1Peter 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The Realms of Darkness
Throughout the Bible, truth and righteousness are held forth as light while sin and its results are referred to as darkness.
Within the realms of darkness there is:
The Prince of Darkness
Described as:
3. The enemy of righteousness.
4. The author of sin.
Next to the Prince of Darkness are the Fallen Angels.
The Fallen Angels together with their chief are responsible for the realms of darkness.
Together with the Prince of darkness and the Fallen Angels there are the Victims or The Lost.
The Lost are described as:
3. Without God.
The Lost are those on the broad road that leads to destruction.
The Devil, the Fallen Angels, and the Lost will be cast into outer darkness where they will spend eternity.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Sin and the resulting conditions and effects that it has on us today, is but a foretaste of the wretchedness, despair, and indescribable torture in the realms of “outer darkness” where the devil and his victims will spend eternity.
Where does the Devil or Satan come from?
Was he created?
Would God create a being with such power and resourcefulness whose mission is to bring His work to naught?
We need to remember that the devil is a creature and not the Creator.
Genesis 1:1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
John 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Genesis 1:31 ¶ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
From what we find in Scripture, the Devil was created as an angel of light…..and everything that God created was very good.
The Devil was cast out of heaven because he exalted himself above God and ever since that time he has been carrying on his nefarious work here on this earth.
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The Devil, the great deceiver, presents himself in many different ways.
As a roaring lion.
1Peter 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The prince of the power of the air.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
The god of this world.
2Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
The prince of this world.
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
As an angel of light.
The devil presents himself in the form of a serpent as angel of light.
Genesis 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 ¶ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
2Corinthians 11: 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
What is the devils purpose?
His purpose is to enter into the hearts of men, to corrupt and destroy their souls, so that they may spend eternity with him in hell.
The Deceiver……an accuser of the brethren.
Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Are you an overcomer?
Have you placed your burden of sin at the foot of the cross and allowed Jesus to cleanse you and set you free?
Freedom from sin and the snares of the devil only come through the power and blood of Jesus Christ.
The power and the snares of the devil are very real. He is the master deceiver.
But for those who have found true life and freedom in Jesus Christ….we need not fear….because…
1John 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Next Sunday:
-his names
-his character
-what are his limitations?
-how is he overcome?
-his domain
-and why are so many ensnared and deceived by his ways.