Proverbs 16:18
King James Version
18 Pride goeth before destruction,
and an haughty spirit before a fall.
In the previous post, we've seen how GOD governs.
This time, we look at how the enemy of CHRIST governs.
Observe his nature:
Isaiah 14:12-14
King James Version
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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High.
Ezekiel 28:11-19
King James Version
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
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 ways
from the day that thou wast created,
till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise
they have filled the midst of thee with violence,
and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee
as profane out of the mountain of God:
and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,
thou hast corrupted thy wisdom
by reason of thy brightness:
I will cast thee to the ground,
I will lay thee before kings,
that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries
by the multitude of thine iniquities,
by the iniquity of thy traffick;
therefore will I bring forth a fire
from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee,
and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth
in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people
shall be astonished at thee:
thou shalt be a terror,
and never shalt thou be any more.
Notice how he operates:
Genesis 3:1-5
King James Version
3 Now the serpent was more subtil
than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden,
God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it,
neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman,
Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Observe, too, what JESUS thinks of him:
John 8:44-45
King James Version
44 Ye are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:
for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth,
ye believe me not.
Satan boasts of his own power, and authority:
Matthew 4:8-10
King James Version
8 Again, the devil taketh him up
into an exceeding high mountain,
and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him,
All these things will I give thee,
if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him,
Get thee hence, Satan:
for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.
Be aware of what he's capable of:
2 Corinthians 4:4
King James Version
4 In whom the god of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Ephesians 2:2
King James Version
2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience:
1 Peter 5:8-9
King James Version
8 Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith,
knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren that are in the world.
Revelation 12:12
King James Version
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.
Now you know who owns the kingdoms of the world.
Now you know why the world is the way it is.
Now you know how JESUS saved us from our sins:
Hebrews 2:14
King James Version
14 Forasmuch then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him
that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Sure, the world is under the dominion of Satan.
But we have a choice.
Who do you serve?
Do you serve the LIVING GOD?
Or the rebellious god of this world?
The next post will explore how man governs.
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