"Well, I suppose I have to believe that Satan exists. Scripture tells us that, in fact, he does exist. And yes, the events of September 11th show his existence. However, he has been around for much, much longer." Both of their eyes are intent on me. "He has many names. Prince of Demons, Angel of the Abyss, Father of Lies, The Tempter, Leviathan, Power of Darkness, Lucifer, Apollyon the Destroyer. All and more refer to Satan himself."I can see they're fascinated by this. I go on, "Most people do not know of his past. Scripture tells us many details about him, and it is a great true story. I give a yearly sermon on the history of Satan, and it is quite popular. Satan was once an angel in heaven, by the name of Lucifer. Lucifer was God's first Creation. God made Lucifer long before He created humans, long before plants or animals, and even before He created the Earth, or stars, or a universe.
"Lucifer was God's masterpiece. The perfect living being. He was so wonderfully beautiful that he lit the skies before the sun existed. God admired him and even loved him. 'Lucifer, you are full of wisdom and perfect in beauty,' God would say to him.
"Lucifer was created with flutes and strings for vocal cords. Every word he spoke was a beautiful sound. All the angels would surround Lucifer to listen to the lovely wonders of his voice.
"God had immense love for Lucifer. They accompanied eachother on numerous occasions. And God shared everything with him, not hiding any secrets. All God asked for in return was that Lucifer praise God himself, and to lead the other angels in Praise and Worship to the Lord.
"However, Lucifer's pride got to him. He wanted to be praised. He wanted the power that God had. He despised performing miracles to the angels that would watch in awe, only to give the credit to God. He loathed the angels' admiration of God. He wanted to be worshipped in addition to God. He thought himself as God's equivalent."
Mrs. Stewart cuts a slice of bread with a long, sharp knife...how delightful. "Soon, Lucifer could not stand it any longer, and rebelled against God. Some angels joined his pursuit. He had one-third of the angels follow him, and with them, formed an army of evil to dethrone God. However, they were not successful, and Michael dispelled them from heaven.
"Lucifer then became known as Satan, and became the ruler of the Dark World. He is bound with ever lasting chains in this darkness (Jude 6, I believe). God had distorted his face to make him the ugliest beast that could possibly be made." I sip some of my soup. "He resides there still, and plans with his followers how to extract revenge."
"Satan promised that he would destroy God's favorite creation...Earth, and every living soul on it. He vowed to destroy God himself as well.
"When Satan was expelled from Heaven, he promised to return, and conquer God, believing that he would then become God. He then made five threats, now known as The Great I Will's: one, 'I will ascend into heaven,' two, 'I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,' three, 'I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north," four, 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,' and five, 'I will be EL-ELYON,' which means 'God of Power.'
"Satan still exists today. He is filled with fury, and has the power of the dark world. He is the spiritual force of evil," sip...sip..."The whole world is under his control; 1 John 5:19, I think. He roams the earth and prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He is earthly and unspiritual; I know for a fact that that's James 3:15. Not only does he roam the earth," sip...sip, "but he does so in disguise. He is not the red skinned, two-horned man we think he is. Satan masquerades as an angel of light, and his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. All this comes from the Bible. That part came from 2 Corinthians 11:14. He works through those who are disobediant, but he can work through anyone; Matthew 16:20-something. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 even tells us that he can display counterfeit miracles, signes, and wonders."
Mrs. Stewart speaks in awe, "...that's...amazing..."
"Indeed it is. And no one is immune to Satan's temptations, for as you know, he even tempted Jesus. Satan can imprison Christians to test them (Revelation 2:10) and hold's the power of death. He-"
"Is there anything we can do to stop him, and prevent ourselves from going to hell?" Mr. Stewart asks frantically. Ahh, so there's his concern, and interest in Lucifer...his fear of his sins condemning him.
"Well, of course we are not powerless against him. The Bible tells us that faith extinguishes his flaming arrows...that's in Eplesians 6:16. If Satan is resisted, he will flee." A look of relief about Mr. Stewart.
"So, to answer the question, I do believe that Satan exists. There is evidence all throughout the Bible, and his danger is real. He can be disguised as anyone, and perform anything, however, he can be resisted. So, yes is the answer."
"Wow. Thank you, Father. I learned a lot from that," Mrs. Stewart again, "how do you know so much?"
"Well, for one, it's all in the Bible, It's just that I've read it so many times. And for two, as I said, I give a similar sermon each year...very popular with the Congregation."
"Yes, I can see why. It's very fascinating." and then she abruptly says, "Yeah, I don't read the Bible as much as I should, Father."
I nod my head. Silence...
"So, Father, how about those Cubans in my office?" Mr Stewart asks me.
"A lovely idea, thank you. Lead the way."
"I'm going to tell the boys they can finish dinner now, and then clean up the kitchen," she gets up from her seat, "so, after you two are done, come back for dessert," and then she walks over to the stairs.
We'll definitely come back Mrs. Stewart...well, one of us.
Mr. Stewart already standing, "Alright, let's go Father," beginning to walk away, slowly.
"Alright," I say as I get up from my seat, knocking my spoon on the floor to my left. "Oops, sorry. Let me get that, and I'll be right with you." I walk over to it, bend down, and pick up the spoon. I place it on the table, and swiftly grab the lovely knife Mrs. Stewart had used for the bread, hiding it in my pants, protecting me from the blade with a cloth we used as napkins for dinner. "Ok, I'm right behind you." How delightful.
