Ret said:
As strange as it seems, God uses Assyria to chastise Israel, then God chastises Assyria as/when it excells in it's commercial interest and bcomes proud. In the end, or 'IN that day', God calls Assyria,
the work of MY HANDS!.
- Isaiah 19:24-25
24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria,
even a blessing in the midst of the land:
25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying,
Blessed be Egypt my people, and
Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. KJV
So, if Assyria is a 'type of Satan' then Judah and Israel would also be a 'type of Satan' when/as it manifests unbelief towards God. Jesus told the unbelieving Pharisees around Him, who claimed 'Abraham is our father' (Jn 8:39)...
- John 8:44
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. KJV
Even today...who can excape one's own nature...?
Was I not, before conversion, just like the ASSYRIAN...? or Judah, or Israel in their unbelief?
- Ephesians 2:2-3
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. KJV
Yeah, kind of. But there's still a difference with how God uses the king of Assyria as a type for Satan, and not as a type for His chosen Israel, even when Israel is rebellious against Him...
Isa 10:5-6
5
O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation.
6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
(KJV)
This is one of the most important Biblical ideas for us to learn as to why God allows Satan to do what he does. God uses Satan (the Assyrian as a type in the above) as His punishing rod. It's like my father would say to me after I really messed up, "OK boy, go pick me a switch off a tree!" What happens to the switch after the whippin'? It's discarded. So likewise, when Satan has served God's purpose as a punishing rod upon the wicked, even the rebellious of His own chosen people, Satan will simply be discarded like that switch. The purpose of the chastizement is because of God's love, so God isn't going to discard those whom He loves that also love Him and repent.
And with the "tares" parable our Lord Jesus gave in Matt.13, we know some among Israel really are not 'of' God, and they will not all turn away from rebellion, but will continue to serve the devil by choice. Don't want to go too deep about those "tares", but I believe during Christ's future Milennium reign, and at the end of it, the majority of those "tares" willingly will choose to perish with Satan, their thinking something like, "Well if I can't be my own god, and do whatever I want to do, then I don't want eternal life." I believe the majority of "tares" will actually make that choice theirselves, even in full knowledge of The Savior. I also believe what our Lord Jesus said to them in John 8, His being very forthright about the indentity of their father, was because they well knew Christ The Saviour was indeed standing right in front of them, and they knew Who they were mocking. Denying Christ in full knowledge is choosing to perish.
Another point that's important, is there's truly a difference between a sinner in ignorance compared to doing it on purpose with pride, like in-your-face. Even the state of battling against a flesh sin that we can't quite get the best of shows in our heart we do care that's it's wrong (moral sense). The idea of the habitual sinner is of one who doesn't care if they sin or not, and are even so proud of their sins they'll teach others how to do the same. That's the idea in Isaiah 5:18, a worker of iniquity pulling their sins around in a cart with a rope for show and tell bragging about it. Those are still different than one who cares. But the "workers of iniquity" knowingly serve the devil, and love serving and doing the devil's works. Those represent the followers of the king of Assyria as a type for the devil and his children, the "workers of iniquity". Remember Joshua 9, Judges 2 &3, 1 Kings 9, those crept into Israel's stay early on, and they represent the "tares".
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How refreshing to talk with someone who understands the "examples" are for US...NOW as well as who Israel is...the two houses.