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There are two Greek words that are translated "devil" in our Bibles, and as they mean different things, we really need to know what each word means. They are:
The word daimon, is used in the Greek when we are told that Jesus "cast out devils". Jesus cured every kind of illness from which men suffer. He gave sight to the blind; he restored hearing to the deaf; he made the lame walk. He also cured many people suffering from mental illnesses, and complaints like epilepsy.
In those days, when an illness was hard to understand, people would say that the sufferer was "possessed by a demon". When Jesus healed such people, he was said to "cast out the demon".
Now, let's clear our mind for a few minutes, and think about the popular belief concerning "devil" - can this belief be from scriptures? Let's see....
Popular Belief
The popular belief concerning the devil is that it is a personal being, that he is immortal, that he is all-knowing, everywhere present, that he has a kingdom of his own (located in the center of earth and called hell), that he is in hell tormenting bad people that's died, in a fire, and at the same time roaming on the earth, deceiving and enticing millions of men, women, and children. It is believed by many that he was once an angel in heaven, but rebelled against God, so God kicked him and his rebellious followers out of heaven. This is believed to have happened long before God created man.
Can this be true?
The people that believe this claim to get proof from the Bible. So let us turn to our Bibles and consider the verses they point out and ask ourselves, can this idea be true? Remember, we are going to make our decision on our belief strictly on what the Bible teaches.
Our first verse to consider is Isa. 14:12-15, "12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."
Hum-m-m! What do you think? Sounds like this might be pretty good proof??
Our next passages of scripture to look at is Rev. 12:7-9, "7Andthere was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
Sounds pretty convincing, don't you think??
The last verses we will consider is Matt. 4:1-11, "1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9Andsaith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
Of these three passages, I can see why this popular belief has become so popular. But until we make up our mind, we must look at more passages and fit them together. All scripture must be considered and fit together like a puzzle, or else we cannot have a correct interpretation as an answer. So let's go back and look at each of these passages more carefully and see if they will fit in with the rest of the Bible.
Isa. 14:12-15
O.K. Are you ready to begin to look over this passage? The first sentence tells us that the son of the morning, Lucifer, has fallen from heaven. Notice, if you have a Bible with a marginal reference, that "Lucifer” is called "day star" in the margin. Do you know what a marginal reference is for? It is used to indicate a word that is being translated is being replaced with some other word; such as in this case, the replaced word could have been "Lucifer" or "day star". The word "Lucifer" was chosen- but keep in mind that King James (the King that caused the translation of the this well known version bearing his name) was a devout Catholic- he believed very strongly in the "popular" belief of the devil- so he chose (or the committee appointed by him) to pick "Lucifer (a proper name) but to keep things honest, it was put in the margin the fact that it could be "day star" instead of a proper name.
So, O.K. - he's called two times in this sentence words having to do with light (1) day star (2) son of the morning. Do you find this different than what you think would be to describe the popular devil? I do - after all, the "so-called popular devil" is said to love darkness and hate the light of day. I know, this is a very small thing, but it makes a little bit of doubt - why is he called a "day star" and "son of morning" if he is like the world thinks of him? Could this be talking about someone else? After all, I wouldn't call the popular devil (which hates light and loves darkness) a son of morning, or a day star.
O.K. Let's not just pick a few verses - let's begin
at the beginning of the chapter and try to tie this verse in with a chapter.
Open your Bible and read Isaiah, starting with verse one in chapter 14 (and keep in mind this is written by the Prophet Isaiah when
Now look at verse twelve again. How could he weaken the nations IF it was the popular devil - there were no nations at the time of his "supposed" fall.
Now look at vs. 13 - Whoever is this Lucifer is saying "I will ascend unto heaven - exalt my throne above the stars of God!" Couldn't be the popular devil. He didn't want back in heaven - he wanted down - down -down - as far down as possible - clear to the middle of the earth.
Also in 13, he wants to sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides
of the north. This is none other than Mt Zion - David said
This is enough proof to me to say, "this is very definitely talking about none other than King Nebuchadnezzar." But as we briefly look the rest of the chapter over, let's make a list of the points that prove against that "ever-popular devil-Satan!"
1. Verse 11 - This "person" was accompanied by the noise of viols
(stringed instruments or harps). Is the "popular devil" accompanied
by musical instruments of soft, soothing music? No! But in Biblical times, Kings were (Remember David playing for King Saul?)
2. Verse 11 - This "person" was to be covered by worms in the
grave.-
Has the "popular devil" died, been buried and decayed in the grave? No!
But Nebuchadnezzar did.
3. Verse 16 - If this is Satan, why isn't he called a rebellious angel
instead of "the man." The "popular
devil" is never called a man, but Nebuchadnezzar was a man.
4. Verse 20 - This person had possessed a land, destroyed it and because of
doing it, he could not be buried in an honorable burial ground. The
“popular devil" has never possessed a complete land, nor has he destroyed
any nation, nor has he died and did not get burial ground. But Nebuchadnezzar
did all these things.
5. Verse 17 - This person is said to hold prisoners and would not let them
loose to go home? "Satan" never did that, but Nebuchadnezzar did!
To me, everything is clear and understandable! This has no proof there is a "devil" as the majority of people believe "devil" to be.
But what about the first part of this verse --- "How art thou fallen from heaven" - When was Nebuchadnezzar ever in heaven and fell??
Heaven - Government Earth - People Isa 1:2; 10
As we read about Kings, several places throughout scripture, the government
is called the King's Heaven and the people being ruled is said to be his earth.
For example, look at Isaiah 1:2, "2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O
earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and
they have rebelled against me." We know that heaven and earth is air and
land. It has no ear to hear, so what is it? Look at verse 10,"10Hear the
word of the LORD, ye rulers of
Surely, by letting our Bible make up our mind, we can say, undoubtedly, Isa. 14:12 is No proof that the devil is a fallen angel from heaven.
Rev. 12:7-9
7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Oh, Boy! Now I'm confused again. This verse is used as "proof" of the “popular devil" belief" and it does sound pretty convincing, doesn't it?!
But we've learned a good lesson from Isa. 14:12 - not to just read one passage, but to consider the whole chapter before we decide what’s being said. (Sometimes we have to consider more than just the chapter because the whole Bible must fit together!!
Before we ever begin any study from the Book of Revelation, there are two very important facts we must know and we find them in Revelation 1:1,"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:" In other words, the reason for Revelation is to tell John about the future, and that Jesus"(vs 1) "sent" these visions to John and also "signified" them "signified” comes from the word "signs" and it means Jesus not only revealed to John these things but they were revealed in signs or symbols. Therefore, when we read Revelations, we must keep in mind that many things we read are signs or symbols, representing something other then what might otherwise be perceived.
O.K., let's get started. Let's go to verse one of Revelation chapter 12 to get the picture and we find an important "key" in this verse where it says "And there appeared a great wonder." If we could go to the Greek interpretation of this word "wonder" we would find this would have been better if it had been interpreted "sign", or symbol. And when we read on, about a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve Stars on her head - well, we know it's impossible to wear the sun and Stars - so we know this is not real, but it represents something.
Again, in verse three this time, we are reminded these things are a” wonder", or a symbol or sign.
"And there was war in heaven: Michael 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 was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Rev 12:7-9
So there is no doubt ...verses 7-9 are signs and symbols, too - not to be taken as literal. And from our Isaiah 14 study, we know "heaven” is "ruling powers, or the Government". So, we know the "war in heaven" is war with nations. That's simple to understand. This alone is proof to me that this is not telling us that the devil is an angel that was kicked out of God's heaven. Notice in verses 7-9 no where is the “devil" called a fallen angel. Don't you think if the "popular devil" was an angel, and these verses were proving this belief - then it would call him an angel? But the "devil" in these verses is called a "dragon: with seven heads, ten horns, and he is red - not hardly the description of the “popular devil"
Another thought on this "heaven" -- The Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the "war in heaven" has gone on from before Adam and Eve's time, but it was not until 1914 (during world war I) that the "devil" was cast out of heaven. If that is true, then the war in heaven had been going on all through Christ’s time here on earth, yet he told the disciples to pray "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Why - oh why - if a war was going on in heaven, and had for over 4,000 years, would Jesus pray for the earth to be like heaven?? It sure doesn't make sense, does it?
I think this is enough proof to know that this passage does not teach the "popular belief". But it does teach that there was war in the governments, and the dragon represents one ruler and Michael represented another.
We won't go into this right now because we are only trying to find out, right now, if the devil is a fallen angel that rules the "dark side" of life! And this does not prove this.
Now, to consider the part of verse 9 "...that old serpent called the devil, ..." because many people claim this teaches that the devil really talked to Eve; that it was the devil, not the serpent that caused Adam and Eve to sin. That the serpent was used by the devil, like a dummy issued by a ventriloquist. So let's see if this can be right.
Let's go to the story of Adam and Eve in Gen. 3: 1-15, "
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the
woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit
of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day
ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and
made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in
the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and
said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden,
and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I
commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And
the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with
me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman,
What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast
of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the
days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel.
"
Notice these points:
1. Nowhere is the devil talked about. Don't you think if there was a devil like people say, and if God is all knowing like the Bible says, then God would come right out and told us the devil tricked them. But NO WHERE does it say the serpent was the devil.
2. Verse 14 - "God said unto the serpent, ...Thou hast done this..."not the devil did it.
3. Verse 14 - "God said unto the serpent ...THOU art cursed..." Would God curse an innocent victim - if the serpent was innocent and the devil had tricked him, wouldn't the all-powerful God punish the devil and not the serpent?
4. And notice verse 12-14:
a. Adam blamed Eve (vs 12)
b. Eve blamed the serpent (vs 13)
c. But the serpent blamed no one!! Would not he have blamed a fallen angel, or devil, if that's who had tricked him?
5. "but snakes can't talk" people say. But why couldn't it have talked? After all, the donkey in the story of Balaam talked. God made him to. So, He could have made a serpent to talk, too. After all, it says in Gen. 3:1 that the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field -"subtle" means "crafty", "able to be tricky" - more than any other. This could very well have come from him talking.
So, to me, I don't think there is any way the serpent was used by any “devil creature". I think it was just meanness in the serpent.
So, O.K. - we don't think the devil is a fallen angel from heaven -we don't think it is the serpent from the Garden of Eden - We don't think it is a red dragon, But WHAT IS IT??
Once again, let's go to our Bible for answers. First, let's look at the writings from Jesus' own half-brother who grew up with our Jesus --the Jesus who was never sinful or mistaken.
James says in James 1:14 that man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts (desires) and enticed. And in verse 15,he explains that is what brings forth sin -- What brings forth sin? Lust(desire)! Not a devil - not Satan. But, as James says, "His Own Lust! “Don’t you think James would tell us if a devil was tempting us? In Vs 13, he says not to say God is tempting us -- wouldn't this be a perfect time to say that it's the devil -- if it were the devil. But he goes onto say what it is that tempts us --. Verse 14 - it is man's own lust! This can take us back to Gen. 3 and the story of Adam and Eve's sin ---it says Eve was tempted -- and James tells how we are tempted -- by our own lust. So Eve was tempted by her own lusts or desires.
Same as the story of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness, in Matt.4:1-11. James has told us what temptation is, remember?: when man is drawn away by his own lust. This is what is happening to Jesus. He has lust, or desires, inside himself. But he doesn't allow these desires to draw him away. Therefore, sin did not take place. Notice in Matt 4, this lust is called "devil" and "tempter"...and if we would go to the original writings, we would see that this could be called "opposition". Anything opposed, or against, God's will is called "diobolos", remember? Jesus had feelings, or desires, that were opposed to God's will and that's why it is called "the devil". Let's take time to look quickly at each temptation.
1. vs 3-Command stones to be made bread. Jesus was very hungry. No one else would look at stones and see bread as much as a hungry person. Besides, no one had ever seen him do any miracles yet either, only He felt the change inside that he had the power. So, he was the "best candidate" to be "the tempter" here.
2. Vs 5-6-Taketh him to the holy city, setteth him on a pinnacle of the
temple. First off, we are told in Vs 1 that he was taken to the wilderness for
these temptations. Now, in this 2nd temptation, he is taken by the devil to the
temple in the holy city --- well, the holy city is
3. Vs.8 - devil takes him up to a high mountain -- no, not just a high
mountain, but an exceeding high mountain -- one so high that he could see all
the kingdoms of the world! Now, you tell me, where is such a mountain? Jesus is
in the holy land; there are kingdoms clear over in
We must always remember in studying the devil, as well as any subject, always go to the original writings of the Bible.
Remember -- "devil" is "diabolos", simply a word meaning "opposed to Godly ways". Whether it is ourselves (as James spoke about), or whether it is other people, or whether it is a hobby or job that takes us away---no matter what it is---if it is opposed to Godly ways, it is a devil.
And Jesus did have this "devil" inside of him that he had to fight against. See Rom. 8:3 to see, "God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh." (Remember what James says about lust of the flesh -- that when we are tempted (not of a devil, but of our own insides).
And look at Heb. 2:14. It tells us that children are partakers of flesh and blood, and Jesus took part of the same, and through dying, he would destroy the devil -- Now, if the devil was like the “popular belief" dictates it to be, and Jesus destroyed it like this verse says, then why do people say the devil is still around? Doesn’t make sense, does it? But if the devil is like James teaches - sin in our flesh - then it does all fit in ---- Jesus had sin in his flesh, but he conquered it, never letting it out. And when he died, he destroyed that lust inside of himself. When he was resurrected, he no longer has sinful desires. He is a Spiritual creature! The lust inside of himself is the devil that he destroyed in Heb. 2:14.
Another verse to think about is Rom. 6:23, "The wages (or payment)of sin is death." In other words, the reason we die is to pay for our sins. If we didn't have sin, we wouldn't need to die. Now, think about this ---If the devil is what makes people sin, wouldn't the devil be what would have to die --- not people? After all, God is merciful, kind and just. He knows all things!!
It is right when people say "The devil made me sin" -- but it is the devil that James talks about --- it's lust in our flesh. And nothing else! No where in the Bible have we found the devil to be anything except sinful things having to do with people. Never have we found a scripture where it is a supernatural, type monster! I do not believe the Bible teaches the devil to be what the "popular belief" defines it to be.
Our Weapons
We could say that our best way to fight this false teaching of the devil is by using weapons -- the same weapons that Jesus used when he was tempted to do wrong in the wilderness. Each time he was tempted, he would get hold of himself by quoting scriptures. His knowledge of what God says was his weapons against "the devil" Our weapons in this fight are scriptures, too.
Our first "weapon" has already been talked about in our last lesson. It is James 1:13-15. Look at it again and memorize where this "weapon” is found.
Our next "weapon" is Mark 7:20-23. It tells us (vs 20), "That which comes out of the man, that defiles him". "Defile" means to make dirty or sinful. So this verse is saying that what makes a person sinful is the things that come out of him. Notice, no mention of a devil tempting man, causing him to do wrong -- but what comes out of man (US). Vs. 21 tells us it is "out of our heart" and "heart" nearly always means your mind or your thinking. Read on with verse 21. It's out of your mind (heart) proceeds (or comes) evil thoughts, and adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man." Where? - the devil? - NO!, From within a person. Ties right in with what James teaches -- sin in our flesh, or sin inside of us.
Compare what Jeremiah says for another weapon. Jeremiah 17:9,"9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" - deceitful means to deceive or to trick someone. O.K.!” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Well, now -- if there was a devil like most people say, then our hearts are more deceitful than it is - but of course, we know by now the devil is not like most people say. So, Jeremiah agrees with Mark and James, doesn't he? It’s what is inside of us that makes us sin - not a devil.
But what about 1Peter 5:8, you ask? "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" This says the devil is walking around like a lion, seeking for someone to devour. Now, that sure doesn't describe sin inside of us, does it?
Remember, always go back to the original writings. What is "devil”? It is diobolos". What is "diobolos"? I came to the conclusion that it is something causing something else to cross the line from right to wrong. A slanderer, a liar, a false accuser.
Now think about a typical day in your life. You probably aren't out of bed
even fifteen minutes before you've come across, at least a dozen "diaboloses". First, there is the
thoughts of school, or jobs, or something on this line that pushes in to
your mind that causes you to forget to pray. Then there is the rushing around
because there is not enough time, causing you to lose patience. Then there is other people around you with bad talk, causing your mind
to become further from God. Then there is the temptation of not doing the jobs
your parents or perhaps your employer has told you to do (even in your haste,
you might forsake a healthy breakfast, knowing full well that is not the best
maintenance for the "
And of course being "a good watchman of the times we live" we turn to our newspapers and television and invariably, something "off beat" catches our fancy and takes our mind off our Father. If we were to analyze every minute of our day, every thought that passes through our minds, every look we give other people, everything we put into our bodies, every word spoken around us, every hobby that takes us away from spiritual things --- if we would do all of this, then we could easily agree with Peter and say “the devil (diobolos) is like a lion, stalking around, seeking someone to get!!" There is so many temptations around us, it is like running through a forest and every tree reaching out with thorns, snagging us.
Several Points on...
1 Peter 5:8
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
1.The passage does not state that the devil is a rebel angel. The devil is compared to a roaring lion but elsewhere in Scripture lion-like characteristics are ascribed to men, not angels. (e.g., Psa. 22:12, 13; 57:4; Prov.28:15).
2.The Greek word "antidikos"
translated "adversary" means "an adversary in law"
and the Greek word "diabolos" translated "devil" means
"accuser, calumniator." Hence, "the roaring lion" was an
opponent at law who maliciously accused. This was none other than the Roman
magistracy.
The persecution of the church under Nero and Diocletian are well documented.
3.Paul had a similar encounter with a roaring lion in 2 Timothy 4:17...
"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."
but this lion
was not a fallen angel, but Caesar's tribunal, (vs. 16, 17) from which Paul was delivered at the first trial. Paul
was also delivered, not from a rebel angel, but from persecutions and
afflictions at
.
In many instances people were called "devils" -- that means they were false accusers, liars, slanderers, etc. Let's look at a few of these -John 6:70 - (Judas) "Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? - 1Tim. 3:11 (Women) "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. " - Titus 2:3 (Women) "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;" - 2Tim. 3:3 (Men)"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."
See, these were people -- no fallen angel that become a "devil" -- but people - just like you and me!
So many times, we read in the Bible "devil" when if we'd go to the original writings, this word would not be "diobolos" but would be "daimon". It's the same word that other times is translated "demons". And if you recall what has already been discussed herein, you will recall the Greek word "daimon" means, very simply, diseases caused from the brain. They may be as simple as migraine headaches or as complicated as schizophrenia!
So, with my mind completely assured that the Bible teaches the devil to be "sin" and not a fallen angel, I'm ready to study the Greek word "Daimon",or as we would say, "demons". (also, a misinterpreted scriptures labeling devils)
Demons
Early on in this writing, I stated the word "demon" is translated from the Greek word Daimon". I also stated that the word "daimon" was sometimes translated into the English word "devil". Now, our job is to consider the scriptures that have "daimon" in the original scripture. And to also think on the meaning of the word "daimon."
The Greek word "daimon" has a simple meaning. It means "sickness, caused from some malfunction of the brain." That's simple - but through interpretations, and misunderstood words, this word has become totally messed up in the English interpretation. But like I've said before, we must go to the very beginning, (or original writings) to find what was truly being said.
In speaking of the word "daimon" for an example -- because of a weak optic nerve, I wear glasses. Therefore, you could say that I "possess demons.” Our neighbor stutters because his mind thinks faster than his tongue can talk, so you could say "he possesses demons." In Mark 5:1-20, we can read of a man (called Legion) who was possessed by a "diamon" -- What’s a diamon? A sickness caused from a brain malfunction. Let us read this story. In Vs 2, we are told "a man with an unclean spirit" -- this "unclean spirit" comes from the word "diamon". Don't become confused by the translation being "spirit." After all, we use it today to mean "mind". Haven't you heard someone talking about a sad or depressed person, and say "their spirit is low" or someone who’s real giggly and hyper, and you can say "they are sure high spirited". We mean, their frame of mind is either high or low.
Here, we have Legion -- a man whose mind (spirit) is unclean, or not normal. Vs 3 says he was living among the tombs, or in a cemetery. He was so wild that people would chain him up, but he could just break the chains and get loose. We see in vs 9, that he was called "Legion”, because the word "Legion" means "many", and this man was many. Today, we call a person who is many, a schizophrenic. They have many personalities. I know a woman like this. She can be a very very loving, sweet person, and always doing good for others. Then, all at once, she changes and she hates everyone, even her own husband and children. She is unbearable to live with, until her "spirit" (or mind) changes. Legion must have had many different personalities and changed so often, that he was known by everyone to be real crazy. He was so bad, he could not live a normal life. Have you ever seen the movie " Sybil "? She was like legion.
Notice in Vs 7 that Legion had knowledge of things concerning God. He recognized Jesus as the Son of God. He knew the power that Jesus had and was afraid of what he could do. In vs 6, we see him worship Jesus. In vs10, he begs Jesus to not send him away out of the country. This was his home. He realized he was wild and crazy with many personalities. In vs12, it calls these "many personalities" "all the devils". Remember, "devils” here should have been demons because the original scrolls called this word"devil" "daimons" which is a sickness. Vs 12 should read, "And all thesick personalities besought him saying." If you saw the movie "Sybil”, in it she would carry on a conversation with her many personalities, all talking together. She was the only person, but it sounded like several people talking to each other. This is what is going on with Legion. His many personalities all came alive at once, begging Jesus to cast them out. These personalities seemed so real that they cried to be cast out into the swine (pigs). And reading vs 13, we see that is exactly what happened.
I used to wonder why Jesus cast them into the swine. Why didn't he just heal Legion simply. I think one of the reasons was because of the type of illness this was. A person with many personalities can appear very sane. Maybe they can be normal for several weeks. So, if the people were to see Legion acting normal they would only think he was being calm for awhile, but they wouldn't believe he was healed. After all, they had seen him calm before. Calm enough to put him in chains and fetters. But this way, the people that saw this healing actually saw the sickness cast out and then drowned in the sea. They actually saw with their own eyes!! By seeing this healing in this way, they could immediately believe God's powe rin Jesus.
Another verse to look at is Matt. 12:22 "22Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."
Here, again we see the word "devil", but it is a mistake. Originally, this said, "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a daimon", (or demon). Then notice it goes on to explain what the sickness (daimon ) was. It says "blind and dumb." And how was this "devil" dealt with? Very simply, healed!
Let us look at Mark 9:17-29, ". 17And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;18And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy Disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 19He answereth him, and saith,O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24Andstraightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 28And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."
In this passage, "daimon", or demon, is called “a dumb spirit" that "teareth him." Vs 18. It even causes him to foam and gnash his teeth and finally he pines away. This is describing a seizure. This boy is an epileptic. As you read this whole story, remember, the spirit it is talking about is from the word "daimon" meaning epilepsy and deaf and dumb.
Look at Matt. 9:32-33, "32As they went out, behold, they brought
to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33And when the devil was cast out,
the dumb spake: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in
So remember, in our study of devil and demons, the only way to get the true word is by going to your concordance and finding if the word was at first called "diabolos" or was it called "daimon" -- and remember what these two words mean.
Satan
Our final study concerning "the dark side" is the word "Satan". Many people believe "Satan" to just be another word for "devil" -- but this is not true, according to the way it was talked about during the lives of Biblical people. The actual word "SATAN" has a simple meaning. It is a word that means "opposed to something”. In our words, a Satan is "anything against something". If you are against God, you are a Satan! If you are against doing your best in school, you are a Satan! If you are against working to provide things of necessity, then you are a Satan! If you are against reckless driving, you are a Satan. If you are against murdering, you are a Satan. I could go on and on! But I think you get the picture! Being against something is being a Satan. Very simple! A Satan can be bad or good! Such as the examples I gave, the Satan against drugs and murdering is a good Satan. But the ones against God, doing good in school, and working are bad satins. So remember, the word "Satan" doesn't tell you if it is good or bad. You first have to decide if its against something good or bad.
The word "adversary" means the same thing. Many times, the Bible says "adversary" and other times it says "Satan” and the original Greek and Hebrew words were the very same. If we had never heard of the false belief of a devil and Satan being a super-natural being that is evil, then this would be so easy! It is these ideas we hear that have no basis that confuse us. So put these ideas out of your head and only think of the true meaning of the word, and we will look at some scriptures that use the word "Satan" in it.
One of my favorite verses (and surprising to most people) to consider is the
story of David when he was King of Israel and he wanted to go to war against
another country. But he didn't trust in God's power enough. He wanted to number
the people of
This surprises many people that has the
idea that Satan is evil.
They are very surprised that God is called Satan.
The same thing goes with Peter. We all know that Peter was one of the most
outstanding disciple that ever lived. He loved Jesus
and would have lain down his very own life for him, if necessary. He was very righteous.
Yet, Jesus called him "Satan". See Matt 16:21-24, "21From
that time forth began Jesus to show unto his Disciples, how that he must go unto
So, don't you see by God and Peter both being called Satan, then it sure doesn't make sense to believe like the majority of people do??
Another passage to look at is the story of Balaam. He was going to see Balak, but God didn't want him to. See Numbers 22:21-31,
" 21AndBalaam rose up in the morning, and saddled
his ass, and went with the princes of
In verse 22, the word "adversary" is the same word as "Satan." But it ends up that this "Satan" is an angel of God’s. He was only a Satan because he was against Balaam going to Balak's.
By remembering the true meaning of this word "Satan", we can completely understand what this word means in all the verses where Satan is used.
Many places, Satan has been interpreted "devil" -- which is a mistake. We’ve already learned "devil" is something wrong, but now we learn Satan is not always wrong -- sometimes, but not always -- only something opposed to.
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