guilt leads us to repentance. After you repent, you no longer have to feel guilty. So the guilt is to lead to repentance. But Satan wants us to feel guilty. Bear that guilt. And that does all kinds of havoc with our mind.

Weapon number three is discouragement. Become discouraged. Want to quit. Want to give up.

Throw our hands up in the air. Weapons number four, 1 John 2, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. This is what Satan will work on. He will come after us, the lust of our flesh, lust what we see. The flesh generally revolves around sex, eating, drinking, satiating the flesh, lust of the eyes, and you see what other people have, and you want what they have, you want to take that, and then the pride of life.

So what we've covered so far is Satan, his origin and fall.

Satan is the literal being, the character of Satan, the names of Satan, the activities of Satan.

Now let's take a look at the reward of Satan. Ezekiel 28 verse 16.

King James version says, Therefore I will cast you as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy you, O covering carol, from the midst of the stones of fire. So some people in reading that verse say, okay, that means that the devil is going to eventually be wiped out and destroyed. But notice it says, I'll cast you, and I will destroy you.

The new American Bible says, Then I banned you from the mountain of God, the cherub drove you from among the fiery stones.

Here it's translated, I banned you and I drove you.

NIV says, So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, I expelled you. I drove you, in other words, I cast you out, and I expelled you.

And so you find the word destroy doesn't mean what we think of literally destroy.

The new Revised Standard Version says, I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian carob drove you out. So I cast you and I drove you out.

I think I mentioned to you earlier that the word meant to banish, or to drive out. He was banished. He no longer had his position, his responsibility, his duty, but he was driven out and he was banished. The word destroy in the King James Version is destroy in the King James Version and destroy the new King James Version is this Hebrew word, a primary root, properly to wonder away, to loose oneself, destroy, perish, undo, loose, fail. Other use of the word, Exodus 10, 7, Egypt is destroyed. Number 1719, you are undone. Job 1120, they shall not escape.

Psalm 142.4, refuse or refuge failed me. Ezekiel 19.5, her hope was lost.

Christ's statement in Luke 20 verses 35 through 36, it says, but those who are accounted worthy to obtain that age and the resurrection from the dead, talking about the future and being resurrected into the kingdom of God, neither marry or are given in marriage, nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels, implying that the angels don't die, and are sons of God being sons of the resurrection.

So if we become sons of the resurrection, then we will not die.

No, it says, nor can they die equal to the angels.

Our view that Satan will be destroyed or cease to exist. Consider the Azazel goat from Leviticus chapter 16.

It says, he shall take the two goats, present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord, the other for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell and offer him for his sin offering. He dies. Christ died. He was our sacrifice for our sins. But the goat upon which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement with him or over him and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

So he is not killed. He's let go as a scapegoat.

Or should be escape, not scapegoat.

Says, shall be presented alive and let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Satan's reward says, by the hand of a suitable man, the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. So again, you don't find this goat being killed. It's let go into the wilderness to an uninhabited land. It says, past punishments, a type of the future.

In 2 Peter 2, 4, it says, for if God did not spare the angels whose sin, but cast them down to hell, to Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment. Cast them down to hell. A Greek word is Tartarus, place of restraint. So you find that when they sinned originally, they were cast down to this earth. It's referred to here as Tartarus, a place of restraint, where they're restrained, and they're just not free to roam around the universe as they want.

The word Tartarus, the word is only used here in 2 Peter 2, 4, Tartarus, which in the mythology of the ancients was that part of Hades where the wicked were confined and tormented, the new analytical Greek lexicon. The concept of the Greek word is one of restraint as a form of punishment. Restraint. Matthew 25, 41, then he will also say to those on his left hand, Depart from me, you curse, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Revelation 20 verse 10, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, or should be, where they were cast, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Now, we know that fire has no effect upon a spirit being. One is spirit, the other is physical.

Fire has no effect on an angel, on Satan, but it doesn't say that. It says they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. So the implication is that Satan and his demons are going to be tormented forever. So the implication is they will be somewhere being tormented forever, that that will be their ultimate reward. Now, what they have deceived man into believing is that man will be thrown into a lake of fire and be punished forever and ever. That's their fate.

Man is cast into the lake of fire and burned up and destroyed. He does have to pay for his sins if he refuses to repent. As it says here, better translated, as the RSV says, were cast. Satan's ultimate reward, Jude 13, talks about raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars. Again, a star is the symbol of an angel. Go back to Revelation 1, where it gives that definition. Wandering stars, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. So, when you put all these scriptures together, we have always felt that Satan and his demons in the future are going to, for a thousand years, be restrained. They will not be able to deceive mankind for what we call the millennium. After that thousand years, they're released for a little while. Then they're thrown back into a lake of fire. They're going to be tormented day and night forever and ever. Ultimately, after the Great White Throne Judgment, after every human being has had a chance of salvation, all those who have rejected God's plan of salvation will be thrown in the lake of fire and die what is called the second death. It's appointed into all men once to die. We all will die. We're human. But there is a second death that human beings will suffer in the lake of fire. You'll find there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Satan and his demons, according to this, apparently will be cast beyond where there's any light into the blackness of darkness forever. They will be tormented, their own mental torment, forever and ever. I mean, that's all that we can find in the Bible as far as the scriptures concerning their ultimate reward. So, what we find, and we have a diagram of what I was just describing, we have the Millennium Begins, Christ and the Saints Rule on the Earth for a Thousand Years. Satan is bound at the beginning of the Millennium. Revelation chapter 20 tells us that. He's bound for a thousand years. Satan is unable to deceive mankind during this period of time. Millennium ends. Satan is released. Deception occurs. Satan and his demons are cast into the lake of fire. Second and third resurrections take place. And then Satan and his demons are cast into outer darkness.

So, we have sort of a graph here depicting what will happen ultimately to Satan and his demons.

The Earth is destroyed by fire after the Millennium, the Great White Throne Judgment, 2 Peter 3.10. So, we have new heavens and new Earth. So, this shows you in a graph form what I was saying verbally.

So, what we have covered in this Bible study, Satan, his origin, his fall. Satan is a literal being, the character of Satan, the names of Satan, the activities of Satan, the reward of Satan.

And then the saints are given victory over Satan the devil.

We find that Christ gave his disciples authority over Satan. Matthew 10, verse 1, and when he had called his twelve disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. Romans 16, 20.

It says, we must not be ignorant of his devices, as 2 Corinthians 2, 11 says, lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we're not ignorant of his devices. So, we need to know how he operates, how he influences people.

Saints are given victory over Satan. We must actively resist him, as James 4, 7 says, therefore submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. And it also says, draw nigh to God, and he'll draw nigh to you. So, on one hand, you resist Satan, he please. On the other hand, you draw nigh to God, he draws close to you. So, we've got to do both. Ephesians 6, 11. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

We must not give place to him. Again, Ephesians 4, 26, 27.

Be angry, do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. We must destroy his works. 1 John 3, 8.

He who sins is of the devil. For the devil is sinned from the beginning.

For this purpose, the Son of God was manifest that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Everything that Satan has been trying to do, God will ultimately put an end to it.

Hebrews 2, 4, 14. Inasmuch then, as the children have partaken of the flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. The Greek word for destroy means to do away with or to make powerless, so that he might make him powerless. In other words, his influence.

He will no longer have power, sway, influence over us.

So, we come to the end. Satan the devil. Is there really a devil? And the answer is, yes, there is. So, this is the fundamental belief of the United Church of God about Satan the devil.

So, brethren, I hope that this has been illuminating, helps us to understand more clearly what the Bible has to say about Satan and his devices.