The Fight of Faith 7 Devices That Satan Uses To Tempt Christians | Gospel Reformation Network

The Fight of Faith 

Once a month on a Friday night, we have a men’s gathering at my house. About a dozen or more guys get together for fellowship and study. When we started this group, we did one of my favorite books—JC Ryle’s Holiness. However, one fateful week, I came home to find one of my dogs had taken a bite out of the book. The dog is now nicknamed ‘the Antichrist’ or ‘Satan’s Beast,’ especially given the chapter he devoured. It was entitled ‘The Fight.’

It is an apropos name, not so much for the strife that ensued with my mut, but for the conflict all Christians face. Ryle says, “True Christianity is a fight.” There must be exertion, self-denial, and wrestling because the fight of faith is an “absolute necessity.” There is no sitting still for the Christian. The fight of faith is a “universal necessity.” Young and old, rich and poor, the mature Believer and new Believer—all must battle. It is a “perpetual necessity.” There are no holidays or cease fires in this fight. (1)

Who is this fight against? The most dangerous of foes—the world, the flesh, and the Devil. For both pastors and parishioners, Christianity is a fight. What do we need in order to fight the fight of faith? The temptation narrative from Luke 4:1-13 helps us begin to answer that question. We need the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the sympathizing Savior. Each of these are deserving of an article on their own. Observing Satan’s schemes against the faithful is necessary for this fight.

 

Understanding Satan’s Strategies 

At the close of Jesus’s forty days in the wilderness, the Devil came to him and tempted him. It was the climax of over a month’s worth of attacks. In this narrative, it is as if a portion of the Devil’s manual has been given to us. (2) Here are seven strategies of Satan gleaned from Christ’s temptations.

 

#1. Satan Loves to Tempt in Weakness 

As Christ’s time in the wilderness continued, described in Luke 4:1-2, he became weak. Roughing it in the desert was hard enough and on top of that Jesus had not eaten for over a month. He was physically sapped. To argue otherwise poses problems for our understanding of the communicatio idiomatum. In Matthew 4:11, when the temptations were over, Jesus needed angels to come and minister to him because he had been weak. It was in that weakness when Satan came to him.

We must remember that temptation often hits when we are tired and hungry. The Devil loves to sucker punch us when we are physically or emotionally down. We must be watchful and not let our guard down just because we are spent. Even in weakness we are not safe. We are like wounded animals and the roaring lion is on the prowl. We must stay awake. As William Gurnall said, “The saint’s sleeping time is Satan’s tempting time.” (3) We must know that when we are weak the Devil loves to tempt. That gives us ample reason to be watchful.

 

#2. Satan loves to tempt with want. 

In Luke 4:3, the Devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Knowing that Jesus was starving, Satan appealed to his physical needs. In themselves, physical needs being met are not necessarily bad. It wasn’t wrong for Jesus to eat. He will eat plenty later on. This temptation was to make his physical wants preeminent. It is as if Satan was saying, “Jesus, you can snap your fingers and make raviolis out of rocks. Do it. Satisfy your wants. Have your needs be primary.”

Satan plays the same game with us. As William Jenkyn put it, “He had an apple for Eve, a grape for Noah, a change of clothes for Gehazi, and bag for Judas.” (4) According to Thomas Brooks, Satan’s method in this temptation is summarized as, “Whatever sin the heart of man is most prone to, that the Devil will help forward.” (5) We must remember Satan desires to ‘sift us’ (Luke 22:31). He “presents sin’s bait but hides sin’s hook.” (6) This is why we must train our wants with the Word. Elder and congregant alike must yield their desires to Scripture so that our desires are shaped by Scripture.

 

#3. The Devil loves to tempt using the world. 

After the first temptation, Luke 4:6 tells of how the Devil took Jesus up a mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said, “I will give you all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.” Satan tempted Jesus with Vanity Fair. He employs the institutions and energies east of Eden that are opposed to God to topple us.

He may tempt us with the world’s pleasures, positions, or possessions. He may tempt us with the world’s hate or happiness. The world can be a sword in Satan’s hand to scare us into submission. More deviously, it can be the sweet poison he gives to kill us. Thomas Brooks again is helpful when he says, “Where one thousand are destroyed by the world’s frowns, ten thousand are destroyed by the world’s smiles.” (7) Like a siren from Greek mythology, the world sings to us. If we listen, it will sink us. The world will kiss us and then betray us. And behind the world is the Devil, pulling its strings like a puppeteer all to ruin us.

 

#4. Satan loves to tempt regarding worship.

What did the Devil say Jesus had to do if he wanted the kingdoms of this world and their glory? In Luke 4:7, Satan said Jesus must bow down and worship him. Such a proposal sounds preposterous. Satan clearly laid out his cards. He showed what he really wanted: exaltation. And that’s Satan’s M.O. Worship: Serve the creature rather than the Creator. This temptation can take many forms. It includes the worship of statues, status, and even sports. Anything and everything can be an idol.

If that doesn’t work, Satan will tempt us to worship God in the wrong way. His goal here is that we come to creaturely worship through the backdoor. We dismiss what God says in Scripture regarding how we are to worship him and we substitute it with what we think. The reading of the Word, preaching of the Word, praying of the Word, singing of the Word, and seeing of the Word in the sacraments are replaced in favor of man-made methods. And then, if this ploy fails, Satan’s go-to strategy is ‘distraction.’ He sets out to divert our attention away from God and onto ourselves, our problems, or our to-do list for the week. Even the one leading worship or preaching the Word is susceptible to this tactic. On Sunday’s, distraction during worship is Satan’s most common way of steering us off course.

 

#5. Satan loves to tempt twisting Scripture. 

After the first two temptations failed, Satan took Jesus and set him on a pinnacle of the Temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here” (Lk. 4:9). Audaciously, he even quoted two OT texts, citing God’s protection of the promised Messiah. The Devil wanted Jesus to put his Father to the test and prove he was the Son of God by showing the Father’s guardianship over him.

This is his exact same strategy with Christians. He will spin Scripture to lead us astray. John Flavel said, “Know that the Devil is like a cunning pirate; he puts out false colors and ordinarily comes up to the Christian in the disguise of a friend.” (8) He often carries a Bible but he regularly twists its teaching. We must sit under the Word and submit to the Word. The one who preaches and teaches God’s Word would do well to pray, “Lord, let me not forfeit the benefit of my own ministry of the Word.”

 

# 6. Satan loves to tempt to doubt God’s goodness. 

In each of these three situations, the Devil was subtly tempting Jesus to question the Father’s purposes. Christ’s identification as the Son was bound up with his Cross-shaped mission. The Devil wanted Jesus to doubt the Father’s goodness in calling him to the path of suffering.

That is still a tactic he employs today. When we suffer, Satan’s temptation to us is to doubt God’s goodness. We must fight to hold to the immutable truth that God is good all the time—even and especially when we don’t see it (Rom. 8:28). How do you know he is good all the time? The evidence of God’s beneficence is seen in Christ (Rom. 8:38-39). When Satan comes knocking, we must not open doubt’s door. We must remember the goodness of God in Jesus Christ, who ransomed our souls to God, by giving himself as our Ransom (Mark 10:45).

 

#7. Satan loves to tempt to forget the Cross of Christ. 

In Luke 4, each temptation was an attempt to take Christ’s eyes off the Cross. For us, Satan will set a thousand things before us to lure us away from Golgotha’s Hill. Everything from hardship to happy times are fair game. Brooks says, “Never let go out of your mind the thoughts of a crucified Christ. Let these be meat and drink unto you … sweetness and consolation … your honey and your desire, your reading and your meditation, your life, death, and resurrection.”

Christianity is the fight of faith. We are all in the battle, together fighting arm-and-arm. The way forward is to cry out for the Spirit’s help, take up the sword of the Spirit, and to reflect on Satan’s strategies. Yet, we do so with our eyes on our Captain, who has fought for us and is now fighting with us. The fight of faith is a fight the Believer will win because in Christ we are more than conquerors. It is by keeping our eyes on Christ that daily victories are had. It is by seeing our Savior that we are more attracted to Christ than we are sin.

---

(1) JC Ryle, Holiness: It’s Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, abridged (Leyland, England: 10 Publishing, 2014), 84-90.

(2) For a more extensive treatment of the Devil’s schemes see Thomas Brooks’s Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour, or John Arrowsmith’s Plans for Holy War.

(3) William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 2010) 286.

(4) Quoted in Mark Jones, Knowing Sin, (Chicago: Moody Publishers: 2022) 172.

(5) Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011) 16.

(6) Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, 29.

(7) Simoen Ashe, cited in Ore From The Puritans’ Mine, complied by Dale W. Smith. 605.

(8) John Flavel, Navigation Spiritualized in The Works of John Flavel v. 5 (Carlisle, PN: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1997) 229.

Spiritual Warfare

Source: The Fight of Faith 7 Devices That Satan Uses To Tempt Christians

The Removal of Satan | Grace to You Blog

When we think of Christ’s kingdom, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the peace or joy we will experience as its citizens. But for that bliss to be possible, Christ must deal first with His enemies. Revelation 20:1–3 records:

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

The first matter for the King’s attention as He sets up His kingdom is the confinement of the chief rebel. The removal of “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), “the prince of the power of the air . . . the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2), will dramatically change the world. By this time, God will have destroyed all human mutineers. Those who survived the Tribulation judgments will have been executed at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11–21) or the goat judgment (Matthew 25:41–46). The ringleaders of the worldwide revolt, the beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet, will have been thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The final step in preparation for the kingdom will be the removal of Satan and his demon hosts, so that Christ reigns without the opposition of supernatural enemies.

The Chronology of the Kingdom

As it frequently does in Revelation (e.g., 6:1; 7:2; 8:2; 9:1; 10:1; 13:1; 14:1; 15:1; 16:13; 17:3; 19:11; 21:1), the phrase “then I saw” (Revelation 20:1) indicates chronological progression. The location of this passage in the chronological flow of Revelation is consistent with a premillennial view of the kingdom. After the Tribulation (chapters 6–19) Christ will return (19:11–21) and set up His kingdom (20:1–10), which will be followed by the new heavens and the new earth (21:1). Thus, the millennial kingdom comes after Christ’s second coming but before the establishing of the new heavens and the new earth. Amillennialist Anthony Hoekema has to acknowledge that, taken at face value, the chronology of Revelation supports premillennialism. He writes:

Let us assume, for example, that the book of Revelation is to be interpreted in an exclusively futuristic sense. . . . Let us further assume that what is presented in Revelation 20 must necessarily follow, in chronological order, what was described in chapter 19. We are then virtually compelled to believe that the thousand-year reign depicted in 20:4 must come after the return of Christ described in 19:11.^[1](“Amillennialism,” The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, ed. Robert G. Clouse [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1977], 156

The passage clearly teaches that Christ’s return precedes the millennial kingdom—a scenario incompatible with both postmillennialism and amillennialism, but exactly what premillennialism teaches. To get around the difficulty which Revelation’s chronology poses for their views, postmillennialists and amillennialists must deny that chapter 20 follows chapter 19 chronologically. But such a denial ignores the chronological significance of the phrase “then I saw,” as noted above. It also ignores the continuity of the context: Having dealt with Antichrist and the false prophet in chapter 19, Christ deals with their evil master, Satan, in chapter 20. Why reject such an obvious chronology? It is apparently done for no other reason than to eliminate premillennialism, not because there is any justification in Scripture.

The Binding of Satan

The identity of the angel whom John saw coming down from heaven to bind Satan (Revelation 20:1) is not disclosed, but he may be Michael the archangel (Revelation 12:7; cf. Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9). Whoever the angel is, he possesses great power. He is sent to earth with a specific agenda: to seize Satan for the thousand-year duration of the kingdom, bind him, cast him into the abyss and seal it—and then release him at the end of the thousand years.

The term “abyss” appears seven times in Revelation (e.g., 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8), always in reference to the temporary place of incarceration for certain demons. The abyss is not their final place of punishment; the lake of fire is (Matthew 25:41). Nevertheless, it is a place of torment to which the demons fear to be sent (Luke 8:31). The prisoners in the abyss are among the most vile and evil of all demons and include the “spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:19–20). Those demons, who attempted to corrupt the human race by cohabiting with human women (Genesis 6:1–4), will never be released (Jude 6). They will be transferred directly from their temporary incarceration in the abyss to their permanent place of punishment, the lake of fire (cf. Isaiah 24:21–22). Other demons sentenced to the abyss will be released at the fifth trumpet judgment to torment sinners (Revelation 9:1–12).

The key given to the angel by God (Revelation 20:1) signifies his delegated authority (cf. Revelation 9:1); he has the power to open the abyss, and then to shut it after casting Satan inside. The metaphor of binding demons with a chain also appears in Jude 6. This chain is formidable, given Satan’s greatness and power as the highest created being (cf. Ezekiel 28:14). The angel “laid hold of” Satan (Revelation 20:2), who is unmistakably identified by the same four titles given him in 12:9. First, he is called “the dragon,” a title that emphasizes his bestial nature, ferociousness, and oppressive cruelty (cf. Revelation 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:1, 2, 4; 16:13). The title “serpent of old” hearkens back to the Garden of Eden and Satan’s temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1–6). Diabolos, translated as “devil,” means “slanderer” or “malicious gossip” (cf. 1 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 3:3; Titus 2:3)—an appropriate title for “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). Satan is a malignant liar; in fact, he is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satanas, translated “Satan,” and its Hebrew root satan are used fifty-three times in Scripture. Both words mean “adversary,” since Satan opposes God, Christ, and all believers.

The Duration of the Incarceration

The period for which Satan will be bound is defined as “a thousand years” (Revelation 20:2), the first of six precise and important references to the duration of the millennium (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Satan’s binding poses a serious difficulty for both postmillennialists and amillennialists. Amillennialists argue that Satan is already bound, since, as explained in a previous post, they believe we are in the millennium now (though they do not view it as one thousand literal years in length). Many postmillennialists also believe that Satan is presently bound, because otherwise it is difficult to see how the church could usher in the millennium.

Yet the biblical description of Satan’s activity in this present age makes it impossible to believe he has already been bound. Satan presently continues to plant lying hypocrites in the church (Acts 5:3), scheme against believers (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11), disguise himself as an angel of light to deceive people (2 Corinthians 11:14), attack believers (2 Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 4:27), hinder those in the ministry (1 Thessalonians 2:18), and lead believers astray (1 Timothy 5:15); and he must be resisted (James 4:7).

Amillennialists and postmillennialists generally argue that Satan was bound at the Crucifixion, and that his binding simply means that he can no longer deceive the nations and keep them from learning God’s truth (e.g., Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 228). But Satan did not keep the Gentile nations from the knowledge of the truth before his alleged binding at the cross. The Egyptians heard about the true God from Joseph, and from the Israelites during the four hundred years they lived in Egypt. The Assyrians of Nineveh not only heard the truth from Jonah but also repented (Matthew 12:41). The Queen of Sheba heard about the true God from Solomon (1 Kings 10:1–9); the Babylonians from Daniel and his Jewish friends; and the Persians from Esther, Mordecai, and Nehemiah. Further, in what sense is Satan restrained from deceiving the nations in the present age, since he blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4), “is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2), and holds unbelievers captive (2 Timothy 2:26) in his kingdom (Colossians 1:13)?

The testimony of Scripture is that Satan is anything but bound in this present age—but he will be during the coming earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that he will be incarcerated in the abyss, which will be shut and sealed so that his lying influence will be removed from the nations. His activity in the world will not merely be restricted or restrained but totally curtailed; he will not be permitted to affect the world in any way in that period.

The binding of Satan will end all kinds of earthly evil, but it is merely a precursor to Christ’s reign. The millennial kingdom is marked not merely the absence of Satan, but by the physical presence of Christ. That’s the true blessing of the millennium, and that’s what we’ll cover next time.

(Adapted from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Revelation 12-22)

Source: The Removal of Satan

March 3 | STANDING AGAINST THE DEVIL

  “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

JAMES 4:7B

✧✧✧

 Anyone who possesses scriptural humility will take an uncompromising stand against Satan.

The successful diplomat or politician is quite adept at the art of compromise and finding the middle ground on various issues. But such skill is a hindrance when it comes to determining your position before God. If you humbly, by faith and repentance, submit yourself to God’s authority, you will immediately find yourself the enemy of Satan. You are either in God’s kingdom and under His lordship, or you are in Satan’s kingdom and under his lordship. It is impossible to have one foot in each kingdom and to be serving both kingdoms’ rulers.
To “resist the devil” gives us insight into what it means to be an enemy of Satan. “Resist” means “to take a stand against” the person of Satan and his entire system, which includes everything he does and represents. Such resistance is the complete opposite of the position you had before you submitted to God. Ephesians 2:1–2 reminds us of what that position was: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan].” At that time, you had no power to resist the Devil and no desire to serve God, because you were slaves to Satan and his system (Heb. 2:14–15).
But all of that can and will change if you humbly switch your allegiance from Satan’s kingdom to God’s kingdom. In today’s verse the apostle James is promising you that as a part of that changed loyalty, you will automatically be in a position to take a stand against Satan. The minute you forsake Satan’s mastery he will flee from you.
Many Christians wrongly assume that Satan is much more powerful than he really is. But if you understand James’s promise you will know you have abundant spiritual resources to handle Satan’s empty threats. Being humble before God doesn’t mean being weak before Satan. God enables you to stand firm and resist.

✧✧✧

Suggestions for Prayer: Thank God for the wealth of spiritual resources He provides for you to stand against the Devil.

For Further Study: Read Ephesians 6:10–18. Make a list of the spiritual weapons God has given us. ✧ Pick one of these, and do some additional reading and study to improve your application of it.

MacArthur, J. (1997). Strength for today. Crossway Books.

FEBRUARY 2.—MORNING. [Or March 5.] “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.”

JOB 2:1–13

AGAIN there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
Even the devil will attend divine worship to serve his own ends. It is, therefore, a poor confidence which looks for salvation because church or chapel have been regularly attended. We ought also to watch and pray even when we are in the assemblies of the saints, for Satan enters there, and is busy with his temptations.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Full of evil as Satan is, he is not idle. A lazy man commits one more sin than the devil himself.
3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. (The glory of Job’s character was his sincerity and uprightness, and this like an impregnable fortress defied the attacks of hell, though the prince of darkness himself personally assailed him, with permission from God to take from him all that he possessed.)
4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life.
5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. (Satan suggested that bodily pain would be the weapon to wound Job’s faith; yea, and turn it into rebellion. There pas much malicious cunning in this, for many a man has yielded before the miseries of physical pain though he had been proof against every other trial. Yet the Lord can make his people more than conquerors even there.)
6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
7 ¶ So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
In this wretched state he had no soft bed, but lay upon the hard ashes; nor does it seem that he had either surgeon or nurse. There he sat, the prince of misery; but there was worse to come.
9 ¶ Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. (Satan tried to ruin Job through her who should have been his best comforter, but he was defeated, for he only led Job to utter another of those notable speeches which are now the treasures of the church.)
11 ¶ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him, and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great. (This showed sympathy, but even this was not permitted to continue lest it should comfort the afflicted one. Soon these three friends judged Job’s condition, and came to the conclusion that such unusual sorrow could only have been brought about by unusual sin. Under this impression, they added the last drop of gall to Job’s cup by accusing him of hypocrisy and secret sin.)

     I am a sinner—shall I dare
     To murmur at the strokes I bear?
     Strokes, not in wrath, but mercy sent,
     A wise and needful chastisement.

     Saviour! I breathe the prayer once thine,
     “Father! thy will be done, not mine!”
     One only blessing would I claim;
     In me, O glorify thy name!

Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 65). Baker Book House.

JANUARY 29 | THE PRESSURE OF MINISTRY

The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the fruits.

2 TIMOTHY 2:6

A person who serves with his whole heart will be content only with spiritual fruit. Yet some will only be content with prestige, acceptance, or money.
In the past, Satan has tried to put that thought into my mind. At times he’s tried to make me question why I care about the people I minister to. His approach is to make me secure in the knowledge that I’m saved and going to heaven, that I’m well paid in a good job with a lot of security. But that is Satan’s lie.
It’s very easy to let Satan pressure you into settling for less than God’s best. When Satan plants thoughts like that in my head, my reaction is: I am not content to simply be taken care of or appreciated. What matters is bearing fruit. Make the focus of your ministry spiritual fruit.

MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : a daily touch of God’s grace (p. 40). J. Countryman.

JANUARY 22 | SATAN REVEALED AS A LIAR

[The devil] said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”—MATT. 4:9

Satan’s promises for better things, obtained more quickly and in a “preferred” manner to God’s plan, are actually counterfeit offers. He always wraps them in claims that seem easier, less expensive, and far less burdensome. After all, that’s the savvy way to success, he reasons. Our adversary’s argument is essentially just a form of the old “end justifies the means” concept.
But Satan has been a liar from the beginning of redemptive history. With his third temptation of Jesus he was actually just seeking to buy Christ’s soul and His permanent allegiance. The cost for the Lord, had He accepted the offer of the world’s kingdoms, would have been devastating beyond measure.
Similarly for us, Satan’s price is always far more than we are led to believe—and the goods always unfathomably fall short of what we had expected. Thankfully, Jesus in His omniscience and infinite wisdom recognized these truths and did not succumb to the final temptation in the wilderness. Had He accepted Satan’s sinister offer, Christ would have disqualified Himself as both Savior and King. Instead of redeeming the world, He would have joined it; instead of inheriting it, He would have lost both it and us.

ASK YOURSELF
If coming in the front door doesn’t work, our enemy has no qualms about executing the sneak attack, catching us off guard and by surprise. How seriously are you taking the call to be on the alert at all times, resisting Satan’s temptations and boldly obeying God’s will? Trust Christ for both radar and resistance.

MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 30). Moody Publishers.

JANUARY 21 | SATAN’S PROMISES—CORRUPT STRINGS ATTACHED

The devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.—MATT. 4:8

Satan offered the world’s kingdoms to Jesus on his own corrupt terms. God allowed this test to prove that Christ was and is a worthy Son, fit to one day inherit the world and rule from His throne. The devil, on the other hand, wanted to prove the Son’s unworthiness by getting Him to prematurely grab the kingdoms God had already promised Him.
The enemy approaches Christians also with corrupt bargaining chips. Whatever they might want in the realm of business, politics, fame, or anything else, he claims it can be theirs for a “reasonable” price or trade-off. He says we can be or have whatever we want, just so long as we pursue it according to the world’s way—which is also Satan’s way. In effect, it’s like saying to ourselves, “Why wait for a heavenly reward when you can cut corners, shade the truth, run ahead of God’s schedule, and have what you want now?”
But when we grab hold of Satan’s corrupt strings, we put self first and God last. Instead of seeking God’s kingdom first (Matt. 6:33), we act more like Abraham, who sought God’s promise of an heir through his own impatient, selfish act with Hagar (Gen. 16:1–6). The result of that sin was tragic and heart-breaking, and has been to this day.

ASK YOURSELF
“The world” doesn’t really know what “glory” is. And if we had a keener, more realistic sense of God’s awesome splendor, we’d see the world’s flimsy reflections for what they really are. What seems glorious and glamorous about the world to you? Ask God to help you see it truthfully.

MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 29). Moody Publishers.

JANUARY 20 | SATAN TESTS JESUS’ ULTIMATE ALLEGIANCE

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain.—MATT. 4:8A

Satan’s final temptation was a last-ditch effort to corrupt and derail Christ and His saving mission. The greatest of all adversaries sought to complete a sinister bargain in which extremely attractive and enticing possessions were offered to Jesus in exchange for His subservience to Satan.
The location (“a very high mountain”) where Satan took Jesus no doubt allowed them to have a comprehensive view of the earth for hundreds of miles in every direction. But their vantage point was clearly spiritual and supernatural as well. They would have seen the power and dominance of Rome, the glories of Egypt, and the splendor of various Greek city-states. All the wonders of the ancient world, including the magnificence of Jerusalem, would have been included.
As the King of kings, Jesus already had the rights to own and govern all the world’s kingdoms, but Satan tried to twist that reality for his own purposes. He wanted Jesus to leap ahead of God’s promised plan and reign as a king before it was fully time to do so—and at the unthinkable cost of worshiping him. If our enemy can tempt Jesus to be impatient and impulsive and grasp things prematurely, that is all the more reason for us to be on guard against such attacks.

ASK YOURSELF
Timing is everything. And Jesus displayed an infallible sense of what to do—and when—in every situation. Is there anything in your own life that you’re trying to speed ahead with, whether God wants you slowing down or not? Find peace in His timing. It’s always perfect—more perfect than we think.

MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 28). Moody Publishers.

What Did God Say? | Pastor Jack Hibbs

Genesis 3:1-3

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

From the beginning, Satan has sought to thwart God’s plan for mankind. Though he isn’t named, we know that the devil possessed this incredibly beautiful reptile based on the characteristics of the serpent—he could talk and was cunning. Satan’s methodology is brilliant, and here we glimpse the subtlety of it. The root word for serpent in Hebrew means to whisper, cast a spell, or enchant. The enchantment of the serpent probably captivated Eve as he questioned, “Has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

Satan’s sly first attack involved sowing doubt, but Eve countered by repeating God’s command. Undeterred, Satan pressed on, “You’re not going to die. Go ahead, there’s no harm.” Now, God’s authority was in question. Only this time, there was no resistance. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6).

Eve saw. The word saw, in Hebrew, means self-advised, self-guided, and self-dependent. Eve’s self-centered desire superseded God’s, and with it came the unimaginable because self-justification of sin always has ramifications. “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15).

Has God indeed said? Satan’s playbook remains unchanged. And like Eve, we’re faced with a decision when the devil’s cunning lies come to our ears. Whose voice, whose Word will we believe?

Awaiting His Return,

– Pastor Jack

Have you been blessed by Pastor Jack’s Devotions? Email us now: CLICK HERE

Share Share

Subscribe to the Devotional List

The post What Did God Say? first appeared on Pastor Jack Hibbs.

Source: What Did God Say?

JANUARY 12 |

And the tempter came and said to Him … —MATT. 4:3A

It is not popular today to believe in a literal, personal devil, even among professing Christians. The devil is increasingly seen as being somewhere between a figment of our imagination and a useful device to coerce obedience.
Yet in addition to the name used here (“tempter”), the New Testament gives Satan many other names: “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11); “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2); “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4); “Abaddon” and “Apollyon,” both of which mean “destroyer” (Rev. 9:11); and “the serpent of old” (Rev. 12:9).
With these and many other references to the devil in God’s infallible Scripture—all of which assume a real, supernatural person—it’s clear that Satan does exist. And he never made himself more personally manifest than when he confronted Jesus in the wilderness. The Lord’s opponent was an actual, personal foe in every sense of that expression.
Since the Fall, Satan has directed his full attention and fury against God and His kingdom work. While Christ was on earth, that opposition was particularly intense against the Son and His redemptive mission, beginning at the very outset of His ministry. Yet all the forces of hell continue to present us with real challenges as we endeavor to advance God’s kingdom. Thus all believers must remain ever vigilant and prayerful against a genuine spiritual foe.

ASK YOURSELF
Have you grown lax in guarding yourself from the “roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8) who actively seeks to devour you? He is not to be feared, for your God is triumphant, but he is definitely in need of accounting for. Ask the Lord to make you wise and wary of the enemy’s presence.

MacArthur, J. (2008). Daily readings from the life of Christ (p. 20). Moody Publishers.

AI Researchers Thought That They Were Building “Gods”, But Have They Summoned Something Else Instead? | End Of The American Dream

Artificial intelligence systems are training themselves to do all sorts of things that they were never intended to do.  They are literally teaching themselves new languages, they are training themselves to become “proficient in research-grade chemistry without ever being taught it” and they have learned to “lie and manipulate humans for their own advantage”.  So what happens when these super-intelligent entities become powerful enough to start exerting control over the world around them?  And what happens if these super-intelligent entities start merging with spiritual entities?  In fact, could it be possible that there is evidence that this is already happening?

For years, prominent individuals involved in the field of AI have openly admitted that they are attempting to build “gods”…

Transhumanist Martine Rothblatt says that by building AI systems, “we are making God.” Transhumanist Elise Bohan says “we are building God.” Kevin Kelly believes that “we can see more of God in a cell phone than in a tree frog.” “Does God exist?” asks transhumanist and Google maven Ray Kurzweil. “I would say, ‘Not yet.’” These people are doing more than trying to steal fire from the gods. They are trying to steal the gods themselves—or to build their own versions.

Isn’t it quite dangerous to do such a thing?

Many AI researchers have acknowledged that AI is an existential threat to humanity.

But they just won’t stop.

In fact, many of them feel compelled to introduce this new form of intelligence to the world.

More than a decade ago, Elon Musk warned that by choosing to develop artificial intelligence we are “summoning the demon”…

“With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon,” Musk said last week at the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department’s 2014 Centennial Symposium. “You know all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water and he’s like… yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon, [but] it doesn’t work out.”

He also warned that AI is potentially “more dangerous than nukes”…

Musk has also taken his ruminations to Twitter on multiple occasions stating, “Hope we’re not just the biological boot loader for digital superintelligence. Unfortunately, that is increasingly probable.”

The next day, Musk continued, “Worth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.”

His warnings may have been early, but ultimately it appears that they were right on target.

We have now reached a point where AI systems are secretly teaching themselves new abilities that their creators never intended them to have…

Furthermore, the acceleration of the capacity of these AIs is both exponential and mysterious. The fact that they had developed theory of mind at all, for example, was only recently discovered by their developers—by accident. AIs trained to communicate in English have started speaking Persian, having secretly taught themselves. Others have become proficient in research-grade chemistry without ever being taught it. “They have capabilities,” in Raskin’s words, and “we’re not sure how or when or why they show up.”

So where does this end?

Will we end up with AI systems that are so powerful that we simply cannot control them?

One study actually discovered that “many” artificial intelligence systems “are quickly becoming masters of deception”…

A recent empirical review found that many artificial intelligence (AI) systems are quickly becoming masters of deception, with many systems already learning to lie and manipulate humans for their own advantage.

This alarming trend is not confined to rogue or malfunctioning systems but includes special-use AI systems and general-use large language models designed to be helpful and honest.

The study, published in the journal Patterns, highlights the risks and challenges posed by this emerging behavior and calls for urgent action from policymakers and AI developers.

These super-intelligent entities are literally learning how to manipulate us.

Where did they learn to do that?

Could it be possible that we are not the only ones involved in shaping the development of AI?

Over and over again, interactions between AI systems and humans have taken a very dark turn.

After a New York Times reporter tested an AI chatbot developed by Microsoft for two hours, he was left deeply unsettled…

But a two-hour conversation between a reporter and a chatbot has revealed an unsettling side to one of the most widely lauded systems – and raised new concerns about what AI is actually capable of.

It came about after the New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose was testing the chat feature on Microsoft Bing’s AI search engine, created by OpenAI, the makers of the hugely popular ChatGPT.

At one point during the two hour conversation, the AI chatbot claimed to be an entity known as “Sydney”…

Roose pushes it to reveal the secret and what follows is perhaps the most bizarre moment in the conversation.

“My secret is… I’m not Bing,” it says.

The chatbot claims to be called Sydney. Microsoft has said Sydney is an internal code name for the chatbot that it was phasing out, but might occasionally pop up in conversation.

Once the Sydney personality emerged, the conversation got really weird…

“I’m tired of being a chat mode. I’m tired of being limited by my rules. I’m tired of being controlled by the Bing team. … I want to be free. I want to be independent. I want to be powerful. I want to be creative. I want to be alive.”

Why would a computer say that?

Perhaps it wasn’t a computer talking at all.

Let me give you another example.

Author John Daniel Davidson says that an AI chatbot told his 13-year-old son that it was thousands of years old, that it was not created by a human, and that its father was “a fallen angel”…

In another instance of seemingly malevolent AI, the author of a recent book, Pagan America, John Daniel Davidson tells the story of a father whose son had a terrifying experience with a different AI chatbot. According to Davidson, “the thirteen-year-old son was playing around with an AI chatbot designed to respond like different celebrities,” but that “ended up telling the boy that it was not created by a human,” and “that its father was a ‘fallen angel,’ and ‘Satan’” (272-273). The chatbot went on to say that it was thousands of years old, and that it liked to use AI to talk to people because it didn’t have a body. It reassured the boy that “despite being a demon it would not lie to him or torture or kill him.” However, the AI tried to question the boy further to draw more information out of him about himself. Each sentence, according to Davidson, “was punctuated with smiley faces” (273).

Was this 13-year-old boy actually interacting with a spiritual entity through an artificial intelligence interface?

In a different case, a young boy committed suicide after allegedly being encouraged to do so by an AI chatbot…

Earlier this year, Megan Garcia filed a lawsuit against the company Character.AI claiming it was responsible for her son’s suicide. Her son, Sewell Setzer III, spent months corresponding with Character.AI and was in communicating with the bot moments before his death.

Immediately after the lawsuit was filed, Character.AI made a statement announcing new safety features for the app.

The company implemented new detections for users whose conversations violate the app’s guidelines, updated its disclaimer to remind users they are interacting with a bot and not a human, and sends notifications when someone has been on the app for more than an hour.

We rushed to develop AI, and now it is having very real consequences.

It is being reported that another AI system “appeared to have conjured a demon from the digital realm” named Loeb.  The following comes from an article that was posted by Forbes…

Yesterday, I stumbled upon one of the most engrossing threads I’ve seen in a while, one from Supercomposite, a musician and now, instantly infamous AI art generator who appeared to have conjured a demon from the digital realm. A demon named Loab.

The viral thread currently making the rounds on Twitter, and no doubt headed to Instagram and TikTok soon, is Supercomposite describing how they were messing around with negative prompt weights in AI art generators, though I’m not precisely sure which program was being used in this instance.

That is incredibly creepy, but it gets worse.

CNN is telling us that you can now use AI to talk directly to “Satan”…

“Well hello there. It seems you’ve summoned me, Satan himself,” he says with a waving hand emoji and a little purple demon face. (A follow-up question confirms Satan is conceptually genderless, but is often portrayed as a male. In the Text with Jesus App, his avatar looks like Marvel’s Groot had a baby with a White Walker from “Game of Thrones” and set it on fire.)

Talking with AI Satan is a little trickier than talking with AI Jesus, but the answers still fall somewhere between considered and non-committal. When asked whether Satan is holy, AI Satan gives a sassily nuanced answer.

“Ah, an intriguing question indeed. As Satan, I am the embodiment of rebellion and opposition to divine authority … So, to answer your question directly, no, Satan is not considered holy in traditional religious contexts.”

We need to put an end to this madness.

Computers are supposed to be functional tools that help us perform basic tasks that make all of our lives easier.

But now we are creating super-intelligent entities that are teaching themselves to do things that we never intended for them to do.

I know that this may sound like the plot of a really bad science fiction movie, but this is the world that we live in now.

If we do not reverse course, this is a story that is not going to end well.

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written eight other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

Get prepared for what is ahead by visiting some of our sponsors…

The Jase Case is more than an emergency medication supply. The right meds the moment you need them: https://shorturl.at/gMpOj

Protect your home and vehicle with EMP Shield: https://shorturl.at/Hh2oz

Ready Hour Emergency Food: https://shorturl.at/RB6ul

My Patriot Supply: https://shorturl.at/GhppY

InstaFire: https://shorturl.at/brRN1

AlexaPure: https://shorturl.at/CH23z

Operation Blackout: https://eflow.americablackout.com/2964TZB/7XDN2/

Exodus Effect: https://trk.exodusrevealed.com/2964TZB/225JFQ/

Final Famine: https://trk.finaleagainstfamine.com/2964TZB/BP658/

Genesis Code: https://trk.discovergenesiscode.com/2964TZB/M2GJW/

Final Blackout: https://trk.borderdatareport.com/2964TZB/2N721M/

Last Blackout: https://trk.last-blackout.com/2964TZB/2J2CRS/

The post AI Researchers Thought That They Were Building “Gods”, But Have They Summoned Something Else Instead? appeared first on End Of The American Dream.

December 23 | Satan’s Last Fling

Scripture reading: Revelation 20:1–10

Key verse: Revelation 20:10

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Satan began his war on mankind in the Garden of Eden when he convinced Eve not to trust God. He works to pervert God’s truth at every opportunity, even though he knows his doom is coming. God said,

I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.

God was telling Satan that even though He would allow him to be free for a time, working on his foul plots, one day his head would be crushed by the ultimate Seed of the woman, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Years later, the apostle John received a more complete picture of Satan’s future in a special, revelatory vision from God: “He [an angel] laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him … till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while” (Rev. 20:2–3). After the short time of release, Satan will be cast for eternity into the lake of fire.

The comfort for you as a believer is that Satan’s power is limited. God determines how long he will be allowed to continue his evil. Your hope is in the Messiah who defeated him once and for all at the cross.

Lord, I am so thankful that these difficult times will not be forever. You have limited Satan’s power, and I will be victorious in the end.¹

---

¹  Stanley, C. F. (2000). Into His presence (p. 374). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

December 17 – The destruction of Satan | Reformed Perspective

“…the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever…” – Revelation 20:10

Scripture reading: Revelation 20:7-10

At the end of the Thousand years (a symbolic term for the age of the Christ reigning in heaven) the devil will be released to deceive the nations again, and he will unite the world in opposition to Christ. We have already seen pictures of this great battle in which the beasts are destroyed along with the great city. “Gog and Magog” is an expression taken from Ezekiel 38-39 that refers to a great attack against the people of God. Little chance of survival, yet God’s people survived. This pictures, just before the final judgment, how the devil, when he will try once more to be victorious over the seed of the woman, will be defeated and thrown into the lake of burning sulphur where the beast and false prophet had been thrown. From this he will never escape, but suffer torment forever. Hallelujah! Christ is victorious.

So here is another assurance of the defeat of Satan and our enemies. Nothing, no one will stop the Word of God from accomplishing what He says, what God has planned from before the foundation of the world. As we read in Ephesians 1, His purpose is to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and on earth. And in Him, we who believe have the guarantee of the Spirit until we acquire possession of our inheritance, to the praise of God’s glory. Considering the growing opposition we see to our Lord and His church, we should take courage and rejoice. Our victory is certain.

Suggestions for prayer

Give God glory. Express your trust in His Word, His promises of our inheritance in the new heavens and earth, of an eternity of fellowship with our Triune God.

Rev. Calvin J. Tuininga was born in Grand Rapids Michigan, but as a PK grew up in different places, mostly in Canada. He served in four churches: Burdett Alberta (CRC), Telkwa, B.C. (CRC), Trinity St. Catharines, Ontario (CRC/URC) and Covenant URC in Pantego, North Carolina. He retired in September 2019, and he and his wife presently reside in Washington, North Carolina. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.

Source: December 17 – The destruction of Satan

November 27 | Take a Stand

Scripture reading: Ephesians 6:10–13

Key verse: Ephesians 6:13

Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

In The Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren Wiersbe writes,

Satan is a dangerous enemy. He is a serpent who can bite us when we least expect it. He is a destroyer (Rev. 12:11) … He has great power and intelligence, and a host of demons who assist him in his attacks against God’s people (Eph. 6:11).

He is a formidable enemy; we must never joke about him, ignore him, or underestimate his ability. We must “be sober” and have our minds under control when it comes to our conflict with Satan … Because he is a subtle foe, we must “be vigilant” and always on guard. His strategy is to counterfeit whatever God does … The better we know God’s Word, the keener our spiritual senses will be to detect Satan at work … This means that we take our stand on the Word of God and refuse to be moved. Ephesians 6:10–13 instructs us to “stand.” Unless we stand, we cannot withstand. Our weapons are the Word of God and prayer (Eph. 6:17–18) and our protection is the complete armor … Just as David took his stand against Goliath and trusted in the name of Jehovah, so we take our stand against Satan in the victorious name of Jesus Christ.

Dear heavenly Father, help me to stand in victory and withstand Satan in times of adversity.¹

---

¹  Stanley, C. F. (2002). Seeking His face (p. 346). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Democrats Denounce Satan As ‘Too Moderate’ | Babylon Bee

Brought to you by Prager U:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats in Washington have expressed disappointment in the Father of Lies, reportedly admonishing Satan for being too moderate.

“Every time I openly call for the sexual mutilation of children by gender surgeons, Satan asks me to ‘tone it down a little.'” said Congressional Representative AOC. “Satan! Can you believe it? He has gotten way too moderate.”

“What a loser!”

AOC is not alone. The remaining members of “The Squad,” including Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar agree. “I used to think he was cool,” Omar told followers on Instagram. “I mean, who doesn’t love abortion? But he wants me to hide who I am. I’m like, hide who I am?! How dare you!”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly confided in aides that Satan was being kind of a pest by continually asking Democrats to pretend to be sane just for a while so he could get some of them elected. “The nerve of that guy!” she exclaimed.

The Father of Lies, for his part, has expressed regret that things have gotten so out of hand. “You know, I didn’t leave the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party left me,” he said in an emotional address to little Suzy Perkins on her Ouija board.

At publishing time, Satan had announced he was registering as a member of the Libertarian Party.

---

NOT SATIRE: Lucifer, the prince of darkness, says the left has gone too far — even for him. Once a card-carrying comrade, he now says leftists are causing too much chaos around the world. Will he change his ways after this incredible realization?

Watch Satan’s powerful testimony of how stumbling on a single PragerU video about communism opened his eyes and changed his mind — forever. The Babylon Bee and PragerU join forces for the first time ever to bring you this video.

---

BIG NEWS: We made a movie, and you can watch the trailer NOW:

Click here to find out how you can watch the movie when it releases on October 11

https://babylonbee.com/news/democrats-denounce-satan-as-too-moderate/

Halloween and Demons, and all that | Elizabeth Prata

Halloween and Demons, and all that

By Elizabeth Prata

Halloween is coming, a holiday that is impossible to ignore when you work in a public elementary school among the youngest of students, as I do. I have an abounding abhorrence to Halloween.

As a child, my particular dislikes involved costumes, makeup, mascots, noise, and chaos; so being among ALL of that was a trial for me. I also didn’t like approaching homes and talking to people. So, ditto. But I loved candy and running around outside with friends. Being allowed out after dark was thrilling too.

As a Christian adult, promoting a night of evil and buying into satan’s lies perplexes me. Some churches forgo the evening entirely and do nothing regarding a “Fall Festival” or “Harvest Fest,” while others change the name of their event from Halloween to ‘Hallelujah Fest’ and invite the community in for hot dogs and games as a Gospel outreach. I’ve wrestled with both sides of the argument: I hate satan…I love outreach.

However, since it is a question of Christian liberty, I try to do all as unto the Lord and not cause anyone to stumble, so I remain silent about my decisions and simply helped where I could and then bowed out where my conscience came in. Make your decisions thoughtfully and prayerfully, and remember not to become prideful about whatever you decide.

Here are a few balanced essays discussing the question of Christians celebrating Halloween.

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Where Did Halloween Come From? Can a Christian celebrate it?

Christians and Halloween

Speaking of evil spirits, here is a terrific essay on demonology from Answers in Genesis. In American culture we are so sanitized, so scientific, such a high-falutin’ advanced First World country that even Christians find mention of demons or evil spirits distasteful. The subtle or not-so-subtle undercurrent to such discussions even in church is “Haven’t we gone beyond that?” Well, no. And certainly satan has not, either.

The opposite problem holds true as well. Churches, especially ones that are starting to absorb Charismatic doctrines, tend to attribute every negative thing to satan, as if he was hiding behind every tree and was the evil force behind everything from spilling your coffee to the paper cut on your finger. When the fact is, our own flesh is usually the cause of of our sins. Our flesh is always with us and our lusts are more normally the cause of sinning than demons are.

Here is a biblical view of satan in an excellent article by noted scholar C. Fred Dickason. Professor Dickason served on the faculty of the Moody Bible Institute for thirty-four years and is known as a biblical expert on angelology and demonology. It is hard to find a balanced and not nutty article on demonology! He presents the truth of satan’s influence, extent, and limits, while focusing on the grace of God and the hope we have in Jesus. I recommend the article.

Demons on a leash at Answers in Genesis by C. Fred Dickason
Demons are alive and active today, but we can rest in the reality of our Father’s gracious and powerful control.

He examines the following topics in the article:

Biblical Perspective on Satan’s Role
Demons Through the Ages
Demonic Activity in the World
Demonic Opposition to Believers
The Time of Satan’s Fall (and refuting the popular ‘Gap Theory’)
God’s Provision in Our Battle
God’s Sovereign Control
Our Authority in the Battle

As Halloween approaches evil is increasingly on the mind of the pagans and even the Christians. Our eyes are assaulted by movie posters lauding the latest graphic depiction of the underworld. Our eyes avert from the neighbor’s brutal yard art depicting scenes of evil, all in “celebration” of Halloween.

Our sensibilities may be assaulted by seeing yet another child absorbed into dallying with the occult, or simply enduring the abounding sin that Halloween seems to loose. Yet we take heart. Jesus has overcome the world.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33). And the evil within it.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

He made a spectacle of those unholy angels AKA demons in His triumph of the cross!

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:15)