Ephesians 6:10-17 “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Continuing this word study of darkness from a biblical perspective, the seventh definition of the English word “darkness” is: 7. Empire of Satan. (the power of darkness). The word “devil” is defined as: a fallen angel, expelled from heaven for rebellion against God. Referencing Satan – the fallen archangel Lucifer, the chief of the apostate angels, the prince of darkness, chief of the demons [fallen angels]; the author of evil, the god of this age, the implacable enemy, the adversary, deceiver and tempter of the human race, and false accuser of mankind. He is the third element of the dark unholy trinity of the sinful desires of the fallen flesh, the God-rejecting world system and Satan. Satan’s tempting lie to Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:4-5 was, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” caused her to doubt God and disobey, brought sin and death into the world. He has been lying and deceiving us ever since and aided by the sin nature of the human flesh and the unholy fallen world, far too many are believing the lie and on the highway to Hell. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 “For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
Isaiah 14:12 “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!
Jesus said to those deceived in John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” In Mark 4:14-15, Jesus explains in a parable that soil is the heart of mankind and the sower [the Holy Spirit] sows the word of the kingdom of God. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. Matthew 13:19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” The devil knows that Jesus defeated him and death at the Cross, so now seek to take as many of fallen humanity by temptations, lies and deceptions down to Hell with him. 1 Peter 5:8warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
In that parable of the tares in Matthew 13:38-40, “The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.” You’ll see in the Word of God that the Lord focuses us not on the problem of Satan’s darkness, but on the remedy for the child of God and the ultimate future of the enemy. Proverbs 4:13-19 tell us, “Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.”
2 Corinthians 6:14 “For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”
Jesus tells us in John 10:9-11, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Jesus tells Paul in Acts 26:18 that he is “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father in John 17:14-16 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3 “The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from
the evil one.”
Ultimately, Satan’s and the fate of those living in darkness is told in Revelation 12:7-10, 20:7-15 The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then, death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Colossians 1:12-15 “give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
Let's conclude this biblical word study on the word "darkness" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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