Acts Chapter 5 Satan

Acts Chapter 5

Ananias and Sapphira went into the presence of the apostles with a lie on their lips; Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" The meaning of Satan filling the heart crops out in the next sentence but one; "Why have you conceived this thing in your heart?" (verse 4); also in Peter's address to Sapphira who came in three hours after Ananias. Peter said unto her, "How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the spirit of Yahweh?" (verse 9). But supposing we had not been thus informed that the lie of Ananias
was due to a compact with his wife, from selfish motives, to misrepresent the extent of their property, we should have had no difficulty in understanding that Satan filling the heart was the impulse of the flesh, which is the great Satan or Adversary, moving him to the particular line of action which evoked Peter's rebuke.

 5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.
 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet.
 3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the holy spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
 7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
 8 And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much."
 9 Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the spirit of Yahweh? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."
 

9 But even the archangel Michael in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "May Yahweh rebuke you!" [Here Tattenai is represented as “the devil,” because he falsely accused the Jews and insinuated intentions to the ruling monarch quite contrary to their real intention. “The body of Moses” is merely the Temple worship, and the disputation regarding that body is the disputation regarding the building of the temple for the Mosaic system of worship, and thus this passage in Jude, which has been the
cause of much perplexity, becomes easily intelligible, referring as it does to the vision of Zechariah; for in that vision we find that, like as in the argument of Jude against the railing accusers, Michael, the chief messenger, did not rebuke Satan, but said, “Yahweh rebuke you,” so it was in the case of Joshua. Compare: Ezra 5:3-6; Zechariah 3:1-2]