Some scholarship has the Book of Job written between the 7th
and 4th centuries before Christ. (1) Their reasons for doing this
show two things; one is a rejection of God’s inspiration of the Bible in that
they regard any similarity with later writings as proof that it was written
later thereby denying that similarity is a natural consequence of God’s
ultimate authorship of all books of the Bible. Two has to do with more of an
arrogance that comes from drawing conclusions from insufficient information.
There are
good reasons to believe that the Book of Job was written before Moses wrote the
first five books of the Bible starting with Genesis. It contains no reference
to Hebrew culture, Job, the head of a family and possibly a prince or king, is
offering sacrifices that the priests would have offered under the Mosaic Law,
and Job’s lifespan indicate a much earlier age of writing than some modern
scholars presume.(2) It is safe for a Christian to assume that it was written
anywhere from 2000BC to 1500BC.
There are
many difficulties in trying to place Job in a known historical context. Most
historical evidence lies buried in the dirt and all the spades and shovels of
archaeology will never dig that evidence up. Scholars are left with what they
have. Here is a primary source of history, written by a man who witnessed the
events written about, with no countering documentation to argue that it was a
fraud, a fantasy, or political propaganda. Those who deny its authenticity or
the truth of its statements only have their own prejudices, assumptions,
worldview, and unwillingness to accept any of the Bible as written by men who
were guided by the Holy Spirit to go on.
Having
answered generally when it was written, let’s examine who wrote it. Internally,
from the text. it is clear that Elihu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite wrote
it. Beginning in chapter 32, he writes of himself in the third person and then
in the first person, verse 16 giving us the needed clue as to the authorship of
the book.
Job 32:16 When I had waited, (for they spake not, but
stood still, and answered no more;)
The Book of
Job has a great deal to say about human suffering as well as science. It is
unlike any other book of its time and very important for Christians to study
and understand. Many of our deepest questions about life are answered in it,
while for some questions we are explicitly told that we will never have an
answer satisfactory to us in this life.
(1) Robert
Kugler & Patrick Hartin, An
Introduction to the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing, 2009), 193.
(2) Hugh
Ross, Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011), 32.
1 ¶ There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name
was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and
eschewed evil. 2 And there were born
unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of
oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man
was the greatest of all the men of the east.
The land of Uz is said to be in the region of the Biblical
Edom. In Job 2:11, one of Job’s friends is said to be a Temanite, or descendant
of Teman, a descendant of Esau and a duke of Edom. Teman, the location, was
thought to be a place of wisdom as shown by this statement.
Jeremiah 49:7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of
hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is
their wisdom vanished?
We are not given definite information on the lineage of the
other friends.
The upright man keeps himself from iniquity and sin.
2Samuel 22:24 I was also upright before him, and have kept
myself from mine iniquity.
Job is said to be, “perfect and upright.” In the Bible’s
self-defining method when words are connected by “and” we see that, in this
context, perfect and upright are synonyms. Three times in the first two
chapters of Job, he is called perfect and upright, the last two times by God
directly in speaking to Satan.
Also see;
Psalm 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright:
for the end of that man is peace.
Proverbs 2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and
the perfect shall remain in it.
At other times, perfect is said to be complete or finished.
2Chronicles 8:16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto
the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished.
So the house of the LORD was perfected.
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of
Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye
may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
Noah was said to be a
just man and perfect in his generations which would seem to say that of his
lineage he was the most just man of his time with just and perfect in his
generations standing as synonymous statements.
Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a
just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
So, Job was perfect and upright, further defined in the text
in that he feared God and eschewed evil. Eschew is not such an archaic word,
although little used, as I have read it in news articles recently meaning to
avoid or refrain from something. We learn what eschew means in the Bible by
looking at it elsewhere, as it is not defined in the text here.
1Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good
days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no
guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do
good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
In these verses you see that, “eschew,” is surrounded by,
“let him,” and, “evil,” in verse 11. In verse 10, “let him,” and ,”evil,”
surround, “refrain his tongue from,” giving us the definition.
We will see that Job not only feared God in the sense of awe
and reverence…
Psalm 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the
inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot
be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear:
But we will learn that Job was terrified of God with a
dread-like fear.
Genesis 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you
shall be upon every beast of the earth…
Exodus 15:16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them…
Deuteronomy 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of
thee and the fear of thee upon the nations…
Deuteronomy 11:25 There shall no man be able to stand before
you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon
all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
Isaiah 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
We also will learn that Job refrained his tongue from
speaking evil about God, though his wife recommended it.
He is said to have had wealth in the form of a large family
and in great substance, as wealth was recognized in his day. It is so much that
he is said to be the greatest man of the east. Let’s assume Job is the
wealthiest guy around. All eyes would be interested in what was going on with
him. If he lived today he would be interviewed and photographed often, I
assume. He was influential and important, as people of great wealth are.
4 ¶
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and
sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5 And it was so, when the days of their
feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early
in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them
all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their
hearts. Thus did Job continually.
There are few Christian parents of grown children who have
not known Job’s concern for his children. Those of us who pray daily for their
children know his worry. These festivities, whether they were separate birthday
feasts throughout the year or one long feast with different sons being
appointed different days, were family celebrations as their sisters were
included and Job gave them his blessing. They were joyous celebrations, not
pagan orgies as portrayed in the following verses.
Exodus 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and
offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down
to eat and to drink, and rose up to play…25
And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them
naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
1Corinthians 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of
them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to
play.
Job lives in a time before the Law was given to Moses and
gives sacrifices to God as Noah did.
Genesis 8:20 ¶ And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and
took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings
on the altar.
Job, who was approved for eschewing, or refraining his
tongue from evil, against God (see verse 1), in his fear and dread of God’s
wrath, was worried that his sons might have done that very thing, hence his
motivation for offering burnt offerings on their behalf, a continual thing with
Job.
Jonathan Edwards, a great preacher of the period in American
history known as the Great Awakening, said in his sermon entitled, “The Justice
of God in the Damnation of Sinners,” that;
There is a great deal of difference
between a willingness not to be damned, and a being willing to receive Christ
for your Savior. You have the former; there is no doubt of that: nobody
supposes that you love misery so as to choose an eternity of it; and so
doubtless you are willing to be saved from eternal misery. But that is a very
different thing from being willing to come to Christ: persons very commonly
mistake the one for the other, but they are quite two things. You may love the
deliverance, but hate the deliverer. (3)
Job knew that it is entirely possible to claim the mercies
and blessings of God and, yet, hold Him in contempt by your thoughts. Moses and
the Lord Jesus Christ both taught us that;
Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great
commandment.
How many Christians actually love God? Even those who claim
they do will ascribe base motives to Him, making him the author of sin as some
Hyper-Calvinists do in saying that God ordained Adam to sin and others suggesting
that, even though He died on the Cross for them, that because life is taking a
hard turn, He must hate them.
It is possible to obey every surface dictate of leadership
and still hold that leadership in utter contempt. The Catholic can follow every
ritual, partake of every sacrament, and still hold God in absolute disregard by
not concerning himself with how his sin affects God. The Independent Baptist
can attend all of the services his church offers, go to every revival meeting
and hymn sing, and knock on doors and still show contempt for the one who
purchased him with His own blood by ignoring the Lord’s words written in His
Book.
In his sermon entitled, “The Almost Christian,” the famous
preacher and founder of the Methodist church, John Wesley admitted of himself
because he lacked a love for God, a love for his neighbor, and faith;
I did for many years, as many of this place can testify; using diligence to
eschew all evil, and to have a conscience void of offence; redeeming the time;
buying up every opportunity of doing all good to all men; constantly and carefully
using all the public and private means of grace; endeavoring, after a steady
seriousness of behavior, at all times, and in all places: and God is my record,
before whom I stand, doing all this in sincerity; having a real design to serve
God; a hearty desire to do His will in all things; to please Him who had called
me to “fight the good fight,” and to “lay hold on eternal life.” Yet my own
conscience bears me witness, in the Holy Ghost, that all this time I was but
almost a Christian. (4)
One way of understanding verse 5 is that to willfully sin is
to curse God in your heart while another way views willfully sinning and
cursing God in your heart two separate actions. One thing that has been
suggested by John Gill, who preached in Spurgeon’s church a hundred years
before him, was that the young men, in Job’s mind, could have been foolishly
giving themselves credit for their wealth rather than attributing their bounty
to God’s hand. Of this, he was concerned. (5)
Deuteronomy 32:15
¶ But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked:
thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then
he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me
neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who
is the LORD?...
When a man or a woman is successful in life in some way and
does not give credit to the Lord that is due or receives some bounty from their
employer or government and does not acknowledge that it came from the Lord he
or she has cursed God by holding Him in contempt and denying Him the credit for
what He has done.
One question we might ask in reading Job is; was Job himself
guilty of this when he reviewed his habits of life with his friends? When we
hear someone talk about their work ethic, how they raised their children, how
they handle their money, play their sport, or serve God in their church, home,
work, or community do we not hear someone trumpeting their own righteousness
without acknowledging that none of that would be true without God’s
providential hand in their lives?
How many “good” Christians curse God in their hearts and sin
by taking credit themselves for the good works they claim they do?
(3) Jonathan Edwards, “The Justice of God in the Damnation
of Sinners,” www.jonathan-edwards.org,
(accessed 7.16.2014).
(4) John Wesley, “The Almost Christian,” http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0620_Wesley_-_Almost_Chri.html.
(accessed 7.17.2014).
(5) John Gill, “Job 1:5,” http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/job-1-5.html.
(accessed 7.17.2014).
6 ¶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the LORD,…
We need to define Biblically who the individuals are in this
scene in Heaven. The, “sons of God,” (with a lowercase ‘s’) are beings directly
created by God and are not born of biological processes. The idea that there is
life not resulting from biological processes is a difficult one to accept only
because we are not aware of any day to day interaction with such beings we
call, “spiritual.” The phrase, “Son of God,” (with an uppercase ‘S’) is a
reference to God in the flesh, the visible appearance of God (Hebrews 1:3) in
the normal, to us, physical world.
Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son
of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
After Adam’s cowardly rebellion mankind began to degenerate
and Adam’s descendants were made in his image, lacking the perfection that God
intended.
Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years,
and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
From this scientific fact we can make a prediction. All
humanity has and will experience genetic decay as long as we exist in this
physical existence. I refer you to Alexey Kondrashov’s 1995 article in the Journal of Theoretical Biology entitled,
“Contamination of the Genome by very Slightly Deleterious Mutations: Why Have
We Not Died 100 Times Over?”(6) Another example is James F. Crow’s “The High
Spontaneous Mutation Rate: Is it a Health Risk?” for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. (7) There has been
nothing since these papers to indicate the opposite idea, that mankind is
genetically improving.
That being said, the sons of God referred to in verse 6 are
spiritual beings created directly by God. They pre-existed the physical
universe that we know, as we are told in the Book of Job.
Job 38:4 ¶ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations
of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou
knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof
fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When
the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The Christian becomes one of these direct creations of God
when he receives Christ and is indwelt by God’s Spirit in the new birth.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
The sons of God are represented in this physical world by an
angel, an appearance that has the ability to act on the physical world. Imagine
a hologram with the power to act in the place of the individual it represents. (Isaiah
63:9 where the full name is, “the angel of his presence.)”
“Angels,” and, “sons of God,” can be used interchangeably
based on the context and the action presented.
Every person is born biologically, called the “water birth.”
Without the second birth in the Spirit every person is doomed.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How
can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Perhaps the Christian is a replacement for the sons of God
who chose to enter the physical world of existence. Who can say but God?
Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men
that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose…4 There were giants in the earth in those days;
and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men,
and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old,
men of renown.
Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first
estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Nevertheless, these beings presented themselves to God on
some occasion.
(6) Alexey Kondrashov, “Contamination of the Genome by very
Slightly Deleterious Mutations: Why Have We Not Died 100 Times Over?” Journal of Theoretical Biology 175
(1995): 583-594.
(7) James F. Crow, “The High Spontaneous Mutation Rate: Is
it a Health Risk?” Proceedings of the
National Academy of Science Vol. 94 (August 1997): 8380–8386.
6… and Satan came
also among them.
Who is this Satan anyway? A lot of conclusions have been
drawn from preaching over the centuries. What we know about Satan, from the
text of the Bible here in its oldest book, is that Satan is an individual, not
an idea or a force. We know he could come before God as evidenced here. We can
assume that he can still make his will known to God from Revelation 12:10 where
he is called, “the accuser of our brethren,” who, “accused them [God’s people –
our brethren] before our God day and night.” He is our adversary.
1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Satan is called that old Serpent, the Devil and the Dragon.
Revelation 12:9 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.
These names are also linked through Isaiah and Job in
likening Satan to a reptilian creature, a dragon being the name that predated
the 19th century word, dinosaur, to describe a large reptile, or a
leviathan, which is a reference to a large creature like a whale or a dinosaur.
Isaiah 27:1 ¶ In that day the LORD with his sore and great
and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan
that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
This particular supernatural creature, described as we would
think of a dinosaur or a dragon of mythologies around the world, has another
distinction.
Job 41:34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king
over all the children of pride.
Although Satan is never said to be an angel himself he will
lead angels in rebellion against God.
Revelation 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven;
and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven
crowns upon his heads.4 And his tail
drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and
the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to
devour her child as soon as it was born.
Although he can appear as an angel to us in order to
deceive.
2Corinthians
11:14 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.
By virtue of this reference to an, “angel of light,” we
presume that Satan is also the same entity as Lucifer, a term used only once,
which may or may not be a title rather than a name. It means, “light-bearer.”
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!
Satan introduces the second set of supernaturally created
creatures directly created by God in the spiritual world and not by any
biological process. They are called cherubim and are animal-like creatures that
surround God’s throne in Ezekiel, chapters 1 and 10, and in Revelation, chapter
4, perhaps prototypes for all non-human animal life on earth.
Ezekiel 10:15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the
living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
While the, “sons of God,” and, “cherubims,” are both direct creations
of God in another dimension of time and space to which we are not privy in our
biological limitations they are not the same thing. One appears as a person
while one has the appearance of an animal.
One of the unique ways the Bible is constructed is how it
describes Satan. In the description of men who are like Satan, or types of
Satan, like the kings of Babylon, Tyre, or the Pharaoh of Egypt, God reveals
what Satan’s original position was, what he does now, and, perhaps, when he
fell from grace and where his deceptions were first revealed.
Ezekiel 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth;
and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
As there are cherubims around God’s throne in Revelation,
chapter four, perhaps Satan as Lucifer was the reptilian cherub who covered
God’s throne from above.
We know he was also, as spiritual beings can exist in the
physical world and the spiritual at the same time, in the Garden of Eden before
he fell from grace. He was dressed similar to and perhaps was performing the
duties of a priest (compare the following with Exodus 28).
Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;
every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the
beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle,
and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee
in the day that thou wast created.
It is here that iniquity was found in him.
Ezekiel 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day
that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
What was that iniquity? Perhaps his part in implementing
Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God in inspiring them to doubt what God said,
as many of you still do.
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?
Satan’s realm is in the heavens below the Heaven we know of
as the abode of God. He is called 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:
That place we call Outer Space is his domain.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
All human government and institutions on earth are under his
operative control.
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.
But his demise and eventual fate are certain.
Luke 10:17 ¶ And the seventy returned again with joy,
saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as
lightning fall from heaven.
Revelation 12:9 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… 12 ¶ Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that
dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil
is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but
a short time.
It is clear from the Bible that Satan is not God’s equal,
and in fact, is often permitted by God to unleash his fury against mankind as
part of God’s judgment so that sometimes you are unable to discern whether or
not God did something or whether or not Satan did it. As an example, see what
prompted David to initiate a census of his kingdom. This is a great example of
how our pride allows humanism, the elevation of man in the Renaissance sense
and in the sense of the ancient Greeks, to take over our worship and our
behavior. David wanted to count his subjects, the result of which would be to
count his wealth and power as coming from what he had rather than from God.
2Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled
against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and
Judah.
1Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and
provoked David to number Israel.
As we will see in Job, Satan is given authority to do things
to God’s people under the limitations set by God, much as evil men are
permitted to operate in the world to reveal their wickedness and to bring
judgment on their heads.
Satan will be bound in Hell a thousand years when Christ
returns to rule in His millennial kingdom. He will be unleashed for a time to
lead the final thrust of the world’s leaders against Christ at the end of that
time, before final judgment and eternity begins. Satan will then be cast into
the Lake of Fire.
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:
Revelation 20:1 ¶ And I saw an angel come down from heaven,
having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season…7 And when the
thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which
are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together
to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth,
and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Christ came to destroy the works of Satan, one of which is
the death that resulted from Adam’s sin and, another, sin itself.
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that
through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the
devil;
1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for
the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
We are to resist him as he purposes to destroy whomever he
can.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you.
1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Those who oppose God are under his control.
2Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of
the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Ephesians 2:1 ¶ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins; 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: 3 Among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others.
Satan, a created being, reptilian in form, rebelled against
God in his own heart before he led mankind in Adam away.
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 the
north: 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. [Hell is called a bottomless pit in Revelation because
a circle, as in the center of the earth, has no bottom, only sides.]
And so, as we see here, while Satan lost his place over
God’s throne, perhaps, he still has and will have great influence over events
until the end of history, when his fate is sealed. He is the primary tormentor
of God’s people, one of the unholy trinity that includes our dying flesh and a
wicked world system, all of which we must resist.
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