"How art thou fallen
from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou
cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of
the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee,
and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made
the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made
the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof;
that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of
the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in
his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an
abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are
slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones
of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet." Isaiah 14:12-19
LESSON 1:
I've been thinking about this
Bible Text that describes the devil, especially his final downfall!
Satan is the arch-enemy of our
Lord Jesus Christ, therefore all Jesus' children too!
Isaiah, in chapter fourteen of
his great prophecy, describes the devil in some detail,
especially his coming judgment.
And Jesus, part of the time
quoting Isaiah, did battle with the devil again and again.
Read this New Testament verse.
"For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil." 1st John 3:8
The verb "was manifested"
translates "phaneroo" and means "to reveal, to show, to make
plain or evident."
Jesus came to earth, born of a
Virgin, to be manifested as the dear Son of God! Then to
accomplish salvation for sinners.
"Phaneroo" hints a full
revelation! Like a bright and then steady flash of light ... so
was the revelation of Jesus when He came to this earth.
"Flashbulb bright," I sometimes say!
Jesus came and preached and
healed and encouraged again and again during His earthly days
two thousand years ago. His Ministry proved His identity! He
therein was "manifested."
"Phaneroo" is also a passive
verb, passive voice I mean. Jesus did not manifest Himself! The
Father manifested the Son!
But, why did Jesus come?
"That he might
destroy the works of the devil."
The pronoun "that," in Greek "hina,"
introduces a "purpose clause." The Holy Spirit will empower
Jesus and aid His accomplishing this noble and essential goal.
The verb "destroy" is "luo" in
Greek and means "to untie, to set free or to break up" something
or someone!
Once Jesus does this, Satan's
works will not be "binding" on God's people. The devil will have
been rendered ineffective. Judged and cast into eternal fire!
The Old Testament Prophet Micah once called the coming Messiah,
Jesus, "The Breaker!" Now we know what, really whom, the Lord is
going to "break and crush and ruin!"
"Works," the noun spelled "ergon,"
is the common word for labour. In it you can almost see our word
"energy!"
And "devil," in Greek "diabolos,"
means one who throws ("ballo") through ("dia") all Believers
words of scorn and doubt and accusation!
Yes, Jesus came to defeat the
devil by means of the old rugged Cross and the precious Blood
shed there.
Therefore, I certainly believe
that it's proper and fitting and spiritually wise to remind
folks occasionally about the devil's soon coming defeat!
Defeat at the Hands of the
Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour! The One Whom Moses in Exodus
15:3 also called "a Man of war!"
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2:
Isaiah was preaching! And what
a great Preacher he was!
His Text focused on the King
of Babylon, a wicked man indeed!
He had been instructed to take
up a "proverb" against the ungodly King, predicting his
downfall.
But something strange happened
in the middle of Isaiah's sermon!
His subject somehow "shifted"
to a higher level, from the literal King of Babylon to the Devil
who had motivated that King!
That's when we read verse
fourteen of our Text.
"How art
thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"
Isaiah 14:12
The first section of this
address to Babylon's King was framed in the third person ...
"How hath the oppressor ceased!"
But now, we shift to the
second
person ... "How art thou fallen from
heaven!"
But, more than that, a greater
personality is being hailed now,
"Lucifer."
That name means
"light-bearer." It's spelled "heylel" in Hebrew.
But this is much more than
another name for a human king!
The Devil himself is now in
view.
Perhaps we could say, still
being "true" to the Word of God, that the King of Babylon is a
Type, a Bible emblem, a sort of forerunner of the Devil, the
"Anointed Cherub" of Isaiah chapter twenty-eight.
Anyway, based on Jesus' Own
interpretation of Isaiah 14:12 here, "Lucifer" is none other
than the Accuser of the Brethren. Jesus, in Luke 10:18,
exclaimed: "I beheld Satan as lightning
fall from heaven." This is an obvious quote, or at least
a clear allusion, to this verse!
This Satanic "fall" is either
Lucifer's first expulsion from Heaven, at the time of his
original sin ... or his future expulsion when he is evicted
permanently from Glory, described in Revelation chapter twelve.
The verb "art fallen" is "naphal"
and means "to be overthrown" or "to be cast out!" It's being a
"perfect" verb leads me to believe that the exact event in
Satan's reign being depicted here is his initial fall, his first
dramatic deportation from Heaven! Due to sin!
"Son of the morning"
translates "ben shachar." That's literally "a male child of the
dawn." Maybe this name is assigned the Devil because of his
"brightness," as is his name Lucifer!
There is reasonable evidence
that he may have been the most powerful angel in all of Heaven,
before his rebellion that is.
"Cut down" is "gada" and means
something like "to chop, to hew, to sunder!" Here our passive
verb shows that judgment from God has fallen on Satan!
These things being so, it
appears that the Devil has been defeated since his very
beginning as the enemy of God! Since his original coup attempt
against the Almighty!
The noun "ground" is "eretzs"
and just means the earth.
The devil's work on the
world's nations is interesting! He "weakened" them. "Chalash"
means "to disable, to discomfit, to cause to waste away or to
make prostrate!"
The word for "nations"
indicates Gentiles mostly, "goy." Although it is common Biblical
knowledge that the Devil hates Israel with a passion!
This verse, along with its
context, is nearly a "taunt" against Satan! It's an example of
"holy sarcasm!" By the way, "sarcasm" is derived from a Greek
background that means "to strip off someone's flesh!"
The devil, a defeated enemy!
Jesus, The Victor!
Praise the Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3:
There are five of them!
Often called the five "I
wills" of Satan by old fashioned Bible-believing Preachers and
Teachers of God's Word.
They are incorporated into
Isaiah's great fourteenth chapter.
And they, I believe, come as
close to showing us the real heart of the Devil as any Passage
in the Bible!
Here is Isaiah 14:13.
It begins the list.
"For thou hast
said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of
the congregation, in the sides of the north."
The time sense of the verb "amar,"
to "say," is "perfect." That means the action is complete,
finished. The devil's goal has been stated and, apparently, has
not changed!
He has not issued a correction
on his life purpose!
He wants to invade Heaven and
establish residence there, permanently! "I will ascend"
translates "alah" and means "to go up" or "to climb" or "be
exalted!" The time sense here is different than that of "amar"
earlier. This is "imperfect," suggesting action that is not
complete. It's on-going, continual! The Devil still wants to
raid Heaven!
Jesus ascended ... legally and
with God the Father's approval!
The Devil longs to do so as
well ... but his move would be illegal!
Then Satan wishes to "exalt"
his throne above God's! This verb is "rum" and means "to raise
up high, to set in place, to extol or lift up!" The only other
use of this exact verb in the Bible is Isaiah
49:22 where Almighty God "sets up" His standard or banner or
flag for His people! However, do understand that in all its
forms "rum" appears nearly 200 times in the Old Testament. The
first of those is Genesis 7:17 where the Ark of Noah is "lifted
up" above the earth by the flood waters.
The Devil has a "throne" too!
"Kisse" means just that, a seat or stool or throne, usually one
of honor! God has a Throne too, the universal center of Power
and Authority!
The noun "stars" is "kokab" in
Hebrew and all 37 times it appears in the Word of God it's
literally translated "stars" or something very closely
associated with them. However it is sometimes applied
metaphorically to other things, luminaries of one kind or
another. In Numbers 24:17 Balaam prophesies about Jesus the
Messiah, calling Him the "Star" that will come out of Jacob! The
stars may be emblematic of God's creation too! Here, during
Creation week, is the first use of the word Biblically:
"He made the stars also." Genesis
1:16
The Name of God here, directly
quoted from Satan's lips, is "El." That specifically accents our
Father's Power, His great omnipotence! The Mighty One!
It looks like the Devil wants
God's Power ... not necessarily His Goodness!
Then, for the third time,
another "I will" flows from Lucifer's heart. He now will "sit"
on God's Mount! There is progression in his three verbs so far:
ascend, exalt and now sit! A rebellion is under way! A coup is
in progress!
"Yashab," or "sit" is framed
as another case of durative action. The Devil wants to abide in
God's House! Permanent residence, you see!
The "mount," in Hebrew "har,"
means the highest point, the place of superiority or greatest
authority!
And "congregation" here does
not just mean people or a throng of people. It means a Meeting
Place! An appointed place for a convocation! In the King James
Bible "moed" is translated as "feast" 23 times, "assembly" 4
times, "appointed" 12 times and even "synagogue" 1 time. That
last one is Psalm 74:8. "They said in
their hearts, Let us destroy them together, they have burned up
all the synagogues of God in the land."
The Devil wants to be the head
of God's synagogues! God's Churches! God's places of assembly
and worship!
The "sides" of the north, "yerekah,"
means the borders or coasts or flanks or recesses of a thing.
Sounds like the Devil has "backed up" a bit already! Retreated
some! He will settle, if need be, for just "part" of God's
Congregation!
In reality he will get not an
inch!
Not one soul!
And for some Bible reason the
"north," to Isaiah "tzsaphon," indicates a direction of the
compass. However twice it is rendered as "north wind" in
Scripture! See Song of Solomon 4:16 for a prime example. The
north wind often implies the bitterly cold experiences of life,
the hard times! Oh, how the Devil would ... and yet to this day
tries ... to control these times in a Believer's life! Tragic
heart-rending situations can be devastating without the Presence
of God the Holy Spirit to guide us!
This exact string of words,
"the sides of the north," exists only one other place in the
whole Bible. In Psalm 48:2 Jerusalem, Mount Zion, exists "on the
sides of the north" and is very beautiful!
Here is the Devils bare intent
again! He wants to oversee and dominate the city of God,
especially its Sanctuary!
Three "I wills" so far ... two
more to study!
Each has represented the
Devil's desire to usurp God's very Place!
It will never happen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4:
I believe there is a literal
Devil.
Scripture does not present him as merely an influence or a
principle of evil, but an actual personality.
An
angel, nonetheless!
A
fallen angel.
According to Ezekiel 28 he once was a "cherub!"
That's a very "high ranking" angel!
But this Lucifer creature
somehow developed thoughts of rebellion, rebellion against
almighty God!
Is not all rebellion
ultimately against God? 1st Samuel 15:23 precisely says:
"For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft."
Today's verse, Isaiah 14:14,
tells us two of Satan's "goals" in attempting to overthrow the
Lord!
His exact words:
"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like
the most High."
This is twice the Devil has
wished to ascend to Glory! In Isaiah 14:13, one verse earlier,
he longs to "ascend into Heaven and exalt his throne above the
stars of God."
"Alah" here, the verb for this
ascent, is framed as an "imperfect," indicating that the desire
to ascend and be like God was an ever-present one with the
Devil. Maybe he still craves for that honor!
If fact, if we read Ezekiel 28
rightly, Lucifer once inhabited Heaven. In another of
Scripture's typological sections, the Prophet begins talking
about the King of Tyre ... but soon is focusing on someone more
than human! Listen to him as he addresses the Devil:
"Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in the Garden of Eden.
Thou art the anointed Cherub that covereth (guardeth,
overshadoweth, defendeth). Thou was upon the holy mountain of
God. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast
created, till iniquity was found in thee. Thou hast sinned.
Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of
God: and I will destroy thee."
Kicked out of Heaven!
Amazing!
This expelled Satan wants
readmission to Heaven!
But not just access to Heaven,
he wants rulership or authority!
The "heights" Lucifer
mentions, spelled "bamah" in Hebrew, depicts a platform or high
place where official acts are performed, things like reviewing
the troops or judging the people! It is actually the word "bema"
that Paul incorporates into his preaching on the Judgment Seat
of Christ! Ten times in the New Testament "judgment seat"
translates "bema!"
The Devil wants an
administrative role in Heaven!
He wants to be a judge, maybe
the judge, an overseer!
But those tasks have been
given to the darling Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ! John
5:22 tells us that. "For the Father
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."
The noun for "clouds" is "ab"
and suggests darkness and thickness in regard to the clouds,
perhaps as places of refuge and protection or even
exclusiveness!
We are likely today having
some Scriptural insights into the personality of the Deceiver
himself!
"I will
be like the Most High" he continues.
What resolve!
What audacity!
"I will
be like," one word in Hebrew ... "damah," means to
resemble or be similar in likeness. It is an intensive verb
here, a Piel stem, and reflects the Devil's determination! He's
not a quitter.
But watch the Name of God the
Wicked One emulates.
"The Most
High!"
"Elyon" is an absolute
singular masculine adjective! Look what Bible doctrine can be
gleaned from a single inspired adjective! God is one of a Kind!
God is never changing! God is a man, not a woman! The exact word
means something like "the highest of the high!" None like Him!
Supreme! Superlative! Unexcelled!
It is this HIGH God the Devil
wishes to overthrow!
He is reading God through his
own lens too!
The fallen angel who wants
exaltation notices the God Who is absolutely exalted!
This too is strange. The Devil
does not focus on God as Jehovah, or God as Lord, or even God as
Father or Provider! Or again God as Warrior! Just God the most
High!
One's desires are perhaps the
greatest indicator of one's personality!
Anyway, these obsessions of
the devil will all come to naught!
Both of them in today's verse
and the three from the previous verse.
All ... denied!
Praise the Lord!
God is still on His Throne!
He is still unequalled!
He is altogether the God of
Scripture!
Unmolested!
Eternally so!
Praise His Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5:
I love the boldness of the
Bible!
Let
me rephrase. I particularly love the boldness of Jesus!
One
day the Pharisees told our Lord, "Get Thee
out and depart hence: for Herod will kill Thee."
Listen to Jesus' reply, noticing His boldness!
"Go ye, and thee that fox, Behold I cast
out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day
I shall be perfected." Luke 13:32
Jesus had no fear! He was not leaving until He was ready!
In Isaiah 50, while
prophesying of Jesus' ordeal on the Cross, our Lord says:
"Who will contend with me? Let us stand
together. Who is Mine adversary? Let him come near to Me.
Behold, the Lord God will help Me. Who is he that shall condemn
Me? Lo, they all shall way old as a garment, the moth shall eat
them up." This, in Isaiah 50:8-9, is a direct challenge
to Satan!
Therefore, going to the Cross,
Jesus could say: "I gave My back to the
smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid
not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help
Me; therefore I shall not be confounded: therefore I have set My
face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed."
Jesus did not run from the Cross! He resolutely marched
toward the Cross, having set His Face "hard as a rock!"
Isaiah 50:6-7
Let us pause and worship!
What a Saviour!
But, Brother Bagwell, how does
this link with today's verse, Isaiah 14:15?
The Lord, talking directly to
Satan now, to Lucifer, says: "Thou shalt
be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit."
Again I say, what majestic
boldness!
And this is a promise ... from
God to the Devil! "Thou shalt be brought
down to Hell, to the sides of the pit."
"Shalt be brought down," all
four words being a single verb in Hebrew, is framed in the
rather unusual "Hophal" stem. This is the passive voice of a
causative stem verb, "yarad." It means this: "to be made to
descend, to be made to sink down, to be taken down, to be
subdued or even to be sunk!"
A Hophal verb, being the
passive of the Hiphil stem, demands that "cause" be read into
the meaning also. There exists a cause, a reason, a purpose in
the Devil's downfall!
Sin!
Rebellion!
Hatred to God!
God here is the "Bringer-Down"
also!
No, I did not just invent a
word!
In Psalm 3:3 this same Lord is
the "Lifter-up" of our heads, our Encourager and Strengthener!
"But Thou O Lord, art a Shield for me; my
Glory, and the Lifter up of mine head."
But what is the Satan's
destination?
"Hell"
translates "sheol." In the King James Bible it 31 timers means
"grave," then 31 more times it means "hell," then 3 times yet
again it means "pit!"
Thankfully we have help here
determining the exact nuance of meaning. A parallel noun is used
in the last half of our verse. "Yet thou
shalt be brought down to HELL, to the sides of the PIT."
See?
Whatever Hell means here, pit
is its synonym!
And "pit" is "bor" in Hebrew,
meaning a cistern or a dungeon or a pit. This does not appear to
me to be talking about a mere grave! People are not normally
buried in dungeons! Or cisterns, big water pots! Or their dead
bodies thrown in pits either!
This "hell" then "pit"
structure surely points to a place of eternal fire! To a place
of endless torment!
It directs out attention to
Hell itself, Hell as Jesus taught it, Hell as the Bible so
clearly depicts!
A literal Hell!
The Devil is going to some
day, by the power of Almighty God, be cast into Hell fire and
brimstone!
Technically, here it happens:
"And the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the
false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever
and ever." Revelation 20:10
And do notice that the Devil
is not even going to reside in the "center" of Hell! He will not
even be the main attraction! Perhaps no one much will even
notice him any longer! That will so grieve Satan, who longs for
attention and adoration and even worship! Neglected, in the
"sides" of Hell forevermore!
Not the "center," the "sides!"
"Yerekah," the noun for
"sides" here, means the "flanks" of something, its borders or
coasts!" Hardly Main Street!
Yes, even the devil will be a
"nobody" in Hell!
He will not eternally occupy
some Presidential Palace, ruling over the tormented! He will be
weeping and wailing and gnashing his teeth too!
This a a bold prognosis!
But a true one!
Thank the Lord!
The Lord Who still
"doeth all things well," just like
Mark 7:37 says!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6:
It's hard to tell exactly when
Isaiah shifts his attention from the King of Babylon to Lucifer
then back to the King again! I am speaking in the context of
Isaiah 14 of course.
Verse 4: "Take up this proverb against the
King of Babylon."
But
by verse 12: "How art thou fallen from
Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!"
Yet
at least by verse 21 or so we are back to the human King, wicked
as he is. "Prepare slaughter for his
children for the iniquity of their fathers."
But we are safe, I believe, in
still applying verses 16-19 to Satan.
For example, of what earthly
ruler could it be said that he "made the earth to tremble?" Or
that he "did shake kingdoms?"
Yet the Devil is said to do
such things in Isaiah 14:16. "They that
see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee,
saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did
shake kingdoms?"
Some day Satan will become a
mere spectacle to the world!
The verb "see" translates "raah"
and means to look carefully, even to inspect something or
someone. It's a present participle here.
To "narrowly look," one word
in Hebrew, "shagach," means to stare or to intently gaze at
someone! The time sense here is that of continuous action,
something habitual!
To "consider" is "biyn" in
Hebrew and is the standard word "to discern, to understand," or
to see layers of meaning in a situation! More on-going action!
Now just as Jesus is "the Son
of man," so the devil here is termed a "man." In Hebrew "iysh"
pictures not only the male as opposed to the female, but also
man as a frail mortal! The noun that accents man's dignity is "adam."
But when did Satan make the
earth "tremble?" Yes, "ragaz" means to quiver or to quake. God
is said to make the earth so tremble, "ragaz" again, in Job 9:6.
One translation of "ragaz" in the King James Version is "to be
afraid," Exodus 15:14. The Devil thrives on fear. It's one of
his main weapons! The action here insinuates years upon years of
trembling too!
To "shake" kingdoms or nations
or countries is awesome too! This verb, "raash," means "to
quake" or "to be moved" or "to undulate." Again we have durative
action in this verb also. Haggai 2:6 identifies God as the One
Who will some day "shake" the heavens and the earth and the sea
and the dry land and ultimately all the nations!
It still appears that Lucifer
is try to mimic God in both person and work!
Of course these two questions
are directed at the once illustrious Devil!
Hey, Devil ...
"They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider
thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
that did shake kingdoms?"
Is this him?
What a surprise!
And the Deceiver here, Lucifer
himself, will not enjoy the shame of the multitudes!
Once, in 1st Corinthians 4:13,
Paul wrote that we Christians are "the offscouring" of the
world!
But really, it sounds like
some day the very opposite will be true. The Devil will become
the offscouring! The embarrassed one! The defeated foe!
Praise the Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7:
Based partly upon Isaiah's use
of two distinct verbs, "tremble" and "shake," we believe the
Devil is still being described.
Read it with me. "Is this the man that
made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms?"
Think how Lucifer "shook" Egypt during the days of the plagues!
Pharaoh's Satanically induced greed and blatant hatred for the
chosen people of God precipitated all those national calamities!
Sin, even national sin, has consequences!
Then remember the prophecies
of Jesus, and then later those of John the Disciple on the Isle
of Patmos, prophecies about future earth-quakes that will
grip this planet, a trembling earth! All because of the
rebellion and wickedness of the anti-christ and Satan backing
him!
In Isaiah 14:17 three more
traits of the Devil are mentioned. A sort of history of his
deeds. "That made the world as a
wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not
the house of his prisoners?"
The noun for
"world" here is different. It's not
"eretzs," the land or dirt or soil as earth. It's "tebel" and
carries the idea of the habitable parts of the earth! Where
people live!
That vast area the devil
ruined, making it "as a wilderness."
The noun "midbar" means a desert, dry and barren! An
uninhabitable area of real estate! Had sin not entered the
picture, had Adam and Eve never listened to the "Father of
Lies," it's quite likely that no deserts would exist today! No
frozen continents either! Or violent weather! I often wonder if
even the so-called "highs" and "lows" of weather forecasting
might not be emblems of right and wrong! "Highs" bringing good
weather and "lows" bringing bad, at least in our hemisphere.
Lucifer is also guilty of
something else. God, who initially promoted rural life, farming
and herding for example, discouraged city life. The Tower of
Babel, the center of a teeming metropolis of iniquity, was
thwarted by the Lord, the people being scattered everywhere! Yet
man continued to congregate! City life he would have! There
wickedness could more easily prevail! Even so, Satan
"destroyed the cities" of earth!
The verb "haras" means "to ruin or to break down or overthrow!"
The noun "cities" is spelled "iyr" and means a place "guarded"
or walked around" by a sentry, a watchman! And just as one would
suspect, this verb is used often of God the Father's wrath
against sin! It seems the devil is only interested in copying
God, cheap mimicry! See Lamentations 2:2 and 17 for the only
other times this exact verb form is used in Scripture. If
one suspends the "exact" requirement and is willing to accept
the verb stem in any form, Exodus15:7 pops into view! But it's
still God "overthrowing" Israel's enemies!
And the Devil, so unlike God
here, will not release the captives! No one in all history has,
or ever will, escape Hell with its fire and brimstone and
eternal suffering! The verb "openeth" is "pathach" and means to
"loose" or to "set forth" in liberty!
Jesus came to redeem us,
setting us free from the prison house of sin! The Devil does
the very opposite, still on a cosmic level however!
"Prisoners" represents "asiyr"
and means captives in this sense, men bound in chains! Here's
what the Lord does to the Devil's captives, those who get
"saved." Psalm 107:14 tells us that "He
brought them out of the darkness and the shadow of death, and
brake their bands in sunder."
Yes, I am convinced!
Of the Lord's leading too!
These verse still describe
Lucifer!
What an evil uncaring
character he is!
Our defeated foe!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8:
Isaiah was a Preacher to the
nations!
His
"national" list would have included Babylon too!
But
in his great fourteenth chapter, the Prophet goes beyond even
his own vast range. There his sermon concerns not only the King
of Babylon but someone even more powerful, Lucifer himself!
Bold enough to discuss the Devil's final state, Isaiah compares
him to the kings of earth.
Look with me.
"All the
kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one
in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave ...."
Isaiah 14:18-19
The noun "nations," in Hebrew
"goy," usually implies non-Israelite peoples. In fact, 143 times
in the King James Bible it is translated "heathen" and 30 more
times "Gentiles."
The verb "lie" translates "shakab"
and means anything from sleeping to sexual relations to mere
relaxation. But here obviously death is in view, "to lie" in
one's casket!
The wealthy kings of earth die
and are buried in great honor and dignity. "Glory" is the word
Isaiah uses. "Kabod" means that which is filled with splendor or
reputation or even reverence.
The apparent pronoun "one"
really is the word "iysh," the Hebrew noun meaning man or
husband, but in the frail mortal sense.
Each King will be buried in
his own place, his own "house," with great respect from all
future generations being assumed. Just think of the pyramids of
Egypt, fancy tombs indeed!
But ... Isaiah quickly adds,
speaking to the Devil, to Lucifer ... "But
thou art cast out of thy grave." Isaiah 14:19
This is interesting!
"Cast out," the verb,
translates "shalak" and means hurled or flung or thrown! This
verb is passive, a Hophel in Hebrew, indicating God's Hand in
the matter! God has literally kicked the devil out of the grave!
He is denied burial! This is one of the greatest insults
imaginable to the ancient Hebrew mind.
And the noun "grave" is "
qeber" and means a burying place. That's a sepulchre. Using this
noun in its very same form God is said to "make the grave" of
the wicked Assyrians. See Nahum 1:14.
Therefore, contrasting his
supernatural subject, Satan, with the kings of humanity, Isaiah
has now considered their latter ends respectively.
Earth's kings ... gravesites!
Lucifer ... none!
Earth's kings ... honor at
burial!
Lucifer ... none!
Earth's kings ... a perpetual
place in history, one of dignity!
Lucifer ... none!
Earth's kings ... a special
resting place!
Lucifer ... none!
Earth's kings ... fame!
Lucifer ... disgust!
I am here reminded of
something James said about Job the Patriarch. With Job, the
"end" of the Lord proved to be gracious!
"Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of
the Lord,; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
James 5:11
Well, even the Lord Himself
said this in Job 42:12. "So the Lord
blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning."
Job's end was full and
fruitful! God kept His promise. "Thou
shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock corn
cometh in in his season." Job 5:26
Even Job ... esteemed in life
and death!
Lucifer ... not so!
Balaam, that compromising
prophet, could truthfully pray: "Let me
die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like
his." Numbers 23:10
I am saying this. Quite unlike
the godly man and woman ... Satan just will not have a good
ending!
And just in case there's still
any doubt ... come study more with us tomorrow!
This thing gets graphic!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9:
We have been studying the fall
of Satan.
Initially using the wicked King of Babylon as a "type" or symbol
or emblem of the Devil, Isaiah the Prophet eventually begins to
teach us about Lucifer himself!
And
while admittedly a few places in the Isaiah chapter 14 Text are
hard to discern, it's pretty evident that the Devil meets a
terrible "end," eternal judgment from the Hand of God.
Satan will be
"like an abominable branch, and as the
raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword,
that go down to the stone of the pit; as a carcase trodden under
feet." Isaiah 14:19
One reason I believe this is
still the Devil; as in verse twelve's "How
art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer;" is the use of
the name "branch."
"Netzser" just means a sprout
or shoot from a tree trunk and is only found a total of four
times in Scripture, each being translated as "branch." However
the significant thing is that Branch, as a Title of respect, is
used of the Messiah, of our Lord Jesus Christ!
For example,
"And there shall come forth a rod out of
the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and
the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him
...." Yes, Isaiah 11:1 is clearly
talking about a Person!
The Devil always wants to be
like Jesus, copying and mimicking Him again and again!
Well, now he gets his way! At
the end!
But instead of an honorable
Branch as Jesus is, Lucifer is an "abominable" branch! "Taab"
means "detested or hated or abhorred."
And the noun "raiment"
translates "lebush" and of course means one's clothing or
apparel. The verb "slain" is a participle, "harag," and
indicates one who was murdered or killed or destroyed. It's a
violent term! Looks like the Devil has more than met his Match!
He met the Conqueror, the Breaker, the Man of War, all Titles of
our Lord!
But now we are told the exact
cause of Satan's demise, by "sword!" Not by gunshot or poison or
explosion, but by sword! "Thrust through" translates "taan" and
is used only here in the Bible. It means "pierced." Ironically
it's a participle too, suggesting a process rather than a single
event! This "Sword" has worked against the Devil for thousands
of years I suspect! "Chereb" in Hebrews not only means sword,
but also knife or dagger or even axe or mattock! Any of these
could be dangerous when used as a weapon! By the way, that's
another way the Devil finally emulates Jesus, being "pierced!"
The Bible surely has "holy" sarcasm!
Of course I am thinking of the
final battle of the ages; when the Lord Jesus returning from
Heaven, dressed in magnificent apparel, has a "sword" protruding
from His Mouth! See Revelation 19:15. It's a picture of the
powerful overcoming Word of God! That's how the Lord defeats
Lucifer! He did so in the wilderness Temptation and will repeat
the strategy at His Second Coming!
To "go down" is "yarad" again
and means to descend or to fall or to sink! The "pit," in Hebrew
"bor," is a synonym for Hell. Otherwise it just means well or
cistern or dungeon, none of which adequately describes the
Devil's eternal destination!
Only two other times can I
locate the words "stone" or "stones" and "pit" in Scripture,
Proverbs 26:27 and 2nd Samuel 18:17, where Absalom was buried in
a pit with stones laid thereupon to seal its entrance! Hence,
the term "stones of the pit" suggests that once Lucifer is cast
into this pit, Hell itself, there is no way out!
The noun "carcase" means just
what it says. "Peger" pictures a dead body, a corpse. Then
"trodden under feet" is just one Hebrew verb, "bus," which
basically means trampled. But in the King James Text it is once
translated "loathed" and twice "polluted!" See Proverbs 27:7 for
the "loatheth" reference.
Truly, the way of
transgressors is hard, just like Proverbs 13:15 says. Apparently
that includes Lucifer himself!
Oh!
One more verse.
"Thanks
be unto God, Which giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ." 1st Corinthians 15:57
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10:
This is our final Lesson on
the Prophet Isaiah's view of Lucifer, the Devil. Our Text has
been Isaiah 14:12-19.
For at least these eight
verses the Man of God has been tracing the Devil's "career."
From his proud determination to overthrow Almighty God to his
final judgment when God will cast him into the Lake of Fire and
Brimstone ... Lucifer is described.
Over much of this inspired
Text, the Devil is held in derision it seems!
Let's define that word. From a
Latin background, to "deride" someone is to "to laugh," in Latin
"ridere," then "down," the prefix "de." God here may actually be
taunting Lucifer! Mocking him!
Especially notice again verses
16-19, written to the Devil. "They that
see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee,
saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did
shake kingdoms, that made the world as a wilderness, and
destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the house of his
prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie
in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of
thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those
that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the
stones of the pit, as a carcase trodden under feet."
Pretty strong language!
Occasionally God does make
light of the wicked!
Or mock false gods!
Back when Elijah the Prophet
challenged the false prophets of Baal, in 1st Kings 18, with no
answer from their man-made deity, Elijah mocked them! "Cry
louder! Maybe he is busy talking! Or out hunting! Or on
vacation! Then again, maybe Baal is just asleep! Wake him now!"
The Psalmist also uses such
taunts in words like these: "Their idols
are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths,
but they speak not: eyes they have, but they see not: they have
ears, but the hear not: noses they have, but they smell not:
they have hands, but the handle not: they have feet, but they
walk not. They that make them are like unto them; so is every
one that trusteth in them." Psalm 115:4-8
Listen to God's promise to the
wicked in Proverbs 1:24-27. "Because I
have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My Hand, and
no man regarded ... I also will laugh at your calamity; I will
mock when your fear cometh."
Our dear Saviour, in Luke
10:18, thinking of Isaiah's 14th chapter no doubt, said:
"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
Heaven."
Then Jesus immediately
challenged His Disciples to go forth treading on serpents,
symbols of Satan himself you see!
This is holy sarcasm!
Godly celebration over
iniquity!
And its grand finale just
might be in Heaven too!
John on Patmos writes that
when the redeemed are gathered Home, immediately after the
complete and final destruction of Babylon and the judgment of
all the wicked ... the saved of all the ages say,
"Alleluia; Salvation and glory and honour
and power unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are His
judgments, for He hath judged the great whore. And again they
say Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." Then
comes even more "Amen; Alleluia. Praise our God. Alleluia, for
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Revelation 19: 1-6
Victory over the Devil!
Victory for Jesus' sake!
Victory through the Blood of
the Lamb!
Praise the Lord!
"And the
devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and
ever." Revelation 20:10
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
