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.