Jesus came into the world as the incarnate Son of God to accomplish more than one thing. This book explores the doctrine of angels and demons, answering key questions about their nature and the implications for Christians’ beliefs and behavior. 5:9): “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” There are Christian brothers and sisters in non-western parts of the world are experiencing the roaring lion as I write. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Peter has persecution for the faith in mind as the next verse shows (1 Pet. Peter uses a startling metaphor in application to the devil (1 Pet. However, there is another guise that is not subtle at all. I once heard a pastor who had been imprisoned by the communist regime in the Soviet days say that the DD degree can stand for Doctor of Divinity or Doctor of Darkness. False teaching, false gospel, and false teachers still persist and trouble the churches. These “deceitful workmen” are agents of the great deceiver. Paul is writing about the danger of false teachers who disguise themselves as “apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. The apostle Paul warns the Corinthians that the devil can disguise himself as “an angel of light” (2 Cor. It is worshipping the creature rather than the creator (Rom. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” This appears to be the devil’s ultimate motivation: the desire to be worshipped. Respecting the last idea of the three, the devil’s tempting of Jesus in the wilderness climaxes with this invitation (Matthew 4:8–9): “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. It has been said that the world says to us, Conform to me!, the flesh says to us, Satisfy me!, and the devil says to us, Worship me! There is biblical evidence to support each of these. In some Christian circles, devilish power, knowledge, and presence are inflated. Regarding omnipotence-no angel, ruler or power can separate the believer from the love of Christ (Rom. Regarding omniscience-angels, and we can safely surmise fallen angels also, do not know the day and hour of the return of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:36). Regarding omnipresence-demons can leave a man and enter pigs (Mark 5:13). Satan and demons are powerful spirits, but they are not omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent. Satan and his demonic entourage have limitations. Read on your preferred digital device, including smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. Take a 1-minute survey to join our mailing list and receive a free ebook in the format of your choosing. Get a free copy of the ebook ‘The Whole Armor of God’ by telling us a little bit about yourself! 6:15) adversary (1 Peter 5:8), deceiver (Rev. Erickson 1 provides a handy summary of them: “Several other terms are used of him less frequently: tempter (Matt. Scripture has a number of titles in addition to “Satan” and “devil” that sum him up. So, he was defeated by an archangel (Rev.12:7). Michael and his angels defeat him and his angels in battle. Was he a cherub gone wrong or was he an archangel gone wrong? We do not know for sure. Demons are not ministering spirits, but spoilers. What we do know is that Satan leads an army of rebellious angels (Rev. However, Scripture is addressed to us and not to angels. How much more we would like to know about all this. Later in Scripture, the devil is described as “that ancient serpent” (Rev. The serpent questioned God’s goodness by insinuating that God was withholding something good from his human images. The serpent came into the garden from the outside and with evil intent (Gen. Sometimes our theology textbooks state that sin first came into the world with the sin in the garden, but already there was a fall before the human fall. This article is part of the 10 Things You Should Know series.
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