Satan's Resume

How many of you have ever had to fill out a resume for a job? Could I see your hands? Quite a few of you. I see several of our young men over here, and eventually you will fill out a resume unless somebody picks you up very quickly. Well, it's amazing sometimes when you read some people's resumes. Some of them are just absolutely terrible. I mean, you read it, they can't spell, they don't know grammar, their writing skills are nil, and all you have to do is take a look at it. Generally, they throw those over in a file, just down there. Some are great. Some will really reach out and grab your attention. Not to brag on him, but our son Ted is in graphics art. He did a resume once that I thought was just absolutely, totally original. It was some type of a folder that he had done that I'd never seen. It was not what you call a traditional resume, but it certainly got your attention. Bad resume can kill any attempt you might have at obtaining a good job. Many people stretch the truth in a resume.

They will tell you that they've done something, or they have certain education, certain background, and under scrutiny you find that that's not absolutely true. Let me read you a resume and see if you can tell if it's a good resume or a bad one. You know, when I get through reading it, this would be typical of, perhaps, a resume. Professional objective of this person is to organize and develop governmental activities on a universal scale and to centralize the administrative function under a singular authority. Education, personally tutored by the head teacher at our school, majored in political science, graduated with the top three students in our class, maintained a perfect GPA in my early schooling.

So far, sounds pretty good. Honors, scheduled to be one of the two top individuals to work directly at the head of our organization. Selected to Spearhead, the most important project our group had ever been given. Responsible for multiple billions of dollars of improvement to our job site. And three, considered to be the finest musician of all my colleagues and was instrumental in establishing popular musical thought. Experience.

I am a seasoned professional with a consistent track record and leadership. I am accustomed to stress, have dealt regularly with reversals in my business. I have traveled widely and regularly, and I continually mix with people throughout the world. I served many years at our headquarters office before my assignment in the field. I know every word of our policy manual by heart. And then, personal. I used to be considered by our top management to be very pleasant in appearance, although I am older now.

I still consider myself to be very attractive. I am consistent in my attitude and constant in my pursuits. I never give up on accomplishing a goal. I never quit. I am tireless of my work. I do not mind working all night to obtain an objective. I am old, but my strength is not diminished. I have learned from many years experience to use my time in the most efficient way. I am accustomed to not receiving credit for my work.

I plan to receive credit for my work, but I plan shortly to increase my efforts and hope to permanently establish my program as a standard for all future projects. My approach has been universally copied and held high as seen by those who follow my example. I take a personal interest in the instructions and training of my people. I strive diligently to maintain the necessary atmosphere, which I have found to be critically important. I am readily accepted by those I work with. In fact, I am comfortable with all individuals, except a few.

I have shown exceptional originality and ingenuity in establishing and expanding our product line, which I personally invented and developed. There is nothing that I am afraid to do, nor is there any job that I consider too demeaning.

I am a natural leader, accustomed to exercising authority. No one else is able to do the work as well as me. I consider myself to be the best candidate for the job. Referrals. Do not contact my previous employer. He did not appreciate me. Now, most people may be reading this resume would think they would have an excellent applicant for their company and want to hire him.

Sounds like he has all the skills, background, training, experience, personality, work ethic, everything you want. Can you guess who this world leader is? I see a couple of hands go up. Would be someone like Steve Jobs, or a politician, or one of the Eurotechnocrats, or perhaps a United Nations bureaucrat. Let's do today what many companies would do if they get a resume.

Let's not just take his word for what he said, his resume, how he describes himself and everything he has done. Let's do a background check on him. Maybe we'll do a criminal check on him. Let's see if what he says is true. By all means, let's go talk to his former employer and see what he might have to say, and see if there's a reason why this individual might not want us to check with his former employer. With that in mind, let's think from the point of view that we're going to be doing a background check on this individual.

Let's go over here to 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 13. The Apostle Paul talks about deceivers here, false apostles. He says, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. He's always describing the fact that there are those who are false apostles claiming to be apostles and they claim to be Christ. No wonder! He says this isn't something to wonder about.

For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Satan the devil, who is an angel of darkness, appears to others as an angel of light. He has the ability to palm himself off as somebody whom he is not. He palms himself off as a friend, or he can palm himself off as a benefactor, or that his way of thinking, his way of doing anything, that that's the best way. So he has convinced the world that that's true.

The word Satan means an adversary or one who withstands. Who does Satan withstand? Who's he against? If he's an adversary, who is he an adversary of? He's an adversary of God. He has not agreed with God from antiquity. He's tried to throw God off his throne. So he's against God. He's against mankind as a whole. And the Church, you and me, the Church of God, is his focal point. Because he hates.

We're among those few that he doesn't get along with. Because he knows that we know. He knows that we understand. He knows that in spite of all of his disguises, all of his finagling around, all of his deception, we see through it and that we understand.

The word devil means slanderer. Who are we if we slander other people? We find that God hates slandering. But who are we if we slander others? Well, we're not of God, but we're of a different spirit. That's why God hates his attitude and why he tells us we need to be careful how we use our time. In John 14 in verse 30, we read an interesting description that ties in with the resume that we read earlier.

In John 14, 30, Christ said, I no longer talk much with you. For the ruler of this world—Satan is the ruler of this world—is coming, and he has nothing in me, Jesus Christ said. The word for world here is cosmos, not age, but cosmos. According to the complete word study dictionary, the Bible, the word cosmos means world with its primary meaning being order, regular disposition, and arrangement. So when you look at this world today, it is not ruled by God. Now, don't mistake what I'm saying here. God, certainly this is his globe, his planet, he created it, and all of that. But when it comes to the society, let's use the word society around us, how it's organized, its order, its regulation, its disposition, that it is not organized according to God's standards, God's approach, or God's way.

How many of the world leaders would believe, if you told them, that their basic approach is of the devil? Well, you know, they might shoot you, but they certainly wouldn't believe that. How many religious leaders, economic leaders, media leaders, Hollywood types believe that? When you look at the politics of this world, you look at the standards of this world, the economic systems, the media, the religions of this world.

They are directed, manipulated, guided, and inspired by Satan the Devil. This is his society. It's not God's society. The world tomorrow is coming. The millennium is around the corner, but it's not here yet when God will take over control of the world or society, and he will begin to rule. As the Eastern Bible dictionary says about Satan, he is the constant enemy of God and of Christ, of the divine kingdom, of the followers of Christ, and of all truth, full of falsehood and all malice, and exciting and seducing to evil in every possible way.

His power is very great in the world, and I think that's an accurate summary of what you find about this individual. So he does have considerable influence over the world. His ways are copied and followed as far as this world is concerned. Now, who has led man into sin? By that I mean, who's influenced man to go against God, against God's standards, God's value? Who is it who influences man to doubt God, to lean to his own understanding via his senses, and to disobey God?

Well, the pattern was sent back in Genesis 3, as we know in Genesis 3. The serpent came along, deceived Eve, she, you know, disobeyed, she looked at the trees that she was not supposed to partake of, and looked good to the eye, a tree to make one wise, you know, something good to eat, and she took and ate it and gave to her husband.

In Ephesians chapter 2, though, let's notice, Ephesians the second chapter, we find here a summary of the work of this being. If you want to double check on him, on his resume, let's take a look at what he's been up to. Ephesians chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world. So again, we've all in the past, before God called us, walked according to the course of this world, society around us in this age, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.

So Satan the devil works in all those who are disobedient to God. That describes the world. The only reason why you and I are obedient is because God has called us. He's opened our minds. We've been chosen. We are the elect of God. And notice verse 3, it says, among whom also we once conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, were by nature children of wrath, just as were others, or just as the others. So Satan the devil has worked to get people to disobey God. And so the whole world has gone in that direction. 1 John 5.19 summarizes it very well. 1 John 5, verse 19, we know that we are of God and that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. So the whole world is swayed by the devil, is under his sway or influence. As Revelation 12.9 says, he's deceived the whole world. We're all familiar with that. So when you look at it, he's swayed the world, he's deceived the world. And as John 8.44 tells us, John 8.44 tells you about the character of this individual, the personality of this individual. Now, in his resume, there was a personality and all of that listed, but let's notice what God has to say.

John 8.44, you are of your father the devil, talking to the Jews of his day.

And the desires are the lust of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning.

He does not stand in the truth. So there's no truth in him, because, as it goes on to say, there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own resources, for he is a liar, and he's the father of lies, or the father of it. So you find that he doesn't have very good character references, not from his former employer. Now, I've only touched on a few of the scriptures that deal with the devil's influence, but they paint a picture of him and of his impact upon mankind. What we read so far, if we were to write this up in a resume, is that he's evil to the core, that he is the adversary of God and man, that he's a slanderer, he's a murderer, he's a liar. He's a ruler over the governments of this world, that means over the society, over its entertainment, over its media, its institutions, its educational systems, its economic systems, its religious programs, its philosophy, on and on and on you go.

His chief operating tools, especially when he attacks the church, are doubt, fear, and a lack of faith are trust in God. Doubt, fear, and lack of faith undermine us as Christians.

And so what has he done in society? People even doubt if there is a God.

They don't believe that God's way is the way you should live by, that there are eternal standards, they don't trust God. He holds sway over this whole world. He rules over it to persuade or to influence. The word sway means to persuade or influence somebody to believe or do something.

That's exactly what he has done. He's deceived the whole world. He works in the children of disobedience. That includes all of us in the past. He has influenced mankind to miss the mark.

Harmotel, the word for sin, means to miss the mark, and he's influenced man to miss the mark.

How far off do you have to be to miss the mark?

If you shot a rocket to the moon and you were off one tenth of a degree, would you hit the moon?

The answer is no. 245,000 miles, you'd be missing the mark by a great deal. You don't have to be too far off to be able to miss the mark, and he has led man off, some to a greater degree than others, but everyone has missed the mark in this society. Adam and Eve missed out on the tree of life because of his influence. Set the standard so that man has set under the tree of knowledge, good and evil, ever since. Man has been cut off from the tree of life except for a select few that God has called and chosen. He has convinced man to follow his own way of lust, of pride, of vanity, personal intellect, going your own way, doing your own thing. You know better, and so mankind has followed in that way. Now, brethren, the day of atonement, as we heard in the sermon, Ed and Jim gave an excellent summary, pictures how God is going to rectify that situation that we see around this today that the Bible paints here about this evil being.

Satan is going to have to bear his guilt, persuading mankind, misleading humans, deceiving and misleading the human race into sin. He's going to have to bear his own guilt for his part. He's had his part to play in all the misery, suffering, pain, agony that the human family has suffered for the last 6,000 years. God reveals how he will accomplish that by this holy day, and we will see. He explains clearly. Let's go back to the book of Leviticus, Leviticus 16, and let's see how God will accomplish this. This chapter explains in great detail in symbolism how this will be completed. Leviticus 16, let me read from the Eastern dictionary of the Bible. I'll summarize this section so that we don't get bogged down. We could we could spend the whole sermon. One of these days I will give you a sermon and have a PowerPoint presentation and illustrate exactly what we're talking about here. I thought about doing that today, but somehow it just didn't seem to fit in with what I was going to cover.

Easton writes this, First the high priest removed his official garments that were made for beauty and glory, what the high priest normally would wear, clothed himself in white linen as a symbol of repentance and righteousness as he went about his duties of the day. Next he offered a bull calf as a sin offering for the priest himself so that he could enter into the tabernacle. Remember, the tabernacle was divided into two rooms. The first room was called the Holy Place.

If we wanted to use the example, let me just use a crude example, this would be the Holy Place.

Shut that door back there and the next room would be the Holy of Holies, or it would be better to reverse it. That's the Holy Place in there, and this is the Holy of Holies.

There were two rooms separated by a veil, and the high priests went into the first room daily, carrying out the service of God. But on the Day of Atonement, and only on the Day of Atonement were they allowed to go into the Holy of Holies, and only the high priest, once a year, that high priest was a type of Jesus Christ going before his Father.

But going on here in the story, it says, that done, in other words, he's offered up a calf, or a bull calf, for his sins. He entered the Holy of Holies with a sensor of live coals from the altar of incense, filling the area with incense. The incense were a type of prayers before God, and you and I come before the Holy of Holies today, made possible by Christ. Remember, when he died, the veil was rent in two, making it possible for us to come into the Holy of Holies, and we come through our prayers. He sprinkled the next thing, the bullocks of blood, on the mercy seat on the floor before the Ark of the Covenant, seven times. Then he cast lot over two live goats that were brought by the people. He killed one of the goats as a sin offering for the nation, as the type of Christ, taking the blood inside the veil, sprinkling it as before, and thus atoning even for the Holy Place. He confessed the sins of the nation over the live goat as he placed his hands on its head. Finally, he sent the live goat called the scapegoat, or should be a scapegoat. A scapegoat implies somebody is blamed for something he's not guilty of. This goat is guilty. It's a type of Satan the devil, and so he escapes into the wilderness. Symbolically, it carries away the sins of the people. Then the high priest closed himself in his usual apparel, offers a burnt offering for himself and one for the people, with a fat of the sin offering, and outside the camp, the flesh of the bull, calf, and the goat was burnt. Now that's a quick summary of Leviticus chapter 16, what took place.

I want you to notice that there are three things emphasized in Leviticus chapter 16.

Let's notice, and I will point out several of these to start with.

In verse 3, it says, Aaron shall come into the holy place with the blood of the young bullock as a sin offering of a ram as a burnt offering.

Now in verse 6, Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself.

I want you to notice one of the major themes throughout this chapter is a sin offering being offered up. It's mentioned in verse 3, verse 6, verse 10.

It's also mentioned in verse 11. Verse 3, 6, 9, I should say, and 11.

I don't know where I got the others. I skipped down on my notes.

Verse 3 and 6, verse 9, says, Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. Verse 11 talks about the same thing, a sin offering.

And then verse 15, then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering.

So a sin offering was one of the major themes of this chapter, that there is a taking of a life.

A sacrifice is where the life is taking. The offering is you offered up to God.

And so the sin offering was a type of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. You might remember back in John 1, verse 29.

John 1, verse 29, you don't have to turn there. It says, the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world. Christ, all of those sacrifices that were offered up for sin were a type of Christ. And each one of them, there was a trespass sin offering, the different types of offering gave the various aspects of the offering that Christ offered up. Now, let's back up again. There is a second theme throughout this chapter, and it is to make atonement. There's an offering of blood, a sin offering, but there is one to make blood. And how is that atonement made? Well, it's made by blood, as we will see. Notice again in verse 3. It says, Aaron shall come into the holy place with the blood of young Bullock. So, blood is mentioned. Verse 6, blood is also mentioned here. Let's notice in verse 10. For the goat on which the lot fell to be a scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement upon it, and to let it go as a scapegoat into the wilderness. So again, we find an atonement. You find the word atonement being made over and over again in this chapter. In verse 14, in verse 15, in verse 16, in verse 17, 18, 19, 24, and 30. In every one of those verses, it's either atonement or blood.

So, how do you make atonement? Well, it's by the blood. The animal had to die, and the blood had to be sprinkled to cover their sins. Now, the word atonement occurs many times in the Old Testament, but only once in the New Testament. And that's in Romans 5 and 11, and that's only in the King James Version. Modern translations generally, and more correctly, render the word reconciliation instead of atonement. However, the concept of atonement is very present in the New Testament as one of the fundamental concepts of the Scriptures.

The Hebrew term frequently translated here atone has a basic meaning, as Mr. Lichtenstein mentioned, to wipe out, to erase, to cover, perhaps more generally, to remove. In the King James Version, it's translated by such expressions as to make atonement, to forgive, to appease, to pacify, to pardon, to purge, pull off, and reconcile. So it's translated in all those different ways.

So the common Old Testament expression of the meaning of atonement was the sacrifice and offering up of the blood of the victim. It was the taking of life and taking that blood, sprinkling it to cover the sins of the people. And it is the blood of Jesus Christ that covers our sins. However, there is another symbolism that is a major feature of this chapter.

We had a sin offering, and then we have atonement being made by taking the blood and then using that blood to atone for our sins. Another symbolism of this day symbolizes how God will deal with the devil and his demons and how they will have to pave their part in leading and swaying and influencing man to sin. Let's notice in verse 10. The goat on which a lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented here. It says, shall be presented a lie before the Lord to make atonement upon it should be over it, not upon it, but over it and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. As I said, a better translation would be a scapegoat. So the live goat or the escape goat is not killed, but it's still alive, and yet the sins of the people are confessed over it here. God is going to place right back on the head of the devil his guilt, not our guilt, for leading man into sin. Christ bore our guilt, our sins. Satan the devil is going to have to bear his own guilt for leading man into sins.

It shows the complete deliverance of the people from the power of the devil.

The word here for escape goat is zazogote, means an entire removal. So it pictures the complete removal of sin and what sin has done from the presence of God and the presence of the family of God. How is God going to do that? I think it's going to be done in a couple of stages. Let's notice in Revelation chapter 2, Revelation the second, excuse me, the 20th chapter, not 2, but 20. Revelation chapter 20 verse 1, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hands. He laid hold on the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and he bound him for a thousand years. So in the millennium, Satan the devil is going to be locked up. He's going to be bound. He's going to be chained. He's not going to be free to influence man, to deceive man, to sway man, to lead man astray.

And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were finished.

But after these things, he must be released for a little while. So he'll be released for a little while, and then he will be thrown back into the lake of fire. Notice in chapter 18 of the book of Revelation, he gives us a view here of where this might be, where he might be locked up.

Verse 1, Revelation 18, After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the Great is fallen is fallen.

Babylon symbolizes a number of things—political power, religious power, economic power—although those are pictured here in the book of Revelation. And here it says, Babylon the Great is fallen is fallen. If this is talking about the religious power, you could also be referring to the seat, the headquarters of the Great False Church in Europe, that it has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful burg.

So apparently they're going to be locked up and thrown into this area, and probably, quote-unquote, the eternal city will burn throughout the millennium. And Satan and his demons, the implication is, will probably be locked up there. Now, the book of Jude in verses 12 and 13—back up to the book of Jude here—v. 12 and 13. Talk about those who are twice dead. Now, brethren, it's appointed to all men once to die. All of us, as physical human beings, will die. It is not appointed to all men to die twice. Only those who are thrown in the lake of fire will die twice. So we find here what seems to be a type and an anotype. We find those described here who seem to be apostates against God, who've rejected God, who are going to be thrown in the lake of fire, who will die twice. And then it seems to blend up also into the spirit realm, just like Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14, talking about Lucifer, Satan the devil. Notice what it says.

These are spots in your love feasts. Verse 12. While they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves, they're clouds without water. See, they don't have God's Spirit. Carried about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars.

And the book of Revelation is stars symbolic of an angel or angelic beings, but wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

This is the one scripture that we have always felt. It talks about the ultimate fate of Satan the devil. That once God has given all mankind an opportunity for salvation, the millennium, great white throne judgment, that Satan and his demons are going to be cast into outer darkness.

If you want to know, is there a place beyond the universe where there is no light? Apparently, there is. In the blackness of darkness forever, and that's where they will exist. So, they will not be there to influence the family of God or to affect you in any way in the future.

Now, the New Testament emphasizes the fact that we need to be reconciled to God. You see, what the Day of Atonement pictures is that our sins are covered. They're covered up.

Our sins can be covered, but they have to be covered by Christ's blood, by his sacrifice. That makes it possible for us to come to have a right relationship with God.

Let's notice in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 19, the book of Colossians chapter 1. We will read here in verse 19 about the way we have been. It says, For it pleased the Father, and in him that all the fullness should dwell in Christ, and by him through Christ, to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, making peace through the blood of his cross.

So you and I, through Christ's sacrifice on the stake, we can have peace with God.

And you who once were alienated, we were aliens against God, and enemies in your mind, by wicked works. Yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless above reproach in his sight.

So you and I have been reconciled to God. We've been made right with God.

Now let's notice in Romans chapter 5 and verse 10.

Romans chapter 5 and verse 10 says, For if when we were enemies, so at one time we were enemies against God, Romans 8 and 7 says to Carmel, My, and his enmity against God, so when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by his life.

Salvation comes because God imparts to us life through his Spirit.

Not only that, but also we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now have received the reconciliation. King James version says the Atonement, but it is the reconciliation. Reconciliation implies that the parties being reconciled are formally hostile to one another.

Husband and wife have a fight or an argument.

They're hostile. They're against each other.

The Bible tells us that we, in the past, bluntly, the sinners are enemies against God.

Now, when you read those scriptures, you shouldn't minimize the seriousness of what the Bible means.

Enemy is not someone who just comes up a little short distance from being a friend.

He's an enemy. He's against the other person.

I just finished reading the book, The Final Storm, by Jeff Schirar, talking about focusing on the Battle of Okinawa and then finally dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It talks in there about the attitude, the approach of the soldier, and how when they started fighting, they may not have hated the enemy.

But when you see your body blown apart or ripped apart, or his head blown off, or he's just blown in two, all at once you become a different animal.

When they came back from the Second World War, most of those men did not want to talk about what they'd gone through. They could not talk about it because of the horrors that they had gone through and what they had seen. You find here that in the past we've been enemies of God. God has had to deal with that enmity. He's had to deal with that hatred, that animosity between us, that deception that has existed. His sacrifice, Christ's sacrifice, covered our sins. No New Testament passage speaks of Christ as reconciling God to man. Always the stress is on man being reconciled to God. When you're reconciled, you have to admit you're wrong and come to accept a certain standard.

God has not been wrong. Man is the one who has sinned, and we have to come to accept God's standard.

God is not going to accept our standards our way. So as Westward's study of the Bible says this, reconciliation means to change, exchange, hence to reconcile those who are at variance.

Vincent says the following the verb means primarily to exchange, hence to change the relationship of hostile parties into a relationship of peace, to reconcile.

Unger's Bible dictionary says to change thoroughly from one position to another.

Who had to turn around and change 180 degrees? That's what's called repentance. When you and I repented, we had to change 180 degrees and follow God. Reconciliation, therefore, means that someone or something is completely altered and adjusted to a required standard. Man is reconciled to God, but God is not said to be reconciled to man. So Christ paid the price for her sins. He covered them by His blood. So you'll find that you and I, brethren, are reconciled to God.

Now let's go back to the resume I read you to begin this sermon of the devil and read through it again with the understanding of whom we're talking about. I think most of you had guessed it before I finished reading through it. Read it again after we've studied more thoroughly his background and the work that he's done and what he's produced. Talk to his former employer and let's take a look at what is written in the resume.

Notice, to organize and develop governmental activities on a universal scale, heaven under a single authority. Well, he has misled all governments of this world, led them in the wrong direction, wrong results, and what is the result of what he's done? War, fighting, suffering, murder, misery, violence, broken marriages, every evil, every hurt feeling that one can think of. Why is it that when something goes wrong people curse God, blame God?

Why don't they curse the devil? Why don't they blame him? Because he's the one who's behind much of the ills of this world. Education, personally tutored by the head teacher of the school while he was taught by God. Majoring in politics, well, he's been involved in the political aspects of this world and society ever since. And you'll notice that he keeps trying to emulate God. When Christ comes back, what is Christ going to do? He's going to set the kingdom of God up. There will be one world government ruled from Jerusalem. Christ will be the head.

So what's he trying to do? Bring about a one-rule government on this earth. In the hands of man, it will never work. But that's what he's attempting to do. Graduated with the top three students in my class. Well, Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer. They were the archangels, as far as we know. Maintained a perfect GPA. Well, he was created perfect in wisdom, the Bible says. So, not dumb. I mean, he was smart. Selected to be one of the two top individuals to work directly at the head of our organization.

Well, he was one of the covering caribs, and yet he rebelled against God. He was right at the very throne room of God. It says, selected to spearhead the most important projects our group has ever been given. Responsibility for multiple billions of dollars and improvement to our job site.

Everything we know is that he was put here on earth. Gabriel, apparently, was given the responsibility, maybe more in the throne room. Maybe both he and Michael, I don't know. But what you find is Satan was not satisfied with being here on the earth.

He and his followers could very possibly have been the ones to work with the human race to bring us to salvation. But instead, they became envious. Why can't I? I should have this. I'll never have an opportunity for your family. He rebels against God, and he's not satisfied.

And so the Bible says, God says, I saw Satan fall. He was cast back down to the earth. He was chained here. He was not satisfied. Considered one of the finest musicians, he was created to be able to perform beautiful music, as we find back in Ezekiel chapter 28.

His experience, he says, I'm a seasoned professional, consistent track leader in leadership.

He's been all over the world. He's a mixed world people.

What does Satan tell God? Where have you been? Oh, I've just been roaming to and from throughout the whole earth. He roams everywhere trying to influence people. He doesn't sleep. He's planning.

He's always scheming, always trying to work some evil plot out. He knows God's plan. He doesn't agree with it. He's trying to destroy it. He's trying to undermine it.

Personnel. Remember, he was very pleasant in appearance. I'm older now. He's much older now.

He was created. He was perfect in beauty, the Bible says. Apparently, he was created very beautiful.

But over a period of time, have you ever noticed how sometimes a person's personality can shape their appearance? They become gnarly and evil and just hateful.

Well, he's no longer pictured as a beautiful being, but what? Snake, dragon, these type of things.

So, he has become someone who is beautiful to somebody who's been perverted and twisted.

He said, I've learned to use my time effectively. I've grown accustomed to not receiving credit for my work. Well, most people don't even believe in him. If they do, they make fun of him. Little red man running around with a pitchfork poking people. They don't give him credit for what he has done.

For all that he has done, how he's influenced man for the last 6,000 years, most people don't even believe in the devil. They don't believe he's behind much of the evil the world needs.

He says, I take very personal interest in instructing and training a people.

That's true. He believes in religion, just not the true religion. So, you and I are one of the few that he can't influence in the same way. You go back and you read again 1 John 5, 18 and 19. And you find, I think it's verse 18 that talks about the fact that he doesn't hold influence over us now, but of course he did in the past. It says, I've shown exceptional originality and ingenuity to extend our product line. He's very clever, he's very deceptive, he's the ruler of this world. Don't contact my former employer, he said. Well, he doesn't want us to ask God's opinion. So, what we've done, we've asked God's opinion. So, what happens when you consult the former employer about his former employee when you ask God? We know that God is the source of all knowledge and all information. As the Bible says, the Word of God is God-breathed.

So, it is the Word of God, the living Word of God. It's the only source that we can rely upon and trust in. You look around you and you see all of the various ideas and philosophies and approaches today. You've got the Bible. This is the source, foundation, the book that we can rely upon. We find that Satan the devil and his demons will eventually be thrown into outer space, into outer darkness. That he is a being that is so deceptive and evil that you don't want him anywhere around your company, anywhere near your employees, anywhere have anything to do with your corporation. You don't want him anywhere around you. We don't want him anywhere around our organization or a local church area. The Day of Atonement is a day that explains that God is in charge, but his plan will be carried out. Hell, God will give all men the opportunity to eventually be in harmony with him, to be reconciled to him, to have a right relationship with God. That means to be justified, be brought right with God. Eventually, we will become members of God's family and never have to be concerned about Satan or his demons ever again. Because as God beings, we will not be tempted by evil. Even if Satan were around, he would not be there to influence us. We will have overcome him by the power and presence of God in our lives. But being cast into outer darkness, he will be separated from the family of God forever. The family of God will go on forever, growing, prospering, and doing whatever God wants us to do. We will find out more about that on the last great day.