Countdown Day 16: The Ultimate Evil.
Last week we discussed teaching people that temptations will come, and how vital that is, and how to protect them. Tomorrow I'll talk about preparing it whether temptation, but today I'd like to focus on one specific passage we went over:
12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.
13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?
14 For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely?
15 Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve.
16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.
17 And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me.
18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.
19 And now, when Moses had said these words, Satan cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me.
20 And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.
21 And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan.
22 And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.
(Moses 1:12-22)
This is a long passage, but it's vital to our discussion today. The point I want to make is twofold: first, we need to be able to understand what darkness is. Second, Lucifer is a wretched, pathetic, sore loser, who is the embodiment of evil itself, for reasons I'll explain in a moment.
1: Moses said he could discern between light and dark, and recognized Satan as the wicked soul he was. Prior to this tempting, he had been conversing with God, so he had a direct comparison between the two. When Moses began to fear, he understood the bitterness of hell. I interpret that as meaning he began to understand the horrid state the devil is in, and began to fear for his soul. Despite his evil, the devil does have power. If we learn about the attributes of a good thing and those of a bad thing, we can learn to discern between good and evil.
Second: Lucifer lost his chance for a body when he rebelled against God and incited war in heaven. He is literally damned: unable to progress. He feels no remorse for his actions, and seeks no repentance. He is instead determined to bring each and every one of us down.
In a way, he's trying to prove that he's right, and that we needed to be controlled and guided through our lives instead of being gifted with the agency we have in this life, thanks to Christ.
Mainly, though, he just wants everybody to be as miserable and trapped as he is. He is the ultimate sore loser. He gains nothing from bringing us down, earns nothing from our misery, save a perverse satisfaction. He is a true monster.
And though he has power, we will have far more after this life, and can personally call upon the power of Christ, as Moses did.
Lucifer displays how feeble he truly is in the above passage. Ranting, gnashing of teeth, he really is pathetic!
The adversary is very real, and very dangerous, but we need not dwell on him unduly. Once we understand his nature -- the nature of evil -- we can understand how he works, and thwart his attempts to take us down.
I testify that Christ is the opposite of the adversary. He embodies goodness, and is full of compassion and sacrifice. He is truly the savior, and he loves us more than we can ever know in this life.
