Biblical Christian Foundations Series 004- Is There A Devil?

BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION SERIES -004 IS THERE A DEVIL?
Many are fearful of him and are not ready to mention even his name. Some deny or ignore his existence. Others believe that he is not as bad has been claimed and are ready to make pacts with him, so that they can benefit for him, financially, politically, socially or otherwise.
He has been honored in art and has even a Museum dedicated to him in Kaunas Lithuania (Zmuidzinavicius Museum)
Wikipedia describes the devil as the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions.
EXPLORING HOW DIFFERENT FAITHS PERCIVE THE DEVIL
BAHAI FAITH
The Baha’i faith does not believe that a superhuman being or spirit entity such as a devil or Satan exists. However the term Satan appears in the Baha’i writings, but is only used as a metaphor for the lower, evil nature of man.
ISLAMIC FAITH
In Islam, the principle of evil is expressed by two terms referring to the same entity Shaitan {meaning astray, distant or devil} and Iblis. The Quranic narrative about the creation story; When God created Adam, he ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him. All did, but Iblis refused and claimed to be superior to Adam. Therefore Iblis was condemned to hell, but God granted him a request to lead humanity astray, knowing the righteous will resist Iblis attempts to misguide them. Like Christianity, Iblis was once a pious creature of God, but later cast out of Heaven, due to his pride. Unlike Christianity, the devil did not rebel against God, but humanity. He plays a less significant role as the personification of evil compared to Christianity; he is merely a tempter, inciting humans into sin.
HINDUISM
The earliest Hindu texts do not offer further explanations for evil, regarding evil as something natural. However later texts offer various explanations for evil. According to an explanation given by the Brahmins, both demons and gods spoke truth and untruth, but the demons relinquished the truth and the gods relinquished the untruth. But both spirits are regarded as different aspects of one supreme god. Even some fierce deities like Kali are not thought of as devils but just as darker aspects of god and may even manifest benevolence.
JUDAISM
Yahweh the God of Judaism created both good and evil, Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” In the first chapter of the book of Job, the devil appears with other angels in the presence of God. The scriptures refer to them as the sons of God.

The Biblical account of the Story of Lucifer / Satan:
God created wonderful things even before He created the heavens and the earth. He created angels who are spiritual beings whose purpose was to do the will of God.

Angels we created to worship God and to serve Him for all eternity. Rev 5: 11 -14 : Then I looked again and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders . And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped the Lamb.

Then one of the arch-angels Lucifer rebelled against God. He wanted to be above the throne of God. He rebelled with a third of the angels God threw them out of heaven. REV 12:4 His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.

Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.
Lucifer after his expulsion from heaven was separated from the Glory of God and became known as Satan. He lost the glory he initially had.

Ezekiel 28: 11 – 17 – Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign lord: “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone – red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx , green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald – all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold, They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.
Lucifer was filled with evil and darkness. The angels who joined in the rebellion also lost their glory , and became demonic powers and powers of darkness in the world.

MAN’S MAJOR ENCOUNTER WITH THE DEVIL THAT CHANGED THE CAUSE OF HISTORY
After God created the world he created man and gave him the authority to have dominion over the earth. Genesis 1:27 – 28: So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, birds in the sky and all the animals that scurry along the ground.

God planted a garden for man and gave him the responsibility to care for the garden. Gen 2:15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. God created the woman to be a companion and helpmate to the man. Gen 2:22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and brought her to the man.

The devil appeared to the woman in the form of a snake and tricked her to disobey God, she later convinced her husband to do the same and in the process they lost their authority they been given to the devil. Their disobedience also attracted a curse in the earth.

Only through Jesus Christ also called the second Adam was this authority restored back to man through His death and resurrection.

SHOULD CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS BE FEARFUL OF THE DEVIL TODAY
The bible warns us to be aware of the schemes of the devil. 1 Peter 5: 6 – 11 “ So humble yourself under the power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen. The word encourages us to depend on God’s power to defeat the devil and not to worry or be fearful so long as we are in Christ. The word of God alerts us that the devil is still active and looking for opportunity to attack believers. We are admonished to be strong in our faith and in the end God will give us victory in spite of the spiritual battles each believer must face against the devil and his army of demons. Ephesians 6:10 – 20 Outlines how a believer must engage and battle with devil and the spiritual tools God has provided for us to overcome the enemies attack. ( Also read and watch my sermon The war we must each fight here on our website and You Tube Channel – https://busialighthousechurch.cw.center/ or t.me/busialighthousechurch ). Therefore Although the Devil possess a limited amount of power , God’s power and might is incomparable . Hence the Christian believer does not need to be fearful. 1 John 4:4 “You dear children , are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

IS A PACT WITH THE DEVIL WORTH IT?

A few years ago, a young man walked into the church compound where I was the resident Pastor. It was after our Sunday Service and church members were streaming out of the church compound. The young man was welcomed into the church with the church caretaker and from a distance I could see them engaged in brief conversation. Suddenly I noticed the caretaker facial expression turn to that of serious concern and near panic. I then saw him usher the young man towards where I was standing and chatting with other church members. We he got to where I was he stated with a shaky voice “Pastor you need to see this young man immediately in the privacy of your office”. I then excused myself from the group I was with and the three of us went into the church office. The young man went straight to the point, “Pastor I am looking for a church where they worship the devil.” I was utterly shocked by that statement and I asked him if I had heard him correctly. He repeated “Yes, I am looking for I church where they worship the devil.” “Why then have you come here? Here we worship the living God.” I asked and stated. He said he had come from a long way and a stranger had given him directions to our church. I finally asked him why he would like to worship the devil. He told me that he had been a Christian previously and also converted to Islam, but being an orphan was not able to pay his school fees. He felt that both Christianity and Islam had disappointed him and now he was ready to make a pact with the devil. I could feel his pain and disappointment, I empathized with him, but I told him he had making a big mistake because of his disappointment. I told him that there were no free gifts from the devil; whatever he received he would have to pay with his very life. I invited him to receive Christ as his lord and savior. I told him that together we could pray and ask God to open a door for his schooling again. Fortunately he accepted the Lord as his savior and I prayed for the Lord to provide resources for his schooling. We have never met again, but I believe God answered our prayer of agreement. John 10:10 Summaries the mission of the devil on the earth and that of Christ. Devil’s work on earth is to steal, kill and destroy, while Jesus Christ mission is give humanity a rich and satisfying life here on earth and throughout eternity. Choose to make a pact a covenant with Jesus Christ Today.

Written By
Pst. Willy Ochieng
BUSIA LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH