Satan Falls, We Rise

Judgment and Joy

Review

Bible Prophecy is Gd’s Calling Card

Isaiah 13 we discussed the dual nature and fulfillment of the prophecy in its reference to the literal city of Babylon and tot eh God-hating, self-exalting “spirit of Babylon” which pervades every empire in human history.

Isaiah 14:1–8 ESV

For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord’s land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing. The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’

The Promise to Israel

Again, we see a dual fulfillment

There is a promise which included the restoration of the land for Israel

There is the promise that they would overcome their enemies and have many allies (Peace)

There is the promise that they would be a major power on the world stage

Has this happened yet? Not so you would notice…

After the Babylonian captivity, Israel re-emerged as a nation

yet, they were never a major power

never have had the sort of alliances described here

never without enemies

So the suggestion here is that this is yet to be fulfilled

Two things to remember:

God has never given up on Israel

The church is not in Israel’s place

God has a very special plan for Israel where God will reestablish Israel as the center of His Kingdom.

Introduction

In the meantime, Isaiah continues to paint this bleak picture for Babylon, as he will exercise judgment against them. In keeping with the now and then nature of prophecy, it is important to note that in addressing Babylon the nation, many commentators also point to the spiritual nature of the battle that is being waged.

How many know that daily we are in a battle?

A battle with our flesh… a battle for our soul… a battle for our families… a battle for our minds?

How many know that this battle, while we can be certain of its victory, in the midst of the battle it can also become easy to become discouraged as we see things around us that just don’t seem to be getting any better or aren’t being resolved as quickly as we would like?

Paul reminded the church at Ephesus:

Ephesians 6:11–12 ESV

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Who here has experienced a day where it seemed easier to give in to the weariness, the fear, the anger, the disappointment?

Who here has known the heaviness of being worn down by the spiritual battle?

Almost all of us have, if we are honest.

It doesn’t make you more or less spiritual - it just makes you more or less real… authentic, honest.

Many of us, while not applauding David’s sin applaud the transparency and honesty of his confession and turn back towards God.

Because it is real and authentic....

God knows we get weary - and put on the brave face because we don’t want anyone to judge us or our circumstances.

Yet here in Isaiah, God gives us a glimpse behind the curtain that divides the physical and spiritual as a way of encouraging us … and reminding us that He has won, Jesus defeated Satan, sin, and death on the cross…

He reminds us so that we might know that Satan’s days are numbered - and it is also the reason why Satan fights against us so hard… He knows his days are numbered and he only has a little bit of time to make a great impression...

If we are in Christ, then this… this life is just the beginning. We are promised God’s blessing and favor.

Jesus has won the war, we just have these individual battles that we engage in until Jesus brings us home.

Isaiah 14:9–11 ESV

Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!’ Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers.

Hell is excited to receive Satan

Speaking of the literal King of Babylon

but also speaking of the King fo the Spiritual Babylon

Hell is moved, stirred up, quaking with emotion

Hell cannot wait for his arrival

Satan is destined for hell, and he will not enter as a king or ruler - contrary to the cartoon images of Satan many of us grew up with.

Satan enters as just one more soul that denied God and will be spend eternity in its grip.

Just a quick aside: When we see, the deception of Satan and just how degrading the end will be for him, why would any of us serve him or work for his cause?

It is a mighty fall for Satan

Ezekiel 28:12–14 ESV

“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. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

What was Satan’s role ?

He was the ruling angel of the order of the Cherub.

It suggests that Satan was chief over worship… he was a worshipper and he led worship

Maybe, without passing judgment, you can recall a worship leader or pastor who succombed to pride and raised themselves to a place of being worshipped instead of bringing people to the altar of worship.

That is what happened to Satan.

Remember, Satan is a Created Being

While we might often think of him as being the equal opposite of God - almost like he is the yin to God’s yang -the reality is that Satan is not God’;s equal - in the same way that none of us are either.

Satan, like us, is a created being

He is a fallen angel - nothing more, nothing less

If he did have a peer, it would probably be Michael the Archangel

Remember, Satan is a Creature that is pleasant to behold, beautiful

“Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty”

Now, it possible some of you are reading along and thinking - okay, so how do you know that this is Satan that is being discussed? What makes you so certain that it is....

Well, how many of you are holding and reading the King James Version - or the NKJV?

Here is the same text in the KJV:

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!

The Latin translation of the Hebrew word heylel ben shacar

This is the only place in the Bible where Lucifer is called out by name. It is also one of the verses that those who hold to a KJV only position point to when challenging the voracity of other translations and is a reason why we need to hold to study the scriptures - and use multiple translations - for good bible study.

Remember, Satan has fallen from heaven

Positionally, turn to

Revelation 12:7–12 ESV

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 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. 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. 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. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Satan has fallen from his high position - yet he still has access to heaven

Job 1 says that Satan still has access tot he throne in heaven

Luke 22:31 ESV

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

Satan has asked fr permission to sift Peter as wheat, so though he is fallen, at this time he still comes and goes in heaven.

Remember, Satan is the accusser

Revelation 12:10 ESV

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.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Not only is he accusing you before God - Satan is accusing you … to yourself.

He has pointed out every flaw, failure, and footfall

He points out your unworthiness and we can feel like we are not worthy to receive God’s forgiveness because of how we have persisted in sin...

Satan whispers, you’re not worhty.... God can’t use you… No one really likes you anyway.... you’re no good...

He is right there to point out your failures and your flaws because he is no friend of your.... He is the accuser of the brethren.

So take heart… if he is busy accusing you, it is probably because he knows you are counted among the brethren - and the sistren...

However, he has limited power and limited access and he needs permission -

Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Remember, You can Stand Against the Accuser

Revelation 12:11 ESV

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.

The Blood of the Lamb

When Satan accuses, God see Jesus - or more accurately, God sees that the shed blood of Jesus has already covered our sin which has been cast as far as the east is from the west.

The Word of their Testimony

Jesus is my Lord. This is how it came to be...

Loved not their lives, even unto death

Will you stand for Jesus, even if your life depends upon it?

Do you love Jesus more than life itself?

We may not understand that yet, and this may be the bane of American Christianity, that faith is cheap and easy. We do not really face persecution that leads to death for our faith right now and we expend considerable political capital and energy investing in the systems of Babylon without a thought to this question...

Before engaging in the political process, before voting or promoting a particular candidate or party… Do you love Jesus more than being right or winning?

No, really. Satan has used politics and pandemics to shift the gaze of too many away from what is really important, and from what we have really been called to a place where we are looking for comfort and security.

Jude 9 ESV

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Remember, you can put on the whole armor of God and stand firm against the evil and evil one of the day. However, we must also remember that this is a spiritual battle where God has and will fight for us by the blood of Jesus and in the Spirit.

Remember, Satan’s fate is permanently sealed

Romans 8:34 ESV

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

no longer will Satan be able to accuse - and even now, while he can accuse - Jesus redeems!

First, Satan will be permanently cast out of heaven and confined to earth.

Then, at the end, He will be locked in the pit of hell

Revelation 20:1–3 ESV

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Revelation 20:10 ESV

and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

And together, you and I and all the saints, with all of heaven will rejoice.

Remember, The 5 “I Wills” of the Rebellion

Isaiah 14:13–14 ESV

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Sin, at its root, is rebellion against God and we are reminded in Ezekiel

Ezekiel 28:17 ESV

Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.

All 5 of these “I Will” statements amount to the same tactic that Satan used with Eve - Eat, and you will be like God.

Beware of anything that promises to elevate you to a place equal to or above God.

With this rebellion, Satan brought sin into being and, according to Revelation 12:4, took 1/3 of the angels with him.

Satan’s destiny is Hell, to the pit, the furthest place from Heaven.

On judgment day, Jesus will separate those who have rejected Jesus

He will cast them as far away from heaven as exists - hell - where they will be separated from God. experiencing an eternal longing for something they will never experience again - God’s presence.

Remember, Hell is real!

Matthew 13:24–30 ESV

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The disciples didn’t understand - so they asked Jesus to interpret for them...

Matthew 13:38–40 ESV

The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, here is where we hang our hat.

At the end of the day, we recognize that the battle is real - but have to ask ourselves if we are fighting the right skirmishes.

Turn - General Lee - Major Talmadge - Gen Washington

Our circumstances and our experiences often limit our view, giving us limited perspective of what is going on around us. Our view is limited so often to this world and the little time we have on earth, striving for comfort and peace as defined by culture.

God’s view, His perspective is eternal. It isn’t limited to what we can see or understand - it takes into account everyone, everywhere.

And as a result His Love reverberates across all time to you.

As it does, what is your response?