Free Unlocking the Heavens: Release the Supernatural Power of Your Worship by Shane Warren Page A

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…” (Ezekiel 28:14-15). The clause “who covers” indicates a heavenly being with a specific assignment of authority over something. The question becomes “What does he control?” The answer is found in several passages. To find the answer, we can refer back to the same two verses of Ezekiel, where we read that he was in the Garden of Eden and also upon the holy mountain of God, neither of which means Heaven. It seems that Isaiah 14:12 confirms the conclusion that he was positioned on earth and that he had authority over the earth.
    The next few verses provide more of the story about Satan’s rebellion and fall from authority:
    You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit
(Isaiah 14:13-15 RSV).
    If Lucifer were already in Heaven, why would he need to
ascend
to get
above the heights of the clouds
? The clouds are part of earth’s atmosphere. The implication is that Satan was an angel who was assigned at one time authority over the earth. Evidently, he tried to lead a rebellion to overthrow God, and a large contingent of the angels joined him in the mutiny. Here is how his fall is pictured in the book of Revelation: “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9 NRSV).
    WHAT SATAN KNOWS ABOUT WORSHIP
    So we see that Lucifer was no ordinary angel. He was an angelic creature of unusual beauty with a powerful gift for leading worship. He was persuasive; many lesser angels followed him. He
covered the earth
in his authority—before his rebellion.
    Now we can see why Satan fights the worship of believers as he does! With his history of a firsthand experience of the effect of worship upon God and the angels, but also with his fury at losing his position of authority over the earth because of his great rebellion, he was further enraged at God’s reassignment of dominion over the earth to the human race He had created. For all intents and purposes, human beings—the ones who are believers—have become Satan’s replacement. When people were newly created, they were given dominion over the earth (see Genesis 1:28). That dominion was lost almost immediately through their rebellion, then regained by the sacrifice of the Son of God Jesus Christ. Now, through their vocal chords, hands, fingers, and feet, human believers represent the Father on earth, and they have the ability to produce music and express worship to Him.
    Do you see why the enemy interferes with the affairs of nations, sets people against each other, and instigates conflicts even within the Church, and why he tries to interfere with true worship wherever possible? Satan’s former authority was associated with his worship abilities; so, no wonder he tries to corrupt true worship in any way possible.
    No wonder, also, that one of our greatest warfare tools is the weapon of worship. Nothing moves the heavens like worship! Satan knows this without a doubt because he has seen the effect of worship upon the heavens and the Godhead. He does not want the Body of Christ to discover something so powerful about worship.
    To pervert worship, Satan constantly attempts to draw men away from
true worship
to false worship, the worship of idols and other gods. Because human beings were created to worship, people will always worship
something!
It might be beauty or wealth or some definition of success, a husband or a wife or other special person, or the traditions of an institution. People can’t help