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III. How evil, satan, and evil spirits came into existence.
| 1. |
In order for Elohim,
Jehovah God, to accomplish His purpose and plan, His works being
finished from the foundation of the world, it was necessary for Almighty
God to create those things that would be required to bring this great
work about. Nothing came into being without His creative power!
Revelation 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for
thy pleasure they are and were created.
Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished, and all the host of them. (KJV)
Hebrews 4:3
For we which have believed do enter into
rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into
my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the
world. (KJV)
| a. |
Since Jehovah is
LIGHT & GOOD, He had to create darkness and evil, and He
formed -- not created -- the various kinds of light. HE is
LIGHT.
Isaiah 45:6-7
That they may know from the
rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there is] none
beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else. 7I
form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil:
I the LORD do all these [things]. (KJV)
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| b. |
Some think that
if there were no satan or demons, that there would be no evil!
These people wonder WHY God did not kill the devil, satan. The
reason is, that these were all instruments brought into
existence in order to accomplish God's plan to call out a people
for Himself! |
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| 2. |
Evil & sin exist
apart from satan. The devil, satan, is the leader of the forces that
entice mankind to sin, which means to disobey the righteous laws of
Almighty God, the Creator. To desire evil and not good.
| a. |
Evil
= H - ra` (rah) = bad, evil, adversity,
affliction, calamity, distress, grief, harm, wretchedness; good
for nothing. "Ra" comes from a word raw-ah'
meaning, to spoil; break into pieces; it is the opposite to good
and life. It denotes activity that is contrary to God's will;
being wrong in regard to God's original and ongoing intention
and detrimental in terms of its effect on mankind. It is the
opposite to faith in God and His Word, which is sin. |
| b. |
Evil
= G - (there are various words used, noun, adjectives,
& verbs); all have the same essential meaning as above:=
badness in quality; wickedness; depravity, malignity. The noun, kakos
(kak-os') stands for whatever is evil in character; poneros
(pon-ay-ros') indicates what is evil in influence & effect. |
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| 3. |
Angels (spirit beings),
no doubt, existed before the creation of the present heavens and earth.
They are seen around the throne of God.
Revelation 5:11
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; (KJV)
Hebrews 1:5-7
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this
day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he
shall be to me a Son? 6And again, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God
worship him. 7And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his
angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. (KJV)
Hebrews 1:13-14
But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 14Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs
of salvation? (KJV)
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| 4. |
Among the First things we
know about satan from the Scriptures.
| a. |
He was in the
garden of Eden when mankind was created. He used a beast of the
field, a serpent, to attract (lure) Eve into his lie trap. As a
result of satan's cunning, all three victims, experienced the
force of evil. The serpent, the woman, and the man received
sentence from God, and the whole creation suffered the
consequences.(Gen.3:1-19; Rom.8:19-23; Ezek. 28:13-17) |
| b. |
He was present
when the "sons of God presented themselves before the
LORD" (Jehovah). Satan came also in the midst of them.
Job 1:6-7
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7And
the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan
answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.
| 1.) |
Our minds
deceive us when we are led to think that this takes
place in heaven... it does not! On several occasions,
men of God came to present themselves before Jehovah.
The same Hebrew word is used in each instance, and this
helps us to understand better about satan. |
| 2.) |
present
= H – yatsab (yaw-tsab') = to stand,
set, or station oneself; |
| 3.) |
This
same word is used in the following passages:
Deuteronomy
31:14
And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy
days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and
present yourselves in the tabernacle of the
congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses
and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the
tabernacle of the congregation.
Joshua
24:1
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to
Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for
their heads, and for their judges, and for their
officers; and they presented themselves before God. (KJV)
Judges
20:2
And the chief of all the people, [even] of all the
tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly
of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen
that drew sword. (KJV)
1
Samuel 10:19
And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself
saved you out of all your adversities and your
tribulations; and ye have said unto him, [Nay], but
set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves
before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.
(KJV)
1
Samuel 17:16
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and
presented himself forty days. (KJV)
Job
1:6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to
present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came
also among them. (KJV)
Job
2:1-2
Again there was a day when the sons
of God came to present themselves before
the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present
himself before the LORD. 2And the LORD said
unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan
answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it. (KJV)
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| 4.) |
Sons
of God refer to the men who were true
believers in Jehovah.
son = H – ben
(bane) = a son (as the builder of the family
name); from a word meaning, "to build," or
"obtain a family." It is used in reference to
the true Jehovah worshippers as follows:
Genesis 6:1-2
And it came to pass,
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them, 2That
the sons of God
saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and
they took them wives of all which they chose.
= the believing men began to
marry the unbelieving women. This is what Solomon did
later in his reign as King over Israel.
1 Kings 11:4
For it came to pass,
when Solomon was old, [that] his wives turned away his
heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect
with the LORD his God, as [was] the heart of David his
father. (KJV)
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| c. |
Satan is first
identified by name in 1 Chronicles 21:1. (unless JOB was written
earlier). Satan is the arch-enemy of Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:1
And Satan stood up against
Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:7
And God was displeased with
this thing; therefore he smote Israel. (KJV)
(David was lured by satan to trust in
numbers rather than the power of God. Even Joab knew better.
Verse 21:3.)
| 1.) |
Provoked
= H – cuwth (sooth) = to
prick; seduce; entice; persuade. |
| 2.) |
stood
up against = as an adversary. |
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| d. |
In his spiritual
experience with Jehovah, Zechariah was shown Satan standing to
resist Joshua, the high priest. ("Joshua" is the same
as Jesus) Satan is seen as resisting Jehovah's determination
about Jerusalem.
Zechariah 3:1-2
And he shewed me Joshua the
high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan
standing at his right hand to resist him. 2And the
LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the
LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a
brand plucked out of the fire? (KJV)
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