I'd like to begin by saying tonight that the range of my emotions preparing for this speech was wide. I was hot. I was cold. I was nervous. I was courageous. I was high. I was low. Until finally, about yesterday, the Lord gave me a kind of conviction, not boldness so much, but conviction that I am very glad to be here tonight. And I am glad to give this speech tonight. I can't think of a topic that I have been asked to speak about that, preparing to speak, I have sensed the importance of it as much as this topic. I don't want to overstate it, but can you think of another subject that's as important as this subject? The Kingdom of God is more important to me than anything. And the enemy, of that kingdom is as important to me as that, the importance of the kingdom of God. I believe that there is a devil. You better believe that there is a devil because the word of God says that there is a devil. Some don't believe that there is a devil. Statistics from church surveys show an alarming decrease in the number of people convinced of the devil. Others who do believe in the existence of the devil may appear as though they don't. And until tonight, some might suppose that the Protestant Reformed Churches fall into that category. Granville Protestant Reformed Church is sponsoring this lecture tonight. In the 85 years of the existence of the Protestant Reformed Churches, we've written at least 15,000 articles in the Standard Bearer. put a calculator to it, probably about 45,000 pages of writings in that standard bearer, the magazine, and found 15, only 15 articles in the subject index under the headings Satan, the Devil, or the Demon. Is that an overreaction to the sensationalism that's often associated with the subject? A rejection of the speculation that some are guilty of when they treat this subject? Or is it the influence of rationalism coming into our circles? Or is it only appearance? Whatever the reason, the Word of God corrects that error and teaches in striking ways the existence of Satan. And we're very interested in this subject of the existence of Satan. partly because of the renewed interest in this subject in other circles. If you talk to young people or people who watch television, you know how many television programs deal with the paranormal, with superhuman activity, with contact with extraterrestrial life, with vampires and demons and exorcism and the rest. Most of it is entertainment. but it reflects an interest in the subject of spirits. It wasn't a coincidence, but just this week on my website news page, one of the items on the news was a report about the top ten money-making movies on the paranormal, beginning in 1973 with the movie, The Exorcist, and ten others that have earned for their makers almost a billion dollars profit. Then there are books like the Harry Potter series, Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, Anne Rice's The Vampire series. The Vampire series have sold over 80 million copies. Stephanie Meyer's 116 million and the Harry Potter books that deal with witchcraft and the occult It doesn't matter how it's dealt with, 450 million copies sold. On the Christian side of publishing, Frank Peretti's novels on spiritual warfare between devils and angels have sold over 12 million copies. And books sell in the hundreds of thousands by people who have reportedly died, gone to heaven, and now are coming back to report on their experiences there. Hundreds of thousands of people want to learn about spiritual realities, not from the Bible, but from the experiences of people. Although the resurgent interest among Christians and non-Christians occasions our treatment of this subject tonight, our interest roots in the fact that we are called to teach everything that the Bible teaches, and the Bible teaches about the devil. Not to be interested in the devil, therefore, would be like your grandparents in late December of 1941 saying that they had no interest in knowing about Japan. We're very interested in the subject of the devil. To be very interested is proper. We're very interested, but we'll be sober tonight in our treatment of the subject and not sensational. Sensationalism and speculation are going to have no place in the treatment of this important subject tonight. We must be sober. And sobriety, very practically speaking, is that we're going to limit ourselves to the Bible. and the testimony of the Bible. Whatever I say tonight is going to come from the Bible. It must be tested by you as you study and research the Bible and examined from the Bible alone. And a careful dependence on the Bible, not on experience, not on stories from other people, is going to mean a couple of things. Number one, it means that although we don't ignore the testimony of the church of the past, The sheet that was handed out to you on one side has biblical testimony. On the other side is the testimony of the church. God hasn't left the church without witness about the devil for 2,000 years. Although we're not going to ignore what the church believed about the devil in the past, we will not base our teaching on the church's witness but on the Bible. That's sobriety. In the second place, that means that some intriguing questions cannot be answered because the Bible doesn't address them. One church father said about this subject, quote, when the sober Christian is finished, he'll remain with more questions than definite answers. And you may feel that way tonight, and I may treat your questions on the cards that you present tonight that way, too. I might simply say, I don't know. And I'm not going to give you my opinion, because the Word of God doesn't speak to that question. I hope not. But that may be the case, too. And in the third place, because sobriety means dependence on the Bible and the Bible alone, the priority that the Bible gives to the questions is going to be our priority. There may be questions that the Bible does answer, if even remotely, that I'm not very interested in because the Bible treats them so in such a way that priority requires we put them off to the side. We're very interested in this subject, but we're going to be very sober in the treatment of it. The Prince of Darkness Grim is a phrase from an English translation of the hymn of Martin Luther You have that hymn in the program tonight. The third stanza says, and though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him. The prince of darkness grim. is a statement from Luther. Now Luther was speculative. Luther spoke sensationally about the devil. Luther said, a Christian will know that he sits in the very midst of devils and that the devil is closer to him than his coat or shirt or even than his own skin. If anyone dies of the plague, is drowned or falls dead, this is the work of the devil. And though this isn't a quote, Luther also said things like, I sometimes awake in the middle of the night and hear footsteps upstairs. And though I know none of my family is upstairs, I hear footsteps there. But I am convinced it's just the devil, and therefore, I immediately go back to sleep. Luther was speculative when it came to the devil. But Luther was right in especially two respects. First, the devil is our foe. and He is grim. And second, our weapon against the devil is the Word of God. Let's consider this topic tonight, the Prince of Darkness grim, the Reformed, that is the biblical teaching of Satan. I want to do three things tonight. I want to lay out the broadest picture of the Bible's testimony of the devil. I want in the second place then to locate In that big picture, what are the devil's methods and means? And then in the third place, point out what our interest and calling ought to be. First of all, the grand scheme of things. Let me begin by presenting the briefest outline of the Bible's testimony with regard to the devil's relationship to the purpose of God. The Bible's testimony with regard to the devil's relationship to the purpose of God for two reasons, for prominence and for priorities. What I mean by prominence is that that examination of the Bible's broadest teaching is going to show us that the subject of the devil has a prominence that cannot be ignored. We're going to get a sense that you can't read the Bible without realizing that the devil for us is as important as Japan was for our grandparents in late December of 1941. The devil is of prominence in the Bible. And second, this examination is going to help us establish priorities in our thinking. First, to see the prominence of the devil in the Bible, and second, to establish priorities. What's important and what's not important? What's first and what's secondary? What's the main thing and what are the subordinate issues? Am I going to spend my life studying the effects of anthrax when most of us are being killed by roadside bombs? Am I going to build myself a bomb shelter when a bomb hasn't landed for a hundred years and all my friends are getting killed by snipers? That's what I'm talking about with regard to priorities. The Bible's testimony about the devil begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. The Bible begins with the activity of the devil to tempt Adam and Eve and ends with symbolic language describing the conclusion of the great conflict between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. And everything between Genesis and Revelation is the story of that fundamental conflict. Everything is the story of that conflict. First, The devil was the active tempter in the fall of our first parents. Genesis 3 identifies the tempter as the snake, and the rest of the Bible teaches that in that snake was the devil himself. Revelation 12, verse 9. The great dragon, that old serpent, called the devil. The devil appears in the scene of Bible history immediately. Where he came from, we'll see in a moment. But in connection with the devil's appearance in human history, God pronounced a curse upon him and pronounced an enmity between him and the woman and between his seed and the woman's seed that goes far deeper than the loathing that most women have for snakes. The devil appears at the very beginning of human history. to skip all of the Old Testament, although the Old Testament is filled with that conflict. You can't read the Old Testament without seeing that. And jump to the New Testament. The New Testament teaches that as soon as Christ came, the devil was on the scene and active again. Almost everything you read about Jesus is described in terms of his relationship to the devil. Let me give you a list. Number one, at his birth. Revelation 12 says that behind Herod was the devil. that led Herod to kill all the babies in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, thinking that that infanticide would take out the seed of the woman, who in Genesis 3, verse 15, God promised would bruise the head of the serpent. The devil tried to take him out immediately. Jesus had escaped into Egypt, so he survived the massacre, but The devil was there with his attempt. 2. As soon as Jesus began His ministry, He went immediately into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Matthew 3. This time Christ took the initiative. He went out there to be tempted by the devil. 3. When Christ sent out His disciples to work on His behalf, they returned rejoicing, saying to Jesus, even the devils are subject to us. 4. Only three short years after Jesus' ministry began, it ended when Satan, according to Luke 22, entered the heart of Judas to convince Judas to betray Jesus to his enemies. Five, Jesus' resurrection is described in terms of his victory over the devil, Hebrews 2.14. Six, his ascension into heaven after his resurrection resulted in what? The casting out of the devil from heaven. with a resultant warning to the inhabitants on the earth, beware, because now He comes to you with great rage." Everything is described in terms of the devil. Seven, when Jesus commissioned the New Testament apostles, He did it in these terms. Go to the Gentiles, quote, to open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God. And then those preachers are warned that they'll be opposed by, quote, the God of this world, that's a reference to Satan, who has, quote, blinded the minds of them who believe not so that the light of the gospel will not be able to shine upon them. And new Christians are reminded that in times past, they walked according to the prints of the power of the air. Ephesians 2, verse 2. 8, the New Testament is replete with warnings to the church about the devil. I don't have time tonight to list all of them. Let me mention a few of them. The devil has his own ministers who will do what Satan himself does, transform themselves into ministers of light. 1 Corinthians 11.15 The church must not let Satan take advantage of her. And Paul assumes that the church is, quote, not ignorant of his devices. 2 Corinthians 2.11 The church must not give place to the devil, Ephesians 4, 26, but, quote, stand against the wiles of the devil, Ephesians 6, verse 11. New elders may not be, that is, elders may not be elected who are new to the faith lest they fall into the condemnation of the devil. And in the last days, the church needs to be aware that many will depart from the faith. Why? Because they've been seduced by doctrines of the devil. 1 Timothy 4, verse 1. Resist the devil and he'll flee from you. James 4, verse 7. And be sober and be vigilant because the devil, your enemy, goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Do you see the prominence the Bible gives to this topic? A prominence that does not permit us to ignore it. It's not surprising then that the church of the past, both in her creeds and in her prayers, mentioned more than a few times the devil. So frequently that had we not looked at the scripture, we might be tempted to conclude that they overdid it. That they had an unhealthy interest in the devil. Where now we conclude they were simply looking at the word of God. The comfort in the Word of God to Christians is, Romans 16, God will bruise Satan under your feet shortly. And the prophecy of the Word of God reaches a crescendo in Revelation 12, when there's a loud voice saying in heaven, the accuser of our brethren is cast out. Now has come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of Christ is Christ because the accuser of our brethren is cast out. The prominence that the Bible gives to the devil is unmistakable. The origin of the devil is a harder question, but not impossible to say some things about. First, because we're not dualists, either philosophical dualists or religious dualists, we do not believe that there are two independent and equally ultimate realities, God and the devil, good and evil, light and darkness, Jesus and Satan. We don't believe that. We reject the error of the Manicheans, our Belgian confession says, who teach that the devil has his origin of himself. The origin of the devil, according to the word of God, is, first of all, that he was God's good creation. The devil himself was created as a good angel sometime during the creative works of God. And we won't speculate when. You may guess, but you can't know when. God made a great host of angels. The New Testament makes us understand probably hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions and millions of angels, myriads and myriads, Revelation 5 says. Spiritual beings whose calling was to be ministers to God's elect. Hebrews 1 verse 14. Angels aren't chubby little naked babies flying with cute wings holding a bow and arrow. They're mighty, majestic, powerful, spiritual beings. who though they're spiritual cannot be seen by us, are not barred by walls, and who though they have ability to work in physical things, think of the book of Job, the Bible indicates that their main domain is the spiritual realm influencing hearts and minds. as the devil did when he entered Judas' heart. Luke 22, verse 3. When he provoked King David to number Israel. 1 Chronicles 21, verse 1. When he convinced Ananias to lie to the apostles. And when he spoke to Jesus Christ Himself. Matthew 4, verse 1-11. Sometime after God created all things, And remember, noted that everything he made was very good. One of the angels fell and became corrupt. According to 1 Timothy 3 verse 6, the cause of his sin was pride. That is, he was jealous of his position under God and wanted a position over God. That's why Isaiah 14, the only place that Satan is called Lucifer, describes in figurative language the desire of that angel, I will be like God. I will even go above God and supplant God. Read Isaiah 14. That angel that God created good corrupted himself and became a powerful being opposed to God. That's why he's called Satan because the word or name Satan means adversary or opponent. The word devil is different. It comes from diabolos in the Greek, the word from which we get our word diabolical and means literally slanderer or liar. And we'll see why he's called that in a moment. Created as a good angel, fell on account of pride and a desire to be above God, that devil also has with him a host of demons." A great number of angels that fell with him. We don't know how many. Revelation 12 gives us a hint. when it says that the tail of the dragon took a third of the stars down from heaven, in symbolic language, likely teaching the percentage of the angels that fell with him. So at least we know something about the number of demons, a great number, but probably less than the number of faithful angels. The Bible says these are his angels, the devil's angels, Revelation 12, Verse 9, these are demons, these are evil spirits, busy working the works of the devil in the world. They're legion, legion. And out of that legion came hundreds, thousands who inhabited that one man who in Mark 5 is described so pitiably as being possessed by the devil. The devil's main purpose needs to be examined next. What is Satan's purpose and aim? What is his main purpose and what are his subordinate purposes? I know you're interested in those interesting questions, those intriguing questions. We need to see the big picture before we may answer any of those questions. To see, remember, priority. What is the devil's main goal and purpose with his existence? His aim, as his name indicates, adversary, is to oppose God by establishing God's kingdom as his kingdom. To oppose God by making God's kingdom his kingdom. to take what God has made and make it His own. Now, take a moment and think about what the Bible says as to God's purpose and God's aim. God has a great purpose and aim, and we could take hours to explain that, but just with your knowledge of the Bible, understand the basics. God has a kingdom that He made for His own glory. Over that kingdom God appointed His Son to be the King, and to be the King of all kings, and the Lord of all lords. And God is pleased to people that kingdom. with a multitude of people, all of whom live for the glory of that Son of His, Jesus Christ, and to live their lives in such a way that they reflect on God's created order, and say in their heart, and say with their mouths, God is God. Jesus Christ is King. And He deserves the glory, and the honor, and the majesty, and the blessing, and the riches, and the wisdom, and the strength. That's God's purpose. That's why the Psalms say what they do and why it's so important for the church to keep singing the Psalms because they hold before us the grand purposes of God Himself. Listen to the Psalms. The people say, give to the Lord the glory due unto His name. Give to the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, glory and strength. And then they caution themselves as they sing, not unto us, O Lord of heaven, not unto us be glory given, but unto thy name, thine. And then God himself adds a word from his own mouth. I'm the Lord. That's my name. And my glory will I not give another, neither my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42, verse 8. God has a kingdom. God has a purpose. And the kingdom's purpose is to bring glory to him by the people that inhabit that kingdom, reflecting in their lives, all of their lives, to God be the glory. And now comes the devil and says, I want that kingdom. I don't want to be a citizen of that kingdom. I want to be the king of that kingdom. And I want to be above the king of that kingdom. I want to be above the creator of that kingdom. In fact, I want to be known as the creator of that kingdom. He doesn't want a kingdom alongside of the kingdom that God made. He wants God's kingdom. And He wants you and me to suppose that it's His. Listen to the Word of God. Isaiah. The devil's original sin was an attempt to supplant God. I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. Who's speaking here? Lucifer. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation and the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. When he tempted Eve, he said, you can be like God too. When he tempted Jesus, he was bolder. You bow down to me, adopt my position, take my side, and I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. All you need to do is be second in command to me. Read Matthew 4. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 4 prophesies that very clearly when Antichrist comes, and Antichrist has the devil behind him and in him, He, quote, opposes God and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he, as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God, the Antichrist, who's moved by Satan, is going to say, I am God, you must worship me. And that's why Revelation 13 verses 4 through 8 describes The culmination of the devil's goals. And they worshipped the dragon that gave power to the beast. And they worshipped the beast saying, who's like unto the beast? And they worshipped and bowed down, paid honor to the devil himself. And that's the issue of the whole book of Revelation. The book of Revelation answers this one fundamental question. Who will be worshipped? Will it be God or will it be Satan? And Satan says, I will be worshipped as God. Now you understand that he has cosmic goals. Remember that expression. Worldwide aspirations. He's not content to be a little warlord in a little Middle East country. He wants to be as Hitler wanted to be. the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. He has cosmic aspirations. To accomplish that, he deals with individuals just as Hitler slaughtered millions of individuals and recruited millions more to his cause. But Hitler had the world as his goal, and so does Satan. So when we see the devil's work, we'll lose sight of neither of those things. Looking at his grand plan, we'll not forget his work with individuals, you and me. And when we look at his work with individuals, we will not forget his overarching aspirations. He wants the kingdom of God for himself. So at this point, we can make some concluding applications already, some preliminary conclusions. Six of them. Number one, to suppose that the devil was busy in the time of Jesus but not in our day would be a mistake. Number two, to suppose that if the devil isn't bothering me personally, then I really don't need to bother my head with the devil would be selfish. Number three, to suppose that the devil has great interest, really, in turning pictures 90 degrees on the wall at night, and writing strange characters in the steam of your bathroom mirror during your shower, and has the ability to make sounds upstairs at night when no one else is upstairs at night, is to trivialize matters. Number four, it would be a tragedy to identify the man's affliction in Mark 5 as mental illness. Number six, it would be tunnel vision to conclude that the devil has interest only in you and me, who are confessing and professing believers because we suppose, and I've heard that often, he already has possession of the souls of unbelievers. Why would he have any interest in them Well, the Word of God tells you why He has an interest in them. Because not only does He want to destroy you and your affiliation with the Kingdom of God, but He wants all of them doing the things that He needs done. And that's why Ephesians 2 says what it does. He works now in the children of disobedience. We used to walk according to the prince of the power of the air. Now that prince of the power of the air works in those children of disobedience. And we'll see why in a little while. And number six, it would be folly to suppose that any attack on God's kingdom and cause is not truly devilish. That's not extremism. That's not sensationalism. That's not foolish. That's not to ignore the reality of my own sinful flesh. That's not to ignore the reality of the wicked world out there. It's simply to say it is not proper to suppose that any attack on the kingdom of God is anything less than devilish. That's the grand scheme of things with a couple of conclusions at the end. Number two, the devil's ways and means, the devil's methods, Let's ask the Word of God how it is that the devil works. But before we do that, there's one important doctrine that stands at the heart of the matter that we cannot pass up before we go on. A doctrine that's sometimes difficult to understand, but very fundamental in connection with the devil's work. And that doctrine has to do with the right, the legal right that the devil has to men, and women, and children, and the earthly creation. the legal right that the devil has to possess what he wants to possess. When the devil succeeded in tempting Adam and Eve, we can put it this way, to sin against God, disobeying His commandments. I can't help but stop there. Was that real? Or was that a myth? Was there really one man and one woman with a real devil who came and tempted them? Or were there actually, over the whole earth, having evolved from other animals, many men like Adam and Eve? And this is just a story. When the devil succeeded in tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, so that they disobeyed God's commandments, Man became guilty and subject to the punishment that God threatened them with. The day you eat, you'll die. And at that point, here's the key, Adam and Eve took the side of the devil and handed over to him the earthly creation that God had put them over as king and queen. And because they were the only human beings upon the earth at that time, and all of the human race was in their loins, they handed over the whole human race to the devil. So that from a certain point of view, the devil had legal right to them and to the creation. To kill and destroy and do damage to everything that God had made. Now you mustn't simply believe that because I said that, You read the Word of God, and that is the only way to understand passages about the creation, like Romans 8. The creation itself, Romans 8 says, is subject to vanity and bondage. And the creation itself needs to be released from that bondage. And that's why the temptations of Jesus included this temptation. Jesus, you bow down to me, and I'll give you all the kingdoms of this world and their glory. That wasn't like the devil saying to Jesus, I'll give you something I don't have, as though I would say tonight, I'll offer you all of those nice cars out in the parking lot outside of this auditorium as your own. You may have them, if I have no right to those cars. The devil said to Jesus, and Jesus didn't say, you don't own it. The devil said to Jesus, you bow down to me, and I'll give you all the kingdoms of this world and their glory. How could that be if the devil didn't have a certain right to them? And then, the whole Old Testament had the devil in heaven. Access to heaven is hard to figure out, but the book of Job teaches that, and Revelation 12 teaches that. And what was he doing there but accusing the brethren? Revelation 12. That is, making the charge against the brethren that they had no right to be there. that they were rightly His, and that God took them to heaven on what basis? And the answer of heaven throughout the whole old dispensation was on the basis of the promise of the blood of Christ, the sacrifice that would pay for your sins. And that's why the devil had access to heaven until Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and that's when the book of Revelation says He was cast out. Overcome by the blood of the Lamb, That was the price that Jesus paid to redeem us. From the devil, who had legal right to us on account of sin, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the death of the Son of God as a substitute for us, is what the whole Old Testament waited for. And that's what broke the back of the devil and made him rage so. Now the devil's ways and means become clear, don't they? He does what he can to establish his kingdom. First of all, he wants no one to come to Christ. He wants no one who's in darkness to come to the light. He wants no one who doesn't believe in Jesus now to have faith in Jesus. And he seeks to gain them all who have come to Jesus to His side by lies and fraud. He's a murderer. Let's start there. John 8.44 says He's a murderer. Not physically, although He delights in physical death, but spiritually. Because to live apart from God is death. We sing that in the Psalms, don't we? To live apart from God is death. It is good to seek His face. To live apart from God is death? That's what he wants. He doesn't want any of you and anyone else in the world living close to God because living close to God is more than life to me. That's the devil's purpose. He's a murderer. He accomplishes that murder by lies. So he's the father of lies. John 8.44 says also. And there we need to be careful too. Think about that. He is the father of lies. Why? Lies? Doesn't he use swords and spears, prisons and gas chambers? No. He uses lies. Why? Because as the ape of God, and that's a new expression, but the church always called the devil the ape of God. God does one thing. The devil wants to do something to match it. That's why C.S. Lewis has that marvelous scene where what animal is it, puts on the skin of Aslan the lion and tries to deceive people that he's actually Aslan the lion. He is the ape of God. He tries to imitate God and mimic God. God speaks the truth and saves His people by the truth. The devil speaks the lie and tries to destroy people by that lie. Listen to what the Word of God says. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith. Faith that unites me to Jesus. through which bond to Jesus His salvation comes to me. I'm linked to Him. I'm His own. And I know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Jesus prayed that. God, sanctify them by Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. That is, separate them from the kingdom of darkness. Consecrate them to You, God. How? By the Word of truth. And John 8.32 says, Know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. What is it that liberates the people of God? The truth, the truth, the truth. And so what is it that the lie does, that the devil does to destroy us? Teach the lie. Lies about God's creation. That's why it's no big thing for me to say evolutionism is devilish. That's the lie. God made this world. It's God's creation. You can see God's beauty and design in it. And it's devilish to say anything other than that. He teaches the lie about God's Son. He lies about the way into God's favor. Anyway, Jesus is okay, but another way is too. Muslims can be saved, Hindus can be saved, Buddhists can be saved. You don't need to be a Christian to be saved. That's a lie. Why? Because the truth is, Jesus saves. And there's the only way to heaven and the presence of God and approval of Him is through Jesus. That's the truth. He teaches lies about marriage and family In order to do that, he always takes aim at this. He chips away at this. He takes away from it. He adds to it. He questions you about it. Makes you wonder if really it is the Word of God with authority and accuracy. He substitutes on the pulpit of churches anything for this so that this isn't preached, but there's something else going on because the devil understands that God saves his people by the truth, so he speaks the lie, the lie, the lie. Someone once said about war, earthly war, the first casualty of war is the truth. And he could have said the same thing about this war between the kingdom of the devil and the kingdom of God. False teaching is devilish. Read 2 Corinthians 2 and see why Paul warned about Satan's ministers masquerading as ministers of righteousness. And see, his aim was Christ alone. The simplicity that you have in Christ. They're going to come and tell you there's another Savior besides Christ. They're going to masquerade as ministers of righteousness. You may not believe them. And I'm jealous for your welfare. There's one way of salvation, and that's Christ. Very practically, let me be practical now and ask, how does He attack us and promote the lie? Let me give a few examples of that. He infiltrates the true church with liars who claim to speak the truth. They're the wolves in sheep's clothing. The Old Testament is filled with warnings about false prophets. And the New Testament is no less concerned about it. Know this, that after my departing, Paul said to the church, grievous wolves shall enter in among you. From your own selves, men shall arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Spy. who say, I'm on your side. And they're not. They're from there. Double agents and triple agents and whatever other figures you want to think about. He infiltrates the true church with liars. Second, the devil is very good at promoting institutions that promote his agenda. Ideas that oppose God and promote the devil's lies. I think especially of universities and colleges. They're engines of the devil. Try to survive once in a secular university and take God's side about creation, God's side about marriage between one man and one woman, God's side about sex that opposes homosexuality. Try to survive in a secular institution by standing up aloud for the truth of God. And you see what kind of engines of the devil they are. He loves the entertainment industry. He does what he can to promote the study of the paranormal, parapsychology. And who else is behind that sickening fad today that everybody seems to be in love with? I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious. You hear someone say that? Does that impress you? Let it impress you this way. If you're spiritual and not religious with a religion of Christianity, I know what spirit that is, and you do too. In popular culture, he's behind the books published on witchcraft and spiritism and necromancy, communicating with the spirits of the dead, near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences. Don't be entertained by those kinds of things. How's this for controversial? He's going to do miracles. He'll do miracles to establish his lies. I'm convinced that the Bible teaches that part of the devil's deception is to do miracles. With this one purpose, the very same purpose that Jesus had when he did his miracles, Elijah had when he did his, And all the Old Testament prophets were theirs. And the New Testament apostles were theirs. And after that, miracles are finished according to the Scripture. They're the signs of the apostles. That is, you don't believe me that I come from God? Here's my badge of authority. That's a miracle. A miracle is the badge of authority of the miracle worker. Which means that that validates the message he brings. And that's why the devil has the power to do miracles. God-given power. God permits him to do that, but he has the power to do that. They're not illusions. They're true miracles. Read 2 Thessalonians 2. That's not the only passage. The passage is not to be interpreted as fake wonders, as some Bible translations have today, but wonders that serve the lie. Matthew 24 says, false Christs will show great signs and wonders, so great that if it were possible, even God's elect would be deceived. In the Old Testament, he had the power to speak through a snake. Jannes and Jambres turned their staff into a serpent. Job. Read the book of Job. And somehow a witch in Endor was able to communicate with the spirit of someone who was dead. I don't understand that, but the devil has power to do things that are beyond what you and I are able to do. To establish his lie. That's the point. Fourth, in the carrying out of his work, he's the master of deception. He uses smoke and mirrors. He's the master of ruse. He builds facades. He deceives. He creates pretenses. And that's how I understand many of his works. Maybe it is the devil making those squiggles on the steam in your bathroom mirror and making the thumps in the ceiling above you. I don't deny that possibility. But that's a ruse. He's fainting there. F-E-I. He wants you to look at that and talk about that and argue about that so he can be busy with the main work that he's interested in, deceiving people to believe his lie. That's how I see him driving some insane to rant and rave against God. And others to commit mass murder so that we forget about the horror of abortion. And others to brutalize a dozen children so that we forget about the flood of sexual sins promoted everywhere else. They're all ruses. Real works of the devil, but all to deceive men and turn their attention from his real work. Fifth, he's a spoiler. He's a wrecker. His policy is scorched earth. Remember when in the Middle East a few years ago, one of the dictators was being driven out of his country, rich with oil? What did he do to all the oil wells? He started them all on fire because his opinion was, if I can't have it, you won't either. And that's what the devil does with the church and with you and me. He's a spoiler. He's a wrecker. And don't underestimate the importance of this in his arsenal and in his plan. He thrashes like a speared crocodile. on the end of a rope. He's going to do damage as much as he can before he's finally executed. Let me give you some examples. He's very good at sowing doubts in your heart as to whose kingdom you really belong to. He wrecks marriages and damages children in those marriages. He creates division between this friend and that friend so they never talk to each other again. He entraps this believer in pornography, that one in alcoholism, this one in a love of money, that one being consumed by sports. He's a wrecker. He wants to do everything in the church to spoil the witness of the people of God to God. Without denying, I say that once more, without denying the reality of my own sinful flesh, Don't ever eliminate the devil as being involved in all these things. And sixth, most importantly, he's going to prepare one man to become his greatest servant and assume the place of Christ and call himself Christ and demand the worship that Christ alone deserves. And that's what the Bible means when it speaks of the Antichrist, animated by the devil. Not the devil himself, but animated by the devil. The Antichrist will bring to culmination the centuries-long opposition of the devil to God's kingdom until finally he has the world in his power. And he's deceived the great majority of the church to serve him as the great king of all kings in the world. And he's going to say, I am the Christ. And then He'll do what He can to destroy you and me as the true church. Everything then is turned upside down. Times and laws. The creation order of God will be turned inside out and everything God said is good, the devil will say is evil. And everything God says is evil, the devil will say is good. You understand the devil's M.O., don't you? His main intentions and works are cosmic in their scope. His weapon, his main tool is the lie, and he is interested in every one of you being a citizen of his kingdom. Now, we can answer some other questions. Some other questions, and it might seem a bit strange that we ask these questions now and here, but if you think about it, you know why. First of all, can the devil possess Christians? Can the devil possess Christians? I didn't say can he possess unbelievers. The Bible is clear about that. The church spoke about that too when it said in the Westminster Confession of Faith that God gives some people over to the power of Satan. I don't think that serves his purpose in our land very often, to make somebody as strong as the man in Mark 5 was. breaking bonds and acting as he did there. The devil doesn't have a purpose for that in our land very much, but I put nothing past him. But the question is not does he possess unbelievers, the question is does he possess believers, isn't it? That's the question the committee asked me to answer. Now we get to it finally. Does the devil have the ability so to dominate me and my body and my mind and soul so that I have superhuman powers and act like that man did in Matthew in Mark chapter 5? That's the question. I believe the Bible teaches that he doesn't have that power over God's people. Hang on. I'm not finished with that question. The Bible says very little about demon possession. Does it say anything about it in the Old Testament? How many examples of it do you find in the New Testament? How much instruction is there in the New Testament epistles about how to deal with demon possession? And that makes me say, it's not something that is very important and should be on the front burner for us as Christians. And theologically, is it likely that God would permit the devil to have that kind of power over people that are inhabited by Christ and united to Christ by faith so that Christ lives in them? I don't think so. And that's why the Westminster Confession said in Article 20 of the Confession of Faith, the liberty that Christ has purchased for believers under the gospel consists in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and the dominion of sin. And for Presbyterian, that ends the question. But not for me. Because that's not the important question. Can the devil possess believers? I'm not interested in that question very much. Maybe I will be someday, if I serve as a missionary in a country where there's evidence of that going on there, or if that begins happening here, But I'm not very interested in that question. And you ought not be either. When the Bible says in Romans 7 verse 14, don't let sin reign in you. And when the Bible says in 1 Peter 5, you beware of the devil. He goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. You beware of him. When the Word of God says in 2 Timothy 2 verse 24, there are members of the church who are taken captive by the devil at the devil's will. And it's the work of the elders to read the Word of God and teach those people so that by that instruction they can be delivered from the snare of the devil or taken captive by him at the devil's will. Are you interested in the question, can the devil so dominate you that you act like that man in Mark 5? I'm not. I'm interested in these questions and this reality, the people of God at times in certain areas of their lives can be taken captive by the devil. And their lives wrecked by the devil. And the witness of the church ruined by their wrecked lives. And now you re-read Mark 5. And you see that the application of Mark 5 and that demon possessed man who had thousands of devils in him. What was the issue? This. They were unclean spirits. Made that man unholy. So that three or four things come out in that passage. He did damage to himself physically. Let that sink in. He lived in nakedness. Let that sink in too. He was violent toward the people of God, so much so that they had to push him out of their fellowship. And he was separated from the body of Christ. Those are the applications of Mark. Chapter 5. And so is there such a reality as exorcism? That's not a biblical word. Look it up. Study it for yourself. The Bible doesn't talk about exorcism. That word denotes a bizarre ritual that can only be done by trained and authorized men. So it is said. With risks. Read about it. We're all involved in success rates that, in my study, are questionable. I have personal experience with people who have involved themselves with those attempts. I'm not interested in those questions. You ought not be either. But even with regard to exorcisms, don't forget the most important matter, please don't forget that the one Word of God that's clearest with regard to people who are taken captive by the devil, you know what the remedy for them is? The elders. Opening up the Word of God and patiently teaching them so that they will come to repentance and acknowledge the truth. See how it all fits together? Acknowledge the truth. And when they repent and acknowledge the truth, they're freed from the snare of the evil one. You want to call something exorcism? That's exorcism. But I don't like that word. It's not a biblical word. Let me finish tonight with comfort and a calling. Comfort and a calling. The comfort people of God. First, there are good angels too, and a multitude of them. You didn't ask me to speak about angels, but don't forget about angels. And though John Milton's portrayal of them, uprooting great trees, casting them as great spears at devils, is speculation and sensationalism. There are good angels. Read Hebrews 1 verse 14 and understand that they're ministering spirits sent forth to minister to you in the very way that they ministered to Jesus after His temptations. The comfort in the second place is that the devil and all the evil angels are under the sovereign control of God. They cannot so much as move without God's will. That's our confession in Lord's Day 10 of the Heidelberg Catechism. And the book of Job shows that too, doesn't it? The devil couldn't do a thing without asking God permission, and then God, as it were, put him on a leash and said, this far and no farther. And then when he wanted to go farther, he had to go get permission from God again. That's the Old Testament teaching. That's clear. They're under the sovereign control of God. And that's comfort to me. Jesus has dominion over them. They don't have an independent power apart from Christ. I need to know that. When He appeared to the demoniac, listen to the reaction of the devils in that man. They were terrified of Him. And they submitted to Him. Send us here. Don't send us there. But we'll go wherever You send us. That's the relationship of King Jesus to the devil. What was true with the crucifixion of Christ in Acts 2 and Acts 4, that the crucifying of Christ by these evil men and evil spirits was all under the sovereign control and the determinate counsel of God Himself. If the crucifixion of Christ was determined by and governed by the will of God, then everything in my life is too, even when the devil comes and has his way with me for a time. And the comfort third is that Christ has, and in the end will have, the complete victory. And through faith in Him, we are more than conquerors, even now. The God of peace, Romans 16, shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. But I don't end tonight with comfort. I end tonight with a calling. There's a war, and you're in it. And the cause in that war is the most important one that there ever could be. Let me spell that out for just a minute. Number one, join yourself to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ as a member of the Church of Christ, which will identify you as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. We're not individualists. We're not loners. We're not isolationists. There's rampant individualism in the world today. And that plays right into the hand of the devil. You probably heard the expression that the church has used in the past, outside the church there is no salvation. You want to know one of the reasons why they said that? Because outside the church you are exposed to all of the wiles of the devil and he'll eat you up spiritually. Be a member of the church of Christ. Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of Samias, Hebrews 10 verse 25. Read the context to see what he's speaking about there in the preceding and the following context. But don't forget to assemble together as the church. And don't forget this either. Who is it that helps you when you're caught in the snare of the devil? 2 Timothy 2, 24 and 25. The servants of the Lord. When you're caught in the snare of the devil and you're outside of the church, there aren't going to be any servants of the Lord that are able to minister to you. Because you're not going to ask them. You're caught in the snare. You can't get out. Be a member of the church of Christ. Second, engage in warfare. Fight. Fight for the cause that the devil opposes. Against the cause. No, for the cause that the devil opposes, and do everything that you can to render his efforts ineffectual. Don't watch. Don't stand on the sidelines and say, well, he can fight, and the ministers are good warriors, and the elders will take control of all this. Word of God says to you, fight, fight. And fight because you hate him. Fight because you hate what he does to the church. Fight because you hate what the devil does to you. And hate him with a passion that wants his destruction and prays for his destruction. Hate him. Hate him for what he does to you when he convinces you you aren't really a child of God. Hate him for what he does to your neighbor's family when the marriage is ruined and the children perish. Hate him for that. Hate him when your family member is caught in that sin of pornography or your husband is addicted to alcohol or, and then you could go on and on and on and on. Hate him for the work that he does as a spoiler, a wrecker, scorching the fields of the Church of Christ. If I can't have you, this is what I'm going to do to you. Hate him and fight against him. Adopt a warfare mentality. And the warfare mentality, not the kind that the psychologists are talking about in their self-help books today, but this kind of warfare mentality. We can't rest. And any kind of spare time we have to relax a little bit is the kind of spare time that the Michigan football players are going to have when they call time out. And they're not going to think about anything but getting back into the game because they know we've got work to do. And whereas that illustration is just a game, this is reality. You don't have time outs. Don't rest. Adopt the mentality that you're in a battle, a war. And go to work and fight. And don't stop fighting until God takes you out of the battle and death. Fight. And use the Word of God. Put on the whole armor of God. Study Ephesians chapter 6. And remember how pathetically weak so many people are today because they don't know how to use the sword of the Spirit. The Word of God. The only offensive weapon spoken of in Ephesians chapter 6 is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And that's why the devil says, you don't need to know the Word of God. You don't need to come to catechism. We're going to shorten the catechism season. Eventually we're going to get rid of catechism. We're not going to preach doctrine. We're going to have stories of interesting things. We're going to talk about what people thought they saw in heaven instead of what the Word of God says about heaven is. He wants you to take the sword of the Spirit out of your hand because this is what Luther understood is what fells the devil. The Word of God. That's a calling. A calling. Join the church. Engage in warfare. Adopt the warfare mentality. Stay in the light. Don't walk in darkness. Don't toy with the devil. Don't have anything to do with devilish things. Hope and pray for the return of Christ, the captain of your salvation. I didn't say sell all your possessions, buy a billboard, and tell people that on October 21, 2011, Christ is coming. Did you know that it's October 21 today? And this is the day that that false prophet taught the people of God to expect the return of Christ. I didn't say Hope and pray for the coming of Christ, supposing you know the day and the hour. I said, hope and pray for the return of Christ. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Hope for the end when Christ will return, destroy all His and our enemies, and give all glory to God. And then you watch Him come with all His holy angels who've been watching for 2,000 and maybe 6,000 years. with keen interest to things of the church, and rejoicing up in heaven when one sinner is brought to repentance. They're going to come with Christ when Christ comes again. They're going to rid the earth of all evil. The Word of God says in Matthew 13.41, they're going to gather the elect scattered to the four winds of heaven. They'll accompany Christ to finish the battle against Satan. and all His hosts. Pray for and hope for that day. For the end. When the One who loved you enough to die for you appears on the clouds of glory. And you say, according to the Word of God, He's going to reign forever and ever. Hallelujah. Thank you.