God of this World and Tablets of Destiny

Good read on Satan’s Origin and Fall, from Douglas Hamp,here is some of it.....


God of this World and Tablets of Destiny



The explanation of the separation of heaven and earth is also of great interest and there appears to be some truth in it, though it is a twisted form of the actual events. What we can glean from that is that heaven (God’s abode) and earth (man’s abode) used to be connected and as a result of Satan’s actions and the fall of man, heaven and earth separated. The Creator God (An) took heaven (dwells there until now) and Satan (Enlil) took the earth. This is why Satan could offer the earth to the Lord Jesus when he came because he actually held the (legal) title to the earth (see table above for references). Revelation 21 indicates however that God’s dwelling will come down to the earth and forever be connected to man’s abode. It is also so like Satan to tell humanity that the Creator God (An) was not that interested in the affairs of men – that He was too busy and rather aloof and therefore he, Enlil, was the go-to-god.

Additionally, the Bible confirms that Satan is the god of this world (for the time being). As Illil he holds the Tablets of Destiny which give him authority over the cosmos and the affairs of men. In Revelation chapter five we see a powerful scene in the throne room of Heaven; there we find a scroll with writing inside and on the back which no one is able to open.

And I saw in the right [hand] of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. […] Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; thus he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:1-3, 5).

Finally only one is found worthy to open it – the Lion of Judah who “has conquered.” However, the question arises: conquered what? Given that when the two-sided scroll is opened cataclysms begin happening on the earth, it is therefore reasonable to assume that the scroll is the deed of the earth or the “tablets of destiny.” Pastor Chuck Smith commenting on Revelation chapter five notes well:

This book is nothing other than the title deed to the earth. Under Jewish law whenever you sold property in the deed there was always a redemptive clause. You always had the right to buy the property back within a specified period of time providing you could fulfill the terms and the requirements that were written in the deed.

So wherever there was the sale of property, there were always two deeds that were drawn up. One deed was sealed and it was put away in a safe deposit. The other remained open and was kept by the person who sold the property. And in the time of redemption you would bring both deeds, the one that was open and the one that was sealed. And by the open deed you would prove that you were the one that had the right to redeem it. And in the redeeming of it, you would break the seals of the closed deed and you would fulfill the requirements therein, and thus, the property would revert to you. [xii]

Jesus conquered Satan and death by way of His death on the cross and the scene in Heaven is merely where he finally takes possession of that which He conquered. As He lays claim to what is His, the old kingdom begins to fall apart and disintegrate. The time of disintegration is what is known as the Great Tribulation

Why Satan Fell

We have one final question to consider in our study of Satan’s origins is why he fell in the first place. From all that we have seen in this book concerning the Image of God and what he looks like and how the angels look, we might be able to speculate just a bit. We know from Ezekiel 28 that Satan, the anointed cherub, was the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty and his fall was due to his great beauty.
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Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor. I threw you down to the ground; I placed you before kings, that they might see you, (Ezekiel 28:17 NET).
When humans see an angel they are overwhelmed. Both Daniel and John fall to the ground debilitated as a result. John was so overcome that on two occasions he began to worship the angel who quickly exhorted him to do not that.

And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See [that you do] not [do that!] I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” (Revelation 19:10).

Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “See [that you do] not [do that.] For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” (Revelation 22:8-9).
It is not just that John was overtaken by the angel standing before him but in his vision he had already seen the Lord Himself. Therefore we can surmise that Satan must have been so amazing in splendor (at least outwardly) and so similar in appearance to God that he began to compare himself with God and could not see any qualitative difference, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty,” (Ezekiel 28:12). Of course, regardless of how glorious he appeared bodily, Satan would always be a created being. His very existence was a gift from the Almighty and so therefore he would never even begin to truly be like God – he was just a creature. “You [were] perfect in your ways from the day you were created” (Ezekiel 28:15). Therefore, we may conclude that because outwardly he was glorious like God, he apparently believed himself to be equal (or close enough) to God and then attempted to rise up to the place where God was. “For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation” (Isaiah 14:13). When Satan attempted to magnify himself to God’s level, God cast him “as a profane thing [vaekhalelkhaוָאֶחַלֶּלְךָ] out of the mountain of God,” (Ezekiel 28:16). Furthermore, God says:
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. You defiled [khilalta חִלַּלְתָּ] your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, (Ezekiel 28:16b-18a).

It appears that God, in some way that we do not fully understand, then took out (caused to go out of) the fire that was in Satan (as an angelic being created in God’s image):

Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.”‘ (Ezekiel 28: 18b-19).

Bible commentator David Guzik sums up with a very plausible explanation as to why Satan fell. He suggests that Satan rebelled when faced with the prospect of having to serve man, who was below him in glory and power:

Perhaps because he rejected God’s plan to create an order of being made in His image (Gen. 1:26), who would be beneath the angels in dignity (Heb. 2:6-7a; 2Pe. 2:11), yet would be served by angels in the present (Heb. 1:14; 2:7-8; Psa. 91:11-12) and would one day be lifted in honor and status above the angels (1Co. 6:3; 1Jo. 3:2). Satan wanted to be the highest among all creatures, equal to God in glory and honor, and the plan to create man would eventually put men above angels. He was apparently able to persuade one-third of the angelic beings to join him in his rebellion (Rev. 12:3-4, 7, and 9). If this is the case, it explains well Satan’s present strategy against man: to obscure the image of God in man through encouraging sin and rebellion, to cause man to serve him, and to prevent the ultimate glorification of man, (Guzik’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Isaiah 14).

Having fallen from God’s presence Satan then deceived the very ones who were created in God’s image and likeness and in whom God had breathed the breath of life. As a result God spoke of the Seed of the Woman to save them and of the seed of Satan who would strike the Redeemer’s heel but would ultimately be destroyed. With this pronouncement in mind Satan set out to overcome the judgment that he faced by distorting the seed of mankind through whom the Promised One would come.

http://www.douglashamp.com/satans-origin-and-fall/

that was very interesting!

indeed!