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        The devil is a  

 personification of sin

        as embodied in 

       "sinful flesh"

 

 But pagan mythology was substituted for Biblical teaching, & "the devil" is claimed by "the church"  to  be "a fallen angel", God’s  enemy.

 

It  was not long before "grievous wolves" from without,   and perverse-speaking members from within,     corrupted the original truth  of  the Gospel,     Acts 20v28-31. The Apostle Paul  taught  also that the  only  thing which could keep disciples from this apostacy is the word of God, see v27,32.

 

One of these pagan heresies has become what is today a pillar of orthodox "church" teaching, "a fallen-angel devil".

The Bible does not teach such things, but it does teach that the devil is a personification of sin as embodied in "sinful flesh". To verify that this is indeed true Bible teaching, let us compare the following four key verses:

 

Hebrews 2v14 - "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil".

   (see page 2 for further explanation)

 

Hebrews 9v26 - "but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself".

 

Romans 6v23 - "For the wages of sin is death".

 

Romans 8v3 - "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin (mg. "by a sacrifice for sin"), condemned sin in the flesh".

 

So we are told that God in Christ has "destroy(ed) the devil" and "put away sin" & "condemned sin". The "power of death" was held by "the devil" and also "sin" - Romans 5v12,21; 6v23; Hebrews 2v14. Is it not evident that "the devil" is equal to "sin"?

 

The pagan beliefs in evil beings which tempted mankind gave rise to the apostate "church" teaching of "a fallen-angel devil". This teaching has been a source of vast income, especially to the Roman "mother", but also to her protestant daughters (Revelation 17v5). Vast amounts of money have been extracted over centuries from their ignorant followers, in exchange for a promised absolution from their sins. The "grievous wolves" prophesied by Paul (see above) and Jesus ('signs' - the 6th) have certainly "not spar(ed) the flock".

How this came about is explained in 'departure'  & 'proverbs' - page 2.

It reminds us of Hosea 4v8RV, where "they feed on the sin of my people" - i.e. they made the sins of the people a source of personal profit.

 

Personification is a graphic way of teaching us important lessons. It is used throughout the Bible, e.g. of wisdom in Proverbs 9v1-3. The word translated "devil" signifies in the original Greek, "false accuser", and it is this meaning which is being brought to our notice.

 

Why should this be so? To answer this, we must go back to the beginning, when sin entered the world through man's disobedience. "The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty" - 2nd Corinthians 11v3 - "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field" - Genesis 3v1. The "subtilty" consisted of mixing truth and error, & also in the process, the serpent falsely accused God - cp Genesis 3v4,5.

 

This is where the aspect of 'devil' = 'false accuser' originated, & it is calculated to force upon our minds the enormity and sinfulness of falsely accusing God. Jesus contrasts "the truth" which He had "heard" of "the Father" with the "lie" which the Jews had heard of their "father the devil", John 8v26,27,31,32,44,45,47. This shows the two types of mind - the spiritual mind which accepts the Truth, and the carnal or fleshly mind, which rejects it - see Romans 8.

Link to 'promises' concerning the 2 "principles" & the 2 "seeds".

 

The lie which the Jews believed was that Jesus had been born of "fornication", thus rejecting that God was His Father, John 8v41,42. Notice that Jesus refers to "the devil" as "a liar, and the father of it" in John 8v44. Also "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own". These words are a commentary upon the events of Genesis 3, where the lie of the serpent resulted in sin and death, cp Romans 5v12.

 

This is all very easily understood, but superimposing pagan/"church" beliefs upon the Divine record results in total confusion - i.e. "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT" (Revelation 17v5) - link to

'God'      'spirit'      'mortal'

 

'satan'      'baptism'.

 

The process of apostacy  is traced out in 'departure'. It is significant, when 'diabolos' cannot be made to appear as "a fallen angel", this word is translated correctly! 1st Timothy 3v11; 2nd Timothy 3v3; Titus 2v3...see similar inconsistency with 'satan'. The Apostle Paul testified that it really was a "serpent", as also stated in the Genesis record - 2nd Corinthians 11v3 cp Genesis 3v1-5,14,15. No imaginary being masqueraded as a serpent!

 

We read "the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty", & "the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field". It was capable itself! God stated to the serpent "Because THOU hast done this.." - Genesis 3v14.

 

Being only a serpent, "there (was) no truth in him" - John 8v44. He tried to mix truth (Genesis 3v5) with a lie (v4). With the adoption of the serpent mind, "the devil" became "sinful flesh" (Grk. "flesh of sin"). This is how "God...condemned sin in the flesh" in the Sacrifice of Christ. By accepting the Gospel call, we can be freed from sin forever.

 

In the same way as "the devil" is a personification of sin as embodied in "sinful flesh", "the satan" is a personification of all those who falsely claim to represent the Truth - link to

      'satan'  and  'proverbs' - page 2.

 

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