The Devil's Deception
When Christ encountered a madman on the shore of Galilee, He was, in fact, confronting evil. Doug Batchelor explains.
Someone once estimated that between 3600 BC and the present, humankind has fought in 14,531 wars. During that same period, we’ve had more than 5300 years of war and just 290 years of peace. This is not surprising, given that behind them all, invisible to humanity, there is a cosmic war raging between forces of good and evil. It’s a battle between Christ and Satan, light and darkness, love and selfishness.
This war takes place in the heart and mind of every human soul. These daily skirmishes with temptation have life-or-death consequences.
To fight this spiritual war, you need spiritual weapons. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3, 4, NKJV). And we must be aware of the enemy—the devil.
Christians must avoid two extremes when considering satanic activity. As C S Lewis aptly put it: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils: One is to disbelieve in their existence; the other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
With this in mind, a key component in winning the war is to understand the modus operendi of the enemy. The Scriptures record a great deal about Satan, the serpent. For example, you can be sure that Satan wasn’t vacationing on the French Riviera when Jesus had a showdown with the army of Satan on the beach of Gadara—read it for yourself in Mark 5:1-20; also Luke 8:26-40—in which He casts out a “legion” of demons from a crazed, devil-possessed man who inhabited a nearby graveyard.
In other words, the war that began in heaven was continuing here on earth with the same principal forces. If the veil were removed from the shore of Gadara, you would see Christ and His angels arrayed against Satan and his demons—each striving for the heart and life of the miserable madman.
As Paul says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against . . . the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). This glimpse into the spiritual realm allows us to see that this beachhead battle is just a microcosm of a greater battle.
origin of sin
To understand how the demon-possessed man came to be the host for a legion of unwelcome devils, you need to know from where the devil came.
Did our perfect and holy God create a flawed and wicked devil? Of course not! Rather, He made a splendid, perfect angel named Lucifer, who was the most powerful and beautiful of God’s creatures, “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (see Ezekiel 28:12 ff). But because Lucifer made a series of selfish choices, he became the devil. He chose to become an enemy of God.
Scripture then describes Lucifer (now called Satan) as wicked (verse 15), “filled with violence” (verse 16) who, in disgrace, was expelled from heaven (verse 16, 17)—all because he nurtured the desire for self-exaltation—to be “like the Most High” (see Isaiah 14:12-15). (See also Luke 4:5, 6; 10:18; John 8:44; 2 Peter 2:4; 1 John 3:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-9.)
n Did God make a mistake? Not at all, for God is love. If He’d wanted to, He could have made all His creatures mere robots. But robots cannot love. Indeed, true love must be freely and willingly given.
So, God took a risk when He bestowed the ability to receive and give love freely on humankind. His subjects might end up rejecting His love and rebelling against Him. But God gave the ability anyway.
Here’s another question that often raises unnecessary doubts about God: If He is all-powerful, why didn’t He just vapourise the wayward angel when he began his revolt? God allowed Lucifer to carry out his rebellion for several reasons.
First, it helped to settle any potential questions about the freedom of choice God gave His intelligent creatures. No-one can say that God forces sentient beings to do anything against their will.
Second, God’s immediate destruction of Lucifer might have given the other angels serious doubts about His love and government—particularly those who might have wondered if Satan was actually on to something. God, in wisdom and in love, is allowing the devil to make his point, thereby letting the whole universe see the terrible results.
Finally, it would pain a loving God to know that His children obeyed Him only out of a fear of death. He wants His sons and daughters to obey Him because of willing love and good reason rather than from coercion.
Remarkably, in spite of God’s patience and goodness, Lucifer refused to repent. Instead, he devised such a cunning rebellion that he managed to recruit one-third of all the angels to join his unholy war against his Creator.
Eventually, God cast Lucifer and his followers, now called “devils” and “demons,” out of heaven: “There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray . . . and his angels with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).
fallen but brilliant
Did you ever wonder how famous Hollywood stars do simple things, like go to the supermarket, without being swamped by fans. They use a simple disguise: when they don’t wear glamorous make-up and dress—and most people, familiar with the glamorous but imaginary illusion, don’t recognise them.
Lucifer has a similar strategy. “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is delighted when people portray him with his stage image—horned and bat-winged, part man and part beast. Such foolish concepts are a mixture of Greek mythology and medieval art, not Scripture. Rather, as Isaiah and Ezekiel show, he is a brilliant, highly attractive angel with an uncanny ability to communicate. When these characteristics are combined with evil designs, you must be wary. The aim of this self-proclaimed enemy of God is to capture you.
This is why the story of the demon-possessed man of Gadara demonstrates so well that our only hope is to place our lives in the protective care of Jesus, praying earnestly for His presence. Without Christ, we’re easy prey to Satan. But, as Scripture says, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
camouflage and counterfeit
The Bible says, “The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1, NKJV). Snakes are the ultimate experts in camouflage. Whether hiding in the grass or entwined in the branches of a tree, they are also experts in counterfeiting creatures that are more dangerous. For example, when threatened, the harmless bull snake will vibrate its tail in the dry leaves to mimic the sound of his venomous cousin, the rattler.
Likewise, for every good creation of God (even love), Satan has a convincing counterfeit. For instance, in the Exodus story, Pharaoh’s magicians were frequently able to counterfeit the power and miracles of God (see Exodus 7:10-12). Likewise, Satan is most dangerous and effective when he is imitating God’s miracles and messengers, and Scripture warns about the “spirits of demons performing miraculous signs” (Revelation 16:14).
It is Satan’s penchant for deceit that makes God’s job complicated. Unlike God, who works only within the confines of truth and respect, Satan will cook up a stew of truth and lies in whatever combination will work best to destroy the lives of those he seeks to manipulate.
every serpent can be defeated
The Genesis account of the first temptation on this planet focuses on the serpent and Eve. Correspondingly, we find the first prophecy pictures an ongoing battle between “the woman”—who represents God’s church—and “the serpent,” Satan (see Genesis 3:14, 15). This prophecy promises the ultimate victory of the woman’s seed—the Saviour, who would destroy the serpent.
snake on a stick
The best-known verse in the Bible is John 3:16, which reads: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But if you ask people—even Christians—to quote the two preceding verses, few could do so! Yet verse 16 is a continuation of a thought begun there: “As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14, 15).
It is interesting to see that just before John 3:16 we read about the serpent. In fact, these three verses together encapsulate the entire great controversy between Satan, the serpent, and God.
Jesus said, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all [humankind] to myself” (John 12:32).
Christian author and commentator Ellen White says, “The people well knew that in itself the serpent had no power to help them. It was a symbol of Christ. As the image made in the likeness of the destroying serpents was lifted up for their healing, so One made ‘in the likeness of sinful flesh’ (Romans 8:3) was to be their Redeemer” (The Desire of Ages, pages 174, 175).
As John (12:32) says, it’s when we look to Jesus on the cross that we are drawn to Him by His love for us. When we gaze in faith at our Redeemer’s sacrifice for us, we are saved from the sting of the serpent and the power of his venom is neutralised.
In the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, is displayed a very precious goblet. A gold serpent is poised in the very centre of the cup. It is decorated with ruby eyes and diamond fangs, ready to strike. When the goblet is filled with wine, the red liquid hides the snake; but as the wine is drunk, the snake is revealed.
When Jesus came to die for us, He shrank from the thought of bearing our sin and the separation from the Father that it would entail. That’s why He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Then, humbling Himself, Jesus drank the cup of sin down to the dregs. And while He was raised on the cross, the serpent, who had been enjoying every lash and insult Jesus suffered, struck with all of his diabolical vengeance. But Jesus bore it all—and the serpent was defeated.
Adapted, with permission, from Broken Chains, Finding Peace for the Raging Soul, Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2004.
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