Don’t Fall for the ‘Angel of Light’
Don’t Fall for the ‘Angel of Light’
“They’re a sorry bunch – fake apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers – posing as Christ’s agents but sham to the core. There is nothing surprising in that, for Satan, the Adversary, is able to disguise himself, masquerading as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that this false prophet has servants who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
Gloria Gaynor – Man Of Peace Feat. Mike Farris [Official Audio]
The Two Seekers. It is wise if we become familiar with the true story of the Two Seekers, and we have no choice but to serve one or the other. These two Seekers are enemies, extreme opposites in every way, and are single-minded in their quest on earth. The righteous Seeker intends to seek and save those who are lost, while the unrighteous Seeker intends to destroy everything that is good. The Seeker-Savior is motivated by pure lovingkindness, and the Seeker-Destroyer is motivated by his prideful hatred of everything but himself. Ironically, both Seekers have been called lions, the pure Seeker given the messianic title of Lion of Judah, and the impure Seeker as the hungry lion poised to strike the innocent.
“The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost… On the other hand, the devil, our great enemy and accuser, is constantly prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone, anyone, to devour. This adversary is like a thief whose only purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. But the almighty Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, was revealed to us for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil, to undo his evil activities, and completely put an end to everything that the Evil One has accomplished.” (quoted from Luke 19:10, 1Peter 5:8, 1 John 3:8, and John 10:10).
Jamey Johnson, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton & Lee Ann Womack – Gotta Serve Somebody
Biblical Titles of Yeshua. The Seeker-Savior is officially named Yeshua, his Hebrew name in Scripture, which means Yahweh saves, or Yahweh to the Rescue. His Greek name is Jesus. He has been given a wide variety of titles in the Bible, including Messiah (the Anointed One, the Christ), the Amen, the Author and Perfector of Faith, the Branch, the Bridegroom, the Dayspring, the Faithful Witness, the Living Fountain, the Hidden Manna, the Holy One, the King of Glory, the King of the Saints, the Unblemished Lamb, the Last Adam, the Living Stone, the Lord of the Harvest, the Morning Star, the Pioneer, the Son of the Highest, the Green Tree, the Word, the True Vine, Emmanuel (‘With Us Is God’), the Son of Man, and the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Redeemer.
Satan, the Ultimate Bully. Have you ever had to endure a neighborhood bully, someone who is without a conscience and tries to lie, cheat, steal, intimidate everyone within his reach? This bully seems always on the verge of doing something violent, but like many bullies, resistance and self-defense will often send the bully scurrying away. And how would you feel when you see the sheriff come into your neighborhood, put the bully in handcuffs, load him into his patrol car, and take him away for a well-earned imprisonment? The whole neighborhood would breathe a collective sigh of relief, right? Now, multiply that relief a few million times in scope, and we can sense what the world will experience when the devil, the world’s neighborhood bully, is finally vanquished and put into prison forever.
Biblical Titles of the Devil. One look at these titles and names given to the devil, and there can be no question about why he is slated for eternal damnation: the Father of Lies (John 8:44); the Adversary, Satan (1 Peter 5:8 and over 50 times in NT); the Ruler of Darkness (Eph 6:12); the Accuser of the Brethren (Rev. 12:10); the Enemy (Matt. 13:39, Luke 10:18-19); the Slanderer, the Devil (given 38 times in NT); Ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2); the King of Death (Heb. 2:14); Prince of this world (John 12:31); the Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24); the Great Dragon (Rev. 12:9); the Ancient Serpent (Rev. 12:9, 2 Cor. 11:3); the Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Rev. 9:11); the Tempter (Matt.4:3); the false Angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14); the Roaring Lion (1 Peter 5:8); the Ruler of Demons (Matt. 12:24); the Evil One (Matt. 6:13); the Murderer (John 8:44); the Daystar and Son of the Morning, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:2); the Shining One and the Light-Bearer, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:2); the Worthless One, Belial (Deut. 13:14, 1 Sam. 2:12, Ps. 18:4, Ps. 41:8); the Deceiver of the whole world (Rev. 12:9); the Destroyer, Apollyon (Rev. 9:11, Ps. 17:4, 1 Cor. 10:10)).
Character Descriptions of Jesus, the Seeker-Savior. Perhaps the best way to describe Yeshua’s character is to reveal how He chose to describe Himself with the Great I AM’s in the Gospel of John. When Moses asked God for His Name at the Burning Bush, God replied, Yahweh, which could mean I Am What I Am, or I Am He Who Exists, or I Will Be Who I Will Be. When Jesus claimed the ‘I Am’ title, He claimed to be Yahweh in the flesh, equal to the Almighty God, which of course was scandalous to the religious leaders.
- I AM the Bread of Life (6:35) who nourishes you with solid, spiritual food;
- I AM the Light of the World (8:12) who enables you to shine in purity, goodness and truth;
- I AM the Door (10:7) to the sheep pen who will welcome you to God’s flock;
- I AM the Good Shepherd (10:14) who will guide, feed and protect you as a member of His flock;
- I AM the Resurrection and the Life (11:25) who will raise you from the dead into eternal life;
- I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (14:6) who will provide the way to truth and abundant life;
- I AM the True Vine (15:1) who will provide what is needed to bear good fruit in your life.
Passion – Run Devil Run (Live) ft. Crowder
Character Description of the Devil. Would you want to befriend or even become a casual acquaintance of this sort of person? Is this the sort of person you would ever invite into your life even to a minimum degree? He wants to assume the throne of the Most High God; he hates the truth; he wants to take life out of people and replace it with death; he accuses the innocent and slanders the godly; he tells nothing but lies; he loves to thwart the purposes of God and hinder the gospel; he loves to antagonize the followers of Jesus; he is poised to tempt those in their weak moments; he is always prowling for those who are vulnerable; he is a master of disguise; he counterfeits that which is good and perverts what is pure; he spawns evil through those who are fooled into following him; he would deceive the whole world if he could; he loves to mar and deface that which is beautiful; he loves to be smooth and alluring and convincing in his temptations; he overflows with ambition and pride; he wants to embrace all the glory due to God and desires for all to worship him alone; he will be accountable to no one but himself; he is the original trickster, sneaky, and plays dirty; he knows now that Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and works extra hard to bring as many as he can down with him to his eternal doom.
The Fallen Angel, Lucifer. At some point in time before the creation of the universe by the Father, the Son and holy Spirit, angels were created by God to serve Him and be His messengers and heavenly companions. These angels were given free will by God, though, and a prince of angels, whose Latin name was Lucifer, chose to rebel against his Creator and assume God’s throne as King of the universe. Out of sheer pride and selfish ambition, this powerful angel had the audacity to stage a coup against the Almighty God. Somehow, Lucifer convinced a third of the other angels to join his side in the rebellion. Lucifer and his army of unrighteous angels were soundly defeated, of course, and they were all cast out of the heavenly sphere. The war in heaven was over. This prehistoric defeat of the Evil One was probably what Jesus was referring to in Luke 10:18, when He told them that He was an eyewitness to Satan falling like lightning from heaven.
On Evil Kings as Types of Lucifer. The great prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel provide for us a picture of what Lucifer was thinking as they prophesied against the King of Babylon and the King of Tyre, respectively. These two gifted and powerful kings were the epitome of prideful leaders who fell from grace. They both attempted to claim divine rights in their pridefulness, and tried to assume the honorable authority and grandeur that was God’s alone. Christian scholars tend to agree that, though these two prophetic passages are about specific historical kings, they also provide poetic pictures of what Satan was thinking, and how God responded, to this arrogant power surge on the part of Satan.
- “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, O Day Star and Son of the Morning! How you are cut down to the ground! For you have said in your heart, ’I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will also sit on the lofty mount of the congregation on the furthest sides of the north! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will be like the Most High!’ And yet, O Shining One, you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit!” (Isaiah 14:12-15).
- “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite beauty. You were the luxury of the paradise of God, adorned with every precious stone. I ordained and anointed you a mighty angelic guardian. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of precious stones… You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you…You became filled with violence within, and you sinned. Therefore I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I banished you in disgrace. O guardian of the angels from the mist of the fiery stones! Your heart was lifted up, filled with pride, because of your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. And I cast you to the ground… You defiled your sanctuary by the multitude of your sins.” (Ezekiel 28: 11-15).
A Word of Caution. Do not dabble in the occult, in the ways of the Evil One! It is a trap that brings you nothing but spiritual harm and eventual disaster. The Lord Yahweh warned us of all this long ago: “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations and detestable acts of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who engages in child sacrifice, or one who practices witchcraft, or is a fortune-teller, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or a medium, psychic or a spiritist, or one who calls up the spirits of the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). It’s no wonder that any Israelite who practiced any of those detestable practices were immediately executed.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For this struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-20).
Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago – War (Live)
Warfare is Inevitable. When a country declares war, the citizens don’t have much choice… the citizens are called to go into battle if one wants to remain a citizen. When someone starts following Jesus, that believer becomes a citizen of God’s kingdom. In our fallen world, the kingdom of Satan has declared war on the kingdom of God, so warfare comes with the territory. Only, Satan’s fighters in this spiritual battle don’t have bodies, they are invisible. These fighters of Satan are headquartered in the heavenlies where Satan has his hideout, and they conduct constant warfare on Christian believers here on earth. So our war is not against flesh and blood, it is fought with spiritual weapons in the unseen world. God has given us all the supernatural weaponry we need, which includes the armor of God. Most of the armor is protective equipment, but two are aggressively offensive in nature: the Word of God and the ability to pray. These two spiritual weapons are empowered by the Holy Spirit and are divinely effective in the unseen battle.
You’ve Already Won | The Worship Initiative (feat. Davy Flowers)
Final Thought… A Word to the Wise. “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” (C. S. Lewis, from Screwtape Letters).