a. Satan by Various Names
[10/22/19]
As I begin to consider Satan and his angels, I cannot help but feel a sadness at their existence. And yet, I must be mindful of this; that the Lord God has allowed their existence for His good purpose. This is a thing difficult to grasp, and yet it is a matter that must be true, for God is true, and God is truly Good. He is not capable of evil, nor of condoning evil. He is, however, fully capable of turning the worst works of the most evil of beings to His good purpose. So, then, the existence of Satan, and his working of evil throughout Creation, both on earth and in heaven, is to a good purpose, even if not done for a good purpose.
Let there be no mistaking this. Just as there is no least trace of evil to be found in God, for God is pure, and holy, and good, just so there is no least trace of good to be found in Satan. It may be that at his inception, this was not the case, just as with Adam this was not the case. But, Satan, a moral agent in his own right, chose the darkness, and in his darkened existence, he ever labors to lead others to join him.
We recognize that Satan has, at root, a jealousy for God’s position, and seeks himself to take that position from God for himself. We can recognize his influence over mankind because wherever his influence is found we find man seeking likewise to take God’s position for himself. That was the original temptation that overthrew Eve and Adam, and the devil’s tactics haven’t really changed since, for there has been no particular reason to change so successful a plan, as we might think to measure it by the results.
If one considers the texts of Scripture chronologically, we find Satan mentioned by name very near the start. He it is who comes before the Lord, along with the other ‘sons of God’ (Job 1:6-12). The two, LORD and Satan, converse as God directs his attention to His faithful servant Job. But, Satan does what he does best. He casts doubts. Is he faithful, or just fearful? If You didn’t bless him so, do you think he would still worship You? “But put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse Thee to Thy face” (Job 1:11). And when this did not suffice, he returned and upped the ante, so sure was he that he could induce Job to fall as he had done with Adam (Job 2:1-7). For it must be recognized that while Job is generally deemed the oldest of the written records, Genesis is still the record of earlier events. That text, however, does not mention Satan by this name.
In fact, the first mention by name comes in reference to David, oddly enough. The Chronicler records that Satan ‘stood up against Israel’, and did so by moving David to take a census of the Israelites (1Chr 21:1). To the best of my knowledge, we are never given a direct explanation of why this was so great an evil, other than that God had forbidden such activity. That, honestly, should suffice, but we are curious creatures by nature and want to know why that which is forbidden is forbidden. In our fallen state, the forbidding is enough to convince us that we really ought to do that which is forbidden. If it was forbidden, our broken reasoning goes, it must be particularly interesting and exciting. It must be – and catch this, for it is our true motivation in every pursuit of sin – reserved for God. See? It goes right back to the first crime. That tree God forbade us to eat… look at its fruit. It is clearly good to eat and this one has told us that it will make us as wise and knowledgeable as God Himself. Surely, that’s a good thing. I can’t imagine why He forbade us to eat of it. He must fear us becoming His equals. And so they ate, and so they fell, for the lying liar had, of course, lied and stirred in them the same lust for power and independence that had led to his own fall.
Do you know, we have already all but exhausted the mention of Satan as it occurs in the Old Testament. There is but one other passage that speaks of him by this name. It occurs in the prophecy of Zechariah, as he speaks of the coming end of Satan’s usurpation of the rule of Creation. “Then he [an angel of the Lord] showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him” (Zech 3:1-2). Stop. Here is Job in replay, but now it is Joshua the high priest who is in the dock, as it were, and we see that while Satan plays the prosecutorial role, the angel of God serves as defense attorney. Satan is the accuser of the brethren, and we can see that in representative form as he accuses the titular head of man’s religion. “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘The LORD rebuke you, Satan. Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?’” That is one very brief trial, I must say.
Given the scope of eternity, I suppose the experience of such a trial will indeed seem to have been very brief, the stuff of a moment. Even so, I have no doubt but that Satan has taken opportunity to list the full catalog of Joshua’s sins before the court of heaven, and Joshua has had no real choice but to stand and accept the truth of every accusation. The possibility of defense against such obviously accurate records before a Judge who just as obviously already knows the full record will have evaporated. At the same time, this convinces me that the standard answer we conceive of as the correct answer to that diagnostic question of what we shall plead say in our defense is not entirely accurate, if this scene is to be taken as typical.
You know the question in some form. Perhaps it comes as, “What would you say to God to justify why He should let you into His heaven?” And the answer we are pretty sure is correct is to say we will appeal to Jesus, and His blood shed for our sins. He has paid it all, all to Him I owe. This is certainly a true statement, and a sound explanation of the legal basis upon which our entrance shall indeed be granted. But, if we’re honest, and if we take this vision of Joshua’s trial as our model, I think the correct answer is, “nothing.” There is nothing to say. The accusations are true, and confession at this point would be rather superfluous. All present know it to be true. Arguably, we are the last to know, for we are terrifyingly adept at hiding the truth from ourselves, even if we fail utterly at hiding it from others. The weight of that testimony in regard to our sins, the weight of discovering that God wasn’t kidding when He said we would be judged for every idle word, nothing whatsoever left out of the accounting is guaranteed to leave us speechless before Him. Again, think of Job’s example. Somehow, he found it in himself to offer defense, to put forward claims of personal righteousness. And he found out in short order just how flimsy a defense that really was. But, observe! It is not Joshua who speaks up in his defense. It is the LORD Himself. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you!” This one is Mine. He has been plucked from the fire (your punishment), because I have redeemed Him. “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes” (Zech 3:4b). This is not just for Joshua. It is for all who believe. “Behold, I am going to bring My servant the Branch” (Zech 3:8b).
This is it. This is the whole notice given Satan by name in the Old Testament. He is introduced as the tormenter of Job, seeking to prod him into rejecting God. He is the tempter of David, leading him to sin against God’s command. He is the accuser of all who belong to God. But, in that effort he is doomed to failure, for the LORD rebukes him. It is not our piety that wins the day. It is the righteousness of Christ, the Branch sent for our salvation.
And when that Branch is come, we find Satan, as we found the angels of God, exceedingly active in the affairs of earth. Satan himself comes to tempt Jesus at the commencement of His ministry, hoping to destroy this salvific effort before it truly starts. Forty days this lasted, Mark tells us (Mk 1:13). Jesus, as a result is facing these severest temptations at a point of severest weakness. He has not eaten. He has not slept in a proper bed, nor even in a tent. He’s been out in the wilderness, alone and unequipped. Already He’s getting a taste of the deprivations that will accompany His ministry, this Jesus who is in fact God incarnate. He comes down from highest heaven, a being far and away superior to all that exists in creation, and has, as Paul tells us, humbled Himself, divested Himself of the divine prerogative to live as a man among men. In His humanity, we might suppose He is only just coming to full cognition of just how much He has laid aside, how low He has made Himself. And the temptation comes. You don’t need to follow the plan. You could take some shortcuts. After all, You know what is written about You. You can’t fail, can You? So I’ll tell You what. Why don’t You save Yourself the suffering and worship me, and I’ll give You the world. Same temptation. You can be better than God. I don’t, in all honesty, see how Satan could have thought this was going to work on God Himself. Maybe he didn’t fully grasp that part of the plan. Maybe he was still convinced this was just another Adam, just another man trying to make it on his own strength. But, in Jesus, he met his match and more. “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’” (Mt 4:10). Game over. “Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him” (Mt 4:11).
Satan departed, but he did not stay away. He chose other avenues of attack. He would attack through Jesus’ disciples, and the first evidence we see of this is not even a frontal assault, but seemingly an effort to support Him. Peter, who has just confessed the truth of Jesus, that He is the Son of God, then reacts to news of His impending death at the hands of man by telling Him effectively that He must be mistaken. Obviously, Peter has either not fully grasped the significance of his own confession or he has lost sight of it because of the Man standing before him in the flesh. Thus would we explain it were we there. It’s just Peter being Peter, really. But, no. Jesus reveals a rather shocking truth. It isn’t just Peter being Peter. It’s Satan on the attack, and so He doesn’t rebuke Peter. He rebukes that which is influencing Peter. “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Mk 8:33).
Let me just suggest that while this still clearly involves Peter, as it is his action, his words that lead to rebuke, and it is his interests that Jesus addresses, yet the rebuke is not primarily directed at Peter, but at Satan, who has led to Peter’s distraction from God’s interests. For Peter, this is a warning, or even a lesson. See, Peter? This is how he operates. It will seem like your own thoughts, your own deeds, but the truth is that Satan has been at work, whispering to your mind to lead you astray. Therein is a lesson for us through the ages. This raging lion who seeks to devour whom he may acts primarily as one behind the scenes, working our thoughts into channel they ought not to occupy, getting us to think humanly even though events around us unfold spiritually.
We are ever on the lookout for overt activities; demonic possessions acting out, Satanists and their confrontational efforts, things of that nature. But, we are all but blind to the quiet influence of this enemy of God, whispering slight shifts in our thinking until all unknowing we come to think more like an atheist than a believer, even as we continue to confess Christ.
For Peter, the shift was quick, because Peter was a man of quick shifts, and even forewarned, he proved no match for this evil opponent. Jesus warned him of Satan’s plans, for Satan, in his planning still has need of God’s permission to act against His chosen ones. “Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:31-32). Peter wasn’t having it. He had self-confidence – a first mistake. “Lord, I am ready to go both to prison and to death with You!” (Lk 22:33). But, it would not be thus. Jesus knew it. He told Peter how it would fall out, and so it did. But, this held not only for Peter’s abject failure when Jesus was taken by the authorities. It applied as well to the promised restoration. Peter, you will fail for a time, but you will return. Why? Is it because this is just how you are? No. If it was just how you are, you would fail and that would be the end of it. But, I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. It’s not a wish list I have presented to the Father. It is a purpose of prayer. I have prayed for you in order that your faith will not fail. It will seem as if it did, but it will not.
The other assault comes through Judas, and is more overt in nature. Yes, Judas is acting as he thinks in secret. He is not offering a head to head challenge to Jesus for control of the disciples. But, neither is he really one of the disciples, nor was he ever. Jesus, God incarnate, knew this from the outset, knew it when He chose Judas to accompany him. But, Satan was sure he had his weapon in Judas, and when the time came, “Satan entered into Judas” (Lk 22:3), and he went and betrayed the Son of God for a handful of coin. Again, the attack comes from off to the side, as it were, from a purported friend, because he had already learned, back there in the wilderness, that the frontal assault on Jesus wasn’t going to work. Oh, but the damage he could inflict through the wounds of a friend! Let us be careful that we are not similarly used to wound those who are our fellow believers. It happens too easily and too frequently, and we are too readily made the weapons who do the wounding. We have more than enough of tribulation in this life without becoming vessels of tribulation one to another on top of it.
The culmination of all these efforts plays out on the cross. Jesus, the Son of God, is hung there in ignominy, naked, wretched, maligned by one and all as they pass by and mock. Even those criminals being similarly punished beside Him feel free to mock Him, at least one of them. It seems Satan has won after all. It must have seemed so to the disciples, as well, and maybe even to Mary as she watched her son, her Savior, dying on the cross. The sense of defeat must have been crushing. I think of Mary Magdalene and those others who sought to prepare His body for the grave. How deep the sorrow that gripped them as they gathered materials and made their way. How deep the anguish at having to wait over the Sabbath before they could at least do Him this small honor in death.
But, Satan had not won. Christ rose victorious, having defeated him once for all and having removed from him the power of death, his greatest weapon. Oh, he still roams about. He still tempts. He still poisons the thoughts and deeds of men, but the whole thing is a lengthy act of futility. The war is over and he is defeated. The decisive battle has come and gone, and cannot be refought. Yet, for purposes God has in mind, he is left to thrash about for a season, and it is not a happy season for the world. Yet, it is a season of hope, for Christ has indeed overcome. “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Lk 10:18). So He greeted His disciples as they returned from their first training mission. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven” (Lk 10:19-20).
Now, there is a passage subject to all manner of misapplication! We have seen it. We know of churches that practice snake-handling as if this has anything to do with Christian faith. We see all manner of believers who take to heart the idea that they have power to command spirits. Indeed, they take this as including the angels, and play act at commanding angels hither and thither on the most trivial of assignments. As if. We even have now that fringe movement that supposes themselves already possessed of physical eternal life. I have to say, they seem to take an inordinate interest in matters of health and exercise and such for folks who think they already have that incorruptible body, but such is delusion. Jesus spoke to His disciples and declared, “nothing shall injure you.” Yet, we know this to be true: Not one of them is alive. Not one of them lived out a century, with possible exception for John, who seems to have lived a rather long life. Even so, John is no more, so far as this earthly life is concerned. Something assuredly put an end to the physical plant for each one of those who heard His words. For most of the Apostles, at least, that something was not the peaceful death of old age, but rather death at the hands of sinners.
Was Jesus wrong? Did he offer a false hope? Not at all. But, the injury He had in view concerned the soul, not the body. Come what may, as concerns this body, it is the soul that lives on. It is the soul’s passage to heaven that declares no injury done. The body, in the long run, simply doesn’t matter. It is not some Manichean view that the material is inherently evil and the spiritual inherently pure. It is simply that this body, in its current configuration is designed to fail, to wear out. What this says to man and his efforts to establish a medical eternality is something along the lines of, “good luck with that.”
But, Satan didn’t give up, did he? He still hasn’t. For a being whose intelligence and power so eclipse our own, he seems to have a rather massive blind spot here. He knows himself defeated, and yet cannot give up the fight. Whether this is reflective of a rather stunning lack of awareness, or simply evidence of his vindictiveness, the end result is the same. He continues to do such damage as he may to those who are the called of God. He does so by infiltration into their midst. He does so as one disguised even as an angel of light. But, more often, one suspects, he does so by sending his own pawns into the church, to sit amongst God’s people and give every appearance of being themselves among the elect. Thus positioned, they whisper their lies, pollute the doctrines of faith ever so slightly, turning the course of the church just the least bit askew, but over time, miniscule error becomes egregious departure from the Way.
Sometimes, these activities are more overt, at least in their result. And ever, God has His own presence. He is represented by those who remain faithful, and He has constant care of the Church. He will not long suffer it to continue in error. If that church is true, He will call it back to truth. If that church is false, it shall be revealed in its falseness, that the people of the truth may not be deceived by its devilish doctrines. I offer a case in point with Ananias and Sapphira, who thought to establish for themselves an unwarranted reputation for piety in the nascent church in Jerusalem. When all around them were selling off their property and bringing the proceeds to the Apostles for general use, these sold their land, and came with an offering as well. But, while they represented it as the whole of the proceeds, they had in fact kept back a portion; hedged their bets, as it were. They wanted the appearance of holiness, but they weren’t willing to actually be holy. God would not permit such falseness to persist. Peter was made aware of the truth of the matter, and confronted Ananias. “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?” (Ac 5:3). Observe that the sin was not in retaining possession of what was their own in the first place, it was in the falsity of the offering. It seems the old Watergate pronouncement has some truth to it. “The coverup is worse than the crime.”
But, Satan remains active, and in his letter to Corinth Paul gives us some idea as to why God has allowed this to be the case. Sin remains in the world, and it remains an issue for the people of God, let alone those who have rejected Him. So, what are we to do when sin continues unrepented in the life of a purported believer? “I have determined to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1Co 5:5). This sin needs to be excised. It needs first to be excised from the church, lest by leaving it unjudged, the leaven of sin poison the whole lump (1Co 5:6). This is the great danger of trying to be overly tolerant. By not addressing the obvious sin, we in effect condone it. And sin spreads, because apparently, based on our response to sin, it’s not really so sinful after all. So, we see Satan’s impact, in that sin is permitted to continue and fester, but we see also Satan’s purpose according to God, which is to so afflict the sinner that he will in fact turn from his sins and be restored.
Observe as well that the body is all but disregarded here. Let the flesh be destroyed if that’s what it’s going to take to bring the spirit to salvation. The flesh, after all, will drop away, whether in the grave, or in the wonder of that last moment of transformation at Christ’s return. Either way, it’s going, so why cling to it so? The flesh becomes temptation in its own right, and I think that proves particularly strong when we look at this urge for longevity that grips us. Yes, some of that is a longing for things the way they were back nearer to Eden. But, the larger picture is that the hunger for longevity reflects an awareness of our end, and grave concerns for what that end shall be. This afflicts believer as well as unbeliever, although for the believer it is something of a mistaken concern. It demonstrates an incompleteness of belief. If God is for you, who can be against you? “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Php 1:21). That’s not just Paul’s confession. That’s the reality for every believer, whether they grasp the truth of it yet or not. To live is only of value so long as it serves God’s purpose for us to live. But, our end is unchanged by length of days, and that end is most surely to be desired; an eternity in heaven, freed once for all from all temptation, from all of Satan’s machinations, and from every last vestige of sin’s effects. Honestly, it seems to me the whole fitness craze is somewhat unbecoming for the Christian, not that we ought to utterly neglect this body God has created for us, but it too easily becomes another idol on our shelf.
But, returning to the subject of Satan, we see that God leaves him here for His own purposes, and His own purposes continue to concern the good of His people, for the good of His people is to His glory. So, Satan remains as a tool for the training and purification of His own. He may tempt. No, he most assuredly does tempt. There’s no maybe about it. But, temptation comes not to destroy us, but to strengthen us. We learn by resisting. We grow by the exercise of spiritual muscle in discerning the sinful habit and joining battle against it. So, the Corinthians were instructed not to seek false purity in abstinence, but to ‘come together again lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control’ (1Co 7:5). Marriage is given both as an opportunity for us to demonstrate the fellowship that is in the Godhead, and as a means for satisfying our bodily desires in purity. To marry and then to play at celibacy is to lay oneself open to sin, as those desires will overwhelm in due time. But, “we are not ignorant of his schemes,” (2Co 2:11) for God does not suffer us to continue in ignorance. We are made aware so that we can be aware, and being aware can resist the devil that he may flee (Jas 4:7).
[10/24/19]
We have, then, this repeating pattern in regard to Satan and his machinations. While he assuredly has no intention of doing good to God or God’s people, yet as God directs all things, and all things therefore do work for good to those who love God (Ro 8:28), just so do Satan’s worst efforts prove to have turned out for the good purpose of God. That one that Paul would deliver over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, recall, was thus delivered for his good: “That his spirit may be saved.” Paul himself, though bearing with a ‘messenger of Satan to buffet me’, knew it was to good purpose: “To keep me from exalting myself!” (2Co 12:7). And even when ‘Satan thwarted us’ in his desire to rejoin the believers in Thessalonica (1Th 2:18), it was not to the detriment of Timothy, but rather because in God’s purpose, Paul was needed elsewhere, going to Athens and then to Corinth, where indeed a fruitful work was to transpire.
As to this devil Satan, the end is written and shall assuredly come to pass. “The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev 12:9). Now, this is not the end, and might very well be thought of as the present. Looking back to that early mention in Job, it is clear that there was a time when Satan entered heaven, and even the presence of God with relative impunity. It is equally clear that even in those earliest encounters, Satan’s motives were impure, and his desire to prove God wrong and himself stronger were already to be found. How it is that such a one could even so briefly enjoy the liberty of entering the very throne room of Most Holy God I am at a loss to explain, other than to accept that his presence and his purposes served God’s good and perfect plan.
But, here he and his minions are cast out, I should think once for all. They are thrown down to the earth, which as I say is not the final note for them, but it is a fall beyond imagining. It is also, in and of itself, rather bad news for the earth, isn’t it? Now, this vile bunch have nothing better to occupy their time than to harass mankind, and in particular, those whom God has given His Son. But, the message doesn’t stop there. “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time’” (Rev 12:10-12).
Hear the mixed news of this message. He is cast down, but he is present in his wrath. Heaven is clear now, but earth has visitors it could well do without. But, as those in heaven overcame by the blood and testimony, so, too, God’s children who remain on the earth. The devil’s wrath may be great, but his time is short, and his end certain. Our time here is likewise short, and the end certain. For those who are the called of God, this is good news even if the present experience is one of suffering. There’s more to the story yet. “He laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time” (Rev 20:2-3). Shoot. Thought we were done with him, but he comes back; just as it was for our Lord in His incarnation.
So, when the term is complete, “Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war” (Rev 20:7-8a). “And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev 20:9-11). “This is the second death, the lake of fire” (Rev 20:14). That, then, is the end of that.
This devil, this Abaddon, as he is occasionally referred to, is closely linked with death. “Abbadon and Death say, ‘with our ears we have heard a report of it’, this wisdom of God, hidden from the eyes of the living” (Job 28:20-22). “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD” (Pr 15:11a), and these are never satisfied (Pr 27:20). Like the hunger of man for riches, so these hunger for death and its corruption. Death, you see, is of the devil, the fruit of his foul labors, beginning with that first deception in Eden. In that first encounter, he is identified only as ‘the serpent’ (Ge 3:1-14), and from that point, it seems as though the serpent became the very symbol of all that is sneaky and deceitful in life. Even when Moses made the bronze serpent upon which man was to look and be saved from the penalty of his sins, it was not in fact a good thing in the long run (Nu 1:8-9). In due time, that bronze serpent would become an idol and a snare, through the influence of that serpent who spoiled Eden, and Hezekiah would find it necessary to destroy that which God had caused to be made because it had been made an idol (2Ki 18:4). But, this, as we learn, was but a signpost pointing to Christ. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life” (Jn 3:14).
I have to say, as I quote that, it is very difficult to retain the correct ordering of terms there. My mind wants to hear it as “whoever believes in Him may have eternal life,” but it seems to me the order is important here. It is whoever believes may in HIM have eternal life. It cannot be had except in Him. Eternal life is not had from some power of belief. It is had in Him, else it is not had at all. Even so, as we shall consider in due course, that ability to believe is also had in Him, and no other way. It is not a thing we can work up within ourselves, nor maintain by dint of strength. It is had from Him, that it may be had in Him. And from this singular work of the Lamb, who was lifted up for our salvation – from this work alone – flows life eternal to all who believe, all who are the Father’s gift given to His Son, from whose hands no power or circumstance, whether in heaven or in hell or on earth or even within us, can snatch us (Jn 10:28-29).
[10/25/19]
As concerns reference to Satan as the devil, this does not occur except in the New Testament. The term itself speaks of one who issues false accusations, a slanderer. This, we can readily see, is a trait already in evidence back at the start of Job. The claims he made in regard to Job were indeed false, as events would prove, and God gave him what might seem an inordinate degree of opportunity to show his claims accurate. That whole book serves as quite a tool for understanding God’s purpose in leaven the devil to prowl the earth. As concerns His own, it is to prove them, and in proving them, the issue has far more to do with proving to the believer that his belief is real than with proving anything to God. God already knows.
So we see the devil, Satan, in the temptation of Christ, an act which primarily consists in making false accusations, if you will, as to what God meant by what He had said – the same game played in Eden to such seeming success. (Mt 4:1-11). We hear of him again in parable, as Jesus teaches about the farmer whose field of wheat was found to have been planted also with tares (Mt 13:24-43). Tares are plants that look very much like wheat right up to the point where things have ripened and are ready to be harvested. Only then do these plants, whose fruit is poisonous to man, show their difference clearly. So, when Jesus, early in the parable, informs us that ‘while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away’ (Mt 13:25), we see the treachery of this act. This enemy comes and puts among the good seed that which appears good but is not. It will prove false in due time, but he has done so in deepest secrecy, that none may recognize what has happened until it is too late.
The owner of the field, upon being informed of what has been found growing there understands immediately. “An enemy has done this!” (Mt 13:28), but when asked if perhaps they ought to uproot the tares, he tells his men no, for things have gone too far, and the roots of the plants are too entangled. The act of purifying the field at this juncture would do too much harm to the good wheat. He will wait for harvest, when the growing is over, and the tares can be destroyed utterly without harm to the wheat. Now, an agrarian society would readily understand this exemplary tale, and acknowledge the wisdom the farmer has shown. Yet, the message is not about farming. It’s about the kingdom of heaven, and as such, it has no small value to us today as we consider the state of the church, and why it is as it is. Jesus’ later explanation makes it reasonably clear to us.
“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels” (Mt 13:37-39). There’s a message in this: The Church is not inherently pure in its earthly incarnation, nor shall it be, for the devil, the false accuser, plants false witnesses amidst the true. Now, here’s the thing to remember. Those tares may not even know they are tares. They may very well think themselves wheat just like the good seed around them. Indeed, they may pass as good wheat for a very long time before the truth is revealed.
But, observe also that while we ought surely to guard ourselves when once we have recognized the tare in our midst, it is not our duty to immediately rip that one out of the local body and cast him off. It may come to that, and provision is made for judgment in the house of God when such is shown needful, lest the leaven of sin be allowed to poison the whole work. But that’s really a tool for open and egregious sin, where the sinner is evident in his sinfulness, and for the church to tolerate that sin without apparent notice would be to instruct the people that said sin is not sin after all. It would be, then, to bear false witness by silence, and to serve as tools of the devil by such false witness. But, where the sin is less evident, wisdom may dictate that the false brother be allowed to remain, although remain as something of a known quantity, and a matter for prayer and missional pursuit. That is to say, we no not the final state of such a one, whether God might even yet choose to rescue him from his darkness and, to utterly rend the fabric of the parable, transform this tare into wheat, as He has done with us.
But, for our present subject, the focal point is this: “The enemy who sowed them is the devil.” He is acting in his own character in so doing, for falsity is in his nature, this father of lies. He is ever working to present false testimony in regard to God, and to convince those who belong to God to falsify their own. Thus, when the Word is preached, it is the devil who comes and takes away that word from the ears of the half-convinced (Lk 8:12). It is the devil who fills Judas to bear false witness of Jesus, and to bear false witness to Jesus (Jn 6:7). It is the devil who instigates the Pharisees, those who had set out to be set apart for holiness, to so pervert the word of God as to become false witnesses with a false piety, and set firmly on the course of destroying the True Son. “You are of your father the devil (tares), and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).
The message continues. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” This is the work of the devil, the father of lies, that his children cannot – I repeat, cannot – believe Truth. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (Jn 8:45-47). They are a false witness serving another father than that which they claim. And how do they respond? “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (Jn 8:48). Sounds like a bit of projection there, which is yet another form of false witness, isn’t it? What are they doing, but accusing Jesus of exactly their own condition. No, these are not Samaritans by birth, but by the admixture of their purportedly holy faith, they show themselves, if you will, the half-breeds of God’s people, bearing the name and the nationality, but bearing nothing of true holiness. They are the tares, the false witness to a false god, the father of lies, whom they worship even as the scrupulously avoid speaking the name of the true God whom they claim to serve.
As to the Church proper, the True Church, we have instruction in regard to this devil, this Accuser, this false witness. “Do not give the devil an opportunity” (Eph 4:27). What opportunity was that? The opportunity of using your anger to move you to sin. Don’t let your passions get the best of you, and by no means let that anger fester overnight to poison your soul for the day ahead. How often we ignore this, and always to our own detriment! “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:11). Indeed, recognize that the trials of the day are not the result merely of human machinations or foibles of the flesh. They are spiritual battles against spiritual forces. The right response isn’t to steel yourself and power through. The right response is prayer and patience, girding oneself in the truth of God so as to stand fast against the lies of the devil, and remain unmoved.
Those who would serve God more directly in serving His church are advised to take heed to their maturity. This is also the message to those who would vet the one willing to serve. Don’t press the new convert into service, “lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must also have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1Ti 3:6-7). We see then the twin weapons, the twin issues of the devil. The first is prideful arrogance, that conceit that led him to suppose he could out-God God. This is the inward peril, if you will, the fallen nature within seeking to tear down the witness of the new man. But, that public reputation is important as well, lest we give the world room to make credible, even if false, accusation against us – the snare of the devil. Those false accusations cannot take root where the public life is consistent with the life of faith.
I think about the examples we have seemingly daily in the news. Is there a heinous crime committed by some youth somewhere? You will find that no matter how painfully obvious the evidence against that one, there are those who knew the youth, who simply can’t believe it of him. “He was such a nice boy.” At the same time, we cannot help but perceive a climate in which the wildest of accusations levied against our president are blindly accepted as true, without any evidence, and with pretty clear evidence to the contrary. Why? Because by his public persona – a very public persona in this case – he opens himself up to such things being believable. One could readily conceive of him doing such a thing, even if he would not in fact do so, and did not do so. And it seems that no one stops to consider the public personae of the accusers, who have shown a penchant for fabricating all sorts of nonsense when the facts don’t support their claims; who seem to suffer a great deal of projection in what they suppose this man capable of, and therefore guilty of. It seems more and more that the accusations they level have credence with them because they themselves have done the same or worse, or would in a heartbeat, if given the chance. This is false witness, the tool of the devil wielded by sons of the devil. The president may be no saint himself, but that does nothing to excuse the jackals who have set themselves to harry his every step.
We come back to the advice of James, the brother of Jesus. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7). How do we resist? “Submit therefore to God.” “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Jas 4:8). These are connected thoughts. To draw near to God is to purify and be purified of sins. It is to put paid to our double-minded, half-hearted pursuit of holiness and truly commit. It is to humble yourselves in the presence of God, and stop overestimating your strength and ability. It’s not you. It’s Him. So, “Be on the alert. Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1Pe 5:8-10).
You know, that seems a fine place to conclude this portion of my study. Be on the alert against this tricky enemy of yours. Train your ears in the Truth so that the lies will stand out, however cleverly concealed. Don’t suppose that a pain-free life is in the offing because you now have God on your side. That was never proposed, and quite frankly, where God’s people have known a life of ease, they have also known a life of apostasy. This suffering is only for a season, and only for our good. Like Jesus in the wilderness, it is a test, but it is a test God has every intention of our passing. Humble yourself. Know it’s not you who provides the strength, but God who strengthens. Know that the test is not sent to crush you, but to confirm you. Know that however severe the trials, they are but for a moment. Others have faced worse and stood firm in Christ. That’s not to say that you should count it a competition and seek to best their example. No, it’s to say draw strength from the history, the bountiful evidence. God will perfect you. God will establish you. One more: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev 2:10). Forewarned is forearmed, the saying goes. And that promise is certain. “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death” (Rev 2:11), that death to which the devil is ultimately bound.
b. Demons
[10/26/19]
As with the term devil, the term demon does not generally arise until the New Testament. There are, in fact, three uses of the term in the Old Testament, but they pertain more to the topic of false gods than to demons directly, so I will save them for the next portion. Coming into the New Testament, the primary reference we have to them is as spirits who have possessed particular individuals. They are spirits that need to be cast out. When in possession of individuals, these demons may exhibit in physical symptoms akin to epilepsy, or in seeming insanity, or in the guise of other diseases, or even in the apparent exercise of supernatural powers.
Looking through the gospels, there is scant mention of any such power-conveying presence. It is pretty much always to the detriment of one possessed. The nearest exception I can think of off hand would be the Gadarene demoniac who at least had such strength as defied even chains, but at what cost? No, the overall picture is one of a terrible price paid by the one thus possessed. I would not further that there is no sense of the one possessed having consciously sought out such a condition. I will not say that possession came about all unwilling on their part, but the willing was done toward what seemed an unrelated matter. Thus is ever the way of sin. The temptation that leads to sin never looks particularly sinful, and yet it leads a man so very far astray. The temptation that leads to demonic possession is no different. The demon does not reveal himself in true nature and ask if he can come in. He is invited in by the choices and actions of the one he possesses, yes, but at least as concerns these cases seen in the gospels, the invitation wasn’t given with full knowledge of what was being invited, near as I can tell.
I’ll just briefly contrast that to those few OT mentions of demons. Where they are noted, it is in conjunction with acts of sacrifice, and such sacrifices as are quite clearly at odds with the scriptural mandate that applied at the time. These were clearly conscious acts undertaken as acts of the will, however unconscionable the actions may have been. What we see in the gospels is something else. It’s not that folks went out looking for false gods to worship, and took upon themselves the consequences. Well, actually, it is rather like that, but it is not so blatant in form. Our idols, like theirs, are of more civilized forms, and less likely to be recognized for what they are, much to our dismay.
But, going back to the gospel examples, we have many who are demon-possessed, and wherever such individuals encountered Jesus, an amazing thing happened. The demon came out of that individual. Now, first, I must observe that this does not encompass every lost soul that came into contact with Jesus. Not every sinner is possessed by demons. By and large, our sins are our own doing and needed no great effort on the part of the devil and his minions. But, where such came into contact with Jesus and discovered themselves freed, is it any wonder that the news got out? If you think of the impact of a relatively simple healing, even the healing of something so life-impacting as leprosy, this goes far beyond such impact.
In that light, let me offer the rather summary statement of Matthew on this topic. “And the news about Him went out into all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, taken with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them” (Mt 4:24). I observe several things here. First, I observe that it was the Judeans who came, nor even the Galileans. It was the Syrians who seem to have recognized that something wonderful was come, and recognized as well that it was to their great advantage to experience it first hand. That is so shocking a realization. With all that was already happening in these early days of Jesus’ ministry, it was already the outsiders, those accounted enemies of Israel – enemies of longstanding then, and enemies still to this day – who seem to have clued in about Jesus.
Second, I observe that the term healing is applied both to disease and to possession. That is to say, healing, as we see it used in relation to the work of God, is something more than medicinal, something beyond concerns with the physical plant of our body. Healing would seem clearly to encompass those things. The intent here is not to suggest that ‘diseases and pains’, nor even epilepsy and paralysis are somehow necessarily the impact of demonic possession. We are not handed a list of parallels here, but a list period. All these sorts of things, offered in no apparent order, except perhaps from least to greatest, as concerns the personal experience of them, Jesus healed. The nature of the healing would, of course, accord with the nature of the issue. He’s not going to cast out demons to deal with a head cold or a broken finger. Neither is He going to apply mud to address demonic possession. But, whatever the issue, and however He undertakes to address it, it comes under the summary term of healing.
As for the possessed, those truly dealing with demons, “He cast out the spirits with a word,” and for the rest, He “healed all who were ill” (Mt 8:16). Demons, it must be noted, were not terribly keen to be thus cast out, and would even argue with Him, or plead with Him as might more properly describe the case. That pair of demoniacs in the land of the Gadarenes, for example, ‘so exceedingly violent that none could pass by that road’, cried out, “What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Mt 8:29). Observe: Those who possessed the two men were clearly aware of Who they were dealing with, and also of the inevitable end. This informs us in regard to the devil that he, too, is fully aware that he is doomed to failure. But, this only pushes him to fight all the more in his perversity. As the leader, so the led. These demons are the more active in their efforts knowing the end that awaits them. We can hear something of their perspective in the well-known words of Isaiah’s prophecy. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die” (Isa 22:13), that same sentiment often being attributed to the gladiators who fought to entertain Rome. Today you might recognize it in the so-called YOLO mentality. Might as well have a good time now, because death is inevitable. It’s wrong, and hopeless, and quite probably the influence of the devil steering many into greater sin and condemnation.
But, this life is not without hope, for as many as were demon-possessed, He healed them all. I observe that He is not alone in this activity. At the same time, not all who cast out demons are by such actions assuredly marked out as His. This is odd to me, yet it is clearly the case. We have it from Jesus Himself that this is so. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Mt 7:22-23). So, first; recognize the claim of ‘in Your name’. That claim is one of authorization. We did these things with claims of doing so on Your authority, which is to say, by Your command. The response then begins to make some sense. I don’t even know you, how could I have authorized you or commanded you to act on My behalf? You didn’t do this because I told you to do so. You did it because you thought it boosted your image. These acts, however beneficial to the recipient, were lawless acts, false claims to My authority. That should quite rightly give us great pause in regard to our own behavior, our own efforts. Do we act because we are supposed to, or simply because we think those acts will boost our reputation? Who do we actually serve when calling on the name of the Lord?
At the same time, when Jesus sent His disciples out on their training mission, they did those things Jesus was doing. Note well that they did so as authorized agents. “He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases” (Lk 9:1). Not also that it was these twelve specifically, not the larger group of disciples, who numbered in the hundreds, who were thus authorized. There is a reason that the gospels specifically note that it was ‘the twelve’ who were called and sent on this mission. “They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them” (Mk 6:12-13). I observe that here it is many, whereas with Jesus it was all, but I’m not sure I should put much weight on the distinction.
What we do know is that the disciples encountered cases that were beyond them to address, yet Jesus was able. Not so very far after Luke notes their authorization, we find them failing at the task. Coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus is met by a man. “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, my only son. Behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into convulsion with foaming at the mouth, and as it mauls him, it scarcely leaves him. And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not” (Lk 9:38-40).
They were authorized, but they were unable. And yet, we are told of those who were able, but not authorized. It seems so unreasonable. John found it unreasonable. “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to hinder him because he does not follow along with us” (Lk 9:49). Isn’t it something how close-coupled these matters are in Luke’s narrative? Hardly a self-serving testimonial to the Apostles, is it? Jesus replies, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you” (Lk 9:50). No guarantee that this one was going to find a place in heaven, but to the degree that the works of the devil are being destroyed, let it be.
The apostles were not without their successes, although they seem to have been somewhat surprised by them. And I must acknowledge that the report of success comes not from the twelve, but from the seventy. “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” (Lk 10:17). So, that authorization is wider than just the Apostles. Yet it is not carte blanche to act at will. It is assurance when one acts as authorized, that the power by which you were authorized is the Power that will see your work complete. Assuredly, discovering that demons are subject to you is no call to start playing at ordering them off to other tasks. That authority extends to one thing, and one thing only: “Depart from him.”
It is interesting, again thinking back to the Syrians who came flocking to Jesus for rescue, that the Judeans responded quite differently. “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons” (Lk 11:15). Never mind the absurdity of supposing the ruler of demons would be thus acting against his own interests, as Jesus points out. But, this seems a popular thought to them. If you disagree with us, ‘you have a demon!’ (Jn 7:20). If you accuse us of ungodliness, ‘you have a demon!’ If your claims go beyond our understanding, ‘You have a demon!’ (Jn 8:52). Indeed, we’re sure of it now, for Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he shall never taste of death.’ If this were a Monty Python episode, we’d be hearing them say, “You’re a loon.” Jesus’ response is to the point. “If Satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? You say I cast out demons by Beelzebul. Well, if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk 11:18-20). I ask you, which is the more reasonable explanation?
So, then, as concerns the role of demons in the narrative of the gospels, they are one of many evils that plague humanity, although not demonstrably the source of every evil. They are displayed as both powerful and defeated, violent spirits thrashing in their recognition of futility. They recognize the impinging kingdom of God far more clearly than man because they are more spiritually attuned. I observe that to be spiritual does not in any way prove holiness. We hear it so often today. “I’m spiritual, but I wouldn’t say I’m a Christian, or really part of any particular religion.” Yes, I suspect the demons would say much the same, and it would be as near to truth as perhaps they can get. What does that say of those who make such claims? I fear it says that they are far nearer to the devil than to God, far closer to evil than good.
[10/27/19]
It seems Scripture doesn’t find much cause to give the demons further notice. There is note of their activity increasing as the end nears. “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth” (1Ti 4:1-3). Now, clearly Paul is addressing some fairly specific errors that are creeping into the church at the time, but observe the common thread of lies involved, the demons, working the work of their master the devil, work to deceive, and in the church the prime mode of deception is false doctrines. I have observed of late that a favorite ploy of these promoters of false doctrines is to turn this passage, at least the ‘doctrines of demons’ part, against longstanding doctrines of the Church, and even, in the extreme, against portions of the Bible. Oh, Paul just didn’t understand. But, these are Paul’s words, if they are anybody’s. In fairness, the claim is much higher: “The Spirit explicitly says…”
I have to add that the one who would make this claim for his own words today had best have significant and irrefutable reason for that claim to be accepted. Paul could point to a life lived amongst those to whom he made the claim. He could point to a life clearly transformed, and teaching long since shown to be by the Spirit’s revelation. Even with that, we know he struggled to maintain his true status amongst those who did not know him as well. It strikes me that we are all too ready to accept equivalent claim from those we don’t know from Adam. This is not a good thing. This is not sound Christian practice. It is a falling away, and paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.
That is not to say that we accept every claim upon tradition as proved and approved doctrine. Neither is it to say that every pronouncement of every preacher who points to Scripture for his message is to be accepted without question. The devil and his minions are, after all, quite adept at pointing to Scripture. The devil played that game with Jesus, but Jesus wasn’t having it. James, the brother of Jesus warns us in his way. “You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” (Jas 2:19-20). Now, there are attempts to set James against Paul for this statement. The skeptic will insist that this shows inconsistency in the Bible. Over here it says faith not works, over there it says works, not faith. But, that is not what James is teaching. He is not insisting on an either/or, but rather observing the necessity of a both/and. Faith without works is what we tend to call head knowledge. It’s an assent to the truth of the Truth, but stopping there. Demons assent to the truth of the Truth, when they must, or when it serves their lying purpose to do so. But, the truth is no comfort to them, rather cause for trepidation, for knowing the truth, they know their end.
What James is pointing out is that the sort of faith that can pronounce theologically sound doctrines with alacrity, yet shows no least impact of said theology upon the life being lived is no faith at all. He is not saying that works are the key to salvation, only that they are the necessary evidence of salvation. Where the seed is growing, the fruit must be showing. Anything else is hypocrisy at best, intentional deceitfulness and cover for spreading false doctrines at worst.
James further observes that jealousy and selfish ambition are evidence not of pious pursuit of God, but of such ‘wisdom’ as is not from above, ‘but is earthly, natural, demonic’ (Jas 3:15-16). The two, the natural and the demonic, sadly go hand in hand. That is not to say that nature or earth is evil. No, these are good things created by a good God. But, because of the sinfulness of sin, they have become to us a source of evil deceits.
These evil deceits, as we have seen, may involve things that have the appearance of godliness to them, even signs and wonders. That should be a caution to those who are enamored of signs and wonders, as if the signs and wonders themselves were proof positive of the performer’s righteousness. They are no such thing, although the Apostles were assuredly accompanied by signs and wonders. John warns of them. “I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty” (Rev 16:13-14). John writes of three, but this, I suspect, is symbolic, the significance being in the number written. We can see, already, something of an unholy trinity presented in the persons of dragon, beast, and false prophet, and they being three, that which proceeds from them is also three in number. But, I could readily accept that here is a description of a work far more general in nature; that the enemy of God comes in the guise of godly workers, performing signs to wow the rubes, because he knows how impressive we count such things.
But, what exactly have we learned about demons? Not a great deal, apart from their propensity for deceit and for afflicting those who give them entrance. Again, the examples we have seen have not primarily been examples pertaining to idolatry, as I am holding those thoughts for a later section. But, where there was evidence of mental or physical malady having demonic possession at its root, there is no suggestion that those thus possessed had knowingly, consciously welcomed the possession. It happened. Yes, there was some act on their behalf, I suppose, that opened the door, as it were, and gave permit for such a thing to happen, but it does not appear to have been an invitation or acceptance of the idea. That child whose father brought him to the disciples to expunge the demon that caused his epileptic fits had not, so far as Scripture reveals, performed some sort of heathen ritual to bring the demon upon himself. There is no greater sin, as we might account it, that led to him being thus afflicted. None of the cases presented to us really give us cause to find the one afflicted somehow worse than ourselves in the sin department. It is presented as something that could just as readily have happened to any one of us, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Ro 3:23). If all have sinned, all are subject to the full penalty of sin, which is death. But, all are likewise subject to experience the spreading poison of sin, and sin’s effects, up to and including possession, if they will not accept the work of the Great Physician.
c. Evil Spirits
Now, I noted that the OT doesn’t speak much of demons except in connection with idolatry, but they do note evil spirits. What is truly interesting in that regard is that the authors of the Old Testament texts did not cringe from recognizing that even these evil spirits were, if you will, ‘acts of God’. From the first it is so. “Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech” (Jdg 9:23). God sent. God did not in fact perform evil, nor intend evil in the outcome. But, He allowed and even, I think we must allow, commanded, those of evil intent to go and see to this task. That bothers us no end, for God is Good! How could He? I can only answer because this evil act, performed with evil intent on the part of evil spirits, was in fact allowed and decreed for good. I have to admit that in the light of Judges, it’s that much harder to see the good that came of it, but in this I must trust my good God.
We see it again with Saul, the king that God chose as first to rule Israel. This was, to all effect, an bad choice of king, but then, it was a bad choice on the part of Israel to insist on a king. They had God as king, and it seems clear enough that God already had plans to install a human king. But, their desire was not for that which God had in store. Rather it was that they might be more like the nations around them. They didn’t want to stick out so. So, Saul was set upon the throne of Israel, and for a time all was well. But, Saul was not a man after God’s own heart, and did not fully trust in the Lord. He felt it necessary to take matters into his own hands, and far overstepped his authority. The reaction was severe. “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him” (1Sa 16:14). That spirit, it shall be noted, would leave off the terrorizing when David came to play his harp and sing. Reading the Psalms, we have a pretty solid idea of David’s choice of subject for his songs, and the subject seems invariably to have been the glory of God. This evil spirit, though present by the LORD’s command, could not tolerate these odes of glory to God, and must, it seems, depart for a time until the music had stopped. “So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and well, and the evil spirit would depart from him” (1Sa 16:23).
So, was there something special about harp music? Or, maybe something special about David’s harp in particular? Not at all. But, rather it was the God whom David praised, that same God, we have to note, who sent that spirit in the first place. It was, if anything, evidence of God’s approval of David, who would be the king after God’s own heart. He would not be perfect, by any stretch, but he knew how to repent and he knew how to praise, and he knew, as he would have to, the God upon whom he depended for life itself. Eventually, “an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand. And Saul hurled the spear for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall.’ But David escaped from his presence twice” (1Sa 18:10-11). You see, then, that there was nothing magical about the harp, nor about David’s playing. It was a sign regarding David, not a balm for Saul.
It’s interesting that we really don’t hear a great deal more about evil spirits after this encounter. In fact, we don’t much hear about evil spirits at all beyond that point, at least not in such terms. We have the one case concerning those sons of Sceva who thought to make a name for themselves by casting out demons like they had heard Jesus and Paul were doing. But, they did not understand what they were about. “Some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, ‘I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ And seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified” (Ac 19:13-17). Note well the setting. This is Ephesus, home to practitioners of the magic arts, and these exorcists, we may presume, were not very much different. They were playing with powers they thought they could control, but these were powers that in fact would control them. They mistook Jesus and Paul for just another sort of incantation, a new routine. They were wrong.
d. False Gods / Idols
[10/28/19]
As I have noted coming to this point, many of the notices given to demons occur in connection with idolatry, the worship of false gods. Already, we see some connective tissue here, in that the worship directed to idols is worship falsely directed. It is honor given to those making false claims, lying about their status and power. It is, then, the worship of the father of lies, however unwittingly given.
The first few mentions given to demons are directly to the point, coming out of the two books most directly involved with laying out the law of God. The first comes as a corrective the practice of the sons of Israel, as it appears. It is one that history would show proved chronic, but be that as it may, the Lord speaks to Moses about matters of sacrifice. Sacrificial offerings were a common enough occurrence, and as there was not as yet a proper priesthood established, men took matters into their own hands in this regard. They would slaughter their chosen sacrifice wherever they happened to be. Now, it was to be the case that any such sacrifice, even if made out in the field for some reason, was to be brought to the tent of meeting and offered up on the altar there (Lev 17).
Now, up to this point we could write this off as simply the necessities of the life of faith prior to there being an organized religion to follow. But, note what comes next. “And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations” (Lev 10:7). Israel, it seems, had picked up some bad habits in Egypt, or perhaps much earlier. It may be that they had habitual sins that had been with them even from the days of Abraham leaving his father’s house in Ur. Wherever it had come from, they had been playing the field; worshiping God, yes, but also these goat demons. In this, they had little to distinguish them from the later practices of Rome and Greece, which seemed ready to add any so-called god to the pile, on the off chance that they could find the right one to appease. We might add present-day Hindu to the collective collection in this regard. You want Christ? Sure, we can add him to the suite here. But, God will not have it. There is no other. All these other claimants are liars from the father of lies. They are demons, whatever they may claim about themselves, and they are not to be worshiped, but to be resisted.
Again, in Deuteronomy, as Moses prepares the people for entrance into the promised land, he reiterates the point, for it is a different generation than that which departed Egypt, and they have already lost somewhat the thread of history that brought them here. As to God, “Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made and established you. Remember the days of old. Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, your elder, and they will tell you” (Dt 32:6-7). You need reminding, and best you get your reminders from those with firsthand experience while yet they are here to tell you. Consider Jacob. “The LORD alone guided him, and there was no foreign god with him” (Dt 32:12). But, this generation? We find it represented by Jeshurun, a name apparently given as identifying Israel’s ideal character, according to Fausset’s. It is perhaps something of a term of endearment, although in this instance, what is described is hardly an endearing quality. “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked – you are grown fat, thick, and sleek. Then he forsook the God who made him, and scorned the Rock of his salvation. They made Him jealous with strange gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately, whom your fathers did not dread” (Dt 32:15-17).
Perhaps even more shocking than the fact that God’s people so readily wandered after other gods is that God permits the idea that there even are other gods, even if they are ‘new gods who came lately’. That is, I think, His way of saying they are no gods at all. God is eternal. He has always been and always will be. As I have taken pains to lay out previously, He is alone in this capacity, and alone in magnificence and authority. He alone is truly God, and there literally, logically, reasonably cannot be another. There is one Rock, one God, and there is not room in all the universe for another, for He fills all and is in all. There is no place available where He is not God, and as such, there is no place available for these other so-called gods to have jurisdiction.
Recall the common thought of the nations in that age, that gods were regional, or had their sphere of influence. It was this that led to the behaviors of invading armies. As I have been following Table Talk this year, and they consider the era of the kings, one thinks of Assyria. They captured a land and took that as their gods having conquered the gods of those other lands. If we beat you, we beat your god, and we can add him to our collection. In the case of Israel, they even sent back some priests to appease the God of Israel after they had taken the northern tribes into exile. Why? Because to their thinking, gods were regional, and this one wanted returning to his region, his place. But, that’s the mindset of the idolater. Trained in worship of demons by demons, their conceptions of god and holiness are a fabric of lies told by the lying servants of the father of lies.
Now, time (and my energy for such things) does not permit a full exploration of every matter of idolatry noted in Scripture. Suffice to say that it was, and continues to be an effectively perpetual problem for humanity, and the people of God are sadly not immune to it. Israel, having failed to fully obey God upon entry into the Promised Land, found themselves plagued by idolatries. As I noted in considering Saul and the evil spirit sent to harass him in his failure, even the nation’s pursuit of a king was in effect an act of idolatry, for they wanted nothing so much as to be like other nations. They didn’t want the invisible God who ruled them. They wanted somebody they could see and touch and hear, whom they could put forward as their hero, their idol.
But it got worse, much worse, before ever it could get better. “They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, but they mingled with the nations, and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood” (Ps 106:34-38). Those are words that ought rightly to chill us to the bone in our present day. We have given way, given legal permit to practice the self-same thing in the form of abortion. Make no mistake, it is the same demon demanding the same sacrifice and offering false promises of bounty and happiness in return. So many among us today have sacrificed their daughters to the demons of the Canaanites.
We are getting glimpses every now and again of just how heinous a practice this is. We have seen it in the matter of Mr. Gosnell in Pennsylvania, whose practice was to collect the fetal specimens and store them away. We have seen it again with that so-called doctor in Illinois whose cellar was filled with the corpses of these infants, as was the trunk of his car. What possesses a man to do such a thing? It is not concern for the well-being of his patients, or let us just say his clients. It is not love for humanity, and it most assuredly is not the honor of God. It is the whisperings of demons, false gods enticing them farther and farther into such practices as will leave the soul condemned, and will, by their influence on others, condemn many. We see it as well in the federally sanctioned and supported efforts of Planned Parenthood, with its claims of supporting women’s health, when in fact it has become an industry shopping out the parts gleaned from the slaughter of innocents. It is the very temple of Moloch. All that’s missing is the fire.
Let it be said that the mercy of God is stunning in its extent, that He has not – at least as yet – simply destroyed the nations that allow these things to continue. Of course, at this juncture, that might very well require the entire eradication of man from the earth, a thing He has promised not to do. At the same time, we do well to recall that Canaan was given long centuries to complete the number of its sins before God moved to destroy that sinful seed from the earth. Israel, too, knew its punishments for sin against this holy God. The people of God are not immune from the judgment of God if they refuse the yoke of righteousness. That still applies to us today in the Church.
“I say to you that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?” (1Co 15:20-22). What has light to do with darkness? We want so much to be accepted by the world around us. We are really not terribly different from Israel at the end of her desert wanderings. Give us a king! Let us look like those around us. Let us fit in and get on with life. But, these things are the worship of idols, of demons. As was preached yesterday, “Do not love the world, nor the things of the world… For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1Jn 2:15-16). We, unfortunately, are idol factories, just as Calvin observed. If we don’t have one, we’ll make one. If we destroy one, we’ll soon make another. It is a constant battle, because your enemy the devil is roaming about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. It takes constant diligence to tear down the idols we keep setting up, but praise be to God, He is diligent, and He will keep us mindful of our sinfulness, if we will remain mindful of His presence.
