The Devil is Real!

Posted on October 27, 2016 · Posted in Bible Truth, Our Adversary

The Devil is Real!  People may laugh at the very idea of a personal devil, yet they cannot explain all the evil in the world.  Because they do not believe in the existence of the devil, or in a real place called Hell, they also think that everyone is going to Heaven.  If something is true, it will not matter whether you believed it when you stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to give an account of yourself on earth.

The Bible is God’s Word, and it teaches that the devil is real.  If you don’t believe what God says, you won’t understand that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.  You will not perceive the destroyer at work behind the scenes who uses people even if they don’t believe in him.

He who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.  This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are.  Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.  1 John 3:8, 10

The devil is an evil, wicked spirit and the source of all human misery.  He has many names:  Satan, Beelzebub, the evil one, prince of this world, father of lies, murderer, slanderer, schemer, the accuser, serpent, and dragon.  A dragon is a dangerous monster, and a serpent implies poisonous qualities.  Satan means “enemy” or “adversary,” and his names describe who he is.  He is an enemy of God and His followers.

Unlike God who has always existed, the devil is a created being.  Though he is very powerful, God has set limits on him.  Only God has power over the devil. 

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.  Acts 10:38

Satan’s Rebellion Against God

Did you know that the very first war began in heaven?  Sometime after God created Satan and before the creation of mankind, Satan rebelled against God, and he took one-third of the angels with him.  These angels are now called demons.

And there was a war in heaven.  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent, called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.  He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.   “But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you!  He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.”  Revelation 12:7-9, 12

The war against God on earth continues today in the conflict between good and evil.  We are living in the last days, so Satan’s work has become more intense.  There is no neutral ground.  Whose side are you on?

The Bible tells us that the rebellion began because Satan became proud and tried to take the place of God.  Pride is therefore called the original sin.

You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.  So, I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.  Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.  So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.  Ezekiel 28:14-17

The Bible describes Satan’s arrogance and determined self-will to rule in God’s place.

You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.  Isaiah 14:13-14

Satan’s rebellion continues in the hearts of those who unwittingly follow him.  All rebellion against the will of God is called sin.  When we take the place of God and live to please ourselves, we reject God’s right as our Creator to rule our lives.  The war for hearts and minds will continue until Jesus Christ returns to earth again.

The First Temptation

Sometime after God removed Satan from heaven, the devil continued his rebellion against God by taking the form of a beautiful serpent in the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve to disobey God.  God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they would die spiritually and then physically.  Both Adam and Eve ate, and sin and death entered the world just as God said.

Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.  The woman told God, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  So, the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals.”  Genesis 3:1, 13-14

Eve believed the devil’s lies and gave in to temptation, and Adam willfully chose to follow Eve instead of obeying the Word of the Lord.  The temptation is not the sin.  It is acting on the temptation that gives life to sin.  Adam and Eve sinned against God when they disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree.

Today, Satan and his followers continue to deceive the unsuspecting by cloaking himself in religion.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.   And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.  Their end will be what their actions deserve.  2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Satan is behind all temptation to sin.  Jesus defeated the devil’s temptation by knowing and believing the Word of God.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!  For it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”  Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.  Matthew 4:1, 10-11

Like Jesus, you too can defeat Satan’s temptations by knowing and believing the Word of God.  Satan wins when you are too busy to read and study the Bible and too busy to pray, so with God’s help make these a priority.

Some examples of temptation:  Satan tempts you to question God’s goodness, especially in trying circumstances●You are tempted to doubt God’s ability to help you when you look at your problems rather than trusting in God’s sufficiency.  ●The devil entices you to find the things of this world more attractive than following God.  ●You are tempted to neglect prayer, Bible study, and church.  ●You are tempted to believe that you can continue to sin against God without repentance and never pay a price.  Satan’s goal is for you to believe his lies, so you will worship and follow him and not God. 

Jesus told his disciples:  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”  Matthew 26:41

Trust God alone to resist the temptation to sin against God.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  1 Corinthians 10:13

Satan is a Defeated Foe

Jesus told His disciples: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”  Luke 10:18

The Lord is Almighty God, the supreme authority in the universe.  Nothing God created will ever be superior to Him, and surely not Satan!  God cursed Satan in the Garden of Eden, and He revealed His plan for man’s redemption from sin.

The Lord God told Satan:  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.  Genesis 3:15

After Adam and Eve sinned, God promised that Satan would be defeated by one of the woman’s future offspring.  The New Testament reveals that the promised Messiah was God’s Son, Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary.  The critical blow to Satan came when Jesus Christ shed His sinless blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  His defeat was assured when God raised Him from the dead three days later. Only in Christ Jesus do we have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to defeat sin.

Jesus said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.  But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.  He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.  John 12:31-33

Satan is still the believer’s very dangerous enemy on earth, so you must depend on God’s strength and not trust in yourself to defeat him.  When Jesus Christ returns to earth to judge, the devil will one day be thrown into Hell forever, along with his followers.

Hell is a Real Place

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  Matthew 10:28

Many people believe that when they die that is it, but the Bible teaches that those who refuse Jesus’ offer of salvation while living on earth die in their sins.  They will be tormented day and night forever in Hell along with the devil, and all who rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Jesus taught about the final judgment.

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.  Then He will say to those on His left,Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  Matthew 25:31-33, 41, 45-46

The Bible is clear:  Let those who love the Lord hate evil.  Jesus warns us to take God seriously by not cherishing our sins.  Believers trust the power of the Holy Spirit to put away sin.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”  Mark 9:43-48

Hell is a place of eternal torment with unquenchable fire, but God loves you and wants to give you eternal life.  Will you believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sin?  Whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life.  Is Jesus your Savior?

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.  Acts 4:12

Choose Life in Christ

Every person born was created by God and must decide whom they will serve while on earth.

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.  But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:14-15

By faith, believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin, and trust Him alone for your salvation.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Romans 16:20

Is Jesus Your Savior?

The Accuser

Why Do They Hate Us?

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Week 1:  Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-15; 2 Kings 6:15-17; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10; Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 6:16-19; 8:13, 17; 16:4-5; Isaiah 14:9-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Zechariah 3:1-4; Matthew 1:20-25; 4:1-11; 10:28; 12:22-28, 33-37; 13:36-43; 16:18, 21-23; 23:1, 33; 25:31-33, 41-46; 26:41; Mark 9:43-48

Week 2:   Luke 4:1-15, 31-37; 8:11-12; 10:17-20; 16:13-15, 19-31; 22:3-6, 31-32; John 3:16-21; 5:24, 28-29; 6:70; 8:12, 23-24, 42-47; 10:10; 12:31-33; 14:6, 30-31; 16:7-11, 33; 17:15-16; Acts 4:12; 5:1-4; 10:37-43; 13:4-12; 26:15-18; Romans 2:5-16; 5:12-14; 6:8-14, 22-23; 8:1-14, 38-39; 14:12; 16:20

Week 3:  1 Corinthians 7:1-5; 10:6-13; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11; 4:4; 11:3, 13-15; Galatians 1:3-4; 5:19-21; Ephesians 2:1-10; 4:17-27; 5:1-21; 6:10-18; Colossians 1:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18; 3:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12; 2:1-12; 3:1-5; 1 Timothy 3:1, 6-7; 5:14-15; 2 Timothy 2:15, 19, 24-26; 3:1-5; Titus 2:11-14

Week 4:  Hebrews 2:14-18; 3:12-13; 4:14-16; 9:22, 27; James 1:13-15; 2:18-20, 26; 3:6-7, 14-16; 4:4-7, 17; 1 Peter 4:1-7; 5:8-11; 2 Peter 2:4-10; 1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-6, 12-17, 20-26; 15-17; 3:4-10; 4:1-7, 13; 5:18-19; Jude:6-10, Revelation 2:9-13, 24-25; 3:9-10; 12:7-13, 17; 13:1-9; 16:13-16; 20:1-3, 7-15, 21:5-8