"God refers to himself as "us" in Genesis 11:7 pointing out that He is more than one. "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (Genesis 11:7) "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."(Genesis 1:26)
By studying the Gospel one discovers that the following Scripture describes who "us" is and that they are "one" God. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" (Matthew 28:19) Jesus called Himself "I Am" and so did God in the Old Testament. When Moses asked God who shall I say sent me, God "said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14)
The following Scripture confirms that Jesus is not an angel as some teach. It also teaches that Jesus is God. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Timothy 3:16)
In Revelation 19 Jesus is also the Word: "His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God." (Revelation 19:12,13) The reason being: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John 1:1-4)
And here we have Jesus: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) Notice He was full of grace and "truth". Truth is the Holy Spirit which is proven by this Scripture: "[Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:17)
And finally to erase any doubt that Jesus is God: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8) "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." (Revelation 21:6) And finally Jesus stated: "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:12,13)
Satan is also a triune being for a very short time. Since he is an angel which is interchangeable with spirit, as given in Hebrews 1:7: "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." Satan is a spirit who moves into and occupies the body of the Antichrist who takes the throne in the temple of God in Israel during the tribulation.In Revelation Satan is called the dragon who gives power to the beast (Rev. 13:2). The beast is the religious/political kingdom of the earth parallel to Christ's Body the Church which receives it's power from the Holy Spirit. The beast is eventually led by one man, a king, the Antichrist So far in the trinity of the devil we have the beast, the dragon and the third parallel is the satanic mangod. Satan himself enters the Antichrist's body and takes over the reign over the beast, his pagan church.
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." (Revelation 13:3) Note this verse proves that the power of the dragon is in the beast. The beast being the head, the Antichrist, of the pagan New World Order, whose deadly wound was healed. He didn't quite die and now "he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed." (Revelation 13:12)
The Antichrist "deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." (Revelation 13:14) The world will think that Jesus has come back because one of the heads of state seemed to be resurrected from the dead. "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." (Revelation 13:3)
The Angelic, Created Being's Origin and Class The following oracle begins as a prophecy against an earthly ruler, but leads into an oracle against Satan, the real power behind the pagan king. In another similar Scripture, Isaiah, the ruler of Babylon is the initial subject and ends in a description of Satan.
In Ezekiel 28:2, Satan is referred to as "prince" instead of "king" and the word cherub is used only of angelic beings (Gen. 3:24; Ex. 25:18-20; Eze. 9:3l, 10:1-22). Moreover this individual was "in Eden the garden of God" (Eze. 28:13), "upon the holy mountain of God" (cf. Is.14:13), "walked.. in the midst of the stones of fire" (v.14), and was "created" (v.15).
"The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast said, I [am] a God, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou [art] wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom [and] by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of [them that are] slain in the midst of the seas."Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I [am] God? but thou [shalt be] a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised {people who do not believe} by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
{Here God begins to describe Satan as if to say he was talking about Satan all along} "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
"Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
"Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never [shalt] thou [be] any more." (Ezekiel 28:1-19)
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 1:6) There are "Christians" who are admonished for speaking evil of dignities (angels). Even Michael the archangel did not bring accusations against them: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these [filthy] dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves." (Jude 1:7-10)
The Devil's Characteristics Lucifer (Isa 8:12) has other names, Devil (diabolos, an accuser, a slanderer and he maligns), son of dawn, ruler of the wicked world (Babylon), ruler of all wickedness, Satan, the adversary, son of the morning (Isa 14:12), light bringer, great star (Rev 8:10), angel of the bottomless pit (Rev 9:11), Abaddon (Hebrew), Apollyon (Greek) (Rev. 9:11); prince of the devils (Matt.9:34); Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24): prince of this world (John 12:31); prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2); dragon (Rev. 13:4); old serpent and more...
The definition of diabolos reads: The devil, one who falsely accuses and divides people without any reason. He is an accuser, a slanderer (1 Tim.3:11, 2 Tim. 3:3; Titus 2:3). The devil is called by that name because originally he accused or slandered God in paradise, averse to the increase of man's knowledge and happiness (Gen.3:5; John 8:44).
The devil still slanders God by false and blasphemous suggestions, and because he is also the accuser of the brethren before God (Rev. 12:9, 10, cf. Job 1:2). He is called our adversary, antidikos (476), or opponent. Diabolos is used either for the prince of devils (Matt. 4:1; Rev.12:9; 20:2) or for evil spirits in general (Acts 10:38; Eph. 4:27; 6:11). The Lord Jesus calls Judas diabolos (John 6:70) because under the influence of an evil spirit he would be Christ's accuser and betrayer (cf. Matt. 16:23 where the Lord calls Peter Satanas, [4567], Satan, and not diabolos, devil).
Even Jesus was accused of being the Devil. ".. the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils." (Matthew 9:34) "But when the Pharisees heard [it], they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." (Matthew 12:24) "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." (John 12:31)
Satan's Fall From Heaven Although some believe that Satan was cast down to earth long before Adam and Eve were placed into the garden of Eden, and others believe that he came down upon the invitation of Adam and Eve, but the Scriptures prove otherwise. He will be cast down to earth during the seven year tribulation, 1260 days before the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ begins on earth.
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." (Revelation 12:6-12)
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" (Isaiah 14:12) "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, [and] consider thee, [saying, Is] this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;" (Isaiah 14:13-16)
"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers {river of water of life?}, and upon the fountains of waters {wells, living waters?};" (Revelation 8:10)
"And the name of the star is called Wormwood {definition: calamity and injustice}: and the third part of the waters became wormwood {calamity and injustice}; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter {poisoned with incorrect teachings?}." (Revelation 8:11)
One third of the world fell into darkness {spiritual darkness?}. "And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise." (Revelation 8:12)
"And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea {nations}; and it became as the blood of a dead [man]: and every living soul died {spiritual death} in the sea {nations}." (Revelation 16:3) Can the blood of a dead man be used to cover sins to bring salvation? The Church is gone during the tribulation.
"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, "afterward" destroyed them that believed not." (Jude 1:5) This is one of many indications that God will use the Rapture to remove the Church before the tribulation.
At midpoint of the tribulation: "the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star {Lucifer?} fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit." (Revelation 9:1) "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18)
"Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates." (Revelation 9:14) "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." (Revelation 16:12)The river is symbolic of the Gospel which dried up. Four of Satan's angels were released because the restrainer was gone. ".. the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth [day] of the month, which [was] the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
"And I looked, and, behold, a "whirlwind" came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [was] about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof [came] the likeness of four living creatures. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man." (Ezekiel 1:1-5)
The whirlwind is used by the Lord for good or ill. In 2 Kings 2:1,11, Elijah was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. God used it to disguise himself in Job 40:6. "Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble." (Isaiah 40:24) "Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked." (Jeremiah 23:19)
"Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen [were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them." (Revelation 9:14-16)
"Out of their mouths issued fire, smoke and brimstone (Rev 9:17) The smoke caused more darkness: smoke is related to highmindedness, being puffed up in religious pride. Nominal religiousness without the Spirit's power. Lamps with wicks which have ceased to burn clearly, such as smokey wicks. Fire, Smoke and Brimstone: likened to the fire of hell to be endured by the ungodly hereafter, Matt.5:22; 13:42; 50; 18;8,9; 25:41; Mark 9:43,48 Luke 3:17.
Smoke in Hebrew is 6225: Ashan which means to burn, to be angry. In Exodus it refers to vapor or God's anger (Deut. 29:20 Psalm 74:1; 80:4). Brimstone: theion, 2303, originally denoted "fire from heaven." It is connected with sulphur. Lightenings leave a sulphurous smell and was used in pagan purifications. (Luke 17:29; Rev. 9:17-018; 14:10; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8). An example of fire: Romans 12:20: "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." (Romans 12:20)
Satan's End "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast [them] down to hell, and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" (2 Peter 2:4) which included Satan: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:1-3) After that "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10)
"..stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12-15)
In Conclusion a Message to the Believer Satan is god of this world until the end of the tribulation when Jesus comes back with his saints to reign for a thousand years. And those: "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Speaking to those who ".. hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: [but] the harvest [shall be] a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. {In other words God allows false teachings to creep in}. Woe to the multitude of many people, [which] make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, [that] make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
"The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but [God] shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. And behold at eveningtide trouble; [and] before the morning he [is] not. This [is] the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us." (Isaiah 17:10-14)
But to believers: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:" (2 Peter 1:19)
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star." (Revelation 22:16)
"And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; he also is become my salvation.
"Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this [is] known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great [is] the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." (Isaiah 12:1-6)
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude :24,25)