Is There Really a Devil?

we no longer live in a peaceful world it's an unstable place where terrorism is a constant reality Wars continue throughout the world and more countries have obtained nuclear technology they're developing the horrifying ability to exterminate human life even in our own neighborhoods it seems that we just can't get along what causes so much conflict and violence in our society can we blame an individual for the hostility have you considered the primary cause for evil stay tuned to beyond today as we discuss is there really a devil join our host Steve Myers and his guests as they help you understand your future evil some say it doesn't exist while others blame the devil for almost everything he's often depicted as a fairytale creature a grotesque red creature with Hornsey pointed tail a pitchfork and he inhabits the infernal region of ever burning flames Christianity proclaims him certain other religions do as well and some people have wondered if the devil really exists at all welcome to beyond today to discuss this today I've invited two guests to join me pastor Randy stiver and Bible educator dr. Ralph Levy welcome good to be here to be here again now some here we are in the 21st century some would say this is craziness to talk about real spirit beings the reality of a devil but you can't help but pose that question is there really a devil well see if some people would like you to think that there's not in fact they would like most people to think that there's not an actual fact many people do believe that the devil exists but there are those who don't and their behavior shows that there was a bizarro cartoon I read in the newspaper some time ago and it shows Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and suddenly this boy's voice is booming from the sky it's God and he said I just want you to remember that everything you see is an allegory and it is really happening you're actually disavowing from apes right now you know so they're there those who don't want to think about a spirit world they want to discount the Bible that way that's right aspects of this world huh dr. Lee what do you think about that is is there is there some disconnect between what reality is and what mankind believes in general yes there's a disconnect and it is even a disconnect in the way people think you know Randy's example the joke about God looking down from heaven saying you don't even exist but there must be a lot of cognitive dissonance in the minds of a lot of people who address this question now that's a big phrase that's a big crisis what do you mean well it means that they've got two conflicting concepts inside their minds working against each other we live in a society that generally accepts his theory of evolution as Randy mentioned on the other hand it's amazing how many people claim to believe in a spirit world and what large percentage of the population says that yes indeed they do believe that there is a real devil so you've got those would be two opposing and posting each other yes yeah so is there really a devil is there really a spirit world yes there certainly is it's very clear from physical manifestations things that impact our lives and also from the Scriptures the question of course is is not just is there a real devil but what is his influence what's his role well maybe we could look at that for a minute if you if you look at maybe more concrete evidence of that how would you say as looking at human behavior that there is evidence of that fact is there something in the way people act that what they do something in human nature that illustrates the fact that there there really is a devil well there is you know when you when you look at at the world of the things that are happening you can see that there there's a pattern historically and the way people have behaved and and treated each other you know to say is there a devil the answer is obviously there is because you don't see the law of gravity but you know the law of gravity is there because of the the effect it has on things around you and upon yourself you don't know because it's not there it doesn't mean it doesn't exist you don't follow up you always fall down likewise when you look through history and you look through your own personal thinking and and see that of others you see an evil and nefarious which is another fancy word for evil effect you see something worse than just regular human selfishness that is driving people and and that is evidence that the Satan does exist you know just in the intensity of evil that we see so when it comes to the mind is there something that we could look at in human thinking and reasoning that would mirror this type of concept there's a very important scripture in the New Testament in Romans 8 and verse 7 that says that the carnal nature is enmity against God it's not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be makes a very strong statement now this carnal carnal mind what is that referring to then it's specifically talking about natural human beings the way P naturally will exist without intervention from all my just a normal everyday personal kind of God on their minds right yes yeah and I think most people can recognize sometimes that there are things inside of themselves you know we desire to get along well with our neighbor and yet their attentions we desire the / to understand our Creator and our maker for those who recognize that indeed there was a creator and yet there are difficulties in that relationship as that particular scripture says and so then the question becomes well okay if if a God created humanity and then it says that here's this humanity on earth kind of resisting God there's a tension there why would that be so and the the answer as we we get into this is that within the Scriptures we find that somebody got in the way the kind of relationship that should have been between the creator and his created human beings that somebody's got between them they messed things up so it's more than just wrong thinking on man's book behalf right there's more to it than that yeah be fair to say greater intensity of evil in that sense and that points us right to the devil exactly you know President Bush made a made a comment in a speech back in about a half a decade ago when 9/11 and 2001 occurred he gave a speech shortly thereafter after the terrorist attack he says there is good and there is evil and God is not neutral between them that's a distillation of profound thinking and not just his but many people recognize and understand that and frankly I believe that most people deep down inside and have a sense of that if they haven't thought it out in such straightforward terms seem like a few years ago we were more willing to label it and that - that you could look at hostility you could look at the conflict you could look at the agitation see there was something more to it right than just human thinking but would there be a thing that we could point to maybe even in history maybe a smoking gun if you want to call it that that would reveal that you know the devil is behind some of these things some of the historical things some of the things that have even happened more recently is there there is a smoking gun of the devil you know that shows proof positives or not a pitchfork but it's not smoking gun being you know dead to rights evidence in flagrante delicto caught red-handed is what that means in legal terms but when you look at how Christ was treated and how he was killed when he came that's that's the smoking gun Christ was the epitome of everything that is good and has ever been good or ever will be good the epitome of it and then he was treated as badly as he was treated and ultimately killed by society that didn't want to have that good in proximity to them it's almost like Christ was shown to be evil by society or they felt he was evil yeah that's right where else they didn't like to feel guilty you know but but you see the there is something driving that kind of mentality that does that sort of thing so the way eat away good is treated in society whether Christ or other good that we find in society the way good is treated in society with the disrespect and and scoffing and whatever other flagrant ways it's treated that is the smoking gun of the devil's existence so almost a white black and opposites type of thing they call evil good and good evil another scripture if that refers to that it's in it's in the the fifth chapter of Isaiah well when to those who call evil good and good evil you know and in twistings around and of course mankind isn't named Adam and Eve didn't display that mentality initially it was after the temptation the deception and they bought in to the devil's thinking as the serpent in the Garden of Eden that they're they're thinking started to go that way to well that's what I thought there how could God allow an evil being like Satan to exist we have a booklet that's free for the asking we hope that you'll get on the web or dial a toll-free number and order this booklet is there really a devil yes there is you need to know all about it get this free booklet there'll be a lot more when we come back if you were the devil bent on killing the human race you try to probably convince the world you don't even exist that addictions violence and hate are normal human impulses when really your power influences people to destroy themselves understand why the world can't get beyond arrogance anger and greed and your free copy of is there really a devil call toll free one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two or go to beyond today TV to see the supernatural source of conflicts and tragedies answer the big questions about good and evil in the world is the existence of the devil just a big joke found in the Bible or the absolute fact you can't read about anywhere else make sense of our world by calling toll free one triple eight eighty six eight six three two that's one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two or go to beyond today TV for your FREE copy of is there really a devil we've been discussing the devil Satan a spirit being portrayed in the Bible as the literal personification of evil sin and wrong now this raises the great question why would a good and righteous God create an evil Satan an evil devil God didn't create it didn't he didn't create Satan God God is good he is the ultimate of goodness he's the definition of it really he is he's the Bible says God is love and that's that's good I mean the right kind of love Satan on the other hand is evil mmm-hmm God has nothing to do with evil he doesn't make evil and so he didn't create the devil for example it says that the devil Jesus said that that Satan or the devil is a liar and actually the father of liar and he put it in that kind of a terminology well God would not make something that is a liar that is evil because it is impossible for God to lie also from the scripture so then I didn't he didn't create it that he didn't create him well we know he exists we know that Satan the devil is real and yet we know God created everything well that that's a little bit of a conundrum then isn't it how did he come to exist then actually it's grits fairly plain there are many passages in the Bible that indicate God did create the one who later became Satan the devil seyton means the adversary originally he was not the adversary originally he was a great angel with great power and the Bible describes him as one having tremendous wisdom and beauty and perfect in Isaiah chapter 14 is a very interesting passage of the passage some people don't believe it refers to a spirit being but in fact if you read it closely it's quite clear that it refers to someone who's much greater than a human being and it says that this one referred to as Lucifer something happened to him he was perfect originally it was perfect in beauty he was perfect in wisdom but something happened and when we put the whole picture together with the other biblical references something welled up inside of this great Archangel to cause him to fall and his character one another indication in the scripture is that this was pride pride welled up in him he rebelled against God he turned in his character he turned it to into an evil being and apparently took one-third of the other angels with him so that's where their origin was so he was good to start with chose really to be it reminds me of an interesting a quotation from Winston Churchill about a political opponent he had at the time but let's apply it to you know the arch fallen angel being Lucifer Churchill said about his opponent he says he is a self-made man and he worships his creator being himself well essentially Lucifer started as a holy angel but he chose evil he made himself into the devil and Satan and he worships his creator now if you had mentioned that he took a third of the angels with him so there's there's more than just the devil himself he's also got demons with yes he has and so he's got quite an extent to I suppose what you could call his kingdom well Jesus did call it a kingdom the Bible refers to him as the the God with a small G that is or the ruler of this world of societies we have it now he's kind of main Ian has to stay around the earth so and that's really a scary thought well yeah ruler of he's on a throne of this world at this time isn't he the Apostle Paul was inspired record it that way the god of this world is blinded those you know that don't know God don't know the truth of God don't have their mind open to understand it so he has this domain which includes his cohorts the demonics spirits who are subordinate to him there's rank and organization within it but it's all evil you know in a sense it's it's like the biggest crime family the the world has ever heard of a spiritual example one no now if we get down right to how he does it how does he affect humanity how does the devil influence mankind yes he affects humanity in a spiritual way I remember hearing a minister describing it as like a radio transmission I thought it was very good analogy perhaps in terms of the 21st century a better analogy would be something that we see in many many public places these days many people carry a cell phone with them pick up a cell phone holder to their ears and they're talking with their friends and family and so what you've got obviously at any any place is lots of radio waves cell phone waves wireless transmission waves going through the air Ephesians chapter 2 describes Satan the devil has the Prince of the power of the air the one who now works in the children of disobedience so the analogy of radio waves cellphone waves going through and then human nature basic human nature being predisposed to tune into that transmission and that's the way it works that's the reason why sometimes people feel inside themselves a basic hostility toward God and so he's transmitting and mankind has received now he's broadcasting in moods and impulses of hatred and anger and depression nothing's that we have to do no but an influx I guess pushes pushes the envelope pushes you that way we choose we choose to do it or we choose to reject it and we you know we can decide to be cheerful or we can decide to be depressed we can decide to be cooperative and helpful or we can decide to be angry and vindictive so you could really get down to and say hostility and hatred and anger and rebellion all those things are part of that broadcasting is whether on the individual scale or on the international scale when you consider how some neige governments in their whimsy and fancy have destroyed either their own people's Adolf Hitler killed twenty point four million people that were under his leadership there was subjects of Nations that that Germany had taken these weren't battle deaths and they weren't capital punishments they were just purges but Stalin was worse he killed by some estimates 43 million Russian subjects and that influence had to have a party there's there's a demonic intense now what is it will it always be that way will that he have that force will he always have that you know havoc that he's wreaking on mankind no it's not always going to be that way we know from the revealed scripture that there is very good news on this subject and the good news is that at some point in the future Jesus Christ the Messiah will return from heaven and we'll deal with this problem that is a difficulty that can be dealt with in the human way Revelation chapter 20 it talks about Satan the devil being enchained being thrown into the bottomless pit being removed out of the way for 1,000 years and he eventually gets what's coming to him because he was a ridge inator they of all human weaknesses and sins and conflicts and death so even though he's on that throne of the earth right now he's going to be removed he's gonna be that and that's the good news then there then there's peace you know peace inside and peace outside when when Christ returns when Christ returns well there's a lot to the subject you need this booklet we hope you'll go on beyond today TV get on the website order the booklet in fact you can read it right away get it right off of the internet you can begin to learn even more about the subject of the reality of the devil we'll be back with more after this break in a world of pain conflict and destruction how can you explain so much evil after all is there really a devil you need to understand the unseen source of human suffering make sense of our world by calling toll free one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two that's one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two or go to beyond today TV for your FREE copy of is there really a devil while the news about the Middle East seems to get worse you can get understanding of where it's going in your free subscription to the good news magazine see why Jerusalem will remain at the center of the news and articles that regularly keep you up to date in the direction of our world call toll free one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two that's one triple eight eighty six eight six three two or go to beyond today TV for your free subscription to the good news magazine when you order the free literature we've been offering today you automatically get a free copy to the good news magazine a magazine of understanding this is a magazine that you need one that can help you not only understand your Bible but understand how it impacts your life so you'll get that free copy so order the free literature today now we've been talking about the devil and his influence how can you beat the devil here on beyond today we've been talking about his actual existence his modus operandi the MO of Satan he's a powerful completely wicked fallen angel who's up to evil continually what can you do about his influence on you and your family so we're talking to our experts today and we pose that fundamental question how how can you beat the devil how can you defeat him in your life well there's an old line to a traditional hymn Steve and you like music and you probably remember the line what a friend we have in Jesus it is very important first and foremost to remember that God is your friend and God is infinitely more powerful than the devil because he created him he created being can never be greater than the Creator so he is infinitely more powerful than this fallen angel however we have to also remember that the devil has a name and it's Satan and it means adversary it means opponent it means foe it means enemy and he he doesn't like us I guess you could say so if you remember those two points then if you're going to beat him you have to be friend to God and an enemy of the devil and and then in this short view of it that's what has to happen in your life you have to remember those two points and so he opposes us he he tries to deceive us and I suppose you could say that's the devil's game and that's well that's it yeah deception is his game we have to remember his game plan and and destruction is his name so when you understand that he is a deceiver at the core the father of Liars is Christ himself called him and that he is destructive now what about this destruction this deceptiveness how far does that go to what extent of deception are we really talking about here the book of Revelation makes a very broad statement there's a scripture there that is I think reasonably well known in Revelation chapter 12 verse 9 it talks about Satan the serpent of old who deceives the whole world that's a very broad statement but it's borne out when we look at the human experience it's not just a metaphor and it's not a glory no no and it means what it says you know it's quite to be taken literally the whole world he destroyed were a whole world and it permeates his influence permeate everything corrupt governments wrong education which is too materialistic business practices where people try to pull the wool over people and and trick them and fraud and that kind of thing we see this influence permeating everything and going everywhere in society and it even goes up to the level of religion indeed and in religion it's particularly bad now there are just a couple of scriptures that talk about that it talks about how the Apostle Paul makes this comment that there are men who portray themselves as apostles when in fact they aren't they're false apostles they're self-appointed or whatever he says but that's that's not surprising and even though I wasn't like deceitful were co-workers yes he says that that's not surprising or there's no one no wonder because Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light no his other name was Lucifer which means light bringer thus an angel of life and so he he manifests himself makes himself look like that so he has created and motivated mankind to create a whole system and whole variety a whole spectrum of false or counterfeit might be a better term counter religions there's always some truth mixed in but the conclusions are false because there's so much falsehood into it so you see it at every level you see it at the governmental level international levels exactly on the level of religion and this destructive abilities that Satan seems to bring with him why would we refer to it as being destructive in that sense because the Bible calls him that it gives him the right name Revelation chapter 9 verse 11 says his name in Hebrew is Abaddon or apollyon in Greek they're a couple of strange sounding words but then that verse goes on to interpret that and it says that he's the destroyer it refers to destruction so what he does is to destroy so God calls him what he really is whatever God has planned to do which is to bring mankind to himself resurrect them into his family by bringing him through Christ through repentance and conversion and so on to receive the Holy Spirit and ultimately to be resurrected into the divine family of God into the kingdom of God in other words he's against that whatever God is doing then the devil is against the opposes that that that is what evil is evil opposes good and so he lives up to to what his philosophy is most certainly and he tries to do it in a deceptive way this was that's the difficult part then what can we do what what countermeasures can in an individual take to avoid the devil's influences in in their lives well the first thing the first thing is to stay close to God you know the what is called the Lord's Prayer it's really the Lord's Prayer outline you know you don't just repeat it over and over again you you elaborate on it but there there are two important lines lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one so we need to ask God's guidance and help on a daily basis I mean this is just practical true Chris stay close to God you stay close to God through prayer that's exactly right now the second step is similar and it's from the book of James James was written by a man who was actually the the half-brother of Christ he was one of his one of his brothers a daughter of her son of Mary and Joseph and James inspired to record resist submit yourself to God resist the devil and he will flee from you now that's a strange statement it says that he will if you resist him if you do whatever it resistance is he will flee from you it's a promise that has Authority and power behind it and everyone important to remember as well so we've got to pray we've got to resist other aspects of that resistance that we can put the practice so that concept of humility is very very important you know Andy was saying same humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you in due time I sometimes I think of this since there are informations in the Bible that Satan the devil's problem was pride originally when we as human beings shrink our ego down to size almost like a giant balloon that gets inflated with air and if you shrink that balloon and take all of the air out of it there's no target for him to shoot at he can't hook us in with the same spiritual problem that he manifested way back when and and that way back when is important to understand how he he he brought himself around where he chose the way of evil you know everybody has a free choice he was a free moral agent as we are as human beings and he chose that way and he came to his conclusions it's recorded in the poetry of Isaiah 14 which which which dr. Levey talked about earlier and and that is where he says I will ascend above the clouds I will you know sit on the Mount of the congregation of the north I will sit on the throne of the stars of God meeting the angels III there are five eyes I will be like the Most High or sometimes the the translation is more like I will be the most I will be God Satan is focused on eyes focused on self and if we focus just on self rather than loving our neighbor as our self and loving God above others if we just focused on getting for self then we're playing into his game you don't have to focus on self you can focus on God learn about the devil's tactics get this booklet we'll be back to wrap up in just a moment is the existence of the devil just a big joke found in the or the absolute fact you can't read about anywhere else understand why the world can't get beyond arrogance anger and greed and your free copy of is there really a devil make sense of our world by calling toll free one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two that's one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two or go to beyond today TV for your FREE copy of is there really the devil is there really a devil yes absolutely but you don't have to be under the influence of his destruction God assures us the time is coming when Satan and his works the suffering the misery the mental anguish that he brings will be no more in the end there'll be only God and those who've chosen to live his way instead of Satan's that will be a new earth and without Satan's influence there'll be no more death or mourning or crying or pain Thank You Ralph Thank You Randy for being with me today when you want to understand your future we hope you'll remember this program and look beyond today thanks for watching for the free literature offered on today's program go online to beyond today TV please join us again next week on beyond today you

Channel: BeyondTodayTV

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Keywords: evil, suffering, devil, satan, chaos, confusion, Bible, God, answers, truth, terrorism, war

Id: qnCU2W6QaBw

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 27 2006