Satan (Part 05) - Satan's Names and Titles (Part A)
Submitted by Pastor Chad Wagner on Sunday, May 27, 2018.Watch the video of this sermon on YouTube: Satan (Part 05) - Satan's Names and Titles (Part A)
For the outline and the rest of the sermons in this series, click here: Satan
To listen to or watch the previous sermon in the series, click here: (Part 4)
To listen to or watch the next sermon in the series, click here: (Part 6)
I. The names and titles of Satan
1. Lucifer (Isa 14:12)
A. Lucifer - [L. lucifer adj., light-bringing; 1. The morning star; the planet Venus when she appears in the sky before sunrise. Now only poet. 2. The rebel archangel whose fall from heaven was supposed to be referred to in Isa. xiv. 12; Satan, the Devil.
B. The name Lucifer shows that Satan was an angel of light (2Co 11:14).
C. Who do you suppose is the spirit behind the Illuminati and Freemasonry which both claim to enlighten their dupes?
D. Who do you suppose was the spirit behind the Enlightenment when men tried to use philosophy to oppose belief in God and common sense?
2. Satan (Rev 20:2)
A. Satan - 1. The proper name of the supreme evil spirit, the Devil. See devil n. 1 and Lucifer 2. b. In the etymological sense of ‘adversary’, with allusion to Matt. xvi. 23, Mark viii. 33.
B. Satan is our adversary (1Pe 5:8).
C. Adversary n. - 1. One who, or that which, takes up a position of antagonism, or acts in a hostile manner; an opponent, antagonist; an enemy, foe. spec. The enemy of mankind, the Devil.
D. The name Satan shows that Satan is our enemy who is hostile towards us.
3. The devil (Mat 25:41)
A. Devil - 1. the Devil: In Jewish and Christian theology, the proper appellation of the supreme spirit of evil, the tempter and spiritual enemy of mankind, the foe of God and holiness, otherwise called Satan. 3. Hence, generically, A malignant being of angelic or superhuman nature and powers; one of the host of Satan, as ‘prince of the devils’, supposed to have their proper abode in hell, and thence to issue forth to tempt and injure mankind; a fiend, a demon. Also, applied to the malignant or evil deities feared and worshipped by various heathen people (cf. 2a).
B. The false gods of false religions are devils (Deu 32:17; Psa 106:37; 1Co 10:20).
C. The name Devil shows that Satan is evil, is a tempter, and is a false god whom the heathen worship.
4. The old serpent (Rev 20:2)
A. Serpent - 1. a. Any of the scaly limbless reptiles regarded as having the properties of hissing and ‘stinging’; Zool. a reptile of the group ophidia; a snake; now, in ordinary use, applied chiefly to the larger and more venomous species; otherwise only rhetorical (e.g. in contexts suggesting senses 2 and 3), or with reference to serpent-worship. 2. The serpent, ‘more subtil than any beast of the field’, that tempted Eve (Gen. iii. 1–5); the Tempter, the Devil, Satan. Also, the Old Serpent (after Rev. xii. 9).
B. Satan appeared as a serpent at the beginning of time to tempt Eve (Gen 3:1-5), hence the reason he is called that old serpent.
C. Who do you think is the spirit behind all the religions that worship snakes?
D. The name old serpent shows that Satan is sneaky, subtle, and deadly.
5. The dragon (Rev 20:2)
A. Dragon - 1. A huge serpent or snake; a python. 4. a. An appellation of Satan, the ‘Old Serpent’.
B. Dragons are large snakes (Deu 32:33; Psa 91:13; Isa 27:1).
C. Consider some of the attributes of a python.
i. "The Pythonidae, commonly known simply as pythons, from the Greek word python (πυθων), are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world." (Pythonidae, Wikipedia, 12-28-17)
ii. "Most members of this family are ambush predators, in that they typically remain motionless in a camouflaged position, and then strike suddenly at passing prey." (Pythonidae, Wikipedia, 12-28-17)
iii. "Pythons use their sharp, backward-curving teeth, four rows in the upper jaw, two in the lower, to grasp prey which is then killed by constriction; after an animal has been grasped to restrain it, the python quickly wraps a number of coils around it. Death occurs primarily by cardiac arrest. Larger specimens usually eat animals about the size of a house cat, but larger food items are known; some large Asian species have been known to take down adult deer, and the African rock python, Python sebae, has been known to eat antelope. In 2017, there was a recorded case of a human devoured by a python in Sulawesi, Indonesia. All prey is swallowed whole, and may take several days or even weeks to fully digest." (Pythonidae, Wikipedia, 12-28-17)
D. Satan employs the same tactics.
i. He and his followers lie in wait to deceive (Eph 4:14; Luk 11:53-54 c/w Mat 23:33 c/w Joh 8:44).
ii. He snares his victims (2Ti 2:26; 1Ti 3:7; Psa 106:36-37; Pro 29:6).
iii. Snare v. - 1. a. trans. To capture (small wild animals, birds, etc.) in a snare; to catch by entangling.
iv. He and his followers swallow up his victims (Jer 51:34; Psa 56:1-2; Pro 1:10-12).
E. The name dragon shows that Satan is not only subtle like a serpent, but that he is powerful like a python which lies in wait for his pray, ensnares them, and then swallows them up.
6. Abaddon (Rev 9:11)
A. Abaddon - Used in Rev.. ix. 11 as equivalent to the Gr. +pokkÊxm, destroyer, as the name of ‘the angel of the bottomless pit.’ (OED)
B. Abaddon - (Gr. 'Abaddon, destruction), the angel of the bottomless pit (Rev 9:11), and corresponding to Apollyon, destroyer. (Unger's Bible Dictionary)
C. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy (Joh 10:10).
D. The name Abaddon shows that Satan is a destroyer.
7. Apollyon (Rev 9:11)
A. Apollyon - The destroyer, a name given to the Devil (OED)
B. Apollyon - destroyer, the Greek equivalent (Rev. 9:11) of Abaddon (Unger's Bible Dictionary)
C. The name Apollyon shows that Satan is a destroyer.
8. Beelzebub (Mat 12:24; Luk 11:15)
A. Beelzebub - The Devil; a devil (OED)
B. According to Unger's Bible Dictionary, Beelzebub is "the Philistine god of flies."
C. Some people maintain that Beelzebub is equivalent to Baalzebub, the god of the Philistines at Ekron (2Ki 1:2).
D. Baalzebub - the form of the name of Baal as worshipped at the Philistine city of Ekron. Baal, under this aspect of worship, was viewed as the producer of flies and hence able to control this pest, so common in the East. (Unger's Bible Dictionary)
E. The name Beelzebub shows that Satan is the prince of the devils (Mat 12:24-26).
F. By extrapolation, in that Beelzebub is the lord of the flies, this name of Satan shows that he is irritating, aggravating, annoying, and loves death and dung.
9. The accuser (Rev 12:9-10)
A. Accuser - One who accuses or blames; esp. one who accuses or prosecutes in a court of justice.
B. Satan demonstrated why he is called the accuser when he accused Job before God (Job 1:9-11).
C. Satan's children follow in his footsteps accusing the righteous (Dan 6:24; Luk 23:2, 10; Act 22:30; Act 24:2; 1Pe 3:16).
D. The name accuser shows that Satan accuses and blames us by way of our enemies and our own thoughts.