DID THE DEVIL GO DOWN TO GEORGIA

If you have been thinking all of this time that the “devil went down to Georgia,” then this post might come as a shock to you. He is roaming ALL of the earth, not just Georgia, and he is “looking for a soul(s) to steal!” At least Charlie Daniels had that part right in his song. But, the devil is not alone, he has an army to seek and destroy, and we are all sitting with a target on our backs.

I hate the devil! I hate his conniving ways, his lies, and everything about him makes my skin crawl. So, when I hate something, I try not to think about it. Why would I want to waste my precious time and energy thinking about something that I detest?

Peyton Manning, however, was someone who I admired. It might have been the fact that he played at the University of Tennessee, or if could have been the fact that I admired his work ethic. He would spend hours and hours preparing for the next game, and then spend hours trying to perfect his own game on the field.

Anytime that you are going to war or you have a battle in front of you, you better know the enemy. Those hours that Peyton Manning spent preparing for his next game (battle) was spent learning how his opponent (enemy) played the game. Peyton wanted to know what their strong points were, and also what their weaknesses were. How can you fight someone if you don’t know their weaknesses?

We all have a common enemy. He is a dragon who is spewing fire and is filled with fury. Yes, I am talking about the devil or satan, whatever you want to refer to him as. So, this week, I did something that I don’t like doing…I read about the devil. Specifically, I read about the devil being kicked out of Heaven.

The book of Revelations is interesting. It is hard to read since it deals with the end of time, but all of the terminology and descriptions are mind-blowing. When you describe an enormous red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads, you start to lose me. That is not the picture of the devil that I’ve seen in my storybooks. He is red, has two horns, a forked tail, hooves for feet, and a pitchfork. Hmmm, that picture is terrifying, but the real description of him is even more frightening. And, it gets worse because he is not alone. The devil has an army at his beck and call.

Revelations 12: 3-4

³ Then another sign appeared in Heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.

The devil took a third of the angels with him when he was thrown out of Heaven. How was the devil ever an angel? Where did he go wrong?

Isaiah 14: 12-15

¹² How you have fallen from Heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! ¹³ You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. ¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” ¹⁵ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Pride and power took down the devil. It got him hurled down to the earth. The devil wanted God’s glory. He wanted to be worshipped and to make HIMSELF like the Most High. In my mind, I think that the devil had been stepping in front of the Lord for a while, trying to get the spotlight. I feel like he might have been reprimanded more than once for trying to take the glory from the Lord. My reasoning is that the Lord “HURLED” him to the earth. When I look up the meaning of hurled, it means “throw (an object) with great force”, “push or impel (someone) violently”,  and “utter (abuse) vehemently”. It sounds like God had taken all he was going to take and that he was furious at His Morning Star.

This also tells me that we need to be very careful where we have our alliances. The devil’s thirst for glory and worship got him in trouble, but it didn’t stop there. He enlisted his friends in his desire. I’m sure that there was a lot of complaining sessions with his tribe. I can hear him saying that the Lord was a glory hog, and that “he” did this and “he” did that, so why did the Lord take all of the credit? This is where we all have to be careful about the friends that we choose. The devil got sympathy from his group, he got support from them, and they ALL went to war with the Lord. And, they ALL got hurled out of Heaven.

Revelations 12:7-9

⁷ Then war broke out in Heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in Heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

So, the devil needs glory, and he wants to be acknowledged as much as the Lord. Those are his weaknesses. Now that we know his weakness, how do we fight against him?

When we complain, that gives the devil glory. Complaining is another way of saying, “the Lord is not providing for me as he should.” When we sympathize with a friend who is complaining, we are giving the devil glory. Not today, satan!

When we boast or brag, we are giving the devil glory. We are saying, “I did this, I am great. That gives the devil glory because we are not saying, “The Lord provided, The Lord showed me the way, The Lord brought me this opportunity.” To GOD goes the glory!!!

One of the ways that I refuse to give the devil any glory…I refuse to capitalize his name. I know that you are supposed to capitalize a proper noun or name, but he does not get that honor from me. So, take that satan with a small “s”. When we take the glory from the devil and give to the Lord, instead, the devil gets furious. “Oh, satan, did I make you cry?” Lol!

Revelation 12:17

¹⁷ And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

We are those children! The devil has declared war against us! So, be vigilant and watchful for the devil’s tricks. And, keep giving God the GLORY, keep His commandment, and maintain your testimony for Jesus.

TO GOD GOES THE GLORY!

Have A Blessed Day!