Copyright © 2006 By Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
Catechism Of The Catholic Church Reprinted With Permission.
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The Fine Points Of Redemption
(Volume 1 - Part 4) - Commentary By: Doug Lawrence
Satan, blinded by pride, made a number of mistakes. First, he actually believed
that he could overthrow God. Next, Satan believed that he could cause God to
change His "mind" and alter the divine plan that He (God) had ordained for
creation. Finally (probably in a desperate effort to avoid hell) Satan thought he
could cleverly appropriate for himself, all of man's God-given gifts … and that he
might actually be allowed to keep them.
While Satan was wrong on all counts, his diabolical plan almost
worked. In the end, the "father of all lies" turned out to be his own
worst enemy.
After Adam fell from grace, man was left powerless and destitute. Satan became
the new "landlord" on earth and forced man to exist under punitive and oppressive
conditions that were calculated to keep man in his "debt" forever. Adam (and all
his descendents) had truly become slaves to sin, and without divine assistance, it
would always be so.
The Old Testament
book of Exodus
gives us a vivid
account of what it's
like to live in slavery
under a wicked ruler.
In it, we also discover
the love and power of
God. Exodus is only
forty chapters long,
but it's full of
spectacular,
prophetic,
supernatural events.
If you're not into reading, rent or purchase Cecil B. DeMille's, The Ten
Commandments (1956, 245 minutes) on video or DVD. ABC TV runs it at Easter
time every year, as well.
A quick study of Exodus
There's a lot of stuff going on here. Some key points and parallels:
The Egyptian Pharaoh was originally good and treated the Hebrews fairly.
Pharaoh later became evil and enslaved them. Satan too, started out good and
later became an evil enslaver of men.
When Pharaoh attempted to control the Hebrew population by killing all their newly
born male babies, the infant Moses was saved from death.
Moses Lifts His Staff And Calls On God To Part The Red Sea
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