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The devil is a personification of sin But pagan mythology was substituted for Bibli- cal teaching, and “the devil” is claimed by “the church” to be “a fallen angel”, God’s enemy. It was not long before “grievous wolves” from without, and perverse-speaking members from within, corrupted the orig- inal truth of the Gospel, Acts 20v28-31. The Apostle Paul taught also that the only thing which could keep disciples from this apostacy is the word of God, see v27,32. One of these pagan heresies has become what is today a pillar of orthodox "church" teaching, “a fallen angel devil”. The Bible does not teach such things, but it does teach that the devil is a personification of sin. Compare these two key verses: Hebrews 2v14- "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil". (see also page 2 for further explanation). Romans 8v3- "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin(mg."by a sacrifice for sin"),condemned sin in the flesh". So we are told that God in Christ has “destroy(ed) the devil” and “condemned sin”. “The power of death” was held by “the devil” and also “sin”, Romans 5v12,21;6v23.It is evident that “the devil” is equal to “sin”. It is evident that as sin is personified as a slave- master, so also the term “devil” is a form of personification. However, “devil” signifies in the original Greek, “false accuser”, and it is this meaning which is being brought to our notice. Why should this be so? To answer this, we must go back to the be- ginning, when sin entered the world through man’s disobedience. “The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty”, 2nd Corinthians 11v3.“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field”, Genesis 3v1. The “subtilty” consisted of mixing truth and error, & in the process, the serpent falsely accused God- see Genesis 3v4,5. This is where the aspect of 'devil'='false accuser' originated, and it is calculated to force upon our minds the enormity and sinfulness of falsely accusing God. Jesus contrasts “the truth” which He had “heard” of “the Father” with the “lie” which the Jews had heard of their “father the devil”, John 8v26,27,31,32,44,45,47. This shows the two types of mind, the spiritual mind, which accepts the Truth, and the carnal or fleshly mind, which rejects it - see Romans 8. Link to 'promises' concerning the 2 "principles" & the 2 "seeds". The lie which the Jews believed was that Jesus had been born of “fornication”, thus rejecting that God was His Father, John 8v41,42. Notice that Jesus refers to “the devil” as “a liar, and the father of it” in John 8v44. Also “He was a murderer from the beginning, and a- bode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own”. These words are a commen- tary upon the events of Genesis 3, where the lie of the serpent result- ed in sin and death, cp Romans 5v12. This is all very easily understood, but superimposing pagan/"church" beliefs upon the Divine record results in total confusion- i.e."MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT"- see under 'Index' links to 'God', 'spirit', 'mortal', 'satan', 'baptism'. The process of apostacy is traced out in 'departure'. It is significant, when 'diabolos' cannot be made to appear as "a fallen angel", this word is translated correctly!- 1st Timothy 3v11, 2nd Timothy 3v3, Titus 2v3.The Apostle Paul testified that it really was a “serpent”, as also stated in the Genesis record- 2nd Corinthians 11v3 cp Genesis 3v1-5,14,15. No imaginary being masqueraded as a serpent! We read “the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty", & "the serp- ent was more subtil than any beast of the field". It was capable itself! God stated to the serpent “Because THOU hast done this..”- Gen.3v14. Being only a serpent, “there (was) no truth in him”,John 8v44. He tried to mix truth (Genesis 3v5) with a lie (v4). With the adoption of the ser- pent mind, “the devil” became sin in the flesh. This sin-nature was condemned in the Sacrifice of Christ ( link to 'sacrifice' or via 'Index'). By accepting the Gospel call, we can be freed from sin forever. |