WHO IS SATAN, CAN HE READ OUR THOUGHTS AND DOES HE REALLY EXIST ?
PART 1
Sakkie Parsons
One of my people, as I call you all in my heart to whom I have the honour of sending mail, wrote to me one day; and mentions among other things that; she wonders if satan can sometimes know what we are thinking.
Former this email conversation between me and the lady who receives my mail, someone disagreed with me for proclaiming, as he put it, that our loving God will allow people to go to hell.
I then also remembered that one of the major Christian denominations’ synods apparently, so I heard, also want to investigate whether satan really exists. I do not mention this denomination’s name because I was not in their meeting and I myself simply cannot imagine that, with everything that Jesus and the Word say about satan, there can be right-thinking Christians who can even think in such a direction.
I then decided to share these topics with my people.
Just for introduction –
One of my great teachers said to me one day: “Sakkie, if you cannot substantiate what you say in black and white from the Word; but make a deduction from what you see in the Word, tell very clearly to those with whom you share it, that you do not see it in black and white in the Word; but that’s your view.”
So, I want to make it clear now – the passages that I am now going to quote from the Word and apply to satan – are originally in Isaiah 14:12-13, applied to the king of Babel and in the case of Ezekiel 28:13-15, it originally applied to the king of Tyre.
However, I, like many others, am of the opinion that the same kind of symbolism can be used here, as we see in Matthew 2:14-15 which refers to Hosea 11:1. We read in Matthew 2:14-15 the following:
MAT 2:14-15
14So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Hosea]: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”
We read in Hosea 11:1as follows:
HOS 11:1 God Is The Loving Father Of His People
1When Israel was a child [a young nation], I loved him,
And I called My son out of Egypt.
In Hosea 11:1 we read about the stubborn imperfect child and in Matthew 2:15 we read about the obedient perfect child.
Back to our topic on ‘Who is satan, can he read our minds and does he really exist’.
First – Who is satan?
Satan – as I understand it from the Word – was created as a cherub. Cherubim are also, as I understand it from the Word, of the highest type of angels, or if you want, the highest type of Heavenly beings among the angels in Heaven – but it then went to his head and then he was thrown from Heaven.
In this regard, I would like to share with you the following from the Word:
ISA 14:12-14
12“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]!13“But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the remote parts of the north.14‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
EZE 28:13-15
13“You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and your sockets,
Was in you.
They were prepared
On the day that you were created.14“You were the anointed cherub who covers and protects,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire [sparkling jewels].15“You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness and evil were found in you.
Then satan became the god/ruler of this world – for all who do not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. If you now read the two examples that I present to you to confirm what I am saying, also just pay attention again to where you and I were, before we responded to our Lord’s knock on our hearts:
2 COR 4:3-4 3But even if our gospel is [in some sense] hidden [behind a veil], it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing; 4among them the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
In The Living Bible, this passage reads:
2 COR 4:4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. (Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ) They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
EFE 2:1-3
1And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, 2in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God]. 3Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].
In The Living Bible, this passage reads:
EPH 2:1-3
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. (before you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.)
2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil – the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
In the Word, satan is also called by quite a few other names, but if you cut it all down to the bone, then in my opinion, he is, as I have shown you, the god, the ruler of this unbelieving world.
Now we know that satan was a cherub with extraordinary beauty, but according to the testimony from the Word, he must also possess an extremely great power of persuasion/influence. I think he then managed to persuade a large part of the angels who were with our Lord in Heaven to stand up with him, against our Lord:
REV 12:7-9
7And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, 8but they were not strong enough and did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
If you are looking for physical evidence of his persuasiveness / influence, you only have to look around you and open the newspapers or watch events on TV, as well as what you yourself sometimes do, which you do not want to do.
Paul warns us that satan disguises himself as an angel to deceive people:
2COR 11:13-15
13 For such men are counterfeit apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 So it is no great surprise if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, but their end will correspond with their deeds.
Jesus says the satan is a murderer and the father of all lies:
JOHN 8:44 44 You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths.
Listen – Here is the reality as I understand it from the Word:
If you do not have the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling in you, you have, (if I may use a kind of anglicism), the same chance of surviving spiritually, “as a snowflake can exist in the flames of hell.”
Now don’t think I’m threatening you. I am telling you the reality as it is.
If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you leave this world, – exactly the same future that awaits satan and his angels, awaits you.
MAT 25:41 “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Leave Me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (demons);
Read here what Jesus is saying about His followers who walk in His ways:
JOHN 5:24 “I (Jesus Christ) assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins—the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we are no longer under the dominium of satan because:
COL 1:13 The Incomparable Christ
13 For He (Jesus Christ) has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominium of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
ACTS 26:18 18 to open their [spiritual] eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness and release from their sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (set apart, made holy) by faith in Me.’
The distinction between the unbelieving world and the children of God.
1JOHN 5:18-20
18 We know [with confidence] that anyone born of God does not habitually sin; but He (Jesus) who was born of God [carefully] keeps and protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know [for a fact] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] lies in the power of the evil one [opposing God and His precepts]. 20 And we [have seen and] know [by personal experience] that the Son of God has [actually] come [to this world], and has given us understanding and insight so that we may [progressively and personally] know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
In my next writing, part 2 in this series, I will share with you whether satan can read our minds.
Sakkie