The Man Behind the Curtain

Remember the wizard in the classic story The Wizard of Oz?  The wizard was a creature that ruled the land of Oz and was touted to be a solver of mysteries and problems. It required great favor to be granted entry so when Dorothy and her companions were in his presence, it was a majestically, terrifying experience. Watch the video clip below of Dorothy’s experience with the wizard.

The Wizard of Oz: Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

When all was said and done, it was a meek little creature, Dorothy‘s dog Toto, who unveiled this so-called mighty wizard. It was a man, a man of unimpressionable talent behind a curtain working the switches and gears that controlled this gigantic mechanical wizard!

Lucifer, like the man behind the curtain, is a manipulator but on a much grander scale. He also wants you to pay no attention to him as he hides behind the faces of people he uses as hosts to do his bidding. Satan’s devices are so convincing that even Christians, if not alert, can be lured and captivated by his offerings of grandeur and power.

2 Corinthians 11:13-14 

¹³For such men are counterfeit apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

Lucifer’s Fall from Heaven

Lucifer was created a cherub, a celestial being chosen to be Guardian of the Throne of God.  His name means “light-bearing” and was referred to as the “son of the morning (Isaiah 14:12). Clothed with a garment adorned with precious stones he was most beautiful  (Ezekiel 28: 13). He was also influential and held in high esteem by the other angels.

Being top dog can go to one’s head no matter how perfect they may be. It went to Lucifer’s. He felt his power, influence and majestic persona was unmatched, even by God Himself. Entertaining the thought that the Throne was not beyond him, he began a campaign to stand in the place of God.

Lucifer began to make grandiose proclamations that convinced a third of the angels that he was the one deserving of their allegiance. Lucifer had to be pretty smart to convince angels that he was better than their Creator.  He began to declare that he would take the Throne, rule over the angels, and be like the Most High God.

Note:  Absalom took on the same attitude when standing in the gate of Jerusalem to steal allegiance away from his father King David. (2 Samuel 15:1-6)

Here’s how Isaiah describes Lucifer’s fall.

Isaiah 14:12-14

¹²How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground—mighty though you were against the nations of the world.

¹³For you said to yourself, “I will ascend to heaven and rule the angels. I will take the highest throne. I will preside on the Mount of Assembly far away in the north.

¹⁴I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.”

Lucifer’s sin was that of egotistical self-aggrandizement. This is denoted by his “I will” statements.  Don’t get me wrong, a healthy amount of ambition is good. But Lucifer takes his vision board to what is considered in the workplace as an unachievable goal. Think about it naturally. Has any whipper-snapper or up and coming executive ever walked into his CEO’s office and told him “I’m going to have your job?” What do you think his next job actually was? I venture to say his next move on the corporate ladder was below or equal to a mailroom clerk. In that light, you can see how outlandish Lucifer’s “I wills” were.

More of How, Why and When Satan Fell From Heaven

When Lucifer and his angels were thrust out of Heaven, Earth became their dwelling place. Although Satan still had access to Heaven  (Job 1:7)  he could only wield his power on Earth. Let’s look at the scriptures that support Satan’s rule here on Earth.

Revelation 12:7-9

⁷ And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought,

 ⁸ but they were not strong enough and did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

 ⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the ^[a]devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

^a  Revelation 12:9 The Greek for devil is diabolos, which is actually a translation of Satan, a Hebrew word meaning “adversary” or “accuser.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4
³But even if our gospel is [in some sense] hidden [behind a veil], it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing;

⁴among them the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God

These scriptures give a clue as to why Satan took residence on Earth—to destroy the human race. He could not rise to God’s level so he seeks to bring humankind down to his. He knows his destruction is sure so his plan is to take as many of God’s beloved terrestrial creatures into eternal damnation with him as possible.

Satan’s Ultimate Demise

Lucifer, you messed up. You messed up! This is one of those mistakes it’s impossible to back away from or reverse. Once Lucifer spoke those words evil was set in motion like an avalanche. And just like an avalanche there is no provision for stopping until the force has dissipated.  But God did make provisions for Satan’s dissipation.

Isaiah 14:15-16

¹⁵But instead, you [Satan] will be brought down to the pit of hell, down to its lowest depths.

¹⁶Everyone there will stare at you and ask, “Can this be the one who shook the earth and the kingdoms of the world?

Just like the people in Emerald City thought the Wizard of Oz was the supreme being only to find out he was a simple mortal behind a curtain. There will come a time that the world will look on Satan and see a shell of a celestial being absent of power, void of beauty, and stripped of glory. Then those that followed his ways, accepted his precepts because  “everybody’s doing it” and promoted his cause will at last be enlightened as to whom they were serving.

Conclusion

We’ve looked at how a key player came to be in this war we fight daily. I want to let you know, that there are no casual observers nor neutral territory. Everyone born into the human race has been drafted. You have either chosen the boot camp of the Supreme Commander or the supreme deceiver. And the two camps engage in spiritual warfare. 

For those on God’s side, Spiritual Warfare Part 3 will address how Satan attacks us and how we should respond to those attacks to secure battle victory.

“Battle victory?” you might ask. 

“In a campaign where there’s many battles?”

“Is that all we can expect to win?”

In life we gain territory battle by battle. No need to be concerned about the war as a whole, we already know we win the war!