Satan’s goals: Satan wants to replace God
Isaiah 14:12-14 lists five
"I wills" of Satan
12 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!#
O Lucifer: or, O day star
13 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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
(KJV, bold typeface for "I will" is my embellishment)
Satan will fail -- Isaiah 14:15
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
(KJV)
Satan is a
deceiving tempter. In Luke 4, he tempts Jesus.
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
(KJV)
Notice several things: The devil offered Jesus things that were not the devils’ to give. They were things that were at Jesus’ command if He so chose. Notice that Jesus answered with scripture. Notice that the devil did leave, but was not necessarily done tempting.
The Bible teaches that there are three sources of temptation: The flesh (our self centered desires), The world (teachings of mankind in general), and the devil. Although the devil can and does use flesh and the world to advance his goals, we are two of the three sources of temptation. As we resist temptation, we resist the devil. Our most critical eye, when assessing sin and spirituality should be used when looking in the mirror. This is the front lines in battle with Satan.
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An aside: a pastor that truly preferred the King James Version once pointed out that many modern translations replace the name "Lucifer" in Isaiah 14:12 with the literal translation “morning star”. His complaint is that we should know the name of our enemy!