As a child I was told many lies, as I’m sure you were too. That if you did bad things that you would go to hell. And hell was this cartoon picture we all had of this Devil with long handled underpants, horns and a pitch fork, and he was lord of hell. And that we would burn there for eternity. This couldn’t be further from the truth. For one, hell doesn’t exist yet. And it is God that is a consuming fire. Heb.12:29. And this too doesn’t happen until after the millennium, at the Great White Throne Judgement. And anyone that says the devil is lord of hell commits a great sin of worshipping Moloch, those who worship Satan. So, then I ask you “who is Satan”. Let’s begin in Rev.12:9.
Rev.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.
Here we have 4 names of Satan. The dragon, from his role in the end times. The serpent, from his role in the garden. The devil, from his role as death, Heb.2:14. And there are many other names for Satan. We are going to Ezekiel 28 and find how it began in the first earth age.
Eze.28:1] The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
[2] Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Here Satan is called Tyrus, it means rock. Not our Rock but theirs.
Eze.28:3] Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
This is why you are to never talk to or argue with Satan. He is wiser than Daniel.
Eze.28:4] With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
[5] By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
Because you have become Proud. Pride was Satan’s downfall, and it began right here in the first earth age.
Eze.28:6] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
Because you think your God and are not.
Eze.28:7] Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
[8] They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
[9] Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
When God himself makes you no more because you are a man and not God.
Eze.28:10] Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
[11] Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
[12] Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
God made Satan the full package, meaning there were none that was more beautiful or wiser than him.
Eze.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.
Made more beautiful and wiser because he earned it. Yes, God loved Satan, and at one point Satan loved God. This was a very personal relationship God and Satan had. But still God created Satan and Satan was no god.
Eze.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.
Satan earned the position of protecting the mercy seat that God sits on. And was there walking up and down around his throne.
Eze.28:15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
[16] By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
[17] Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Because of pride thou hast fallen, and you will be destroyed. Destroyer is another name for Satan, it is Apollyon, in the Greek, and Abaddon is the Hebrew. Rev.9:11.
Eze.28:18] Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
This is Satan’s sentence, his end. He will be turned to ashes from within. Again, for God is a consuming fire. Heb.12:29. And for all that follow him, they too will be turned to ashes. They will not burn in eternal fire, but ashes. Never more will they exist.
Eze.28:19] All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
This is so simple to me. The fact that people think God would have people burning for eternity while we are in heaven watching forever is just stupid. God is love, and he loves all his children. He calls us his children, and the fact that 1/3 of his children followed Satan in the first earth age is why he ended it and caused this second. Could you kill a third of your children? Well, neither can God. So here we are, born of flesh and given a chance to love God and follow him instead of Satan. Now, the first thing Satan did was to attack the seed line of Christ. Let’s go back to Rev.12:3 and it reads.
Rev.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.
These would be Satan and his angels, the fallen angels.
Rev.12:4] 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.
This woman is mother Israel. It began in the garden, and Satan as the serpent would seduce mother Eve. But then it continues, in Job we find the liberties given to Satan. Job 1:6-12 and it reads.
Job 1:6] Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
This is heaven today, the second earth age. The sons of God come to him and present themselves.
Job 1:7] And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
So, Satan has liberty to go up and down in the earth at this time. When Satan temps Jesus in Mat.4 Jesus finally tells him “get the hence”, meaning at that point Satan looses his freedom to go to and fro on earth, and is set behind the throne where Michael holds him until he is cast down with his angels. We’ll get to that in a minute.
Job 1:8] And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
[9] Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
[10] Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
When God blesses those that love him, he puts a wall around them so that Satan can’t harm them.
Job 1:11] But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
[12] And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
And of course, eventually God would indeed let Satan touch him personally. But that is a subject for a different study. Now, let’s see when Satan is indeed cast down to earth at the 6th. trump. Pay attention because we are in the 5th. trump now. Rev.12:7-10 and it reads.
Rev.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.
That’s right, the whole time Satan is behind the throne he is accusing us to God. He says look at this one, and all the sins that he does. Talking about you and me. But that day will come when Satan and all that follow him will get what they deserve. Let’s go to Rev.20 and read.
Rev.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,
At the 7th. trump we go into the millennium. Where Satan is bound, not even his spirit can escape.
Rev.20:3] 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.
And when he is released, he has just a short time. A time for them to make up their minds if they will follow Satan or Jesus.
Rev.20:4] And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
[5] But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
[6] Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
That’s right, those of us that overcome him now, will be priests of God and Jesus for a thousand years, meaning we will be teaching those that didn’t overcome. And those that still follow Satan will have this end. We continue with Rev.20 and verse 7 reads.
Rev.20:7] 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.
Don’t overlook this, them that follow Satan are as of the sand of the sea. So many they can’t be counted.
Rev.20:9] 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.
This simply means that they don’t exist anymore, forever.
Rev.20:11] And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
[12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Our works are the only thing we can take with us.
Rev.20:13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
And this is the end. Satan will burn to ashes from within along with all those that followed him will die likewise. Let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word which tells us everything from the beginning to the end. And bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.