Virginia Church: “Satan was the First to Demand Equal Rights”
CHESAPEAKE, Va., June 19 (UPI) — A Virginia church is raising controversy with a sign reading, “Remember, Satan was the first to demand equal rights.”
Terri Young said she was shocked when she first saw the sign outside the Taylor Road Baptist Church in Chesapeake.
“I was frustrated and angry at the time,” Young told WAVY-TV. “When I drove by it, I wasn’t sure I read it right. So I did a U-turn.”
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“Are they talking about the gay community, are they talking about minorities, are they talking about women? But any of them, it’s dogma over humanity, is all I kept thinking — how ridiculous it was to put something like that there,” Young said.
Pastor Mel Kunkle said the message isn’t meant to target a specific group. He said the sign is a reference to the Biblical book of Isaiah chapter 14, verses 12 through 17, which some believe references the fall of Satan, though the verses are interpreted to refer to the King of Babylon in the Jewish tradition.
Kunkle said the sign is about Satan trying to be equal with God.
At least one commenter on the church’s Facebook page defended the sign.
“The reason people are so upset is because of arrogance, and not understanding God’s Word,” Deborah Gregson wrote.
Gregson said the only true equality is through “being a member of the Royal Family of God.”
“Any other ‘equality’ is temporary and not going to result in real happiness or fulfillment, so public upset is meaningless,” she said.
However, neighbors said the sign is unnecessary.
“I’m a church-going person. I know what Satan does. He’s not good, that’s one thing for sure, but I wouldn’t put it on the side of the road to upset people’s feelings about what’s on a sign,” said a neighbor who asked not to be identified.
Satan wants the RIGHT to be equal to the One Creator.
Satan wants the FREEDOM for his RIGHT to do what is right in his own eyes.
Satan wants to be free to serve and magnify oneself as a god.
Satan wants his way of self-freedom to be the “god of fortresses”.
Satan rebelled against the One Creator and he presented this way of self-freedom, of freedom of self-rights, of equality of rights to Eve ( the spirit of man) saying ” are you free to take of any of the trees?”…”most surely you (your freedom) will not die for in the day that you take of this tree ( you disobey) you will be like “god” “.
And Eve confessed that this tree ( forbidden by the One Creator) is instead “good” for one’s self-wisdom and desires……disobeying the One Creator and TAKING her freedom to do what is right in her own eyes.
…and today man ( all mankind) willingly desires and carries this mark on his forehead and on his hand.
BUT man is not free to do “his will”, he is not free to do “his rights”, he is not “equal” to the One God for the Creator warned man that the judgement and punishment for this disobedience, this lawlessness, this sin is death.
Very soon, the Lord Jesus Christ will return to rule the earth in power and obedience as the One King according to the Will of ‘I AM’ and NOT according to man’s first love for “his freedom, his rights, his equality”, for his desire to serve and magnify oneself (XES).
…and man will weep and clench his teeth in intense anger when his FREEDOM will be no more.