"The entrance of thy words giveth light (Psalm 119:130)."
Who is the Devil?
There really is a devil. The devil or Satan was created by God as an angel of enormous prestige and responsibility. The Bible tells his story: "You (Satan) were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." "You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I (God) ordained you (Ezekiel 28:11, 14 NIV)." “You were blameless in all your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you (Ezekiel 28:15 NIV).”
The Bible details how Satan fell from grace: "Your (Satan's) heart became proud on account of your beauty and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I (God) threw you to the earth . . . (Ezekiel 28:17 NIV)." "So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, oh guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones (Ezekiel 28:16 NIV)."
Satan had rebelled against God. As a result, he forfeited his exalted position as a guardian cherub. And he now faces a severe future punishment as a result of his rebellion: He will be "tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10 NIV)."
Although Satan was once good, such is no longer the case: Now he seeks only "to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10 NIV)." And he's angry, as you might expect, with such a dramatic change in fortune: "Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time (Revelation 12:12 NASB)."
The devil now "leads the whole world astray (Revelation 12:9 NIV)." He is a master of deception.
The devil does continue to have access to God (Job 1:6): He is "the accuser of our brothers (Christians), who accuses them before our God day and night (Revelation 12:10 NIV)."
Satan is not the only adversary of Christians. There also are a multitude of demons. See the next topic.
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