#Devil versus alpha pdf full#

This being is punished: he’s expelled from Eden to a new domain: earth and the underworld. Later in the oracle, Ezekiel tells us that this being had a pride problem similar to the prince of Tyre’s: “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor” (28:17). You were on the holy mount of God you walked among the fiery stones” (28:12–14). You were in Eden, the garden of God you were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you.

#Devil versus alpha pdf full#

“You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. In fact, the prophet says a few things that point all the way back to the Garden of Eden: God plans to bring this prince down a notch.īut while Ezekiel preaches against this ruler, he seems to make several allusions to a similar story on a cosmic scale.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel takes up an oracle against the human ruler of Tyre, an arrogant person smug enough to claim to be a god himself (28:2). Clue: Ezekiel’s oracle against the prince of Tyre But in the passages that do seem to touch on the devil’s fall from grace, pride is a predominant theme. The Bible doesn’t give us a great deal of specifics when it comes to Satan’s rebellion against God. The apostle warns Timothy that any elder “must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6). And yet, as the apostle Paul lays out the qualities he expects of church leaders, he makes specific mention of the devil. Perhaps the last place you’d look to find information about Satan is in a list of pastoral qualities. Heiser says, “The dark figure of Genesis 3 was eventually thought of as the ‘mother of all adversaries,’ and so the label satan got stuck to him. Over the centuries between Malachi and Jesus, Jewish writers began to use this label as a name for the biggest adversary of them all: a divine being who rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden by tempting Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. So how did the devil get the name “Satan”? In each of these episodes, the Hebrew Bible calls these figures satan, because they are acting as adversaries.

Solomon faces political opponents after he turns from God (1 Kings 11:14–25).

Two of David’s bloodthirsty warriors, Joab and Abishai, make life difficult for the king (2 Samuel 19:22).

The angel of the Lord opposes Balaam (Numbers 21:22–32).

“Satan” is a transliteration of a Hebrew word, which means “adversary,” or “opponent.” The word satan is used multiple times in the Old Testament, often referring to anyone who is blocking or challenging someone else. Another resource that helps you do your own research into what the Bible says is the Logos Bible app, starting at free. This article references it a good deal, and anyone interested in spiritual warfare should check it out, too.

Heiser’s book, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. To truly understand what the Bible says about Satan and spiritual warfare, we need to understand its original authors’ and readers’ perspectives.Ī particularly helpful resource for this is Dr. The Bible was written millennia ago by people with a far more supernatural worldview than we tend to have today. So, let’s take a look at some biblical facts about Satan in the Bible. It can be difficult to distinguish traditions from what the Bible actually says about Satan. However, there’s a lot of devil folklore out there. We have an enemy-and if we’re going to stand firm against him, we need to know whom we’re up against. Peter tells believers to beware: he is always on the prowl. James tells Christians that if they resist the devil, he will flee from them. Paul tells the Ephesian church to put on the full armor of God, so that they can stand firm against his schemes. The Bible calls him the devil, Satan, the evil one. Jesus says he’s been a murderer from the beginning, and he’s engaged in an all-out war against the forces of good in the universe. He’s the universe’s public enemy number one, the chief opponent of God and his people, and the leader of uncounted demonic forces. Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email LinkedIn