Bible study by Floyd Courtney

2. “ 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.” Revelation 12:7-9

3. The war was over

4. The war was over - - - and who was worthy to receive it?

5. The war was over - - - and who was worthy to receive it? “ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Lucifer, “the anointed cherub that covereth” who was “upon the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:14), said,

6. The war was over - - - and who was worthy to receive it? “ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Lucifer, “the anointed cherub that covereth” who was “upon the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:14), said, He wanted the worship only due to God the Creator!

7. The war was over - - - and who was worthy to receive it? “ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Lucifer, “the anointed cherub that covereth” who was “upon the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:14), said, He wanted the worship only due to God the Creator! Notice that about 4000 years later when Jesus, the Creator, (John 1:1-3, 14) was on earth as a human being, and He met Satan in the wilderness, Satan said, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me ” !

8. The war was over - - - and who was worthy to receive it? “ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Lucifer, “the anointed cherub that covereth” who was “upon the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:14), said, He wanted the worship only due to God the Creator! Notice that about 4000 years later when Jesus, the Creator, (John 1:1-3, 14) was on earth as a human being, and He met Satan in the wilderness, Satan said, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me ” ! At the end of time, Revelation 14:7 records part of God’s last message as, “worship him that made heaven, and earth , and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

9. The war was over - - - and who was worthy to receive it? “ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Lucifer, “the anointed cherub that covereth” who was “upon the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:14), said, He wanted the worship only due to God the Creator! Notice that about 4000 years later when Jesus, the Creator, (John 1:1-3, 14) was on earth as a human being, and He met Satan in the wilderness, Satan said, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me ” ! At the end of time, Revelation 14:7 records part of God’s last message as, “worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” IT IS STILL OVER WORSHIP!

10. To demand one must have a lot of

11. To demand one must have a lot of

12. To demand one must have a lot of The only authority that can demand worship is the authority of

13. To demand one must have a lot of The only authority that can demand worship is the authority of

14. To demand one must have a lot of The only authority that can demand worship is the authority of “ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

15. To demand one must have a lot of The only authority that can demand worship is the authority of “ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11 How does one demonstrate the AUTHORITY of CREATORSHIP?

16. To demand one must have a lot of The only authority that can demand worship is the authority of “ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11 How does one demonstrate the AUTHORITY of CREATORSHIP?

18. On the seventh day of that first week God created a memorial so it would never be forgotten that He is the CREATOR and that as such, He is the only one who has the AUTHORITY to demand WORSHIP.

19. On the seventh day of that first week God created a memorial so it would never be forgotten that He is the CREATOR and that as such, He is the only one who has the AUTHORITY to demand WORSHIP. In the creation story the Bible says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Gen. 2:1-3

20. On the seventh day of that first week God created a memorial so it would never be forgotten that He is the CREATOR and that as such, He is the only one who has the AUTHORITY to demand WORSHIP. In the creation story the Bible says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Gen. 2:1-3 The 10 commandments given at Sinai by God remind us, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11

21. Since the memorial created at creation was to commemorate the work of God as the creator, it would have to have God Himself as the basis for it. The memorial could not be based upon a created object such as the sun, moon or stars as there would be a risk of drawing minds to the object rather than the Creator. This principle is found in Hebrews 6:13 & Deut. 4:19 . Therefore the 7 th day Sabbath memorial is based upon God’s own unvarying cycle of 6 days of work followed by 1 day of rest. See also Exodus 20:8-11 .

22. That memorial of His AUTHORITY as CREATOR that God made as an answer to Satan’s challenge, cannot be changed by any angelic or earthly authority because it is His.

23. That memorial of His AUTHORITY as CREATOR that God made as an answer to Satan’s challenge, cannot be changed by any angelic or earthly authority because it is His. Through the prophet Isaiah, God calls the 7 th day Sabbath “ my holy day ”. “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day . . .” Isaiah 58:13

24. That memorial of His AUTHORITY as CREATOR that God made as an answer to Satan’s challenge, cannot be changed by any angelic or earthly authority because it is His. Through the prophet Isaiah, God calls the 7 th day Sabbath “ my holy day ”. “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day . . .” Isaiah 58:13 As Adam and Eve’s first day of life was God’s first “memorial day” (Sabbath), He continues to invite us to enter into His weekly rest (Heb 4:3) – to put away all our cares and burdens for 24 hours and enjoy His rest, signifying our continuous trust in His creative power that saves from sin and its results as well as our belief that only He has the authority of the Creator to demand our worship .

25. That memorial of His AUTHORITY as CREATOR that God made as an answer to Satan’s challenge, cannot be changed by any angelic or earthly authority because it is His. Through the prophet Isaiah, God calls the 7 th day Sabbath “ my holy day ”. “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day . . .” Isaiah 58:13 As Adam and Eve’s first day of life was God’s first “memorial day” (Sabbath), He continues to invite us to enter into His weekly rest (Heb 4:3) – to put away all our cares and burdens for 24 hours and enjoy His rest, signifying our continuous trust in His creative power that saves from sin and its results as well as our belief that only He has the authority of the Creator to demand our worship .

26. Since Satan cannot create anything to demonstrate that he has the AUTHORITY to demand WORSHIP, what is he going to do, give up? As Christ has His memorial or mark of His identity as the Creator, the 7 th day Sabbath, so Satan must have a mark also that supposedly identifies him as having the authority of the creator. Without this, Satan does not even have a case!

27. Since Satan cannot create anything to demonstrate that he has the AUTHORITY to demand WORSHIP, what is he going to do, give up? As Christ has His memorial or mark of His identity as the Creator, the 7 th day Sabbath, so Satan must have a mark also that supposedly identifies him as having the authority of the creator. Without this, Satan does not even have a case! The “mark of the beast” is not mentioned until the last book of the Bible; however, at the very outset of the conflict it is obvious that Satan must develop a special mark of his (supposed) authority to make other beings believe he has the AUTHORITY of the CREATOR.

28. Since Satan cannot create anything to demonstrate that he has the AUTHORITY to demand WORSHIP, what is he going to do, give up? As Christ has His memorial or mark of His identity as the Creator, the 7 th day Sabbath, so Satan must have a mark also that supposedly identifies him as having the authority of the creator. Without this, Satan does not even have a case! The “mark of the beast” is not mentioned until the last book of the Bible; however, at the very outset of the conflict it is obvious that Satan must develop a special mark of his (supposed) authority to make other beings believe he has the AUTHORITY of the CREATOR. As a matter of fact, In Revelation 13:2, it speaks of the dragon giving his “authority” to the beast, as if he had authority – Satan gives the mark of his authority to some earthly power that will use it according to Satan’s will.

29. Since Satan cannot create anything to demonstrate that he has the AUTHORITY to demand WORSHIP, what is he going to do, give up? As Christ has His memorial or mark of His identity as the Creator, the 7 th day Sabbath, so Satan must have a mark also that supposedly identifies him as having the authority of the creator. Without this, Satan does not even have a case! The “mark of the beast” is not mentioned until the last book of the Bible; however, at the very outset of the conflict it is obvious that Satan must develop a special mark of his (supposed) authority to make other beings believe he has the AUTHORITY of the CREATOR. As a matter of fact, In Revelation 13:2, it speaks of the dragon giving his “authority” to the beast, as if he had authority – Satan gives the mark of his authority to some earthly power that will use it according to Satan’s will. The mark Satan chooses must be related to WORSHIP, AUTHORITY & CREATORSHIP.

30. The Temptation & Fall of Adam and Eve

31. God created Adam and Eve perfect. God gave them three special benefits so they could understand the key issues in the conflict between Christ and Satan and so they would not fall to the tempter.

32. God created Adam and Eve perfect. God gave them three special benefits so they could understand the key issues in the conflict between Christ and Satan and so they would not fall to the tempter. God created them two against one (Adam & Eve against Satan)! That is a nice advantage.

33. God created Adam and Eve perfect. God gave them three special benefits so they could understand the key issues in the conflict between Christ and Satan and so they would not fall to the tempter. God created them two against one (Adam & Eve against Satan)! That is a nice advantage. God gave them the family as the model of authority in the universe. Ephesians 5:21-27. There is a submission of one to the other and there is also a time the wife submits to the husband. However, the wife submits to the husband as He submits to Christ and as he is willing to give his life for her. The church submits to Christ as Christ and the father submit to each other.

34. God created Adam and Eve perfect. God gave them three special benefits so they could understand the key issues in the conflict between Christ and Satan and so they would not fall to the tempter. God created them two against one (Adam & Eve against Satan)! That is a nice advantage. God gave them the family as the model of authority in the universe. Ephesians 5:21-27. There is a submission of one to the other and there is also a time the wife submits to the husband. However, the wife submits to the husband as He submits to Christ and as he is willing to give his life for her. The church submits to Christ as Christ and the father submit to each other. The Sabbath was given as a memorial to the fact that Christ is the One who has the authority of the Creator to demand worship to Him only.

36. Speaking to Eve at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan made 3 accusations against God.

37. Speaking to Eve at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan made 3 accusations against God. [Eve said] “ God hath said , Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” Genesis 3:3,4 Notice the difference betweem what God said about the relation between sin and death and what the serpent said about that relationship. GOD said that if you sin, you will cease to exist. SATAN said through the serpent that you would continue to live.

38. Speaking to Eve at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan made 3 accusations against God. [Eve said] “ God hath said , Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” Genesis 3:3,4 “ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods” Genesis 3:5 (God makes rules because He wants to make rules, not because they are for your good.)

39. Speaking to Eve at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan made 3 accusations against God. [Eve said] “ God hath said , Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” Genesis 3:3,4 “ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods” Genesis 3:5 (God makes rules because He wants to make rules, not because they are for your good.) “ . . . and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 (The word “knowing” used here is the same one used in Genesis 4:1 that says that Adam “knew” Eve and she bare him a son. So this is not an intellectual knowledge but a deep experiential knowledge of good AND evil – so, God is evil as well as good.)

40. NO FORCE IN GOD’S KINGDOM! If God is going to settle the questions about His character that Satan has raised, and settle them without forcing any of His creatures, there will have to be a judgment where God’s created beings can study all the facts in the case. The judgment will have to be such that it will answer all the questions of beings who do not know the future as God does and cannot read the heart.

41. Lucifer (now Satan) did!

42. The Weapons of Satan

43. The Weapons of Satan Deception Fear

49. A Second Chance Announced

50. A Second Chance Announced Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

51. A Second Chance Announced Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” “ Enmity”. At this point Adam and Eve had just sinned and their hearts were turned away from God and in harmony with Satan. Here is the first intimation of God’s plan to give those who believe Him a new heart . In “bruising thy head” is the first intimation of a Savior to be sent.

52. A Second Chance Announced Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” “ Enmity”. At this point Adam and Eve had just sinned and their hearts were turned away from God and in harmony with Satan. Here is the first intimation of God’s plan to give those who believe Him a new heart . In “bruising thy head” is the first intimation of a Savior to be sent. (Look for the development of these aspects (the new heart and the Savior) in the rest of the Bible. Specifically how the new heart will be developed and how to receive it and how to identify the Savior. Satan would probably try to falsify both.)

53. Did God create a devil?

54. Why Did Lucifer Fall? Ezekiel 28:15 “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”

60. The issues and events we have discovered so far are issues and events that occurred before sin entered this planet or just at the time sin entered. These occurred thousands of years before there were persons called Jews or gentiles. They occurred many thousands of years before there were Moslems or Buddists, Catholics or Protestants. Therefore it must be concluded that the issues we have discussed impact the entire human race and cannot be said to belong or apply to just one race or religion. These are the issues that impact us all.

61. KNOWN SO FAR: (a) Worship , authority , creatorship – are going to figure prominently in the issues in the conflict. Since the family relationships and the 7 th day Sabbath are closely related to the issue of worship through the issues of authority and Creatorship, it can be projected that they will figure prominently in the final conflict at the end of time. (b) Satan to maintain his cause will have to have a mark (similar to Christ’s memorial) to identify his supposed authority as the creator (because only the Creator can receive the worship Satan has sworn he will get.) (c) There will have to be a judgment that will reveal to the created beings who cannot read hearts or know the future, who was telling the truth. (d) Prophetic interpretations and issues not related directly to these themes/issues, will be seen to be false interpretations or irrelevant information.

62. After the fall of man due to deception and fear , the plan of salvation is revealed in its most basic concepts in Gen 3:15. It reveals that God will in some way provide a new heart and a Savior . (Look for the development of these aspects (the new heart and the Savior) in the rest of the Bible. Specifically how the new heart will be developed and how to receive it and how to identify the Savior. Satan would probably try to falsify both.)