“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' Nevertheless, you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15).
In the authoritative Biblical narrative, a profound conflict exists between good and evil, personified by God the Father in Heaven and Satan. This conflict began when Satan, driven by pride and ambition, sought to usurp God’s throne, thereby defiling the sanctity of Heaven. This act of rebellion against God’s sovereignty marked the beginning of spiritual warfare, a battle that continues to this day. It is a stark reminder of the destructive power of pride and the eternal goodness of God’s divine order.
Satan is often portrayed as an adversary to God’s divine plan, including the sanctity and significance of marriage. Satan despises the Biblical role of marriage, which symbolizes the union between Christ and His church, reflecting our Lord’s love, mutual submission, and New Covenant commitment. This hatred extends to the ultimate heavenly union, the marriage of the Lamb of God, which signifies the eternal communion between Christ and His redeemed people. This animosity underscores the spiritual warfare that exists between God’s divine purposes and the forces of evil. It serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding the Biblical view of marriage and the need for spiritual vigilance in our relationship with our spouse.
PRAY THIS PRAYER:
Dear Father, I ask that You give me the power and the grace of Jesus to discern the enemy's ways and what to do about his attacks. I believe in Your divine interventions and ability to tell me the Truth. I choose to appropriate Your ways within my life. I support Your Son, Jesus Christ, in renouncing the enemy's tactics. Thank you for giving me the help and guidance I need to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. I ask that You use this lesson to reveal the Truth that will free me from the influence of wrong teachings. I pray for these things in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
ACTING LIKE SATAN
At the start of my marriage with Jane, I fell into patterns far from the Godly husband I aspired to be. Instead of embodying the love of Christ, respect, and selflessness that a believing husband should demonstrate, I was acting in ways that were more akin to the destructive forces of Satan. I was driven by selfish desires, causing discord and pain in our relationship - repetitively working to cause Jane to feel like “the bad guy.” This period of my life was a stark contrast to the Biblical role of a husband, and it served as a wake-up call for the need for personal transformation and to discover my identity in Christ.
Reflecting on my younger years, I recognize that I had a habit of treating Jane as lesser than myself in our marriage. This misguided and harmful pattern did not honor the honorable qualities of God’s best and mutual respect that should be the foundation of a loving relationship. I now understand that this behavior was not only detrimental to Jane but also to our relationship, which was to represent a marriage made in Heaven. It’s a part of my past that I deeply regret and have since made conscious efforts to rectify, releasing Christ in me to treat Jane with the love, respect, and coheir of the Grace of God.
We learn from the Bible that Satan is depicted as attempting to usurp the role of God the Father. Driven by pride and rebellion, Satan sought to elevate himself above God, desiring the worship and authority that belongs solely to the Creator. This audacious attempt to steal the role of God the Father marked the onset of sin and rebellion in the universe. It serves as a shocking reminder of the destructive consequences of pride and the eternal sovereignty of God the Father. Despite Satan’s attempts, the role and authority of God the Father remain unassailable and supreme.
THE FATHER’S VIEW:
The original family is not about to be broken up by an angel who thinks he is a father. God’s role is not “up for grabs”. He will not offer His seat to anyone--angel or man. God, the Father, considers it a major violation for any being to attempt to replace Him or take on the Father's role. Preserving the original family is a top priority for God. His flawless model demonstrates perfection regarding spiritual, relational, and physical relationships. God is pleased to announce that His heaven is secure and free from all forms of rebellion.
It is unclear why God allows “self-will,” even in the heavens. We can only assume that God created men and women with the same design of heaven. God created the angels with a will to choose whom they would serve. Satan (named Lucifer at the time) chose to be an adversary to the Father of Heaven and paid a stiff penalty because of this act of declaring, “I will make myself to be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). No one is to take on the role of Father except the One who is the Father. Authority is the key to accomplishing significant work, good or bad. Satan knew that he could not accomplish his work unless he had God’s authority to do it.
God’s order of conducting business is the only way. Satan understands that God is the supreme Father and Christ is the Son. The Son only says and does what the Father tells Him (John 8:28). The Word of God is God, and Christ spoke only His Father’s Words. Even Christ did not speak on His own initiative but spoke as His Father taught Him. The Holy Spirit’s role was to bring the Words of Jesus to remembrance to the disciples/Christians (John 14:26). Angels are designed by God to carry out the business that God, the Father’s orders. These orders were originally delivered through Gabriel, who leads in delivering God’s messages; Michael leads in spiritual warfare, and Lucifer, at the time, was in charge of the “harp” - worship (Isaiah 14:11).
Because of pride, Satan was not content with the role in which God placed him. He asserted himself by attempting to take on God’s role of heavenly Father. His endeavor at a “hostile takeover” placed him in eternal damnation. Just as Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden, Satan was removed from heaven (Isaiah 14:15). In heaven, attempting to take the role of the Father is a serious and unforgivable offense. (Thanks to Jesus’ work on the Cross, we can be forgiven and made whole when we attempt to do this.) This was not the case for Satan. When a heavenly host tries to take the throne of the Father, the consequences are irreversible.
One can only imagine how hostile Satan was when he was cast from heaven like a lightning bolt. I’m sure he hit the dirt with revenge that shook the foundation of the world. His consequences for the attempt at a takeover put him in his place, but he was not about to stop there. In the next lesson, we will explore what began to unfold regarding Satan’s attempt to take the role of Abba Father. I will give you a hint, Satan went for the throat of human marriages - causing divorce and immorality to be the delight of the day.
The term authority comes from the word “author.” God is the Author and Perfecter of the universe. His Son is the Author and Perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before the heavenly Father endured the cross, despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of His author, the Abba Father (Heb. 12:2). When Satan, or anyone else, attempts to claim ownership of the Book of Life, he is attempting to steal the name (identity) of the living God. The one who does this has a problem with submitting to authority. Satan does not like what is written in the Book of Life about him. It spells “doomsday.”
TODAY, I GET IT!
In closing, my journey with Jane has been one of profound transformation. I have moved from replicating the destructive actions of Satan - acting out of selfishness, pride, and disregard - to being active in replicating Christ’s selfless, unconditional love of His Father. This shift has not only brought healing and growth to our relationship, but it has also deepened my personal faith in Jesus and understanding my Abba’s love.
#62 Marriage: Satan Defiles Marriage