THE DEVIL

Several years ago, in attempting to justify a serious moral failure. I heard a TV evangelist claim that “the devil made me do it.” He was not the first to make that claim. The phrase was popularized by comedian Flip Wilson in the early 1970s. He used it to excuse a character’s impulsive behavior when she said, "The devil made me buy this dress!". It is possible to blame the devil for all sorts of shortcomings and failures.

We can blame the devil, and he (or she) is indeed responsible for all kinds of evil. However, we also know that one of the reasons Jesus appeared was to destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3.8), the one who sows weeds of wickedness among the people of the kingdom (Matthew 13.38-40).

Death is depicted as the “last enemy” (1 Corinthians 15.26), but does the devil (Satan) control our bad actions and even our death? Will he be responsible for our death?

Death, even without sickness or complications, is “natural” because God decided long ago that humans would live on earth only so many years (maximum around 120). The devil does not determine our lifespan.

In the NIV Bible we first find the name “Satan” in 1Chronicles 21.1 when he incited David to take a census of Israel. After that, the name Satan occurs 47 times (in my NIV version).

However, the devil, that is “Satan,” is first called “the serpent” in Genesis 3.1, and he is said to be “more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.” We know the story: the serpent talks to Eve and convinces her that she will become wise as God if she eats the fruit Eve succumbs, but the serpent is punished by God and is cursed to crawl on its belly the rest of its life. (Genesis 3.14)

Eve was said to be deceived by the “serpent’s cunning,” which Paul used as an illustration of how the Corinthians could be led astray from their “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11.3). That is just one configuration of Satan.

The Leviathan is another and is referred to as the gliding and coiling serpent, who will be killed by the Lord. (Isaiah 27.1) In the final battle, “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.” (Revelation 12.9)

Images of the devil (and there are thousands online) most often show him with horns, blank eyes, pointed ears and chin, hideous spiked teeth, a devious smile, and sometimes a disconnected mustache and goatee. He holds a pitchfork and is out to get you.

There are baby devils, women devils, animal devils, and ghost devils. The devil is, indeed “in the detail,” but should you “give the devil his due?” 

We also may hear that “better the devil you know” than the one you don’t and that “idle hands are the devil’s tools.”

You may show up unexpectedly and someone will say “speak of the devil” and you may not be the “lucky devil” that day. And if you argue against something just for fun or to test the person or argument, you are the “devil’s advocate,” perhaps not in a good position.

Although there are many additional names for the devil, including Lucifer, Abaddon, Apollyon, and so on, they represent concepts such as temptation or destruction. We may know him/her best as the “tempter,” the “adversary,” or the “accuser,” but regardless of the name, you probably have met the vile creature.

He is also called Satan when he, as the Angel of Yahweh, confronts Balaam on his donkey. We perhaps know him best as the agitator of Job, but he is also called the “Prince and power of the air” in Ephesians 2.2. He is everywhere, looking for ways to disrupt the plans of God and he can disguise himself as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11.14) when, in fact, he is the “prince of darkness.”

He is deceptive, inhabiting false teachers, who claim to represent God. However, Satan was removed from heaven and thrown down to earth (Revelation 12.7-9 and Jude 6), so as Christians we must be aware of his presence and purposes.

We should know our enemy because as the adage says, “better the devil you know that he devil you don’t” and it is not wise to “deal with the devil.”

We are therefore warned in 1 Peter 5 8 that we should be “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” We are dealing with a mean beast and only Jesus can handle him. We are assured that: “the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever.” (1 Peter 5.10-11)

Karl Franklin