The Book of Mark is believed by many commentators to be the earliest of the Gospels—accounts of the life of Jesus—in the Bible, written before 70 AD. Within the very first chapter of Mark we are introduced to a being called Satan.
Mark 1:9-
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
The reader is given no explanation of just who Satan is, or where he came from. The author seems to make the assumption that either his readers already know these things—or they are not necessary to understand the significance of the situation described.
So where might readers of the first century have gotten this understanding? The first clue might be the word itself.
The English word Satan is derived from the Greek term ho satanas, which means “the adversary.” This may clarify just a bit the role of the being called Satan in this passage. But it still tells us nothing about his origins.
Perhaps the parallel passage in the Book of Matthew about the “temptation” of Christ might shed more light on this. There, the same story is told, but the being doing the tempting is called “the devil.”
Matthew 4:1-
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
The Greek term here translated “the devil” is ho diabolos. This term means “the accuser,” and more specifically “the traducer” or “the calumniator.” These latter two words refer to a very specific sort of accuser:
Calumniator: one who utters false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to damage another's reputation; a slanderer
Traducer: one who exposes another to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation
This may help us understand more clearly the role of Satan, the Devil. But again it doesn’t clarify at all where he came from.
So the next logical approach may to be to look into the Old Testament and see if we can learn about him from there. There is no reference in the Old Testament to a being called by a Hebrew term directly related to ho diabolos. But the Greek word translated Satan in the New Testament is directly related to the Hebrew term ha satan, which is also translated as Satan in the Old Testament in English Bibles. The term ha satan means “the adversary.” The Greek term ho satanas and the Hebrew term ha satan both seem to refer to the sort of person who brings an accusation—in a legal sense—against someone in a court of law.
Again, this may tell us a bit about the role of the being, but still reveals nothing
about where he came from. It doesn’t even tell us if the word Satan was ever intended
to specifically imply that it is a “given” name—like Michael or Samuel—or just a
descriptive term for that role. In the English, Satan (and Devil) have definitely
come to be accepted as “names” for a specific being, the supernatural arch-
But aside from the issue of whether it is “a name or a role,” what do we find in the Old Testament regarding the origin of this being if we search in a concordance for the word Satan? It is found only four places in the King James Version:
In the first chapter of Job, which many believe to be the oldest book in the Bible, we see the first mention of Satan:
Job 1:6
One day the angels [KJV: sons of God] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan [ha satan, the adversary] also came with them.
He is then mentioned throughout Job 1 and 2 as being allowed by God to test Job to see if Job will remain faithful to God even in calamity. Since Satan is presented in these passages as actually appearing before God Himself in heaven, it is clear that he is not just a human adversary, but a supernatural being of some sort.
But even in the book of Job, he is introduced into the story with no fanfare and no explanation of where he came from and why he is an adversary.
The KJV also uses the name Satan in the following passage from one of the Psalms of David:
Psalm 109:5-
They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
Appoint an evil man to oppose him;
let an accuser [KJV: Satan] stand at his
right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.
But in this passage, it is not even clear if this is meaning a human legal adversary or “THE adversary” that is a specific supernatural being. Most modern translations imply that it is a human.
In 1 Chronicles 21, Satan is said to have “incited David”:
I Chronicles 21:1
Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
But once again, the passage doesn’t give us a clue where this Satan came from, and why and how he “incited” David. Did he speak to David directly as he later spoke to Jesus in the desert? Did he appear in physical form? Did he use supernatural powers to put a thought into David’s mind? We are given no more information.
And finally, in the book of the prophet Zechariah, Satan appeared in a vision given to Zechariah about the High Priest Joshua. In this case, the incident is evidently not intended to be viewed as something that actually happened in the real world (either physical or supernatural), but is a metaphor, a symbolic vision that points to a spiritual reality.
Zechariah 3:1-
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”
For the final time in the Old Testament, Satan is introduced into the scene with absolutely no explanation.
So we are right back to where we were at the beginning of Mark, with the reality that the Bible is very vague about this “adversary,” this “accuser,” speaking clearly about what he does, but not about what he is and where he came from.
And an examination of all of the instances in the New Testament where the terms Satan or the Devil are used will yield a similar result. Bible readers are told many things about the activities of this being, and Christians are given a number of warnings about harm that he may bring to them, as well as advice on how to counteract these attacks. (See the section on the “works and wiles” of the Devil below for an overview of this information.) But there are only the vaguest of hints about his actual nature, his “origin,” and his “history.”
This has not, however, prevented religious authors of the past 2000 years and more
from speculating in great detail about these things. Perhaps you have heard that
once upon a time Satan’s name was actually “Lucifer,” that he was the most beautiful
archangel of heaven, even the very favorite of God, given rule over a prehistoric
Earth that was a beautiful paradise, and that before the creation of Adam he led
a rebellion of one third of all the angels in an attempt to “take over” the throne
of God. But these details, as well as many other alternate scenarios proposed by
religious authors, are not clearly spelled out in the Bible! For an overview of
the biblical and extra-
Although it would no doubt be fascinating to know more details about the Devil, the reality is that the Bible is strangely silent on any clear, detailed explanation of his origin and his exact nature. Mostly what we know for certain is that he is a very powerful supernatural being, he is the enemy of God and true believers, and that Christians need wisdom and power from God to thwart the efforts of this Adversary and Accuser. Speculating beyond that doesn’t really assist believers in being successful in defeating him.
And all too often, Christians who immerse themselves in studying extra-
For instance, such Bible passages as the Sermon on the Mount and I Corinthians 13,
the “Love Chapter” of the Bible, reveal nothing about the prehistory of the Devil,
nor other esoteric topics. And they are simple enough for the brand-
What About Demons?
Immediately after the temptation incident that introduces Satan, Mark describes Jesus choosing the twelve Apostles. And right after that, he introduces his readers to demons.
Mark 1:32-
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-
As with the introduction of Satan the Devil, there is no clear explanation of what these demons are. The reader is only left with the concept of what they can do—they can somehow “be inside” people (a situation called “demon possession”), which means that they are obviously supernatural—and they can speak. Mark seems to assume his readers are already familiar with what demons are. In fact, in the previous few verses he uses another term that seems to be synonymous with demon: evil spirit.
Mark 1:21-
They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
We are given no information about what this evil spirit was, or where it came from. Once again, Mark seemed to have made the assumption that his readers knew all about evil spirits and/or demons.
In the 21st century, large numbers of people assume they know what these beings are.
But did they get their concepts directly from the Bible, or from the speculations
of extra-
Once again we can first look at the Greek words that are translated by the terms “evil spirit” and “demon.”
The English term evil spirit translates the Greek words poneros (evil or malicious) and pneuma (breath or, by analogy, a supernatural “spirit” being that has a conscious existence but seems to have no body of its own).
The English term “demon” comes directly from the Greek word daimon. Actually, the word demon doesn’t show up at all in the King James Version of the Bible. For some reason, the KJV translators chose to use the same term, devil, to translate daimon that they used to translate ho diabolos, the Devil. In fact, they didn’t even choose to capitalize the word Devil when it obviously refers to Satan. The word with a lower case “d” is used for both demons and the Devil himself. Almost all the newer translations, including the New King James Version, use the term demon when the Greek has daimon.
In ancient pagan Greek writings, outside the Bible, daimon was a term used to describe what were believed to be “inferior gods,” whether of a malicious or of a harmless nature. In context in the New Testament, the Bible appears to use the word solely to indicate supernatural beings that caused harm to humans by “possessing” them—invading their bodies and causing negative symptoms such as those resembling insanity or some types of illness or infirmity.
While this information reinforces the picture of evil spirits/demons in the passages in Mark as being harmful disembodied beings, it really tells us nothing about their origin.
Is there more information on this topic that we can glean from the Old Testament?
There is only one scenario in the Old Testament that resembles the situation of “demon possession” that appears in the New Testament. After King Saul fails to live up to God’s standards for his leadership, the prophet Samuel anoints David to be the next king over Israel.
I Samuel 16:14-
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. Saul's attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better.”
So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.”
One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows
how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-
Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became
one of his armor-
Whenever the [evil] spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
Notice the one factor that makes this situation so different from the New Testament
examples. This “evil spirit” is mentioned six times in the book of I Samuel. And
each time, it is described as an “evil spirit from God [Elohim]” or an “evil spirit
from the Lord [Yahweh].” Yet the phrase “evil spirit” is translated from Hebrew words
that have the same implication as the Greek words. Evil is from the Hebrew word ra-
So we are left with a strange situation. In the Old Testament, God could evidently send an “evil spirit” to trouble people. Yet in the New Testament, the evil spirits troubling people seem to be enemies of God, and subject to being cast out by Jesus and His disciples.
One other kind of “spirit” is mentioned in the Old Testament that might have a bearing on the identification of demons:
Leviticus 20:27
A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them. (KJV)
The NIV makes clear what someone with “a familiar spirit” does:
A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads. (NIV)
A “medium” is an English term describing someone who claims to be speaking on behalf of a disembodied spirit so that it can communicate to humans. The word sometimes implies a human who transmits messages that he “perceives” in some way directly from the spirit into his own mind, and then repeats in his own words. And in other instances it implies a person who allows his vocal chords to be “taken over” by this spirit being, which then directly talks to others, perhaps in a voice totally unlike that of the human “medium.” From other Old Testament passages, it is clear that people sometimes “consulted” men or women who had familiar spirit in order to get information—including predictions about the future. Under the Old Covenant, as mentioned in Leviticus above, a person who allowed themselves willingly to be used this way by a “familiar spirit” was to be put to death.
We meet a similar situation and a similar term in the New Testament also:
Acts 16:16-
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had
a spirit by which she predicted the future [KJV: spirit of divination]. She earned
a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-
But none of this information, in the Old Testament or New, actually tells us anything
about the origin of these beings, whether called demons, or evil spirits, or familiar
spirits. Yet, as with the origin of Satan and the pre-
One common scenario offered is that demons were once angels of the Lord who had spiritual bodies, and could manifest themselves to humans under certain conditions. They participated in a rebellion led by Satan the Devil, and God then cursed them, transforming each of them into a type of being with no body of its own, requiring it to “inhabit” or “possess” humans (or even animals) in order to interact with the environment around them. Although an interesting speculation … there is no Bible passage which states that this is where demons came from.
Another common scenario offered by other sources is that, at a point prior to the
Flood of Noah, certain angels of God went against the “natural order” of things and
came down to earth to have sexual relations with human women. The offspring of these
illicit unions were giant half-
And a third scenario offered by some is that demons (and those beings called “evil spirits” and “familiar spirits”) are an entirely different order of supernatural being from angels, created by God in the same way horses or whales or humans were created. They have been on Earth from the beginning of time, and their actions can be benevolent, neutral, or evil depending on circumstances. Some even speculate that they are the source of legendary stories about such beings as leprechauns, fairies, and trolls.
Should we assume that these accounts are reliable? Since they are about events that
didn’t occur in the “natural world,” and events that happened before recorded history,
the logical conclusion would be that either God revealed to the authors of such writings
the details which they share—or those details came from their own speculations and/or
imaginations. Those Bible students who wish to derive their belief about such topics
carefully from the canonical books of the Bible would do well to be cautious about
embracing any of the scenarios painted so vividly in a variety of extra-
Dark Angels?
The English word angel comes directly from the New Testament Greek word aggelos. The term means “messenger.” The comparable word in the Old Testament Hebrew is malak, a word that also means “someone dispatched as a deputy or a messenger.” In both Testaments, English translators use a word similar to messenger when translating either word if it is obvious within the context that it is referring to a human being, and the word angel if it is obvious that it is a supernatural being, (For more details on the biblical definitions of malak and aggelos, see Biblical Angelology.)
It is common to think of angels as righteous servants of God, and as showing up in person or in vision appearing glowing or dazzling. But in two places in the New Testament, it is clarified that Satan also has comparable servants, and they are also given the Greek name aggelos:
Revelation 12:7-
And there was war in the heaven: Michael and his angels went to war with the dragon. And the dragon fought, and his angels; and he prevailed not, nor was their place found any more in the heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, he who is called Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole habitable world, he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
This is not a description of an event in the prehistoric past—it is presented as something John saw in vision in the first century that was a prophetic glimpse into a future event shortly before the return of Christ, as can be seen by the continuing context in the chapter:
Revelation 12:10-
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our
brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did
not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
So we cannot really use this passage to clarify the “prehistory” of the Devil or his associates. Was the Devil himself once a righteous archangel who “fell” from favor with God at some time in the eons past—perhaps because he led an earlier rebellion against God? Were these “angels of the Devil” once righteous angels also who fell from favor with God at some time in the eons past because they joined the Devil in such a rebellion? Although this scenario often shows up in Christian writings, it cannot be clearly established by using only biblical references.
In any event, there are no New Testament descriptions of any such “angels of the Devil” appearing to people (in the way that, for instance, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and Joseph to deliver to them a message from God). But if they did, would it be logical to expect that they would look dark and ugly and frightening? The Apostle Paul clarifies how Satan appears:
2 Corinthians 11:13-
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades [KJV: is transformed] as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Does this literally mean that Satan has appeared to people in a bodily form, looking like a glorious, luminous, dazzling angel of the Lord? Or does it mean that he can in some way influence people in their minds in a way that convinces them that they have received a communication from God through a bonafide angel of God? Paul doesn’t clarify this for us, either here or elsewhere. But the obvious implication is that there is no reason to expect that, in whatever way humans can perceive his actions, the Devil will “look” or “seem” like the evil adversary that he is.
Religious artists of the past thousand years have often used a “visual device” of
showing “good angels” as being fair-
Likewise, if “the devil's angels” actually do interact openly with humans at times
by manifesting themselves in some form, there is no reason to think that they would
appear as the sort of dark, grotesque beings invented by Medieval artists for their
religious paintings, such as in this depiction of Dante’s version of hell by Botticelli
from the 1400s.
The passage in 1 Corinthians above is speaking of human servants of Satan (false apostles, deceitful workmen), masquerading—disguising their true nature—so that they appear benevolent and good. But the obvious implication is that any supernatural beings in his service would likewise masquerade—disguise—themselves.
So although the “nature” of any “angels of the Devil” would indeed be in spiritual darkness, it would be a mistake to assume that any being that presented himself with a beautiful appearance was an “angel of light.”
The Works of the Devil—The Wiles of the Devil
Ephesians 6:11 (KJV)
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [NIV: schemes] of the devil.
The Greek word translated here as wiles is methodeia, and carries the connotation of deceit or trickery.
Because of the mythology and legends that have built up around the Devil over the centuries, many people are fearful that some day they might turn a corner on a dark night and actually meet this supernatural being called Satan, who would manifest himself into fleshly form, looking like a monstrous ogre, and threaten to devour them if they did not pledge to serve him in his evil activities.
But that is not the picture painted by the Bible of this one who is called the adversary and the accuser. Not only is he an adversary and an accuser, he also appears in numerous passages in the role of a seducer, a tempter, and a deceiver. He doesn’t terrify people into serving his purposes … he most often uses his “wiles” to attempt to deceive, seduce, or tempt them into doing those things that will further his plans—doing “his works.” Bible examples of this include the deceptive temptation offered to Eve in the garden, and the deceptive temptations he presented to Jesus recorded in Matthew 4.
And at the End of Time he will still be using his powers of deception:
Revelation 20:7-
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
At other times, he may do works through his supernatural assistants, the demons. The Bible doesn’t always make it completely clear on the exact methods Satan uses in each instance. Does he use subconscious “power of suggestion,” either personally or through demons, to manipulate people to “set up” situations that will further his plans? The Bible doesn’t state this directly, but it seems to be a reasonable assumption. Does he use demons to possess people, and then “control” them to do his works, or even, at times, possess people himself? This appears to be what happened in the case of Judas betraying Jesus to the Romans.
Luke 22:3-
Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.
Evidently he can also, at times, as in the story of Job, actually affect physical circumstances such as weather in order to bring calamity on people—but only if allowed to do so by God.
One of his most effective tactics is to deceive or confuse people about the truths of the Gospel. For instance, in the parable of the “sower and the seed,” Jesus said this:
Luke 8:12:5, 11-
A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. … This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Sometimes Satan and his associates can interfere with the activities of the servants of God.
2 Corinthians 12
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger [aggelos] of Satan, to torment me.
1 Thessalonians 2:18
For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.
He can empower people to do counterfeit miracles.
2 Thessalonians 2:9
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,
Just as he did regarding Job, he levels accusations against believers to God, trying to convince Him that they are unworthy.
Zechariah 3:1-
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"
Revelation 12:10
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the
power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the
accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has
been hurled down.
And at times, he and his supernatural associates can even cause physical infirmities. (This does not, however, indicate that all sickness, injury, handicaps, and infirmities are a result of Satan’s actions. The natural creation, including both animals and humans, is always subject to “time and chance,” including accidents, germs, congenital defects, and so on.)
Luke 13:10-
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."
The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"
Warnings against the Wiles
The New Testament contains numerous warnings to the believer that Satan will attempt to deceive him.
2 Corinthians 11:13-
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
2 Thessalonians 2:9
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders …
Defeating the Works and Wiles of the Devil
The New Testament also gives a number of very specific suggestions to the believer on how he can resist and defeat the activities of the Devil.
Ephesians 4:26-
"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-
I Timothy 3:6-
He [someone who wishes to be an overseer in the Church] must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
In Conclusion
If we take our example from Christ when He was tempted by the Devil, who was trying to deceive Him, we will realize that one of the best defenses we can have against the wiles of the Devil is a deep understanding, appreciation, and respect for the written Word of God. Each time Satan tried to tempt Jesus, Jesus’ answer was “it is written… ” If you really know and understand from the Bible the promises of God, the commandments of God, and the will of God, then the Devil will be totally ineffective in trying to deceive you.
Matthew 4:3-
The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "
But how can you “live on every word” if you’ve never even read every word in the Scriptures? Thus one of your best defenses against the works and wiles of Satan is to read through the whole Bible to begin with, and then to continually study it throughout life to gain further understanding of the things you have read. Of course, this will only be of value if you truly live by what you have come to understand from your studies, and yield to Jesus as Lord as He helps you live by God’s counsel for your whole life and reject the works and wiles of the Devil. For Jesus came to Earth for that very purpose:
I John 3:7-
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
The Devil, Dark Angels, and Demons
