Note: All Scripture quotations found in this article are from the text of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.
Right now there are four Cherubs around God's throne.
Revelation 4:6 "And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."
(Also read Ezekiel 1 & 10)
There use to be five Cherubs and the fifth Cherub was Satan. Remember that Satan is not an angel, rather a Cherub. Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, but he is not a fallen angel. (2 Cor. 11:14)
Ezekiel 28:14 "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."
Note: Cherubs have four faces: man, ox, eagle and lion. They have four to six wings and have animal-like legs with hoofed feet. All four are in the third heaven and are always around God's throne. They are a direct creation of God. Cherubs and angels are not the same. Remember that angels always appear as men with no wings.
Satan's orignal name was Lucifer, which means "light bearer". His job while Cherub was above the throne of God reflecting light and glory of God. He was also in charge of music and adorned with precious stones.
Isaiah 14:12 "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!"
Ezekiel 28:13 "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."
He is the fifth cherub that is missing from Ezekiel 1:5. Keep in mind that the number five is connected with death (Gen. 5:5, Acts 5:5, Heb. 2:14, 2 Sam. 2:23, 3:27). He represents the reptilian and amphibian/aquatic animals before God's throne (Ezek. 28:14, Rev. 4:6-7). The cherubs are called beasts in Rev. 4:6, which explains why Satan and the Antichrist are called beasts (Gen. 3:1). The other cherubs that did not fall and are still in heaven with God represent domestic animals (calf,ox), wild animals (lion), flying animals (eagle) and man. These represent the four major creations of animal life.
While his job in heaven was to reflect the glory of God, his pride got the best of him and he began to desire the praise that God was receiving. He wanted to be like God and wanted to replace God. His pride was why he was cast out of heaven from his original position. Today, he is known as the accuser of the brethren.
Ezekiel 28:17 "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."
Isaiah 14:13 "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: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."
Revelation 12:10 "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."
Here are several facts about Satan.
Satan's fall had to be before Adam's fall since he was in the Garden of Eden as the serpent tempting Eve. Many Bible Believers believe he fell during the Genesis Gap.
Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Notice how the above verse says that he was subtil. Satan is not an idiot, nor is he ugly. The Bible says that he is full of wisdom and beautiful in his appearance.
Ezekiel 28:12 "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."
Today, Satan still has pride and is a deceiver(Revelation 12:9) who has false light(2 Cor. 11:14), afflicts(Job 2:7), tempts(Ephesians 6:11) and traps men(2 Timothy 2:26).
The Devil is interesting in stealing the word of God from hearts(Matthew 13:19), blinding men from truth(2 Cor. 4:4), promoting false doctrine(1 Timothy 4:1-3) and has been attacking God's word from the beginning. He still attacks the Bible today through the New Versions, which promote false doctrines and alter the word of God.
Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:"
He has his own throne(Revelation 2:13) and kingdom(Luke 4:6). He has angels(Matthew 25:41), ministers(2 Cor. 11:15) and worshippers(Revelation 13:4).
The Devil has power to work miracles. During the Tribulation, he will deceive many by the miracles that the Antichrist will perform.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,"
Revelation 13:3 "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."
He is a liar and murderer.
John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
Satan goes by many names, such as the prince of the power of the air(Ephesians 2:2), the god of this world(2 Cor. 4:4), the prince of this world(John 12:31), Leviathan(Job 41:1), Lucifer(Isaiah 14:12), the dragon(Revelation 12:7), the deceiver(Revelation 20:10), Beelzebub(Matthew 12:24), Belial(2 Cor. 6:15) and the wicked one(Matthew 13:38).
According to 2 Corinthians 2:11, Satan has devices that we should not be ignorant of. As mentioned, he is a deceptive liar and is interested in tempting man to live for the world and not for God. Now that Satan is no longer reflecting the glory and light of God, the Church has took his job and it is now our responsibility. The Devil does not like this, so he will do anything to prevent God from getting glory and honor. Some of the ways that he does this today is by corrupting music, perverting bibles, hindering worship and praise, preventing the spread of the gospel and defiling God's children with the world.
In the beginning Adam was given dominion over the world, but when man fail, dominion was given to Satan, who is the god of this world(2 Cor. 4:4).
Luke 4:5 "And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine."
As Christians our souls are saved from Hell and the Devil cannot do anything to our soul, but we still have our flesh that has not yet been glorified. Our flesh will remain under the curse of sin until the Rapture. Because of this curse our flesh can still be affected by Satan and the world, which is why we need to submit ourselves to God by prayer and reading the Bible.
James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
The name "Satan" means adversary and the title "devil" means slanderer. It is important to study and know how the Devil works, so we will know his ways and not be unaware of his devices.
As Christians we need to...
Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
The armor of the Christian is the girt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet shod of the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit of God and the helmet of salvation. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
In the end, the Devil is defeated by God and cast into the lake of fire, along with those who are not found in the book of life.
Revelation 20:10 "And 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. 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, 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. 13 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. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
To be wrote down in the book of life, one must be saved by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are lost and read this, remember that hell was not made for you, rather the devil and his angels. If you go there it is because you chose to by not receiving Christ as your Saviour.
Matthew 25:41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
