Bible Truth Preached HereThe Devil is Dead!
The Devil Is Dead!
Jesus killed it and you can too!
What is the Devil? Satan?
Where did the Devil come from? And can Angels sin?
How did Jesus kill the Devil?
What are ‘evil spirits’ in Scripture?
Are we still tempted by the Devil?
How can we overcome and kill the Devil?
Many believe that there is a supernatural Devil monster which is an angel that fell from God’s grace. He lives in Hell, but can move about on the Earth and leads a host of demons who induce sin among people, while causing havoc and rebellion in the world. They believe Satan’s rebellion occurred before Adam and Eve existed and the Devil has rebelled ever since, leading people astray and challenging God at every opportunity. Could this be true? Is this what the Bible teaches us to believe? Or is there a different Bible truth?
What is the Devil? Defining the key players
Devil (Gr Diabolos) means ‘false accuser’ or ‘slanderer’. It is mentioned only 4 times in the Old Testament as a Satyr (idol) and 122 times in the New Testament. Devil(s) is a personal term used to identify man’s sinful tendency. Some examples are: James 1:13-15, 1 John 3:8, James 4:1-4, Eph. 2:3, 4:22,27, Heb. 2:14, 4:15
Angels (Gr aggelos) are God’s ‘messengers’. Mentioned over 300 times in Scripture, they are immortal (Luke 20:36), sinless (Heb. 1:6, 14, Ps. 89:5-8, Ps. 103:21) and always do God’s will (Luke 22:43, Matt. 26:53, Num. 22:22). If angels could sin, then personal guardian angels could also rebel and sin today and we’d be in trouble! Also, since believers will become like angels in the Kingdom (Luke 20:36), we will also not be able to sin then.
Satan (Gr Satanas) means ‘adversary’ or ‘opposition’ and is mentioned 57 times in Scripture. It is a term used to describe people (1 Kgs. 5:4, Matt. 16:23, 1 Cor. 5:5), an obedient angel (Num. 22:22-32) and even God himself (compare 1 Chron. 21:1 & 2 Sam. 24:1 where God is an adversary to David). Satan can refer to a source of temptation, opposition to truth and rightness, or a hostile power (Mark 1:13, Acts 26:18, Rom. 16:20, 1 Tim. 5:15, Rev. 2:9, 3:9)
Demon (Gr Daimonion)is a NT term used to describe illnesses, similar to how we might say, “He has a bug.” Each time Jesus healed someone of an illness, it was described as ‘casting out spirits’ (Matt. 8:16-17, Mark 5:2-13, Luke 9:38-42). ‘Evil Spirits’ is an OT term often used as an obedient angel of God doing God’s will, in a way that may seem evil to us (Judges 9:23, 1 Sam. 16:24-16, 18:10, 1 Kgs. 22:23, Ps 78:49; 2 Sam. 24:15-16).
Where did the Devil come from? Just look in the mirror!
This is a major problem for any who believe that the Devil is a fallen angel, because the Bible does not identify when the Devil first sinned. Some will quote Lucifer from Is. 14:12-15 or Ezek. 28:2-10, but the context of both passages clearly indicate that those prophesies are about the current human leader who seeks to act like God. So, where does the Devil come from? Rev. 12:9 gives a big hint by telling us that “the old serpent” in Gen. 3 is equated with the devil and Satan. Other scriptures (John 8:44-45, 2 Cor. 11:2) fill in the blanks to tell us that, metaphorically, the serpent in Genesis became the symbol of the devil or Satan. So, the serpent figuratively became the devil, the devil did not pre-exist Eden and become (or possess) the Serpent. The serpent, being an animal, could not have sinned, but Paul does say that, “the serpent deceived Eve” (2 Cor. 11:3) and that “sin came into the world through one man....Adam” (Rom. 5:12-14).
There is a reason for the absence of the Devil or Satan for the first 3,000 years of Bible history. About 600 B.C. the Jewish people were deported to Babylon, where the Jewish faith was corrupted by Zorastrianism - an Eastern religion that believed in Dualism. This was, and still is, a false doctrine that teaches there is a conflict between One great God of Good vs. One great God of Evil. People on Earth were seen to be pawns who could influence the great battle between good and evil by our actions. If people behaved well, then the God of Good (Ahura Mazdah) would overcome the God of Evil (Anra Mainyu). If people were wicked, then the God of Evil would succeed. An historian named Carter in Zoroastrianism & Judaism wrote: "The parallel between Satan and Anra or Angro Mainyu is obvious...The conception of a personal spirit of evil who is hostile to Yahweh was a growth...the development of a system of demons with names and evil functions such as the Jews came to hold, they were probably borrowed from the Persian religion. The conception of Satan in Zechariah, Psalms and Job we probably may attribute to foreign influence." Other historians confirm this logical conclusion as well.
How did Jesus kill the Devil?
Hebrews 2:14 says, "Forasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the Devil." Jesus defeated the Devil many times during his ministry, but Hebrews says that our Lord destroyed the Devil through his own death or sacrifice. It means that the Devil is dead to Jesus because he overcame sin and all temptation, he no longer is subject to "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). Any other way to read Heb. 2:14 leads to problems. The text says that the Devil had the power of death, yet the weight of scripture assures us that only God our Father has this ability (Deut. 32:39, John 10:28, Job 2:6). If a fallen-angel Devil had the power of death, then every person on earth would have no chance of overcoming such power and authority. We really could blame the Devil by saying, "The devil made me do it!"
Heb. 2:14 naturally fits the rest of scripture when read as Jesus’ triumph over his own human nature. His obedience to an agonizing death meant ultimate victory over his own human desires, as he said, "thy will be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus overcame sin by being sinless despite "being tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin" (Heb 4:15). That's how he destroyed the devil within him. 1 John 3:8 adds, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (which is sin). Jesus killed the devil and we can too!
Are we still tempted by the Devil?
Absolutely, as long as we live in the flesh. We read below a few of the many passages that describe evil and temptation as coming from within each one of us:
- "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9)
- "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man." (Matt. 15:19-20)
- "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin." (James 1:13-15)
- "Let not SIN therefore reign in your mortal bodies...Do not yield your members to SIN...You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of SIN, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness....You were slaves of SIN....But now that you have been set free from SIN and have become slaves of God..." (Rom. 6: 12-22)
- Other verses include: Gen 6:5, Mark 7:21-23, Rom. 1:29-30, Eph. 4:17-19, Gal. 5:19-21
How can we overcome the Devil?
Since Jesus overcame the Devil by perfect obedience (Heb. 5:8-9), we are commanded to follow Him and "resist the Devil that he may flee from you" (James 4:7). 1 John 1:7 concludes: "but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." We are called to kill the devil within us by resisting temptations to sin and fill our time as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Not by blaming a powerful fallen-angel when we fail and sin. But, unlike Adam and Eve in the garden, we are called to be fully accountable for our sins and to own up to our need for salvation from our own sinful flesh. We can't do it alone, but by the grace of God we can kill the Devil within us and be on the road to everlasting life.
Additional references: Is. 45:7, Amos 3:6, Deut. 32:39, Ezek. 6:10, Job 42:11, Matt. 26:53, Num. 22:22,32, 2 Sam. 19:22, Rev. 2:13, 1 Cor. 5:5, 1 Tim. 1:20, Rev. 20:2-7, Rom. 6:23, 7:17, 23, 8:2-3
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