The Devil Pt 3: His Will
Isaiah 14:12–14
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! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
- I will ascend into heaven,
- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
- I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
- I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
- I will be like the most High.
The ultimate desire of the Devil is to be like God to the world.
This is the great and original “Replacement Theology”.
We have heard of the heretical and godless ideas of men who vainly think the Church has replaced Israel. Well, that demonic doctrine has its origin in the Devil who sees no problem with himself replacing God.
The pride that we witnessed last week in Lucifer has a detail associated with it, his “iniquity” that is described in this passage in Isaiah.
It is known as “The Five ‘I Will’s’ of Satan”.
- I will ascend into heaven,
- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
- I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
- I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
- I will be like the most High.
The Devil’s great desire and the cause of his fall was to be “like the most high”
How much of the Devils desire is manifest also in man?
How easy was such an enticement able to sway man at the first?
Pride reveals its delirious nature when it’s climactic aspiration is godhood!
To Ascend into Heaven
13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
- I will ascend into heaven,
- The first recognises that in some way, Lucifer is limited respecting his ascension to heaven. There is an interesting testimony at the beginning of verse 12, 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
In this we get an impression of access no longer available to him after which is given the cause of his fall.
Ezekiel 28 is the passage that we had turned to last week that identifies both his created nature AND his created order. Turn there with me again by way of review.
Ezekiel 28:12–15
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy waysfrom the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
We see his created state.
We see his anointed position and we saw last week that no other angel is seen in the scriptures as having been so “anointed”.
And we saw there was a cause by which he fell, it was “iniquity”, which we saw as “sin” and identified that sin which his “heart was lifted up” as pride.
Now we see him “fallen from heaven” and with a determined desire to ‘ascend into heaven’, almost as if it was for him to RETURN to where he had fallen.
But what we notice is that the text in Isaiah speaks of that which was in the heart of Lucifer AS REASON FOR HIS FALL it was the CAUSE for the fall, the cause occurred naturally BEFORE he fell and so this desire of Lucifer was not to RETURN TO HEAVEN.
Look again;
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! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
- I will ascend into heaven,
Lucifer was given so much and appointed to so much, perfect in his ways from the day he was created, limited in nothing but the throne of God it seems, and YET WANTED MORE!
It is interesting that man was given dominion over the whole earth, over the beasts of the earth, over the land of the earth, the fruit was given in season, a mist watered the earth, they were limited in NOTHING but the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Lucifer wanted to be as the most high and lucifer fell. Man wanted to be “as gods” and so man fell.
Lucifer’s desire to “ascend into heaven” therefore was not to be where he was before he fell, for the statement of his heart “I will ascend into heaven” was made BEFORE he fell.
Lucifer wanted MORE.
Lucifer SEEMS to have wanted to be WHERE GOD DWELT.
The Bible does not go into great detail respecting the structure of the heavenly realm, we know only bits and pieces.
We read that God inhabits a distinct place that is separate in certain ways;
Isaiah 57:15
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
God Inhabits Eternity (not time bound)
A fascinating passage that also indicates God has intention to share his own habitation with them of a suitable character…contrite and humble, the exact opposite of the character of the devil.
We know the Bible speaks of more than ONE heaven, for Paul wrote of himself ascending “up to the third Heaven” in 2 Cor 12:2.
How many heavens are there? We are not told. But many passages allude to a heaven that is above all heavens, even a “Heaven of heavens”. Just as we see passages of the scriptures speak of a King of kings and a Lord of lords, so too we see references to a Heaven of heavens.
Deuteronomy 10:14
14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
1 Kings 8:27
27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
Speaking of Christ, the Bible also states whereto he ascended;
Ephesians 4:10
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
And in speaking of ourselves who, through contrition of heart and a humble spirit in believing the Gospel, and in answer to those who will share in inhabiting eternity, the writer of hebrews declares;
Hebrews 7:26
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Lucifer was already given all that he was given by the will and purpose of God….BUT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH.
How much does man resemble this?
How many of us demonstrate levels of ingratitude for all we are given that we do not deserve?
Adam and Eve had eternal life, fellowship directly with God and the best fruits of the garden of Eden, but it was not enough …and so the fall of man!
To those who have this life and all that it pertains, it is yet a gift and the greatest of these is the gift of eternal life.
Do we appreciate what we have been freely given?
Are we willing to freely give?
Do we exalt ourselves that somehow we are deserving of eternal life?
Do we desire for more?
Take great care in this beloved….
Proverbs 16:18
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 29:23
23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Appreciate what you have been given, and, like the flowers of the field and the birds of the air, place your trust in the Lord in all things.
To Be Exalted Above Creation
13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
- I will ascend into heaven,
- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
In referring to “Stars” here, it is not certain whether it refers to creation’s stars or to angels.
Whether it be the physical stars or the angelic realm that is only occasionally referred to as stars (Dan 8:10, Jude 13, Rev 1:16-20, Rev 9:1, Rev 12:4), what can be seen in the passage is that Lucifer desired to rule over it all.
There can be ONLY one throne in heaven, one governor over the entire created order of this universe and God has set his throne in the heavens.
At his fall, the Bible tells us that Satan swept with him one third of the stars of heaven. Speaking of the “great red dragon” which is the Devil and Satan, in Revelation 12 it is written that;
…. his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.Revelation 12:4
The passage relates to the Spirit in the person of the antiChrist that is written of in the book of Daniel;
10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.Daniel 8:10
It is these references that give to us perhaps a hint that Lucifer may refer to being Lord over such entities. Lord over all the angelic realm.
But at his fall he had taken with him one third of the angels and in Daniel noted as “stars”.
Again and again such references are given us as “devils, unclean spirits, princes and principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places” together with words such as “stars” and even, though only in the Old Testament, “sons of God” as spoken of in Genesis 6 and affirmed in Job 1, 2 & 38.
The devil desires a throne. He desires it over all the realm of all heaven and in that desire which was found within his heart, he was cast out as an abominable branch we are told in Isa 14:19.
While it is true beloved, that this was his will before his fall, it is also true that he is fully aware he will never attain to it.
His own deputies know full well that there is a time appointed for Satan and his devils,
Matthew 8:29
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
But that time is not yet.
There will also be a time that he is cast out of heaven all together.
Turn to
Revelation 12:7–9
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
In this casting out from heaven this world and those who are the inhabitors of the earth, in contrast to those who dwell in heaven, are warned;
Revelation 12:12
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
In this he is fully aware that he shall never be that which he had desired to be at the first.
Since the time of his fall, which we identified was anywhere between early in the first day and anytime to the fall of man in the garden, since that time he has fully known that he can never be that which was his desire to become.
This vain ambition has been rejected. It was never to be and it never will be. His end is known and yet it is not yet come.
Since that time of his fall he has compensated himself by having a level of dominion over this world and the kingdoms within the world. His “throne” never will be over the stars of God and yet he governs over the affairs of men as a king with his subordinate devils acting as princes under his rule.
It is interesting that he promises to the people of this world that they can be “Stars”. To some cults he even offers them governance over their own planets.
To man, from the first, he has told him that if he eat of the fruit they shall be “as gods”. Today, through the occult and now common culture, the same lie is told over and over again.
For now, it is his own minions who govern over the kingdoms of this world.
Turn to Daniel
Daniel 10:12–14
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
Daniel 10:18–21
18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
Paul spoke on the matter with all clarity saying this respecting the rulers of this world as he encouraged us to “put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph 6:11);
Ephesians 6:12
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The devil cannot rule over the stars of God, he cannot now set his throne over the created order, but employs man to do so in this world through great deception. Even promising man such dominion and fame if they would but “bow down and worship” him.
Lucifer rules vicariously over this world through the kingdoms of this world until he obtains one last bite at the cherry, and that over the weakest, most fragile kingdom of them all, one of Iron and Clay.
And that also for the shortest time of them all, only 3.5 years.
(And you if you thought that no one can do more damage than Anthony Albanese over a nation, the devil will combine all into one for his term in office)
His 3.5 year term will begin the day he “sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thess 2:4)
But it will be our Saviour Jesus Christ who will depose him and set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.
Amen
To Rule Over The People Of God.
13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
- I will ascend into heaven,
- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
· I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
This phrase in which he expresses his third will is one that is set over the people of God. The expression given us respecting “the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north” appears in the scriptures but it is in messianic terms.
Turn to
Psalm 48:1–2
1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
The “great King” is the messiah the prince written of by Daniel respecting the people of God in Daniel 9. God affirms that he has set his king over the people. Turn to Psalm 2.
Psalm 2:6–8
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
But Lucifer has this aim as his desire.
In the midst of the five “I Wills” he temporarily lifts his aloof aim to be above anything related to God, but draws his aim to displace God and to be accepted to rule over the people of God, namely, Israel.
Will he succeed? Yes, at least for a time.
Jesus predicted this would occur also; Turn to John 5
John 5:39–43
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 41 I receive not honour from men. 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
John warned that Antichrist will come, that is, the one who will stand in the place of Christ in 1 Jn 2:18.
Deception will reach unprecedented levels in the world, because men and women will not have a love for the truth.
Beloved, this is tragically emulated even today in the Church itself. Little wonder there is to be the falling away, the great apostasy. People still to this day are following after men. They get their doctrines from YouTube and then search for as many as possible that can affirm them in their false beliefs.
Too much to simply read their bibles, too much to ask them to have a love for the truth and be patient. Too much to have them simply focus on that which matters most, the Great Commission of Christ, the devil works wonderfully in them to distract them from the work and have them chase matters that dont yet matter.
Paul wrote in great warning of the devil, his antichrist and his deceit saying;
2 Thessalonians 2:11–12
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
It will be the antichrist who will feign himself a friend of the jews, even so much as being prince over them.
During the time of the end, he sets his sights to the “pleasant land” (Dan 8:9), he will strike a deal, a covenant for seven years, (one week of years) in Daniel 9:27, he is known as “the prince of the covenant” in Daniel 11:22, but he will break it in the midst.
Turn to Daniel 9
Daniel 9:27
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
It was Jesus who warned the Jews of this coming upon his people. Remember, Matthew 24 there was NO CHURCH, do not make the mistake of confounding the Church with Israel, Jesus is answering the question from his disciples in verse 3, “…when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
Matthew 24:15–16 & 21
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
The focus in Matthew 24 is as it is in the entire book of Daniel, it is upon the people of God, the “congregation, in the sides of the north”. The devil desires to have the rule over God’s own people, not for their good, not “benevolently”, but as always, “malevolently”, to destroy the saints of the most high (Dan 7:18-27) as he always tried;
Look at verse 21 of the time of the end,
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Jesus here is referencing the time AFTER the “abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet”, that is the midway point of the seven year period of the outpouring of God’s wrath upon the world, antichrist breaks the covenant made and turns upon the saints of the most high.
Clarified in
Daniel 7:25
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saintsof the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Ie 3.5 years)
We note therefore that it will not be a benevolent reign for the people of God.
This is “even the time of Jacobs trouble” (Jer 30:7)
Just as the world is going to grow in their hatred for God’s people so will we see that his desire to sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: will be a malevolent rule.
The devils will may be achieved in that last time of this present world, but it will be short and it will be fierce against the “congregation, in the sides of the north”.
UNTIL
….the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Daniel 7:27
To Be Like God
13 For thou hast said in thine heart,
- I will ascend into heaven,
- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
- I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
- I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
5. I will be like the most High.
The five “I Will’s” of the Devil is to ultimately be “like the most high”. We note beloved that these things are said in his heart and thereby “iniquity was found in him”. The fall of Lucifer was the contemplation determined first in the heart of the devil.
That contemplation led ultimately to this sin, which is his ultimate goal and condemnation.
It is the famous quote that comes to us from Sun Tzu, the famous military general and philosopher who penned the strategy book, Sun Tzu’s Art of War some time in the middle of the 1st millennium BC, we see the same idea is seen in Machiavelli’s book “The Prince”.
That is, to “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”
Knowing Satans goal helps us to see and to know where this world is going and why.
The Devil had a plan from the beginning,
Step one was to create doubt in God’s words.
Step two was to replace the worship of God with man worshipping himself.
Step three is to replace mans self worship with worship of Satan, whether by free will or by force.
Revelation 13:4–7
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
This is that which we saw reflected in Daniel 7 and it comes at the midpoint of the 7 year covenant, the time of Jacobs trouble. Now all nations are forced to worship the dragon (ie Satan/Lucifer) as God, even on pain of death;
Revelation 13:15–18
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
After-which we see him causing all the world to accept what is referred to as The Mark of the Beast, where no man might buy or sell save he that has the ‘green tick’…sorry, the “vaccine passport”….sorry, the mark, or the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Rev 13:17).
The desire of the Devil is GODHOOD, it is a sin through which he enticed mankind at the first.
Just as pride was the PROTO Sin by which the devil fell and mankind seems to have has the primary sin of our own lives, it is interesting to note that there is a natural tendancy of mankind to be HIS OWN FINAL AUTHORITY.
“Ye shall be as gods” said the serpent to man….and man was enticed.
To be our own final authority, to have no one tell us what is right or what is wrong, “do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” said the man who is identified by the secular world as the most wicked man who ever lived, Alister Crowley.
This is the enticement and this is the deceit that has befallen mankind.
First think of the primary motive of atheism. Aldous Huxley spoke of the meaninglessness of life as a liberation to “do as thou wilt”. If there be no God then there is simply no accountability.
BUT if you be gods yourself, then there is no one who can make you accountable even in this life.
When they say “you have your truth and I have mine”, they are not placing that which they believe as a matter of opinion, they are placing that which they believe BEYOND QUESTION.
How close have you been to people such as this?
How close have you come to be such a person yourself?
Have you ever sat in a church when the pastor corrected the BIBLE?
What is he secretly saying of himself? I am not saying that all pastors who have made the mistake of correcting the Bible think they ARE the FINAL authority in all matters as God is, many are simply deceived.
But when they are questioned in the matter and when they are tested on the subject through simple logical argument, and YET still want to hold the notion that no final authority exists….you have to wonder.
Beloved, the devils desire to be worshipped is not far above our own natural and sinful tendency to be BEYOND Reproach.
You have seen it in others, no doubt. But the real question is have you ever identified it in yourself?
The Devil has a will to be AS God, what is yours?
It is a matter of interest that, though Lucifer was “Perfect in Beauty” (Ezek 28:12), Christ “had no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa 53:2). Though the Devil wants to be worshipped as God, yet Jesus Christ our Lord “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7).
2 Corinthians 8:9
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Yet, though Christ came in his father’s name and was not received, the devil will come in his own name to this world, and him they will receive. (Jn 5:43).
We don’t deserve him do we?
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