"1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
2 And he seized the dragon, "THAT ANCIENT SERPENT", who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not DECEIVE the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while."
In Genesis 3:1 satan is introduced as "the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field the LORD GOD had made". It is interesting to me that the enemy of GOD and everything good is represented by "THAT ANCIENT SERPENT", a creature despised by most of mankind in the final chapters of the Bible! Yet satan is also recognized in the book of Ezekiel as "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" by the LORD GOD!
Why then, are we so baffled when the great deceiver camouflages himself as something of such beauty, when he is really so vile and cruel? Why do we not recognize the enemy when we see him, or things of him? JESUS recognized him in John 8:44 and said "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Identifying the enemy is something we must not only be willing to do, but be vigilant in pursuing. 1 Peter 5:8 says "Be sober-minded; be WATCHFUL. Your adversary the devil PROWLS around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
The enemy desires to be like GOD with every fiber of his being. But don't think he has a patent on his evilness. We too have a desire to be our own god at times. We want to do things the way we think they should be done, or not be done! Or we try to explain to GOD how things would be better if some "hardships" were removed from our lives. All of this simply means we do not trust that GOD loves us too much to hurt us, and is far too wise to make a mistake! We need to not only realize, but LIVE that HE is GOD and we are not!
One study shows satan might be up to a thousand times more intelligent than humans and he is easily able to deceive us. The most effective way for us to combat "THAT ANCIENT SERPENT" is to stay in the Word of GOD. The best way to recognize the enemy in his camouflaged state is to study not only on him, but on the ONE WHO has and will overcome him in the end! There is a pit in which "THAT ANCIENT SERPENT" will be sentenced to forever one day! Philippians 4:8 instructs us on a good start to avoid the enemies deception, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." "THAT ANCIENT SERPENT" cannot stand against a HOLY GOD and HIS WORD!
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