Satan’s Hidden Influence
Introduction
The purpose of this series is to show many of the different ways in which Satan influences the things of this world from a behind the scenes standpoint. In this introduction lesson we will show how Satan is the God of this world and also how sneaking he is when getting the world to worship him instead of the true God.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we see that Satan is referred to as the god of this world. But note that as the god of this world he has blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. Satan uses all sorts of things to blind the minds of people from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan has many worshipping false gods, or other idols such as education and money or the material things of this world. What many do not realize is the simple fact that Satan is behind most of the things that replace true worship of the one true God.
It is important to see that from the very beginning Satan desired to be worshipped. In Isaiah 14:12-15 we see that this is one of the reasons for his fall. Notice the five I’s of Satan in this passage. One of these is “I will be like the most High”. From the very beginning Satan has desired to be like God and even above God. This is why he is doing anything possible to get people to worship him instead of God. This also shows us why everything that God does Satan usually copies. Remember what Satan said, “I will be like the most High”.
Satan’s Deceptiveness :
As any good con-man knows there must be an element of truth in the con for it to work. Satan as the god of this world is the master con-man. He always uses just enough of the bible to mess people up. Satan is extremely wise and he uses this to his advantage. In Ezekiel 28:12-19 we see that Satan was originally created by God as the anointed cherub that coveth (verse14). In his original position he is said to be full of wisdom (verse 12), but after his fall note that his wisdom is said to be corrupted (verse 17). Satan still has his wisdom just note that it has been corrupted. Below are some verses that warn us of this.
Genesis 3:1 (Satan was more subtil than any beast of the field)
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (Satan can be transformed into an angel of light)
1 Peter 5:8 (Satan is like a lion devouring seeks whom he can devour)
2 Thessalonians 2:7 (The mystery of iniquity is already at work)
1 John 4:1-4 (The Spirit of anti-christ is already at work)
An Example of Satan’s Deceptiveness :
Here we will list an example of how deceptive Satan really is. First we must remember that Satan was originally created as the anointed cherub that coverth (Ezekiel 28:14). There are 3 places in the word of God where we see the living creatures around the throne described and when they are described they each are connected with 4 faces. We will list them with the 4 faces below.
Ezekiel 1:10 Ezekiel 10:14 Revelation 4:7
1) Man 1) Cherub 1) Lion
2) Lion 2) Man 2) Calf
3) Ox 3) Lion 3) Man
4) Eagle 4) Eagle 4) Eagle
Note that all the faces match except in Ezekiel 10:14 and the ox or calf, which represents the same class of beast, is replaced with a Cherub. This tells us that the face of a cherub is that of an ox or a calf. You might be thinking what does this have to do with anything but remember that Satan is the anointed cherub that coveth. Before he fell there would have been 5 living creatures around the throne. There as the anointed cherub Satan is connected with a calf or an ox.
When we think of Satan we think of the little red devil we see in cartoons, but we do not believe that is a real image of Satan. Satan in his deceptive ways is hiding in plain sight. In the cartoon he is always red, in Revelation 12:3 he is called a great red dragon. In many of the old cartoons he is drawn with a split foot or hoof this matches a calf or an ox, he is even been called old split foot. He is always drawn with 2 horns, this matches a calf or an ox. He is drawn with a pointed tail, this matches a calf also.
Ever wondered why Satan is drawn with a 3 pronged pitchfork? Satan is a counterfeit high priest because he imitates everything God does. One of the tools that a priest would use to take offerings off of the altar was a flesh hook which had three teeth (1 Samuel 2:13,14). Therefore it is no wonder that Satan is drawn with a pitchfork.
It is not just a coincidence that the very first false god that the children of Israel made after leaving Egypt was a golden calf (Exodus 32:1-6), Satan was behind it the whole time. Notice also in 1 Kings 12:25-33 that Jeroboam made false gods out of golden calves and the children of Israel worshiped them. This is why many false religions are connected with cows or bulls it is the influence of Satan and many people do not even realize it.
From these things we see that Satan is very deceptive and sneaky in his approach to getting mankind to worship him and therefore we should be very careful in these matters.
Satan’s Hidden Influence Lesson #1 : Handout
Introduction
1) What is the purpose of this series?
2) Give a reference showing that Satan is the God of this world.
3) Give a chain reference for how deceptive Satan really is.
4) What was Satan’s original position before he fell? Give a reference.
5) Show using Ezekiel 1; and Ezekiel 10; and Revelation 4 what is the face of a cherub and how it is connected to Satan.