Is the devil real?

Are the devil and demons real?  Whether you believe it or not, they are real!  The devil is a powerful, evil spiritual being.  In Genesis he is the serpent or snake.  In Revelation he is referred to as the dragon.  Other names for him are Lucifer and Satan.  He is also called the destroyer, the enemy, evil spirit, the deceiver, the tempter, the accuser, the morning star, the angel of light, Beelzebub, the father of lies, the prince of darkness, and the prince of this world.

Satan was created by God, but is not equal to God. (Prov. 16:4)  We learn about him in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14.  Lucifer was God’s chief cherub angel which is the highest ranking angel.  He had beauty, wisdom and talent.  God gave him a certain amount of power and authority, but he perverted that power.  He was filled with jealousy and pride and rebelled against God.  He wanted to be greater than God.  He sinned against God and was cast out of the presence of the Lord for eternity.  In Revelation 12:4, 9 we learn that 1/3 of all the angels were cast out with him.  Lucifer became Satan and the fallen angels became demons.  His fallen angels are called demons, evil spirits, and angels of the devil. 

Satan is a spirit and evil spirits serve and follow him.  He is out to deceive and devour everyone.  God gave him limited power.  He can only be at one place at a time.  He is not omnipresent like God.  He will never die and there is nothing you can do to destroy him.  Only God can and will destroy him when Jesus returns.  He is not sovereign like God.  He only rules over demons.  He is not omniscient.  He doesn’t know everything (1 Peter 1:12)

Satan is an imitator and always wanted to be worshiped like God.  He can mask himself as a messenger of God.  He is a liar.  John 8:44 tell us that he is the father of lies.  He should never be trusted or believed.  He lied to Eve to get her to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Satan is a murderer.  He is a sinner which is his nature.  He is a tempter.  He tempted Christ in the wilderness in Matthew 4.  He will try to tempt you.  His goal is to tempt every believer and pull them away from God.  He does this by causing the believer to doubt God.  He cause them to commit idolatry, to be prideful, self-righteous, and disobedient toward God.

He is a liar, a murder and a thief.  He has no authority unless it is given to him by God.  He is a hypocrite.  He is the enemy of humanity.  He despises the truth and tries to hide the actual truth about God.  He twists Scripture of his purposes. (Gen. 3:4-5)  He is out to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10)  He tries to destroy our hope and need for God.

He causes division, destruction, deprivation and doubt.  He tries to discourages, disrupt and damage Christians.  He tries to make you feel like a failure.  He wants you to feel guilty of past sins even though God has forgiven you.  Don’t listen to him!  Stay in prayer.  Stay in God’s Word.  Stay in fellowship with other believers.  Don’t give in to temptations.  Stand firm and be alert as you wait for Christ’s return. 

“Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8.

 

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” – Mark 14:38.

I hope this post has not been too depressing, but we need to know what we are up against.  No matter the troubles in this life.  No matter how much the devil deceives and spreads evil in this world, he will be defeated.  When Christ returns, He will throw the devil and all his followers into eternal destruction forever. (Rev. 20)  So take hope and be encouraged by this.  Evil will be defeated and Jesus Christ will reign forever.

Praises be to God!

Have a blessed day and thanks for visiting my site.  Hope to see you here again.  --  I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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