INTRODUCTION:

1.     We have noted that the prophet Isaiah frequently refers to the restoration of Israel (cf. 14:1-3) and the millennial kingdom (14:7).

2.     We have also noted that Isaiah 13 and 14 deal with God’s judgment upon Babylon (cf. 13:1, 4-6).

3.     What makes Isaiah 14 very interesting is that it gives us a very detailed description of the fall of Satan (14:12-15; cf. Ezek. 28:12-19; Scofield’s notes, pp. 871, 726, 1350).

4.     Ezekiel views the fall of Satan from his beginning to his end.  Isaiah starts with his fall (14:12), and then goes back to the reason why he fell – “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven…” (14:13).

I. THE FALL OF ANTICHRIST

1.     Many people confuse Satan with the antichrist, but they are two distinct persons (cf. II Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13:2, 4).

2.     The Bible does not identify “the king of Babylon” (14:4).  This king of Babylon was not Nebuchadnezzar or Nabonidus or Belshazzar,  “but the last-day head of political Babylon, the head of the restored Roman Empire (Rev. 13:1-18), the ‘man of sin (lawlessness)…the son of perdition’ (II Thess. 2:3, 4), the ‘Wicked (one)’ (II Thess. 2:8), the ‘little horn’ (Dan. 7:8; 11:36-45)” (Unger’s Commentary on the OT).

3.     This would line up with the prophecies of Isaiah 13, which go beyond the fall of ancient Babylon and look ahead to the destruction of future Babylon, called “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT” in Revelation 17:5.

4.     When the antichrist is defeated, “the whole earth” will be “at rest” (Isaiah 14:7, 8; cf. Rev. 19:1-6).

5.     Hell will be moved for the arrival of the antichrist (Isa. 14:9).  There is a special welcome for him (Isa. 14:9-11).

6.     Note in Isaiah 14:9, 10 that the dead in hell are aware of their surroundings.  The doctrine of the unconsciousness of the soul after death is contrary to the plain teachings of Scripture (cf. Luke 16:19-31).

7.     Sheol can refer to either hell (14:9, 15) or the grave (14:11).  The context determines the translation.

II. THE FALL OF SATAN (ISA. 14:12)

1.     Isaiah 14:12 goes beyond “the king of Babylon” and is addressed to “Lucifer,” i.e., Satan, who “is the real unseen ruler” behind Babylon and all “of the successive world—powers, Tyre, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, etc.” (Scofield Bible, p. 726).

2.     In II Corinthians 4:4, Satan is called “the god of this world.”  In John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11 Satan is called “the prince of this world.”

3.     As the god of this world, and the prince of this world, Satan is the organizer and head of this world’s governmental system, and all false religious systems, and is behind everything (education, entertainment, court system, etc.) in this world that opposes the Lord Jesus Christ.

4.     Our Lord said in Luke 10:18, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”

5.     Satan is so intimately associated with the antichrist that it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart.  The antichrist may very well be Satan incarnate.  You will recall that Satan entered into Judas Iscariot.  He will probably enter into the antichrist.

6.     “This tremendous passage marks the beginning of sin in the universe. When Lucifer said, ‘I will,’ sin began” (Scofield, p. 726).

7.     I John 3:8 says, “the devil sinneth from the beginning.”  Isaiah 14 describes this beginning.  It gives us some of the details.

8.     Genesis 3 tells us how sin got into this world, but Isaiah 14 tells us how sin originated in the angelic realm before Satan brought it into the Garden of Eden.

9.     There are other places in the Bible where God addresses Satan through another (cf. Ezekiel 28:12ff). 

10. In Matthew 16:23, we are told that Jesus “turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan.”

11. Satan wanted to be like God (Isa. 14:13-15).  The name “Lucifer” means “light-bearer.”  But Jesus is the Light of the world.  He is the only true light-bearer.

12. Remember, Satan is an imitator. He has his own religions, his own ministers, his own scriptures, etc.

13. This passage reminds us how God hates pride.   Proverbs 6:16, 17 says, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look…”  Pride is mentioned first.  

14. God cut down Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon because of his pride.

15. God cut down King Herod (Acts 12) because of his pride. Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Belshazzar, Haman, and many other proud sinners who were brought low by God.

16. This brings us to our third point.

III. THE JUDGMENT OF SATAN

1.     Contrary to what most Biblically-illiterate people think, Satan is not in hell tonight.  In Ephesians 2:2, Satan is called, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

2.     In Job 1 & 2, we are told that Satan is “going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

3.     In Revelation 12:12 & 13 we are told that Satan is cast down unto the earth.  I believe this prophecy in Revelation 12 is still future.

4.     The point I am trying to stress is that Satan is not in hell tonight.  But he will be in hell someday soon. 

5.     Jesus said in 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.”

6.     Revelation 20:10 says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.”  This is still future.

7.     Another erroneous idea is that Satan is ruling in hell.  The Bible does not teach that (cf. Isa. 14:16, 17).  We need to get our theology from the Bible, not from cartoons.

CONCLUSION:

1.     Oftentimes my Sunday morning message will dovetail with my Sunday evening message.  This morning I preached on so-called “gay marriage,” which is a Satanic parody of true marriage.

2.     I mentioned that on the basis of Daniel 11:37, many people believe the antichrist may be a sodomite.

3.     We do not know who the antichrist will be.  He may or he may not be alive today.  I read recently that Britney Spears claims to be the antichrist.  (I do not think she is the antichrist, just a disturbed young woman who needs to get saved.)

Britney 'attempted rehab suicide'

The Daily Telegraph, London

March 05, 2007

“Britney Spears has flipped her lid in rehab, trying to hang herself with a bed sheet after screaming ‘I am the antichrist’ to frightened staff.  She made the demonic cry after scrawling the devil's number ‘666’ across her bald head. Spears’ manic behaviour has concerned relatives who once again fear for her safety, and has staff at the Promises Clinic in Malibu, California struggling to cope.”

4.     Many people say that her downward descent into madness began when she broke up with her husband, but it began long before that.  You may recall that Britney Spears smooched passionately on the lips with the raunchy Madonna. Her career went down fast after that disgusting display of perversion.