Is the Devil Real?

Most people do not believe that there is such a creature as Satan the Devil. Many believe the Devil is merely a holdover from past ages of ignorance and superstition. Others, though, who claim to believe the Devil is real suppose he is the chief demon in charge of torturing the hapless souls confined to spend an eternity in some subterranean inferno. What is the truth?

There is no greater authority on such matters than Jesus and according to Christ the Devil is the ruler of this world. Think of it, generation after generation in every land of the world, Satan is the unseen ruler. Again, according to Jesus the Devil is a liar and a murderer. Here is what Jesus stated at John 8:43-45 when speaking with the Jews: “Why is it you do not know what I am speaking? Because you cannot listen to my word. You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie. Because I, on the other hand, tell the truth, you do not believe me.”

Satan became a liar and the original liar in the Garden of Eden when he used the serpent, much like a ventriloquist might use a dummy or puppet, to speak to Eve. Satan began as a manslayer because he knowingly deceived Eve into a course of disobedience that led to the deaths of our first parents. Since then mankind has come under the malevolent influence of the Devil. 

This certainly explains why the world is full of murderers and liars.

The good news, though, is that Almighty God is not going to permit Satan the Devil to rule the world indefinitely. Jehovah God intends to remove the Devil from his position as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and replace him with Jesus Christ. Thus, the kingdom of God will forever after rule and Satan will eventually be completely destroyed. 

The bad news is that Satan’s removal will be a traumatic event. When Christ’s kingdom takes power Satan and his demons are hurled down from heaven to the vicinity of the earth. Here is what Revelations states: “On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”

The “short period of time” following Satan’s ouster from heaven is known in the Scriptures as the great tribulation. Jesus said it would be a time of trouble like no other. As it stands presently, Satan has the world rigged to explode. When Christ comes to take him out the world Satan rules over will be plunged into chaos. We now stand at the brink. 

From The Watchman's Post