The Accuser and the Advocate

The Accuser and the Advocate - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

 

When the cherubim were created, Satan was one of them. He is described as being beautiful to behold. "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 are the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou has 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." Ezekiel 28:13-15.  By his own choice he is the most evil and hateful being to be found anywhere and is responsible for sickness, temptations, and all forms of evil that plague mankind. Don't blame God if you're going through sickness, bereavement, or any other problem in life. Satan is either directly or indirectly behind your troubles The word "iniquity" is translated from the Hebrew word 'evel which means "injustice, unrighteousness, wrong, violent deeds of injustice". Those are very descriptive words for Satan. Pride set in and he desired to be like God. That combination of iniquity and pride was his downfall. He could no longer be a part of the angels who chose to serve God Almighty, but it might surprise you to know that he still has access to Heaven. There he accuses us of sin before God and his goal is to turn all humanity against God.

 

Satan began his lies and deception against humanity in the Garden of Eden. He lied to Eve and even accused God of deception. God had told Adam and Eve the truth, that they would die if they ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. That lying serpent made the forbidden fruit look tempting, but Eve told him that God said they would die if they ate it or even touched it. "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4-5.  Eve believed the liar rather than God and Adam followed her in sin. They tried to hide from God, which is impossible. Then came the finger pointing.  Adam blamed Eve and even blamed God. "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Genesis 3:12. Adam made a choice but he blamed others for causing him to fail. Eve blamed the serpent although she knew she wasn't to eat the fruit of that tree. "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." 1 Timothy 2:13-14. They each made their choice and we now live in a fallen world. Satan has never stopped lying to us and he continues to lie and accuse us before God.

 

It was Satan who tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and it was Satan who accused Job of loving God only because God protected him. "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Job 1:6-7. The term "sons of God" always refers to angels and we see that Satan was right there with them as they stood before God. Satan had been roaming the earth and God asked him if he had considered Job who was a "...a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" Job 1:8b. That's when Satan began his accusations against Job. "Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?  thou has blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." Job 1:9-10.  God allowed Satan to trouble Job with some tough trials, but in the end Job remained true to God and regained all he lost. Are you going through some struggles right now? Don't blame God. Blame the accuser, Satan. He has no love for you and will do anything to get you to turn away from God. Don't allow this evil being to come between you and God who gave His life for your salvation.

 

Satan's lies and accusations aren't just aimed at us mere humans; he was even prideful enough to think that he could tempt Jesus to bow before him. Just before Jesus began His ministry on earth He went into the wilderness where He fasted for 40 days. Satan is no match for God, so he waited until Jesus' human body was weakened and then attacked with temptations. Jesus was hungry, and that evil accuser tempted Him to prove who He was. "And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread." Luke 4:3. More temptations and accusations followed, but Jesus answered every one with Scripture. Can you do that? Satan will always see your weak points and try to tempt you to fail in your walk with God. He will place thoughts in your mind that you're a failure or tempt you to sin by making it look as if sin isn't so bad. Sin is always bad. Scripture is your defense and if you've memorized verses you can quote them in order to gain victory over sin. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13. Write God's word on your heart and always turn to God in times of temptation. Those temptations come from Satan accusing you and trying to make you stumble. He's a liar and hates all humans. Don't allow his lying tongue to pull you into sin.

 

Satan goes by many names, and one of those is the "great dragon".  After the Rapture those who are left on earth will face horrendous evil which is caused by that creature known as the serpent, Lucifer, the Devil, the prince of the power of the air, the great dragon, and the accuser of our brethren to name a few of his descriptive names. In the end he will lose and be permanently cast out of 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." Revelation 12:9-10. The accuser of the brethren will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire along with everyone who rejects Jesus Christ for salvation. Don't allow him to deceive you or cause you to reject God. You have a choice, so choose wisely.

 

Satan, the accuser, will soon be reckoned with. Until then, what do we do? Are we at his mercy? Well, there is no mercy in Satan, but we do have an Advocate. "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:". 1 John 2:1. John wrote this letter to Christians and gives us assurance that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is our Advocate with the Father. An accuser blames you and wants you punished, but an advocate is someone who stands up for you and pleads your case. If you have accepted Christ for salvation, then He stands up for you when Satan accuses you of failure. As Christians we need to live our life as sinless as we can but it's impossible for us to never stumble and fall into sin. When that happens our first response should be to reach out in faith to our Advocate. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:8-9. Satan is the accuser, but Jesus Christ is our Advocate. He loves us and shed His blood to take our sin away. Do your best to flee from temptation and sin, but when you stumble confess your sin to Jesus and His righteousness will cleanse you. He is your Advocate with the Father.

 

If you've rejected the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ then you have no Advocate before the Father. Your sins cannot be forgiven and Satan's accusations will not be rejected. If you've rejected Christ's free gift of salvation you will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire with the accuser, Satan. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. If you have accepted Christ for salvation  then live as close to Him as you can. Don't give Satan reasons to accuse you, but always remember that Jesus Christ is your Advocate and the propitiation for sin. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10.

 

Your choice must be made while living this side of Heaven. If you choose to reject Jesus Christ as your Saviour then you have no Advocate before the Father, only an accuser.

 

God bless you all,

 

Nathele Graham