Don’t let this title have you to believe that I am going to give a glowing report of the devil. No! It is more of a sarcastic title for one whom the bible calls the prince of the air, one who has a short reign to try and destroy as many of you as he can. So, this is my time to give you an understanding of the one you are following when you are not following Jesus, so that you can make a choice of whether you want heaven or hell.
“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
John 8:37-44
In these Scriptures we have a discourse between Jesus and the religious leaders. The religious leaders believe that they are following God because of their heritage, but Jesus lets them know that they have never followed God and indeed are acting on behalf of the devil.
The Bible tells us very little about the origin of the devil. It infers that he was once an archangel, an archangel of great power and glory. Because of this high position, and led on by his arrogance, he became so proud that God had to cast him out of heaven. Now he is permitted to go about in the world tempting people and acting as a mighty adversary to God and God’s people, and is an idea generally accepted by Bible scholars. God created all things good, but some of His creations became bad – man for instance, because God gave us free will. So, then it is reasonable to believe that the devil was created in goodness, but that he became evil and was then cast out of heaven.
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 12:7-9
As you can see from this Scripture the devil is called by different names – Satan, Beelzebub, the evil one, the serpent, the dragon – the god of this world, and the prince of the world. It doesn’t matter what you can him – he is the devil just the same.
There is a devil
Some people say that the devil does not exist, that he is merely a figment of the imagination. The Christian Scientists tell us that “all is good.” However, any sensible person knows that all things are not good, and that there is a mighty being behind all evil, namely, the devil.
To those naysayers I say that the Bible proves his existence. In Matthew 13:19, where Jesus was explaining the parable of the Sower, He said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.”
If we then say there is no devil, then we make Jesus a liar. Peter said there is a devil – John and Paul told us of his existence. But Jesus’ words are enough for us. To deny the existence of the devil is to deny the truthfulness and trustworthiness of Christ. One of the greatest tricks of the devil is in getting us to believe that he does not exist.
We know that the devil made his appearance on earth, because he was mentioned shortly after the creation of the world. We also see him appearing to Job. He appeared to Jesus in the wilderness temptation, and at many other times. He is shown in the book of Revelation as appearing many times on earth.
Let’s face it, we know from human experience that Satan is on the job, because there is an impulse and desire in every one of us to follow evil. Does this impulse come from God? No way! It comes from the devil. It comes from a source outside God, no matter what name we give that source. Now hear me when I say this…I have given to much credit to the devil for the evils and ills that we do, because, let’s face it, we can do bad all by ourselves.
The devil was moping around with a sad look, and God asked him why he wasn’t happily causing pain and suffering. The devil replied, “Before I can get people to do something bad, they have already done it.”
Every Christian in the world has a continual fight against the forces of evil. We are tempted on every side. These temptations come sometimes even when the child of God is in the holy place of prayer. It is the devil who brings this evil into our minds. Every one of us is confronted every day with the influence and power of a personal devil.
Okay, so let’s look at the nature of the devil. The Bible declares that he is a person, and we can infer this from John 3:7-8.
Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Only a person can be said to sin. This doesn’t necessarily mean that he has a body like ours, but he is a person just the same. He knows, he feels, and he wills. The cartoonists usually portray the devil as being a red figure with a long tail and a pitchfork. But he doesn’t appear in that form, because if he did, we would know him and avoid him. But when he comes to tempt us, he often comes in beauty and appeals to us in the most attractive way.
The Bible tells us that the devil is a spirit, and that we cannot fight against a spirit. But the Bible also tells us that we need armor to protect ourselves against the evil one.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13
Although the devil is a spirit, he has the characteristics of a person, so in a sense we are fighting a person, but a person who can only be defeated when we take on the armor of God and let Jesus fight our battle. Remember when Moses told the Children of Israel at the Red Sea, “Stand still and behold the salvation of the Lord.” Jesus is saying the same to us.
Some of us who believe in the existence of the devil sometimes forget that he is a being of great power and authority, and that is the worst thing for us to do, to underestimate our enemy. There’s a song that says that we can stomp on the devil’s head. Let me tell you, that is the one thing that will allow the devil to gain a foothold in your life. Because when you believe that by your own power and will that you can defeat the devil, you have already lost, because that kind of thinking starts to make you prideful and disobedient.
Satan is a strong personality, and we cannot fight him alone. We need all the help from heaven in our combat against the devil. Remember that Jesus dealt with the devil in His wilderness temptations – did He resort to stomping on the head of Satan? No! He used Scripture and prayer to beat Satan back, the very same tools you have today.
America had a great conflict against Germany and Japan, but World War II was nothing compared to the age-long conflict between the souls of man and the mighty personal being whom we know as Satan. Think of all the crime, the murders, the sorrows, the troubles in the world. What does it all mean? It is simply a part of the great conflict between good and evil.
We must not underestimate the devil. We cannot laugh him off. The big fight is on in our hearts and in the world. Satan is lining up against God, His children, and everything good that exists and will come into existence. On the other hand, we must not overestimate the devil. We cannot afford to get down in the dumps and pessimistic to say, “The world is going to the devil.” Know that we are in a great battle, but he who is for us is greater than the one who fights against us. The devil mighty, but Jesus is Almighty. We can overcome the devil through Christ Jesus. The devil does many wicked things but Jesus has overcome him by dying on the cross for our sins and rising again on the third-day to show victory over death, which is the one thing that Satan had power over. Now he is powerless because Jesus has the victory.
Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Jude 9
We get this notion that we can stomp on the devil’s head and call him names, yet not even God’s mightiest of angels, Michael, dare not bring a railing accusation against the devil., but rather called on the Lord to rebuke him. If an angel who occupied such a high position dared not rebuke Satan, surely Satan’s position must have been a high one indeed.
Satan is called the prince of this world, and this is where we encounter him. If he were simply some monarch ruling a kingdom thousands of miles away from us, we should never be concerned about him, but he is right here in this world carrying on his evil works, and we come in contact with him every day. Just look around you for a minute and you will see that the devil is ruling today as the prince of this world. We can never have permanent peace in the world, because he rules in the hearts of the world’s great leaders and elected officials. The worldly man is out for gain; he has a greedy heart and seeks to gain everything available. He has no respect for the rights of others. This is true of individuals and nations, because the devil is ruling in human hearts.
God is the Holy One; He is the embodiment of perfect holiness. The devil is just the opposite; he is the embodiment of consummate wickedness.
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8
Satan is the original sinner, and anyone we continue to live in sin belongs to the devil. So, why then do Christians sin? We have been saved, but we still retain that old sinful nature. We never lose that nature until Jesus in the twinkling of an eye transforms us and makes us like Himself. The evil nature within the Christian is always fighting against the good nature – the spiritual nature. The flesh of this world sins – the divine spirit within a Christian repents. When I sin, my flesh has the upper hand. When I repent of that sin, my spirit is ruling. The devil tempts the Christian, and the Christian often falls into sin. He can say, however, with Paul, “It is no more I that do it, but the sin that dwelleth in me.” The Christian who sins is indeed a wretched man, but he can say again with Paul,” I thank God that through Jesus Christ our Lord I can be delivered from the body of this death.”
We are told that Satan is the “father of lies.” We cannot trust anyone who tells lies, for the devil has invented every lie that has ever been told. He lies to us today. He says to us. “Follow me into the pathway of sin and I will give you the sweetness of life.” The devil is lying, because he cannot do it. He can give you the pleasures of sin for a season, but in the end, you drink the bitter dregs of disappointment and despair as you sink down into eternal hell.
Yonder is is an old man, bent and grey. Once he was young with all of life lying out before him, but the devil lied to him. The devil told him about the good things he could have if he would follow the ways of sin and the world. The young man said, I will take it all in.” He drank from every flower of sin – he tasted the sweetness of every fountain of iniquity – he wasted his years in riotous living. Now he has nothing left but the bitter memories of a misspent life. He has no joy in the present, he has no hope for the future. It has been well said that the devil does not have any happy old people.
Satan is the original tempter. He tempted the first people in the Garden of Eden. They fell before the tempter, and as they sank down into sin, they reached up and took the hand of everybody who would ever be born into the world and pulled them down into sin with them.
But the greatest picture of temptation is shown in the tempting of Jesus. For forty days and nights He had prayed and fasted. He came back into the world weak and hungry. The devil met Him and tempted Him in the realm of material things when he said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” But Jesus beat him back with the words from Deuteronomy. The next time the devil tempted Jesus in the realm of pride. Taking Jesus to the top of the temple, he said, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down.” Jesus again beat him back with a Scripture from the psalms. The next time he tempted Jesus in the realm of power. He took Jesus onto a high mountain and said to Him, “I will give you all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus again beat him back with another Old Testament quote. In like manner Satan tempts us in some or all these points. Never a day goes by, but he tempts us to sin in words, thought, and deed. Like Jesus, we have the word of God as the sword of the Spirit that we use to beat Satan back.
What a shrewd tempter Satan is! He arranges things in a beautiful manner; he captivates and fascinates us. He tries to make us forget that we are Christians; he seeks to make us throw aside our good resolutions; he plants a little thought in our minds – a thought that grows into a deadly sin. The only way we can overcome the tempter is through the power that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
2 Corinthians 4:1-4
The devil is the author of false views, because all over the world he has been able to cause men to doubt the old things that have been delivered down through the ages. He especially brings doubt concerning the person of Christ; he is constantly telling men that Christ isn’t divine. He begins an evil work by planting that doubt in our hearts; then he is easily able to lead us on and on into sin. In the Garden of Eden. When the devil tempted Eve, she said to him, “God has told us not to eat of the fruit of this certain tree, saying that if we do eat of it we will die.” Then the devil replied in a very sarcastic vein, “Ye shall not surely die.” The seed was planted – the doubt began to grow, and soon Eve had been swept down into the guilt of sin.
The gambling halls, the liquor joints, the houses of infamy are not the only places of Satan’s activities. He works in many schools and colleges in the land. Men and women are teaching immature boys and girls to doubt the Word of God. They call the Bible “Old fogey stuff” and encourage the students to throw off mother’ or grandmother’s religion. He has eliminated prayer in school, but he allows other false religions to be accepted. The devil knows that if he can cause these young people to doubt the Bible, he can soon lead them off into sin. I know it is true because I taught at a university that frowned upon any Christian teaching and thought.
When Dr. B. H. Carrow, founder and first president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, lay on his death bed, he said to Dr. Lee R Scarborough, his successor, “Lee, keep the Seminary tied to the old Book.” We must not let the devil capture our schools, Christ and the Word of God must be the center of our educational life if Christianity is to thrive, and if Christian leaders are to be sent into this wicked world. This is one area that I am happy to hear that in Texas, the school system is bring the Bible back into the schools and will make it mandatory that it be taught within the classrooms. Praise God!
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:10
The Bible has told us that the devils reign was not a permanent one, and here we see that the final end for the devil is in the lake of fire, a place God set aside for all those who do not want to repent of their sins and be saved by Christ Jesus and the salvation He gave by His death and resurrection. But until that time, we are to surrender to God and resist the devil but know that you cannot resist the devil with your own strength. As I mentioned before, you need to put on the whole armor of God and know that you can do all things through Christ Jesus. So, we are to claim Jesus’ strength as our own. We are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. When temptations come and we cry out, “Lord, help me,” He will give us strength. He has never refused yet to help those who call upon Him as they engage in their battle against the prince of this world.
The devil may be ruling your heart because you do those things you ought not do. He may be robbing you of the peace, power, and comfort in life. Oh, come to Jesus daily, cast your cares on Him. And put your hand in the nail-pierced hand, and you too, will be able to live the victorious life.
