03 Different Aspects of Evil

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Con’t.

Prayer Summit - Jan. 29th at 6pm

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DECLARATION:

Ephesians 2:20–22 (ESV)

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

SVCC is built by God, upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone.

We are joined together by union with Christ, we are growing, and we are a dwelling place of God by his Spirit.

Prayer for...

INTRODUCTION:

Review:

Week 1 - The Increasing Wickedness of Humanity (Ge. 1-11) and yet with each we see the Mercy of God!

Week 2 - Defining Sin (rebellion against God) and yet the free gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rm. 6:23)

SERIES WHY?… Dead to Sin and Alive to God

Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

The divine glory was lost in the fall and mankind cannot possess it apart from Christ (EGGNT).

Rom. 6:11 “11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

TODAY: Evil

Opening Scripture:

Revelation 12:9 “9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Revelation 20:2 “2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,”

OPTIONAL: Part of a “satanic trinity”: the dragon (12:17; 13:1); the beast (13:2-10); and the “False Prophet” (13:11-17).

4 DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE REALITY OF EVIL:

The Snake

The Snake is not necessarily in Revelation because that serpent is more tied to the dragon/serpent from the sea

Genesis 3:1 “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?””

Num. 21:5-6 “5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.”

Numbers 21:9 “9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”

2 Kings 18:4 “4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).”

Context: Hezekiah is king of Judah, he did what was right in the eye of the Lord.

The Dragon

Job 40:15 “15 “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.”

context: Yahweh speaking to Job

Job 41:1 “1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?”

Job 41:21 “21 His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth.”

Isaiah 27:1 “1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.”

Isaiah 51:9 “9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?”

The Accuser

Job 1:6 “6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.”

the satan = accuser or adversary

"The proper noun Satan only occurs once in the entire FT (1 Chron 21:1). All the other instances of the noun (26 times) occur with the definite article "the" hasatan “the satan” and thus the term describes a role, i.e., “the adversary” or “the oppressor” rather than providing a name. Sometimes the noun can function without the definite article to also describe a role; even Yahweh's messenger can function as a satan (Num 22:22).”

Optional: Def. article is in Rev. 12:9 while it is not in Mt. 4:10.

The Devil

What is the origin of Satan/The Devil?

Is the Devil “Lucifer”?

Ezekiel 28:12 “12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”

Is 14:4 “4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!”

Isaiah 14:12 NKJV

12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!

“the term lucifer is from the Latin Vulgate and is a translation of the Hebrew heylel ben shahar (v 12) and unfortunately we do not know exactly the meaning of this Hebrew phrase. Only the KJV and NKJV among the mainline translations have continued to maintain translating this phrase with a proper noun "Lucifer." Most modern translations now read something closer to the LXX. Importantly, the name Lucifer does not occur in Isa 14 nor anywhere in the entire Bible! It is a translation, not an original term found in the Hebrew text.”

Lucifer may be a type of satan!?!

Conclusion/Reflection:

The biblical writers do not describe in any detail the origin of the demonic and why and/or how these beings are and/or act in “evil” ways and intent.

John 10:10 “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

The Thief here is the religious leaders: John 9:40 “40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?””

Cf. Rev. 22:13 “13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.””

Matthew 16:18-21 “18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. 21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Matthew 16:22-23 “22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.””

Satan will do whatever he can to keep Jesus from the cross…and He does the same thing in our lives!

Revelation 12:7-11 “7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”