Is There a Devil?
Is there a devil? Yes, but not the grotesque monster in which many people believed fifty and more years ago, and in which many still believe today. Nor is the devil a ‘fallen angel’ as some others would suggest.
The fact that there is a devil is certain because the Bible frequently refers to it; indeed, we are told that Christ came primarily to destroy the devil and his works: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The apostle Paul writes, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14,15).
If we try to apply this passage to the old orthodox idea, we are faced with a number of difficulties. For example, to take on the weakness of flesh and blood was a strange way of preparing to fight a powerful immortal devil. We would have thought it necessary to have divine power in its fullest sense to achieve this victory. Again, was it not strange that the process of destroying the devil should be by submitting to death? Surely, to destroy such a superhuman monster, as the devil is to be generally understood, would require life in its fullest most powerful form?
The simplest answer to this question is that Jesus came to destroy sin, and the punishment inflicted by God in consequence of sin that is death. He destroyed sin in himself when he led a blameless life of obedience to God, and by his death he offered up the perfect sacrifice. As a result he was raised from the dead to live for ever, thus opening the way through which the rest of mankind can obtain the same victory.
Sin and death entered the world by Adam’s disobedience in the beginning, when Eve was tempted, not by a superhuman monster, but by a serpent (Gen 3:1-14; 2 Cor 11:3). All the passages in the Bible which are supposed to indicate that the devil came into existence by the rebellion of an archangel who was, in consequence, expelled from heaven, and who is now using his god-like power in opposition to God, can be shown by their context to refer to other matters altogether. Here are two examples:
Isaiah speaks of “Lucifer, son of the morning” who, in the language of metaphor, “fell from heaven”. He was the king of Babylon, a man who ruled the nations, as can be seen from looking at the whole passage and comparing the verses (Isaiah 14:12,14,4,6,16,12).
The war in heaven of which we read in the book of Revelation, and in which Michael prevailed over the great red dragon, labelled “the Devil and Satan”, and expelled him from heaven (Revelation 12:3-9), was a prophetic forecast, in symbol, of events that would take place in the Roman Empire.
The opening of Revelation 4 clearly shows that the events described in the book were to take place in the future. This symbolic dragon was, therefore, ‘cast out’ some time after the resurrection of Christ. It is a symbolic description of the Fall of the Roman Empire and is further amplified in Revelation ch17. In the same way that we would not expect to take literally a description of a woman clothed with the sun (Revelation 12:1), so we should not take literally the description of the dragon.
Devil - is a Greek word diabolos. It is only found in the New Testament and should always be translated slanderer or accuser. Because the translators were familiar with the medieval superstition of an evil monster, they chose not to translate this word in this way and in doing so, gave the false idea there was nothing supernatural about this evil force. In reality the word simply refers to the evil desires which are in each of us and that cause us to do wrong or to be against that which is right – as will be seen in the following references:
Revelation 2:10 – the devil here means the people who would put the disciples in prison.
John 6:70 – Judas had an evil desire to get 30 pieces of silver.
1 Peter 5:8 – the devil represents those men who opposed the teaching of Christ.
Satan – is a Hebrew word and should be translated adversary and means simply someone who is against. An adversary can be either good or bad. God is called Satan in Numbers 22:22. This is translated adversary in the Authorised Version and by the word opposed in the New International Version.
Peter was a Satan in Matthew 16:23.
The Satan in the beginning of the book of Job was an adversary to Job, and God allowed this adversary to test Job (Job 1:12).
A correct understanding of this subject dispels any fear of a war between supernatural forces of good and evil, with us caught in the middle. There is no possibility that evil may overcome good. God is in control of all things. There is no power that can adversely affect God. God controls both the good and the bad things that happen to us (Isaiah 45:5-7). In the ultimate sense of our eternal salvation, God has promised that He will never try us above that which we can bear (1 Cor 10:13). It is important to realise this.
Whenever the word devil or satan occurs we should use the word slanderer, false accuser or adversary and the meaning becomes clear.
We are tempted, as James says, “When by our own evil desire, we are dragged away and enticed” (James 1:14 NIV). If we are tempted to do wrong we know that the temptation comes from within us. We are fooling ourselves if we think we can blame some outsider or monster. James continues “After desire has conceived it gives birth to sin”. If we give way to our temptations we sin: we cannot blame some other evil force. If we are taken to court for our wrongdoing, the judge will sentence us, not a supernatural monster. James concludes, “And sin when it is full grown gives birth to death”. If we wish to escape eternal death we must overcome the power of sin which lives in each of us.
Jesus conquered the devil by overcoming the power of sin within himself. Paul tells us that the fight between good and evil is not a war in heaven, but a war within ourselves (Romans 7:21:25) Jesus shared our human nature so that he might conquer it. He overcame its evil influence throughout his life and because of that, he rose from the grave to live for evermore. We can have our sins covered and enjoy life for ever if we become baptised into Christ and try in our lives to copy his example and to overcome the power of sin that is within all of us.
“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
