The Devil

Satan (a.k.a. the devil, Lucifer, star of the morning, son of the dawn, prince of the power of the air, god of this world, the great dragon, the serpent of old, the anointed cherub, etc.) is smarter than any believer and is therefore a super genius by human standards. Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; Eph. 2:2; John 8:44; 1 John 3:8.

““How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’“ (Isaiah 14:12-17, NASB)

“in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2, NASB)

““You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44, NASB)

“the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8, NASB)

His name Lucifer means “great shining light” or “star of the morning” or “son of the dawn”, etc. Isaiah 14:12.

““How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12, NASB)

The devil is the ruler of this world. Luke 4:5-7; John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2.

“And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”“ (Luke 4:5-7, NASB)

““Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” (John 12:31, NASB)

““I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;” (John 14:30, NASB)

“and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” (John 16:11, NASB)

“in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4, NASB)

The devil’s strategy regarding the unbeliever is to keep them unsaved. 2 Cor. 4:3-4; Luke 8:12; 2 Thess. 2:9-10.

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, NASB)

““Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.” (Luke 8:12, NASB)

“that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, NASB)

The devil’s strategy with regard to nations is to make them go international and knock out the four divine institutions of Volition, Marriage, Family, and Nationalism. Rev. 12:9; Rev. 20:3; Rev. 20:8.

“and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.” (Revelation 20:3, NASB)

“and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.” (Revelation 20:8, NASB)

The devil’s strategy is to keep accusing the believer. Jesus Christ is the believer’s advocate. Rev. 12:9-10; Zech. 13:1-2; 1 John 2:1.

“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:9-10, NASB)

““In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.” (Zechariah 13:1-2, NASB)

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;” (1 John 2:1, NASB)

The devil’s strategy is to keep believers from the Word of God. 1 Tim. 4:1; Eph. 4:17-18; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Chron. 21:1.

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” (1 Timothy 4:1, NASB)

“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;” (Ephesians 4:17-18, NASB)

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3, NASB)

“Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.” (1 Chronicles 21:1, NASB)

The devil’s strategy is to frustrate the will of God operationally in James 4:7, geographically in 1 Thessalonians 2:18, and mentally in Ephesians 2:1-3.

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7, NASB)

“For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:18, NASB)

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Ephesians 2:1-3, NASB)

The devil’s strategy is to encourage all to worry. 1 Peter 5:7-9.

“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:7-9, NASB)

The devil’s strategy is to obscure occupation with Christ with the details of life. The details of life take the place of occupation with Christ. 1 Kings 19:10; Jer. 17:4; Heb. 13:5-6.

“He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”“ (1 Kings 19:10, NASB)

“And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance That I gave you; And I will make you serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger Which will burn forever.” (Jeremiah 17:4, NASB)

“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”“ (Hebrews 13:5-6, NASB)

The devil’s strategy is to get believers involved with social gospel improvement deals. The devil’s strategy is also to get believers to fear death. Heb. 2:14-15.

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14-15, NASB)

Religion is the devil’s creation, his ace trump and a counterfeit system. In religion, man attempts to gain the approval of God purely by man’s own efforts. In Christianity, God provides everything through His grace. The devil trains false teachers to advance idolatry (Hab. 2:18-19), to promote self-righteousness (Matt. 7:15), to court believers (Gal. 4:17-18; 2 Tim. 3:5-7), to appeal to your ego (2 Cor. 10:12), and to promote legalism (1 Tim. 1:6-7).

““What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols. “Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.” (Habakkuk 2:18-19, NASB)

““Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15, NASB)

“They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them. But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable manner, and not only when I am present with you.” (Galatians 4:17-18, NASB)

“holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:5-7, NASB)

“For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.” (2 Corinthians 10:12, NASB)

“For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.” (1 Timothy 1:6-7, NASB)

Satan never gives up. He will always have a false system. 1 John 4:1.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1, NASB)