Genesis 3.1-7-The Devil in Disguise
Tuesday August 23, 2005
Genesis: Genesis 3:1-7-The Devil in Disguise
Lesson # 14
Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 3:1.
This evening we will study Genesis 3:1-7.
In Genesis 3:1, Moses records that Satan indwelt a snake in order to disguise himself so that he might deceive Eve in the garden of Eden.
Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
Genesis 3:2, “The woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat.’”
Genesis 3:3, “but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
Genesis 3:4, “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die!’”
Genesis 3:5, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:6, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Genesis 3:7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.”
“Serpent” is the noun nachash (vjn), which refers to a literal snake.
According to Genesis 3:14, this snake had legs but after the Fall of Adam, the Lord cursed this snake saying it would go on its belly and will eat dust all the days of its life, thus implying that it was not created to go about on its belly and therefore had legs.
Genesis 3:14, “The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.”
According to 2 Corinthians 11:3 and Revelation 20:2, Satan indwelt this serpent and through this serpent disguised himself to deceive Eve.
2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”
Satan indwelt this literal snake in order to disguise himself and deceive Eve.
2 Corinthians 11:15, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
Satan is a person since he possesses the traits of personality demonstrating intelligence (2 Cor. 11:3), emotions (Rev. 12:17, anger; Luke 22:31, desire) and volition (Isa. 14:12-14; 2 Tim. 2:26).
Satan is referred to as a person in both Old and New Testaments (Job 1; Matt. 4:1-12).
The Lord Jesus Christ created Satan perfect (Ezek. 28:13).
Satan is a spirit being (Eph. 6:12), and he is not omniscient, omnipotent or omnipresent like God but rather he has limitations and is accountable to God and cannot do anything he wants (Job 1-2).
He can be resisted and made to flee (Jam. 4:7), but only by the strength of God made available to believers in Christ (Eph. 6:10-18).
Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-14 teach that he rebelled against God and Revelation 12:4 teaches that one-third of God’s angels followed him in that rebellion.
Ezekiel 28:12, “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, you had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”
“Seal of Perfection” is the Hebrew chatham, which means, “the "touchstone of symmetry" and indicates that Satan, in his un-fallen state, could be looked to as one who upheld, embodied and represented perfect divine standards.
“Full of wisdom” is composed of the Hebrew adjective male, “full,” and the noun chokhmah, “wisdom.”
The adjective male is used figuratively indicating a high degree of wisdom by which Satan in eternity past, before his fall was characterized and indicates that Satan did not reject God out of ignorance but to the contrary, he was the wisest of God's creatures until he perverted that wisdom (Ezek.28:17).
“Perfect in beauty” is composed of the Hebrew adjective kalil, “perfect,” and the noun yophi, “beauty.” Satan before his fall in eternity past was the epitome of beauty.
Ezekiel 28:13, “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared.”
This "Eden" in Ezekiel 28:13 refers to the original garden of Eden on the original planet earth before the earth’s restoration recorded in Genesis 1:3-31.
Though he was the premier creature in a utopian setting, Satan was not content.
It is a tragic irony that through his rebellion he has exchanged a perfect environment for eternal place in the lake of fire, and is leading his followers to share his fate (Matt.25:41).
The precious stones mentioned in this verse are indeed additional manifestations of Satan's beauty, but it is likely that they also mark him out as the one who represented the angels before God.
The nine stones mentioned in this context bear a striking similarity to those placed on the high priest's breastplate (Ex.28:17-21; 39:10-14).
The 9 jewels mentioned in Ezekiel 28:13 that Satan wore are comparable to the 12 jewels found on the breastplate of the high priest of Israel, where each jewel represented 1 of the 12 tribes liable for military service.
Satan in eternity past before his rebellion was the high priest of God ruling over these 9 divisions or tribes of angels just as the high priest in Israel presided over the 12 tribes of Israel.
Revelation 12:4 reveals that one third of the angels fell, thus indicating that three angelic divisions in the Lord’s military rebelled.
Revelation 12:4, “And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”
These 3 angelic divisions are arranged in rank, thus mimicking God.
Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Ezekiel 28:14, “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.”
“Anointed” is the Hebrew adjective mimshach, which describes Satan as one who God conferred divine power to in order to carry out his duties.
“Cherub” is the Hebrew noun keruv, which indicates that Satan took the lead in worshipping God and acting as an intermediary for God and perhaps most significantly, indicates that he controlled access into the presence of God.
“Who covers” refers to the fact that Satan's original position can thus be described as that of the ultimate "imperial guard", charged with warding off all that is profane from the perfect holiness of God.
Ezekiel 28:15, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.”
Ezekiel 28:16, “By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”
Ezekiel 28:17, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.”
Ezekiel 28:18, “By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you.”
Ezekiel 28:19, “All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; You have become terrified and you will cease to be forever.”
Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!”
“Star of the morning, son of the dawn” (English transliteration from the Hebrew: Helel Ben-Shachar) is a title, which speaks of Satan's role in reflecting the glory of God before he sinned.
“Star of the morning” (helel) literally means, "shining one" is translated in the LXX as "light bearer" and by the Latin Vulgate as "Lucifer".
“Son of the dawn” (Ben-Shachar) is an apt rendering of this title, for it denotes a heavenly body so brilliant that it can be seen even in daylight.
As the prime creature of the original Eden, a place without darkness (for darkness did not exist before Satan's fall), Satan was the foremost representative of God's splendor, reflecting, for all angelic kind to behold, the brilliant glory of their Creator.
It is a tragic irony that through his own choice he has now become the ruler of the domain of darkness (Eph.6:12; Col.1:13).
Far from reflecting God's glory, he now opposes it in every way, but his ultimate destiny is to have his light extinguished forever (Jude 6, 13).
Isaiah 14:13, “But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.”
Isaiah 14:14, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
So we can conclude from a study of Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 that Satan was the most talented, attractive and personable creature to come from the hand of God (Ezek. 28:12; 2 Cor. 11:14).
His force of persuasion is as compelling today as when he convinced one third of all the angels to join his prehistoric revolution against God (Rev. 12:4a).
Satan's fall and his leadership of myriad angels in revolt started the prehistoric warfare called the angelic conflict which continues today and will be concluded only with the final judgment at the end of human history.
According to Matthew 25:41 Satan was sentenced to the Lake of Fire for his rebellion but he appealed the sentence.
Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”
We can accurately infer that Satan was allowed by God to appeal his sentence since the sentence has not been immediately executed and, in fact, will not be carried out until the end of human history (Rev. 20:10).
Also we can infer that Satan was allowed by God to appeal his sentence since the Scriptures states that Satan is the “prince of the power of air” (Eph. 2:3), and the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4).
The elapse of time between the sentence and its execution indicates that human history is part of this momentous trial, the appeal trial of Satan.
Satan will be imprisoned for a thousand years at the 2nd Advent of Christ according to Revelation 20:1-3 before the millennial reign begins (Rev. 20:1-3).
Satan will be released from prison after the millennium and will immediately start a rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 20:7-10), which God will put down decisively and then finally Satan’s sentence will be executed.
The words "devil" and "Satan" are not names but titles, both of which mean "accuser" or "adversary" as an attorney accuses someone in court and is further evidence for the appeal trial of Satan.
The principle stratagem of the devil is lies and deception.
1 John 5:19, “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
Satan employed the strategy of deception against the woman in the Garden of Eden.
The devil’s purpose for deceiving the human race is to divert worship from the Lord Jesus Christ and to himself.
