“And He (Jesus) said to them, ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning’ ” (Luke 10:18, parentheses added).
“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9).
Covenant Prayer
Dear Father, I ask that You would give me the power and the strength to understand the deeds and tricks of the enemy. I know that Satan attempts to play the role of a father in my life and I choose this day to reject every way he attempts to deceive me. I claim Your Truth as my heavenly Father and stand on all of Your promises as Your child. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. I accept the fact that You are the only Father, Leader, and Rabbi who can be trusted. I embrace Christ as the one and only Teacher whom You have sent to train me up as Your child. These things I pray in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Take Action - Your View
- Why do you believe it is so important for Satan to “play” the role of a father in your life?
- Look up each Scripture and see if you agree with my summary statements:
- Isa. 14:13 Lucifer, son of the morning
- Matt. 4:3 A tempter of God’s children
- Matt. 13:19, 38 Wicked one
- Matt. 13:39 Enemy of the children of God
- John 8:44 Father of lies
- John 12:31 Prince of the world
- 2 Cor. 4:4 A god of this world
- Eph. 2:2 The power of the air
- 1 Peter 5:8 Adversary
- Rev. 9:11 Hebrew name of Satan = Abaddon A destroying angel
- Rev. 12:10 An accuser of the brethren
- Rev. 20:2 He is a devil = evil one
Since God, the Father, does not share His throne with anyone, Satan had to be thrown from heaven immediately after he lifted himself up. Pride – exalting oneself – is the original sin. Contrary to most teachings, the original sin did not take place in the Garden of Eden. It occurred in heaven when Lucifer, now Satan, attempted to take the role of the Father. God’s punishment of Satan was to make him fatherless. There is no suffering worse than being fatherless. This is why God promises to be a Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5).
Take Action – Your View
- Look up Ezekiel 28:12-13 and state how God the Father describes Satan.
- Knowing that pride means being lifted up, in what ways do you exalt yourself on a day-to-day basis?
- When you stand in front of a mirror, what do you see?
- Why is it a sin to look down upon yourself?
One of the great mysteries has always been who replaced the vacancy Lucifer left open after he was removed from heaven? The answer is simple: Adam and Eve. Since the primary role of Lucifer was to cover the mercy seat of God and sing praises unto His holy name, Adam and Eve became the new instruments of praise for the Father (1 Chron. 16:9, 2 Samuel 22:50). Keep in mind that God designed just three objectives for heaven: 1) praising His holy name, 2) spiritual warfare, and 3) securing the message or Word of the Father. God did not put extra responsibilities on Michael or Gabriel. He created a new being to fulfill the first role of the archangels, which was to sing praises and thanksgiving unto the name of the Father. Mankind was formed by the hand of God to do exactly that. Therefore, Adam and Eve were created in perfection, placed in a perfect environment (the Garden of Eden), and were commanded to lift up the Father in all they did. God did not miss a heartbeat in acting upon the rebellion of Satan. This clearly communicates our purpose for being here on this earth.
God took the design of heaven and mirrored it here on earth, by setting up the order of heaven through Adam and Eve. God took His perfect model of the FIRST FAMILY and designed, or formed, the first earthly family. In heaven are God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit overseeing the “sons of God” – His angels. On earth, He (Trinity) oversees the three parts (trinity) of His earthly family - Adam, Eve, and their children.
Adam represents the role of Christ (1 Cor. 11:3). Woman was formed to be a representative of the role of the Holy Spirit. By the way, all the adjectives used to describe woman just happen to be the same adjectives used to describe the Holy Spirit. A surprise? Not really. Adam and Eve were created in the image of the “Us” (Gen 1:26). God took His image from heaven and established it here on earth, continuing to fulfill His commitment to being a God of order. Satan’s act of rebellion did not throw God off from being worshipped and the center of the universe. Adam and Eve became a significant part of God’s instrument to punish Satan. Yes, we are vessels of punishment for the enemy (Ezek. 28:7-8). Now our part in this world has expanded; we are created to worship the Father and bring punishment to the evil one.
I wish I could say it all stopped there, but it didn’t. Satan was not about to give up on taking the role of the Father. Not knowing the mind and will of the Father, he was about to fall into God’s plan again. Isn’t it interesting that God removed Satan from heaven, placed him in the Garden of Eden, in a tree formed by Him, knowing Satan was about to tempt Eve with the same sin he (Satan) had fallen into? It’s also important to understand that when God created Adam and Eve, He gave them freedom and a command to eat from all the trees in the garden except the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” It sounds to me like God knew what Satan was about to do. What would have made more sense to me would have been to place Satan on a planet in another solar system! But you see, that wasn’t God’s plan. God was using all of creation to put Satan in his place, once and for all. We were created for a specific mission that includes all the key players who were in the Garden of Eden that day.
Since Satan had/has no ability to know the mind of the Father, he does what was/is predicted. He attempts to steal the role of the Father in Adam and Eve’s life. He knew the only way he could function in this role was to break the connection between God and His children. He also knew he couldn’t go directly through Adam to get this job done. Therefore, he went through the weakness of Adam, his helpmate. In order to break the connection between Adam and his Father, Satan needed to get Adam to listen to a voice other than God. Ultimately, Satan wanted Adam to listen to him, but knowing Adam’s design, he knew he had a better chance of accomplishing his mission if he went through a vessel Adam was commanded to be one with, Eve. The plan worked and Adam chose to harken to the voice of his woman instead of the voice of his Father. Now the enemy was able to move into position of father of lies (John 8:44). Adam and Eve, and all subsequent generations, would be subject to the father of lies and be bound to carry out the desires of the enemy (Romans 5:19). Because sin entered into Adam’s seed, every man and woman born of Adam would be born into the slavery of Satan. The enemy knew that man was created by the Father to carry out the desires of a father. By stealing the role of father, he was guaranteed to have children of disobedience and have the Father’s wrath come upon man (Colossians 3:6). Satan is no longer alone in his rebellion.
Satan may be the father of the sin nature (flesh) of your mortal body, but if you are a “born-again” Christian, he cannot father you as a daddy!
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Next time: Redeeming the Role of the Father
