This is a study of the Being who is today ruling the earth, who sits as the Prince of the Nations, who has the Authority to rule the hearts and lives of men, who is the author of all our miseries and sorrows; the Being who has the power of disease and death, and Authority to cast into Hell.
He is the King of the angels of the Abyss; He rules the dark hosts of Hell. His chief desire and design is to destroy the human race and thereby bring sorrow to the heart of the Father God.
In Jesus says, "I saw Satan as lightning cast out of Heaven."
In he is called the "Day Star, Son of the Morning," and his Fall it attributed to his desire to rule the Heavens and cast God out.
He said, "I will ascend into Heaven; I will exalt my throne above the Stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
This with gives us a hint of who Satan was.
The 28th chapter of Ezekiel is addressed first to the Prince of Tyre, who is serving under his great Emperor, Satan.
Satan is described as having the dominion over the earth, over the Kings of the earth
-this is a picture of Satan`s ruling a nation through its King.
Beginning with the 12th verse we see him in his true light:
"Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty."
This description cannot apply to any man living at the time of Ezekiel, for it says, "Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God."
We know that Satan was there.
"And every precious stone was thy covering," as the precious stones in the crown of a King are his covering the insignia of his office, of his authority.
And so God says that "The sardius, the topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and carbuncle and gold" are in that wonderful covering or crown.
And then He says, "The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared.
"Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God: thou bast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, until unrighteousness was found in thee."
The being whom God is describing here (and it is God who is speaking) is a being perfect in beauty, summing up perfection and wisdom, and was the anointed cherub.
The word "anointed" suggests that he was connected with the throne, and the reference to musical instruments, that he evidently led the worship of Heaven; he led the great angel chorus in their worship of God.
He was able to walk up and down in the very presence of the Eternal God, and he was perfect in all his ways until unrighteousness was discovered in him.
"Therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I have destroyed thee, 0 covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. "Thy heart was lifted up, because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.”
This could only apply to a heavenly being who held a place of authority, and glory and honor before God Almighty, and whom God cast out from His presence.
When Satan was cast out of Heaven, he evidently lost none of his ability or brilliancy, and none of his wisdom; it simply became corrupted.
Passion Music
It is a significant fact that music today holds a large place in all the brothels, dance-houses, theaters, and operas and that music is one of the attractive features of sin today.
Satan has not ceased to be a musician; neither has he ceased to lead great choruses and oratorios.
In he is called the King, the angel of the Abyss. His Hebrew name is Abaddon, and his Greek name is Apollyon. He is the great King of the demon hosts of Hell. He is the mighty Enemy of God today; he is an enemy of angels and of men. He heads up all the evil of all the ages.
According to the scriptures he has the power of disease, the power of death, the power to bring plagues upon humanity, the power to cause storms and unnatural fires.
His whole nature is malignant and cruel.
He evidently loves the esthetic and beautiful; his fall did not take that from him. Whenever he has an opportunity he uses these to destroy and wreck the spirits of men.
The Prince of the Politicians
"And the Devil said unto Him, if Thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread.
And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
And he led Him up, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the Devil said unto Him, To Thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it has been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall be thine."
Here Jesus recognizes that Satan has the political dominion over the kingdoms of the earth and that the whole human race are his subjects. In a previous chapter we called attention to the means by which Satan obtained this dominion.
Here Jesus recognizes his right to rule. As the Prince he is the political head of the nations. I don`t believe that any one can doubt this. When we look at the history of the human race, the corruption of our cities, of our politics, of the rulers of the great nations of the earth; when we consider the awful wars and massacres that take place in semi- civilized countries with a tacit recognition of the great nations of the earth, we are convinced of Satan`s reign.
"And he showed me Joshua the High Priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary."
"And the angel of Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?"
Here the angel of Jehovah dares not directly rebuke Satan, but shows him a peculiar respect and honor.
Satan is greater than any angelic being in Heaven; only God and Jesus Christ are greater.
Demon Dominion
"But the Prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but Michael one of the chief princes, came to help me."
Daniel had been praying for one and twenty days and wondered why his prayers were not answered.
Suddenly an angel appears and makes the statement that he had been held up one and twenty days by the Prince of the kingdom of Persia. It was not a human Prince, because no human could have intercepted an angelic being, but a demon who was ruling over the kingdom of Persia had stopped him on his way to Babylon to bring God`s message to Daniel.
The angel also makes another declaration.
He says that he is going back now to fight with this same Prince of Persia, indicating that every kingdom is ruled by a demon. Paul declares that our combat is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and world rulers of this darkness; that there are different degrees of demoniacal dominion; and that the world is divided up into kingdoms and states, and communities, and that over each one a demon holds sway.
This, I have become convinced, is true, for in my evangelistic work I find a different kind of demon in almost every community.
This is uncanny and an unpleasant subject, but nevertheless it is imperative that the Church know about it.
In and he is called the spiritual Father of the human race: "Ye are of your father the devil," and, "In this are manifest the children of God and the children of the devil."
Jesus calls Satan the spiritual father of the human race: "Ye are of your father the devil:" and He was speaking to the Jews, the most religious and the best people of the world at that time. Paul tells us that Satan is the god of this world.
As the father he has given man his nature; as the god he demands man`s worship, reverence, and obedience; and that he has it we can`t deny.
Satan is more popular today than Jesus; Hell is more popular than Heaven. More people go the Broad Way than the Narrow. More people worship the Devil than worship God.
"The whole human race lieth in the embrace of Satan."
→ He has a peculiar dominance over the nations of the earth.
→ It would seem that is being fulfilled, that Satan has already come down to this earth full of wrath, knowing that his days are short.
Having studied all this, we must constantly remember that we are not under his dominion, because we were translated out of his kingdom of Darkness and translate into the kingdom of light under the new lordship of a new LOVE-LORD who has all authority over Heaven, Earth and the underworld; who together with us, is seated far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come, and that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth; We who have received the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life over Satanic influence through the One, Jesus Christ; this very Love-Lord.
This new Love-Lord is our Shepherd, provider, caretaker, ever present helper and the head of the new creation. The World’s lords through Satan lead to misery, pain and slavery, but our Lord lead us the path of righteousness for His namesake; this mean a life of joy, peace and satisfaction. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Carefully study the following verses; Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.