Is the Devil a Myth?
By C. F. WIMBERLY
_Author of "The Vulture's Claw," "New Clothes for
the Old Man," "The Cry in the Night," "The
Winepress," "The Lost Legacy," Etc., Etc._
NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO
Fleming H. Revell Company
LONDON AND EDINBURGH
Copyright, 1913, by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.
London: 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street
_With the fondest recollections and
appreciation of one, "in age and
feebleness extreme," who taught me
the first lessons about the Being of
these studies; one who contributed
her all to the rearing of noble ideals,
MARTHA M. WIMBERLY,
My Mother,
this book is lovingly dedicated by
the Author_
Preface
It is the writer's firm conviction, in these days when the most
enthusiastic "bookworm" cannot even keep up with the titles of the book
output, that an earnest, sensible reason should be given for adding
another to the already endless list of books. We have enough books to-day,
"good, bad, indifferent," with which, if they were collected, to build
another Cyclops pyramid. The sage of the Old Testament declared in his
day, concerning the endless making of books; such a statement, compared
with modern writing and publishing of books, sounds amusing.
Every possible subject, vagary, or ism, for which a book could be written,
is overworked. Bible themes of all grades, from orthodoxy to ultra higher
criticism, have flooded the land. Especially is the iconoclast in much
evidence; he is free lance, and shows no quarters. Cardinal tenets of
Bible faith, so long unquestioned, are being smitten with a merciless
hand. Disintegration is the most obvious fact among us; nothing is too
sacred for the crucible of what is termed "scholarship."
But why this book? Let us take a little survey. Over against the modern
idea, that the race is endowed with all the inherent elements of goodness
necessary to its regeneration, there is a correspondent belief that _evil_
is only an error. When the race by social and mental evolution succeeds
in eliminating all the superstitions and false dogmas, the body politic
will be self-curative, like the physical body, restoring itself by means
of inspiration, respiration, exercise, sleep, food, etc., once the causes
of disease are eliminated from the system.
For several decades we have been approaching the doctrine which denies all
Personalism--either good or bad. When we repudiate the Bible teaching,
that the source of all evil emanates from a great Personality, the Bible
teaching of the Incarnation suffers in the same proportion.
The title of this book is a question, and one by no means strained, if
considered from the view-point of modern thought. We have undertaken an
answer. If by reason and revelation we can arrive at a satisfactory
conclusion, the gain thereby cannot be overestimated. If the personality
of Satan can be successfully consigned to the religious junk pile, our
Bible is at once thrown into a jumble of contradictions and
inconsistencies. The result will be even worse than our enemies claim for
it now. One of the late recognized writers on the Old Testament says: "The
Old Testament is no longer considered valuable among scholars as a sacred
oracle, but it is valuable in that it is the history of a people." _If the
Devil is a Myth, our Bible can be nothing better than historical chaos._
In the preparation of these pages, we wish to acknowledge with deep
gratitude the assistance of Mr. S. D. Gordon, author of "Quiet Talks"; Dr.
I. M. Haldeman, author and preacher; Dr. Gross Alexander, editor, author,
and preacher; Dr. W. B. Godbey, an author of great learning and extensive
travel; Dr. B. Carradine, evangelist and author; Dr. H. C. Morrison,
college president, editor, author, and evangelist; Prof. L. T. Townsend,
and Hon. Philip Mauro.
If the reading of this book shall bring to any struggling soul helpful
information concerning our common Enemy, we shall be doubly repaid for the
labour of its preparation. We send it forth saturated with prayer.
C. F. W.
_Madisonville, Ky._
Contents
I. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL 11
II. THE ORIGIN OF EVIL 16
III. LUCIFER 20
IV. DEVIL--SATAN--SERPENT--DRAGON 24
V. DIABOLUS--DEMONIA--ABADDON-APOLLYON 28
VI. THE DEVIL A "BLOCKADE" 31
VII. THE GREAT MAGICIAN 34
VIII. THE ROARING LION 37
IX. AN ANGEL OF LIGHT 41
X. THE SOWER OF TARES 46
XI. THE ARCH SLANDERER 50
XII. THE DOUBLE ACCUSER 54
XIII. SATAN A SPY 58
XIV. THE QUACK DOCTOR 62
XV. THE DEVIL A THEOLOGIAN 66
XVI. THE DEVIL A THEOLOGIAN (_Continued_) 71
XVII. THE DEVIL'S RIGHTEOUSNESS 75
XVIII. THE WORLD'S TEMPTER 80
XIX. THE CONFIDENCE MAN 84
XX. THE TRAPPER 89
XXI. THE INCOMPARABLE ARCHER 93
XXII. THE FATHER OF LIARS 96
XXIII. THE KINGSHIP OF SATAN 100
XXIV. THE DEVIL'S HANDMAIDEN 105
XXV. THE ASTUTE AUTHOR 110
XXVI. THE HYPNOTIST 114
XXVII. DEVIL POSSESSION 119
XXVIII. DEVIL OPPRESSION 124
XXIX. DEVIL ABDUCTION 129
XXX. THE RATIONALE OF SUICIDE 134
XXXI. DEVIL WORSHIP 138
XXXII. VICTORY THROUGH THE VICTOR 143
XXXIII. THE ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT 148
XXXIV. THE FINAL CONSUMMATION 152
XXXV. SATANIC SYMBOL IN NATURE 156
I
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually."--_Genesis vi. 5._
That we may appreciate this discussion, removed as far as possible from
theological terminology and theories, and get a concrete view-point, the
following head-lines from a single issue of a metropolitan daily will
suffice: "War Clouds Hanging Low;" "Men Higher Up Involved;" "Eighty-seven
Divorces On Docket;" "Blood Flows In the Streets;" "Gaunt Hunger Among
Strikers;" "Arrested For Forgery;" "A White Slave Victim;" "Attempted
Train Robbery;" "Kills Wife and Ends Own Life;" "Two Men Bite Dust;"
"Investigate Bribery."
This fearful list may be duplicated almost every day in the year. Our land
is deluged with crime, without respect to person or place; its blight
touches all circles from the slum to the four hundred. Wealth and poverty,
culture and ignorance, fame and obscurity, suffer alike from this Pandora
Box scourge. The march of history--the pilgrimage of the race, has enjoyed
but little respite from tears and blood. Those who strive to maintain a
standard of purity, righteousness, and honour, are beset by strange,
powerful, intangible influences, from the cradle to the grave. The child
in swaddling clothes has a predisposition to willfullness, deception, and
disobedience; paroxysms of passion and anger are manifested with the
slightest provocation.
Notwithstanding the barriers thrown up by the home and society; the
incentives and assurances for noble, industrious living, the dykes are
continually giving way, so that police power and the frowning walls of
penal institutions are insufficient to check the overflow. The Church of
God, with its open Book, ringing out messages of life and hope at every
corner; the object lessons on the "wages of sin," sweeping in full view
before us, like the reel-film of a motion picture--do not seem to lessen
the harvest of moral shipwreck.
According to some recent police records and statistics, only about
one-half of the country's criminals are apprehended; if this is true of
those who violate the law, a much smaller per cent. of those who break the
perfect moral law, as related to domestic and religious life, are ever
exposed. When these facts are considered, the perspective for the reign of
righteousness is lurid and hopeless. The country has been amazed,
recently, at the revelations of how municipal and national treasuries are
being looted by extortion, extravagance, and misrule, on the part of men
holding positions as a sacred trust. Civilization fosters and maintains a
traffic which has not one redeeming feature; besides killing directly and
indirectly more men daily than were blown up in the battle-ship _Maine_.
Let us view the problem of evil from another angle: a writer on the
subject of food supplies says the earth each year furnishes an abundant
quantity of fruits, meats, cereals, and vegetables to feed all her
peoples; yet gaunt famine is never entirely removed. Even in America a
surprising per cent. of our people are underfed and underclothed. "Fifty
thousand go to bed hungry every night in New York City," declares a
professor of economics. The same ratio obtains in other large cities of
our land. Scenes of pinching poverty occur within a few blocks of the most
wanton luxury and extravagance. One lady spends fifty thousand
dollars--enough to satisfy all the hungry--on one evening's entertainment.
Oranges rot on the Pacific coast by car-loads, when the children of the
Ghetto scarcely taste them.
Nature fills her storehouses, and tries to scatter with a prodigal hand,
but her resources are cornered and controlled by a criminal system which
revolves around the "almighty dollar"--the root of all evil.
Are we to conclude that man's free agency is responsible for this moral
monstrosity? Or, to be theologically particular, shall we say, free agency
dominated by an innate disposition to evil: human depravity, original sin,
the carnal mind? Allowing the fullest latitude to the free moral agency of
the race; allowing the evil nature, like the foul soil producing a
continuous crop of vile weeds, to produce an inexorable bent, or
predisposition to sin, operating on man's free agency--have we a full and
sufficient explanation of the presence and power of Evil?
The carnal mind is enmity with God, not subject to His laws; but the
carnal mind is in competition with a _human_ nature, wherein are found
emotions and sentiments that are far from being all sinful: sympathy,
tenderness, benevolence, paternal and filial love, sex-love, and honesty.
Again, we rarely find environment as an unmixed evil. Notwithstanding
these hindrances the press almost daily has details and delineations of
crimes so fearful and shocking that no trace of the human appears.
Frequently we hear of a man, who has committed some dreadful outrage,
personified as "beast," "fiend," "inhuman," etc. A young man in his teens,
wishing to marry, but being under age and without sufficient means,
decided that if he could dispose of his father, mother, brother, and
sister--the farm and property would all be his, then, unmolested, could
consummate his matrimonial plans. Whereupon, armed with an axe, at the
midnight hour, he executes his "fiendish" plot. Another man, with a young
and beautiful wife, and the father of two bright children, becomes
infatuated with a young woman in a distant state; he woos and wins her
affections; he returns home to arrange "some business matters" on the day
preceding the wedding. This business matter was to dispose of his wife and
children, which he did; on the following night, led to the marriage altar
an innocent, unsuspecting girl. A young minister commits double murder,
and on the following day enters his pulpit and preaches from the text:
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable
in Thy sight, O Lord."
These cases are actual occurrences, mentioned for emphasis only, that the
problem of evil may be studied from life. These examples prove
conclusively that the problem goes deeper than human depravity or free
agency; both are accessories--conditions, binding cords, as it were, but
the jarring stroke comes from a mightier hand.
The unregenerated heart has been called a "playground," and a "coaling
station" for the headmaster of all villainies. It was more than wounded
pride and vanity that propagated the scheme of Haman, whereby a whole
nation was to be destroyed at a single stroke. Vengeance and hate are
terrible passions, but only as they are fanned by the breath of an
inhabitant of the Inferno can they go to such extremes. It was more than a
desire to crush out heresy that could instigate a "St. Bartholomew's Day,"
then sing the Te Deum after the bloody deed was accomplished.
We shall endeavour in the subsequent pages to throw a few rays of light,
in obscure corners, on the problem of evil through its multiform phases
and ramifications.
II
THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
"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."--_Revelation
xii. 9._
It requires but a casual survey of this problem to reach a conclusion that
its hideousness cannot be explained by any other hypothesis than the power
of an invisible Personality. When we scrutinize the footprints of the
race, it will be found that progress has been along a dark, slimy trail;
the infidels and philosophers who are loud in their boastings of inherent
goodness will have difficulty in reconciling this fact. All who think are
confronted with an ever-recurring question--yea, exclamations: why do such
things happen? What meaneth these barbarities, ravages, cruelties? Why so
much domestic discord, ending in ruin--so many suicides? Why do men and
women hurl themselves over the precipice of vice and deadly
indulgences--when even a novice might easily see the inevitable?
For a parallel we are reminded of an incident in war: log-chains were used
when the cannon-ball supply was exhausted; lanes the width of the chain
length were mowed through the ranks of the opposing army. These chasms of
death were closed up each time, only to be cut down again by the next
discharge. The pathway of ruin is thronged--the "broad road" is easy;
however, there is something stranger than this utter blindness: the
victims laugh and shout on this highway, paved as it is by the macadam of
crushed humanity.
Now, can there be found a rationale for this dreadful twist in human
affairs--this seeming unfathomable conundrum? We cannot believe that God
would create a "footstool" in which sin, suffering, and misery were to
abound; no such provision could have been in the divine plan. In the Word
of God alone we find the explanation of it all. The Word gives an
unmistakable account of an insurrection in heaven: "Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and
prevailed not." This strange warfare was inaugurated by the great
archangelic leader.
This "war in heaven" could have but one ending: the complete overthrow of
the disturber and his followers. They were cast out, and are, beyond a
doubt, swarming around this sin-blinded planet--invisible, yet personal
and all but omnipresent. When we remember that one-third of the angelic
population of heaven cast their lot with this chieftain, his strength and
personality can be somewhat understood. It is written: "The tail
(influence) of the dragon drew the third part of the stars (angels) of
heaven, and cast them down to the earth." In their relation to heaven, the
dragon and his angels met with irremediable ruin; now, defeated,
humiliated, maddened, doomed, this fallen archangel and his innumerable
myrmidons are filling the whole earth with every curse that can be
conjured up by their superior, supernatural intelligence. There can be no
room to doubt the truth of this hellish propaganda, as he is called the
"god of this world."
It must be kept clearly in mind that the powers of darkness can, in no
sense, mean an ethereal, impersonal spirit of evil--or perverseness of
weak human nature; but rather a Being who rules and commands legions upon
legions of subjects--_demons_, each of them endowed with all the powers
and gifts possessed when they were ministering emissaries of God. They are
now "the angels which kept not their first estate."
We have no way to estimate the size of this satanic army, marshalled for
the destruction of the race and the overthrow of Christ's kingdom.
However, we read in the tenth chapter of Revelation that two hundred
million were turned loose in the earth at one time. Ten thousand were in
the country of the Gadarenes when the Master entered there; no wonder the
entire land was kept in terror, even though their incarnation seemed to
have been limited to one man living in a graveyard. Seven demons were cast
out of one woman.
We should keep in mind the distinction between "the devil" and demons;
there is but one _Devil_, but the demons are swarming the length and
breadth of the whole earth. Just as God directs His angels in ministeries
of righteousness, so this god of darkness directs his angels to do his
nefarious will. There are feats so daring and important that the Devil, it
seems, will not trust to his underlings. He engineered in person the
temptations of the Master; he entered the heart of Judas, and caused him
to sell his Lord, then commit suicide.
The Bible undoubtedly teaches that Satan and his cohorts, having access to
our fallen natures (which became so through his contribution of "forbidden
fruit"--his great triumph in the Garden), are inciting this world to all
the crimes known to our criminal dockets. Think of the train wreckers,
rapists, incendiaries, white slavers, riots, strikes, grafters, gamblers,
etc.; and as Paul has catalogued them: "unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, maliciousness, envy, deceit, malignity, whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil
things, disobedient to parents, covenant breakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful."
No one can consider this long, gruesome list of iniquities without a
feeling that they originated, somehow, in the realm of supernatural
darkness. The worst things that can be said of fallen humanity is its
availability and susceptibility to the machinations of this past master of
the Pit, whose only ambition is to rob the blood of its purchase
possessions by wrecking the souls for whom Christ died. Our sinful nature
responds to his touch; the wonderful gamut of the soul is capable of being
swept its entire length by his skill. A master player on God's greatest
instrument--His masterpiece. All the fearful deeds committed seem to be
acts of volition, and they are; but in the dark background lurks another
superior will responsible for the initiative.
III
LUCIFER
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How
art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the
nations!"--_Isaiah xiv. 12._
"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven,
burning as it were a lamp."--_Revelation viii. 10._
"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto
the earth; and to him was given the key of the bottomless
pit."--_Revelation ix. 1._
It is reasonable to believe that all intelligent beings are morally free;
and if free, are on probation. Intelligence, will-power, free agency, and
probation are logically inseparable, regardless of place or environment.
Without question, in the natural world this is true, and therefore must be
true in the spiritual world. That men, angels, archangels, and redeemed
spirits never attain a state of character beyond the possibility of free
choice is a most fearful responsibility.
But for the imperialism of intelligent will, the _fall of angels_ is
unreasonable, improbable, impossible. Just how temptation can assail the
inhabitants of heaven--the land, we are told, "where the wicked cease from
troubling and the weary are at rest"--is beyond all human comprehension.
Startling as this truth appears to be, the Bible teaches it in
unmistakable language.
"Lucifer, son of the morning," an archangel, a great being, created in
holiness, standing near the Throne of God. His name means "light bearer,"
indicative of his glorious office. We can scarcely imagine such honour,
such power, such distinction. Just what the high-calling of "light bearer"
was, as it was performed under the highest commission in the universe, the
Book fails to tell us; but the office of Lucifer was surely the peer of
Michael or Gabriel, if not above them in rank. Brilliancy and splendour
radiated from his person.
May we dare, not altogether by the imagination, to venture into that
remote, prehistoric time when the Second Person of the Trinity--the
Anointed One--the Logos, a being of perfection, made in the image of the
invisible God, became a Manifestation. That One of whom "the whole family
in heaven and earth is named"; sharing the glory and honour equally with
the Father, on a throne in the heavenlies. Milton and others believe that
the presence of this Manifestation aroused in Lucifer a consuming spirit
of ambition and envy; he at once aspired to the place and power which God
reserved for His only begotten Son.
We get still another side-light on the personality of Lucifer, when we
consider his gigantic scheme. Aaron Burr planned the overthrow of his
country, and dreamed of rulership; such a vision were impossible in the
mind of any but a master of assemblies--an empire builder. Lucifer saw
himself a ruler above that of a Creator, as "all things were made by Him."
No wonder the inspired exclamation concerning him: "How art thou fallen,
O Lucifer." When the climax of his overthrow came, he "fell like lightning
out of heaven." The honourable cognomen is now lost forever; the glory of
holiness has given place to the dishonour of despair. In the language of
the poet, he "preferred to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven." This
light bearer of Paradise is still a prince, but in the dark regions of
endless woe; "ruler of the darkness of this world."
This archangel who felt himself capable of heavenly authority finds an
easier task here below. Speaking to the Master, hear his presumption and
audacity, "all these things (the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of
them) will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." What was
the condition named? The restoration of what he had lost: that the Son of
God pay him homage and obeisance. Baffled in this crowning stroke, he
slunk away only to study the vantage more discreetly, reinforce, and
reassert.
Let us keep in mind that intelligence and personality are not affected by
the status of character; magnetic power and influence over others are not
lost when the life is wholly given over to evil. Piety and holiness may be
displaced by treachery and hate, but the force of personality remains. If
any change takes place, the individual becomes more subtle and more
insidious in schemes to further selfish interests. If a righteous man,
endowed with unusual powers, fall into a life of sin, he carries over into
his wickedness all his former gifts and faculties--nothing is lost.
This proposition enables us to further appreciate the marvellous
capabilities of the fallen Lucifer. Besides the Trinity, there are none
superior in the universe. God allows His enemies, both men and devils, to
continue a proprietary control of their talents, whether they be one or
ten. There will be no devestments until the last shifting of the scene.
When we remember all the attributes, previous advantages, and present
opportunities of the greatest of all apostates, the conundrum of human
actions, individually and nationally, begins slowly to unravel. The fight
is not alone with men in sin, but with the "prince of the powers of the
air."
When Lucifer rebelled and met the just rebuke of God's wrath, all his
glory, power, and brilliancy became demonized. Then, through all the
millenniums there has been not one hour of relaxation; no armistice for
the invisible warfare. Just as saints grow in faith, vision, and divine
illumination, devils sink lower and lower; but at the same time develop in
skill and efficiency by a continual application of their debased energies.
It is therefore reasonable to believe that our "common Enemy" is far more
formidable than the day he was cast into the earth. Our ability to
encounter him successfully becomes a more hopeless struggle with the
passing days. If, in the days of Paul, it were expedient to have on the
"whole armour of God" to meet him, nothing short of "all the fullness of
God" is the paramount need to-day.
IV
DEVIL--SATAN--SERPENT--DRAGON
"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."--_Revelation xii. 7-9._
Names were significant in Bible times; they are given to-day at random,
but then names were indicative of character. When character changed, the
name changed: Jacob to Israel; Saul to Paul, etc. While the subject of
these pages remained the holy, shining light bearer of heaven, he was
Lucifer, but that name was lost to him forever. So varied were his
passions, characteristics, and powers that must be known by appropriate
names, and each, as given, designates some phase of his multiform
personality.
_Devil._ Not only did Lucifer lose name and character; he exchanged a
brilliant, glorious external appearance (to eyes that penetrate the
invisible) for one ugly, loathsome, beastly. If language can be
interpreted literally, the eye of inspiration and revelation sees him a
_Devil--sair_ in the Hebrew, "hairy one," "he goat," etc. The he goat, in
the Bible, stands for all that is low and base. Those who partake of the
_sair_ nature, in the Last Day, are called _goats_. He divided the sheep
from the goats. God teaches us spiritual lessons in all nature, especially
by the animal kingdom, and as the goat is a synonym for the lowest
instincts of the animal; we find a being created in the highest realm of
spiritual life sinking to the lowest level of brute life. If no further
delineation were given--no other name than Devil--the fall was from one
extreme to the other.
This cognomen carried further has a second meaning: _spoiler_, one whose
touch soils and besmirches, rearranges; bright spots are smeared with
black soot; flowers with sweet odour, after his blight passes over them,
send out a stench; hearts of purity are defiled and debauched; faces of
beauty become marred and ugly. Whenever and wherever it serves his
purpose, cosmos becomes chaos. He is a spoiler.
_Satan._ In this familiar title we see him in the character rôle which
dominates all his actions. As Satan he is the _hater_. Of all the evil
passions of the soul, hate is the most terrible. As manifested in human
relationships, the hater is a murderer. Somehow hate seems to be a
resultant of wrath, malice, envy, jealousy, and revenge. Hatred in the
bosom of the weak or cowardly affects only its possessor; but hatred
burning in the soul of one who is strong and courageous, nothing belonging
to the object of his hatred is secure: life, personal property, or
reputation.
We want carefully to note the full significance of hatred; then place
beside it the one who hates--yes, as no other being in all the universe
can hate. He is the father of haters; the tragedies of all kinds, filling
the world with terror, because of murders, bomb explosions, incendiaries,
poisonings, are but the scattered rays reflected and deflected from this
full orb of hate as he revolves in his sphere of darkness.
Satan hates God, hates the Holy Ghost, but the full force of his hate, of
necessity, is directed towards the _Son_ of God, his rival for place and
power. The supreme work of the Son was the Atonement; now, the interest
and anxiety of heaven has been transferred to this planet. The supreme
triumph of the Second Person of the Trinity was accomplished on the Cross
where He paid the price of human redemption. His energies are now directed
to the breaking down of all that was accomplished on the Cross. Every
movement, every motive, every virtue, coming directly or indirectly from
the merits of the Atonement, become at once the object of satanic hatred.
Therefore every inch of territory conquered by the gospel propaganda was
and is a victory over his hateful protest.
_Serpent._ At the very suggestion of this title our nature recoils. The
"nachash," and "zachal," mean "_fearful_"--"_creeper_," therefore a
fearful creeper. The snake is the most repulsive and dangerous of all
reptiles. There is a strange antipathy about a snake; his nature is so
still, so sneaking, so oily; the appearance of one produces an involuntary
shudder. Who has not felt the disgust at seeing men and
women--"charmers"--take a number of the sleek, slimy monsters from a cage,
and wind them around arms, neck, and body? The horror felt towards the
snake is not an accident; it was in the guise of a serpent the downfall of
the race was accomplished.
Men and women who are subtle, smooth, deceitful, treacherous, secretive
are called "snakes in the grass." Their plans and movements are under
cover; they strike or sting from an hidden covert. The serpent is
synonymous with the hiss, the blazing eye, the forked tongue, the poison;
once it catches the eye of a bird the poor thing may wail and flutter, but
it is powerless to escape. The bird is drawn into the jaws of death by a
strange magnetism.
This enemy of God and race is a serpent, slipping cautiously, noiselessly
through all the dark, tangled mysteries about us. No one can fathom or
interpret his cunning movements; we are stung, poisoned, charmed, fastened
in the slimy coils, and yet do not know it. We have most to fear from the
enemy who operates in the dark. This fallen archangel is never so
dangerous as when acting in the personification of a serpent.
_Dragon._ In the Hebrew it is "tannoth," _howler_--_jackal_; making a
noise like the howling jackal in the wilderness. Again we are appalled at
this title. The dragon is represented as a monstrous animal having the
form of a serpent, with crested head, wings, and tremendous claws;
ferocious and dangerous. The Scriptures have appropriated this fabulous
monster--believed to have existed in days of mythology as the most dreaded
creature on land or sea--to enforce and emphasize the danger of him who
seeks our destruction. He is called the "great red dragon"--or fiery
dragon, howling like a vicious jackal.
It was in this peculiar manifestation that he stood before the woman and
sought to destroy the Man Child as soon as He was born; then cast a flood
after her as she fled from his presence. The dragon incarnates himself,
and King Herod at once seeks to destroy the infant Jesus (Matt. ii.; Rev.
xii. 1-5).
V
DIABOLUS--DEMONIA--ABADDON-APOLLYON
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels."--_Matthew xxv. 41._
"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless
pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek
tongue hath his name Apollyon."--_Revelation ix. 11._
We now desire to analyze more minutely the Greek names Diabolus and
Demonia; reference was made to this distinction in a former chapter. In
the Authorized Version the two names are often translated or rather _used_
interchangeably; devil for demon, and vice versa. We read of a "legion of
devils," "seven devils," "cast out devils," "possessed with devils," etc.
Technically--literally translated, these statements are incorrect. Demonia
should never read devil--but _demon_; diabolus always means, not a devil,
but _the Devil_.
_Diabolus._ This name designates him more as to his ruling and authority
than to the elements of his character. We have noticed already the meaning
of Devil, but from the original word we get more explicit meaning as to
his rank of authority. As Lucifer we do not know his ruling rank, but in
his lost estate he ranks as Commander-in-chief. Whatever we may say of
him, the prefix, "arch," designating his angel rank, can be logically
attached: archspoiler--arch-deceiver--archaccuser--archslanderer, etc.
However, if accurately defined, diabolus means
_Calumniator_--archcalumniator; a propagator of calumny. Acting in the
capacity of calumniator, he seeks out and defames the innocent. He sends
out a million rumours daily which would be, if tangible, cases for libel
in any court.
_Demonia._ A demon--a fallen angel--evil spirit, an imp. Literally, a
_shade_--a dark spot, moving as noiselessly and rapidly as a shadow. The
many references in the New Testament to "devil," and "devils," should
always be _demons_; the great multitude, so often found in one place, come
from the innumerable concourse which constitute the "powers of darkness."
Shadow spirits, men and women who are controlled by these dark, shadowy
imps, "love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." The
transformation, as we learned, which took place with Lucifer was just as
great and radical with his angel followers; the difference was only that
of degree of rank.
_Abaddon-Apollyon._ We have coupled the Hebrew and Greek names together,
as each means exactly the same. We call the attention of the reader to the
variety of names, all of which are so nearly alike, but convey a
significant difference. Abaddon-Apollyon means _destroyer_. He has been
discussed as a "spoiler," but one who destroys carries the work farther
than the spoiler. As Abaddon or Apollyon he is the king of the abyss, or
"Bottomless Pit," and when he appears it is with purpose and equipment for
destruction. Just as God sent the "Destroying Angel" throughout Egypt,
bringing a curse upon Pharaoh for his hardness of heart, this mighty
messenger of the Abyss visits his destruction wherever and whenever he
finds, not the absence of the typical blood upon the door, but when he
finds it, or any evidence of allegiance to the One whose sacrificial blood
he seeks to destroy.
As Abaddon-Apollyon he assumes the part of Finisher of his task; when we
see him a _destroyer_, we have a full-sized photograph--leaving out not a
single line of countenance, or a single character or attribute of his
composite nature. He may soil, spoil, deceive, traduce, accuse, slander,
wound, etc., but the ultimate aim is destruction. "When sin is finished it
bringeth forth death." We see how the two great Rivals stand over against
each other in their respective spheres: "For this cause the Son of God was
manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." With the same
degree of purpose, the Devil seeks to destroy the work of the Son of God.
The Devil seeks to destroy truth, righteousness, virtue, religion, hope,
faith, visions of God, power of the Blood, thoughts of eternity and
heaven. Every beautiful, holy thing on earth he would destroy, leaving
behind only black, charred cinders where once were the flowers of Eden.
Just as he destroyed the earthly Paradise in the long ago, so he would
blot from our hopes and aspirations the Paradise of the soul. His ambition
and supreme joy would be to turn this world over to God blighted and
wrecked by his finishing touches, while hell echoed with triumphant
shouts--an infernal jubilee. Abaddon-Apollyon: archdestroyer.
VI
THE DEVIL A "BLOCKADE"
"Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again;
but Satan hindered us."--_1 Thessalonians ii. 18._
"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty
days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help
me."--_Daniel x. 13._
We find another striking interpretation couched in the title of devil. The
Church in its organization is called _militant_, because it is engaged in
a moral and religious warfare. The writings of Paul bristle with military
terms, as two mighty armies are contending and contesting for dominion.
Each army is fighting under a leader; the surging campaign has changed its
base of operation--the battle-field has been transferred from heaven to
this planet. The rivalry between Christ and Satan has, many times, changed
_modus operandi_, but the spirit of the contest and the end--all for which
they contend--change not.
The title-word of this chapter is not a Bible term; we appropriate and
accommodate it because of its military meaning. Strictly in keeping with
the use of terms, the "blockade" belongs to naval operations; but any
movement, reconnoitre, or countermarch, which interferes, hinders, or
hedges up the way of progress, is a blockade. A campaign ends in failure
because of obstructions thrown up, access to base of supplies cut off,
reinforcements thwarted in reaching the scene of activities, etc., convey
the idea set forth in the key Scriptures used giving emphasis to the
chapter heading.
The Apostle Paul had all the advantages of equipment; his intellectual
attainments the very best; he was a recognized leader of men, a chosen
vessel of the Lord, and full of the Holy Ghost. No man besides the Master
was more able to withstand the opposition of the "prince of darkness." Yet
Satan actually prevents him from going to Thessalonica to comfort and
strengthen the struggling church at that place--literally hedges up the
way.
A careful examination of the tenth chapter of Daniel gives us a
conversation between the prophet and a "voice,"--a "vision"--having an
appearance "like the similitude of the sons of men"; evidently an angel of
high rank, whose mission was to encourage Daniel, but he also acknowledges
that the "prince of Persia" hindered him from coming twenty days. This
mighty angel, it seems, was helpless trying to reach Daniel, until Michael
came upon the scene. It was Michael who led the triumphant battle against
him when he was overthrown in heaven. He alone was able to meet the
"prince of Persia," the _Devil_.
We can, therefore, understand how successfully Satan can hinder--blockade
the progress of righteousness wherever he chooses to concentrate his
depraved energies. Volumes would be required to record the worthy
enterprises in the Church of God which went down in failure, yet with no
tangible explanation. Sudden reverses, turning the whole current of
affairs, are daily happenings; revival efforts to reach certain
communities, certain individuals, find insurmountable hindrances. It is
the work of the "blockade."
Such occurrences are generally regarded as "unfortunate coincidents"
rather than a resultant of some deep-laid plans--invisible and impersonal.
A baby cries at a critical moment, a dog creates an uproar, the fire-bell
rings, the engine becomes disabled; landslides, swollen streams, sudden
illness, and many others similar, which are never credited to the proper
source or cause. The Bible concedes to Satan the dignity of being the god
of this world; therefore he must of necessity control, to some extent, the
physical phenomena, directing them to an advantage. We do not venture a
dogmatic position as to what extent the hindrances in the physical world
are due to his power; but the Bible most clearly teaches that he is an
obstructionist.
There are hundreds of ways and places where moral and religious blockades
obtain. It would seem that in the blaze of the last century of
civilization war would be impossible. Why could not our Civil War have
been averted? In the retrospect, we can see how easily it might have been
settled without such horror and bloodshed. The Hague with its millions of
endowment is grinding away on international troubles, yet arbitration
fails more often than it succeeds. But war continues, and all efforts in
that direction generally meet a "stone wall of opposition."
Must we conclude that all these lapses, coming in direct conflict with
human weal and happiness, are just "happen-sos"? Unthinkable! "Satan
hindered," declares the great apostle. "The prince of Persia withstood me
twenty and one days," says the angel.
VII
THE GREAT MAGICIAN
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil."--_Ephesians vi. 11._
"For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world."--_Revelation xvi.
14._
From the earliest records of history men have lived who seemed to possess
strange, occult powers. Magicians--performing miracles, setting aside,
apparently, well-known physical laws. Moses met the sorcerers and
magicians of Egypt in close competition. There are men to-day, on lecture
platforms, performing feats which are miracles; there seems to be no
visible explanation.
"The hand is quicker than the eye," it is said; watches are pounded to
pieces before your eyes, the fragments crammed into a gun; the gun is
discharged, and the watch will be hanging on a hook, running as if nothing
had happened. We once saw a man sewed up in a tarpaulin, placed in a huge
trunk, and the trunk strapped securely. In less than five minutes the man
came out from an enclosure where the trunk was placed; not one buckle
loosened, and not one stitch in the tarpaulin broken. Cannonballs are
taken from hats; live ducks, rabbits, and a dozen tin vessels are drawn
from one hat in rapid succession. Cards are made to jump out of the deck
when called by name. One magician laid his assistant on a table, cut off
his head with a large knife, lifted the gory head by the hair and placed
it on another table; then carried on a conversation with the severed head
in the presence of the astonished audience.
Every one knows these wonderful feats are done by some kind of magic, but
for all we can see they are done; the most astute observer cannot detect
the secret. The Apostle exhorts the believers to put on the whole armour
of God, to be able to stand (not to be swept away or captured) against the
wiles of the Devil. Then the Devil is a trickster--a sleight-of-hand
performer--a magician. One of his many methods to accomplish his purpose,
we find, is delusion: practicing sleights, tricks, and works of magic on
the gullibility of his victims.
How many unsophisticated men and boys have been robbed in daylight on a
street corner by some little "game," or trick, by a sharper. Farms have
been deeded away for nothing in return. Now, if we were to catalogue all
the tricks of all the conjurers of all ages, we have in this evil
chieftain a consummation, an embodiment of them all; he is not only a
magician, but the chief of them. He incessantly seeks victims more
astutely than the crook seeks the ignorant with a purpose of robbery.
Observe the text says, "wiles of the devil"; not one, but many; while we
are penetrating and avoiding one of his "wiles," behold, we are in the
meshes of another. Human intellect cannot fathom the feats of magic
performed in friendly entertainment, where every opportunity is given to
examine--then how much more are we at the mercy of séances concocted, not
to entertain, but to delude and capture.
The astrologers, soothsayers, and magicians; the clairvoyants, ancient and
modern, are insignificant compared with this great magician. Is he not
superior and supernatural, possessed with unearthly powers? Are there any
combinations and hidden laws of which he is unacquainted? Besides, no one
is more familiar with the weaknesses and susceptibility of human nature
than he. So astute and cunning are his "wiles"--tricks of magic--Paul
seems to feel that only the girdings and enduements of God, giving
spiritual illumination to the things invisible, can withstand them. The
antithesis of the Apostle's exhortation leaves no doubt in our mind as to
his meaning: if we strive and contend in our own wisdom, deception and
defeat are inevitable.
To be explicit, does it not look as if multitudes are under a
delusion--seeing things through distorted and false lenses--when words and
actions, by the best and truest people on earth, are seen as blatant
hypocrisy? Does it not look as if a sleight-of-hand expert were
manipulating the ideals of this pleasure-mad generation; hiding the true
character and dangers which lurk in every indulgence and excess? "Presto,
veto--change;" there you are, safe, satisfied, happy. "Spirits of devils,"
declares the seer of Patmos, "working miracles, going to the kings, and to
the whole world." The arena wherein he practices his deadly delusions is
the whole world. No places exempt; no peoples immune. The whole armour of
God is the only sure protection.
VIII
THE ROARING LION
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."--_1 Peter v. 8._
Thus far we have studied Diabolus under various titles and cognomens which
deal almost exclusively with the secret side of his nature: the propaganda
of hidden arts. The caption of this chapter will indicate quite a
different proposition. This title swings him into full view, stripped of
all deception and legerdemain. The lion walks up and down the earth,
showing no quarters, making no apologies for his presence. When he roams
in the forests, he is king; he allows no beast to interfere or question
his rights, and none dare to do it. He kills, tears to pieces, and devours
whatever he can catch; his roar strikes terror to all the forest dwellers.
The lion, therefore, is noisy; his approach is with loud demonstration.
There is something in noise that weakens and frightens; the keen clap of
thunder, the shout of an approaching army, the blast of ram's horns, the
loud proclaiming of the sword of the Lord and Gideon are historical
examples of victories by noise. The lion is also powerful; no other beast
has a chance in a match with him. One stroke with his mighty paw is death.
He walks about conscious of his strength; an ox or a buffalo are no more
his equal than a mouse contending with a cat. The lion is vicious; his
going forth has one definite object--"seeking to devour."
The lion presupposes that all the earth belongs to him; deer, antelopes,
panthers, buffaloes, horses, cattle, etc., have no rights or possessions
of which he feels under the slightest obligation to respect. The Devil
does not come out _in person_: hoofs, horns, claws, bushy mane--the
make-up of a lion, building up his kingdom by tearing down and destroying
men and institutions opposed to him. He does these things, as a lion, by
incarnating himself in men, evil combines, corrupt politics, vicious
society, the liquor traffic, the White Slave system, etc. As he
appropriates and embodies these institutions by entering in and possessing
the men who are leaders, he no longer acts as a conjurer or snake, but a
_Lion_. The fullness of the earth, and they that dwell therein, belong to
him, to use, desecrate, prostitute, kill, devour, or destroy, just so he
may best serve and satisfy his insatiable appetite. Cities are to be
officered and governed, not for the peaceful protection of their citizens,
but for plunder, boodle, and graft. Men who desire to be public servants
in deed and in truth must fight "a roaring lion." The man who steps to the
front with a desire to question and curtail the exploitations of the
"officials," the "traffic," the "gang," places his life at once in
imminent peril. Threats, black hand letters, pistols, poison, bombs, and
torches are the instruments boldly used to destroy the man or men who do
not believe that these human lions should be allowed to filch and devour
the privileges and possessions of others.
We find our "adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walking about,
seeking whom he may devour," has three methods which he uses according to
the exigencies of the case. It is first a "roar," a bluff, or bulldoze:
the threat of the "boss," whether he be a political boss, an
ecclesiastical boss, or a liquor boss, accomplishes wonders in coercion;
it frightens and cowers the weak-kneed and backboneless. The crack of the
slave-driver's whip brought the obstreperous negro into humble submission.
Men in office, in pulpits, in editorial rooms, have been awed into silence
by the roar of men "higher up." Then truth, righteousness, justice, and
conscience are crucified; and behind the scene leering devils hold a
jubilee of triumph.