Foreword
Jan had grown up in a home where both of her parents
worked as American Christian missionaries in Haiti. As a child growing up, she
had seen her parents work hard with the natives taking care of their physical
needs as well as teaching, preaching, and winning souls for Christ. Her life
was different from other American children who had grown accustom to modern-day
conveniences, which were not offered in Haiti. However, she knew that one day,
she would get to return to the place of her birth where she planned to
experience another way of life.
Upon
turning 18 years old, Jan decided to go back to the United States in order to
pursue her college education. Even though her parents were going to miss her,
they gave her their blessing and prayed for her protection. As a parting gift,
her father gave her an old precious Bible that was passed down throughout his
family for generations, so that she would remember to always keep God first.
Jan finally, said goodbye to her parents, boarded the plane, and continued to
her destination, which was a high-ranking college in New York.
It
didn’t take Jan long to realize that life in the states was far different from
what she was accustomed to in Haiti. There were young people on the campus from
all walks of life, and most of them were not Christians. The few that were, Jan
considered to be boring and were oftentimes teased by the other college
students as being Bible thumpers. Therefore, she did not choose to associate
with them. The invitations to parties, clubs, concerts, and all kinds of entertainment
for the college students to enjoy were too enticing for her to pass up even
though she knew that she should. In addition to that, there were a number of her
dormmates who dated different guys and lived an ungodly life in which she knew
was wrong. Nevertheless, Jan ignored the still small voice that pricked at her
to remain true to God.
Jan
became entangled by the excitement of her new surroundings. She replaced church
attendance with clubs, Bible readings for porn, abstinence for sexual
immorality, righteous living for ungodly entertainment, and before long, she
did not even recognize the person that she saw looking back at her in the
mirror. She had forgone the things of God for the things of the devil until one
day, she looked at the shelf that had the dusty old Bible that her father had
given her. She opened the pages and realized that she had left God and allowed
worldly temptation to enter her heart and mind. She asked herself, “How did I
allow this to happen?” But then it hit her…she listened to the voice of Satan
and believed his lies.
In
this next lesson, you will learn about Satan, his fall from Heaven, and what he
and his demons seek to accomplish on earth. The battle is real. The temptations
are great. The spiritual warfare is powerful and is increasing by the minute.
Yet, you do not have to be defeated by this evil foe. When you understand your
enemy, you can be more knowledgeable in how to defeat him. In this next lesson,
you will have a better perception into Satan and his evil tactics. Upon
completion, you will prayerfully be more insightful in answering the question:
“Who is Satan?” and be better equipped to stand against him through the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Lucifer the Fallen Angel
“You were in Eden, the garden
of God; every precious stone adorned you: camelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and
mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared”
(Ezekiel 28:13).
In
the beginning, everything was magnificently good that God made. He took great
care to see that each part of His creation was made in absolute perfection. The
angels were a part of this creation, for they were made prior to the world
coming into being and had stood in witness to its formation. The Bible says, “Where
were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so
much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What
supports its foundations and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang
together and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7). Yes, the
angels rejoiced with gladness when God created the universe. They had also been
created out of love by their Creator and celebrated being witnesses to His
excellence. Nevertheless, there was one angel who was set apart from the other
angels. He was made with a uniqueness of beauty that far surpassed the rest. God
even made precious stones to adorn him on the day that he was made. The Bible
does not expound as to why this angel seemingly outshined the rest, but he is
the only angel, in the Bible, described in this manner.
This
angel was not only beautiful, but he was given great wisdom. The Bible says, “Son
of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is
what the Sovereign Lord says: “You were the seal of perfection full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). He was a remarkable being whom
God anointed to be a guardian angel also known as a cherub. The Bible gives
reference to him being able to even make music, and therefore, this added to
his extraordinary gifts. The Bible says, “All your pomp has been brought down to the
grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms cover you” (Isaiah 14:11). He was an angel that exhibited
great light for he was named Lucifer, son of the dawn, and he walked along the
sparkling gems in Heaven.
Lucifer,
this most decorated and beautiful being, was an angel of uniqueness. The Lord
had taken great time in creating him, for he was a sight to behold. From his
adornment to knowledge and wisdom on down to his voice were specially given to
him from the Creator himself. No other angelic being was like Lucifer, and he
knew this full well. Yet, something went wrong.
Lucifer became discontent with his
position in Heaven. He looked at his beauty and became infatuated with himself.
He allowed pride to enter his heart and thought that he could be just like if
not better than his Creator. The Bible says, “Your heart became proud on
account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.
So, I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings” (Ezekiel
28:17). His God-given wisdom had become tainted with thoughts of
arrogance, self-centeredness, and envy. He became the first known narcissist. He
had feelings of entitlement to what never belonged to Him. He coveted God’s power
in Heaven. He wanted God’s position; something that was out of his reach. He
resented God’s sovereignty, had an exaggerated sense of self-importance, wanted
to take credit for God’s achievements, desired the unearned adoration of the
heavenly hosts, and ran a smear campaign against God. Lucifer thought that he
could attain control of Heaven, and even if he was unsuccessful, he was going
to put up a fight trying.
Can
you imagine thinking that you could be equal to your Creator? No one in their
right mind would, but Lucifer, although he was full of wisdom, did not use
logic. Instead, he allowed his newly embraced conceited ways to give him bad
judgment and he aligned his thoughts with unrealistic delusions of grandeur. The Bible says, “You said in your heart, “I will
ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will
sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most
High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). Everything with Lucifer at that point was
about himself. He did not take into consideration that this had to be
heartbreaking to his Creator – the One who loved and adored him. Unfortunately,
a battle was about to begin in Heaven. It was nothing like the angels had ever
encountered before. First, however, Lucifer had to recruit some followers so
that he could overthrow the Kingdom of God – or at least give it a try.
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