EXPOSING SATAN'S LIES

By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

   Satan is a Liar! Jesus said so and I believe it! There is no greater Witness in this universe than our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, Truth and Life!

He said: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a MURDERER from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a LIE, he speaketh of his own: for he is a LIAR, and the father ot it.” (John 8: 44)

    Jesus Christ, True God from Eternity, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit is Omnipitent because He is all powerul. He is Omniscient, meaning all wise and all knowing, and Omnipresent because He is everywhere at once!

     You can't pull the wool over His eyes! He sees ALL, hears ALL and knows ALL. And He feels ALL, as well! He knows all about us and still loves us in spite of our rebellious attitudes, pride, self sufficiency and unbelief. Ask yourself: “Why did Jesus come to this earth?”

    The Holy Bible says: “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4: 14,15)

     St. Peter stated: “Casting all your cares upon Him for He careth for you.” (1 Peter 4:7). Jesus Christ is still the compassionate, caring and giving Saviour as He always has been. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Heb.13: 8).

                                 HE WILL NEVER NO NEVER LEAVE US!

     He said: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (age).” (Matt. 28: 20): “For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Heb. 13: 5). In the original, Jesus used a double imperative here. He actually said: “I will never, no never leave thee. I will never, no never forsake thee!”

     Always is a measure of time, while alway is a measure of distance. He will go with us right to the end of life, even until we see Him as He is: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3: 2)

    Our Saviour wept over Jerusalem. He wept at the grave of Lazarus, when He witnessed the sorrow of Mary and Martha. The Holy Scripture declares: “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 

     "Jesus saith unto her, I AM the RESURRECTION, and the LIFE: he that beliveth in Me in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Son of God, which should come into this world.” (John 11: 23-27)

     “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always: but because of the people that stand by, I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me.

     “And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and His face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, LOOSE HIM, and let him go.” (John 11: 41-44)

    JESUS CHRIST has all power in Heaven, in earth and the regions below! Demons obey Him and angels worship Him, for He is WORTHY to be praised. It is not within our grasp as mere mortals, however, to understand the unsearchable greatness of His Person and awesomeness of His love, mercy, grace and power!

    The Bible says: “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory and blessing.

     “And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honour, and glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” (Rev.11-13)

                             CHRIST IS LORD OVER ALL CREATION!

    Jesus REJOICED in Spirit and danced for joy, after praying to His Father. (Luke 10:21). He would not tolerate the merchandising of His Father's House and drove them out of the temple. ( Matt.21:12); He looked about in anger at the hard - hearted hypocrites. (Mark 3:5). He knew their thoughts.(Matt.12: 25).

     By a miracle, He multiplied the loaves and the fishes on two occasions. (Matt.14: 15-21; 15: 32-38). He saw the multitudes in their tremendous need and healed them:

     “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” (Matt. 9: 35-36)

   “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil...Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him ONLY shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” (Matt. 4: 1-11)

    Jesus commanded the host of demons to leave the insane man of Gadera. When the demons begged Jesus to allow them to enter a herd of swine which were nearby, He simply said: “GO!” (Mark 5: 1-15)

     MARTIN LUTHER said: “By God's grace, I know Satan very well. If Satan can turn God's Word upside down and pervert the Scriptures, what will he do with my words or the words of others?”

      If anyone should KNOW Satan's lying tactics it was our Lord, Who had created him as a pure, righteous archangel and saw his treasonous actions and disastrous fall. Pride, arrogance and pure Evil had overtaken him, causing the greatest Rebellion in historical record!

                              LUCIFER WAS CAST OUT OF HEAVEN!

     The archangel Michael cast out of Heaven Lucifer the offending, rebellious archangel, together with one third of God's angelic host who had followed the Rebel! (Isaiah 14: 12-17; Ezek. 28: 12-17; Rev. 12: 7-11).
      Satan is a defeated foe, a vanquished enemy, but nevethe less a ruthless tyrany who uses every opportunity to advance his lying, deceiving and corrupting agenda of hatred,fear, violence and death! He has been soundly and totally defeated by the Almighty and Matchless power of Jesus Christ's ALL-ATONING shed blood on Golgotha and His trimphant and glorious resurrection  from the dead! 
      When Jesus of Nazareth shouted His Victory Cry from the cross, it was all over for Satan. If the Devil were anywhere near the cross after Jesus' bood was shed, he was 'out-of-there', when our Lord shouted the word, "Tetelestai". 

   Jesus Christ had cast out thousands of demons from sick, suffering and demon possessed people during His earthly Ministry. On the 'Cross of Shame', however Jesus delivered the final death blow to Satan and his Evil kingdom.

    The Bible records: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30).

    Jesus spoke in Greek and the word He uttered was tetelestai. That word is taken from the Greek verb teleo which has three essential meaning: to finish something and bring something to an end; to fulill something; to pay that which is owed.

   Jesus had finished His work of redemption. He had brought to an end Satan's domination over the human race. He had fulfilled all the Scriptures about the Jewish Messiah. He had paid for all our sins, past, present and future, as well as all our sicknesses and pains!

                            JESUS WAS AGAINST SIN & SICKNESS!

    Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, Isaiah the prophet, foretold His Mission: “Surely He hath borne our sicknesses (heb. Makob), and carried our pains (heb. Nasa): yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” (Is. 53: 4,5)

     Everywhere He went, Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, liberating lost, sick and suffering souls: “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

    “And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and He healed them.” (Matt.4: 23-24)

     “But Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” (Matt. 9: 35, 36)

     Jesus laid out His plan for world evangelism when He ordained TWELVE disciples to help lift the burden of bringing deliverance and healing to the masses of sick and suffering people:

    “And when He had called His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease... These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them saying...

     “And as you go, preach saying the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matt.10: 1, 7,8)

     Later, He added another SEVENTY discples to His team of evangelists and sent them out with the same directions as the twelve: “And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” (Luke 10:1, 8,9)

    The Bible says: And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightening fall from Heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and NOTHING shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10: 17).

                               WHY DID JESUS HEAL THE SICK?

     Everywhere our Saviour went, He preached the Kingdom of God and HEALED the sick and cast out EVIL SPIRITS from those who were bound. He commissioned His apostles and disciples to do the same. Why did Jesus of Nazareth have such a vengence against sickness and disease? For the same reason He cast out devils wherever they manifested!

    Look at this Scripture: “And He said unto them, let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” (Mark 1: 3, 29). 

    Any thinking person reading the New Testament would very quickly understand that Jesus was very involved in driving out unclean spirits from those who were bound. In nearly every Scripture text where He healed the sick and diseased, He also cast out devils.     I have come the conclusion that JESUS loved the sufferers and was very much against the diseases and sicknesses and evil spirits that had afflicted them!

                                 MAN CREATED WITH A SOUND BODY!

     As God the Son, He was involved in the creation of man and knew why sickness had come upon the human race. There was no sickness or disease in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lived in a Paradise, without sin, sickness, disease or death. After their disobedience and tragic fall everything changed. God drove them out of the Garden and sin, sickness and death have reigned ever since!

     There will be no sickness or disease on earth during the Millenial Reign of Christ or in Heaven. Jesus saw sin, sickness and disease as enemies of the human race, which were caused by the fall. These things were abhorrent to Him, so He attacked them by bringing HEALING to the sick and suffering, and by casting out the evil spirits who had invaded the human race.

     JESUS was showing us what life will be like in His Kingdom. By commissioning His apostles, disciples and followers to carry on His work, He was laying out specific guidelines for His Ministers to continue in His abscence. Later, He sent the Holy Spirit to lead His Church. He hated sin and sickness because they are the work and result of Satan's trecherous lies and the fall of man.

                                      SATAN'S SIN OF HIGH TREASON!

     What was the motivation of Lucifer's great sin of High Treason against Almighty God? Why was he not satisfied in being the Covering Cherub, leading the praise and worship to the Lord God in the Highest?

   Without doubt, it was the sin of PRIDE! It was greed, selfishness and downright stupidity! It was self-glory, thinking of himself to be greater than he was. The original Hebrew gives the implication that he not only wanted “to be like God”, but to dethrone God and be God.

     God never created a stupid angel, so where did this stupidity come from? How could a created being think that he could unseat God Most High, Creator, Sustainer and Giver of Life? His unthinkable folly teaches us what sin can do an otherwise intelligent personality.

     What did Lucifer's arrogant, haughty action accomplish? What was the outcome of his folly? He was cast out of Heaven, stripped of his position and consigned to an eternal censure as a renegade angel and a despised, hated, evil, perverted enemy of God and man! He will always be known as a tyrant, murderer, liar, and filthy monster who will eventually be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity!

   Jesus called Lucifer, the fallen archangel by three names: Satan, the Opposer, Adversary, Enemy; The Devil, liar, false accuser, traducer; Beelzebub, god of flies, filth, corruption!

     St. Paul warns: Be not deceived. God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” (Gal.6: 7). May no-one reading these lines follow in his treacherous foot steps which lead only to heartbreak, sorrow and death. A present day example, is the murderous and devilish life-syles of Islamic Terrorists who answer Satan's call to follow him in raping, pillaging, beheading Christians and Jews and dying as suicide bombers!

                                 SATAN'S DEMISE:TOTAL DEFEAT!

    “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...the workmanship of the tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

     “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...

      “Thou hast SINNED: therefore will I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O Covering Cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy Beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy Wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground...” (Ezek.28: 12-17)

   The prophet Ezekiel laid out the case against Lucifer. He had been the Covering Cherub, the guardian of God's throne and full of wisdom and beauty, until the day that he sinned. He led a revolt against the Almighty and was judged and cast out of Heaven.

     Some believe that in the distant past, Lucifer had been given charge of planet earth and planned his assault on God's throne from there. And when he was cast out of Heaven to the earth, God made the earth a wilderness. Others believe that Lucifer's wrath was so great that he destroyed everything.

     The Genesis record states: “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth.” It appears that God created the heaven and earth perfect, but something happened to make the earth a wilderness. “And the earth was without form an void.” Then, God recreated the earth.

                            BE FRUITFUL, MUTIPLY & REPLENISH!

    God said to Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Gen.1:28). That speaks of the earth being inhabited at an earlier time. Only God knows, however, the Gap Theory makes sense.

     Here is what Isaiah recorded: “How art thou Fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are 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 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, and did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a Wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his Prisoners? (Is.14: 12-17)

     On the Isle of Patmos, ST. JOHN was given this amazing revelation: “And there was WAR in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought against his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found again in Heaven.

     “And the great dragon was cast out, that old Serpent called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 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 the brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

      And they OVERCAME him by the BLOOD OF THE LAMB, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye Heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitors of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” (Rev. 12: 7-12)

                                            THE BEST NEWS OF ALL!

     “And the seventy returned again with joy saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy NAME. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning FALL from Heaven. Behold, I give unto you POWER to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the ENEMY: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10: 17-20)

    Jesus promised: “And these SIGNS shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast our devils...they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16: 15-20)

     “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil.” (1 John 3: 8): “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He (Jesus) also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil.” (Heb.2: 14)

    St. John saw it all in a vision given to him by Jesus Christ: “I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the Key of the Bottomless Pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old Serpent which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

     “And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and put a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” (Rev.20: 1-3)

     “And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the Beast (Antichrist) and the False Prophet are and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.

     “And I saw a great White Throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the BOOK of LIFE: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

     “And death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.” Amen.