(358) – HONOR TO SATAN

The members of the church of Satan worship him and honor him with the same works he does. For this reason they are called servants of Satan.

The members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ worship him and honor him by practicing the same works he practices, for Jesus himself declared: “Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father” (John 14:12). And this one also walks as Jesus walked: “He who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked” (1 John 2:6). And the apostle John says more: “As he is, even so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). And Jesus said to the Pharisee Jews of his time, who persecuted him and wanted to kill him: “You do the works of your father.” They answered: “We have one Father, God” (John 8:41). Jesus, then answered him: “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God […] You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” (John 8:42,44). Now, the Israelites, and specially the Jews, were all children of Jehovah, because Jesus calls them children of the devil? Because everyone who hates, persecutes and defames others is a child of the devil, for this is the work of the devil.

God, the Father, can only be known in the person of Jesus. The Pharisees asked him: “‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also’” (John 8:19). God, the Father, can only be seen in Jesus. John declared: “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18). Nobody can come near to God, except through Jesus, for he said: “No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6).

The true God, that is, God the Father, honored Jesus Christ. For this reason Peter declared: “For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (2 Peter 1:17).

The Old Testament is filled with fabulous figures. We will focus on one: ‘NEBUCHDNEZZAR, THE KING OF BABYLON.’ The Bible calls Nebuchadnezzar the king of kings (Ezek. 26:7). This king was a cruel, proud and idolatrous warrior. The two main gods of Babylon were Bel and Militia. Bel, Lord, was the Sun God. Militia, the Moon, was the goddess of fertility. The temple of Bel, majestic, was 200 meters high. Priestesses, who could be single or married, served in the temple of Militia. Besides serving in the temple, they had to yield to the men who visited the temple. That was a cult to sex. The married women could leave the husbands and the children and consecrate themselves to the worship to Militia for one year, and afterwards they returned to their homes. It was a sacred prostitution.

Jehovah declared about king Nebuchadnezzar, saying: “I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me. Now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the animals of the field also have I given him to serve him. All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant. It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand” (Jer. 27:5-8).

He said to the king of Jehovah, from Jehovah: “I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?” (Jer. 27:12-13).

Jehovah called Nebuchadnezzar his SERVANT many times (Jer. 25:9; 27:6; 43:10). He was particularly fond of this perverted king, for he declared that the acts of this king were pleasing in his eyes (Jer. 27:5). Nebuchadnezzar was so loved, that Jehovah handed his own sword to the king of kings (Dan. 2:37-38). Ezekiel tells it to us: “I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out on the land of Egypt” (Ezek. 30:25).

Jehovah honored Nebuchadnezzar by submitting all the nations under his feet, even the kingdom of Judah, which is his kingdom, and where his temple is, the place of his dwelling (1 Kings 8:13). The prophet Daniel describes how Jehovah honored Nebuchadnezzar and gave him glory:

The king, when he woke up in the morning, had been dreaming a disturbing dream, but he did not remember it. He, then, sent for his magicians, the astrologers, and sorcerers to reveal to him the dream and its interpretation. They could not, and the king, infuriated, decreed the death of all the wise men and diviners of Babylon. Daniel heard about the decree and presented himself before the king, and told him in details the dream of the statue, which head was of gold, the breasts and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of copper, the legs of iron, and the feet partly iron and partly clay, and interpreted it, saying: “You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold” (Dan. 2:31-38, our capitalization). Then Nebuchadnezzar, whose evil works, ferocity, tyranny, and idolatry pleased Jehovah (Jer. 27:5), made a statue of himself that was 20 meters high, and two and a half meters wide, all of gold. Nebuchadnezzar knew that whoever worshipped the statue would be worshipping the one who had given him power and glory. Whoever knelt before the statue would be kneeling before Jehovah. Whoever honored Nebuchadnezzar would be honoring the god who had made him king of kings and head of the nations (Dan. 3:1-15).

There is a detail that needs to be analyzed: Nebuchadnezzar is called the devouring dragon, and the dragon is Satan (Rev. 12:9). The one who reveals this is Jeremiah, after Nebuchadnezzar took the kingdom of Judah to captivity (Jer. 51:34). Could Nebuchadnezzar really be a figure of Satan? Isaiah reveals this in all details. In chapter 14 of his book Jehovah says: “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, with the sound of your stringed instruments. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you. How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit” (Is. 14:11-15). All Christians of all denominations and tendencies know that this prophecy speaks of the fall of Satan. It was directed to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; therefore, Nebuchadnezzar is a figure of Satan. And just as Jehovah honored Nebuchadnezzar by giving him all the kingdoms of this world, Jehovah honored Satan handing over to him all the kingdoms of this earth. And also, just as the works of Nebuchadnezzar were pleasing to Jehovah, so were the works of Satan. Finally, just as Nebuchadnezzar was Jehovah’s servant, Satan is Jehovah’s servant. Wherever Israel fled from the presence of Jehovah, Jehovah would send the serpent after him, or Satan, to bite him (Amos 9:3). To honor Satan, who is the serpent, Jehovah told Moses to make a serpent of bronze, which healed those who were bitten by the serpents (Num. 21:9). This serpent of bronze remained preserved by Jehovah for 800 years, before he told it to be destroyed. King Hezekiah destroyed it (2 Kings 18:4).

“The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want. If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered him, ‘Get behind me Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only”’” (Luke 4:5-8). Who handed the kingdoms to Satan? Jehovah did! When? Jehovah declared he always ruled over Israel (Is. 43:15). He also declared he ruled over the kingdoms of this world (Ps. 47:7-8). Until the days of Jeremiah, 600 BC, Jehovah ruled (Jer. 46:18; 48:15). Satan received the kingdoms from the hand of Jehovah at the end of the Old Testament. And there is one detail: Jesus did not disagree that Jehovah honored Satan.

 

By Pastor Olavo Silveira Pereira

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