HOW DO I GAIN VICTORY OVER SELF-DECEIT? [Part 2]

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. ~Revelation 12:7-9

What was the cause of this war?

 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.~Ezekiel 28:15

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. ~Isaiah 14:13-14

From these two scriptures, we note 2 things about the Devil. Iniquity was found in him and he wanted the office of God. Instead of submitting to God as the Creator, He sought His place and the same adoration that belongs to Him.

This war was really about God’s law. The Bible speaking of angels says: Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. ~Psalm 103:20.

Angels do the commandments of God and they take heed to God when He speaks. Secondly, we are told they are God’s ‘ministers that do his pleasure’ ~Psalm 103:21

So Satan’s perfection not only referred to outward resemblance but inward perfection too – which refers to harmony to God’s law. This we know because we are told it was up until this point then iniquity was found in Him.

Furthermore in coveting the office of God he was essentially saying: I’ll no longer be God’s minister nor do His pleasure. He was rebelled against His Maker hence there war took place.

So two things led to this war: Sin in Satan’s heart and pride.

Other elements that led to the war in heaven

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.~Ezekiel 28:17

The text above also speaks about Satan’s pride. It goes on a step further and highlights that Satan corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness.

Self-deceit had a play in Satan’s rebellion. So had disobedience.

When the Bible speaks of wisdom it says:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.~Proverbs 9:10

What does it mean to fear the Lord? The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.~Proverbs 8:13

And lastly it says: But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.~James 3:17

Thus in corrupting his wisdom, Satan no longer feared the Lord (hate evil, pride, the evil way etc.). Nor was he pure anymore because iniquity was found in Him.

Essentially, iniquity was found in him because he ‘transgressed God’s law’ because iniquity is ‘the transgression of God’s law’. ~1 John 3:4

Had obedience and self-lessness reigned in Satan’s with him continually doing God’s commands and heeding to God’s voice this war would not have ensued.

The war between two parties: how did Satan get angels on his side?

⁷And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. ~Revelation 12:7

We learn that the war took place between Jesus and his angels & Satan and his angels. Yet it’s important to note that Satan is a created being.

 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.~Ezekiel 28:13

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.~Ezekiel 28:15

Satan’s work as a Deceiver begins

³ And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

⁴ And 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 12:3-4

It is important to note that the book Revelation uses symbolism and imagery to explain things. The text above refers to the great red dragon. In this context this dragon refers to Satan. Now it says something interesting: with his tail he drew the third part of the stars of heaven.

What are the stars and what does the tail of the dragon refer to?

¹² And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

¹³ And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

¹⁴ His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

¹⁵ And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

¹⁶ And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.~ Revelation 1: 14-16

My interest lies in verse 16 and it highlights that Jesus had seven stars in his right hand. Then we later on find out what is the meaning of these stars in this context:

 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.~Revelation 1:20

The text tells us that the stars here refer to angels. Now let’s put the puzzle together: Satan used his tail to get a third of the angels in the heaven, which are told were on his side in the war and were later cast down on earth.

Tail

Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail. ~ Isaiah 7:14, 15

The tail is associated with lies. So essentially what we learn is: The devil drew a third of the angels with lies, hence he was able to have angels on his side when the war took place.

Through lies, the devil began a journey as the Deceiver. Furthermore, Jesus speaking about the Devil affirms this by saying:

 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.~John 8:44

The Devil invented lies. He is the father of lies. And to deceive you cannot speak the truth. You must tweak it here and there.

So began the journey of Satan as a Deceiver. His first targets were the third of angels he left with in heaven.

We’ll look at how Satan managed to deceive humans in the following article.