Serpent, Devil, Satan, Adversary, Demons, Evil Spirits and Anti-Christs ***

THE PROBLEM WITH MYTHS
The negative influence of the myths about angels, demons, Satan and the Devil is subtle but significant. To begin to understand why we must have a solid understanding of them we must consider these scriptures:

Exodus 20:1-5: Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

COMMENTARY: When God warns about making an idol, he is not talking only about making a physical idol. Rather, he uses the symbolism of material idols (i.e. wood, stone, metal) to represent spiritual idols.This is consistent with the “first the natural, then the spiritual” pattern we find throughout the Bible.

It is possible, and much easier, and much more common to make an imaginary idol in the heart. In fact, if we could be honest with ourselves, we would all have to admit that we have idols or one kind or another in our hearts. These are the idols with which God is concerned.

Angels, demons, the Devil, Satan and the adversary are all imaginary idols. They exist in the mind/heart of people who fear them and serve them by believing that they exist.

Anyone, past or present, who believes that these mythological entities are real and that they have spiritual power over people or nature has created an idol. In doing this, they have violated God’s command not to make a likeness of anything anywhere. Whenever such a likeness is created in the mind/heart, or with wood, metal or stone, God considers it to be a god. This command may be rightly extrapolated to guard against making a likeness of a devil or demon in their minds.

Having created the idol in the mind/heart is not the end of the problem. Once created and accepted as real because it has power and authority, an idol of the mind evolves to status of an idol of the heart. In God’s view, an idol of the heart in a modern day religionist is equal to an idol/god of wood, metal or stone created by a pagan religionist.

In God’s view, the idol is being served and worshiped whenever an idol of the heart has influence over us.They have become real for us when the following happens:

  • These imaginary idols/gods are served and honored when we spend time thinking about them and looking for evidence that the exist.
  • They are served when we talk about them as though they really exist.
  • They are served when we make decisions consistent with what the idol says we should or should not do.
  • They are served when we imagine that they have unrestrained influence us or anyone else to do something bad or evil.
  • They are served and honored as being real when we excuse our bad behavior or the bad behavior of others because of the supposedly irrepressible, unstoppable negative influence these imaginary beings are assumed to have over us and them. God does not accept “The devil made me do it” as an excuse for sin. Each person must own responsibility for his/her own sin.
  • They become gods when we ascribe to them the power to control ourselves, others or circumstances in our lives.
  • They become gods who have more power than God when we ascribe to them the power to destroy anything that God has created.

God calls all of the above kinds of thinking and actions taking an idol into the heart. If we speak of these mythical entitles as though they are real and powerful, or respond to evil circumstances with the belief that these entities have caused the circumstances, God calls that lifting the soul up to an idol and swearing by something that is false.

The bottom-line reality regarding demons, the devil and satan is that they are symbolic representations of our own personal, human desires (i.e. our personal idols of the heart.) They are the reasons, rationalizations and excuses we make for doing what we do. They are neither physical or spiritual beings. They are only symbolic representations of evil that God has borrowed from ancient religions to tell us how he sees the way we use our minds/hearts to achieve our own desires.

2 Kings 17:34-40: To this day they do according to the earlier customs: they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances or the law, or the commandments which the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel; 35 with whom the LORD made a covenant and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down yourselves to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them.

COMMENTARY: Application of the term “bow down” should not be limited to physically bowing down. In some religions this is a common practice but God uses this idea to communicate the concept of worship or submission to someone or something.

In ancient religions sacrifices included animals, grain, and sometimes people. God’s view of sacrifices and offerings, however, is spiritual — not physical. See Sacrifices, Tithes and Offerings for a proper understanding of sacrifices.

Fearing other gods, including satan, the devil and demons, violates God’s command that they should not be feared. Praying against these entities out of fear for what they might do and casting them out of people effectively serves them by making them real and recognizing their power to do harm. Talking about them and ascribing power to them are perverse sacrifices because only God has the power to build up and tear down what he builds.

36 “But the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice. 37 “The statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall observe to do forever ; and you shall not fear other gods. 38 “The covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 “But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they did not listen, but they did according to their earlier custom.

COMMENTARY: See Religion is Idolatry for understanding of these topics. Also see Religion is the Enemy for understanding of enemies.

We see here again God’s command not to fear other gods. Fearing satan/devil/demons as people do verifies that they have become gods in their hearts and minds.

2 Kings 17:7-13: And this was so, because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs which the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places at all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city; 10 they set up for themselves pillars and Ashe’rim on every high hill and under every green tree; 11 and there they burned incense on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”

COMMENTARY: See this link for understanding of the symbolism of high places, altars, ashera poles, pillars and groves. See this link for understanding of Pharaohs.

Leviticus 18:1-3: And the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, I am the LORD your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes.

COMMENTARY: See this link for Egypt’s religious beliefs regarding satan. Recognizing satan was contrary to God’s command.

Leviticus 20:23: ‘Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.

COMMENTARY: It was the custom of religious nations that occupied the promised land to believe in demons and the devil. God says here that his people should not believe in the same kinds of things.

Deuteronomy 18:9-14: “When you come into the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD; and because of these abominable practices the LORD your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 For these nations, which you are about to dispossess, give heed to soothsayers and to diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you so to do.

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