Interesting, (the whole post is interesting).
Good points, worthy of consideration.
But why did Jesus talk about the devil as if he were an actual person?
(You belong to your father, the devil (διαβόλου
, and you want to carry out your father's desire.) John 8:44 STRONGS NT 1228: διάβολος
1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of languages,
to another the interpretation of languages. (11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually
as He wills.
Consider the RSV which translates as:
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from the evil one: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Then read trhe actual Greek:
Mat 6:13 και μη εισενεγκης ημας εις πειρασμον αλλα ρυσαι ημας
απο του πονηρου
The RSV has not given us the phrase "The Evil One" in plain unchallengeable Roman letters. "The Evil" comes out boldly enough, in Roman type, but then there is a falter, and the word
"one", which is the pith of the alteration
in italics.
"Why introduce such words at all if they are not in the original?"
In Genesis we find him a serpent
an animal. We say, "Here is the tempter, but where is the devil?" The narrative gives as nothing but the serpent.
To add the devil to the serpent is to go beyond the record; For it condems the serpent forever as an animal Gen 3:14 upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat
all the days of thy life:a pagan graft upon a simple and reasonable and divine narrative.
It is authentically recorded (and Peter commends the record to our confidence) that
a dumb ass was enabled to speak in rebuke of the madness of Balaam (Num. 22:28), so why is there more nor less difficulty about the serpent.
To give Adam and Eve an opportunity for obedience of this sort,
or to terminate and set aside the obedience, the serpent provided the test. It was a divine arrangement with a divine object. The same principle was afterwards illustrated when "God did tempt Abraham" (Gen. 22:1)
But then, who is the devil? (James 1:14), But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.16
Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Rev. 12:7-10 is next put forward, but reading it as we are in the book itself directed to read, the scene changes altogether."I will show thee things
which must be hereafter" (Rev. 4:1), on which there arises the obvious reflection that if it was a representation
of things future to John's day, it cannot be a history of something long before John's day. This is sufficient of itself to dispose of the passage as a proof of the popular "Devil and Satan".
"Here is the mind which hath wisdom" ( 17:9) "The seven heads are seven mountains (or hills) on which the woman sitteth, and (an additional meaning) there are seven kings (sovereigntiesforms of sovereign power, succeeding each other on the seven hills), five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come.... And the ten horns are TEN KINGS which have received no kingdom as yet . . . " "The woman which thou sawest
is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth". Was there a great city in this position in John's day? How about ROME?
Here is a clue...Thus the dragon as a whole
is a political symbolthe symbol of a constitution of the things among the nations of the eartha constitution having its centre in Rome.
Now it is this symbol which is labelled THAT OLD SERPENT, the DEVIL and SATAN, which deceiveth the whole world".
How could being killed by the devil kill the devil? Heb. 2:14
And how if he killed the devil, can the devil in that case be still alive;
and how are we to understand the devil having the power of death in view of the fact that
the power of death rests with God, and with God only, who inflicts it at His pleasure?
(Deut. 32:39).
"Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world" (Gal. 1:3, 4). It was to be made conditional upon a recognition and submission to what was accomplished in Christ. "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins" (Acts 13:38).
1 Tim. 3:11, where the wives of the deacons are forbidden to be
slanderers διαβολους (why then is the word in the original elsewhere rendered Devil).
Parkhurst in his Lexicon, tells us that diabolos διαβολους (the word translated devil) is a compound of dia through, and ballo to cast, and means to dart or strike through; hence,
to slander, to utter falsehood maliciously, to speak lies. for purposes of understanding, is best to be read in English as The Liar,
The διαβολους Slanderer, or The Accuser; and then the way lies open to ask, A man committs sin from sheer wickedness to get some good for himself. The good he seeks cannot come of it.
Hence, sin universally is a lie, and, when personified, is a liar.
Hence, the statement "he that denieth that Jesus"..and "You belong to your father, the devil (διαβόλου
, and you want to carry out your father's desire.)" John 8:44 STRONGS NT 1228: διάβολος
1Jn 2:22
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
"The Lord stirred up an adversary (A SATAN) unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite" (1 Kings 11:14). "Lest in the battle, he (David) be an adversary (A SATAN) to us" (1 Sam. 29:4).
"There is neither adversary (Satan) nor evil occurrent " (1 Kings 5:4).
There are New Testament instances, such as where Jesus addresses Peter as "Satan" when he opposed Christ's submission to death (Matt. 16:23):
and where Pergamos, the headquarters of the enemies of truth, is described as Satan's seat (Rev. 2:13). The adversary entering into Judas (John 13:27) leads us to inquire,
What adversary ?
"It were good for that man", said Jesus "that he had not been born", showing that
the sin of Christ's betrayal was charged upon the man Judas (not a supernatural being).
(Acts 5:3). Ananias and Sapphira went into the presence of the apostles
with a lie on their lips; Peter said, "Ananias, why hath
Satan filled thine heart
to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" The meaning of Satan filling the heart crops out in the next sentence but one; "Why hast
thou conceived this thing in thine heart?"
(verse 4); also in Peter's address to Sapphira who came in three hours after Ananias. Peter said unto her, "How is it that
ye have agreed together to tempt the spirit of the Lord?" (verse 9).
But supposing we had not been thus informed that
the lie of Ananias was due to a compact with his wife, from selfish motives, to misrepresent the extent of their property, we should have had no difficulty in understanding that Satan filling the heart
was the impulse of the flesh, which is the
great Satan.
Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies . . . (Matt. 15 :19).
By man came death (1 Cor. 15:21).
The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
Sin hath reigned unto death (Rom. 5:21). Sin bringeth forth death (Jas. 1:15).
Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. . .
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Rom.
8:5-9, 12-14).
Bible Teaching Concerning The Devil and Satan
