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CHAPTER VI

SATAN AND HIS KINGDOM*

BY MRS. JESSIE PENN-L EWIS,

LEICE STER ., ENGLAND

I. SATAN'S 1 OR IGIN AND H10ME

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Th.e Scrip1tuiies give but veiled glimpses ,of his origin and home, for their p1urpose is mo·re expre ssly to reveal God in Hi s character; and Chri st as the Redee1n1er of men; with the hi st1ory of th 1e redeeme,d from the fall of Ad .am, their salv.a­tion through the Cross, and their eternal destiny, when 1Christ shall h.ave '' .abolished all rul ,e and all .authority and p,ower'' ( 1 Cor. 15: 24), contrary to the reign of God, and G1od Himself sha.11 be A'll in all. ·

10ur Lord . says of Satan, ''he was a mu.rderer from tl1e beginning'' (John 8: 44·) and Jo 1h11 says of him that he ''sinnet l1 from the beginning'' 1

( 1 John 3 : 8).

II. SATAN'S POSITION AND CHARACTER •

In regard to the positi ,on arid charact ·er of Satan we know that he is th.every embodiment of a lie., for ''Thete is n.o t.ruth in him . . ·. he is a liar, and the ,father of it," .said th·e

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Lord+ The various names by which he is described in 'the Scriptures reveal his ,power., · Fallen though he be, he is cal'led

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by the Lord Jesus no less than three tin-1:es1 the ''princ 1e of 1

th ·is world'' 1(John 12: 31; ·14: 30; ·116: 11), 'thus plainly rec­ognizing his rule over · the earth .~ That he. is a personage of rank and p,owe:r we learn from Jude: ''Michael, the a·rch­ange't, when contending with the devi1,. he disp·uted about the

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1The Warfare with. Sata .n and the Way of Vic,lory.'' Publishe,d by Marshall Brothers, 1.0 Paternoster Row, London, E . C.,

England.

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Satan an<! His Kingdom 49 •

body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing ju dg-•

tnent, but said, The Lord rebuke thee'1

' (Jude 9). He is al so called the ''god of this age'' ' (2 C1or. 4: 4, margin), for me11 obey and worship him, even unconsciously, when they do not obey and worship the Creator ,.

The fallen archangel is moreover described as the ''prince ?f the power of the air'' ( Eph. 2 : 2), meaning wicked spir -1t·ual powe·rs dwelling in 'the aerial heav 1ens, fo·r i't seems the ''Satanic confederation has its seat in the atmosp ,heric heaven

in the spaces above and around our world'' ( Seiss). T.hat the ''prince of th~ power of the air'' has power ( when per ­mission is granted) to wield the forces of tl1e air we see in the history of Job; for at his bidding ligh tning fell froin heave11 to consume the flocks of the faithful servant of God, and he caused a wind to b1low Job's hot1,se down and kill l1is children. In relation to his att acks 11po1n tl1e children of men the prince 0 1f this worl ,d is called the ''tempter'' ( 1 . Thess. 3 : 5) , beca us,e it is his fi 1endis 'h d eligh 't to tempt others f ro1m loyal obedience to God. , And he is named '·'th~ ,devil'' ' ( 1 Timf 3: 6, 7) a word never used in the plural, and always, and only, of Satan himself. ' 'The Hebrew name .Satan occurs in the New Testament thirty-five times interchangeably with ·the G1·eek Diabo 'los, which is also used thirty-five times. The Word Diabolos signifies ''separator and sl,anderer'' (Black- . st,one),, or ''malignant accus,er.'·' Satan is the great sepa:rator, and he separates by slandering. He separated the race of tnan from God in Eden, a11d ever since he has been separa ·ti11g 111-en f'rom each other, with hatred, malice, envy and jealousy. Ile is especially named t~e ''accuser of the brethren'' (Rev. 12: 10), and \Ve find him also described as ''the great . dragon,'' the ''old serpent,'' and the ''deceiver of the whole inhabited

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earth'' ' i t ... • t; !I

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That the · adversary still has the world under his rule, is un-mistakably shown in his attack upon , the . Lord Jesus in the Wilderness. The Lord was Jed, under the cOns·t~int of the ,

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50 The Fi,nda:me1itals •

Holy Spirit ', into the wilderness to be ''tempted of the devil,'' and after other ten1ptations, the devil showed Him ''a11 th 1e ki,ng,doms of the inhabited earth. And the devil said unto H ·im, To T 'liee will I giv:e 1all this authority, and the, glory of them: for it hath be,en deliv 1er,ed t1nto me; and to whomso rever I will I give it. If Thou therefo 1r1e w·ilt worship before me, it sl1all all be Thine'' (Luke 4: 5, 6, 7, 1nargin).

What a daring condition to put to tl1e Son of God. The fallen archangel is craving for worsh .ip ,still .

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The extent ,of His 1claim to ''all the kingdoms of thle inha,b• ited earth'~ the Son of God did ,not deny, and la·ter ·the L 1o·rd plain1y speaks of Satan's kingdom. '''If Satan also is divid,ed against himself, how shall his kingdom stand''? (Luke 11 : 18.) And He adds, ''The strong man fully armed guard .. eth his own court, ,'' until ''a Stronger than he'' comes upon him, and sets his cap,tive free. , How fitti.ng t.here,fore the peti­tion, ''D 1eliver us f ro,m the evil ,one'' (,Matt. 6: 1,3) ! John a·lso emphasizes the universality ·Of Satan's rule ,, for he writes, ''The whole wor ·ld lieth ,in the evi'l one'' ( 1 John 4 :19) it is sunk in -the darkness which is his s,phere, and is under the rule of the '"'world-rulers of this darkn .ess'' (Eph~ 6: 12)., The .Scripture make .s no di.stinction between high and low, or be­tween cultured and ign1orant, wh1en 'it S'tate:s that the ''who 1le worl .d' ·' hea,then a·nd Chri .stendom lies ''in"' the realm of

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the evil one. ·

• In . heathen lands; the deceiver is dari~g in his tyranny,

1101,ding men and wom~n in gross and op1en sin. In civilized countr ·ies, the god of this .age needs 1 must veil h.is w1orking. In thes i1e last d.ays, however, he is beginning to more openly manifest himself a.s the prince of· the worl ·d. He is, falllt]iariz­ing people w·ith his, name. Boo·ks to be poput ,ar must be about _ him, a~d in f'ashion's realm serpents have bee~ the favo ,rit~ ornaments of dress 1 while palmistry, clairvoyance, p1Janchett.e, .an.d O'ther m1eans o,f intercourse with_ the S'pirits of evil, abound on 1every hand. · ·

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The adversary has also his organized governments, which the Apostle Paul describes as ''principalities • • • powers • •

1 • S1overeigns , of tl1is present darkness' '' ,(Eph. 6: 12,

C. H.). We read of ''Satan's throne'' (Rev .. 2: 13); of ''bis ministers'' (2 Cor. 11; 15) ; of his ''principalities'' and hi,s ' . 'powers''; and of his hosts of ''spirits of evil" (Eph. 6: 12,

C. H.) in the heavens. Daniel's account of his interview with the messenger from God supports the view that these princi- · Palities and powers o,f Sata ,n are given charg 1e, O'f specified 1coun­tries; for the Satanic ''prince of Persia'' witl1stood the heavenly rnessenger, who said that on his return he would ,again have t,o meet with the same Prince, together with the ''Prince of Greece'' (Dan. 10: 13, 20). Satan tl1erefore reigns over an aerial kingdom of hierarchies and spiritual powers, and a kingdom on earth in the world of men, and he governs by rneans of an organized go 1vernment.

But let us not forget t11at all thes,e hosts are compelled to acknowledge the Sovereign Lord of the Universe! Unbelievers • tn God ,ar,e alone to be found on earth, for the powers of evil ''believe and shudder'' (James 2: 19), knowing that they are reserved ttnto judgment. ~ · .

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III. SATAN'S S,YSTEM OF RELIGION ,

In his organized government the adversary has also a religion for those whom he can delude and decei,ve, showing his perfect mimicry of the worship of the true God •

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WORS1H IP OF IDOLS •

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In 1 Corinthians , one aspect of Satan's religion is revealed as we are shown what idol-worship actually means. They who Would walk in fellowship with ·God must ''flee from idolatry,'j lest they would hold ~' communion. with demons.'' They dare not ,partak 1e of the ''table of the Lor~,'' an·d of the ''table of demons.'' ( 1 Cor, 10: 19-22, C. H.). The matter was vital to the Corinthianst as it now is to native Ghristians in heathen

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lands ., · for of ten times the meat offered for s.ale had first bee.n offered to idols, and soine of the Corinthian Christians had accepted inv ·itations to f east ,s celebrated ·in # the tem ple of heathen gods - feasts which were acts of idolatrous worship. Thus we see how tl1e fallen archangel not only dec·eives, and ho 'lds in darkness the human race, but he adds to their destruc· ti.oln, by seeking to meet t~1e desire for an object of worship which . lies dormant in every breas 1t. . ·

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· OUTWARD PROFESSION OF GODLINESS •

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· But apart from direct Satanic worship,. Satan has o·the r I

ways of meeting the need for .some rel ·igion. Paul writes to the Roman .s, 1''Thou that ab.ho,rrest idols, dost thou commit sa 1crilege '?'' (Rom .. 2: 22, margin )1 as he shows that no out--

. wa rd rite or ceremonial f ulfi1lment of the law 'is acceptable to God. Satan know .s this 1

, and therefore persuades men that outwa ,rd ob·edience to som,e creed is enough, thus deluding multitudes , into a ·false peace by causing them to rest upon an outward ceremony or form of · words. · . In the Lord's messrage to the chLtrch at Smyrna, He spoke of thos 1e who ''say they are Jew s, and ar 1e no.t, but are the syna.gogue of Satan'' 1(Rev. 2: 9) .. It appears by this that the adversary ·ha s not only a religion which gives l1im worship through mat 1erial images, but t.hat hi,s ''synagogue'' or congre·

.· gati ,on is made up 1 of professors of religion who are · without \ the inward truth. John writes, ''If we. say that we have fellowship with Him, an 1d walk in darkn 1ess [i. e. in sin], we lie, and do n·ot t·he truth'' ( 1 John. l :. 6, A. V.) ; arid the mos·t

· severe wor ,ds th,at ,ev1er passe ·d. the Jip1s of Christ were His sea.thing exp 1osures ,of the Pharis 1ees. ''They .say an.d do not'' He sai,d, and 'lo1utwardty 1app1ear righteous unto men,,'' ' when inwardly full of hypocrisy. , He tol,d them they were of

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their ''fath ,er 'the d,evil,'' a.nd calle 1d. them '' !serpents," and · the ''otisprin .g of ·Vipers,, (Matt. 23: 151

). And y 1et the Pharisees . · claimed Goel as thei'r Fa.ther, an,d wer,e the ,straites,t s,ect in

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Sata1:i and His Kingdom • .

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Israel in the outward fulfilling of the law! !The Lord 's strong words make it a.ppear that Satan's invisible ''church'' is ~lied with those who make religion a cloak while they are really his subjects. ' ·

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SATAN'S DOCTRINES •

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that the Holy Spirit had expressly told him that in the latter days the adversary Would seek to draw many away .from the faith by the teaching of spirits inculcating ''doctrines of demons'' ( 1 Tim. 4: 1, m.) 1 • So that Satan has ''doctr ,ines'' as well as sys1tem of worship· . a ''cup, .'' a ''table, .'' and a ''synagogue I'' Pau] said that the teaching would be given througl1 men who Would profess to be what they were not, and whose conscience s

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would be seared as with a hot iron. . -

These ''teachings of demons," through false teachers acting under their control ., had alr ,eady b1egun in the first centur ,y, and seducing spirits were evidently at work in the church at Thyatira drawing servants of God from their Lord througl1 the ''deep things of Satan' ' (Rev. 2: 24). One calling her­self a prophetess was leading souls astray, teaching them to ''eat things sacrificed to idols.'' The Lord's , complaint · wa s that , the . church .suffered these things to be in its rnid.st­things upon which He pronounced the most awful warning of

· cettain judgment. Satan's religion has always one clearly defined mark in the omission of the Gospel of Calvary. And by this test all ''gospels'' · that are not the Gospel may be recognized ! · ·The atoning death of the Son of God ; His propitiation for sin ; His blotting out of sin ; ,Jdis deliverance from the power of sin by the severing power of the Cross ; His ca,11 a£ the blood-redeeme 1d sou] to the Cross j.n llttm ,iliation o,f s.elf, and sacrifice fo,r others -Min brief,. all that Calvary tneans, is einphatically repudiated, or else always carefully omitted, in the doctrines pf the seducing spirits which are evolved in be11 ! Let everyone thus test the tenets of The-

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S4 • Th,e Fundamentals

osophy, of Christian ( ?) Science., and ,all oth ,er teachings no,v being 'poured into tl1e world b.y spirits of evil, w 110 d10 not hesitate to appropriate · for their purposes the very language· de scribing th 1e eff,ects, and blessings o.f the Gosp·el.

It cannot always be said that there is no me,ntion of the. Cro ,ss (and in his late.r workings, even of the Bloo,d of 1Christ), in Satan' S1 religi,o,us teaching, but it is . the , C,ross as o-nly an outward symbol without the inward power~ for he kn,ows that it is only the re .al acceptance 10f the deat]1 of Christ a or Cross of Chris .t which saves from sin and d 1eliv­ers the s9ui f ro ·m the power of Satan .

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IV. S,ATA .N'S S1UBJECTS

''The whol 1e world · lieth in th 1e evi] one," declare ,s the Apos tle John, but it is of the s1upremest · imp ,ortance to the , prince of this wo·rld that those wl10 dwell in his reahn should not know it. To .ke,ep men ignorant of thei "r . posi .tion he bl'inds their minds! ' ''T 'he god of this wor]d hath · blinded th ,e minds . [ m., tho ·ught ,s] of th .e unbelieving, , that the light of the Gospel

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. . • should ilo1t dawn upo,n thcn1'' (2 Cor. 4: 4 ). - · The adversary dreads the light of God, for light reveals

things as they are, both in the natural and in the spiritual world . '''Ye shall know the truth, and the 'tru .th shall make . you fr 1ee'' (John 8: 32) '. The truth about the love of God to men, of men a-s sinners needing a Saviour, and of God's gift of a perf ec,t Sav ,iour when re.ally apprehended by th~e soul, mus ·t set free, and so the adversary hides the truth from his Cap­tives. They are kept ''darkened ·in their understanding'' and are thus ''alienated from the lif 'e of God because of ' the · ignoran ,ce that is in them'' (Eph .,. 4: 18). \. .

That the truth must reach the , Understanding, to be e:ffec-•

tua] in de]i:vering the soul is evident from the Lord's words that the good groun 1d which rec,eived the seed was in, the one ''that heareth the Word~ and understandeth it'' (Matt. 13: 23; see also Col. 1 = 9; 1 John S : 20). The adversary therefore

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Satan and His Kingdom 55

labors to keep the understanding darkened, blinding the mind With ( 1) wrong · thoughts about God, (2) prejudices of a11 kinds, ( 3) philosophy of earth, ( 4) false reasonings concern -ing spiritual things, or else he occupies the thoughts with ~arthly things, earthly idols, or the cares and pleasures of this life. The Spirit of God alone can defeat the evil one., an 1d destroy 'the veil which darkens me,n's minds , ..

The adversary seeks to snatch away the Word 1of tr1,th. •'When · anyone heareth . the Word • . . and . underst .andeth • it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away'

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' (Matt. 13: 19) . . The adversary, or his minions, attends every preach­ing Orf t·he Word of truth, and when it does not enter the Understan 1ding it is easily snatched away. Once the smallest seed of ' the Word of trutl1 en·ters the understanding it is sure to bring forth fruit in its season. unless it is choked by other things entering in.

_The adveisary keeps his subjects in a false peace. ''The strong man fully armed guardeth his own court,', and ''his goods are itl peaCe'' (Luke 11: 21). Here the adversary is pictured as in full control of the darkened sinner, keeping him in peace, and the sinner is guarded carefully by the ter­rible one who is _"fttily armed'' ' to meet every attempt to deliver the captive from his bonds. The poor soul resents his peace being disturbed, and cries, ''Let me alone,'' but the time comes when the ''St ,ron ,ger than he'' the Man of Calvary . lays hold of the captive soul, and he is deliVered ''out of the power of · darkness, and translated • •. • int·o ~he kingdom of the Son'' ( Cot. · 1 : 13 ) . . , , .

The adversary counter/ eits the true work of God, '' · ile tnen slept, hjs enemy came, and sowed tares also among the wheat'' (Matt. 1.3: 25, 38, 39) . The ''tares are the sons of the evjl . one • • . the enemy that sowed them is the dev·il. 1:,. , ·rne attention of the . world must be dr1aum to the toun .terfeits, and the true living · seed of. God hidden, for the ·tares look like the wheat until the ~hne of f rui .t 1 And God

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Jooks On I ''Let both grow together till the harvest," He cries, for the tares cannot be uprooted without danger to the grow- ·

· ing wheat. And the adversary also works on l The Lord's wheat, and the adversary's tares; the true and tl1e co,unter­f eit; are always found side by side throughout the inhabited eart ,h. · ·

We must face the fact that the Scriptures decla're these th.ings to be true concerning all men, be tliey high or low, rich or poor, cultured or ignorant. There i'S no trace given of neutral ground. The Scripture ''hath shut up all things under sin'' (Gal. 3; 22) that ''every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God'' (Rom. 3: 19, · A. V.). ''He that doeth sin is of the devil'' ( 1 John 3; 8) . The Divine life which comes from God, and is ·implanted in · the child of God, does not sin, for the good tree bears good fruit. The fallen life must also bring forth its own fruit of sin. Sin in greater or lesser degree it is true, but sin as God calls sin.. We are children of the one by whose life we live. Children of God if His life is imparted to us, or ''children o,f the ,devil'' if we live under his control. ).. ·

The arch~fiend has studied the f alien Face of Adam for many thousand years, and knows how to allure his subjects. Among the sons of men there are some with more spirit­ca. pacity than others, and these are the ones especially open to his snares, and most Jikely to become his too]s to wor.k· out his will. These souls would not be allured by the ''flesh,'" nor would vain philosophy an.d reasonings charm theitt. Beguiled, as the serpent beguiled Eve, by the fascination of . the knowledge of good and evil, he draws them on into unlaw­ful dealings , with the spirit-world, until some are given ''a

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spirit of divination'' (Acts 16: 16) li'ke the damsel at · Philippi,. o,r like Simon the sorcerer, and ar,c led into ''magical arts'" as in the days of Paul. . Such are the workings of the adver- .... "'"""'. sary today in spiritism, palmistry, erystal+gazing, · ancl such like things. ifn ,the twentieth century professed Christian ·

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1S1atan and His Kingdom

Peop,le are once more practising the •'abominations'' which · caused the Lo,rd to cast out the nations of Canaan be£ore Bis people Israel. Abominations whi~ Jehovah solemnly forbade Israel to touch. (Read Deut. 18: 9-12.) ·

But all is in f t1lfillment of the Apos 1t1e Pau]'s forecast of the latter days. The grievous times are upon us. Men are ''l rovers of self, lovers of money, . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lover s of God; holding a form of godliness ,'' · While denying the power thereof (2 Tim. 3: 1-6) .

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V. SATAN CONQUERED AT CALVARY r.

Satan was conquered at Calvary. The d·iso,bedienc,e of tHe first Adam ~as met by tl1e obedience of ·the second 'tne Lord from heaven. The punishment of death was carried out upon the s,inless One who took upon Him . the sins of the world , and died as die Representative Man. Th 1e fall en race of Adam 'Which God ,said must be ''blotted · out'' ( Gen. 6 :, 7, m.; Gen., 7: 23, m.), becau se , ''every imaginacion of · the thoughts of 1

the h.eart was only evil continually,'' was nailed to the Cross · • •

in th& person of the second Ada1n, and by the Cross the Lo,rd from heaven triumphed over the J),rince of darkness. · ~, -. .

Through ,death'., the very result of sin ; ''t"hrough death'' . · the very weapon by which the evil one held liis subjects in .

bondage; tlirough death the Princ e of Life destroyea ''him that' had the i:>ower of death, that is~ the devil'' (HeD. 2: 14)." Satan has fallen from heaven. · He was ''cast out," _his power · · destroyed, his kin'gdom shaken, at the place catted Calvary. I

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But though the a,dversa;ry was con . uered at Calvar ,y and cast down from li.is throne 0£ powe!", He ·is left at large whi16 ~he ·proclamation of the victor'y iS sent throughout liis <lon'liri-1ons, for the purpose of ·giving the choice of masters to every human being. How bitterly the adversary ·resists the work Of the Holy Spirit in men as their eyes are opened t the t~tfi I But far more keenly does he reSist the f u11 ···enli'ghtenment of the believer which makes him so possessed by 1:be H ly Spirit

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that ·he becomes an eq.ui,pped and aggressive warrior in the army of t.he Lord. .. . .

VI . . SATAN'S DEVICE ,S .AGAINST THE FULL DELIVERANCE 10F Hrs CAPTIVES •

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~ Note some of the ways . in which the adversary resists the full deliv1e1·anc·e of the soul after the light . ,of the Gospel has dawned upo11 him:

He seeks to keep back tl1e s·oul from full surrender to God. ''Ananias, why hath Sa ,tan filled thy heart to deceive the Holy Gho .s,t, an .d to keep back part .. • .. ?'' ( Acts S : 3, m.) It was ·when all were p1lacing · thei ·r possessions entirely at the dispo sal of the Lord! Ananias la·id part of his p,ossessions at

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the Apostle's f'eet, pretending that it was ''all''! Peter, filled. I

with the Spirit discerne 1d the truth, ,and his stern words at once unveil the source of the· sin t Satan had ''filled his heart'' to make · him ''keep ba 1ck part .. " Keep , back part for self, is the tempter ,'s whis ,per, for something kept for self giv.es p,lace to tpe deyil, an<;l keeps the Redeemer f .rom His Throne in~ the heart. , .

He resists the r·e,moval of the filthy garments .spotte·d by the, flesh.· ''S ,ata~ stand ·ing a·t his right hand to be his adv~r­sa,ry'' (.Zech. 3 : 1 ,) ~· Joshua is seen standiqg before the 'Lor ,d clothed in filthy .ga1,·1n,ents with Sata .n as hi.s adversary. E,ven ·

- . so does the devil t 'es,ist every 1child of God. as h,e stands before the Lord s1eeking .t 10 be clothecl. ·with ,change of raiment. ,

Clothed in the · ga1wments s·potted by ·the flesh, the redeemed one, stands iri, .·dumb helplessness ~ef ore the Lord. The , simple words, , ''~be · L:ord r,ebuke the.e, 0 Satan,'' are spok,en. and the

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f,oe i~ silenced, . ~he soul seeking . d,e·liverance . is here shown ·" - it

the .way of victory over ~he adversary! J ·ust as ~e are, we must stand before the ~ord ~n our deep needt and count upon Hitlli ·~~ reQtlke the ~vii on.e, , . . ·

. . He ·KSes others , .to tempt us from t,he way ·Of th.e Cr1oas. ''l3e it f a'r· :from T

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he~, Lorcl. • ., . But He turned _ and

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said unto P 'eter:, Get thee behind Me, Satan'' (Matt. 16: 22, 23). When the soul has yielded all ih full surrender, and in dumb helplessness ceases from his own e:ff orts to save him­self, he knows by the Holy Spitit that he must take the Cross, and deny himself, if Christ is to see of the travail of His

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soul, and be satisfied. But ''Be it far from thee," cries the adversary, through the lips of even servants of God, who have dimmer visions o,f the things of God, and know not the eternal ]ios,s · to 'the soul who liste,ns to1 their plea. But ,:'Get thee behind me, Satan,'' the redeemed one must cry as he looks be·hind the h'uman VO'i,c,e, and see,:s the adver ,sary o,f God. .

He inflames the life of natu,re i,nt() diWion and strife. "If ye have bitter jealousy and faction in · your heart • . . {it] is earthly, natural ~or aninlal}, devilish'' (Jas. 3: 14, 15, m.). · · ·

Jaines points out that all ''jealousy' ' and ~'faction'' has its source in the life which he calls animal, a11d ''devilish'' I 'Satan

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is sh 1own here to be the real power working through the fall en life of nature. Possibly when the believer has taken the Cross, for himself, circumstances arise when ''loyalty · ciemands that he should sta ·nd up for a friend I'' · 'The spirit of f a,ction 1comes in, or jealousy for others, and the adversary triumphs. The :Apostle says that the wisdom which is from above is ''without Partiality.'' All faction, all jealousy fort ''own,'' in f.riends, or denomination, is instigat.e,d by the evil one to k_eep the believer in the sphere lying nnd·er h.is rule. · · · · ·

The wiles of the devil concerning ''rev.elations.'' ''I know a man i'n Christ . ,. . caught up into para ,dise'' (2 Cor. 12: 2, 4 ). ''I will Jove him, ·and will manifest Myself unto hitn'' (John 14: 21 ), is . a promise made by·· the Lord on the eve of His passion. There is a moment when the ·_promise is fulfi lled, and Christ reveals Himself to the obedient ·heart, and the believer knows the Risen Lord~. To =some ' He is ntanifested in light abOve the brightness' of the .sitn, as to Paul in a wondrous heavenly Vision, a:nd others are but Cbn-

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60 The Fundamentals

scious of His Presence in a peace and joy unspeakable. In any case the glorified Christ now . becomes a living reality to

· th ,e soul. What are the wiles of the adversary now b1ut an '

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attemp~ to personate the Lord 1 The believer must know tl1at the evil one can fashion himself as an angel of light, and work With all ''power and signs and lying wonders '' (2 Thess. 2: 9) to lead a.stray the ve1·y e1ec't ,. ~

: . We need to walk ca ref u.lly witl1 God at this s~age of the spiritual .life, not coveting wonderful experiences, but ra·ther an ever -deepeµing . conformity to ' the death of Jesus ( Phil. 3 ! 10), so that the life of Jesus may be manif~sted (2 Cor. 4: 10, 11) .to all .around. ''Visions an1d reve lations 1

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given to th~ soul for it.s own en j 1oyment, but for s,ome, ,defi.nite purpose, as with the Apo.s.tle Paul when .he wa .s stoned in Lystra; called to Macedonia; . or needed clearer guidance to remain in Athens. · ·

. · . The 'll.!iles concerning the voice of God. ''The sheep , fol~ _ low Hi111, for they 1,<:no,w His voice, . • • . they know no,t the voice of strangers'' (John 10: 4, 5,). The Lord does speak to I-Iis children, and makes then1 ·to know· His . voi·ce from the

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~oice of strangers~ The,y know it as a b.abe knows its mot ,Jier1 s •

.voice; bu~ like the babe they may not be able to say how or wl1y. Whe .n the 'believer is brought by the Spirit ·into t·he Sp~rit-sphere, and Christ is manifested to him, o,ne of the first results is a knowledge of the voice of the Lord, in a .

way the soul has never realized before. The adversary knows tl1at the believ~r . ha.s but little k.now1edge of his _ foe, so the wiles are · soon pl1ann·ed to counterfeit the voice, of the Lord, so as to con.fuse or to mislead the soul, either ·to tkstroy his

.faitli in the guida~e . of t 1he Spirit, or els.e to lead him· in obed_ience to , the voice of the devil, and in strong delusion to

" . believ·e a f ,ie. . . · ~

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The believer ·who ·would overcome must now know how to . '

distinguish the voice of the Lord from the voice of _the foe. This Jnay be done by . its effect, and by its object. Th~ voice of .a;:;,_

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the Lord brings a deep calm over the spirit, whereas the voice of the 1devil 10,ften . c.auses 1C·onfi1si.on, restles ,sness, a.gitat·i1on and Uncertainty. The voice of the Lord is invariably in accord with the teaching of the Word of God, although the adver­sary also can quote Sc.ript ure, but it is usually texts with the portions omitted which safeguard, or interpret the whole, or else· h,e uses isoliated words wrenched f ro1n the context which explains them ! The wiles of the adversary are the most subtle, and likely to succeed, in the early days of the life in the . Spirit-sphere, for as th ,e believer matures in the knowl­edge of God, the ''mind of Christ'' becomes the mind of the one closely in fellowship with God. It is well that the believer should understand this, lest he giv,e advantage to the enemy by falling intO discouragement, or depression, when the transition from childhoo ,d to manhood tak ,es ·p,lace, and God is tieaching· him how to use his spiritual senses, discerning good and evil.

(Heb . . 5: 14.) The wiles concerning guidance. ''As many as are led by

the Spirit of God, these are sons of God'' { Rom. 8 : 14) . There is scarcely any subject connected with the spiritual life rnore difficult to, explain, and more misunderstood than . the subje ct of guidance! The words, ''I was 'led' to do this or that," are so often used when there is no evidence of any lead" ing at all. There are many wiles of the adversary around the subject. One tactic of the evil ·one is to make souls confused and distracted over what is the will of G1od; others he 1d.eludes into throwing aside all use Of their judgment and knowledge, to act upon some isolated text, or some ''thought'' that came to them in prayer; others are beguiled into an attitude of judgment ttpon the walk of others, or ·else into a position not far short of infallibility, though they would not use the word. Our te:xt gives the principal mark of the true ·guidance of the Lord. ''Led by the Spirit'' means that He deals, and does

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not drive or ·force, therefo 1re the soul · must t·ake heed not to force itself to any course of action which is repugnant to it,

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62 The Funda1ne1itals

that is, pre-supposing that the will is surrende,·ed to God, as ready to take any cour:sie iinm .istakably .shoivn to be His wilJ.

Then let us understand, too, that as the life of Chri st 1natur 1es in the be}i.eve·r, the Spirit leads more from witk in by the working of life, which manifests itself as simply and naturally as the life of 11ature. Wl1en the 'believer becomes a ''full grown .man'' (H .eb. 6: 1,1 R . . V. tn.), with ,heart and

· will under the con1plete control of the Spirit, the new life will increasingly work in him with less and less Perceived at:tio,n

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to his consciousness. As many as are led by the Spiritt in this way, are indeed sons of God, with spirit, soul, and body, working out His will witl1 ease and spontaneity. ( 1) They are ''guided by the skilfulness of His hands'' ( Psa. 78 : 72), leading them hour by hour into the path prepared for them. (2) They are guided by their faithfulness to God: ''The integrity of the up,right shall guide them'' ( Prov. 11 : 3) for they know what to do by the very instinct of right and wrong which God has plan ·ted within them. ( 3) The '~meek will He guide in j udglllent'' ( Psa. 2'5 : 9) , for He uses their renewed minds (Rom. 12: 2), yea, giving tl1em the very mind of Christ, which led Him to e.tnpty Himself, and be obedient unto death - -the death of the Cross. The soul that krtows this principle

1of sacrifice and self- 1effacement as the chara 1cteris ,tic o·f the life .

of Christ, needs no inner voice nor special guidance, to tell him what cou,.se he is to take while walking in this .pre.rent, ffll world!

The 1in~les con 1cerning '''libe,rty.' '' ''Ye have b,een called un,to liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh'' ( Gal. 5: 13, A. V.). The believer who has emerged into the life in the Spirit findf? himself free in a way he has never known before . It is just now that the evil one is ready with new wiles to ensnare the freed one, suggesting to him ( 1) ''You have liberty now to do anything, for you are free''; or (2)

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''You are under no man's control now, especially those who are in the flesh.'' And the adversary now does his best to

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Satan and His Kingdom 63

counterfeit the true freedom in Christ by inciting rebellion to those in authority, and fleshly , zeal under the narne of the liberty of the Spirit. But the Word of God shows that the liberty wherewith Christ makes us free is really freedom from slavery to sin, and to the evil one. The freed soul passes under law to Christ} under the perfect law of liberty, which is liberty to do right, instead of seeing what is right, and doing Wha~ is wrong. Liberty to obey God intsead of disobeying Bim.

The law of Christ con1es in here, and shows that there is a limitation placed to liberty by the conscience of the weak brother. The freed one is not only to be subject to others in authority for the Lord's sake, but is to take heed lest his liberty of action become a "stumbling block to the weak" (1 Cor. 8: 9). The Apostle Paul sets the example to the believer, and he wrote, "I have not used my right, but forego every claim, lest I should by any means hinder the course of Christ's glad-tidings" ( 1 Cor. 9: 12, C. H. and note). The nieaning of the word "claim" is ''to hold out against." He would not "hold out" for his rights, but forego everything · for himself rather than hinder the Gospel.

CONCLUSION

These wiles of the devil are those which will meet every believer who enters the sphere of the Spirit, and they are wiles Which cease to a great extent as-he progresses in the knowl­edge of God, and learns to know his foe.

The .preaching of the Cross is therefore the supreme need in this day of contact with the supernatural forces of the Unseen world, and conformity to the dead, of Christ ( Phil. 3 :10), rather than the craving for signs and wonders, is the safest objective for all who desire to press on in the fullest knowledge of the upward calling of' God in Chrtst Jesus our lorcL