"The whole world lieth in the wicked one" says the beloved John (1 Jn.5.19) and the bitter truth of this observation is daily manifest. The reign of sin and death has borne fruit in the existence of a "groaning creation" (Rom.8.22) which looks and longs hopelessly for deliverance. The Scriptures confirm quite clearly that Satan is the prince or god of this order of things (Jn.14.30, Cor.4.4) and our Lord himself did not dispute the fact (Luke 4.6). The contrast between the fair beauty of Eden and those scenes of misery and degradation which now mar the earth would be not only saddening in the extreme but productive of hopeless despair were it not for the Divine promise that the power of evil shall one day be overthrown and Eden will bloom again.

Despite the evidence of Satan's rule, so manifest in the world and on the pages of history, there is very little direct reference to his personality and activities in the Old Testament. The existence of evil was plain to all men. Many were the speculations as to why evil was permitted and many there were who endeavoured to overcome the power of evil. Enoch and Noah stand out as early examples of great men leading righteous lives in an environment which was rapidly becoming more and more godless (Gen. 6.5).

Abraham and Job appear as men of faith who were esteemed and respected by their contemporaries. The children of Israel at Sinai recognised the existence of evil and entered into a covenant with God by the provisions of which they formally renounced evil and pledged themselves to absolute holiness of life, but "that covenant they broke" (Jer. 31.32). There was in ancient days no lack of appreciation that mankind was in a fallen state and in the grip of evil. It is apparent, though, that intelligent belief in a presiding genius in the realms of evil, a master mind who directed the forces of evil, was not so widespread. Men and women groaned and suffered under the tyranny of sin without realising just how it came about that they found themselves in this hopeless state. It was left to the seers and pastors of the people of Israel to discern the relation of these things to the story of that happening in Eden so long before; and it is these men who have recorded sufficient of the visions they saw and the revelations they received to constitute a tolerably clear outline of Old Testament teaching regarding the personality and work of the Devil.

From the days of the early Christian Church it has been customary to regard Satan as a powerful spiritual being who is in a state of rebellion against God, one who is the embodiment of all wickedness and whose whole intellectual and moral nature has become subordinated to evil. But the word "Satan" was not originally the name of a personality, it is a Hebrew word meaning an adversary, an enemy, or an opposing one. In this sense the word appears fourteen times in the Old Testament, translated "adversary" or "to resist" and in these instances it is clear that the reference is not to the archenemy of God and man, but to opponents of lesser power and fame. Psa.38.20; 109.4,20,29; and 71.13, are cases in point. In Num.22.22, the angel of the Lord is said to be a "Satan" ‑ an adversary. `In 1 Kings 11.14;23, 25, an earthly "satan" was said to be "stirred up" by God.

It should not be thought, however, that this usage of the word means that there is no personal devil - Christians do maintain that understanding, that the Scriptures, in speaking of the Devil or of "Satan," refer to the principle of evil in active operation, and that the idea of a personal devil is an out worn relic of mediaeval theology. It would appear that this viewpoint overlooks certain important Scriptural considerations. The principle of evil has always existed and will always exist, although the Bible makes it plain that evil will not continue in active operation forever.

A day will come when the whole of Divine creation will be fully in harmony with the laws of God, and evil will not again darken that vast realm; but the Bible declares plainly that evil was introduced into this world by an external agent, that mankind was drawn into evil under circumstances which showed that at least part of the guilt lay at the door of another than man (Gen.3.14), and that during the whole course of human history that other agent has constantly warred against God, tempting and seducing men and angels. Moreover, the Book depicts in no uncertain terms the rectification of all the evil that was introduced by him. To accept all this as picturing the principle of evil in active operation does not do the record justice, for these stories are clearly intended to explain by whom the operation of evil in this world was set in motion. The plain indications in Genesis, in Job, in Isaiah and Ezekiel, and throughout the New Testament, are that there exists a being who, originally created perfect and sinless, harboured thoughts of disloyalty and rebellion which led to open disobedience and culminated in the terrible scenes on this earth which are associated with the reign of sin and death.

Thus it becomes the natural thing for the Hebrew word "Satan" - an opposer - to become the proper name by which this being has been known throughout the Christian era. The popular idea of a grim faced demon with horns and hoofs, a kind of presiding deity of Hell, is borrowed from pagan mythology and has no relation at all to the truth. Satan is a spiritual being, his habitation is the spiritual world, he has all the powers and faculties which belong to that order of existence; but he is one whose moral nature is inflexibly set in the things of evil.

There are references throughout the New Testament which indicate that Jesus and the Apostles believed in the existence of Satan. The story of our Lord's temptation at the beginning of his ministry is meaningless unless it is accepted that He actually did become the recipient of suggestions from the Devil. It may have been true that He was not literally taken up and set on a pinnacle of the Temple, just as it must have been true that with the natural eyesight He could not have literally beheld all the kingdoms of the earth from his vantage point at Jerusalem. The essence of the story is that Jesus was urged, not to fall down and worship an abstract principle of evil, but to definitely acknowledge as his liege lord one who at that time was admittedly the "prince of this world". Doubtless the proposal was to the effect that He could then undertake his work of healing and blessing mankind without going through the experiences ordained for him by his Father, experiences which must inevitably culminate in the tragedy of Calvary. The Tempter definitely declared that all things in this world, the kingdoms and all their glory, had been "committed" unto him as lord; and this claim, which is supported by many Bible statements, was not denied by Jesus (Luke 4.6).

Words attributed to Jesus such as that in Matt. 12.26 "If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself" can only be understood by realising that Satan was already known to be the author of evil works but not of good. The idea of this prince of evil lending his power to the execution of good works, as suggested by the Pharisees, would be an indication that his power to maintain his kingdom by the practice of evil was already tottering. Such language could hardly be applied to an abstract "principle of evil."

The association of the "Devil and his angels" in Matt. 25.41, and in certain other Scriptures, indicates a leading personality among all those spiritual beings who are known to be in active rebellion against God. Paul's terrible words in Ephesians 6.12, in which he speaks of the unseen enemies of the Church, imply evil intelligences in the spiritual world, set in battle array against all that is good and pure upon earth and in heaven. Such a picture illuminates the Biblical presentation of one among them, their leader and instigator, who fulfils the description given in the Old Testament.

Moral responsibility cannot be imputed to an abstract principle; and the Scripture very clearly imputes moral responsibility to that agent by which, as it says, the first human beings were induced to swerve from righteousness and so introduce the reign of sin and death. Onward through the centuries the story is the same - behind all the misery and suffering, the hate and greed which characterises the rule of man in the world, there stands a shadowy figure upon whom is laid the ultimate responsibility ‑ and the inevitability of a personal retribution in due time is as clearly indicated. It was Tertullian who said that although God punished Adam and Eve for their transgression, he did not curse them as he did the serpent, because they were candidates for restoration and the serpent was not. Whether this is a correct conclusion or not, a striking contrast is evident in Scripture when it is seen how throughout the sacred record there runs a golden thread of promise speaking of the ultimate undoing of all the serpent's work, and visualising the reconciliation of "whosoever will" to God; but declaring in no unmeasured terms the finality of that judgment which was passed upon the serpent at the beginning.

The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel between them contribute a detailed exposition of the sin and the fall of Lucifer. It remains to three other men of God, Moses, Job and Zechariah, to complete the picture by describing, in allegory and symbol, the three great phases of Satan's activities on the earth. Moses records the story of his successful attempt to introduce evil into this world and its terrible result in the fall of man. The writer of the book of Job pictures in eloquent language Satan's continued sway as the "god of this world," and shows forth in revealing language the inherent baseness of the Satanic character: "Doth Job fear God for nought?" (Job 1.2), Zechariah in poetic imagery speaks of Satan as the inveterate enemy of the Church. Apart from these five accounts, the Old Testament is destitute of direct reference to the "prince of this world". Other nations feared and worshipped him; many of the pagan mythologies had their god of evil, to be propitiated and reverenced; but the Hebrews in their sturdy belief in Jehovah, even at those times when their faith sank to the lowest of ebbs and they turned aside after Baal and Moloch ‑ false conceptions of the once universally worshipped true God ‑ never betrayed their national faith to the extent of deliberately worshipping the prince of evil.

In thus taking a stand for implicit belief in the personality of the Devil, the way is laid open for examination of the two descriptions of his creation and fall which are found in the Old Testament. One is recorded in the twenty eighth chapter of Ezekiel and the other in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah. In both cases a characteristic feature of Hebrew prophecy is revealed, one that should be kept in mind when studying the Scriptures. In speaking of events or matters remote from their own day, the prophets were accustomed to preface their words with some allusion to contemporary affairs which would be easily understandable to their hearers, and with this "background" in mind gave the deeper message in such a manner that in future times the earnest student would realise its true application even although it did have a surface application to the days in which it was written. The Revelation given to John in much later times was written in the same style ‑ the background being that of the Roman Empire and events of his own day, but the realities of his vision reaching forth into the distant future.

In these two passages therefore the prophets first addressed their words to the then King of Babylon and the King of Tyre, but as they develop their themes the language becomes more and more inappropriate to an earthly potentate and much more applicable to the powerful spiritual being who in a long past day renounced his loyalty and obedience to God. The burning words of these two inspired prophets echo down the ages with all their primal intensity of feeling. "Thou shall be as though thou hast not been: and never shall thou be any more." So will the last shadow of sin vanish from earth and the rebellion which has taken its toll of mankind be a thing of the past ‑ only the memory of the days of evil remaining as an ever abiding and never‑to‑be‑forgotten lesson to the sons of men.

AOH