(All Bible texts are in the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated)
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
10 Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said:
“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.
3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be
27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power.
It was God's purpose to place things on an eternal basis of
security, and in the councils of heaven it was decided that time must
be given for Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation
of his system of government. He had claimed that these were superior to
God's principles. Time was given for the working of Satan's principles,
that they might be seen by the heavenly universe.
Satan led men into sin, and the plan of redemption was put in
operation. For four thousand years, Christ was working for man's
uplifting, and Satan for his ruin and degradation. And the heavenly
universe beheld it all.
When Jesus came into the world, Satan's power was turned against Him.
From the time when He appeared as a babe in Bethlehem, the usurper
worked to bring about His destruction. In every possible way he sought
to prevent Jesus from developing a perfect childhood, a faultless
manhood, a holy ministry, and an unblemished sacrifice. But he was
defeated. He could not lead Jesus into sin. He could not discourage
Him, or drive Him from a work He had come on earth to do. From the
desert to Calvary, the storm of Satan's wrath beat upon Him, but the
more mercilessly it fell, the more firmly did the Son of God cling to
the hand of His Father, and press on in the bloodstained path. All the
efforts of Satan to oppress and overcome Him only brought out in a
purer light His spotless character.
All heaven and the unfallen worlds had been witnesses to the
controversy. With what intense interest did they follow the closing
scenes of the conflict. They beheld the Saviour enter the garden of
Gethsemane, His soul bowed down with the horror of a great darkness.
They heard His bitter cry, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from Me.” Matthew 26:39. As the Father's presence was withdrawn,
they saw Him sorrowful with a bitterness of sorrow exceeding that of
the last great struggle with death. The bloody sweat was forced from
His pores, and fell in drops upon the ground. Thrice the prayer for
deliverance was wrung from His lips. Heaven could no longer endure the
sight, and a messenger of comfort was sent to the Son of God.
Heaven beheld the Victim betrayed into the hands of the murderous mob,
and with mockery and violence hurried from one tribunal to another. It
heard the sneers of His persecutors because of His lowly birth. It
heard the denial with cursing and swearing by one of His best-loved
disciples. It saw the frenzied work of Satan, and his power over the
hearts of men. Oh, fearful scene! the Saviour seized at midnight in
Gethsemane, dragged to and fro from palace to judgment hall, arraigned
twice before the priests, twice before the Sanhedrin, twice before
Pilate, and once before Herod, mocked, scourged, condemned, and led out
to be crucified, bearing the heavy burden of the cross, amid the
wailing of the daughters of Jerusalem and the jeering of the rabble.
Heaven viewed with grief and amazement Christ hanging upon the cross,
blood flowing from His wounded temples, and sweat tinged with blood
standing upon His brow. From His hands and feet the blood fell, drop by
drop, upon the rock drilled for the foot of the cross. The wounds made
by the nails gaped as the weight of His body dragged upon His hands.
His labored breath grew quick and deep, as His soul panted under the
burden of the sins of the world. All heaven was filled with wonder when
the prayer of Christ was offered in the midst of His terrible
suffering,—“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke
23:34. Yet there stood men, formed in the image of God, joining to
crush out the life of His only-begotten Son. What a sight for the
heavenly universe!
The principalities and powers of darkness were assembled around the
cross, casting the hellish shadow of unbelief into the hearts of men.
When the Lord created these beings to stand before His throne, they
were beautiful and glorious. Their loveliness and holiness were in
accordance with their exalted station. They were enriched with the
wisdom of God, and girded with the panoply of heaven. They were
Jehovah's ministers. But who could recognize in the fallen angels the
glorious seraphim that once ministered in the heavenly courts?
Satanic agencies confederated with evil men in leading the people to
believe Christ the chief of sinners, and to make Him the object of
detestation. Those who mocked Christ as He hung upon the cross were
imbued with the spirit of the first great rebel. He filled them with
vile and loathsome speeches. He inspired their taunts. But by all this
he gained nothing.
Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular
yielded to Satan to escape the terrible torture, the enemy of God and
man would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held
fast His faith and His submission to God. “And I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom
of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and
night.” Revelation 12:10.
Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid
open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He
had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of
God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly
beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might
assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the
heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ's brethren of being
clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The
last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.
Yet Satan was not then destroyed. The angels did not even then
understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The
principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of
man, Satan's existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must
see the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of
darkness. He must choose whom he will serve.
In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the
law of God could not be obeyed, that justice was inconsistent with
mercy, and that, should the law be broken, it would be impossible for
the sinner to be pardoned. Every sin must meet its punishment, urged
Satan; and if God should remit the punishment of sin, He would not be a
God of truth and justice. When men broke the law of God, and defied His
will, Satan exulted. It was proved, he declared, that the law could not
be obeyed; man could not be forgiven. Because he, after his rebellion,
had been banished from heaven, Satan claimed that the human race must
be forever shut out from God's favor. God could not be just, he urged,
and yet show mercy to the sinner.
But even as a sinner, man was in a different position from that of
Satan. Lucifer in heaven had sinned in the light of God's glory. To him
as to no other created being was given a revelation of God's love.
Understanding the character of God, knowing His goodness, Satan chose
to follow his own selfish, independent will. This choice was final.
There was no more that God could do to save him. But man was deceived;
his mind was darkened by Satan's sophistry. The height and depth of the
love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of
God's love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God.
Through Jesus, God's mercy was manifested to men; but mercy does not
set aside justice. The law reveals the attributes of God's character,
and not a jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his
fallen condition. God did not change His law, but He sacrificed
Himself, in Christ, for man's redemption. “God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19.
The law requires righteousness,—a righteous life, a perfect character;
and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God's holy
law. But Christ, coming to the earth as man, lived a holy life, and
developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all
who will receive them. His life stands for the life of men. Thus they
have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.
More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds
up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a
goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very
righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God
can “be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
Romans 3:26.
God's love has been expressed in His justice no less
than in His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the
fruit of His love. It had been Satan's purpose to divorce
mercy from truth and justice. He sought to prove that the righteousness
of God's law is an enemy to peace. But Christ shows that in God's plan
they are indissolubly joined together; the one cannot exist without the
other. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have
kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10.
By His life and His death, Christ proved that God's justice did not
destroy His mercy, but that sin could be forgiven, and that the law is
righteous, and can be perfectly obeyed. Satan's charges were refuted.
God had given man unmistakable evidence of His love.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [a]This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 [a]But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your [b]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the [c]tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
6 For when we were still without strength, [a]in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.
16 “By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
17 “Your heart was [a]lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.
18 “You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever.” ’ ”
1 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Because your heart is lifted[a] up,
And you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
In the midst of the seas,’
Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
4 With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”
6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
8 They shall throw you down into the Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.
9 “Will you still say before him who slays you,
‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken,” says the Lord God.’ ”
Before Lucifer was banished from heaven, he sought to abolish the law of God. He claimed that the unfallen intelligences of holy heaven had no need of law, but were capable of governing themselves and of preserving unspotted integrity. Lucifer was the covering cherub, the most exalted of the heavenly created beings; he stood nearest the throne of God, and was most closely connected and identified with the administration of God's government, most richly endowed with the glory of his majesty and power. The prophet writes of his exaltation, saying: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
The angels had been created full of goodness and love. They loved
one another impartially and their God supremely, and they were prompted
by this love to do his pleasure. The law of God was not a grievous yoke
to them, but it was their delight to do his commandments, to hearken
unto the voice of his word. But in this state of peace and purity, sin
originated with him who had been perfect in all his ways. The prophet
writes of him: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou
hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Sin
is a mysterious, unexplainable thing. There was no reason for its
existence; to seek to explain it is to seek to give a reason for it,
and that would be to justify it. Sin appeared in a perfect universe, a
thing that was shown to be inexcusable and exceeding
sinful. The reason of its inception or development was never explained
and never can be, even at the last great day when the judgment shall
sit and the books be opened, when every man shall be judged according
to the deeds done in the body, when the sins of God's repentant,
sanctified people shall be heaped upon the scapegoat, the originator of
sin. At that day it will be evident to all that there is not, and never
was, any cause for sin. At the final condemnation of Satan and his
angels and of all men who have finally identified themselves with him
as transgressors of God's law, every mouth will be stopped. When the
hosts of rebellion, from the first great rebel to the last
transgressor, are asked why they have broken the law of God, they will
be speechless. There will be no answer to give, no reason to assign
that will carry the least weight.
The change from perfection of character to sin and defection did come
even in heaven. Lucifer's heart was lifted up because of his beauty,
his wisdom was corrupted by reason of his brightness. Self-exaltation
is the key to his rebellion, and it unlocks the modern theme of
sanctification. Satan declared that he had no need of the restraints of
law, that he was holy, sinless, and incapable of doing evil; and those
who boast of holiness and a state of sinlessness, while transgressing
the law of God, while willfully trampling under-foot the Sabbath of the
Lord, are allied on the side of the first great rebel. If the
sanctified, holy angels became unsanctified and unholy by disobedience
to God's law, and their place was no longer found in heaven, think you
that men, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, will be received into
glory who break the precepts of that law which Christ came to magnify
and make honorable by his death upon the cross? Adam and Eve were in
possession of Eden, and they fell from their high and holy estate by
transgression of God's law, and forfeited their right to the tree of
life and to the joys of Eden.
Satan had told them that they were under restriction, under bondage to
the law, and that they might be free and independent by disregarding
the divine prohibition concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. He informed them that they would be as the angels if they would
but partake of its fruit, for they would then be able to discern both
good and evil. But what angels would they be like?—Not holy angels, but
like the angels who had left their first estate, who were reserved
under everlasting chains unto the judgment of the great day. The holy
pair had received the positive word of God in regard to what they
should do, but they presumed on God's mercy, and ate of the forbidden
fruit.
Is not the story of the fall repeated by thousands of lips today, and
even from the pulpit do we not hear the words of the tempter, “Thou
shalt not surely die”? Is not the law of God represented as a yoke of
bondage which men are free to violate as they choose? Satan insinuated
to Adam and Eve that they might reach a higher, happier state by
violation of the divine command, and today the same falsehood is spread
through the world, even by those who claim to be sanctified. Do not
these who claim sanctification while violating the commands of God,
become a false and fatal sign to the world? Do they not say to the
sinner, “It shall be well with thee”? The Lord has defined sin as the
transgression of his law, but they say they are saved in sin, and thus
make Christ the minister of sin. These professed Christians are doing
the very work that Satan did in Paradise, they are leading souls astray
by precept and example. They say to the sinner, to the transgressor, It
shall be well with thee; you will rise to a higher, holier state by
violating the law of God. The lesson that is heard throughout the land
is, “Disobey and live.” But how different is this teaching from the
lessons of Christ. He declared: “Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For
verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and
shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven.”
If the law of God should relinquish its claims upon men, if its
restraints were removed, the result would be a state of society in
which lawlessness would be rife, and our world would be in a condition
similar to that which existed before the flood, which brought down on
the earth the wrath of God. If the law of God could have been changed,
or altered in one of its statutes, it would have been so altered when
sin originated in heaven, when the brightest son of the morning, who
was good, noble, and lovely above all the beings that God had created,
found fault with the precepts of that law in the counsels of angels. If
ever a change was to have been made, it would have been accomplished
when rebellion revealed itself in heaven, and so have prevented the
great apostasy of the angels. The fact that no change was made in God's
administration, even when the most exalted of the angels drew away from
allegiance to God's law, is evidence enough to reasonable minds that
the law, the foundation of God's government, will not relax its claims
to save the willful transgressor.
Satan and his followers were expelled from heaven in consequence of
rebellion, and the spirit of the evil one now works in the children of
disobedience; Satan carries on his rebellion against God in this world.
He seeks to corrupt all; but the instruments most favorable to his
purpose of ruining souls, are men who have had great light and blessing
from God; for they can accomplish more harm in making void the law than
can those who have been less favored of heaven. They use the same
flattering sophistry that Satan used in heaven and in Eden; they speak
of the law as a yoke of bondage, and picture the liberty of him who
disregards its claims, as a state of holiness and sanctification. Those
who claim holiness and make a boast that they cannot sin, though at the
same time living in transgression of the law, are in the same condition
as the angels that sinned in heaven. They make great pretensions to the
favor of Heaven, claim to possess exalted knowledge of spiritual
things, while they go on in reckless disregard of the word of the Lord.
Satan deceives and corrupts the world and makes men believe that they
are sinless and holy while sinning against God, but in so doing he is
only carrying on his original work. He has introduced no new arguments,
he has created no new empire of darkness from which to draw supplies
for the furtherance of his deceptions. And sin that was sin in the
beginning is sin today; and sin, the apostle declares, is the
transgression of God's law. In these days it is Satan's determined
purpose to intensify sin by making it legal in the children of
disobedience. He is to reveal to the world and to heaven what is the
order and result of a government carried on according to his ideas of
administration and law. He is working with secret yet with intense zeal
in both Church and State, to cause men to throw off all the restraints
of God's law, and take a decided stand with him in the ranks of
rebellion; but when his work is accomplished, the Lord will interpose,
and vindicate his honor as the supreme Ruler of the universe.
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
31 And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
1 Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.
16 “By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.
18 “You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever.” ’ ”
3 It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4 that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:
“How the oppressor has ceased,
The golden city ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of the rulers;
6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke,
He who ruled the nations in anger,
Is persecuted and no one hinders.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
They break forth into singing.
8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you,
And the cedars of Lebanon,
Saying, ‘Since you were cut down,
No woodsman has come up against us.’
9 “Hell from beneath is excited about you,
To meet you at your coming;
It stirs up the dead for you,
All the chief ones of the earth;
It has raised up from their thrones
All the kings of the nations.
10 They all shall speak and say to you:
‘Have you also become as weak as we?
Have you become like us?
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
And the sound of your stringed instruments;
The maggot is spread under you,
And worms cover you.’
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!
34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
13 “I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
25 “Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;
And he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
But he shall be broken without human means.
1 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off
your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He
said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid
to look upon God.
30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand
Before the entrance of evil there was peace and joy throughout the
universe. All was in perfect harmony with the Creator's will. Love for
God was supreme, love for one another impartial. Christ the Word, the
Only Begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,—one in nature,
in character, and in purpose,—the only being in all the universe that
could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. By Christ the
Father wrought in the creation of all heavenly beings. “By Him were all
things created, that are in heaven, ... whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers” (Colossians 1:16); and to
Christ, equally with the Father, all heaven gave allegiance.
The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the
happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect accord with
its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His
creatures the service of love—homage that springs from an intelligent
appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced
allegiance, and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render
Him voluntary service.
But there was one that chose to pervert this freedom. Sin originated
with him who, next to Christ, had been most honored of God and who
stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven.
Before his fall, Lucifer was first of the covering cherubs, holy and
undefiled. “Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of
wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of
God; every precious stone was thy covering.... Thou art the anointed
cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy
mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the
stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou
wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Ezekiel 28:12-15.
Lucifer might have remained in favor with God, beloved and honored by
all the angelic host, exercising his noble powers to bless others and
to glorify his Maker. But, says the prophet, “Thine heart was lifted up
because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy
brightness.” Verse 17. Little by little, Lucifer came to indulge a
desire for self-exaltation. “Thou hast set thine heart as the heart of
God.” “Thou hast said, ... I will exalt my throne above the stars of
God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation....I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.”
Verse 6; Isaiah 14:13, 14. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in
the affections and allegiance of His creatures, it was Lucifer's
endeavor to win their service and homage to himself. And coveting the
honor which the infinite Father had bestowed upon His Son, this prince
of angels aspired to power which it was the prerogative of Christ alone
to wield.
All heaven had rejoiced to reflect the Creator's glory and to show
forth His praise. And while God was thus honored, all had been peace
and gladness. But a note of discord now marred the celestial harmonies.
The service and exaltation of self, contrary to the Creator's plan,
awakened forebodings of evil in minds to whom God's glory was supreme.
The heavenly councils pleaded with Lucifer. The Son of God presented
before him the greatness, the goodness, and the justice of the Creator,
and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law. God Himself had
established the order of heaven; and in departing from it, Lucifer
would dishonor his Maker, and bring ruin upon himself. But the warning,
given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a spirit of resistance.
Lucifer allowed jealousy of Christ to prevail, and he became the more
determined.
Pride in his own glory nourished the desire for supremacy. The high
honors conferred upon Lucifer were not appreciated as the gift of God
and called forth no gratitude to the Creator. He gloried in his
brightness and exaltation, and aspired to be equal with God. He was
beloved and reverenced by the heavenly host. Angels delighted to
execute his commands, and he was clothed with wisdom and glory above
them all. Yet the Son of God was the acknowledged Sovereign of heaven,
one in power and authority with the Father. In all the counsels of God,
Christ was a participant, while Lucifer was not permitted thus to enter
into the divine purposes. “Why,” questioned this mighty angel, “should
Christ have the supremacy? Why is He thus honored above Lucifer?”
Leaving his place in the immediate presence of God, Lucifer went forth
to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. Working with
mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealing his real purpose under an
appearance of reverence for God, he endeavored to excite
dissatisfaction concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings,
intimating that they imposed an unnecessary restraint. Since their
natures were holy, he urged that the angels should obey the dictates of
their own will. He sought to create sympathy for himself by
representing that God had dealt unjustly with him in bestowing supreme
honor upon Christ. He claimed that in aspiring to greater power and
honor he was not aiming at self-exaltation, but was seeking to secure
liberty for all the inhabitants of heaven, that by this means they
might attain to a higher state of existence.
God in His great mercy bore long with Lucifer. He was not
immediately degraded from his exalted station when he first indulged
the spirit of discontent, nor even when he began to present his false
claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven. Again
and again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and
submission. Such efforts as only infinite love and wisdom
could devise were made to convince him of his error. The spirit of
discontent had never before been known in heaven. Lucifer himself did
not at first see whither he was drifting; he did not understand the
real nature of his feelings. But as his dissatisfaction was proved to
be without cause, Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong, that
the divine claims were just, and that he ought to acknowledge them as
such before all heaven. Had he done this, he might have saved himself
and many angels. He had not at this time fully cast off his allegiance
to God. Though he had forsaken his position as covering cherub, yet if
he had been willing to return to God, acknowledging the Creator's
wisdom, and satisfied to fill the place appointed him in God's great
plan, he would have been reinstated in his office. But pride forbade
him to submit. He persistently defended his own course, maintained that
he had no need of repentance, and fully committed himself, in the great
controversy, against his Maker.
All the powers of his master mind were now bent to the work of
deception, to secure the sympathy of the angels that had been under his
command. Even the fact that Christ had warned and counseled him was
perverted to serve his traitorous designs. To those whose loving trust
bound them most closely to him, Satan had represented that he was
wrongly judged, that his position was not respected, and that his
liberty was to be abridged. From misrepresentation of the words of
Christ he passed to prevarication and direct falsehood, accusing the
Son of God of a design to humiliate him before the inhabitants of
heaven. He sought also to make a false issue between himself and the
loyal angels. All whom he could not subvert and bring fully to his side
he accused of indifference to the interests of heavenly beings. The
very work which he himself was doing he charged upon those who remained
true to God. And to sustain his charge of God's injustice toward him,
he resorted to misrepresentation of the words and acts of the Creator.
It was his policy to perplex the angels with subtle arguments
concerning the purposes of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded
in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest
statements of Jehovah. His high position, in such close connection with
the divine administration, gave greater force to his representations,
and many were induced to unite with him in rebellion against Heaven's
authority.
God in His wisdom permitted Satan to carry forward his work, until the
spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt. It was necessary for
his plans to be fully developed, that their true nature and tendency
might be seen by all. Lucifer, as the anointed cherub, had been highly
exalted; he was greatly loved by the heavenly beings, and his influence
over them was strong. God's government included not only the
inhabitants of heaven, but of all the worlds that He had created; and
Satan thought that if he could carry the angels of heaven with him in
rebellion, he could carry also the other worlds. He had artfully
presented his side of the question, employing sophistry and fraud to
secure his objects. His power to deceive was very great, and by
disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood he had gained an advantage.
Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his character or see to
what his work was leading.
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
A council was held in heaven, the result of which was that God's
dear Son undertook to redeem man from the curse and the disgrace of
Adam's failure, and to conquer Satan. Oh, wonderful condescension! The
Majesty of heaven, through love and pity for fallen man, proposed to
become his substitute and surety. He would bear man's guilt. He would
take the wrath of His Father upon Himself, which otherwise would have
fallen upon man because of his disobedience.
The law of God was unalterable. It could not be abolished, nor yield
the smallest part of its claim, to meet man in his fallen state. Man
was separated from God by transgression of His expressed command,
notwithstanding He had made known to Adam the consequences of such
transgression. The sin of Adam caused a deplorable state of things.
Satan would now have unlimited control over the race unless a mightier
being than was Satan before his fall, should take the field, conquer
him, and ransom man.
Christ's divine soul was exercised with infinite pity for the fallen
pair. As their wretched, helpless condition came up before Him, and as
He saw that by transgression of God's law they had fallen under the
power and control of the prince of darkness, He proposed the only means
that could be acceptable with God, that would give them another trial,
and place them again on probation. Christ consented to leave His honor,
His kingly authority, His glory with the Father, and humble Himself to
humanity, and engage in contest with the mighty prince of darkness, in
order to redeem man. Through His humiliation and poverty Christ would
identify Himself with the weaknesses of the fallen race, and by firm
obedience show that man might redeem Adam's disgraceful failure, and by
humble obedience regain lost Eden.
The great work of redemption could be carried out only by the Redeemer
taking the place of fallen Adam. With the sins of the world laid upon
Him, He would go over the ground where Adam stumbled. He would bear a
test infinitely more severe than that which Adam failed to endure. He
would overcome on man's account, and conquer the tempter, that, through
His obedience, His purity of character and steadfast integrity, His
righteousness might be imputed to man, that, through His name, man
might overcome the foe on his own account.
What love! What amazing condescension! The King of glory proposed to
humble Himself to fallen humanity! He would place His feet in Adam's
steps. He would take man's fallen nature, and engage to cope with the
strong foe who triumphed over Adam. He would overcome Satan, and in
thus doing He would open the way for the redemption from the disgrace
of Adam's failure and fall, of all those who would believe on Him.
Angels on probation had been deceived by Satan, and had been led on by
him in the great rebellion in heaven against Christ. They failed to
endure the test brought to bear upon them, and they fell. Adam was then
created in the image of God and placed upon probation. He had a
perfectly developed organism. All his faculties were harmonious. In all
his emotions, words, and actions, there was a perfect conformity to the
will of his Maker. After God had made every provision for the happiness
of man, and had supplied his every want, He tested his loyalty. If the
holy pair should be obedient, the race would, after a time, be made
equal to the angels. As Adam and Eve failed to bear this test, Christ
proposed to become a voluntary offering for man.
Satan knew that if Christ was indeed the Son of God, the world's
Redeemer, it was for no good to himself that the Lord had left the
royal courts of heaven to come to a fallen world. He feared that his
own power was thenceforth to be limited, and that his deceptive wiles
would be discerned and exposed, and his influence over man would be
weakened. He feared that his dominion and control of the kingdoms of
the world were to be contested. He remembered the words which Jehovah
addressed to him when he was summoned into His presence with Adam and
Eve, whom he had ruined by his lying deceptions, “I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This declaration
contained the first gospel promise to man. Con 18.3
But these words, at the time they were spoken, were not fully
understood by Satan. He knew that they contained a curse for him,
because he had seduced the holy pair. And when Christ was manifested on
the earth, Satan feared that He was indeed the One promised who should
limit his power and finally destroy him.
Satan had peculiar interest in watching the development of events
immediately after the fall of Adam, to learn how his work had affected
the kingdom of God, and what the Lord would do with Adam because of his
disobedience.
The Son of God, undertaking to become the Redeemer of the race, placed
Adam in a new relation to his Creator. He was still fallen; but a door
of hope was opened to him. The wrath of God still hung over Adam, but
the execution of the sentence of death was delayed, and the indignation
of God was restrained, because Christ had entered upon the work of
becoming man's Redeemer. Christ was to take the wrath of God, which in
justice should fall upon man. He became a refuge for man, and, although
man was indeed a criminal, deserving the wrath of God, yet he could, by
faith in Christ, run into the refuge provided and be safe. In the midst
of death there was life if man chose to accept it. The holy and
infinite God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, could no longer
talk with man. No communication could now exist directly between man
and his Maker.
God forbears, for a time, the full execution of the sentence of death
pronounced upon man. Satan flattered himself that he had forever broken
the link between heaven and earth. But in this he was greatly mistaken
and disappointed. The Father had given the world into the hands of His
Son for Him to redeem from the curse and the disgrace of Adam's failure
and fall. Through Christ alone can man now find access to God. And
through Christ alone will the Lord hold communication with man.
Christ volunteered to maintain and vindicate the holiness of the divine
law. He was not to do away the smallest part of its claims in the work
of redemption for man, but, in order to save man and maintain the
sacred claims and justice of His Father's law, He gave Himself a
sacrifice for the guilt of man. Christ's life did not, in a single
instance, detract from the claims of His Father's law, but, through
firm obedience to all its precepts and by dying for the sins of those
who had transgressed it, He established its immutability.
After the transgression of Adam, Satan saw that the ruin was complete.
The human race was brought into a deplorable condition. Man was cut off
from intercourse with God. It was Satan's design that the state of man
should be the same as that of the fallen angels, in rebellion against
God, uncheered by a gleam of hope. He reasoned that if God pardoned
sinful man whom He had created, He would also pardon him and his angels
and receive them into His favor. But he was disappointed.
The divine Son of God saw that no arm but His own could save fallen
man, and He determined to help man. He left the fallen angels to perish
in their rebellion, but stretched forth His hand to rescue perishing
man. The angels who were rebellious were dealt with according to the
light and experience they had abundantly enjoyed in heaven. Satan, the
chief of the fallen angels, once had an exalted position in heaven. He
was next in honor to Christ. The knowledge which he, as well as the
angels who fell with him, had of the character of God, of His goodness,
His mercy, wisdom, and excellent glory, made their guilt unpardonable.
There was no possible hope for the redemption of those who
had witnessed and enjoyed the inexpressible glory of heaven, and had
seen the terrible majesty of God, and, in presence of all this glory,
had rebelled against Him. There were no new and wonderful exhibitions
of God's exalted power that could impress them so deeply as those they
had already experienced. If they could rebel in the very presence of
glory inexpressible, they could not be placed in a more favorable
condition to be proved. There was no reserve force of power, nor were
there any greater heights and depths of infinite glory to overpower
their jealous doubts and rebellious murmuring. Their guilt and their
punishment must be in proportion to their exalted privileges in the
heavenly courts.
In the beginning, God was revealed in all the works of creation. It
was Christ that spread the heavens, and laid the foundations of the
earth. It was His hand that hung the worlds in space, and fashioned the
flowers of the field. “His strength setteth fast the mountains.” “The
sea is His, and He made it.” Psalm 65:6; 95:5. It was He that filled
the earth with beauty, and the air with song. And upon all things in
earth, and air, and sky, He wrote the message of the Father's love.
Now sin has marred God's perfect work, yet that handwriting remains.
Even now all created things declare the glory of His excellence. There
is nothing, save the selfish heart of man, that lives unto itself. No
bird that cleaves the air, no animal that moves upon the ground, but
ministers to some other life. There is no leaf of the forest, or lowly
blade of grass, but has its ministry. Every tree and shrub and leaf
pours forth that element of life without which neither man nor animal
could live; and man and animal, in turn, minister to the life of tree
and shrub and leaf. The flowers breathe fragrance and unfold their
beauty in blessing to the world. The sun sheds its light to gladden a
thousand worlds. The ocean, itself the source of all our springs and
fountains, receives the streams from every land, but takes to give. The
mists ascending from its bosom fall in showers to water the earth, that
it may bring forth and bud.
The angels of glory find their joy in giving,—giving love and tireless
watchcare to souls that are fallen and unholy. Heavenly beings woo the
hearts of men; they bring to this dark world light from the courts
above; by gentle and patient ministry they move upon the human spirit,
to bring the lost into a fellowship with Christ which is even closer
than they themselves can know.
But turning from all lesser representations, we behold God in Jesus.
Looking unto Jesus we see that it is the glory of our God to give. “I
do nothing of Myself,” said Christ; “the living Father hath sent Me,
and I live by the Father.” “I seek not Mine own glory,” but the glory
of Him that sent Me. John 8:28; 6:57; 8:50; 7:18. In these words is set
forth the great principle which is the law of life for the universe.
All things Christ received from God, but He took to give. So in the
heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created beings: through the
beloved Son, the Father's life flows out to all; through the Son it
returns, in praise and joyous service, a tide of love, to the great
Source of all. And thus through Christ the circuit of beneficence is
complete, representing the character of the great Giver, the law of
life.
In heaven itself this law was broken. Sin originated in self-seeking.
Lucifer, the covering cherub, desired to be first in heaven. He sought
to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from their
Creator, and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he
misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation.
With his own evil characteristics he sought to invest the loving
Creator. Thus he deceived angels. Thus he deceived men. He led them to
doubt the word of God, and to distrust His goodness. Because God is a
God of justice and terrible majesty, Satan caused them to look upon Him
as severe and unforgiving. Thus he drew men to join him in rebellion
against God, and the night of woe settled down upon the world.
The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy
shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to
God, Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done
by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's
government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be
commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love
awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested
in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all
the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the
love of God could make it known. Upon the world's dark night the Sun of
Righteousness must rise, “with healing in His wings.” Malachi 4:2.
The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated
after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of “the mystery which hath
been kept in silence through times eternal.” Romans 16:25, R. V. It was
an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the
foundation of God's throne. From
the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the
fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not
ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made
provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the
world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, “that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” John 3:16.
Lucifer had said, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; ... I
will be like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13, 14. But Christ, “being in
the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an
equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,
being made in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:6, 7, R. V., margin.
This was a voluntary sacrifice. Jesus might have remained at the
Father's side. He might have retained the glory of heaven, and the
homage of the angels. But He chose to give back the scepter into the
Father's hands, and to step down from the throne of the universe, that
He might bring light to the benighted, and life to the perishing.
Nearly two thousand years ago, a voice of mysterious import was heard
in heaven, from the throne of God, “Lo, I come.” “Sacrifice and
offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me.... Lo, I
come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O
God.” Hebrews 10:5-7. In these words is announced the fulfillment of
the purpose that had been hidden from eternal ages. Christ was about to
visit our world, and to become incarnate. He says, “A body hast Thou
prepared Me.” Had He appeared with the glory that was His with the
Father before the world was, we could not have endured the light of His
presence. That we might behold it and not be destroyed, the
manifestation of His glory was shrouded. His divinity was veiled with
humanity,—the invisible glory in the visible human form.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.