Bill Davison The Devil and Demons a New Approach

Third enlarged edition with Addendum

Scanned August 27 2005

The Devil and Demons

Contents

Acknowledgements...............................................................….... iii

Foreword...............................................................................…... iv

Introduction.................................................................................. 1

The Old Testament..................................................................….. 2

Satan.............................................................................……........ 3

Devils.................................................................................…….... 6

The New Testament...................................................…................ 8

Satan............................................................................……......... 8

The Devil...........................................................................……... 11

The Temptation of Jesus...................................………................ 14

Demons, Unclean and Evil Spirits..........………............................ 17

The Gospels....................................................……..................... 19

Acts, Corinthians and Revelation............................………........... 20

Summary..................................................................................... 23

The Devil..........................................................................…....... 23

Demons.....................................................................……...........24

Coda...............................................................................…........ 26

Addendum.........................................................................…...... 27

Scripture Quotation Index....................................................…..... 30

Acknowledgements

My thanks are due to:

Leen Ritmeyer Ph.D., Jerusalem, architect and archaeologist, who scrutinised the transliteration of the Hebrew into English; Dr. Ritmeyer accepts the main thrust of the study, but considers Job's "Satan" to be his three so-called friends who wrongfully accused him of doing evil, and the "sons of God" as being true worshippers of the Lord God.

Sheila Harris B.D., M.A.(Oxon), classicist, who checked the Greek.

Vernon Fowler Ph.D., animal nutritionist, who came up with the piece of detailed 'pigology' on page 24. He also made a number of positive suggestions, as regards the Foreword and the Coda, listing the key theological points.

Janice Howell BSc., who typed the original manuscript, patiently putting up with my illegible, scrawled writing, and numerous alterations.

Emma Davison B.A., my daughter, a social worker, who proof-read the script. She has in her care, persons suffering from delusions and dementia, and those prone to paroxysms of rage and violence. In New Testament times such mental disorders would have been diagnosed as "demon possession", but in reality, these sick people are in the grip of alcohol abuse or drug addiction.

Adam Lowe BSc., who typeset the final product.

The Devil and Demons

Introduction

Foreword

Over the years, I have encountered many good-living Christian people who have a high regard for Scripture, but whose belief in God's goodness is overshadowed by an overwhelming fear of the devil and demons. The aim of this study is to show from the Bible, that these fears are a misconception, and can be alleviated, by a fuller understanding of the Biblical text.

God's wisdom, power and love will ultimately prevail over all the evil which is in the world, when at the second coming of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God, is established on the earth. Meanwhile, we look for strength from Him to help us overcome the wayward tendencies of our human nature.

Many Christian communities believe in a personal supernatural devil or Satan, an all-powerful 'fallen angel', who is capable of tempting people all over the world to sin; and in a broader context, of bringing wars, calamities and evil upon mankind. This devil, it is claimed, has under his control hosts of 'fallen angels' and demons, that is, morally evil disembodied spirits, who inflict mankind with physical and mental disorders, and which need to be rebuked and 'cast out'.

To some, the whole question of the devil and demons, in the scheme of Christianity, is fraught with difficulty, since the Jews in the days of Jesus evidently believed in a personal devil and literal demons; as seemingly did the disciples. Apparently, Jesus Himself, also accommodated the current beliefs of the day, without question.

Is there such a being as a supernatural devil and are demons a reality? Or, are we to understand, in this more enlightened scientific age, that the Bible devil is simply the personification of evil, and that the allusions to demons are the explanation by primitive peoples of medical conditions which they did not understand, and which they thought caused deafness, dumbness, blindness, infectious disease and mental derangement?

This is the avenue which will be explored in this short historical and Biblical survey.

The Old Testament

The Old Testament

Throughout their history, the ancient Israelites were influenced and infiltrated by the pagan thought forms and practices of the nations of Egypt, Canaan, Babylon, Assyria and Persia. The Egyptians venerated animals, and their main gods had a human body with the head of an animal or bird, e.g. Horus was represented in human form with the head of a falcon; the Canaanites worshipped the fertility god Baal, and erected idols to him; the Babylonians venerated Marduk, and they had many lesser gods and devils; the Assyrians had their national god Ashur, in conjunction with the belief that every object and natural phenomenon was animated by a spirit either good or evil; the Persians worshipped Ahura Mazda, their principal deity.

In the prophecy of Isaiah the Lord God expresses His authority as the one and only Supreme Being:

Isaiah 45:5 - "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me."

Isaiah is prophetically addressing Cyrus king of the Persian empire, where the state religion was Zoroastrianism. Zoroaster, a pagan prophet, taught that in the beginning of creation, there were two gods, Ahura Mazda the god of light and Angra Mainyu the god of evil. One followed good; he is associated with justice, truth and life. The other followed evil, and the attendant form of injustice, destruction and death. The premise that there are two gods, who oppose each other, finds a parallel in the widespread beliefs of many people who see the Lord God as the ultimate of all that is good and the devil as representative of evil. However, the idea that there is a god of evil (akin to a personal devil) is dismissed by the prophet Isaiah in forthright terms:

Isaiah 45:7 - "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace and create evi| ['ra', evil in the sense of disaster, calamity]; I the Lord do all these things."

Satan

In the Old Testament, there is no mention of 'the devil' and no doctrine of demons, as is found in the Gospels. Instead we have the word 'Satan', which is translated 16 times as such, 12 times as 'adversary' or 'be an adversary', once as 'resist' and once 'to withstand'; and there are a mere six allusions to 'devils'.

In the Hebrew text, the name 'satan' appears, with the preposition 'le' [as, to or for satan or an adversary], simply as satan, or with the definite article 'ha' [the satan, the adversary], in which case the translators give it a capital 'S'. There is no indefinite article [a/an] in Hebrew: to give indefinite meaning, the definite article is simply omitted.

Note the following examples:

Numbers 22:22 - "and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary ['lesatan'] against him [Baalim]." An angel of God, is here called 'a satan', which simply means 'an adversary'.

1 Kings 5:4 - "the Lord my God hath given me [Solomon] rest..... so that there is neither adversary ['satan'] nor evil occurrent." The warring nations who opposed Israel are here described as 'satan'.

1 Chronicles 21:1- "And Satan ['satan'] stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." Evidently the translators used the name Satan, instead of adversary, since they thought this incident was prompted by the malevolent spirit in which they believed. Yet, it could have been an angel acting on the Lord's behalf, since we read in 2 Samuel 24:1 - "the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David..... to say, Go, number Israel and Judah."

Job 1:6 - "Now there was a day when the sons of God ['beni haelohiym'] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan ['hasatan'] came also among them." Here, the sons of God are apparently angels, as confirmed in Job 38:7 -"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God ['kol beni elohiym'] shouted for joy."

The Satan of Job, with the definite article, appears to be a 'special' adversary. He is God's chief messenger, carrying out His bidding, completely under His control, and who actually dwelt in His presence: "So Satan ['hasatan'] went forth from the presence of the Lord" (1:12).

This opposing angel might possibly have been Gabriel: "that stood in the presence of God" (Luke 1:19). Be that as it may, Satan is not here a wicked 'fallen angel', but rather a divine messenger of God, given the authority and the power to test the integrity of Job by bringing affliction upon him: "Behold he is in thine hand..... So Satan ['hasatan'] went forth from the presence of the Lord. and smote Job with sore boils" (2:6&7). The conclusion of the matter is: "What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (2:10); "Then came unto him all his brethren..... and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him" (42:11).

In the Book of Judges a parallel situation is to be found:

Judges 9:23 - " Then God sent an evil spirit ['ruah ra' ah'] between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech." Here the 'evil spirit' is apparently an angel of the Lord, in this instance, bringing evil upon the Shechemites as a punishment for sin.

Psalm 109:20&29 - "Let this be the reward of mine adversaries ['satanai'] from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul..... Let mine adversaries ['satanai'] be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion..." The 'satans' in this context are simply the human opponents of David.

Zechariah 3:1-5 - "And he showed me Joshua ['Yehoshua', a variant of Jeshua, 'Yeshua'] the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan ['ve-hasatan'] standing at his right hand to resist him ['lesitno', 'to satanise him, to accuse him']. And the Lord said unto Satan ['hasatan'], The Lord rebuke thee O Satan ['hasatan']; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him..... And I said, Let them set a fair mitre on his head..... and clothed him with garments."

In this vision, 'Satan' is opposing Joshua's commission, which was, to rebuild the Temple. Ezra and Nehemiah writing of the same historical period comment:

Ezra 4:1 -5 - "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple..... they came..... But Zerubbabel, and Joshua ['Yeshua'],..... said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God..... Then the people..... hired counsellors against them."

Nehemiah 4:1 - "...when Sanballal heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews."

It therefore seems that 'Satan', in this context, stands for Sanballat, the archenemy of Israel, aided and abetted by his minions.

The 'charge' against Joshua is not specified, but being high priest, he was responsible for the sins of the people, who, when in exile had married foreign wives. The Lord rebukes 'Satan' [Sanballat], rescues Joshua as "a brand plucked out of the fire", removes the besmirched garments and clothes him in the ceremonial robe of righteousness; thereby restoring to fellowship, the nation of Israel which had gone astray. The restoration is spoken of in these words:

Zechariah 8:3 - "I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth..."

Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus, which means Saviour, and Jerusalem will be the "city of truth" in its fullness, when Jesus returns to reign as King. He will save God's chosen people the Jews and those Christians who have truly believed and been baptized into His Saving Name.

Old Testament Devils (Demons)

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word 'sa'ir' [plural 'se'irim'] simply means 'goat', and is translated 52 times as goat or kid; twice as 'devils' and twice as 'satyrs'. A satyr is a mythical creature, half-man and half-goat. Later, it became the Greek god Pan, one of the woodland deities of Greece and Rome, who was so evil in appearance, that when he confronted humans, he put them in a 'panic'; and by extension he became the medieval Devil, with horns, hooves and forked tail. The appropriate scriptures are:

Leviticus 17:7 - "And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils ['lase'irim' - 'to goats'], after whom they have gone a whoring." These were idols, purportedly the dwelling place of spirits or demons, at which the idolatrous Israelites worshipped and offered human sacrifice, and for which they were condemned by God.

2 Chronicles 11:15- "And he [Rehoboam] ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils ['ve-lase'irim' - 'and for goats'], and for the calves which he had made." The Israelites erected idols of calves and goats. The worship of the goat in Egypt, accompanied by fertility rites, was a practice in which the Israelites indulged.

Isaiah 13:21 - "But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there..... and satyrs ['ve-se'irim' - 'and goats'] shall dance there." There was nothing more menacing in the wilderness than wild goats leaping around.

Isaiah 34:14 - "The wild beasts of the desert..... and the satyr ['ve-sa'ir'] - 'and a goat'] shall cry to his fellow: the screech owl ['liyliyt'] also shall rest there." As a person who has trekked and slept out in the wilderness of Sinai at night, I can testify that the cry of the he-goat and the screech of the owl, sound eerie. But those weird cries, which the superstitious Israelites attributed to the male demon ['sa'ir'] and the female demon ['liyliyt'] were in reality, merely the cries of wild creatures. It is interesting to note, that Jewish Kabbalists, translate "Liyliyt" as "night hag", since in non-Biblical literature "Lilith" (the usual spelling) is purported to be the barren first wife of Adam. Being rejected by the First Man, she supposedly raged around at night, seeking revenge!

The other word translated 'devils' is the Hebrew word 'shed' [plural 'shedim']. According to the Jewish Soncino Version, this is an Assyrian loan word, 'shedu', referring to the spirit, demon or demi-god supposedly indwelling the winged bull-colossi at the entrance to temples and palaces:

Deuteronomy 32:17&21 - "They sacrificed unto devils ['lashedim' - 'to devils'], not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not..... They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God ['belo-eT - 'with a no god']; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities." The writer is declaring that 'devils' and 'demons' are a delusion, literally 'no gods'. Such beings are non-existent!

Psalm 106:36&37 - "And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils ['lashedim']." As it says earlier in the Psalm (verse 28), they allied themselves to the local god, Baal Peor, and were eating sacrifices made to lifeless idols. The Psalmist's comment is, that in reality, such worship of 'devils' was a figment of their imaginations.

Finally, some scholars think that the noun 'shed' is from the same root as 'shad', which is the Hebrew word for 'breast'. The Egyptian goddess Isis was a 'many breasted' idol, so what may have been worshipped by the Israelites, was an idol erected to this goddess. In New Testament times, the goddess Diana, who was venerated by the Greeks, was cast in the mould of a silver figure, with many breasts, symbolising fertility.

The New Testament

Persian and Greek religious thought had penetrated Judaism, and the Gospel writers, penned their words in the idiom of Jewish and contemporary thinking. They wrote too in vivid imagery, similar to the language found in the apocryphal writings, not accepted into the Christian Canon, but which literature was widely circulated in society. Similarly, the apostle Paul when debating with the Athenian philosophers quotes from one of their own Stoic poets, Aratus or Cleanthes, when couching his argument for the Fatherhood of God, in the Acts of the Apostles:

Acts 17:28 - "For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said. For we are also his offspring."

Satan

In Greek idiom, proper names are often given the article, but translated without it, such as we find in the genealogies, Matthew chapter 1 - "Abraham begat Isaac ['ton Isaak']; and Isaac begat Jacob ['ton lacob']; and Jacob begat Judas ['ton loudan'j, etc. Regarding the definitive article - 'ho' is the nominative case, 'ton' the accusative, 'tou' the genitive and 'to' the dative case. There is no indefinite article in Greek. When, therefore, a word like 'logos', stands alone, it usually means 'a word'. But it can mean simply 'word'. The right translation is nearly always obvious from the context.

The proper name 'Satan' ('satanas') occurs 35 times and it is given a capital 'S' as in the Old Testament, when the translators thought it indicated an evil, superhuman Satan, regardless of whether there is a definite article or not. Note the following examples in the Gospels, Epistles and the Book of Revelation:

Matthew 16:23 - "But he [Jesus] turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan ['satana']: thou art an offence unto me." Here 'Satan' is a man.

Mark 1:13 - "And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted ['peirazomenos' - from 'peirazo', the verb 'to try, to test', in a good or bad sense] of ['hypo' - 'by'] Satan ['tou satana']; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him." It is important to realise that temptation itself is not sin, it is succumbing to it, that is sin. Jesus was assailed by all manner of temptation, here depicted as 'Satan'.

Luke 10:18 - "I beheld Satan ['ton satanan'] as lightning fall from heaven." It is claimed that the devil was cast out of heaven prior to the time of Adam and Eve, and took the guise of a serpent, in tempting Eve to sin; here in the lifetime of the Lord Jesus, Satan is said to fall from heaven, and in the pictorial language of the Book of Revelation, it is said that he is to be 'cast down to the earth' prior to the return of Jesus. However, this verse simply means that 'sin' is brought low by the 70 disciples who had gone forth to preach the Gospel. The passage is patently figurative, since in verse 15, it is said that the city of Capernaum which was exalted to heaven, is cast down to hell ('hades', from 'a' negative, and 'eido' 'to see', that is, the unseen state, the grave).

Luke 13:16- "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan ['ho satanas'] hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" Accommodating the language of the time, Jesus is saying, this poor woman was stricken with illness, until He restored her to health and strength.

John 13:27 - "And after the sop Satan ['ho satanas'] entered into him." After Judas had determined to betray Jesus, it is said to be Satan entering his heart, as in Mark 5:12, the unclean spirits are said to enter into the swine; which was the way of explaining the source of sinful acts, which mode of thinking was adopted by the Jews, when they were in captivity in Babylon.

Acts 5:3 - "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan ['ho satanas'] filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" Note verse 4: "Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?" Ananais allowed covetousness, that which is adverse to God, to fill his heart.

1 Corinthians 5:5 - "To deliver such an one unto Satan ['to satana'] for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Satan is here, not a superhuman devil, since Paul would hardly have handed over to such a being, a sinner to be saved; rather in Church theology such a person, is delivered to Satan to be damned! The man was apparently afflicted with a disease, to bring him to repentance, and back to God.

This seems to accord with the comments in the Book of Samuel:

1 Samuel 16:14 - "But the Spirit ['ruah'] of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit ['ruah ra' ah'] from the Lord troubled him." Seemingly, Saul was stricken with a form of insanity, as a punishment for his rebellion against God.

2 Corinthians 11:14 - "And no marvel; for Satan ['ho satanas'] himself is transformed into an angel of light." Paul accused the Judaistic trouble-makers, of masquerading as apostles of Christ, and uses the Jewish apocryphal story, that Satan, the supposed evil spirit, had once masqueraded as one of the angels of God, to reinforce his point.

2 Corinthians 12:7 - "...there was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger ['angelos' - 'angel'] of Satan ['satana'] to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." There is no mention of the orthodox malignant devil here at work, as he would have been sent to destroy Paul rather than curb his pride; this evil is similar to Job's affliction, intended to bring Paul nearer to God.

1 Timothy 1:20 - "Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan ['to satana'], that they learn not to blaspheme." If this were the orthodox devil, it would have made them blaspheme all the more! No, seemingly they are cast back into the world, thrust out of fellowship, to bring them back to the faith.

Revelation 20:2 - "And he laid hold of the dragon ['ton drakonta'], that old serpent ['ho ophis'], which is the Devil ['Diabolos'], and Satan ['ho Satanas'], and bound him a thousand years." The Book of Revelation, written around AD96, is a book of symbol, and speaks of things which were to happen in the future. The dragon is the personification of pagan Rome, which opposed the teaching of the Gospel, linked here with the serpent (which deceived Eve, thus bringing sin into the world), the Devil (the False Accuser) and Satan (the Adversary). Sin, described here as an anti-Christian organisation, is to be "bound a thousand years", throughout the millennial reign of Christ.

It should be noted here that there are 'good' and 'bad' satans, but the term devil is always used in a 'bad' sense.

In Greek thought, such things as wickedness and evil are personalised or _personified, and the same imagery is found in the New Testament. The word for 'wicked' or 'bad' is 'poneros'. Note the following:

Matthew 5:37 - "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil ['toy. ponerou' - literally, 'the wicked one']." But, this does not make 'evil' a 'person'.

Matthew 6:13 - "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ['tou ponerou' - 'the evil one', as some translators put it]."

Matthew 13:19 - "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom..... then cometh the wicked one ['one' is in italics in the A.V.], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart." The text reads, 'ho poneros', and to complete the grammatical sense, is rendered 'the wicked one', which the translators believed to be a personal supernatural devil.

The power of Evil is so great that it is given a personality, as, for instance Wisdom, as a power of good, is given a personality in the Old Testament i.e. "She".

In connection with 'personification', in traditional theology, the word 'logos' is claimed to be the person of Jesus Christ, whom it is said, pre-existed with the Father before the world began:

John 1:1-4 - "In the beginning was the Word ['ho logos'] and the Word ['ho logos'] was with God, and the Word ['ho logos'] was God... All things were made by him ['autou']; and without him ['autou'] was not anything made that was made." It is said that 'him' is a 'person'. However, 'logos' being a masculine noun is alluded to by the masculine pronoun 'autos'. But this is simply the grammatical gender. The 'word' as a 'concept' [not as a 'person'] pre-existed in the mind of God before the world began, which the apostle John goes on to say:

John 1:14 - "And the Word ['ho logos'] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

It is just the same with the devil. When describing the power of sin, the Bible uses vivid language:

Matthew 25:41 - "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire ['to pur to aionion' - 'the fire eternal or age-lasting', which infers complete destruction] prepared for the devil ['to diabolo'] and his angels ['tois angelois']." This graphic description and the personification of evil, is in tune with popular thinking of the time, enabling the hearers to come to terms with things which they found difficult to comprehend. The same kind of imagery is found in the epistle of Jude:

Jude 6 - "And the angels which kept not their first estate... he hath reserved in everlasting ['aidiois' - from 'aei', 'ever'] chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day." This episode is alluded to in the Book of Enoch, part of apocryphal Jewish literature. Jude is saying to his hearers, if in the legendary story of 'rebel angels', the people did not escape the judgement of God, neither will his listeners escape, if they do not reform their lifestyle.

The word 'devil' ['diabolos'] is translated 35 times as such, twice as 'false accuser' and once as 'slanderer'. 'Diabolos' [plural 'diaboloi'] is compounded of two words: 'dia', 'through'; 'ballo', 'to throw', indicating a verbal assault, one who slanders or accuses. It occurs mainly with the definite article, but there are a few places without it. Note the following examples:

Luke 4:2 - "Being forty days tempted of the devil ['tou diabolou']." Literally, 'the accuser'.

John 6:70 - "Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil ['diabolos']?" A reference to Judas Iscariot, a man.

John 8:44 - "Ye are of your father the devil ['tou diabolou'], and the lusts of ," your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning ['ap arches'], and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." This is a reference to the serpent in Genesis, which tempted Eve to sin, and came up with the first lie: "Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). The serpent, however, was not the devil, but became the devil, since it was the serpent who was instrumental in bringing sin into the world. If, it were a superhuman devil in the guise of the serpent who tested Eve, then the devil should have been punished, not the

1 Timothy 3:11- "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers ['diabolous'], sober, faithful in all things." Here gossiping wives are classed as 'slanderers'.

2 Timothy 3:3 - "Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers ['diaboloi'], incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good." The context is of the falling away from the faith in the 'last days', when it is prophesied men will become 'devils', accusing others falsely.

1 Peter 5:8 - "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil ['diabolos'], as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." This is a coded reference to the Roman authorities who, at times, persecuted the Christians with a lion-like ferocity.

Jude 9 - "Yet Michael the Archangel, when contending with the Devil ['to diabolo'] he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." Jude is quoting from the apocryphal story, The Assumption of Moses. His point is, that if in this piece of Jewish fiction the angel had to be careful in what he said to the devil, how much more should believers in real life watch their words!

The Temptation of Jesus

The temptation of Jesus has both 'the devil' and 'Satan' in the text, but from where does temptation come? The Bible answer is:

James 1:13&14 - "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust ['epithumias' - 'strong desire of any kind'], and enticed." Jesus did not of course entertain wicked or evil thoughts; in that, He was completely different from sinful humanity; nonetheless, He was 'enticed' but thankfully He never sinned.

Scripture supports the view, that He bore our human nature, and was prone to the same temptations as mankind. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews declares:

Hebrews 2:17&18 - "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest... For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted".

The appropriate scriptures are:

Matthew 4:1 - "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil ['toy. diabolou']." The Temptation is a vivid word-picture, an admixture of literal fact and figurative imagery, depicting Christ's great mental struggle, in the barren wilderness of Judea.

Matthew 4:3 - "And when the tempter ['ho peirazon' - the personalising of temptation] came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." After fasting in the desert for 40 days, the thought came into Jesus' mind to turn stones into bread, to satisfy self, by appeasing His terrible hunger.

Matthew 4:5&6 - "Then the devil ['ho diabolos'] taketh him up into the holy city... And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down..." Obviously, an 'Evil One' in bodily form, could not have conducted Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem, to be seen by all the populace. No, the thought assailed him, to cast Himself down, for surely He, the Son of God, would not be allowed to perish on the courtyard below? It was a visionary experience.

Matthew 4:8&9 - "Again the devil ['ho diabolos'] taketh him up into an exceedingly high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee. if thou wilt fall down and worship me." I have climbed The mount of Temptation' west of Jericho, and there is a fearful precipice, over which a Greek monastery has been built, but even from this dizzy height Jesus could not literally 'see' all of the kingdoms of the world. In any case they belong to God |not to the conventional 'devil'], but the desire welled up in Him, to assume His Kingship, there and then, without first having to die upon the cross.

Matthew 4:10 - "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan ['satana']: for it is written, Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shall thou serve." Satan is here equated with the 'devil'.

The apostle John in his First Epistle says:

1 John 2:16- "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Thus, it can be said of Christ's three temptations, that they represented:

the desire of the flesh - to turn stones into bread;

the pride of life - to cast Himself down and 'force' His Father to bear Him up;

the desire of the eyes - to take for Himself, there and then, the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Of course, temptation can be purely 'inward', but it can also be 'triggered off by another person or an object, by someone whom we meet, or by a doubtful programme on the TV. All of us are tested, tried, tempted and provoked in this way; although, we who have sinned a thousand times over, cannot really grasp the fearful struggle in which the sinless Son of God was engaged, and from which He emerged victorious.

One of the 'difficulties' of attributing the temptation of Jesus to His inward thoughts is the final verse of the Temptation account which states:

Matthew 4:11 - "Then the devil ['ho diabolos'] leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered ['diekonoun', from 'diakono', 'to serve'] unto him." From this verse it can be argued that there was a literal devil who had come to test Him, and literal angels who came spiritually to His aid.

Dr. John Thomas, founder of the religious group 'The Christadelphians', in his five volume book Eureka, has this to say about Christ's temptation, Volume 3, Page 65:

"And if Deity became Satan to Israel, and to Job, it is not to be denied that an angel may have assumed the same attitude in the case of Jesus Christ." He evidently believed at the time, that Christ's temptation was not 'inward', but rather 'outward' from an angel of the Lord.

However, taking the overall teaching of Scripture, seemingly we can revert to the idea that the testing of Jesus was by His own inner promptings:

Hebrews 2:14 - "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 ['katargese' - from 'kata', 'down'; 'argos', 'inactive- abolish, make of none effect'] him that had the power of death, that is, the devil ['ton diabolon']."

What is said elsewhere in Scripture to have the power of death? The apostles Paul and James write:

Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death."

James 1:15 - "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

Jesus, by His death, could not have destroyed a literal supernatural devil, but through it He conquered sin, which is personified as 'the devil', and vanquished death itself for all those who believe.

Demons, Unclean and Evil Spirits

In the Old Testament, we have a reference to Baalzebub, which means 'Baal of the flies', a scornful distortion of 'Baal-zebul', 'Baal a prince', a Canaanite venerated especially at Ekron:

2 Kings 1:6- "Thus saith the Lord, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, (hat thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?" The dabbling with this man-made god, led to the death of Ahaziel, as the verse continues, Ihou, "shalt surely die."

The Greek equivalent is 'Beelzebul', used in the Gospels in reference to demoniac possession:

Matthew 12:24 - "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow | Jesus] doth not cast out devils ['ta daimonia' - literally 'the demons'], but by Beelzebub ['Beezeboul'] the prince of the devils ['ton daimonion']." Beelzebub is the equivalent of the traditional Christian superhuman devil.

Whilst the name 'Satan' means adversary and the term 'diabolos' means accuser, 'daimonion' is a neutral word. Devils, more correctly demons | 'daimonion' is incorrectly translated as 'devil' in the A.V. and is translated 'demon' in modern versions of the New Testament] are mentioned 66 times in Ihc Gospels, 4 times in 1 Corinthians, once in Timothy and James, and 3 times in the Book of Revelation.

Demons are equated with 'unclean spirits' ['pneumata akatharta' - from 'pncuma', 'spirit'; 'akathartos', 'unclean'] and 'evil spirits' ['pneumata ponera'

from 'pneuma', 'spirit'; 'poneros', 'evil']. Such 'spirits' are referred to 28 limes in the Gospels, 8 times in the Acts of the Apostles and 3 times in the Hook of Revelation.

In connection with demons a 'difficulty' seems to be that of the deranged man called "Legion":

Mark 5:2, 6-9, 11-15- "And when he [Jesus] was out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit ['pneumati akatharto']... when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit ['to pneuma to akatharton' |. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion ['legion' - a Roman legion was a unit of 6000 fighting men]: for we are many... Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils ['hoi daimones'] besought him, saying. Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits ['ta pneumata ta akatharta'] went out and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea... And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country... And they come to Jesus and see him that was possessed with the devil ['ton daimonizomenon'] and had the legion ['ton legiona'], sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid."

The shift from "one" unclean spirit, to "many" demons, then back to "one" demon, denotes the confusion in the man's mind; and the changes in pronouns from "I" to "we" indicates that he believed that he was possessed and tormented by a host of 6000 demons! The bystanders thought, that the demons were speaking, and the Lord Jesus does not disabuse them, or assert that the man's condition was a phantom of their imagination, but rather, He demonstrates, that His power, is greater than the root cause of the demented man's affliction.

It could be argued that something 'came out' of the man possessed by an 'unclean spirit'. In Bible language something did 'come out', in the identical way, that the fever of Peter's mother-in-law was 'rebuked' and 'left her' (Luke 4:39); or that the disease of the leper 'departed' (Mark 1:42). In these cases, nothing literally departed; the expressions mean that the person concerned was cured. Jesus used the colloquial language of the day.

Finally, the stampeding of the pigs, and their swallowing up into the sea, was a sign to "Legion" that a cure had been effected, and that from now on he could trust in Jesus' power to save.

The Gospels

The large number of mentions in the Gospels of demons and evil spirits is I quite remarkable, and seems to indicate the deep penetration of Persian and (Greek philosophy into common Jewish religious thought. The 'unexplainable' causes of dumbness, blindness and lunacy were assigned to the activity of demons and unclean spirits. Today, we should say that this kind of affliction could be attributed to known medical conditions, affecting both believers and unbelievers alike.

Note the following six cases where 'demon and evil spirit possession' is equated with 'sickness'; and 'sickness' is equated with 'demon and evil spirit possession':

Matthew 8:16 - "When the even was come, they brought unto him [Jesus] many that were possessed with devils ['daimonizomenous']: and he cast out the spirits | 'la pneumata'] with his word, and healed all that were sick."

Matthew 9:32&33 - "As they went out, behold, they brought unto him a dumb man possessed with a devil ['daimonizomenon' - 'demon possessed']. And when the devil ['toy. daimoniou'] was cast out... the multitudes marvelled."

Matthew 10:1 - "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave ihcm power ['exousian' - 'authority'] against unclean spirits ['pneumaton akalharton'] to cast out, and to heal all manner of sickness and disease."

Matthew 12:22 - "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil | 'ilaimonizomenon'], blind, and dumb: and he healed him."

Matthew 17:15&18 - "Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatick | 'scleniazetai' - from 'selene'; 'the moon, moonstruck'], and sore vexed... And Jesus rebuked the devil ['to daimonion']; and he departed out of him." Today, we would not say that the afflicted son was literally moonstruck; rather, 'lunatic' is a figure of speech, in line with 'the demon' being a figure of speech.

Luke 7:21 - "And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits f'pneumaton poneron']."

Acts, Corinthians and Revelation

It is not really surprising that there are 94 allusions to demons and unclean spirits in the Gospels, since Jesus and His immediate disciples, were on a miraculous mission of healing and, some afflictions, were equated with demon possession; but in Acts, where Peter's commission is primarily to preach the Gospel, concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, there is much less emphasis on healing and its association with the expelling of demons.

Note the following passages:

Acts 5:16 - "There came also a multitude... round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits ['pneumaton akatharton']: and they were healed every one." Again, sickness is associated with 'unclean spirits', the superstitious Jews believing that they were the root cause.

Acts 16:16 - "And it came to pass... a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination ['pneuma pythona' - English 'python'] met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying ['manteuomene' - 'divination, fortune telling']." In Greek legend, this was the Python serpent, guarding the oracle at Delphi. In this verse there is a switch from Jewish to Greek mythology, as is also seen in the three 'hidden' references later in Acts, where 'daimonion' is used:

Acts 17:18 - "Then, certain philosophers of the Epicureans..., said What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods ['zenon daimonion' - 'foreign demons']: because he [Paul] preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection?" The 'daimonion' are here Greek demigods that the people of Athens worshipped.

Acts 17:22 - "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious ['deisidaimonesterous' - from 'deido', 'to fear, reverence'; 'daimon', 'demi-god']." In Greek mythology, demi-gods were inferior beings to the superior gods, such as Zeus. They were the supposed 'immortal souls' of the departed, who acted as

Intermediaries between the gods and men

Acts 19:12 - "So that from his [Paul's] body were brought unto the sick hundkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil apirlts ['pneumata ta ponera'] went out of them." Again, disease is attributed to 'evil spirits', in which the superstitious Greeks believed.

Acts 25:19 - "But [they] had certain questions against him of their own superstition ['deisidaimonias' - 'reverence of demigods'], and one of Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive." Jesus is alluded to as being a god, whom Paul reverenced, as the Greeks had reverence for their own deities, deluded though their beliefs were.

1 Corinthians 10:20 - "But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils ['daimoniois'] and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils ['ton daimonion']." This provoked the Lord lo 'jealousy' (verse 22), since the worshipping of idols, with their attendant pagan deities, was to be shunned by believers.

Revelation 9:20 - "That they should not worship devils ['ta daimonia'] and idols of gold, and silver, and brass... which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk." This is not just a reference to the idols, but also to the demons, which also t'unnot see, hear or walk, because they do not literally exist!

A concluding note here. The influence of abstract Greek philosophical concepts on Ephesian converts is seen in the following verses:

Ephesians 6:12&13 - "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood ['haimakai surka'], but against principalities ['archas', 'rulers'], against powers ['exousias', 'authorities'], against the rulers ['tous kosmokratoras'. 'world rulers'] of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places ['ta pneumatika tes ponerias en tois epouraniois', 'the spiritual hosts of evil in the heavenlies']. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God ['ten panoplian tou theou'], that you may be able to stand in the evil day ['te hemera te ponera'], and having done all, to stand."

"Cosmocrator" was the title of the Roman emperor, meaning "lord or ruler of the world", and contemporary Greek thought was, that rulers and authorities, were controlled by demonic forces of evil. The apostle Paul declares that the evil machinations of the emperor and those in high authority can be overcome, by putting on the whole panoply of God, which is described in the verses that follow as: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, sandals of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

The first five pieces of the Roman soldiers equipment were for defence, and the last piece for attack. The spiritual forces of evil are to be overcome, not just by defence but by attack. God's enemies are to be defeated by the dynamic power of Scripture, that is, by preaching the Gospel, at every opportunity, to those in authority.

The "evil day" is the day of testing and trial, a challenge to Christian believers, in every age.

Summary

The Devil

If there were such a being as a 'fallen angel' called 'the devil', the question must be asked, is he mortal or immortal? If the answer is 'mortal', then he is incapable of tempting millions of people in the world at the same time; but if it is answered 'immortal', then such a creature can never be destroyed, since cannot die:

Luke 20:35&36 - "But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more, for they are equal unto the angels: and me the children of God, being the children of the resurrection."

Further, if angels could sin in the past, what is to prevent them from sinning in the future? The idea is untenable, since angelic nature, signifies divine nature, with its qualities of sinlessness and perfection.

The concept of a supernatural devil, that is deathless in nature is unbelievable, since all the evil of the world, of whatever kind, will eventually be eliminated:

I Corinthians 15:25&26 - "For he [Jesus] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy ['eschatos echthros'] that shall be destroyed ['katargeitai' - 'is abolished'] is death." Note, that death here is personified as the enemy.

The devil is a figure symbolic of the sum total of all the evil that is in the world.

II has been said, that in looking for the devil, we need look no further than in a mirror; since reflected in a mirror is seen 'natural man', prone to temptation - the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the pride of life. This is 'the devil, which with Christ's help we have to overcome.

A final point; When believers, those held responsible to God, stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ at His return, the orthodox devil will not be able to be 'blamed' for any moral shortcomings. The Christian is held personally responsible to God for the kind of life he or she leads:

Matthew 12:36 - "But I say unto you, that every idle word ['rhema argon' -'careless word'] that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement."

Demons

The idea that there are such things as 'demons', that is, disembodied immortal spirits, plaguing mankind, originated in pagan superstition; and, that they are demigods linked with idol worship and image making, is part of Greek mythology.

The incident in the Gospels of the Gadarene swine, is the case of a violent schizophrenic, suffering from multiple personalities, called "Legion: for we are many" (Mark 5:9). Jesus communicated with the stricken man in language that he, and the bystanders, could understand: "Come out of the man, thou “unclean spirit" (verse 8).

At His command, the 'spirits' were 'sent' into the herd of pigs, which stampeded into the sea, and were choked ['epnigonto' - in the passive voice, 'perishing by drowning' - verse 13]. After the drowning of the pigs, which were 'unclean' animals to the Jews, the 'unclean' spirits too, were 'choked'. If they had been immortal spirits this would have been impossible, but it accords with the imagery of the story and confirms that such 'spirits' are illusory.

Dr. Vernon Fowler, commenting on this scenario, makes the scientific observation:

"Under the Law of Moses, swine were classed as unclean animals. A possible reason for this is that pigs can transmit to humans a number of parasites. A well-known example arises from the consumption of raw or partly cooked pork infected with a bladder-worm form of the porcine tapeworm called 'measly' pork. This results in the development of tapeworms in the human intestine.

(More seriously, with poor hygiene, humans can infect themselves and each other directly with the agent that normally infects the pigs, whereupon invested embryos burrow into various tissues sometimes including the eye and the brain. The ensuing serious condition may have been the cause of this man's dementia."

Never again would the man lapse into a maniacal fury, because he had been touched by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, who had healed him and it-stored him to health. Thus he was found "sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind" (verse 15).

Finally, what are the 'demons' with which Christian believers, in these enlightened times have to contend? A clue may be found in the Book of Proverbs, which identifies seven 'demons':

Proverbs 6:16-19 - "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed Innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in limning to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will help us "cast out", any of these particular 'demons', which might be afflicting us, and impart to us the desire mid the strength to overcome.

Dill Davison July 1999

Addendum

The Devil and Demons

CODA

The Bible has parts written in very cryptic and symbolic language.

Satan ['an adversary'] is in some instances the disciplinarian angel of the Lord, or simply a human being; whereas the devil ['the accuser'] is the personification of evil, or in some cases 'the enemy' within.

The references to demons and evil spirits, most adequately describe the problem of the origin of disease, before the advent of medical science.

In God giving man free will, and the right to choose between good and evil, there was no need to assign any further power of evil to a supposed 'fallen angel'.

If there were such a being, responsible for man's fall from grace, who was responsible for its transgression? and how much more powerful must have been the tempter, who caused an angel of God to fall! The whole concept of 'rebel angels' is apocryphal, not Biblical.

Do not be afraid of the conventional devil, he simply does not exist!

God will help us overcome temptation and our tendency to sin, through prayer, by constant application to Bible reading, and as the apostle Paul declares in Romans 8:26 - "Likewise the spirit ['to pneuma'] helpeth our infirmities." The Lord Jesus Christ will help us overcome our weaknesses and come to our rescue, if we put our trust in Him.

Three Scripture passages are adduced, by traditional Christians, to try and "prove" that "Satan", is a wicked rebellious angel, who was expelled from heaven:

Isaiah 14:12 - "How art thou fallen from heaven. O Lucifer ['Lucifer' -'heylel', 'shining one, day star'], son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" The graphic phraseology depicts his meteoric downfall, from the zenith of his power, of the king of Babylon. His "heavenly" reign was at an end. There is also here, a concealed reference to the goddess "Ishtar", known as the "morning star", identified with the brilliant planet Venus, and which appears in the sky before sunrise.

It was Jerome who translated the Hebrew "day star" by "Lucifer" in the Latin Vulgate. (note: Lucifer is the normal name for the planet Venus, Jerome correctly used the same word “Lucifer” for “Day Star” when it applies to Jesus in 2Peter 1:19). The claim, however, that "Lucifer" In an alternative name for a wicked angel called "Satan" is not scripturally valid.

The symbolic language of the whole of Isaiah chapter 14, is to do with the rise mid fall of the king of Babylon, and his empire:

Isaiah 14:4 - "That thou shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased!, the golden city ceased." The king was an arrogant and ambitious potentate, failing to recognise that God had permitted him to be raised to glory and political power:

Isaiah 14:13-14 - "For thou hast said in thine heart. I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will be like the most High." His pride brought God's judgement upon his dynasty, and secular history records (hut his hitherto all-conquering army was ignominiously defeated, and he himself killed upon the field of battle. That the prophet Isaiah is speaking of a man is quite clear:

Isaiah 14:16 - "They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?"

Addendum

Ezekiel 28:13-15 - "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God: every precious stone was thy covering... Thou art the anointed ['mimshah', primary root 'mashah', akin to 'mashiah', English 'messiah'] cherub ['kerub'] that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God... Thou wast perfect ['tamiym' - 'blameless'] in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." This is typical Hebrew hyperbole, aptly referring to the exalted position of the king of Tyre, whose lofty status was allowed him by the Lord God of Israel.

The king of Tyre's dynasty, extended over the Middle East including presumably the territory of "Eden". He is likened unto a "cherub", because the cherubim of beaten gold in the Tabernacle and in Solomon's Temple spread their wings over the Ark of the Covenant, symbolising protection. The Lord God had raised him to power, as the messianic guardian of Israel, but he had shown contempt for God's people, by his greed for gain at their expense.

"Thou wast perfect": hitherto, there had been no fault in his conduct and treatment of Israel, but he, like the king of Babylon, had become arrogant and godless in his ways. His riches had filled him with conceit, so he too, would be punished and destroyed by God:

Ezekiel 28:2&16 - "Son of man (Ezekiel) say unto the prince of Tyre. Thus saith the Lord God, Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God... I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee. O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire."

Clearly, this is not a reference to an immortal rebel angel; it pertains to the king of Tyre, a mortal man.

Revelation 12:7-9 - "And there was war in heaven: Michael ['miyka'el' - 'who is like God?'] and his angels fought against the dragon: and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon ['ho drakon'] was cast out, that old serpent ['ho ophis'], called the Devil ['ho Diabolos'], and Satan ['ho Satanas'], which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." A "dragon" is a mythical creature, so what is it doing appearing in Holy Scripture? The style of the Book of Revelation is that of forms, shapes, figures, images, symbols, pictures and visions, and the language has a similarity to that found in apocryphal literature, with which first century readers were familiar. The Book of Enoch speaks of a supposed "rebellion in heaven". Here in apocalyptic language, is a vision of warfare between "good" and "evil", good being personified as "Michael" and evil being personified as the "dragon", alias "the serpent, the devil and satan" - the sum total of the power of sin, which "will be cast into the earth", that is, vanquished. The colourful drama is enacted out, not literally in heaven, where God's throne is, but in the political heavens, as confirmed by earlier verses of the chapter:

Revelation 12:3-4 - "And there appeared another wonder in heaven: and behold |i great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon Ins heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast Idem to the earth..." The passage is obviously figurative, and the "great red dragon" is a cypher, for the persecuting Roman power similar to Daniel's fourth beast described as "dreadful and terrible and strong", with ten horns, which itself was a symbol of the Roman empire.

Revelation 12:1 - "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown hit twelve stars..." Obviously, the "woman" and the "twelve stars" are I Symbolic, and have been identified as the "nation" and the "twelve tribes" of Israel. The whole of the Book of Revelation ['apokalypsis' - 'unveiling'], I Written about AD96, is concerned with the future, and deals with the rise and demise of the world's rulership systems, which come to an end when Christ returns, and He establishes the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Finally, quotations by Biblical writers, from non-canonical sources, such as the Apocryphal writings (of which there are some 34 books), do not detract from the inspiration of Scripture. The recipients of the Book of Revelation would know, that a reference to the pagan dragon, was an allusion to the power of Home, headed up by the emperor Domitian. The apostle John who wrote the Apocalypse, would not have mentioned Rome by name, since this could have led lo the persecution of the members of the seven churches, to whom the Book of Revelation was addressed.

Scripture Quotation Index

Genesis

3:4 13

Numbers

22:22 3

Leviticus

17:7 6

Deuteronomy

32:17&21 7

Judges

9:23 4

1 Samuel

16:14 10

2 Samuel

24:1 3

1 Kings

5:4 3

Page

2 Kings

1:6 17

1 Chronicles

21:1 3

2 Chronicles

11:15 6

Ezra

4:1-5 5

Nehemiah

4:1 5

Job

1:6 3

1:12 4

2:6&7 4

2:10 4

38:7 3

42:11 4

Psalms

106:36&37 7

109:20&29 4

Proverbs

6:16-19 25

Isaiah

13:21 6

14:4 27

14:12-14 27

14:16 27

34:14 6

45:5 2

45:7

Ezekiel

28:2 28

28:13-16 28

Zechariah

3:1-5 4

8:3 5

Matthew

4:11 14

#

25:41 12

Mark

1:13 9

1:42 18

5:2 18

5:6-9 18

5:8 24

5:8 24

5:12 9

5:13 24

5:15 25

Luke

1:19 4

4:2 12

4:39 18

7:21 19

10:15 9

10:18 9

13:16 9

20:35&36 23

John

1:1-4 11

1:14 12

6:70 12

8:44 13

13:27 9

Acts

5:3&4 9

5:16 20

16:16 20

17:18 20

17:22 20

17:28 8

19:12 21

25:19 21

Romans

6:23 16

8:26 26

1 Corinthians

5:5 9

10:20 21

15:25-26 23

2 Corinthians

11:14 10

12:7 10

Ephesians

6:12&13 21

1 Timothy

1:20 10

3:11 13

2 Timothy

3:3 13

1 Peter

5:8 13

Hebrews

2:14 16

2:17&18 14

James

1:13&14 14

1:15 16

1 John

2:16 15

Jude

1:6 12

1:9 13

Revelation

9:20

12:1

12:3-4

12:7-9

20:2

end