A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (NLT)
When Christians talk about the devil, some conclude that he is a figment of their imagination. A bad guy in contrast to Jesus who is the good guy. And it is true that there are rather weird ideas of the devil. Perhaps some horned creature with red eyes holding a pitchfork.
In truth, we can’t form any precise picture. There is suggestion in the Scriptures that he is a spiritual being who rebelled against God who is the supreme spiritual being. He set up some sort of opposition party to God’s government of his world. Just as there are good angelic beings, he is a bad angelic being.
What can’t be denied is that those who follow Jesus have an enemy, however we picture him. He is out to dehumanise us, to seduce us into following apparently good and reasonable paths which yet lead to destruction.
He is also known as “Satan”, which literally means accuser. He is the one who points the finger at us telling us we have blown our last chance of redemption. Or he can pursue another effective strategy: puffing us up so we imagine ourselves to be self-sufficient and independent of God.
He will persist with his attacks till God finally gets rid of him. Till then, we resist his power by turning to the one with even greater power.
Blessings,
David
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