From Lucifer to Satan.

"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." 
Revelation 12:7,8

"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." verse 9.

War in heaven sounds incompatible to us since we think of heaven as a happy, beautiful place where God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the angels live. But it happened. What kind of war it was we are not told. Did Satan (called Lucifer in heaven) refuse to leave when asked and God had to physically force him and his followers to leave? Or is the language poetic and means a war of words? Wars generally start with words.

What were the words of Satan while in heaven? We can guess some of them because he is quoted and described in the Bible.

 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star (Lucifer), son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 

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.'  Isaiah 14:12-14 

Obviously, Lucifer wanted to have God's power and rule heaven himself. I suppose he thought he was as wise as God and didn't see why he couldn't be worshiped also. How he came up with this idea is a mystery, but he did. He envied God's power and was dissatisfied with his role in heaven.

What did he say to the other angels to convince them to follow him? Perhaps that they should have the right to do the things God did. Maybe there were rules in heaven to follow and he promised them freedom from those rules. 

Lucifer was a created being. In fact, God's face was probably the first thing he saw. Comparing him to the King of Tyre, God says,

"Thus says the Lord GOD, "You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 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. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.

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.

In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

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.

By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.

All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”     Ezekiel 28:12-19 

These verses don't just discuss the beginnings of Satan but also his end. He won't be in charge of some kind of hell - no, he will become a pile of ashes. After he is dead he, "shall be no more forever."

The previous verses in Isaiah also go on to inform us of Satan's end.

"Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?

Satan is the cause of wars on earth. God says he will one day make the earth like a desert. The saddest part of this verse is that Satan did not let his prisoners go home. Those who do not follow God's light are prisoners of Satan whether they know it or not. 

"All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb. but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot. You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people.
Isaiah 14:15-20

When Satan was cast out of heaven, he came here to see if he could make humans fall as he fell. Then he would have a kingdom of his own. He could rule earth and be worshiped here. Not as good as ruling heaven, but I guess he thought it was better than nothing!

He did cause man to fall by the same sin he committed - wanting to be God. He said to Eve, "For God knows that in the day you eat from it (fruit from the tree) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

To be continued...

The Last Church on Earth.

In the Bible, Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are messages to God's church down through the ages. It begins with the church following Jesus returning to heaven and ends with the last church before he returns.

Laodicea is the name given to the last church on earth. The "church" means Christendom - all those who profess Christianity. All other ages of Christianity have attributes that God praises - all but Laodicea. 

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 

So I advise you to buy gold from me--gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent."
Revelation 3:14-19

What is the great sin of the Church at the end of time? Pride and independence. 

Pride:  There are a few definitions of pride, some good and some bad. The pride God is speaking of is this:  "The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others."

          "I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." Proverbs 8:13
          "Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." Proverbs 16:18
          "Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our                     acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith." Romans 3:27

           "This church represents the state of the church, from the end of the spiritual reign of Christ, till the time of his personal appearing and kingdom, to judge the quick and dead; for after the spiritual reign is over, professors of religion will sink into a formality, and into a lukewarm frame of spirit, and into great spiritual sloth and security, Revelation 3:15, which will make those times like the times of Noah and of Lot; and such will be the days of the coming of the son of man to judge the world. Its name signifies either "the righteousness of the people"; and so may point at that popular and external righteousness, which the majority of the professors of religion in this period of time will be boasting of, and trusting in; being self-sufficient, and self-dependent, when at the same time they will be naked, as well as poor and blind," 
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

To be continued...

The Older Brother.

In his story of the prodigal son Jesus also includes another son: the older brother. When the prodigal returns home and is forgiven by his father and given a huge party, the older brother is angry. He doesn't believe his brother deserves a party. The older brother has stayed by his father and worked hard; why should his loser brother have a party?

In the book, "The Life You've Always Wanted,"  John Ortberb writes, "One of the hardest things in the world is to stop being the prodigal son without turning into the elder brother."

Christians can become judgmental and intolerant. This shouldn't happen, but it does far too often. It happened to me when I was in my twenties. For some reason we become proud when God changes us ; we somehow believe we had something to do with becoming good so why can't everyone do the same thing? We forget, or don't realize, that only God is good and any apparent goodness we have is from him alone.

The Bible says our righteousness is "filthy rags". In other words, we don't have any. None at all. We have no right to look down on people no matter what they do. Even Jeffery Dahmer was converted in prison. My mother told me she was watching Bill Maher on TV and he was talking against God and religion. She said she thought, "That man is lost." She said she heard God speak to her heart and say, "No, he isn't." Now, she prays for Bill Maher.

We don't know people's hearts. We don't know how the Spirit is working on that person or how close they are to the kingdom of God. No matter what people do or say, we have no right to be angry at them, hate them or judge them. Sometimes we may fall and do this, but we need to give these feelings and that person to God.

Why Be Humble?

"Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right.
And teaches the humble his way."
Psalm 25:8-10

Humble people are open to learning from others. People full of pride think they know everything, or almost everything. They are irritated by instruction and want to run their own lives the way they see fit. I think we must be humble to go to God for help and salvation. It isn't that God requires it; it is that we must have it to feel our need of him.

We may not often think of God as humble. But I believe that describes a part of God's personality. Jesus left heaven, became a man and even washed his friend's feet. He humbled himself to die in public. I think that shows his humility.