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Satan Consumes and Destroys
June 24, 2023
Most of us have met people we would prefer to avoid because of personality differences. A person who is seriously minded doesn’t always mix with the person who makes light of the day’s events. There are people who only have the ability to talk about what interests them without considering what is of interest to others. There can be differences of perspective and attitude. Some see the situations of life as completely unfair and beyond their control and others see the situations of life as something which can and must be overcome. One person might like a popular genre of music and another prefers something less conventional. For every type of person we can meet, there is likely another person out there that is completely unlike that person we met.
In social settings when we encounter people who are different than we are, if those differences are significant enough, we tend to avoid those people at social events, but when it comes to work, it’s often not our call with whom we work. Sometimes working with people who have different perspectives and attitudes than us can make work a drag. If we tend to be very positive and the other person is all gloom and doom, that could make the workday dreary, and if we are all gloom and doom and encounter the most energetic and optimistic person at work, all of their energy and optimism can be overwhelming for us. When working with people who have stark differences than us, we will work hard to get the work done and avoid conflict with these people.
We tend to encounter people who have different perspectives and attitudes than us in all aspects of life, and we have some level of control over these people. In social settings, we can pick and choose where we are, and when it comes to work, we could always change our position within the company that employs us or seek employment with a new company. Imagine how it might be if we didn’t have that autonomy to choose where we were or with whom we worked. Dealing with people who are starkly different than we are under these circumstances could be overwhelming and crushing. We know in reading the Bible that God will never give us a situation that crushes us, and we also know the Kingdom of God that will come at the return of Jesus will be filled with like-minded individuals. We also know for the adversary, the opposition, Satan and the demons, that they too will also be congregated together. There will be a huge difference between how the two are grouped. Those of us aligned to God and Jesus Christ will be spiritually alive living righteously in the Kingdom of God. Satan and the demons who are enemies of God and Jesus Christ will be exiled to a bottomless pit with no meaningful work to be done. Satan, who is vile, will be exiled to a place with other spirit beans who are also vile, with unrighteousness everywhere.
That’s the future reality of righteousness and unrighteousness, and Satan is working to keep as many as possible away from that future of righteousness so that they may be consumed and destroyed by unrighteousness. Each of us needs to be careful to ensure we are not ensnared by Satan so that we become consumed and destroyed by unrighteousness. To ensure we are not consumed and destroyed by unrighteousness, we need to be responsive to the calling that we have been given through Jesus Christ, who when speaking with the disciples explained that while He came so that we may have a more abundant life, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
John 10:7-10
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Throughout our life, we all have opportunities for righteousness and unrighteousness and need to remember that it is through unrighteousness that Satan will attempt to consume and destroy us. Jesus said we are not to be fearful of those who can bring physical harm to us, but to fear who can bring us to eternal death. The worst Satan could ever do to us is to bring us to our physical death through his unrighteous deeds. Even if that should occur, God will bring us to eternal life through His righteousness, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, knowing we are of much greater importance to God than any animal living on earth. As long as we remain faithful to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ will remain faithful to us.
Matthew 10:27-33
What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Hebrews shows that Satan has the power of death, physical death. In unrighteousness, Satan will try to use that power of physical death through unrighteousness, to separate us from the love of God that is through Jesus Christ who could have come in the form of an angel and instead came as a mortal human so that he could be a faithful and merciful high priest to make reconciliation for the people of God knowing what it means to be tempted by Satan.
Hebrews 2:14-18
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he 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;
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Knowing that Satan consumes and destroys through unrighteousness, there should be no question before of us as to where our loyalty is. Our loyalty must always be on the side of righteousness, with God and Jesus Christ and never siding with unrighteousness and Satan. Jesus reminded the people around him that even though they saw themselves as the people of God, they were aligned to the unrighteousness that is Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning who each day plots our spiritual death through unrighteousness.
John 8:42-47
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
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 of it.
And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
We who are the called, chosen, and faithful must always remember that even though we are living a calling that has placed us on the straight and narrow path to righteousness and eternal life, that has not always been the case knowing that the unrighteousness that Satan works to destroy and consume us starts in our physical body. If Satan does not get us to cave in through the fear of physical death when our faith is challenged, Satan will try to get us through our body and mind, what connects our conscious thought to our body. We need to be mindful that we have been called to be transformed from the unrighteousness that is this world to the righteousness that is in God through Jesus Christ, knowing that this hope that we have is not of and by anything we have done, but through grace, the forgiveness of sins that was made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:1-9
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved;
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
In the Book of Revelation, when the fifth angel sounds, a star falls from heaven and is given the key to the bottomless pit to unlock it, the king of the evil that is found in that bottomless pit is called in the Hebrew, Abbaddon, and in the Greek Apollyon, both meaning destroyer. How does the king of evil, Satan, destroy during this prophetic time of five months? Out of the unlocked bottomless pit arises smoke which blocks the sun and daylight, with locusts that have the stinging power of scorpions, with a sting so intense people will want to die but cannot. These locusts are described as being like horses prepared for battle with crowns of gold and faces of men with very noisy wings.
Revelation 9:1-12
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
The imagery from Revelation shows a battle where these locusts that ascend from the bottomless pit painfully attack people for five months, and that this is just the beginning of end time woes. What we don’t know for sure is exactly how this will look when this plays out. Maybe what John describes is a spiritual battle that plays in a dimension beyond human perception, except for the pain experienced by people, or maybe what John describes are the modern weapons of war that he saw in his vision using terminology the people of his time could understand. We do know that when the bottomless pit is unlocked, there will be this five month war that inflicts great pain on the people and that the king of the bottomless pit, Satan, is described in both Hebrew and Greek as the destroyer.
Satan not only seeks our destruction; Satan seeks our quick destruction. Peter describes Satan as walking around the earth seeking whom he may devour. Devouring happens quickly, not slowly.
1 Peter 5:8-11
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The Greek word for devour used by Peter is Strong’s Greek word 2666, katapino, meaning to swallow hole, gulp down, to devour. When Satan seeks to devour, Satan is not interested in a long-term endeavor. Satan is looking for quick and easy, a person with whom he can be done. Understanding that Satan is not looking for a battle of attrition, but through unrighteousness seeks to destroy and consume us quickly, the words of James come into greater focus, where James tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. He also tells us that we resist Satan by drawing near to God.
James 4:7-10
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
We know that Satan seeks to destroy us quickly and that if we resist, Satan will flee from us. That doesn’t mean that Satan will never return to fight us another day, and that means each day we are fighting for the faith we have. Paul didn’t tell Timothy to live a life of faith, but to fight the good fight of faith. Where there is no conflict, there is no need to fight, and with Satan who seeks to devour us, we will always have conflict. Each day is the day for us to lay hold on eternal life, and we do that each day until our salvation is complete at the return of Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 6:11-14
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness,
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
God exists but we must do more than just exist, we have to fight the good fight of faith. Jesus used the parable of the sower to show how Satan works to devour us. With that parable, some seed never made it to the tilled earth and were devoured by birds. Other seed fell on stony ground and quickly germinated but because roots were not well established, the plant soon withered. Other seed grew among thorns and were choked. Only some of the seed grew into maturity yielding fruit.
When Jesus first shared this parable, the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was saying, so they asked Him. Jesus told them He used parables so that those who knew the mystery of the Kingdom of God would understand. When Jesus used parables, it wasn’t for everyone to understand at that time. Jesus showed that the sower sows the word of God, and that for some, Satan, like a bird, swoops in right away to take away the seed before it can grow. Remember that when Satan devours, that is done quickly.
Those who are like the seed sown on stony ground are people who hear the word of God and it develops until they suffer or are persecuted for the truth, and then they give up. Remember Jesus taught not to fear those who can kill the body. If Satan thinks suffering or persecution for the truth will spiritually kill a person, Satan will quickly use that route. The seed sown among thorns describes people who hear the word of God, but the word of God gets drowned out by the cares of this world. Jesus did teach to seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and our needs will be provided. When the cares of this life become greater than our focus on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness is when problems set in, and Satan will be quick to act if he thinks there is any way this will work. We need to be like the seed sown on good grown, bringing forth spiritual fruit, lots of spiritual fruit. Satan hates spiritual fruit, and when we resist Satan and grow spiritual fruit, Satan will flee from us.
Mark 4:1-20
And he began again to teach by the seaside: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
The sower soweth the word.
And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Bringing forth spiritual fruit is not something that is one and done. Spiritual fruit, like a tree, is something that needs to happen each season. A fruit tree that yields a bumper crop one year will be soon chopped down if it stops producing fruit in the orchard.
Understanding that we are to receive the word of God and grow spiritual fruit is foundational to faith. Romans shows that without the word of God, faith cannot come to a person. A person must first have the word of God, through hearing or reading, before faith can grow. There can be no substance of things hoped for, if there is first no substance, and that substance of things hoped for is found in the word of God.
Romans 10:14-18
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
When we think of our faith and Satan as one who through unrighteousness destroys and consumes, do we have faith like a mustard seed? If not, it means we have more work to do in our faith and must continue to be vigilant against Satan.
Luke 17:5-6
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Even if we think our faith is like the faith of a mustard seed, we must continue to be vigilant against Satan. Take for example Peter, who swore allegiance to Jesus stating he was ready to go to prison and be killed for his faith. Jesus told him Satan really wanted to sift him as wheat, leaving Jesus with reason to pray that Peter’s faith fail not.
Luke 22:31-34
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
We know when Satan seeks whom he may devour, Satan is looking for the quick and easy spiritual kill. Satan flees from those who resist, and for us each day is a day we must resist Satan and know the ways how Satan seeks to devour us. If lies and deception will lead to our quick spiritual demise, Satan will use lies and deception. Going back to the Garden of Eden, lies and deception were used by Satan to deceive Eve.
Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
In his first letter, John tells us to let no man deceive us, reminding us that if we do righteousness, we are righteous, and that sin is of the devil. John is reminding us of the choice we face each day between righteousness and unrighteousness and that we must choose righteousness.
1 John 3:7-10
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
For some lies and deception will never work, but Satan knows for some, personal trials are his ticket for a quick spiritual death knowing that the difficulties and discouragement that comes with trials for some destroys and consumes them. When Jesus healed a woman on the Sabbath, he explained it was because Satan had bound her.
Luke 13:10-17
And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
When Job was afflicted, he was afflicted at the hand of Satan.
Job 2:1-7
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Not every illness a person has may stem from an act of Satan, but we do need to be aware that personal trials can be weaponized by Satan to separate us from the faith we have. Another way Satan can try and kill us off spiritually, is when we suffer a personal affront for which we feel there is no need to forgive. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his second letter, how without forgiveness between people, Satan establishes a footing that can be used to bring about quick spiritual death. Knowing that Satan seeks to devour us, why would we give him any advantage?
2 Corinthians 2:5-11
But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Finally, we are to put on the whole armor of God to stand against the trickeries of Satan, who seeks to devour us. That spiritual armor is based in truth, not a lie, with righteousness, faith, and the hope of salvation serving defensively, and the gospel of the Kingdom of God giving us agility, and the word of God serving as our offensive weapon, knowing that when Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus quoted scripture.
Ephesians 6:10-17
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Satan, through unrighteousness, seeks to consume and destroy each of us. Each day is a day where we fight the fight of faith knowing that as we resist Satan by following righteousness, Satan will flee from us.
All verses are from the King James Version.
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