Category Archives: Devil, Satan

Calvin on spiritual warfare

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Calvin took the activities of Satan and his demons very seriously, without falling into the superstitions which sometimes appear in Luther’s writings.  Calvin’s teaching was, above all else, scriptural, as the following extract shows.

All that Scripture teaches concerning devils aims at arousing us to take precaution against their stratagems and contrivances, and also to make us equip ourselves with those weapons which are strong and powerful enough to vanquish these most powerful foes. For when Satan is called the god [2 Corinthians 4:4] and prince [John 12:31] of this world, when he is spoken of as a strong armed man [Luke 11:21; cf.
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Angels and demons

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In his preface to The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis famously wrote that there are two equal and opposite errors in relation to thinking about demons: disbelieving in their existence altogether, and taking an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.  Either way, Satan is delighted – scepticism and fanaticism both serve his purposes very nicely.

The sceptical approach is well represented by the New Testament scholar Rudolph Bultmann: ‘It is impossible to use electric light and the wireless and to avail ourselves of modern medical and scientific discoveries, and at the same time to believe in the New Testament world of daemons and spirits.’…

The triumph of the Cross

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The New Testament (writes John Stott) sounds a note of victory that is sadly muted in many parts of the church today.  The victory is God’s and he has achieved it through Jesus Christ; more specifically, through the cross of Christ (1 Cor 15:57; 2 Cor 2:14; Col 2:15; Rom 8:37; Rev 3:21; 5:5; 12:11).

What seemed like the defeat of goodness by evil was, in fact, the defeat of evil by goodness.  The victim is the victor. …

Is there a devil?

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Even to pose the question would lead to incredulity, or scorn, in many quarters today.

But Michael Green reminds us that there are several lines of evidence that agree in affirming the reality of the Devil, or Satan:-

1. Philosophy. The two great givens in the universe are mind and matter. It is reasonable to suppose that behind our own intelligence and will there is a divine Intelligence and Will, to which we give the name God.…

Demonic activity in revival

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The present world is the arena for an uncompromising, bitter struggle – the struggle between good and evil, of God and his armies against the Devil and his.  We believe that the victory belongs to God in Christ.  But we know too that the Devil, although defeated, is not yet banished, and continues to war against all that is good and true and right with such malice and resourcefulness as we can scarcely conceive of.  Now, when ‘God comes’ in revival, and God’s people are stirred up to to repentance, prayer, evangelism and good works, it is certain that Satan will do all within his power to destroy the work, and if not destroy it, to damage and discredit it in whatever ways he can. …