I was reading through some things when I came across this from the questions and answers file from Billy Graham..
Note that the Bible doesn’t say Satan is an angel of light; it says he only masquerades as an angel of light. In other words, sometimes Satan puts on a disguise (as it were), and makes it look like he actually stands for good instead of evil. When the devil offered to feed Jesus by turning rocks into bread, he was masquerading as one who wanted to do good–or as an angel of light (see Matthew 4:1-11).
But Satan is not an angel of good or of light; he is the opposite. Jesus said that Satan “was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan will try to deceive us and make us think that his way is best–but it never is. Martin Luther rightly labeled him “the prince of darkness.” Don’t fall for his lies!
www.billygraham.ca
We find this masquerade where Satan disguised himself and tempted Christ in the desert, in several places in the bible, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13,. Lets take a look at the one in Mark 1 from verse 1.
Mark 1:1-13
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
We see that this happened right after the Baptism of Christ by John, so He had been identified by God as His 'beloved Son' and Satan now knew it. Now Christ was sent by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and was fasting when Satan appeared disquised as an angel to offer Him substance, but noticed how.
Matthew and Luke record the first temptation as one involving food as after fasting, Jesus was clearly hungry. Satan chose to tempt Jesus by telling Him to turn stones into bread. Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Matthew then records that the devil took Jesus to the top of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and told Him to jump off. Satan quoted the Old Testament passage.
Matthew 4:6
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
I think this is where Satan gives himself away as he would have had not reason to doubt that Christ was the Son of God, if he had just come from God especially if God Himself had just stated after the baptism.
Jesus quoted again from Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
He knew that this would be a misuse of power and in direct violation of the mission God the Father had given Him. So now the devil took him to a very high mountain "and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory" The devil then said he would give Jesus authority over all of these kingdoms if Jesus would worship him. This was a dead giveaway as no angel would even try this, and Jesus refused, telling the devil to basically leave him, again quoting Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:10
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
So Satan came enshrouded in light, claiming to be one of the angels from the throne of God. Christ recognized that the deceiver was disguised as an angel of light, but what about us, can we. If a bright being were to land in Jerusalem or holy land performing amazing 'miracles or on a grand ship from space today, and declare himself a christ or savior of the world, how many would immediately accept it and go to were he was.
We read in scripture how Satan can enshroud himself in light and how he is a master deceiver and Christ warns us many times, but things are happening today in a manner which is very surprising and even different than we expected. People are in complete deception as most of the mainline Christian church do not teach the Biblical coming of Christ today. Most churches, if they preach about the second coming at all, preach a coming of Christ that He walks around in the world with the wicked, but the Bible teaches He comes to take the saints to the kingdom, or they say He will bring peace to the nations, but the Bible teaches a destruction of nations. They preach a secret rapture with a conversion of sinners at the coming of Christ when the Bible teaches that probation will close and then Christ will come to judge and destroy sin and sinners.
We see, how Jesus warned that one of the signs that would occur at the end of the age, just prior to his Second Coming, would be the appearance of false Christs. We read in Matthew 24:23-26, basically that at that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' dont believe it. For we shall see false Christs and false prophets appear and perform great signs and miracles to as verse 24 says "if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." He tells us ahead of time. So, if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' dont go out there, or 'Here he is, at so and so place, dont believe it.
So as Jesus said, prior to the day of His Second Coming, there is going to appear visibly on earth a great counterfeit false christ. So how shall we know, which is the false christ or will we be fooled...
Q:
Our pastor quoted a verse from the Bible the other day about Satan being an angel of light (if I remember correctly). I've always thought the devil should be associated with darkness, not light. What does this verse mean?
A:
Your pastor probably was referring to the words of the Apostle Paul, who wrote that sometimes “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).Note that the Bible doesn’t say Satan is an angel of light; it says he only masquerades as an angel of light. In other words, sometimes Satan puts on a disguise (as it were), and makes it look like he actually stands for good instead of evil. When the devil offered to feed Jesus by turning rocks into bread, he was masquerading as one who wanted to do good–or as an angel of light (see Matthew 4:1-11).
But Satan is not an angel of good or of light; he is the opposite. Jesus said that Satan “was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan will try to deceive us and make us think that his way is best–but it never is. Martin Luther rightly labeled him “the prince of darkness.” Don’t fall for his lies!
What does the Bible mean when it calls Satan an "angel of light"? - The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada
Billy Graham writes, "The Bible doesn't say Satan is an angel of light; it says he only masquerades as an angel of light."
www.billygraham.ca
We find this masquerade where Satan disguised himself and tempted Christ in the desert, in several places in the bible, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13,. Lets take a look at the one in Mark 1 from verse 1.
Mark 1:1-13
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
We see that this happened right after the Baptism of Christ by John, so He had been identified by God as His 'beloved Son' and Satan now knew it. Now Christ was sent by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and was fasting when Satan appeared disquised as an angel to offer Him substance, but noticed how.
Matthew and Luke record the first temptation as one involving food as after fasting, Jesus was clearly hungry. Satan chose to tempt Jesus by telling Him to turn stones into bread. Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Matthew then records that the devil took Jesus to the top of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and told Him to jump off. Satan quoted the Old Testament passage.
Matthew 4:6
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
I think this is where Satan gives himself away as he would have had not reason to doubt that Christ was the Son of God, if he had just come from God especially if God Himself had just stated after the baptism.
Jesus quoted again from Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
He knew that this would be a misuse of power and in direct violation of the mission God the Father had given Him. So now the devil took him to a very high mountain "and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory" The devil then said he would give Jesus authority over all of these kingdoms if Jesus would worship him. This was a dead giveaway as no angel would even try this, and Jesus refused, telling the devil to basically leave him, again quoting Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:10
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
So Satan came enshrouded in light, claiming to be one of the angels from the throne of God. Christ recognized that the deceiver was disguised as an angel of light, but what about us, can we. If a bright being were to land in Jerusalem or holy land performing amazing 'miracles or on a grand ship from space today, and declare himself a christ or savior of the world, how many would immediately accept it and go to were he was.
We read in scripture how Satan can enshroud himself in light and how he is a master deceiver and Christ warns us many times, but things are happening today in a manner which is very surprising and even different than we expected. People are in complete deception as most of the mainline Christian church do not teach the Biblical coming of Christ today. Most churches, if they preach about the second coming at all, preach a coming of Christ that He walks around in the world with the wicked, but the Bible teaches He comes to take the saints to the kingdom, or they say He will bring peace to the nations, but the Bible teaches a destruction of nations. They preach a secret rapture with a conversion of sinners at the coming of Christ when the Bible teaches that probation will close and then Christ will come to judge and destroy sin and sinners.
We see, how Jesus warned that one of the signs that would occur at the end of the age, just prior to his Second Coming, would be the appearance of false Christs. We read in Matthew 24:23-26, basically that at that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' dont believe it. For we shall see false Christs and false prophets appear and perform great signs and miracles to as verse 24 says "if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." He tells us ahead of time. So, if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' dont go out there, or 'Here he is, at so and so place, dont believe it.
So as Jesus said, prior to the day of His Second Coming, there is going to appear visibly on earth a great counterfeit false christ. So how shall we know, which is the false christ or will we be fooled...
