p.3 Wrong and dangerous Views on the Devil

Andrew Wommack: “I used this example last week, that in a sense, Satan used mankind as a hostage and said: "God if you get me you know you are going to have to destroy them also, since they willingly submitted unto me." But now God himself became one of the hostages and now God had the authority to deal with Satan and I mean Jesus destroyed, defeated Satan on every level. Satan made the huge mistake of crucifying Jesus and took him to hell and when Jesus went down into the lower parts of the earth, I mean, when he came out of hell he destroyed Satan not only here, in a physical way, he went down into the lowest parts of the earth. He defeated Satan when he came out, the keys of death and hell dangling on his side.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNDXsHC00eI .

Wommack’s false gospel is identical to the word-faith, and why not, that is what his investment of teaching is in. This teaching of the keys taken from Satan’s side is from the false prophet William Branham. Jesus was not taken to hell, nor defeated when he came out but it was done on the cross. To claim God send the only righteous and sinless man to hell to suffer under satan is blasphemy.

What does the bible actually say on what happened?

It is written clearly “his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (Cross) " (1 Peter 2:24) “and washed us from our sins in his own blood " (Rev. 1:5)

Heb. 9:15: “He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death.” 1 Cor. 6:20: “For you were bought at a price” which is by the blood of the lamb,his death. Col. 1:20 “ having made peace through the blood of His cross. ”

Not in hell, which is a teaching of demons. ( Did Jesus become sin and then go to hell to pay for our salvation?)

One of the thieves on the cross said unto Jesus , Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise . " (Luke 23:42-43) Did Jesus not know where he was going?

With his last breath Jesus cried out in a loud voice: " Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46) then said "It is Finished? The Greek word teleo means "to finish." It is a verb. This word in the Greek is tetelestai and it means "it is completed, finished" there is NO more to be done to atone for. Which does communicate to us that the new covenant is by the blood, and death of Christ just as the Scripture says.

Wommack teaches that Satan has no power or authority. This is absurd and dangerous to teach.

“I believe the moment Lucifer transgressed against God, he lost his angelic power. Satan now has no power or authority of his own; he only has what he has been able to deceive people into giving him. Now, that is a powerful statement.”

Yes, powerfully ‘deceptive ‘within itself, for it is untrue.

When exactly did Lucifer lose transgress? And where? As we go on we will answer this from the Bible not from clouded human reasoning.

“Think about what that means to you as a believer. When we are resisting the devil and fighting against him, Satan does not have a superior power or authority. He is absolutely dependent upon the cooperation of a human being who will empower him with the authority God gave them . …In this article, I am only scratching the surface on my teaching “Who Made Satan?” and it is only one teaching in my six-part series called The Believer’s Authority. Until you understand the power and authority that God has given you, you will never be able to defeat the devil, receive healing, prosper, and live in victory. Knowing your authority is the key ! This teaching is an absolute necessity for every believer.”

That my friends is not Bible teaching but a man’s opinion of words he does not fully understand because of his mind being trapped in word-faith theology. Satan was the Serpent which is a deceiver, so he was already fallen when he lied to Eve before she decided to act on it.

His whole explanation is twisted. While Satan wants humans to cooperate, his power is not dependent on us.

Look at his ability exercised in Job. Job 1:15 Sabeans raided them and took them away-- he killed the servants with the edge of the sword” V.17-19 "The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, killed the servants with the edge of the sword”

V.18-19 another also came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead ! "

Job 2:7 he “ struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”

The book of Job explains Satan’s power only went as far as God allowed it to.

Yet Wommack says in his book “ In 1969, I heard a wrong teaching that Satan was “God’s messenger boy.” It said that the devil can only do what the Lord allows, and therefore, God uses him to work good in our lives. That’s totally wrong, but I didn’t know it at the time . (Chapter 1 a Better way to Pray)

Still believe Satan is powerless? Satan does all this destruction, but has no power? That we give it to him? That’s is not Bible teaching, that’s a complete distortion.

In prophecy we read 2 Thess. 2:9-10 “The coming of the lawless one (the false Christ) is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.”

The same word for power and authority used for Jesus and the apostles is used for the power Satan has, he deceives people into thinking this power is of God.

Rev. 13:2-3 “The dragon (Satan) gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.”v:13 He performs great signs.”

So whatever Wommack is saying affects not just Genesis, but end times prophecy in the worst distorted way possible for a believer.

2 Cor. 11:14-15 “ For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works . “

What are their works, Matt 7:22-23 “ Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

All these outward manifestations Satan can duplicate; miracles, prophecy, wonders. All are possible in the name of a counterfeit Jesus (a Jesus in name only, who is not God in the flesh), therefore Wommack is wrong about Satan not having power.

Your authority

“ When (people) see that some sickness, disease, tragedy comes into their life, instead of taking their authority and rebuking the devil and commanding him to leave , instead they go to God … and they beg God, ‘Oh God please change this situation. Oh God please get the devil off my back.’ And it’s not within God’s power and authority. He gave us that power and authority .”

(The Believer’s Authority ( https://awmsa.net/product/the-believer-039-s-authority-e-book-pdf )

Where do we see any apostle rebuke the Devil? Let the Word of God speak the truth…

Jude 9 Even “ Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Zech 3:2 the LORD said to Satan , "The LORD rebuke you, Satan !)

Satan is a cherub which is a higher in authority than angels, even though he is fallen. Michael is a holy arch angel but knew his place in the angelic order of creatures.

Believers have no authority to “bind” Satan. We are not told “to rebuke Satan,” we are not told “to bind Satan,” we are told to resist. Bind and loose is not interpreted correctly by Wommack and the rest of those who hunger for power. Go look the words up and see how they are used.

Believers overcome Satan, not by “rebuking” him, not by “binding” him, but by resisting him, as James 4:7 says: Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” We resist Satan with their faith. To resist means, “to stand against,” this is done by being in Christ, having the armor on. Believers are not taught anywhere in Scripture to go around “binding” Satan. Satan will not be bound until Jesus returns, then he will be bound, cast into the Abyss for 1,000 years. No believer has the authority to bind Satan today.

And we are further warned in 2 Peter 2:11 “ whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. ” In other words do not do what Wommack suggests as the way, rebuke Satan.

Satan prevented Paul from visiting the Thessalonian church 1 Thess. 2:18 “ we wanted to come to you--even I, Paul, time and again--but Satan hindered us .” He did not bind or rebuke him. Paul accepted it as he did the messenger sent to buffet him in the flesh (God said no to his healing three times).

Jesus in Rev 2:10 “ the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life .”

God told them they will die. Did he tell them to rebuke or bind him to prevent it? No.

Jesus called Satan the “prince [ruler] of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) .Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2) and “the god of this world” (2 Cor.4:4). You do not have titles like these unless you have actual power and authority. The “world system,” is under Satan's control (Jn. 12:31; I Jn. 5:19). Which would be hard to implement with no authority. As the prince of the kingdoms of the world he can offer them to whomever he wills as he did to Jesus (Lk.4:5-7).

So Wommack’s powerless Satan is an unbiblical representation of our adversary. His false view[s] of the Devil affects many other doctrines

Wommack’s explanation of Satan in the Garden

“I believe that Satan was originally on this earth in the Garden of Eden as Lucifer. He was God’s number one angel sent to earth to be a blessing to Adam and Eve.”

According to Wommack he was sent to earth to bless Adam and Eve, which means after the 6^th day when the garden was made and Adam was made and put in it. Think about what he is saying, that he was sent by God as an unfallen angel.

He goes on:

“Hebrews 1:14 says this about angels:“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

“Lucifer wasn’t sent to the earth to tempt Adam and Eve but to bless them. He was an angelic being sent to be their protector, to minister to them, and to serve them. He was there on a divine mission, still in his perfect state. It was in the Garden that his transgression against God was conceived and carried out.”

Ezekiel 28:15 goes on to say,“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”

“I have never been able to follow the logic that God sent Satan to earth to tempt man and see how he would respond. As a father, would you take your two-year-old child and put him or her in a cage with a lion just to see how he or she would respond? That would obviously be irresponsible; the child would be no match for the lion. God wouldn’t do that to us, and he didn’t do that to Adam and Eve .” (Who Made Satan? By Andrew Wommack)

He may not be able to follow Bible logic, the Word, but it is the truth. There is nothing said otherwise in Scripture. The Bible describes his fall occurring before he caused the fall of man, in Ez.28 and Isa.14, it describes him before the creation of man.

To say the Devil (whom he calls Lucifer) was there on a divine mission, still in his perfect state,” is about as scary a statement I have ever heard on this subject.

Not all angels are ministering spirits to mankind, only God’s angels, yet he is including Lucifer’s (then Satan's) angels to prove Satan was Lucifer, (unfallen at the time) applying it to his false interpretation, showing that he does not know what he is talking about.

If we caused him to fall, what about a third of the angels, when do they fall?

Satan is not acting as a lion in Genesis but a serpent, a deceiver who tricks Eve to eat what she was not allowed to (Gen.3:1-5). And the Bible makes it clear the garden was a testing ground for faithfulness to God’s command, for God warned Adam not to eat the fruit of a certain tree in it. None of this seems to matter to Wommack’s novel interpretation of the fall of Adam and Eve as he tries to present his revelation as if it is the Bibles. It is NOT!

Here’s what the Bible says contrary to what Wommack says in Gen 3:1 ‘ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made .’

The Hebrew word for subtil is `arum; it is translated prudent and twice crafty. We know that he is called the serpent (Rev.12:9 ; 20:2 who Satan 2 Cor.11:3) Rev. 12:9that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan” Rev. 20:2 “ that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan.”

He came to Eve to tempt her which means he fell already. Gen. 3:1-6 V.1 The Serpent said to Eve ‘Has God indeed said? You shall not eat of every tree of the garden ’ These words has Eve question God. V.5 ‘ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil .’ The very same desired goal he had for himself, to be like God he wanted Eve to enter into (Isa.14:12-14 Satan’s 5 I wills, his 5^th I will make myself like the most high).

Satan wanted a higher position than what was given to Him by God, by pride he stated “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” (Isa.14:13). Symbolically “The stars” are often also used to express heavenly principalities, meaning other angels, (Rev.1:20,9:1,12:4). Job speaks of when “the morning stars sang together” (Job 38:4-7), at the creation. Not after the fall of Lucifer in heaven.

The first sinner was Satan, and the first sin was the sin of pride. Ezekiel describes “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” v.16 “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God.” That’s heaven, not earth!

He was once the wisest and most beautiful of God’s creatures and the covering over the throne in heaven. He was judged, and lost his position in ministry to God. This fall was in heaven, he did not fall on earth.

Yet Wommack says ,” So, what made Lucifer turn against God? Lucifer watched as God did something for man that He had never done with any other of His creation. When God created man, not only was he made in the very image of God, but he was then given unconditional authority over this earth”

He was jealous and envious; he actually wanted to take God’s place. And then quotes Isaiah 14:13.”

Isa.14:12-20: “ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!

Scripture points to when he fell in heaven and when he subsequently interacted with man in the garden after his fall. But Wommack says no to this.

If one reads Isa.14 fully, it gives us more accurate knowledge of the fall and it has nothing to do with Wommack’s explanation. Isaiah speaks of the sin of this once anointed cherub in his rebellion and before he was cast out of Heaven. In other words he was not on earth when he fell as Wommack teaches. Satan (Lucifer) sinned while he was still in Heaven, he brought corruption to the angels which made 1/3 of them rebel as well.

Wommack states, God gave Adam and Eve “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth…” (Gen. 1:26 KJV). Wommack claims they had complete, unrestricted authority over this world. Andrew Wommack (2010-06-13). The Believer’s Authority: What You Didn’t Learn in Church, 42. Harrison House LLC. Kindle Edition.)

Man was not given unconditional authority over this earth but conditional. The Bible explains that Adam, and then with Eve were put in a garden east of Eden “ the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” ( Gen 2:15) his dominion was in the garden until he was tested and proven faithful.

Wommack says, “Lucifer understood that if he could deceive Adam and Eve into willingly relinquishing their authority to him that he could become the god of this world. He could take the authority that was given to mankind, use it to thwart the kingdom of God, and receive the praise and adoration and glory he wanted.”

This part is accurate but doesn't that mean he was fallen if he is deceiving Adam and Eve? It does not take long for him to insert his false teaching, as he goes on to say, “So, who made Satan? We did! The moment Adam and Eve yielded to Lucifer, he became Satan, the god of this world. You might be thinking, But Satan deceived them. Shouldn’t God have stopped him?

He says elsewhere “And when and Eve submitted unto Satan they are the ones that empowered Satan. In a sense Man made Satan. God created Lucifer but Man made Satan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNDXsHC00eI.

Get it, man made Lucifer into Satan— “God created Lucifer but Man made Satan.”

Which makes what he is teaching in the category found in 1 Tim 4:1 “ giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”

The Serpent, Satan tempts them and Wommack blames Adam and Eve! He is teaching Lucifer who is still sinless is telling Eve to disobey God, but that that is not sin, only when she acted on his words.

What he teaches is not true, For he Bible says he (Lucifer / Day star) became Satan the accuser when he fell in heaven all on his own. How do we know when the Day star, called Lucifer fell? Again let the Word of God speak for itself.

Gen 3:13 When the LORD God questions the woman, she responds "The serpent deceived me, and I ate” Paul writes 2 Cor. 11:3 “ the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness”

In other words he was already fallen when he approached her, tempting her to disobey Gods command. but according to Wommack's twisting of the word, Lucifer intending to deceive is not sinful? If he deceived Eve to disobey it means he was not a sinless angel, he was sinful already.

Again, what does Scripture explain on how he fell 'in heaven'…

Isa 14:12-14 " How you are fallen from heaven ,O Lucifer, son of the morning ! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart:'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

He took his “eyes” off God, looked at himself choosing his will over God’s. Satan’s sin came from within Himself (“I will”)

Genesis 14:18-20, whenever God is referred to as the Most High, it stresses God as the possessor of the heavens and the earth. With his fifth I will, Satan declared his desire to become the possessor of all that God created (Genesis 1:1) in heaven.

Ezekiel 28 describes Lucifer prior to him being cast out of Heaven. Historically, Ezekiel is addressing the King of Tyre. It is apparent that this passage is not fully describing the King of Tyre, for he was not the seal of perfection, nor was he in Eden. The King of Tyre was not created, Angels were created. The Anointed cherub was sinless until iniquity was birthed in him.

The Hebrew carries further meaning to reveal a deeper understanding. Biblically this is called the Law of Double Reference. So the king of Tyre was representing another in the words given to Ezekiel. While this is not an in depth look at all said it does give us the overall view of what took place.

Ezekiel 28:11-19 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD :

" You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond,Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. (the high priest stones)

Lucifer (Day star) filled up the blueprint wisdom and beauty that God could put in a creature. He had no flaws -until...

V.14-15 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you . (And that is what is described in Isa. 14) V.16 " By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God ;”

Two main reasons are given in: Ezek.28:17 " Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor ; this led to his five “I will proclamations.’ All spoken in rebellion, by his pride.

Did man have anything to do with making Satan? His fall from being a light bearer to accuser? Absolutely not! A self-exaltation took place because of his own arrogance.

Ezekiel is describing an invisible being, the greatest angel who controlled the visible king of Tyre, Who fell for the same reason as Satan the problem of pride

This pride in the king led to a self declaration of deity:I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas .

So for Wommack to teach Satan was sent as helpful angel to the garden for Adam and Eve is false. To say he fell in the garden is false, To say Adam and Eve made him into Satan is false.

Again from the Scripture Rev 2:10 (20:2,7) Rev 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan

We read the Serpent called the Devil and Satan came to Eve to tempt her Gen 3:1Saying to the woman, " Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden' ?" This is before she looked at and ate of the fruit.

Whose right Gods word or Wommack’s word?

Gen 3:13-14 The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." All this confirms, the serpent who is Satan he was the deceiver before he tempted her.

Let me sum this up simply, God sent his greatest angel, who is unfallen to Adam and Eve and they made him fall by listening to his words of wisdom. That’s how ‘Woke’ Wommack reads the Bible; this is worse than the cults.

All this twisting of the Word from Wommack for what reason? So he can teach you have authority over all things and the devil has none, which according to the word of God is false.

See also http://www.letusreason.org/Doct7.htm

http://www.letusreason.org/Doct20.htm

Pt.4 on salvation –grace and faith - His convoluted teachings,  a potpourri of errors