Contents

Satan and His Gospel

By Anonymous (Unkown)

Satan and His Gospel is a short work (16 pgs) that studies the person and “gospel” of Satan, what he wants mankind to believe instead of the true Gospel.




Contents of Satan and His Gospel

I. The Personality of Satan.
II. Satan’s Origin
III. Satan’s Fall
IV. Satan’s Position since the Fall
V. The Work of Satan
VI. The Gospel of Satan




Anon-Satan-and-his-gospel

Excerpts from the Work

1. Personal Names Are Ascribed To Him.

Thirty-five times he is denominated “The Devil,” which means “The Accuser” or “Slanderer”—accusing the saints before God and traducing the character of God before men. Fifty-two times he is called “Satan,” which means “Enemy” or “Adversary.” He is God’s enemy and man’s adversary. “Satan” refers to his character: the malignant Adversary of all good—in God or His creatures. “Devil” refers to his mode of carrying out his evil designs: by lying slanders, false accusations, evil traducings. He is termed “The Prince of this world” (John 14:30), which defines his position in relation to our earth. He is named “Beelzebub” (Matt 12:27), which regards him as the head of the demons. He is spoken of as the “Wicked One” (Matt 13:19) which refers to him as the prime mover of all wickedness. He is styled “Apollyon,” that is “Destroyer” (Rev 9:11), which links him with the Bottomless Pit. He is referred to as “The Prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), which points to his present home and sphere of operations—cf. Eph. 6:12. He is
termed “Lucifer” which means “Morning Star” (Isa 14:12), a title which seems to have belonged to him before his apostasy. He is called “The god of this world” (II Cor 4:4) because he is the inspirer and director of all spurious religion. He is termed “Liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44) because he is the inveterate opposer of the truth. These and other titles of Satan are meaningless unless he is a personal being.

2. Personal Characteristics Are Predicated Of Him.

Intelligence: His temptations are spoken of as “the wiles of the Devil” (Eph 6:11); while in Rev. 2:24 we read of “The depths of Satan” (Greek, “deep things”). Further, in Rev. 12:9 he is termed “That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” To deceive implies design, and design is the product of intelligence, and intelligence is inseparable from personality.

Memory: In his conflict with our Lord he quoted from the Old Testament Scriptures (Matt 4:6). A mere abstraction could not do this.

Knowledge: In Rev. 12:12 we are told he has “great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” But that which is impersonal cannot be said to “know”.

Will: “…that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (II Tim 2:26). “How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For 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” (Isa 14:12,13). That Satan possesses a will or the power of choice, is further proof that he is a personal being.

Moral character: Satan is spoken of as a “deceiver,” “liar,” “murderer,” “tempter,” all of which are terms implying
moral character—i.e., that of which duty or obligation, and right and wrong may be predicted. Speech: He is represented as talking with God (Job 1:9,10), arguing with our Lord, and as “accusing” the brethren. This is a further indication that Satan possesses the same characteristics as ourselves.

Emotions: He desired Peter that he might sift him as wheat (Luke 22:31). Pride is spoken of as “the condemnation of the Devil” (I Tim 3:6). While in Rev. 12:12 we read, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath .” But pride and anger cannot be predicated of the law of gravitation—they are inseparable from personality.

Executive and organizing ability: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels” (Rev 12:7). “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle” (Rev 20:7,8). Here we find Satan marshalling his legions to engage in warfare. Eph. 6:12 more than hints that he is the head of graduated and organized forces.




Now it is a law of scriptural interpretation that the first mention of anything in God’s Word hints at and forecasts much of what is subsequently developed. An illustration of this principle is seen in connection with Satan. The first time he is brought before us in Holy Writ his true character is unveiled, the sphere in which he works is clearly revealed, and the methods he employs are expressly set forth. His subtlety is indicated in that he used a serpent through which to approach our first parents; his cowardice in that he assaulted the woman rather than the man; his evil nature in that he lied to her and sought her ruin; his character of tempter in that he captured his victim by means of an attractive bait (“Ye shall be as gods”); his sphere of operations in that he incited Eve to commit not a moral but a spiritual sin—transgression of God’s command; his real object of attack —God’s Word: “Yea, hath God said?”




In the sentence which God pronounced upon that old serpent the Devil, Satan’s purpose and program is definitely revealed—“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). There is much in this remarkable announcement which calls for study and comment, but for our present purpose we limit ourselves to one declaration—“Enmity…between thy seed and her seed.” We are here informed that the woman’s “Seed”— the Lord Jesus Christ—is to be the object of Satan’s unrelenting hatred. This reveals to us in a word the agelong work in which Satan has been engaged. Ever since this first Messianic prediction was uttered in Eden Satan has been the Enemy of the woman’s Seed. The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus have been the objects of his attack. His methods of the opposition have followed two lines, namely, first a work of anticipation, and second a work of imitation, and these we shall now consider at some length.