This is not a reference to Salman Rushdie. Here is a short lesson on who satan is.
Who was satan in the beginning? To understand this we must first know what he was. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that he is "an angel of light". Was he an angel? We get the word angel from the Greeks; angelos, meaning messenger of God. If satan was an angel then he would be some kind of messenger. Examine more evidence of what angels are. Please remember to read more of the passages than just the one verse cited.
Colossians 1:16 says that angels are created beings.
Luke 1:19, 1:28, 2:10 give examples of angels bringing messages to people on the earth.
Luke 2:13-14, 15:10, 22:43, Revelation 5:12 are some scriptures that show angels worshiping God and rejoicing in His presence.
Hebrews 1:14 says that angels minister to God's people.
Acts 12:23 shows how angels are to carry out God's wrath upon the earth.
If satan was an angel he was supposed to be from the time he was created, a being who brought messages of hope, praised and worshiped God, ministered to the rest of creation and would one day help carry out God's wrath. However, the last one was only due to his own doing.
Maybe he was an angel, but why was he called satan then? The angels that we have in scripture (canon and non-canon) all have angelic names ending with the name of God. MichaEL. GabriEL. RaphaEL. UriEL. RemiEL. RaguEL. SariEL. Why if satan was an angel is his name different?
IT'S NOT HIS NAME! No where in the Bible is his name actually mentioned. The word satan comes the Hebrew word meaning "accuser". "Lucifer" as in the KJV in Isaiah 14:12 means "light bearer", or "morning star", i.e. Venus, the brightest of stars. Stars is a biblical analogy of angels in Revelation. "Devil" means slanderer. The Serpent, the Dragon, Beelzebub (lord of the flies) and Belial (worthless) are other names used for satan.
So working on these items, satan if he was an angel was the brightest of them all. He may have been the leader of all the angels as Isaiah put it (also Matthew 25:41). But somehow he lost his namesake. God somewhere wiped his name from existence. His name became worthless. He became no better than lord of the flies.
The greatest thing about this part of the story is he still has to serve God! Job 1:6, 2:1 say that satan comes before God and has to present himself. His authority is not his own. It is from God and God alone.
The question remains: Why did he lose his name?
Note: This was Thought IX on www.ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com. It fits better here and was added as Feb. 4, 2014. The comment section was also moved in case discussion needed it.
Who was satan in the beginning? To understand this we must first know what he was. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that he is "an angel of light". Was he an angel? We get the word angel from the Greeks; angelos, meaning messenger of God. If satan was an angel then he would be some kind of messenger. Examine more evidence of what angels are. Please remember to read more of the passages than just the one verse cited.
Colossians 1:16 says that angels are created beings.
Luke 1:19, 1:28, 2:10 give examples of angels bringing messages to people on the earth.
Luke 2:13-14, 15:10, 22:43, Revelation 5:12 are some scriptures that show angels worshiping God and rejoicing in His presence.
Hebrews 1:14 says that angels minister to God's people.
Acts 12:23 shows how angels are to carry out God's wrath upon the earth.
If satan was an angel he was supposed to be from the time he was created, a being who brought messages of hope, praised and worshiped God, ministered to the rest of creation and would one day help carry out God's wrath. However, the last one was only due to his own doing.
Maybe he was an angel, but why was he called satan then? The angels that we have in scripture (canon and non-canon) all have angelic names ending with the name of God. MichaEL. GabriEL. RaphaEL. UriEL. RemiEL. RaguEL. SariEL. Why if satan was an angel is his name different?
IT'S NOT HIS NAME! No where in the Bible is his name actually mentioned. The word satan comes the Hebrew word meaning "accuser". "Lucifer" as in the KJV in Isaiah 14:12 means "light bearer", or "morning star", i.e. Venus, the brightest of stars. Stars is a biblical analogy of angels in Revelation. "Devil" means slanderer. The Serpent, the Dragon, Beelzebub (lord of the flies) and Belial (worthless) are other names used for satan.
So working on these items, satan if he was an angel was the brightest of them all. He may have been the leader of all the angels as Isaiah put it (also Matthew 25:41). But somehow he lost his namesake. God somewhere wiped his name from existence. His name became worthless. He became no better than lord of the flies.
The greatest thing about this part of the story is he still has to serve God! Job 1:6, 2:1 say that satan comes before God and has to present himself. His authority is not his own. It is from God and God alone.
The question remains: Why did he lose his name?
Note: This was Thought IX on www.ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com. It fits better here and was added as Feb. 4, 2014. The comment section was also moved in case discussion needed it.
Shabat Shalom (Sabbath Peace)
ReplyDeleteBaruch Attah Y'shua haMashiach b'Shem Adonai. (Blessed is he, Y'shua, the Messiah, who comes in the name of the Lord.)
May he come soon.
I hope this Shabat finds finds you resting peacefully in the Messiah.
Satan's name is in the Tanak. You referenced Lucifer in Yesha-Yahu (Isaiah) 14:12. The Hebrew name translated as Lucifer is Heylel, which means, "to shine as god or morning star."
If you look for the Samaritan version of Heylel, you'll find Satan's name over 70 times in the Tanak. The Samaritan version is Beylel, translated as Baal in the english Bible.
Isn't it interesting that the Tanak tells us that followers of Baal claims that he resides as "elohim" on Baal-Perazim,in the lands east of the Jordan River. He holds a high place in Palestine, can we say "King of Tyrus", Y'chezk'El (Ezekiel) 28:12-19. But he lives in Gur-Baal, which is in Arabia.
Many fail to see that the Palestinian\Arab problem has been with us from the beginning and will be until Haylel (Baal) is consumed with fire, as the Tanak says, by the TRUE Elohim, Y'shua.
Shabat Shalom
This is fantastic. This is what I meant in one of our conversations about how many NT Christians do not understand the meanings behind scripture. This helps in my studies. I am glad to see I was right on some of it. :)
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to know if these names were in the original manuscripts, or had they been translated later?
See if my satanic verses part II is correct in assessment. I will post it sometime this week. And yes I do use Ezekial 28 for this one.
I for one see the Palestinian problem.
Pray for the peace of Yerushalayim.
Shabat Shalom to you as well my friend.
Tim I believe the reference to satan in 2 Corinthians ch 11 says that satan, as do false apostles, DISGUISE themselves as angels (messengers) of light.
ReplyDelete'And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.'
That does not imply that they actually are, or ever were, a messenger of light. He is a liar and deceiver and always has been from the beginning.
I like your references. But all this leads to an important question. Why was the king of Tyre mentioned then? Why would God waste time and ability mentioning a king that really doesn't mean anything to the human race? There has to be something inside that message, a spiritual something. So I will keep believing this is a story about our relation with satan or rather God's relation with him.
ReplyDeleteThat is fair enough Tim,
ReplyDeletewe all have to search the scriptures to find what we are looking for in them. As for me, ever since I have been born again I have discerned them spiritually and they make complete sense to me that way.
God bless