The Devil

Second Most Powerful Force in our World

There are many references to the Devil in the Bible. They are: the Devil, Lucifer, Satan, Serpent, Wicked One, Tempter, and fifteen other names and descriptive names associated to the Devil.

The Devil is called a liar and the father of all lies, by Jesus, the Son of God.

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44.

He is called Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12-17: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

In the book of Job, he is called Satan, and we can see how he went before God and accused Job.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:6-12.

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. Job 2:1-7.

Notice in that last passage that Satan "smote Job". Notice this also: God let him do it! God basically told Satan, do your worst but don't kill him. God could have prevented Satan from afflicting Job's body, but He didn't. He was letting Job get tested and tried, to prove to Satan and to us, that Job would not turn His back on God and lose his integrity. He was using Job for our example.

In Revelation 12:9 the devil is called the serpent: And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

There are many other names of the devil, throughout the Bible, but it would take too much time and space to list them all.

In the previous scripture passages, we are able to see some of the devil's power. We also see that he is so powerful that he even has access to stand before the throne of God Almighty. This comes as a shocking surprise to many people. He is able to create much harm and evil for unsuspecting Christian men and women. However, we also see that to create evil among us, he must first have permission from the most powerful of all, Almighty God!

What we haven't seen yet, and what we are going to discuss further, is how Satan not only uses the power given to him, but also how he is used (by God Almighty) to do God's will among the inhabitants of the earth, both Christian and non-Christian alike.

In the passage where the name Satan is first used in the Bible, we can clearly see that God our Father turned Satan loose on King David to bring evil on some of the Israelite people.

And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. II Samuel 24:1. See, God was angry with the people of Israel. He moved David. How did He do it?

And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. I Chronicles 21:1. God made Satan provoke David!

Does God still work this way? Yes. A thousand times, Yes. Here is New Testament passage that shows the devil's power.

While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption [in bondage of the devil]: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. II Peter 2:19-22.

As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Proverbs 26:11.

The devil gets into preachers that corrupt themselves and he overcomes them, as well as the people that follow them. When Christian men and women turn away from the way of righteousness, they become worse than they were before they were saved. Let's see what happens when a Christian turns from God and returns to sin.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Luke 11:24-26.

How can this be? How can the evil spirits come back in, after the person is washed clean? Look at the next passage.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. Matthew 12:43-45.

Matthew's account says that in addition to being swept and garnished, the person is also empty. If the Spirit of God was dwelling in that person, as would have been the case were they serving the Lord, they would not be empty.

Paul spoke of turning a man over to the devil, in I Timothy 1:20, to punish him for blasphemy. Paul had power over the devil, and we can have it too.

We can have that power through a man of God, teaching us by instruction, and also through our own efforts, by the grace of God.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. II Timothy 2:24-26

Also, read Ephesians 6:11-18, for more detail.

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Romans 16:20.

Praise God! May God help us to put on the full armor of God, as in Ephesians 6:11-18, so we can overcome the devil and "bruise Satan under our feet". Amen.

Love Not the World

To a lot of Christians, this title would be a difficult thing to comprehend. Why? Because people, both Christian and non-Christian, love the world and the things of the world.

It is hard to let go of anything we love, even if it means hardship, or even our life. But, if we are going to love God and live the lifestyle God accepts, we must separate ourselves from those weakening and detrimental aspects of the world.

The Bible speaks plainly: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. I John 2 15-17.

One of the hang-ups that Christians have is John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. If we were to stop right there, without studying all the scriptures about this great subject, we would say that God loves the world. However, when we read all of God's Word, cover to cover, we see that this just can't be true, i.e., that God loves everyone in the world. When referring to the world in John 3:16, it means humanity as a whole. The verse is saying that God loved humanity enough to offer us all a chance at salvation, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Whether or not we each accept that salvation is dependent on us. Let's look at verse 17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Does the world get saved? Let's see what the Holy Scriptures say about the world.

Jesus made a difference between those in the world and those who believe on Him, in John 17:6-14:

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

He said, "I pray not for the world", (that is, for their good); He prayed for His disciples.

It appears that God was making a difference between good and evil; therefore, doesn't He make a difference in His worldview?

Let's look at some other examples in God's Holy Word.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:18-19.

We must separate ourselves from the world. If we are serving Jesus Christ, the world will hate us even as it hated Jesus.

Does God Love Everybody?

Does God love everyone in the world as some people believe when they read John 3:16? Let's see. If God's love is unconditional and God loves every one in the world, then we would have to conclude that a large portion of the Holy Bible given to us is in error. I don't believe that the King James Version of the Holy Bible is in error. I believe it is the only true version of God's Word to English-speaking people. With that said, we will see if our Bible shows that God loves everyone.

I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Malachi 1:2-3.

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Romans 9:13.

These scriptures show that Almighty God hated Esau. Why? Because Esau was profane. (See Hebrews 12:16.)

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Psalm 5:4-5.

Iniquity is gross immorality or injustice; wickedness. Are there not many workers of iniquity in the world? Does God love them?

The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Psalm 11:5.

God hates the person that is wicked and who loves violence.

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Prov. 6:16-19.

This is not referring to just the acts of sin, but also to the person who does these things.

Who does God love?

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21

God loves those who keep His commandments.

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7.

God loves those who give cheerfully. This includes giving tithes and offerings, as well as giving of their time, talent, etc., to bless others.

Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Psalm 45:7.

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Hebrews 1:9.

God loves righteousness (doing the right thing) and those who love righteousness.

In Conclusion

Any honest-hearted Christian can see, through God's Holy Scriptures, that God Almighty does not love everybody, especially not those who are listed as people He hates. Does that mean that because God hates some people, that they cannot repent and be turned to His love again? No way! We were all hateful and perhaps even hated by God, at some time or other in our lives. If we repent (quit sinning) and become born again through Jesus Christ (unto good works) we certainly can be grafted in to His (God's) love again.

May God help you to have all knowledge and wisdom to do His will for your good. God bless.