Nemrod, the son of Cush, or Bar-Cush.  The name was converted to Bacchus, the Greek idol of wine.

The Tergum of Jerusalem says that Nemrod was mighty in hunting and in evil-doing equally, since he hunted people and told them to flee the government of God and pledge allegiance to Nemrod.(37).

Such as what he will do with another rebellious, the last one, i.e. the beast, the chief chieftain of the returning Roman Empire, reincarnated. (Rev 13: 2-8).

In Phoenicia (Lebanon) it was called “Adon” or “Adonise”.  In Ammon (Jordan) it was called “Molok” or “Molkom”, in Moab (Jordan) it was called “Camush”, in Ashur and Babel (Iraq) it was called “Beel”, In Aram (Syria) it was called “Hadad”, and in Egypt it was called “Ra.”

There is an obelisk still existing in Cairo, Egypt, in a place ugh called Ein Shams (The Eye of the Sun).  This place is most probably named like this to glorify the sun. 

The ancient Egyptians called every day of the week the name of one of the planets(40).  This nomenclature is still used in the European languages, as well as in India, every day of the week was named after one of the pagan gods(41).  This gives a clear picture of how poganism was deeply embedded in the daily life of mankind since ancient times.  Sunday, the first day of the week, is named after the sun, Monday after the moon, Tuesday was dedicated to Mars, the war-god in the Roman culture who is related to the god of the Anglo-Saxons called Tiw.  Wednesday is dedicated to Mercury (Mercuridi means Wednesday in French) which is related to the Anglo-Saxon god Woden.  Thursday is named after Jupiter which is related to the pagan god Thor.  Friday is assigned to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty in the Roman tradition which is a reflection of the goddess Freya of the Anglo-Saxons.  Saturday is named after Saturn(42).  This same reference can be made to the names of many of the months.

Paganism is a state of the heart.  It is possible that a person seems to be innocent and a good worshipper to God, but indeed a real pagan in his heart.  The depiction of this is vivid in Eze. 8 when God persuaded Ezekiel to enter the Temple and showed him seventy of Israel’s elders who were raising incense and kneeling before idols.  This was not literally, but according to the Word of God “every one in his chambers of imagery”, i.e. in the secret chambers of his heart.

The word ‘idols’ is translated ‘demons’ in the Septuagint in Deut. 32:17 and Ps. 106:36, 37 … etc.

The word Carnival, is derived from two Latin words, ‘Caro’, meaning flesh, where the English word Carnal is also derived; and the word ‘leavar’ which means ‘to leave’.  In those Carnivals, therefore, complete liberty is left to the flesh.  That is probably why men and women, in that day, wear whatever they wish of available masks, so they hide behind their masks and do what they please without anyone watching or to be accountable to.  The origin of these carnivals goes back to the times before Christianity, where a carnival would precede the pagan Lents.  The popes of Rome accredited these habits, surprisingly on the same occasions as before, and made it to precede the church-ordained Lents too(46).  The idea of committing any and all kinds of sin during the carnival is the proximity of going into fasting, Lent is starting the very next day, where fasting will cause all their sins to be forgiven!!

Molech is the god of the Ammons.  He was resembled by a hollow statue made of brass on the image of a person with an ox’s head, sitting on a throne and his arms erected and extended forward.  The worshippers were to lit fierce fire inside the statues hollow body until the arms reddened hot, then the human victims, of their children, were to be placed on the arms while drums sound deafeningly so they do not hear the screaming of their children while they were grilled alive(48)  (Deut. 12:31).

Contrasting the Oreb, we find the dove (Gen 8:7-9), and contrasting the Zeeb we find the lamb (Jn 10:12).  This is what we see in Christ according to Jn 1:29,32, since He is the Lamb of God upon whom the Holy Spirit had landed in the form of a dove.  If savagery and uncleanness are the clearest principles of the Devil which are embodied in paganism, holiness and meekness are the clearest Godly principles as are depicted in its most glamorous form in our Lord Christ, and also as depicted in Christianity.

Dr. Kurt Koch lists 47 different satanic practices and explains them in his book, “The Devil’s Alphabet.”

No wonder then that Manasseh, the evil king, when he indulged himself in heathendom, he also got quite deep into these devilish practices, so it was said about him, “And he built altars to all the host of heaven in both courts of the house of Jehovah. He also caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he used magic and divination and sorcery, and appointed necromancers and soothsayers: he wrought evil beyond measure in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger” (II Ch 33:5,6)

Both Germany and Great Britain were reported to have used astrology during WWII(50)!

In three consecutive times the failure of astrologers and magicians was reported in the Word of God, in Babel, itself being the cornerstone of magic and astrology (Dan 2, 4, 5).  In spite of this, humans insist on using their help instead of leaning on God.

In the thirties of the twentieth century, appeared, for the first time in England, a section dedicated to the readers of newspapers about astronomy.  From there, the practice was imitated in the entire world(52).

When the young son of David died, he said, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (II Sam. 12:23).

From this we notice that it was not the request of the repulsive king, nor it was the crafty evil practiced by the woman, which recalled Samuel.  Neither Saul nor the woman were able to have their voices heard by the spirit of Samuel in its place of comfort, much less bring it to the earth.  It is thought that it was not even something that was permitted by God, but conceivably it was a direct order given by God.  Samuel’s saying to Saul, “Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?” resembles what happens with a faithful servant whom his master arouses at midnight, to open the door for whoever is knocking at mid night.  The first words the servant utters to the late knocker would be, “why do you disrupt me out of my sleep?” even though it was the order of the master that made him rise and open the door, not the knocking at the door.(53).

Some people erroneously think that Hades is a place in the lower divides of the earth!  But studying the word of God reveals that Hades is not a place but a condition.  It is often associated with death in the Bible (I Co. 15:55; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14) which indicates its being a condition rather than a place. We notice in what was said about the rich man in Luke 16:23, that he lifted his eyes in Hades (a condition) while being in torments (a place).  Therefore, Hades is the condition in which all people exist from the moment of their death until they are resurrected and united with their souls and bodies.  For the sinful, Hades is to go to the place of torments, for the righteous it is to go to the place of comfort and condolence (presently, they go to be with Christ).  But the huge difference between the two places is not declared in the Old Testament.  The first time that difference was mentioned in the New Testament, when The Lord Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19).  It is then explained at more details in other places in the New Testament.

One of the American Encyclopedia comments, under the word “magic” that more than half the population of the world today believe that magic can have an effect on their lives.

Using the magic ring and lantern, in the famous play, Aladdin collected a huge wealth and became a Sultan.  It is noteworthy here to mention that similar legend exist in the folklore of all people of Europe, India and China(55).

Many five-star hotels avoid using the number 13 in numbering their rooms.  The room number 13 is usually named something like 12a.  Many hotels or other buildings skip the number 13 in naming their floors, or if they do use it, they do not use the entire floor for residence but dedicated to other things such as offices or stores.

How sorry I was when I heard that some of the so-called believers revert to such metaphysics while they claim that their relationship with Christ is real.  Don’t these brethren deserve the rebuke of the prophet Elijah when he said to the evil king, “Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?” (II Ki 1:3).  How far is this attitude from that of Isaac, the faithful, who, when his wife could not bear children, he prayed to God, and God responded favorably to him. (Gen 25:21)?

That is to say “something of pagan character.” Literal translation of the phrase ‘bad thing’ is ‘a word from Belial.’(57).

Satan and
the Official Systems

“The ruler of this world is judged;”  (John 16:11)
In the days of Our Lord Jesus Christ on earth, Satan took Him on top of a high mountain, and showed Him - in a moment of time - all the kingdoms of the habitable world, and said to Him, “will give thee all this power, and their glory; for it is given up to me, and to whomsoever I will I give it.” (Lk 4:5, 6).  The Lord did not deny the devil his claim of having the world given up to him.  On the contrary, Jesus confirmed this, when He said three times that the Devil is the ruler of this world (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) which leads us to understand that the world, in its present situation is indeed subject to the dominion of Satan.
Also, Christ said about the Devil that he has a kingdom (Mt. 12:26).  Moreover, the Scripture tells us that the seat (i.e., the throne) of Satan is in this world (Rev. 2:13).  Therefore, the kingdom of Satan is indeed this world.

THE KINGDOM OF SATAN AND ITS ORGANIZATION

Lord Jesus said that Satan has a kingdom and it is very-well organized (Mat. 12:25, 26).  This kingdom consists of a large number of angels who fell with him.  All of those angels are under the government of Satan, their chief (Mt. 25:41 & Rev. 12:7).  The Bible teaches us that the Devil is not omnipotent, even though he is very powerful.  Although his movement is very quick, he is not omnipresent.  In order for the Devil to guarantee authority over the entire world, he assigns certain work to everyone of his angels.  They are all, in the end, ruled by him.
The apostle Paul resembled the kingdom of the Devil to an organized army when he said, “because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the universal lords of this darkness, against spiritual [power] of wickedness in the heavenlies.” (Eph. 6:12).  The commander in chief of that army is Satan.  He moves here and there, checking the conditions and circumstances of the world everywhere.  When he appears before the throne of God he offers his report, “And Jehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:6, 7 & 2:1, 2).  Under the administration of Satan, there exist a group of chiefs “principalities”, then the sultans “authorities”, then the masters “lords” of this world, governors of darkness.  These are lower in rank consecutively, until you get to the hosts of evil spirits in the heavenly places (according to the Bible Applications Translation).
Yes, millions of angels follow the Devil in his military kingdom.  If he can dwell in one person using a whole legion {i.e., about 6000 demons (Mk 5:9), then how many are the number of these spirits which follow this enemy?

THE WORLD’S LEADERSHIPS

In order for the Devil to consolidate his grip and domination upon the entire world, he had deployed his formidable army into all parts of the earth to prevail over its peoples.  It is natural, then, that he targets world personalities, in particular, who set the politics of the nations and control their destiny.  We can deduce, from the Word of God, that behind every leader of the world, whether political or economical leader, there is a center of power that belongs to the Devil.  The apostle Paul calls these centers “principalities.”  On a lower level of these principalities there are angelic authorities, and on a yet-lower level, there are angelic lords, and so on…
The vision of Micah the son of Imlah that is reported in I Ki 22:19-22, clarifies for us the extent of Satan’s influence in the decisions taken by the kings of the world (especially regarding those decisions related to wars).  Micah says, “I saw Jehovah sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him, on his right hand and on his left; and Jehovah said: Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And one said after this manner, and another said after that manner. And there came forth a spirit , and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him. And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said: Thou shalt entice [him], and also succeed: go forth, and do so.”
From this we understand that the Devil can influence the leaders of the world and inspire them with their plans and their decisions.  This is exactly what the Devil will do with all kings of the world after the rapture of the church, since he will gather them together in Armageddon as we shall study in chapter 21 (See Rev. 16: 14-16).
If we refer to the prophecy of Daniel, chapter 10, we find in it an allusion about the realm of invisible and the spiritual powers. The profit mentions some angelic, evil principalities, such as “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” (verses 13, 20), Also “the prince of Greece” (verse 20).  With this, the prophet does not mean the human leaders of Persia and Greece, because;
First, he relates them to Michael, the chief, appointed by the Lord, to the people of Daniel, i.e. the Jews (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1); and,
Second: because this prince of Persia caused the delay of the angel sent by God to Daniel carrying a message from Heavens.  Could the prince of Persia, or any human leader whosoever, stop the movement of the angel of God in his tracks for 21 days?  Absolutely not. 
Therefore, the principalities mentioned here are meant to be the leaderships of evil angels belonging to the Devil, and appointed to the kingdoms of Persia and Greece.  On the opposite side, we see the prophet mentioning the archangel Michael, one of the chief princes, who is appointed by God to attend to the affairs of God’s earthly people, i.e., the Jews.
This chapter (Dan. 10) resembles the previously mentioned one (I Ki 22) in showing that what happens in the realm of invisible reflects visible effects on the earth.  The motion of the nations, wars and politics, as well as the issues of security, etc.  are all planned in the high realm of the invisible, and executed in the lower realm of visible.
The result of the opposition between the prince of Persia (the angelic prince in the invisible) and God’s people, resulted in a change in the policies of the kings of Persia towards this people.  Even though those kings originally showed a degree of sympathy with the Jews, represented in the call issued by King Cyrus to whoever wanted to return to Jerusalem to build a temple for God, but soon enough we find his ancestors deviate from this line.  We do not understand any reason why this deviation took place, other than being inspired by “the prince of Persia”, i.e., the Satanic lordship appointed to Persia.  We see him first delaying the arrival of the angel to Daniel 21 days, then affecting a change in the heart of the king away from sympathizing with the Jews to resenting them, so they tried to stop the building of the temple (Ezr 4), then many of the opponents appeared during the renewal and the building of Jerusalem (Ne 4).  Indeed we see them trying to annihilate the people altogether in Est 3.

THE ACTUAL POWERS OF INFLUENCE

We have seen that there exist evil powers behind all governors of the world and also behind all of the world’s influential personalities in all areas.  These powers try to influence their decisions, and, whatever happens on earth is but a reflection to what is planned in the upper realm.  We shall expand on this idea further.
In the eighty-second psalm we read Asaph saying, “God standeth in the assembly of God, he judgeth among the gods.  How long will ye judge unrighteously, and accept the person of the wicked?...I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High; But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”  Some suggest that the gods mentioned here are not only the human governors, but the meaning extends to include the spiritual powers behind them.   In this heavenly scene, where God Himself is standing amid the assembly of God, we find Him judging, not only the human rulers, but also the demonic powers behind them that influence their decisions and lead them to injustice and unrighteousness.  These powers, here, are called: gods .
The eighty-second psalm speaks essentially of the period of persecution and discrimination that will prevail upon the earth after the rapture of the church to Heavens.  It is the period called, “the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable world” (Rev. 3:10)  That is why in the conclusion of the psalm we hear the cry of the pious among the people of earth, “Arise, O God, judge the earth; for thou shalt inherit all the nations.”  This is exactly what is bound to happen when Christ rules all the earth with justice, and the saints ruling with Him.  But before then, He will punish the host of the high ones on high [considering them to be the planners], and the kings of the earth upon the earth [considering them to be the executioners]. (Isa. 24:21).  He will not only judge the evil kings on the earth, but before then, He will judge the spiritual powers influencing them , those called “the hosts of the high”, and punish them “in the high.”

A NECESSARY CAUTION

When we say that all kings and presidents and prominent personalities of the world have invisible demonic powers behind them, we do not mean to make a statement that all rulers or presidents are evil.  No doubt that there were righteous rulers in the course of history who had fear of God in their hearts and in their rule.  As a general principle, there is no dominion except from God.  The Bible teaches, “the Most High ruleth over the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Dan. 4:17), and, “For there is no authority except from God; and those that exist are set up by God” (Ro. 13:1).  So, the enunciation of Solomon, the wise, still applies, “The king’s heart in the hand of Jehovah is [as] brooks of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Pr. 21:1).
Even if some kings and rulers do not admit this source of authority, even if they never recognize this fact, the words of God still hold true, “the heavens do rule” (Dan. 4:26).  What we intend to convey here that with respect to the importance of the role of the governors in administering the affairs of the world, Satan, is trying to combat the ways of God on earth, is a lot more interested in those rulers than ordinary people .  It is conceivable that he appoints a prominent angel of his troops to stand behind each of these important human personalities to inspire them with thoughts that harmonize with his plans.  We believe that these invisible powers behind these rulers are the reason of filling them with hauteur, arrogance and pride, to the extent that some of them imagined themselves to be gods and required worship from their subjects.  We can also reason the injustice, slavery, and savagery of some rulers with the same reasoning (such as Hitler , Stalin, Mao- tsee- tong, etc..) i.e., the demonic powers behind them.  Chapter 28 of Ezekiel, speaking first about the chief of Tyre, i.e., its haughty human king, then speaking about the King of Tyre, meaning Satan himself (as we have seen in the third chapter), gives a confirmation to these ideas.

THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD, THE DEVIL

Someone may wonder, “How can it be possible that there is ultimately one person, namely the Devil, who dominates all world systems, since he is the prince of this world, in spite of the deeply different ideologies and politics of the world’s nations?  How can this happen among the nations when at the same time there are strives and quarrels against each other, even wars?  The difficulty here is only in the minds of those who do not know enough about the Devil and not recognize his plan to dominate human kind.  The British are not the first to invent the policy of “divide and rule”, but rather the Devil had beaten them into it, long before any human could adopt it.  The events of the world today are exactly what The Prince of the World want.  The Devil and his angels are in full collaboration as allies against man.  What is really astonishing is the fact that man himself often collaborates with them against his fellow man or against himself!
Have you noticed when in the Bible was the Devil first called, Prince of This World?  No one gave him this title except our Lord Jesus, and that was in three different occasions, all of them were related to the cross (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).  This does not mean that the Devil was not deserving of this title before or after these occasions, but rather he was and still is the same, since the fall of man from the Garden of Eden until the appearance of The Lord Jesus Christ in His Second Coming in eminence and glory.  The Devil, the Prince of the World, is the dominant power over all systems of the world, but he plays his role behind a curtain.  It suits his well-being to work invisibly so he can stretch and reach-out to the limits he desires out of mankind.  Once, and only once, however, he was forced to abandon his mask and enter the battle overtly.  That one time is at the cross.  It was a moment where the battle was a detrimental one where camouflaging would not work, so he showed up without cover.  At that time he gathered the opposing powers of the world to connive together, and the entire world became one mighty power.  Even Herod and Pilate, who were previously enemies, became friends (Lk 23:12).  Even the chief-priests of the Jews who hated Rome before, now show allegiance to the Romans’ Cesar (Jn 19:12, 15).  The entire inhabitants of the earth, no matter how different they were and no matter how diverging are their beliefs and doctrines, are gathered together under the leadership of one person: Satan.  That is why he was called then, “The Prince of This World.”  It was a time where the connotation of this name was evident.  The words of the second Psalm were fulfilled, “Why are the nations in tumultuous agitation, and [why] do the peoples meditate a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the princes plot together, against Jehovah and against his anointed: Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from us!” (Ps. 2:1-3).  Yes, indeed it was at the cross when the Devil was vividly pictured as “The Prince of This World .”  But it was also in the cross, the judgment of the world took place (Jn 12:31) as well as the judgment of the Devil, the Prince of This World (John 16:8-11).

WARS:

Considering the previous discussion, there are issues that are worthy of attention and deserving contemplation.  Why do flames of war ignite everywhere?  Why did not humanity know peace in all of its long history except in rare occasions?  Why did not the regional wars stop since WWII?  Why did the number of dead and wounded in these regional wars exceeded even the wasted lives in world wars?
Opinions of analytical politicians and military personnel are many and varied.  But, when the Word of God is dealt with, there is ultimately one reason, the Devil, the prince of this world.  If Christ “hath made wars to cease unto the end of the earth” (Ps. 46:9), which is bound to happen factually and not-too-long in the future, in the upcoming world system, in the happy kingdom of Christ, when they, “shall forge their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-knives” (Isa. 2:4), no wonder then that the Devil, the prince of the existing world, is the agitator of wars in all of the earth!!
Why did Cain rise up against his brother and kill him?  The Scripture gives us a clear-cut answer: because Cain “was of the wicked one“(I Jn 3:12).  That wicked one is still imposing his destructive activities on the world until today .  The Bible says, “He was a murderer from the beginning” (Jn 8:44).  The future days, after the rapture of the church, will witness a tremendous progress in this area, as we shall discuss, later in this book, when we speak about the future of Satan.

THIS EXISTING MISERABLE WORLD

Yes, indeed this world is suffering in complete wretchedness.  If this world is under the authority of “the murderer” (Jn 8:44), how then would its condition be?!  The military spending became the highest burden on all nations budgets and consumes the best part of the national gross income.  Experts say that there are so much weapons piled up in the world that are enough to destroy the entire world twenty times.  The “per-capita” share of weapons, for every individual in this world, is four tons of explosives!  Four tons of explosives is the share of every individual, at the same time when 500 million humans suffer hunger (62) and malnutrition!
Pitiful indeed is this world while being under the domination of the liar (John 8:44).  There we see, everywhere, how all of its political systems, rightist or leftist failed. How all of its ideology miserably failed in bringing happiness to mankind.  Communism, with its ignoring the individual and glorifying the community, has failed.  Capitalism, with its granting all liberty to the individual, has corrupted him!
Pathetic indeed is this world!  Satan had said once, “all this power, …. is given up to me, and to whomsoever I will I give it” (Lk 4:6)  How then can a world as this not be pitiable?!  No wonder that, while famines crush people savagely, and while hundreds of millions are living under the poverty line in destitute hunger, children die in the embrace of their mothers, but other nations throw away their excess produce in the sea to keep prices high.  And few individuals blow-away, on their pleasures and excesses and gambling tables, treasures, enough to feed whole tribes and nations.  The path of economic policies now - a - days does not recognize a shared dialogue between North and South, but rather, it lets the rich gets richer and the poor poorer!
Is this the beautiful world, the one that God had seen “very good” when He created it?  Is this the world that was increased in its beauty with the shining suns and moons, the majestic mountains and the blue seas, the breath-taking meadows and the colorful trees?  What happened to the world to be converted into a piece of hell simmering with wars and greed, massacres and hatred.  The earth is soaked with blood and adulterated with injustice.  The seas become fields for grapple and riot.  Even the aerospace is no longer limited to singing birds, chanting to the glory of The Creator, but became an arena for savagery, barbarism and blood thirst.  Moreover, we keep hearing now about the “planetary wars.”

IS THERE HOPE?

This forlorn world is broke, economically, politically and morally.  The world will continue to lament in its misery as a result of poverty, theft, drugs, murder, adultery, homosexuality, terrorism and extremism.  Man, the crown of creation is the one that’s afflicted with the most misery, without any hope in its renewal or repair despite the continuous efforts by the sincerest of its children, as long as the prince of this world is that dangerous enemy.  The words of Scripture remain truthful, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it… until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [to him].” (Ez. 21:27).  Yes, until Christ comes.  Yes, please come O’ Lord!
After the Rapture of the church, when injustice has exceeded all limits, the remnant will cry: “Arise, O God, judge the earth; for thou shalt inherit all the nations” (Ps. 82:8).  The creation of God awaits that moment!
O’ Lord, You have had limitless patience with the unjust rulers and the evil and subtle demons behind them, so they exceeded all limits in their injustice and over did the imagination of the hearts.  There is no hope left in social or political reform “until he come whose right it is” which is Your Blessed Person.  And, in Your happy kingdom You will be the Prince of “the … world which is to come” (Heb. 2:5), and those who will govern with You, and become the real power behind the actual kings of the earth at that time, are those who believe in Your name (Lk 19:15-19).
Yes, You will be The King, O’ Most High, the Ancient of days, only You deserve the many crowns.  But You, in Your benevolence, and the richness of Your grace, will give government to the saints of the high to reign with You.  To Your Glorious Name we extend all indebtedness and gratitude!

Satan and
the Public Opinion

“The ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit who now
works in the sons of disobedience;” (Ephesians 2:2)
The Epistle to The Ephesians is the only part of Scripture that describes the Devil with the title, “ruler of the authority of the air.”  Even though it was mentioned only once, it strongly depicts the extent of penetration of the Devil in people’s lives, as well as his influence upon them.  Just as air surrounds people from every direction, and just as air permeates every thing, so is the Devil, having no walls or barriers to separate him from people.  He has no stumbling blocks to impede him from reaching them.  Just as air fills each and every void in our planet, and surrounds it completely, the Devil dominates all of this world.
In real life we see how strong is the influence and effects of air on mankind.  Through the lungs, air mixes with blood and, thus, influences the entire body.  If the air is poisoned, it takes very little time for the toxic effect to spread into man.  If this is the case, we clearly see how strong is the allegory, and how truthful this name of the Devil, “ruler of the authority of the air.”
In addition to the previous discourse, we should find it easy to understand the parabolic meaning, engulfed in this title, which reflects the “general mood .”  The Devil, being the ruler of the authority of the air, dominates the prevailing mood.  The frame of mind of all mankind has its key in the hand of “the ruler of the authority of the air.”
Someone once said, “It is very likely that, until now, we have but a faint idea about the extent of the influence of the Devil on the moods of mankind, or his effect on thinking.”  This, to me, seems like a true statement, since the Devil holds the “keys to the world.”  He influences the intellectual leadership of the societies, controls the media, and guides the education systems.  People pictured the Devil as an ugly person, having an evil face, fearsome horns, and a tail ending in an arrow!  This sarcastic image of the Devil was in itself an inspiration of the Devil himself, to trick mankind into believing that they would recognize the Devil when they see him.  The fact is, nevertheless, he hides behind every thing that is beautiful and attractive with people so he can influence them.  He uses the brilliant people, the scientists and the great in every field.  His influence extends to dominate the TV and radio broadcasting systems, publishing houses, education systems, expositions, theaters, and everything else.  God said that mankind is the Devil’s “goods,” and the world is his home (Lk 11:21).  The apostle John said, “the whole world lies in the wicked [one]” (I Jn 5:19).  How strong is this expression indeed.  It is just as firmly as the mother holds her baby, the Devil embraces this entire world.
We have seen in the previous chapter how the “prince of this world” influences the world’s official systems, including the men of governing powers.  Here we see how “the ruler of the authority of the air” having dangerous dominion over the cultural atmosphere, and the wide base of mankind.  We shall analyze some of the mocking styles which the Devil used to reach people, so he indeed attained what he wanted, and perhaps even more.

THE PHILOSOPHERS AND THE INTELLEGENTIA

 In order to reach mankind, even mockingly, the Devil influences the philosophers and inspires them with ideas and principles that are designed to drive a wedge between man and God.  The philosophers may not be the ones who have direct impact on the populace, but they undoubtedly influence a group of elite leaders, who, in turn, have the designed direct impact.  Those leaders use simple methods that appeal to people and effectively influence them, such as outlining education programs, planning the activities of the media or entertainment.  Thus, they transmit the Devil’s influence to the wide base of multitudes.
We cite an example of this chain of influence with what has happened in the West during the last two centuries, where contemporary philosophies and doctrines appeared and were able to destroy solid rationales in the souls of people.  This horrible alliance has, no doubt, killed the spirits and the value systems in many a populace.
The second half of the eighteenth century, Germany witnessed the appearance of the philosopher “Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) , best known as the author of the Critique of Pure Reason,” whose philosophy is to refuse any fact or fiction outside the realm of the five senses.
A short time later, the same country has seen the philosopher “Hegel” who glorified the physical society and tried to promote the idea that the society does not have to abide by the moral laws, and governments do not have to follow any discipline.  Some of his intellectual offspring were Karl Marx and Adolph Hitler.
Karl Marx, a German Jew, appeared in the nineteenth century and founded Communism.  By communism he alluded to a society without any ranks or classes, and he aimed to change the world over.  Unfortunately, this actually happened after his death.  He glorified violence , since his philosophy was based on a principle that says that clash would provide the dynamics which would catapult society into some new development (67).
At the same time with the atheism of Marxism, “Charles Darwin” also appeared in England, in the late years of the nineteenth century.  His famous theory was to deny creation and the existence of a Creator.  His theory is often referred to as “Evolution,” and it had a wide and dangerous influence on a tremendous sect of educated people all over the world.
About that time also appeared “Sigmund Freud” in Austria.  He is the father of psychoanalysis.  The most important feature of his teaching is that mankind is motivated by desire, and, everything starts and ends with sexual lust.  He taught that there is no purpose for the existence of man, and there is no aim for humanity.  He also said that there is no God, and consequently, everything is allowed and every desire is warranted.
And, there are many others….
When these poisonous seeds, implanted in the hearts, grew, the crop was harrowing.  With the arrival of the twentieth century, the time was ripe for the harvest, of those philosophies being planted over the course of two centuries, to be collected.  The harvest, as expected, was traumatic.  “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind” (Hos 8:7).
As a result of the philosophies of Kant and Hegel appeared Hitler who possessed an overwhelming desire for grandeur even if it means destruction of nations and populations.  Thus emerged the Second World War that gave the world a bitter taste of widespread destruction and horror, and left the globe with tormenting morals whose effects cannot be counted.
As a result of the philosophy of Karl Marx, appeared Lenin, who added his own development to the theory of Communism and exaggerated some of its parts.  He promoted the slogan of his teacher Marx, “Religion is the opium of nations.”  Everywhere Communism went it worked to brainwash the youth and the children to erase the idea of God completely from their minds and hearts.  That demonic system mocked God and directed its sarcasm against Him, promoting that God is too busy in His Heavens to attend to people’s needs, so He is leaving them to starvation.  What did this evil system do to mankind?  It affected the murder of about 60 million people.  After it was finished with the killing of millions, it failed miserably and its corruption buoyed to the surface.  Lately, its leaders have admitted their bankruptcy.
As a result of the theory of Darwin, that theory that was rejected by the science itself since it was proven incorrect, the majority of the multitude of scientists and intellectuals look at religion and the Holy Bible with mockery.  They consider religion and the Bible as remnants of a distant retarded past!
As a result of the Freudian theories, we see the widespread of promiscuity, shameful nudity, and absolute permissiveness that conquered the population of the Western Hemisphere in particular.  Morals have deteriorated, families destroyed, children became vagabonds, men and women became homeless, and the youth is reverting to committing suicide!!
How true it is, that these philosophies had killed people and destroyed souls.  The philosophers told the populace, “There is no God” so the multitudes were lost. “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They have corrupted themselves, they have done abominable works: there is none that doeth good.” (Ps 14:1)  The intelligentsia persuaded the people to sever the bonds they have with God, and told them that this way they will live comfortably.  When they cut the ties, they could not live at all, comfortable or not.  They exterminated God from their thoughts, so the Devil moved to fill the void with alternatives.  He offered them drugs and narcotics, and he offered them heresies and occulted practices and black magic.  He provided them with the type of water that when they drink it they become thirstier.  As a result, their feeling of vacuum intensified, and suicide became an outlet for the youth.  Indeed suicide became one of the most reasons for death among the youth of the most advanced nations of the world, according to the most accurate statistics.

THE MEDIA, THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

The Devil does not only possess people and manipulate them as he wishes, but he also dominates the worldly systems and uses the arts to promote his goods.  Here we shall analyze some of these arts, namely Music and Singing, Dancing, Cinema, Television and Videos.

1. POETRY: Most of the poems is versed to glorify what God does not approve.

Lamech, the seventh generation from Adam, and a descendant of Cain, the evil man, was the father of all poets.  In the first poetry versed he combined two of the Devil’s characteristics: conceit and lust.  These two characteristics are the same ones later entitled in poetry as pride and flattery. Lamech said to his two women, “Ye wives of Lemech, listen to my speech.  For I have slain a man for my wound, and a youth for my bruise. If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold; Lemech seventy and seven fold .” (Gen 4:24)
MUSIC: The Devil was able to employ this type of art into his intentions.  It is well known that music has a significant effect on man’s spirit.  The funerary services music, for instance, leads one to be depressed, while patriotic music affects enthusiasm.  A religious hymn creates an atmosphere of worship (See Dan 3:5, 7).  Similarly, there is a kind of music that stimulates lust and affects the spirit in a way similar to drugs.  Through this kind of music the Devil, the ruler of the authority of the air, can reach deep into man and conveys his messages that entraps the person.
The inventor of this kind of art was Jubal, the son of Lamech, “Jubal: he was the father of those who handle the harp and pipe” (Gen 4:21).  He taught people how to sing using the harp and pipe.  When the poetic verses was combined with tunes, i.e. the words of Lamech and the tunes of his son Jubal, the poetry with the music, the Devil perfected the singing word with the spoken tunes to beautify sin (See Job 21:12 - 15), so the forbidden became acceptable, beautiful and desirable .  How many times every day, I wonder, did the old serpent repeat what it did with mother Eve in the Garden of Eden!!
DANCING: With the rhythm of the tunes, people not only learned to sing but also to dance.  History recorded that in one shameless dancing party, the greatest person born of women, John the Baptist, was murdered (Mt 14: 3-11).  But history in general omitted mentioning a countless number of persons born of women, who were killed, spiritually, by the dancing floors, nightclubs etc.
What a pity I always felt, over numerous youths I have seen repeatedly, while going back to my hotel room after delivering a Christian service, in a foreign country I was visiting, waiting in a line to enter into one of the Disco dancing clubs where mad dancing was performed.  The Devil taught them how to dance, and then slaughtered them.  The slaughtered bird dances out of pain while dying.  If Nero had held his harp and sang while Rome was burning, the Devil had converted the whole world into a burning Rome, while pushing it into hell, marching to the tunes of demonic music, and preoccupied with singing and dancing !
CINEMA:  Did it ever attract your attention, those long lines of people standing in front of the box office of the movie theaters, tolerating the heat of the summer sun, or the freezing temperatures of winter nights, hurrying to enter into the dark hall to take their seats, where there is no light except what reflects from the big screen.  And, “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great the darkness!” (Mt 6:23).
The influence of the movie industry is no secret anymore.  How many times did we hear about young people, just leaving a movie theater, to imitate a method of stealing they just watched, or copying a style of murder?  How many times we hear about young girls leaving a movie theater to run away with a boyfriend, just as the star heroine did?  In best cases, how many times did the movies, and its scenes of indecency or violence or bloodshed, leave a lasting effect that became a toxic food for a person, irritating him, with tumultuous agitation,  or distracting his attention at his time of seclusion or meditation? (Ps 2:1)
TELEVISION-AND-VIDEO: With this deadly weapon, temptation today is complemented with electronics, decorated with all tricks of light and sound, and is so easily obtained and available as close as arms-length or a push of a button!
As for its effect, it is without equal.  Sometimes I hear the people repeating a phrase or an expression, only to discover later that the phrase was verbalized in one of the shows.  How clear is the influence of the ruler of the authority of the air in what is being transmitted through the air waves, and caught by receivers existing in all homes or stores or even vehicles, then finds its way into the body of the human being, to torture the sight or the hearing of the righteous among them, and to spiritually murder the rest of them, when the poison that entered their bodies through their eyes or ears, finds its way into their brains and hearts, and ultimately into their bloodstream and all of their being.
While it is true that there are cultural benefits in TV’s, who would deny that TV also provides vast material to excite desires of the flesh and the passions present in the hearts of all people.   The Devil knows how to appear as a friend offering useful help, but he also perfected how to fold poison into the manna.
We hear the cries of the social activists, terrified by what is being carried by satellites such as sexually explicit movies, entering the homes of everyone whether you like it or not, and the tricks practiced by the broadcasters to evade censorship.
How terrible is the environment around us has become, polluted with every known pollutant as if we needed even this one over the satellites.
In front of that apparatus, the man of our century spends the hours of his days, one hour after the other, one evening after the other, in which the TV evacuates the minds and hearts of its contents only to refill it with all whatever is trivial and disgusting.  It converts people into sullen persons, so the Devil can pour whatever he pleases in them.  That is exactly what is meant by brainwashing.  Unfortunately it is washing with dirty water.
Although many of the world’s intellectuals are convinced with the shortcomings of the TV, they themselves, just like all others, became so dependent on this appliance, that the TV is now a modern form of enslavement, inherited slavery from the world systems when it was officially outlawed.
The danger of TV on the Christian believer is that it gives him an open window to the world, that makes him, unconsciously, think just like the worldly people, behaves like them, and speaks the way they speak.  The warnings of the Scripture, not to be conformed to the people of this age, can be lost, and the complimenting of God to the bride, “A garden enclosed is my sister, [my] spouse;  A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” (Song 4:12) can go in vain.
As for the others, this appliance is fully capable of wasting precious time of those who are unaware of it.  Does the Devil have a better opportunity than to waste the time and occasion for those who can otherwise use it for repentance and for getting closer to God?
These are but samples of the goods of the ruler of the authority of the air, the Devil.  The goods that he promotes vigorously, as he works hard in the souls of people to buy it.  The scene depicted by the apostle Paul, in the chapter from which we cited the verse at the opening of our chapter, consist of a seller, a mediator, and a buyer.  Listen to what the apostle says in this verse: “and you, being dead in your offences and sins—in which ye once walked {1} according to the age of this world, {2} according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience: {3} among whom we also all once had our conversation in the lusts of our flesh, doing what the flesh and the thoughts willed to do, and were children, by nature, of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph 2:1-3)
This is the infamous threesome once more: The World, The Devil, and The Flesh.  The age of this world is the corrupted system invented by the Devil, since he beautified the world to keep man in it afar from God.  It is the “supermarket” of the Devil.
The flesh is the customer who stands in front of the showcase of this supermarket, admiring all of what is displayed, and longing to possess everything there at any price.
The derisive merchant who tempts his clients and convinces them of buying these rotten goods is “the ruler of the authority of the air.”
Yes, how much does the Devil try to provide man with what satisfies his physical and fleshy hunger to keep him distant from God.  But the question is: Can he realize this with all he can provide?  Does the world have what it takes to fill the vacuum of the human heart?!
No.  “because all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world is passing, and its lust, but he that does the will of God abides for eternity.”  (1Jn 2: 16,17). Not even the Devil himself is capable of filling your emptiness and satisfying your hunger.  Not lechery, not the ruler of the authority of the air.  Only the Originator of the breath, the breath that was breathed by God into man when He created him in the Garden of Eden.  Only God can make man happy.  How truthful is Saint Augustine of old when he said, “O’ God.  You have created us for Yourself.  And our souls will never find comfort except in You.”
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat: yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price! Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” ( Isa 55: 1,2).

The word “leaven” is translated as “yeast” in the NIV.  Throughout The Bible, yeast always pointed to evil.  The similarity between  yeast and evil lies in the nature of evil in spreading quickly, and in its hidden but sure effect (e.g. See I Co 5:6-8; Gal 5:7-9)

Such as “the world of spirits” or “eternal existence of humans” or “resurrection of the dead” and other doctrines (Ac 23:8).

See “Miller’s Church History,” R. C. Campbell’s “The Prophetic History of The Christendom” and Youssef Riad’s “The Journey of The Church.”

The Church of Rome proclaims that Archangel Michael is the one holding the balance of the Divine Justice.  He weighs the good deeds of the person against his bad ones.  The side that drops down determines the fate of the dead person, either acceptance or rejection.  This strange teaching is completely foreign to the Word of God, but coincides perfectly with a theory that was widespread with ancient Egyptians regarding judgment, after substituting the pagan god Anobis with Archangel Michael (69).!!

The pagan teaching of the purgatory entered the Church of Rome from the year 600 AD at the time of Pope Gregory the Great.  We find similar teachings in the mythology of Egypt, Greece and India.  It was not officiated in the Catholic Church until 1439 AD in the Convention of Florence.  It then became a fundamental teaching that has its own importance and divinity in the Convention of Trent in the year 1546 AD (70).

This heretic phrase is written in Latin on the official crown of the pope of Rome.  It is a small wonder that the numeric value for the letters of this phrase is 666, which is the number of the Antichrist.(Rev 13:8).(71).

The word is a derivation of “to protest.”  It indicates all of those who split-off the papal system.  It does not mean a particular group or church or organization.

See “The Inspiration of The Bible” by Youssef Riad

Here is a statistic of a poll taken with servants of God, under training, in the USA.  The results are tabulated as (73):
  56% rejected the virginal birth of Christ.
  71% rejected the belief that there is life after death.
  54% rejected the literal resurrection of Christ.
  98% rejected the coming back of Christ in the flesh to rule on earth.
The statistic warrants no comment on our part.

One of the Researchers (75) mentioned that there are more spiritist mediums in Germany today than Protestant pastors.

If we set aside for a while all those modern cults, and speak of Christian denominations, we face this statistic from the USA (76) and the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church in it:
28% of the members do not believe in anything after death.
22% expressed their opinion as “I do not know”
Out of the remaining 50% who believe in an after- life, only one-sixth of them declared their belief in what the Bible says about heaven and hell.  And the same proportion thinks they will be re-incarnated.

As we have seen, the demons are the actual power behind the pagan worshipping.  It is also the force moving the heresies and off-shoots within Christianity (See I Tim 4:1).

It is not necessary that everything said by these heresies is wrong.  Oftentimes these heresies contain, in one form or the other, many of the great Biblical truths.  But the Devil uses that to camouflage the deadly trap, since it contains lethal misrepresentations but may also contain many truthful facts.

The Adventists built this corrupt belief of theirs on a verse recorded in Daniel 8:13,14, regarding 2,300 days and nights.  They considered one day and one night meaning a year! And that period of time begins on the year 457 BC, the same time where the seventy weeks of Daniel started (Dan 9:24)!!

The Adventists consider the goat of Azazel, mentioned in Lev 16:10, 21, 22 is a depiction of the Devil !!  How insulting that is, since the Word of God assures that Christ is the one who carried upon the cross the sins of His saints (Isa 53:6, 12 & I Pe 2:24).

This heresy highlights the necessity of the body to be free of ailments, unlike Christ who, in His work of atonement, bore all our ailments (ignoring the many verses that indicate that the body of the faithful is not yet redeemed Rom 8:23).  Consequently, many of the faithful are subject to ills and thorns in the flesh (II Co 12:7-10; Phil 2:26,27; I Tim 5:23; II Tim 4:20)… Strangely enough, many metaphysical things happen to the followers of this heresy, moreover, some sicknesses are healed.  Who else, but the Devil, would respond to the prayers of those who deny the divinity of Christ?

The Bible says, “Every one that believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God;” (I Jn 5:1; also See I Jn 4:2,3 and II Jn 7).

In the Greek origin of the Gospel, the word is “I am” and it is the exact same word recorded in the Septuagint for Ex 3:14 that means “the existing.”  This fact is not what is being promoted by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

He is not one degree or one rank of the “fullness,” as is described by the Theosophists who compare Him to Zradecht or Buddha or Ghandi … etc.

Satan and
the True Church

“On this rock I will build my assembly, and hades’
gates shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)
As we have discussed, the Devil is the personal enemy of Christ.  Since the church is the body of Christ (Eph 1:22, 23), it is no wonder then for the church to become a constant target of the animosity of the Devil and his offenses in which he tries consistently  attacking it, or at least to spoil its nature, and destroy its testimony.  That is why the church must be aware of his tide.  The Devil cannot stand it to see that there is testimony to Christ anywhere.  He will try, by force to destroy such testimony.  If force does not work, he will certainly try other tricks such as deception, and craft.  That is to say he will try to intensify his attacks like a roaring lion, and, if it does not work to his satisfaction he will try the craft of the serpent.  Let us remember first what he has done with the Church of Smyrna in Rev 2, where he heightened his attacks on the church like a roaring lion, but when he failed there, he reverted to trickery to snear the character of the Church of Pergamos using serpent feint.
We do not need to expose the works of the Devil with the church from outside, since this is too clear to need explanation, but rather, we will discuss some of his ways applied to the church from inside.

FIRST: THE DIVISIONS

The Devil succeeded, from the very beginning in planting the seeds of separatism, fanaticism, and disorder, and creating cracks (See for example I Co 1:10-13; 3:3; 11:18).  These cracks gave rise, later, to actual divisions, and to disintegrate Christianity into countless sects and denominations.  He still applies his destructive activities today, especially against those who distanced themselves from the sectarian current and adhered forcefully and practically to the principle of “One body and one soul,” and try diligently to preserve “the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.(Eph 4:3, 4)
In the Old Testament, we read, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps 133:1).  And in the conclusion of the list of things that are hated by God we read, “he that soweth discords among brethren” (Pr 6:16-19).  Therefore, it is no wonder that the Devil would feel exactly the opposite, and there could be nothing more disdained by him more than a united assembly.
In the Book of Songs, the bride is described twice that she is, “Terrible as troops with banners” (Song 6:4, 10).  The most important characteristic of the troops is unity in motion, congruency in goals, and dismissal of discord between the individuals in order to elevate the banner, they fight for, above the foreheads.  Thus should the church of Christ be, just as the troops raising the banner of The Lord Christ glorified and dignified.
The Devil fears an assembly of such a union, so he tries to infiltrate it with persons who work on breaking the union, dismantling the body and obliterating this godly beauty.  This is why the apostle Paul persuaded the believers of Rome to keep an open eye upon those who fabricate cracks and create stumbles (which is completely opposite to his teaching, i.e., One Body and One Soul).  Paul did not stop at keeping an open eye on them but urged them to sidestep those people since they do not serve Our Lord Jesus, but rather their own bellies (i.e., their own personal benefit).  He explained that they use soft words and appealing phrases to mislead the hearts of the simple Ones, but the crux is not in what they say, since the hypocrites are the best speakers, it is in their fruits.  Whoever tray to divide the body of Christ into pieces and plants disparity between the believers to serve his own purpose should be shunned.  Then the apostle adds, “I wish you to be wise [as] to that which is good, and simple [as] to evil” because the characteristic of the makers of divisions and stumbles is that they concentrate their speeches and their writings on evil, yet the advice of the apostle is for us to be wise as to which is good, and simple as to evil.  Then the apostle bonds those people with the eventual crushing of Satan under our feet (soon enough).  From this bonding we understand that those individuals were but a tool in the hand of the Devil, which will be bruised by the God of Peace shortly, when Christ comes back. (Ro 16:17-20).
Once more the apostle connects the divisions and the Devil in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians when he speaks about the repenting brother.  He warns the believers against taking extremes and become excessively righteous to the extent that they reject the repentance of the sinning brother, which may precipitate a division within the assembly. Then, the Apostle said:  “That we might not have Satan get an advantage against us, for we are not ignorant of his thoughts.” (II Co 2:5-11).  Of course, Satan is continuously looking to find a hole through which he can penetrate among the saints.

SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD

The Devil also tries to weaken the church and thwart its growth.  In that, he uses a variety of approaches:
In Acts 5, we find the first of the Devil’s work against the church represented in the sin of lying against the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps a more general depiction of his act would be his ignoring the presence of The Holy Spirit in the church.  Before the Devil tempted Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, and filled their hearts to lie to The Holy Spirit, he had certainly succeeded in blocking their sight from the fact of The Holy Spirit’s dwelling in the church.  How many fruits grew out of this Satanic seed since that time until now?!!  Ignoring the dwelling of The Holy Spirit in the church was the direct reason for the retardation in the spiritual growth of the church and holding it back in a state of spiritual childhood.
The Devil cares to keep the church in spiritual childhood and blocks it from reaching a state of maturity, because, in its childhood it cannot sustain the spiritual wars, since the immature is not able to enter into wars (Jdg 8:20) or to overcome the wicked one (I Jn 2:13, 14).  On the contrary, when the saints continue to be children, they become like a toy in his hand, since they are disturbed and being carried away with every wind of trickery of the mocking people, such as in Eph 4:14, “tossed and carried about by every wind of teaching”.
This is what the Devil has done, even in the apostolic age, in the church of Corinth.  In the atmosphere of spiritual childhood they were preoccupied by themselves not by Christ, “And I, brethren, have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly; as to babes in Christ.” (I Co. 3:1; see also I Co. 16:13).  So, soon enough appeared between them pride, conceit, fanaticism and envy, the things that are typically carnal and being fed and encouraged by the Devil. In an atmosphere like this one, strife takes hold.  Yet our God is not a god of strife but a God of Peace.  The source of strife is undoubtedly the Devil.
The apostle James, in his Epistle, before he speaks of jealously, strife, disorder and every evil thing, he had said, “This is not the wisdom which comes down from above, but earthly, natural, devilish.” (Jas 3:14-16).
Another strategy of Satan’s war against the church to stifle its development is to penetrate the flock of God with “a mixed multitude” just like what he did when the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt.  The Devil tried first to block their exodus, and, when he failed, he pushed “a  mixed multitude” amongst them , i.e., those who are not actually members of the people of God.  Those mixed multitudes were a source of troubles and bitterness for the people of God in the wilderness journey (Nu 11:4).
This is also what has happened since the cradle of Christianity.  We read about “lying apostles” (II Co 11:13), “lying teachers” (II Pe 2:1), “lying brethren” (Gal 2:4 and II Co 11:26).  They are the weeds planted by the enemy (The Devil) in the field amid the good planting of The Son of Man (Mt 13:25, 38).  These weeds are indeed a negative addition to hinder the growth of wheat.  Similarly, the lying brethren are not to be considered gain for the church but actual loss.  Not a blessing but a disaster.

WORLDLINESS

The church, being connected to resurrected Christ who is glorified in Heavens, is consequently of heavenly nature, as The Lord said, “They are not of the world, as I am not of the world” (Jn 17:14, 16).  But the Devil who knows that he will be expelled shortly out of heaven, envies the Church, that has all its blessings in heavenly places, and tries all he can to ruin that nature, by converting the church from heavenly to worldly.  This is what has happened systematically since the time of Emperor Constantine the Great (the year 313 AD), who switched to Christianity, from paganism, and declared it to be the “official religion of the Empire.”  From that time on the church became worldly in character and in spirit, and the Lord’s words to the angel of the Church of Pergamos were materialized in it, “I know where thou dwellest, where the throne of Satan [is]” Rev 2:13.  The church was no longer “estranged” but became dwelling where the throne of Satan is, i.e., dwelling in the world.  It became festooned with luxurious architecture, majestic furniture and rare masterpieces.  Along with the entry of the worldly spirit into the church, its spiritual strength was abandoned gradually.  The Devil did not accomplish this in one deal, but rather affected gradual and small, perhaps even unnoticed, changes one at a time.  Today, we can see what many of the churches have become, substituting spiritual rich with material rich, and The Holy Spirit with worldly spirit.  Hence, the light converted to darkness and the life decayed into death, and the words of The Lord fit them perfectly, “thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” (Rev 3:1)
In the Old Testament we see how the Devil tempted David to take a census of the people (I Ch 21:1).  The Devil succeeded in turning David’s head (David, the man of God) into greatness by the large number of his people and the vast area of the land, but this matter was displeasing in the eyes of God. (I Ch 21:7).  When the people of God try to show the power of themselves, God is displeased.  The Devil succeeded again in occupying the mind of King Hezekiah, the pious with his house, “And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold, and the spices and the fine oil, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found amongst his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not shew them.” (Isa 39:2) So, he was absorbed with his own house rather than the house of The Lord.   All of this happened in Christendom once more, since so many churches today consider that the measure of its success is the large number of its congregation, perhaps even especially if the membership has in it some socially or politically prominent people, or have a vast wealth.  All in all, the churches became musing, for pulpit, its eloquent and charisma; for the pew, its wealth and majesty.  So the spirits of the true church are lost!!
When the church substitutes these worldly things for its practiced virtues and its alive faith, this means that the church is pursuing a road of spiritual death, no doubt.  The lighthouse is certainly shaken away from its place ready to tumble.
The Devil labors actively hard so that the church loses its separation from the world, enticing it with the excuse to try to reform the world or better it.  But the message of the church in the world is not to better it, but simply to witness to Christ, the rejected from the earth, who is glorified in Heavens.  The Holy Spirit did not come to the world to better it either, but to glorify Christ and to pick from the midst of the Jews and the Gentiles a bride for Christ, exactly as Abraham sent the elder of his house to Ur of the Chaldeans not to better the state of affairs there but to engage a bride for Isaac, and take her back to him. (Gen 24).
That is why the Devil is trying to divert the church, gradually, from its message and goals, away from its original and authentic path and its noble purpose which is the declaration of the glories of The Cross and the testimony for the eminence of The Resurrected One.  In this way he affects every spiritual activity to dwindle, and force the church, in a subtle manner, to take a secondary role and hide behind social or political affairs.
Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to the Devil when the church is converted into a social club for families, an arena for youth activities, athletic or otherwise, or even a women’s kitchen or hobbies room.  I do not exactly mean to attack these matters as if it is evil on its own merits, but only saying that if the church forgets its message and diverts away from its intended character as stranger in the world, and from witnessing to its rejected and crucified Master, that would be a Satanic trap.
Let us remember that the demonic resistance in the Book of Nehemiah (in which the walls of Jerusalem were built) was more forceful and more powerful than his resistance in the Book of Ezra (in which the house of God was built).  The allegory in this is clear to everyone with a strong spiritual visibility.  Even though the enemy does not want us to worship God, but the worship of God does not disturb him so much unless it is associated with separation (which we see in the building of the walls).  There, and only there, the testimony against him can start and score success.
Perhaps we remember what we have discussed in Chapter 7: Egypt’s Pharaoh offered Moses, among other things, to sacrifice for The Lord in the land of Egypt.  We see that the non-detached church, the worldly church, is a church that is entrapped in the snare of Satan.

NEGATIVITY

The Devil labors to make the church a sullen one, negative and ineffective in its testimony.  For him to accomplish this, he tries in two fronts:
First:  By entering fear in the hearts of the believers, fear from persecution that they may be subjected to, if they witness to Christ.  As he horrifies the faithful, he makes them hide their belief and not proclaim it whenever they can, and effect their life to be a negative one.  In this, The Lord said to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna, “Fear nothing [of] what thou art about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of life.” (Rev 2:10).
Second:   He may occupy their minds with worldly matters, and entice them with the articles of modern life, so they would indulge in their personal affairs and love the world.  They would then forget the noblest goal for which they are living.  This is what we see in the Church of Pergamos.  (Rev 2:12-17).
He may even work with the two fronts together, just as he did with the group returning from captivity at the time of Zerubbabel when he ceased, by force, the work in building the house of God (Ezr 4:23), then he occupied the people with thinking about their personal affairs and made them follow the worldly path laboring in their own livelihood while dwelling in their wainscoted houses, while this house lies waste. (Hag 1).
That is why the apostle says in his Epistle to The Phillipians “Only conduct yourselves worthily of the glad tidings of the Christ,”  And how would the saints live worthily of the glad tidings of the Christ?  The apostle answers, “ye stand firm in one spirit, with one soul, labouring together in the same conflict with the faith of the glad tidings; and not frightened in anything by the opposers,” (Ph 1:27, 28).
That is the successful church that’s bearing a worthiness on earth.  It is, “Terrible as troops with banners” (Song 6:4,10).  When being part of the troops, the army, the personal affairs are forgotten, and the soldiers dedicate their time, their powers and all of their lives to the noble cause.  This way, the church becomes effective and forbearing, with a goal and a message.  You will find it conflicting before God in prayer for the souls, exposing itself to the world in only one way: to witness to God before people, has an internal conflict before the Throne of Grace, and exterior labor in witnessing to Christ.  A church like this one would be far more potent than a fighting army.  Its weapons are not carnal but able through God, to the pulling down of strong holds.
Why is the progress of the Bible today not very clear, with respect to the number of souls won or in steadfastness of the saved?  The answer is clear however:  Where is our working together with one soul for the faith of the Gospel?  Working together does not only mean speaking but also moving and laboring.  Where is our practical and effective work for the good of the glad tidings?
When the apostle says, ", labouring together in the same conflict with the faith of the glad tidings; and not frightened in anything” this means that when the internal dissensions disappear from the church, and it becomes one unity in a true laboring with one soul, the opposers from outside, if they surface, would be ineffective.  The believers will possess more and more tolerance to pain and suffering.
We conclude our discussion in this chapter with a warning against a tactical maneuver of the Devil.  When he wants to undermine the testimony of the church, he will likely direct his darts high into the effectual ones among the group.  He would try to blemish their image, either by enticing them to actually fall into sin, and that would be a catastrophe, or by spreading rumors and lies about them.  He knows that this would have a devastating effect on the entire testimony.
This is exactly what happens in the worldly, regular, wars.  The enemy is interested to capture the leaders during the battle, and take them as prisoners of war.  When a high ranking leader falls captive in the hands of the enemy, they consider it more important and more valuable than taking tens or even hundreds of regular soldiers captive.
Someone (79) made a resemblance of this situation to an engineer appointed to lay railroad tracks in a rugged mountainous area.  The engineer would concentrate his efforts on digging tunnels amid the mountain, or erecting bridges over the valleys and rivers.  The rest of the work dealing with flat and wide-open areas will not occupy his mind a whole lot.  If he finishes his work with the critical areas, the work in his estimation would be nearly completed.  Similarly, when the Devil wants to destroy the testimony of an effective church and convert it to a negative one, he will consolidate his efforts against the effectual members amongst the assembly.
The word now is directed to those who magnify God and dignify Him:  You who aim, with His Grace, to become a blessing to His flock, beware of what is against you.  The heat of the battle is directed against you.  The enemy, with his tricks and maneuvers is watching you and waiting to topple you and your work.  But, thanks to God and glory be to His Name, because “Ye are of God, children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that [is] in you than he that [is] in the world.” (I Jn 4:4), and, “in all these things we more than conquer through him that has loved us.” (Ro 8:37).

Satan and
the Individual Believers

“Your adversary [the] devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist, steadfast in faith,” (I Peter 5:8,9)
Mankind is divided into two teams:  Followers of Christ and followers of the Devil.
The followers of the Devil are, “the sons of the evil [one]” (Mt 13:38) or, “the children of the devil” (I Jn 3:10 & Ac 13:10); “[the sons] of Belial” (II Sam 23:6 & I Sam 2:12), and those are secured of his offenses (Lk 11:21).  But the followers of Christ are subject to the Devil’s animosity and warfare.
The followers of Christ, as we know, can be true followers, but some can be false ones.  This brings about an important question: Does the Devil know who are the true believers?
The answer to this question is that we believe that the Devil knows that God Has His own elected people.  We also believe that he knows that his trials to storm those elected will be of no avail (although surely he is trying to spoil their testimony, and, furthermore, to wear them down).  But there is no indication in the Bible to point to a fact that the Devil knows who they personally are with certainty.  He judges matters at their face value, and he judges people according to their fruits, just as we do, even though he is in a position that permits him to judge more accurately for two reasons:

1. One reason is his long experience with mankind, about 6,000 years.
2. The other reason is that he is a spirit, so that is why he can see people, not only when they appear before others, but also when they are secluded in their own lively affairs, i.e., whenever the person is alone for any reason.  This is something, we do not have the ability or opportunity to do.

But he, surely enough, has never seen the Book of Life, to know from it who are the elect people of God.  Just as we make wrong judgments at times, he is subject to misjudge too.  This is why the plan of the Devil is to fight against all people of God , with no exception , trying to destroy all of them if he can.  Naturally, he does not do this in person, but he has regiments to whom he can, “say to this [one], Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to {his} bondman, Do this, and he does it.” (Mt 8:9). 
As for the activities of the Devil against the people of God, it can be divided into three categories:
His temptations to them, his accusation against them, and his resisting them.

THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE DEVIL

The first and foremost of the Devil’s activities comes from his being “the tempter”.  This is what happened with the Lord as the perfect man.  Immediately after His baptism in the Jordan River and the declaration of The Father that This Is My Beloved Son, He was led by the Holy Spirit to go to the wilderness where the Devil came to Him as the, “tempter.” (Mt 4:1, 3).  The same thing happened with the believers of Thessalonica, They were still being “children in faith” when the apostle Paul worried about them and expressed this saying, “For this reason I also, no longer able to refrain myself, sent to know your faith, lest perhaps the tempter had tempted you and our labour should be come to nothing” (I Th 3:5)
We have already seen how the serpent came to Eve in the Garden of Eden, and subjected her to temptation and falling.  The Devil, then, in addition to his powerful mind, he is also an experienced fighter who has long experience.  Who is it, out of all mankind, that escaped his trapping or was ever secure from his temptations?!
The Devil has a bag full of tricks.  He chooses from it what is adequate for the person he wants to subject to temptation.  He knows very well where our weak points are.  Just like an expert in a certain area who examines an apparatus and discovers quickly what is wrong with it, even if the malfunctioning part is not readily surfacing.  The Devil, likewise, knows how to look to the believer, and quickly discovers the malfunction and the feeble spots in him.  He can diagnose quickly who has lust as his downfall, who has pride or selfishness, who has a hot temper and quick agitation, and who is inflicted with incoherence and indifference.   I might be able to hide my weak traits from those who are closest to me, but this formidable enemy, who follows me everywhere, knows exactly where my handicaps are.
But the Devil sometimes tempts the believer in areas where the believer thinks that it is impossible for him to fail it.  Is not that what happened with Peter in the day where he was full of self confidence, to the extent that he felt no need to pray.  Even though The Lord had warned him previously that the Devil is demanding to “sift them like wheat,” and even though He advised him several times to pray so that he can evade temptation, Peter said to The Lord, “I am ready” (Lk 22:33).  Hence, Peter became a soft bite to chew by the Devil, had it not been for the intercession of Christ and His praying for him.  “Let him that thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (I Co 10:12).
The Devil aims, with his temptations of the believers and sifting them, to expose their weaknesses and reveal their shortcomings, so, perhaps he can change the mind of God and alter His plan for them.  But God, on the other hand, lets the Devil sift the believers to purify them from impurities and ridding them of weaknesses (Just as He purified Job of self-righteousness and saving Peter from self-confidence.)  The Lord also wants them, the faithful, just as he wanted of Job and Peter, to discover how much they in themselves are weak so they lean on Him.
In the Devil’s bag, we can recognize some of his flaming arrows he darts toward the faithful.  We shall consider five of those arrows:

1. DOUBT:  This is a blazing missile used by the Devil very frequently with mankind starting with the Garden of Eden (Gen 3).  All the believers experienced this arrow.  The Devil, for instance, plants doubt in the hearts of the recent believers to so be skeptical about the truthfulness or the validity of their faith.  He also fills the minds of the youth with different doubts and various agnostic thoughts about the existence of God, the meaning of life and the authenticity of the Holy Bible.

The believers who are suffering different kinds of pain, are also a target of the Devil to become dubious about the goodness of God.  The Devil used this arrow with John the Baptist while he was in prison (Mt 11:2, 3).  That is why the apostle James says in his Epistle, “Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation nor shadow of turning.” (Jas 1:16, 17) which means that God is The Source of the good things and nothing else.  The apostle Peter also in his First Epistle, nicknamed, The Epistle of sufferings, speaking about worries, and, before he speaks about pain once more says to the believers, “Be vigilant, watch. Your adversary [the] devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour.” (I Pe 5:8).

1. LUSTS:  This is another flaming missile.  The first sin was one of desire (Gen 3).  How many heroes fell as a result of this sin!  Let’s remember for example Samson and David.

In the present world that is corrupted by lust (II Pe 1:4), how varied are the images of deceiving yearnings these days!!  Of course we cannot cleanse the entire world, but we can attend to the state of our hearts from which wellsprings of life emanate.  Luther (82) said, “I cannot stop the birds from flying around my head, but I can stop them from making in my hair.”  There is a fact, well-known to all of us, that if we fall once to temptation, we will find it even more difficult to avoid it the second time.  Let us then beware of the smallest of sparks.  Desire is a spark that turns into fire and burns all the crops.
Satan, surely enough, tempts the unmarried young people.  He also focuses on the younger widows (See I Tim 5:15).  Spurgeon (83)said, “People with no work, or unemployed, entice the Devil to offer them temptations.” In fact, most of the work of the Devil is done in people who have nothing to occupy their time and mind.
He may even tempt married couples into dropping their life of purity and spousal honesty and faith.  The verses from 2 to 5 in I Corinth, chapter 7 does not warrant any special understanding or analysis.  But I suffice in my comment on it by stating an advice given once by one of the servants of God (84): “The married couples who use sex as a weapon against each other, instead of using it as a material for building, they offer the Devil an open invitation to destroy their marriage life.”
We also take this opportunity to seriously warn against being, “diversely yoked” in marriage since it is a dangerous Satanic trap (II Co 6:14), through which the Devil tries to distant each of the spouses from living to glorify God.

1. PRIDE:  This is a third flaming missile.  In his book, “The Devil” John Wesley(85) said, “Pride is a strange illness - it makes everyone sick but the one who has it!”

Before the Devil used pride to befall mankind from the Garden of Eden, he himself had fallen by it.  We notice that Peter relates the temptations of Satan, the roaring lion, to the sin of pride.  Peter warns the believers against pride after he persuaded them to be clothed with humility (I Pe 5:5-8).  Just as Peter did in his First Epistle, so did James too (Jas 4:5-7).
Pride is what Satan used to entrap David in sin so he would count the people . (I Ch 21:1).  Through pride and self-aggrandizing he led Peter to the sin of denying the Lord.
Satan may lure a wealthy believer to feel that he is higher than his brethren.  This is a dangerous trap (I Tim 6:17 & James 1:10).  The same thing may be for a highly educated person (I Tim 6:20), or to a man of high rank or to a powerful person (Jer 9:23, 24) or to a beautiful woman…etc.
There is also a certain kind of pride which is very risky, it is the spiritual pride of some person who is given spiritual gifts or biblical knowledge by God (I Co 8:1 & II Co 12:7).  In general, it is rather hazardous for a recent believer to be pushed too early into the first line, or to a service with great exposure.  That is why we see that the conditions necessary for a bishop is not to be a novice in faith, for otherwise he may, “being inflated, fall into [the] fault of the devil.” (I Tim 3:6).  The apostle clearly predicts the novice’s head may be blown with pride if he becomes a bishop too quickly.
The believer, after a long, effective and successful service is more subject to face this sin.  A story was told about one of God’s servants who had just delivered a strong sermon when one of the brethren approached him saying that the sermon was a great wonder.  The preacher answered, “My dear brother, the Devil had beaten you in telling me how great the sermon was, even before I left the pulpit!”  The jest here is that the experienced servant of God recognized the tricks of the Devil to supply him with material for pride or self-aggrandizing.  St. Augustineonce said, “The first sin that knocked man off is the last sin man is to conquer.”

1. ANGER:  Anger gives Satan an excellent opportunity and open doors wide for him.   When a person flares with temper he can no longer be objective in what he says or does, but rather behaves in the heat of passions without thinking and without appraising the consequences. It becomes a lot worse if the sun is set while we are still angry, because more often than not, the Devil will share our pillow, and will start to review the incidents as a recorded tape, and coax us to hate the opposing person with bitterness, even with a desire for revenge.  That is why the apostle Paul said, “Be angry, and do not sin; let not the sun set upon your wrath, neither give room for the devil.” (Eph 4:26, 27).

Think about what happened when Jephthah was stricken with evil anger, and how he killed 42 thousand persons from the people of God!  How true it is that anger gives an excellent opportunity to the Devil!

1. DESPAIR AND DEPRESSION: This weapon is one of the Devil’s best in his arsenal when he fights against the believers.  Using this pitfall, he was able to elbow his way into many believers when he could not approach them any other way.   He used this dart with Elijah, the brave, so he was filled with a spirit of despair and failure, and went to seek death for himself. (I Ki 19)… But, thanks be to God, because many others, of the servants of God, were able to overcome this flaming missile of the Devil, e.g. Nehemiah in the Old Testament (Ne 4:1-4; 6:10-14), and the apostle Paul in the New Testament (II Tim 4:16-18).

THE DEVIL’S ACCUSATIONS

This is the second activity of the Devil with us, and in it, we find a fulfilling to his name, because the word Devil means “The complainer” or “The accuser.”  The Devil, after he tempts us to fall into sin, he hurries to “inform” about us or to “accuse” against us.  This is, “reproach and [the] snare of the devil” (I Tim 3:7).  Because the Devil was not a Seraph (i.e. an angel of mercy who carries healing to the sinner as in Isaiah 6:6), nor he was an evangelizing angel that carries good news, as Gabriel (Lk 1:19, 26), nor was he an angel of emancipation, or rescue and help, such as Michael (Dan 10:13; 12:1), but he was a cherub whose knowledge is limited to the righteousness of God.  So, he knows very well how to complain.  He registers, just like a spy, all behaviors of the believers and their movements (using his followers as we have seen), then he goes and complains of them.
His complaining against us has three directions:  To God, to the conscience of the believer himself, and finally to our brethren.

1. His Accusation To God Against Us:  In the last record of the Devil’s being the complainer, we understand that he does not stop accusing before God day and night. (Rev 12:10).  The explanation of this trait is evident in Zechariah 3:1, 2 when we see Joshua standing before God in dirty attire, and the Devil, considering him as defending righteousness, standing at his right to resist him .

It goes without saying that the Devil cannot lie to God.  So, when he accuses to God, he must be accusing of something real.  If indeed the accusation is real, then what can the believer do?  He cannot do anything whatsoever since the accusation is real and proven.  On the other hand, the believer does not have to do anything, since Christ, who paid our debt on the Cross, is Himself the One who faces the complainer, just as what happened with Joshua the high priest (Zec 3:1, 2)  and just like what happens with us as well (Ro 8:33 and I Jn 2:2).
As far as Job the righteous is concerned, the Devil could not accuse him of any wrongdoing in his entire life.  When he could not deny Job’s righteousness, he threw darts at the instigating motives for that righteousness.  This is as if he said to God, “Does Job has Your fear in his heart for nothing?, If You change the way You treat him, then he will indignify and affront You.”  This should not surprise us coming from that selfish being, since the pot overflows with its own filling, and’ “when he speaks falsehood, he speaks of what is his own;” (Jn 8:44)
We ought to remember that the Devil does not know our thoughts or our inner feelings.  Only God knows what is inside the hearts (Ps 139:1-6; I Ki 8:39 & Dan 2:28).  David prayed to God once to ask for help in keeping his speech short, so the evil one before him would not catch his mistakes and complain to God about it, “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked is before me.” (Ps 39:1).

1. His Accusing Of The Believer To His Own Conscience:  The Devil does not only direct his accusations, against us, to God, but he also targets our own sense of right and wrong, so to fill our hearts with gloom and despair.  A bird whose wing is broken cannot fly very high.

One of God’s servants said that this condition of bewilderment, after the fall of the believer, places a blockade between the soul and Christ.  The soul enters into a condition of deep darkness and despondent confusion.  This is the ultimate adversity.  The real harm is not when the enemy leads you to temptation, not even when you fall into temptation, but it is when the accuser uses your feeling of guilt, or your fear of its consequences, to implant the seeds of doubt towards the love of God and His sufficiency to restore you, and His plentiful adequacy for your peace and security.
That is why it was said, about the believers, in Revelations 12:11 “they have overcome him {the accuser, or the Devil} by reason of the blood of the Lamb, and by reason of the word of their testimony.”  It is as if the blood of the Lamb is the legal refute in the face of accusations, and the Word of God is the declared proof.  This clearly means that the blood of Christ is the essential foundation upon which the legal defense is built against the accusations of the Devil before God.  Also, that the Word was dispatched to them, the believers, so they became aware of their strong legal defense, so it gave them clear consciences.
The apostle John, the seer, adds, “and have not loved their life even unto death” (Rev 12:11).  This is the third factor in subduing the Devil.  The Devil knows the human character well.  He said to the Lord, “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life” (Job 2:4).  But, what can the Devil do with people who do not love their life even unto death?!
With this triple-edged and effective sword the saints can overpower that enemy, with the blood of The Lamb, with the Word of their testimony, and with their willingness for martyrdom.

1. Accusing Us Before Our Brethren:  The Devil reverts to this trick to separate, and thus divide, between the people of God, as we mentioned in the last chapter.

This faces us with the question:  What do we do when a brother or a sister errs?  Do we haste into washing his feet and wiping them with a towel, as Christ did with His disciples? (John 13), or do we repeat his error before the others as the accusing Devil does with our brethren?  What side do we take??

RESISTANCE OF THE DEVIL

This is the third activity the Devil practices against us.  In doing so, he has several approaches:

1. OPPOSITION :  The Devil hinders the servant of God as much as he can, just as he did with the apostle Paul.  He hindered the apostle once and twice from completing a visit to the believers of Thessalonica (I Th 2:18).  This halting could be accomplished with a sudden sickness of the servant or one of his family members.  It could also be accomplished with a breakdown in the method of transportation: the car, the train, etc., or even by imposing stumbling blocks in the way of obtaining an entry visa, or the like, into the country he intends to visit.  Furthermore, it could be accomplished through drastic weather changes such as wind storms (Mk 4:37), monsoon rains, washout floods, mud slides, .. etc.

He may even use other people, even some of the believers at times, to impede the servant from completion of God’s works (Mt 16:22, 23 & Ac 21:20-24).
The Devil may delay the arrival of valuable spiritual magazines to the believers by losing it or rerouting it in the mail.  He may affect undue noises on the spiritual broadcasts or televised word, so the word of life would not reach the needy souls.
One peculiar incident is recorded in the Bible where the Devil showed ability to hinder God’s response to our prayers from reaching us promptly.  The incident is recorded in the book of Daniel 10:12, 13 when one of the demonic hosts delayed the arrival of the angel, sent by God to Daniel, by 21 days.  Daniel, on the other hand, used the opportunity wisely and beneficially since he spent it in prayer and fasting until the response arrived according to the good timing of our wise God.

1. POSITIVE RESISTANCE:  The Devil may apply this approach in several different ways.  He may resist the work by imitating it! Just as he used Jannes and Jambres to withstand Moses, by imitating the wonders he made to weaken its effect on Pharaoh (II Tim 3:8 & Ex 7:11-13), and also as the Elymas the magician (for so his name is by interpretation) opposed Paul and Barnabas, seeking to turn away the proconsul Sergius Paulus from the faith (Ac 13:8).  The Devil did similar things with the lying prophets who alleged that they are carrying the word of God while they were appointed with the message of Satan (I Kings 22 and Jeremiah 27,…)

The style of resistance may be distracting the attention away from whatever the servant of God is delivering, or opposing him, or using the clerical authority to prevent people from listening to the word of truth, or even using force to quiet the speakers (See Ac 7:54-58; 16:16-23; 19:28 & I Th 2:16 & II Tim 4:14, 15).  Etc.…
Of old, the Devil excited the people, returning from Babel, in the days of Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah, to impede the building of the temple and the fence of Jerusalem, by acting and by arguing, by force and by sarcasm (Ezr 4 and Ne 4).

1. DOWNRIGHT HARM:  “Behold, the devil is about to cast of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days” (Rev 2:10).  Just as God imposed limits on the Devil regarding what he can afflict on Job (Job 1:12; 2:6), here too, He limited the Devil to a period of time he cannot overstay (ten days).  The Devil obviously wanted to erase the testimony of God, but The Lord employed the persecution afflicted on the believers of Smyrna to purify that testimony and purify the witnesses themselves.  So, He let the Devil loose, and allowed the fire to burn the dross, but He will never allow the fire to burn beyond its limits and scald the gold (Pr 25:4)

Paul received a thrashing slap from the Devil, i.e. “a thorn for the flesh” (II Cor 12:7).  But this too was a blessing to Paul, just as the tribulations of Job were delivered for his own good.
*    *    *
We conclude our discussion about the dealings of the Devil with the individual believer, with two words, of warning and sympathy:
THE FIRST WORD:  If it is impossible for the Devil to break the believer’s neck, he can break his ribs.  If he is incapable of destroying the believer, he can make him stop in his track ineffective.  Our memory can still serve us in recalling many of the names of those who occupied prominent positions in the church of God, who started the work diligently, and all of a sudden, facing the insistence and persuasion of temptation, they fell, and their fall was tremendous.  Their names are never mentioned without a sigh of sorrow.  How do things happen, from time to time, that we would, “Tell [it] not in Gath, carry not the tidings in the streets of Ashkelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, “(87)! (II Sam 1:19-27).
THE SECOND WORD: The followers of Christ are not toys in the hands of that dangerous enemy, but they are surrounded with divine pleasure as the psalmist said, “For thou, Jehovah, wilt bless the righteous [man]; with favour wilt thou surround him as [with] a shield.” (Ps 5:12).  It is rather impossible for the Devil to penetrate that formidable barrier until the Lord allows him to do so (Job 1:10).
The Devil is indeed a significant force.  But he is not omnipotent.  Only God is Omnipotent.  God is ours, and He is on our side.  Therefore we can say with Elisha, “Fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. ” (II Ki 6:16).
But, why does God allow the Devil, from time to time, to accuse us or resist us or even inflict harm on us, it is because God wants us to surrender to Him, lean on Him and trust in His support.  Then God would know how to extract blessings for us out of all circumstances, makes the fury of man, or even the fury of the Devil praise Him, “For the fury of man shall praise thee; the remainder of fury wilt thou gird on thyself.” (Ps 76:10).
How glorious is the “end of the Lord”, “Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.” (Jas 5:11).  This is what we know now.  It is also what will be discovered in the future by the martyrs of the great tribulation after they pass through the fire of trials, when they say, “Great and wonderful [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true [are] thy ways, O King of nations. Who shall not fear [thee], O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy; for all nations shall come and do homage before thee; for thy righteousness have been made manifest.” (Rev. 15:3, 4).