Lesson: Who is Satan (No. CB60

Christian Churches of God

No. CB60_2

Lesson: Who is Satan?

(Edition 1.0 20211205-20211205)

In this lesson we will review the paper CB60, Who is Satan and gain a better understanding of why he exists and what is his relationship to God the Father.

Christian Churches of God

PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606 AUSTRALIA

E-mail: secretary@ccg.org

(Copyright 2021 Christian Churches of God, ed. Wade Cox)

This paper may be freely copied and distributed provided it is copied in total with no alterations or deletions. The publisher’s name and address and the copyright notice must be included. No charge may be levied on recipients of distributed copies. Brief quotations may be embodied in critical articles and reviews without breaching copyright.

This paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

Lesson: Who is Satan?

Open with prayer.

Lesson on Who Is Satan

Activity associated with the lesson.

Close with prayer.

Lesson:

1. Read through the paper Who is Satan (No. CB60) unless it is read as a sermonette with the children present.

2. Children’s questions are in bold. This is a general review of the material covered in the lesson.

Q1. Was Satan’s name always Satan?

A. No originally his name was Lucifer “Son of Morning” or Day Star (Isa.14:12). The name Lucifer means Light Bringer, or Shining Star of the Dawn. His name was changed to Satan which means adversary or accuser of the brethren once he rebelled against God the Father. He is also referred to as the father of lies, prince of the power of the air, a great dragon or serpent.

Q2. What was Lucifer's role in God’s Plan originally?

A. Lucifer was a covering Cherub, at the throne of God. He, along with the rest of the angelic Host, were created perfect in all of their ways. He was full of wisdom and beauty (Ezek. 28:12-15).

Q3. Did Lucifer remain perfect?

A. No, although Lucifer was created perfect and remained in a perfect state until iniquity or sin was found in him. Once he thought of taking over God’s throne, he was separating himself from God and became more and more disobedient.

Q4. Was Satan able to influence any of the other spiritual beings?

A. Yes he was! Revelation 12:4 tells us he was able to get a third of the angels to join him in this rebellion to take over God’s Throne.

Q5. What happened at God’s Throne when Satan and one third of the angels attempted to take over and replace God the Father?

A. There was a great war in heaven and Michael and his angels fought against Satan and his followers. Ultimately Satan and the rebellious angels were banished to the earth.

Q6. Who refashioned the earth so it would be ready for the creation of mankind?

A. The loyal elohim (or angels), led by Jesus Christ, refashioned the earth to make it habitable for the next phase and the creation of mankind.

Q7. Were Adam and Eve created perfect, if so did they remain obedient to God’s laws.

A. Yes, Adam and Eve were created perfectly. They remained in a state of perfection in the Garden of Eden as long as they obeyed God’s Laws. Satan tempted or tricked Eve who then tricked Adam into believing that God was lying to them by not allowing Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Once they ate the fruit, they sinned, separated themselves from God and were placed outside of the Garden of Eden.

Q8. Does Satan continually try to stop God's Plan?

A. Yes he does! He continually attempts to accuse the brethren, those obeying God. He tries any means possible to trick, mislead, or discourage people from obeying God’s law. He even tried to prevent things from happening such as in the time of Moses by having all the baby boys killed. Though Satan will continue to try to attack you, the main thing to remember is, as long as you obey God, God will protect you and keep you safe and nothing can stop God’s plan from happening at the right time.

Q9. Did Satan even try to tempt or trick Christ?

A. Yes, Satan tried on three occasions to deceive or tempt Jesus Christ, yet Christ drew close to God and used scripture to confront Satan. Matthew 4:1-11

Q10. Who is called “the prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2?

A. Satan is called the prince of the power of the air. Satan is a spiritual being and he has spiritual powers. Spirit can not be seen, touched or felt. Satan tries to influence our minds by what we read, watch, see and talk about.

Q11. Does Satan like anyone who is obedient to God and His Law?

A. No, Satan is very angry with anyone who obeys God’s Laws. Satan tries to discourage, trick or destroy those that obey God’s laws. That is why it is very comforting to know that God protects all his obedient servants.

Q12. Who became the perfect acceptable sacrifice and will replace Satan as morning star of the planet?

A. God knew the end from the beginning and God the Father set up a perfect plan. Jesus Christ became the perfect acceptable sacrifice and was able to restore mankind and the fallen host to God the Father. This plan spans many years yet ultimately Satan will be replaced by Jesus Christ as day star or ruler of the planet.

Q13. Where will Satan be for the thousand years Jesus Christ is ruling the planet?

A. Satan and the fallen host will be bound and in the pit where they can not deceive the nations any more.

Q14. Once Satan is released from the pit at the end of a thousand years, will he finally obey God?

A. No, sadly Satan does not obey God the Father when he is released from the pit. Even though people lived a thousand years without the influence of Satan, at the end of the millennium, he is still able to get people to rebel against God and His law.

Q15. When is the second resurrection and who is involved?

A. The second resurrection is the time when all people that have not known God the Father will be brought back to life and learn of God’s way and likely all beings will choose to obey God because they realize God’s way is the better way.

Q16. Ultimately will all the concepts like death, false religions and prophets be gone?

A. Yes all these negative concepts that Satan used for so long will finally be destroyed in the lake of fire.

Q17. What can we do to protect ourselves now from Satan’s influences?

A. The best thing that we can do in our daily lives is to put on the armour of God (Eph 6:10-20). We need the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, boots of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. We can also be prepared by reading the Bible, praying and fasting.

Q18. What are six things God hates? Who do these qualities remind us of?

A. Proverbs 6:16-19 is a list of six things that God hates:

Proverbs 6:6-19 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. (RSV)

Here we see God hates anything that is lying or causing problems for God's people. We have learned that Satan embodies all things and therefore his way of life is hated by God.

Activity Option #1:

Read and perform the play the battle of Christ and Satan

Lesson: The Battle of Christ and Satan (No. CB81)

Activity Option #2:

Review Lucifer/Satan’s rebellion

Items needed: A small round ball; 28 toilet paper tubes, or one to three inch sections of paper towel rolls; white and red feathers; Label for God the Father with a green rainbow; scissors; glue or tape. (Note: The angels can also be decorated with many googly eyes).

1. Have the children create angels out of the paper towel roll pieces and white feathers. (Helpful ideas for creating the angels can be found in Lesson: The Angelic Host (CB28_2).)

2. Set the stage and place the label with God the Father in the middle of the table. Place four of the “angels” around God. These are the four covering cherubs. Label the covering cherubs as the man/Lucifer, lion, bull and eagle and place them in their original quadrants: eagle in the North, Lion in the East, Man (Lucifer) in the South and Bull in the West). Then place the remaining 24 “angels” in a circle around the four cherubs. Read Rev 4:1-8 which describes God's throne with 24 elders and four covering cherubs. (Make sure that you help the children to know that there were many, many more angels than these 24. We just picked 24 for this lesson to simplify the concept of 1/3.

3. Gently roll the ball under the table while Reading Job 38:4-7 which explains how the angels shouted for joy when the earth was created. Remind the children all the spiritual beings were obedient at this point and were supportive and happy with the Fathers’ work of creating the earth.

4. Read Rev. 12:3-4 and explain to the children that Lucifer (man-headed covering cherub) was able to deceive ⅓ of the angels to participate in the rebellion. Tell the children that other scriptures in the Bible lead us to believe that one of the other covering cherubs (the lion-headed cherub) also sided with Lucifer in the rebellion. Re-label Lucifer as Satan. Have the children take off the white feathers and add red feathers to Satan, the lion headed covering cherub and 1/3 (or 8) of the angels in the throne room.

5. Read Rev 7-9 that describes the great rebellion in heaven and Satan being cast to earth and being referred to as the great red dragon. For the lesson, have the children move the tube labeled Satan and the lion headed cherub and the eight red “angels” to the floor.

6. Explain that Satan retained his role as Morning Star and was given the authority to rule the earth with the other angels that rebelled. You can also teach the children that God’s plan includes replacing the cherubs that rebelled in the future with individuals from the first resurrection.

Close with Prayer