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There was a time when there was no evil, when no foul spirit swept across the face of heaven ; when nothing in all the universe could suggest sin, and no possible temptation could arise to occasion it. Spirits thus created were not established in purity and piety. The whole angelic race were on probation. Capable of sinning, they were left, like our first parents, to their own free will, and there came a time when a choice had to be made. The multitude of spirits in existence at one time, must have been great, an " innumerable company," even a " thousand thous- and and ten thousand times ten thousand." None have been add- ed to the number of those who kept not their first estate since they were driven out, and those who remained faithful or have been created since have been confirmed in holiness. The sad riot in heaven will never be repeated. One disturb- ance in glory was enough. We notice one writer stating that the probationary state of the angels was either on this ancient earth or on some other district of the universe. Our own view is in strict accordance with the Scriptures, but the word, heaven, then might have included all the writer claims. The cause that brought about the terrible change in spiritual and heavenly aflfairs was pride. If we turn to the apostle Paul's advice to the youthful Timothy, we read that a bishop should nrii be a novice "lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the con- demnation of the devil." What was the beginning of evil ? What must its first emotions have been like ? What temptation could have been strong enough to have made love turn to hate, and holy obedience to selfish am- bition. ' The evil thought that gendered in the mind of this unfortun- ate being was an original product. There had been nothing like it in existence. It came from within, being neither the result of malformation, or insanity. Lust conceived in the court of supreme felicity aud brought forth that hideous monstrosity called sin. 6 There then appeared a wonder among the celestial orders, an arch- angel degenerating into an arch -devil — the sphinx in the history of heaven. Not only was the emotion of pride an outrageous thing in such a blessed place, it was contagions. This spirit could not keep it to himself, had no desire to be alone in the secret. How he managed to influence so many with his wn ideas of right and wrong is a mystery. On earth, with our fallen nature, it would be a popular movement. Socialism is an old theory, and a bad one. Self-exaltation in heaven meant hatred, jealousy, and anarchy just the same as it means on earth now. A desire to rise higher in the scale of heavenly grandeur possessed these perverted creatures. They ignored — if they were not ignorant of the fact — that rank and position there were neither by representation, election or possession, but were held as gifts from the crowned Eternal 1 All the angelic race were created into office to have and to hold for life. These positions could not be changed ; they could only be abolished by the Almighty Himself. When the fallen ones left, whether others were promoted to fill their particular places and enjoy their several degrees, or whether new ones were created for that purpose, or that their stations remained forever VEkcant, we cannot tell. It might be a matter of surprise to us that these created intelligences could have been so stupid as not to know or consider results. They must have been intoxicated with evil. When did he fall ? When did his dark shadow first pale the glory of eternity as he passed ? When did his honied voice first sing false notes in the harmonies of purity, holiness and bliss, or refuse to sing at all ? According to our ideas some time would elapse for the unrighteous leaven to work. Envy and revenge were stirred up in the capabilities of myriads until there was anarchy among many of that heavenly home — a precedent the aoarchists of to-day must accept, and one of which they need not be proud. ■ "■■■ IflitflliW^i^^- The supreme Ruler considered the case. There was no possibiUty of repentance on the part of the rebels, and as death was out of the question, expulsion was the only remedy. This could have been effected in a moment by one sweep of His omnipotent hand, but He chose -as he generally does in human affairs -that it should be accomplished by the use of means. The angels who remained loyal to their Creator and Governor were to be the rank and file in freeing their sin-blighted home of such an impious host. The archangel Michael was appointed commander- in-chief, and the first contest that ever was took place where everlasting peace prevails. No blood was shed -for it has never stained God's habitation and throne; it has only crimsoned His sin-cursed footstool. No lives were lost, so that the original number remained. It was a purely spiritual battle, and the weapons were, therefore, not carnal. Might was right : for the Divine power was their weapon of offense, and by the greater strength of the loyal and true the contest was decided. When it ended it was not only a defeat for the Devil and his angels -it was a complete and final expulsion from their former abode. •< for they prevailed not, ' neither was their place found any more in heaven." Milton describes this battle with all the force and eloquence of his fervent imagination. After various engagements, God sends His Son, who gains the glory of the victory. "Yet half His strength He put not forth, but checked His thunder in mid volley ; for He meant Not to destroy but root them out of heaven. The overthrow He raised, and as a herd Of goats or timorous flock, together thronged, Drove them before Him thunderstruck, pursued With terrors, and with furies, to the bounds And crystal wall of heaven : which, opening wide, KoUed inward, and a spacious gap disclosed Into the wasteful deep ; the monstrous sight Struck them with horror backward, but far worse Urged them behind ; headlong themselves they threw Down from the verge of heaven ; eternal wrath Burnt after them to the bottomless pit. 8 Hell heard the unsufferable noise, hell saw Heaven raining from heaven, and would have fled Affrighted ; but strict fate had caat too deep Her dark foundations, and too fast had bound. Nine days they fell : confounded chaos roared, And felt tenfold confusion in their fall Through his wild anarchy, so huge a rout Encumbered him with ruin ; hell at last Yawning received them whole, and on them closed ; Hell their fit habitation fraught with tire Unquenchable, the house of woe and pain." Where this fearful abode is we cannot tell. Hell has as muoh location as heaven. It is a place — a place prepared for the devil and his angels, where they are even now " reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." They ire not in rigid solitary confinement as prisoners, but as criminals bound to appear at tbe great assize when it shall be held. Isia called Tartarus, the " outer darkness " mentioned by our Saviour, and the " bottomless pit " of the Apocalypse. How long in time it took this apostate angel and his hosts to find out this planet of ours we need not enquire. His chain? were long enough, though tethered in hell, to reaoh thus far, but who knows what vast districts of this universe he and his legions may have traversed, and have left the imprints of moral ruin behind them. To this earth, then, he came, and here he still remains. This perverted creature is known in sacred history as Apol- lyon, the Destroyer, Lucifer, Son of the Morning, or the morning star — referring to his former position when he could sing creation's song, — the old Dragon, the Serpent, Satan, Belial, the tempter, Beelzebub, the prince of demons, the enemy, the accuser of the brethren, father of lies, a murderer, an adversary, a beast, the deceiver, the prince of darkness, and a roaring lion. His companions received the titles of evil angels, unclean spirits, principalities, powers, world-rulers of this darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness. . Over them this master spirit of apostacy reigns, for God permitted him to have a government in this world that to some extent gratifies his insatiate ambition. In relation to that government he is titled the prince of devilb, the prince of darkness, the prince of the power of the air, and the god of this world, that is, the world of the wicked. The government he assumed has a definite form. i I 9 It is not despotism. His power is not sovoreign and absolute. All the hellish race are greatly hindered by Divine lia.itations, and the liberty they so assiduously use is only by permission. It is not a democracy or a republic. The p' ")r is not lodged in the hands of the people. If it were, every right ainking soul would cast him out. It is a limited vicnarchy. The government is in his hands only in so far as he acts ac. cording to the requirements of the laws the Supreme Buler has enforced. God did not make him the ruler of this world, for that would ba setting his seal to his diabolical work. His claim to the position was by usurpation, and God for a time has permitted it to be so. Pemission must first be asked and granted before he can en- gage in any special enterprise. This was the case with the patri- arch Job ; with Peter when he was being sifted as wheat ; and also with the dispossessed legion of demons, who desired nothing better than to spiritualize swine. In the case of demons though they are subject to the devil as their leader, they are, like him, under the personal and supreme control of God. •• They can neither contravene the laws of nature nor interfere with human freedom and responsibility." Their power over us is only as far as we allow them to control us. The personal character of this apostate leader is worthy of our serious consideration. There are two very prominent traits in his relation to humanity that are described by the names of Satan and Devil, and they will be amply sufficient to make us acquainted with him. Satin means an adversary. This is the subjective side of his disposition. An intense burning hatred always reigns in the nature of this spiritual being. When he came to tins earth and found out the first human pair enjoying the favor of the Eternal, and found out too that they and their posterity would ultimately enter that glory from which he was forever debarred, his hatred was intense. " Satan, now first inflamed with rage, came down The tempter ere the aocnser of mankind To wreak on innoiont frail man his loss or that ttrst battle, and his flight to hell." As an adversary he has only hate, Tliei'o is neither love nor mercy in his nature. He never sings the praise of the happy and ff9i(ftMHIiB8?iftSifl 10 free. His notes are either the hopeless wailings of a never-ending remorse, or impious imprecations against the Almighty and humanity. All his acts are prompted by a deep-seated animosity that finds its highest joy in the everlasting destruction of a lost soul. To this end his time and energies are devoted and only One can tell how well he has succeeded. The other is his New Testament name, — the devil, a seducer. This describes the objective side of his character. While em- ploying the serpent in Eden to accomplish his purpose it is said that it was " more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." The reference must have been to the spirit actuating the reptile, for there are creatures much more cunning and deceitful than it is. The devil has never laid aside — nor in the least reformed this disposition to seduce or deceive. In this lies his success. His aim is to instil the same trait of character into humanity and make them like himself. He glories in seeing a man practicing fraud ! overreaching in business, and exaggerating, or being untruthful in his statements. He who does so is a son of the devil, and that old seducer takes more than a fatherly interest in him. " When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it." He has great hope of a keen, calculating rogue, more so than of a bright, liberal-hearted genius besotted by intemperance, for there are times when the nobility of the man will assert itself. The devil is Satan. He deceives that he might further hate, and hates that he might deceive the more. What a terrible foe he must be ! From him, and all like him, be they demons or men, may the good Lord deliver us. The all-governing principle upon which he acts as a limited monarch in the empire of sin is expediency — that which best fits the occasion. Outwardly he can transform himself into any form he pleases, but always into one more acceptable than his own. To Eve in the body of a serpent ; to God with the sons of God as one of them, and to others besides Jesus as an angel of light. He has no code of laws to govern himself or his subjects, but exerts his monarchical authority in the way that will best secure his ungodly ends. His government is the opposite of God's. We have under the Divino Theocracy a law called •* the Ten Com- mandments " tJiat has been given to all humanity as our rule of life. •' Do these and thou shalt live," is the requirement. The devil seeks to govern us that we shall continually break them. It > i...,r-<...^»,J -■■yVML-MIt m^*mm w smii»\\M 11 " would not be expedient, however, for him to place ten contrary commandments before us, and expect us to obey them, for naturally we •• consent to the law that it is good." He knows too much about human nature to do that. He begins by admitting the worth and correctness of the Decalogue. Murder is always murder, and theft is always theft, but — (what a difiference a little word makes. If it was God who was uttering these self-evident facts. He would continue by using for, and give His reasons. It is the coupling-pin of Eternal Justice showing why the law should be thus and so. The devil, on the other hand, delights in the word hut) — but there may be circumstances in which it would be expedient for a man to do the one or the other. Death is death of course, and a terrible thing it is, he reasons ; hell is hell, and a dreadful place for a man to be, but it may be expedient for him, in the meantime, to make a covenant with the one and an agree- ment with the other. In doing so, he would be careiul to show the unwary soul that this must only be for a very little while. Thus through the range of God's commands he finds convenient excuses for breaking them on the broad and charitable-looking principle of expediency. How far this dogma has actuated, or rather perverted, our modern civil law — founded as it is upon the Divine code — is a question worthy of our most serious consideration. The devil is a powerful being. He was an angel of the first magnitude in glory, and his nature is not impaired by age or toil, it is simply perverted. He is just as powerful now for evil as he once was mighty for good. In looking over the Gospels, especially Mark i. 23-27 and Luke iv. 88-86, it is plain that the Apostles were firm believers in personal demons. Further than that, they believed that they had control to some extent over the human mind. This subjugation was neither willingly given nor complete. The captor had to keep u firm hold, or the human spirit would rebel. So much so is this presented to us in the above instances, that a dual personality is easily seen. The soul can lose control of the body and does so, as in the case of the lunatic boy, when the dark powers of evil, attacking the nervous system, e^i-tii-ted a disturbing influence upon it. They do not take up their abode permanently in the soul, nor even act directly upon it. They operate through the physical rather than the spiritual, so that their influence might be over the rational rather than the moral nature. Powerless to resist their baneful effects, their possession of the soul is a terrible misfor- 12 tune. While the organs of speech belonged to the man, it was the demon who spoke and acted (see Mark v. 7). He knew Jesus could cast him out, but the man's consent had first to be gained. *' What have we to do with thee ? " coupling the man's spirit with himself in order to make him either afraid of his Saviour or an enemy to Him. •* Art thou come to destroy us?" as if he was already doomed with him to the same destruction. Then follows the demon's own confession, as if to strike terror into the heart of the poor captive, that there was nothing to hope for, ' ' I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." A word of explanation. The devil's success greatly depends on our weakness and wickedness. From our debased passions and evil lustings comes sin, showing tht^t he is not the generator of it in us ; he only induces us to commit it. In that work of seduc- tion his demoniacal hosts roam over this world doing what they can, >viien and where they see they can do it the most. In some cases they simply take possession without consulting the will of the owner. Such a state is calamitous, but the person cannot help it, is not responsible for it, and is never blamed in the divine record. In other cases, though, the demons come by consent. When one deliberately yields himself up to the moral influence of the devil, it is decidedly wicked, he is responsible for it, and is able to repel it. Hence the command, " Besist the devil." Commenting upon the power of Satan, an English writer says : " Few are even the Christians who are completely alive to the dangers from Satanic influence by which they are surrounded ; fewer still are the mere professors of Christianity who believe in the terrific power of Satan. We live in an age when the very existence of Satan is openly questioned ; how much more, then, his power." (Rev. Parks, Openshaw, Manchester). Following out the principle of expediency, the devil can be strong or weak, as the case requires, and where Divine power is not exerted, he always succeeds. This superhuman power of his is very great over the elements of the material world as well as over the spiritual life of humanity. Take, for instance, the case recorded in Luke xiii. 11-lG, of a woman bound like an ox or an ass in the stall, so that she "was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself." It seems to have been a very peculiar case, for the writer introduces the circumstance with an expression of astonishment, and calls it a spirit of want of strength. There was 18 evidently no disease, merely a terrible weakness for the past eighteen years. Oar Saviour expresses wonder also at the cruelty of the act as well as the long continuance of it — '*whom Satan hath bound, lo ! these eighteen years." In the above circumstance we have some idea how great his power is. The apostle Paul, also, in his first letter to the Corinthians, when writing about the vile wretch who had married his own widowed mother or stepmother, ordered that he be at once cast out of the Christian fold and delivered over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit might be saved. It is generally under- stood that some terrible affliction befel him, as in the case of Job, or Paul himself. So also when Hymeneus and Alexander made shipwreck of their faith they were delivered over to Satan that they might learn not to blaspheme. These cases show us that the devil can not only bind us till we are bodily weak and helpless, but he can cause terrible su£fering as in the case of the man's only son at the base of the Mount of Transfiguration when a spirit tore him repeatedly. (Luke ix. 89.) If it were not for the restrictive authority of our God this world and all in it would become " Waste and wild A dungeon horrible on all sides around As one great furnace flamed ; yet from those flames No light ; but rather darkness visible Serving only to discover sight . of woe ; Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can never dwell ; hope that never comes That comes to all " — Yet although the devil-Satan is highly endowed with power and a wide range of spiritual gifts, he is only a created intelligence after all. His career in the world has been one of continued mis- takes. Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience are alone the attributes of God. The powci-, presence, and knowledge of the god of this world are necessarily limited. He cannot assume a substantial form, he has to borrow it — nor can he employ sera- phic powers when he is a transformed angel of light. We find this limitation abundantly proven in the instances in inspired history. In his first effort at deception there is little doubt but what he expected the words " In the day thou eatest thereof dying thou shalt die " to be literally fulfilled. Death as a literal fact was something new, and the thought of it was that it would be some- thing terrible. Up to this time there had been no dissolution, and u nothing that would bring about the cessation of life in nature. The God of life and goodness still viewed " The fabric he had raised, , . His word pronounced it ^ood." There existed nothing that would show to the mind of angels or humanity that such a thing as ruin could be. The decease of our fir&t parents, therefore, would be a glorious triumph in some way to the devil. He might have reasoned thus — " If these could only be in- duced to partake of the forbidden fruit, that has no taste for jne, there would be an end to that promised race upon whom God has already bestowed his marks of distinguishing favor. This earth would then become the uncontested haven and heaven for devils." But mankind lived on and increased, and the aroh-doceiver was himself deceived. About the year 1520 B.C., following the chronological opinion of Archbishop Usher, the next recorded instance took place. Evidently from the remark of Job's wife it was Satan's crown* ing desire so see that righteous man apostatize. To have cursed God and died would have given him intense delight, but "in all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly." As the bard of Scotland expresses it — " D'ye mind that day when in a bizz, Wie reckit duds, and reastit gizz Ye did present your smoutie phiz, 'Mang better folk. And sklentit on the man of Uz Your spitefu' joke. And how ye gat him i' your thrall, And brak him oot o' hoose and hall, While scabs and blotches did him gall Wie bitter claw, And lowsed his ill-tongued, wicked scawl Was warst ava." In this instance we find the devil enjoying the widest range of power over nature, but none whatever over life. Although both are spiritual intelligences, the power the destroying angel had over the first-born of ^gypt has never been given to this apostate creature. Seventy years after, Satan stood upon Mount Nebo. One might well wonder what cunning plot had brought him there. Moses was dead. He had been the most valiant human opponent. I 15 Satan ever had. So near to God, and so long with God. •* If thia body about to be laid away in a nameless sepulchre could only be enshrined before this idolatrously-inclined people who now sorrow so deeply his decease what a splendid thing it would be," thought Satan. " For they who could so blindly bow do^vn before a golden calf would be easily led to adore a glorified man." Beside the remains of this honored lawgiver and leader, how- ever, stood "the great prince who standeth for the children of the people of God." The devil had every reason to fear and hate this illustrious person whose special duty evidently was to oppose his destructive work. They had met before, and would meet again. Michael, the com- mander of the heavenly hosts in battle, contended with him, in this instance, about the disposal of the body of Moses, and even though every artifice in his power was used he was righteously de- feated and of course greatly disappointed. — Jude ix. The years rolled on. David was a man after God's own heart, and Israel was his chosen people. Now, if the devil could bring this monarch's brilliant career to an ignominious end, a great victory would be gained. Not having the power of life and death at his disposal he took advantage of a Divine command to bring about his cherished scheme. God had said that there never was to be a census taken of that nation. Satan said there would be, and about the year 1180, B.C., suggested to the minds of those interested that it would be expedient to have it done — that circum- stances were such at that particular time as to warrant tlie act. He *• stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." What the consequences would be he could not imagine, but he knew the character of God too well not to know that some- thing terrible would follow. One thing he would be sure of that death and shame would be the tempted's portion. Seven thousand men fell by the sword of an angel, that sword he would covet to wield, but David was spared. The one he specially wished to suffer, lived and was loved as before. Disappointed again. The world grew older, and time filled up its measure fast. When the fulness of the time had come the great adversary of the devil arrived. Nothing daunted, he rallied his fallen associates around him. They entered into many of the people so that they might work among men as men, and in every way possible oppose his heavenly antagonist's power. i 16 At all events, if he could not rule he could ruin. He himself excelled in subtilty where an opportunity was given him for a personal conflict, but he was defeated and had to see his emissaries east out. In no instance did they gain an advantage. Where the human nature of Jesus was at its weakest, his efforts ^ were the strongest, yet he failed. " So struck with dread and anguish, fell the fiend, And to his crew that sat consulting, wrought (Joyless triumphals of his hoped success,) Ruiu and desperation, and dismay, Who durst so proudly tempt the Son of God. " The devil never despairs. He and his fallen followers were ever on the alert to bring the stainless purity of our Saviour's life into obliquity and moral ruin. A determined effort was put forth to make a division in the little disciple band, to lead one of them at least to apostatize, and that would result in something desirable. The impulsive nature of Peter laid him specially open to tempt- ation, and the very important position he occupied in disciple work made him the greater prize. Him, therefore, the devil personally sought after, and, in many ways, not revealed, tried to make him forsake his Master. It was a repetition, in short, of the primeval strife in glory, but he was befriended. Petitions were being off- ered for heavenly aid by one who never pled in vain. Satan was badly beaten, (Luke 22, 81). He had received permission mean* while, to operate upon the sordid avaricious nature of Judas of Eerioth*. These two dispositions are the easiest to operate upon by the devil. It was a bold cunning plot to tempt the poor man to sell his Master for the paltry price of a downtrodden slave. Once in the hands of the Jewish rabble Satan concluded that it would fare ill with this Man of men. So it did. Our Saviour never lost sight of his great mission into the world to destroy the works of the devil. At the beginning of his public ministry he said to his mother " mine hour is not yet come," but when the Greeks approached the disciples, desiring to see him, he said that his hour had now come. That period lasted till at his own table, where saints are always safest, a dark hand moved across the face of time. His hour was then up, the warning note was sounded, and when he said — " The prince of the world cometh and hath nothing in me, the prince of the world is judged." He said nothing more about his hour after that. Further on that night when he was in the hands of wicked men, he said, " This is "^^'"'^"^ i , 17 i your hour and the power of darkness." Next day it must have been t a time of rejoicing as the devil and his wicked companions beheld I the Eedeemer nailed to the crucifixion tree, and so completely in I; their power. ; When the crucified one was expiring the god of this world might j well think that his hour of triumph had come. The earth would 1 be his throne and hell his footstool. As the prince of the power of ( the air he would begin to arrange his aerial domain. Christ knew this when he said the night before " This is your hour, and the power of darkness." The devil must bring nature down to his liking and back to its primitive state of chaotic gloom. There was too much light for him. He used neither the whirlwind, storm nor the lightning's stroke as in the case of Job, but a darkness uame "over the whole land until the ninth hour ; the sun's light failing." As the prince of darkness he would have all things to conform to his own character, and reign in a suitable manner as far removed as possible from the empyreal home of the Crucified. This dark- ness was not given as nature's mourning, for then it would have been held back till He cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. It was the devil's recognition of his death, and the visible token of his presence and power in the world. But the moment Jesus, with his expiring breath gave testimony that he had now overcome him that had the power of death, which is the devil, Satan wrapped his gloomy shades around him and departed. The death of Christ had not ended as he expected. Still there was much to be thankful for. The one who taught, yet could not be instructed; who could be fatigued, but never diseased ; who could suffer death, but could not see corruption, was dead. No doubt, his divine nature was with the Father. That vacant bosom was filled again. What had the Godhead gained ? What had the devil lost? ■ Surely he might presume further, when, lo ! the conqueror of death and the spoiler of the grave came forth from his garden sepulchre as a strong man to run a race. **Ah," Satan might have said, " what new work has he to do? He is far less approachable now in his resurrection life than before." Again it was his privilege to rejoice when out on the Gallilean Mount Jesus was taken bodily up to fill that glorious position he had before the devil fell. " Now he is gone. The world is rid of his presence. Now I shall rule as supreme and all these millions nngnnnii 18 of human beings he has left behind shall people my infernal home. But what is this I see ? Cloven tongues as of fire sitting upon the heads of each of his disciples, and they inspii'ed by the Spirit of good. Worse and worse. The second person has indeed departed, but a more difficult foe fills hie place. I could vex and annoy the Son of Man to some degree but I cannot even face the Holy Spirit. His work and home will be in the hearts of all those believing in the Son, and where he dwells I cannot prevail. Now it is spirit against spirit to the end." The first converts to Christianity were banded together in fellow- ship and brotherly love. They tithed one hundred per cent, instead of ten. They had all things common. Satan always abhors unity, and resolved to break it up and gain a victim or two into the bargain. He prevailed on two. This was his first recorded contest against the Holy Spirit and Peter charged the poor deluded man and his wife, " Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to — or deceive the Holy Ghost? " These instances will suffice to show his deceitful nature, intense hatred, and terrible life-work. Possessed of immense power and wonderful resources of knowledge and perfectly skilled in imitation, he is seen at his best doing his worst. If he does bungle in his efforts he never falters. Though the mistakes of his life have been many, they only nerve him to greater watchfulness and wickedness, for he knows that his time is short. His going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it are on unwearied errands of evil. What an awful foe he must be. Word painting has no color black enough to depict him as he is. Would to God we may never have a more perfect acquaintance of him. The Christian church in its earlier history inherited a belief from both Jews and heathen that demons took possession of the bodies and souls of men, women and children. Then it became a doctrine that every child when born was under the power of the devil and was possessed of an evil spirit. To dispossess them, prayers had to be offered, and a form of exorcism adopted. During the middle ages the reputation of the devil suffered greatly. From being the enemy of God he was only considered a super- natural persecutor of mankind. His knowledge was not at all comprehensive and he was easily overreached in his duplicity. ^!l?»S»^ 19 Space forbids enlarging on this point, however, and even if we had it we would be led altogether away from the subject before us. Having traced the history of Satan, defined his position and power, and considered his character, it will be necessary to under- stand his belief. James tells us " the devils also believe," and from our knowledge of Satan's nature and history we can easily credit it. It will not be difficult to formulate his creed even, and compare it with some of the leading " isms " of the present day. Taking a negative view of it we would state: — He was not an Atheist. An Atheist is one who denies the existence of a Supreme Being altogether — one'who keeps continually saying in his heart, " There Is no God." His creed is somewhat as follows : — The world has been from all eternity, or, according to others was somehow and at sometime produced by chance. Chance also governs all its movements. All substances and all beings on the earth were made from mattter, of course, and all act independently of each other like so many conscious, self-actmg machines. Morality has no place in the creed of the atheist, since there is no difference to be made between good and evil. He does not believe in a future state, so that Heaven and Hell — that is, separate places and states of rewards and punishments — do not exist. The soul has no existence after death. Eeligion is a needless, arbitrary, and arrogant law in many respects. His creed is to live like a lord and die like a brute, and may be summed up in these words : " Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die." It is quite evident that the devil is no atheist. He is far fur- ther ahead in his belief than some of those who imagine themselves wiser than seven men that can render a reason. He cannot go as far in rebellion as they, and the evil spirits Wth all their hatred of God and his ways dare not accept atheism as their acknowledged creed. It is an awful position for a human being to be in. Sunken so low in his belief as to be beneath the level of the devil and his angels. He is not a Deist. . A deist is one who believes in the existence of a Supreme Be- ing, In this he is greatly in advance of the former, but he does not believe that God ever gave a revelation of himself to man. His creed is, that God exists. The Bible is false, and all knowledge of ......»mm^ 90 a Creator ?an only be obtained from the light- within ns and na- ture around us. In one point, therefore, the devil and the Deist agree, but the former goes further in believing the Scriptures to be the word of God. His great work is to keep them away from the people, or so misrepresent them that their power for doing good is gone. In the parable of the sower, for instance, a part of the interpreta- tion is — " the seed is the Word of God." " These by the wayside, are they that hear, then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their heart lest they should believe and be saved." Evi- dently Satan believes in the genuineness and authenticity of the sacred Scriptures. No one, however infidel he may be in his creed, oan surely believe that the devil invented the Bible, or tempted men to com- pose it, for the whole tenor of it is against him and his hellish de- signs. It is a powerful weapon in th« hands of his great opponent, for •• the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God." To the infidel or deist we would earnestly say — " Go to the devil. Be convinced by him that all Scripture is given by inspira- tion of God." Satan, with all his deception and lies, dare not be an infidel. He delights in seeing men become such, and helps them into this fearful condition with all the cunning ingenuity he com- mands. In that state they are men after his own heart, but his personal belief is far higher and better than theirs. He is not a Unitarian. A Unitarian is one who believes in God as one personality in opposition to the Trinitarian who hold that there are three per- sons in the Godhead, the same in substance, equal in power and in glory. All Unitarians agree in rejecting the equality of Son and Spirit. They do not believe in a Divine Saviour. The one represented as such is only a man set before us as an example in holy living. They do not expect to gain endless glory by the work of redemp- tion but by their own life of imitation. They believe in the Bible, however, or at least all that does not oppose their peculiar doc- trines. Eepeat these views to the devil and he will at once reject them* for he is a firm believer in the divinity of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He is not « Socinian. A Socinian holds that Christ had no existence before his advent 511 t into the world, but Satan believed it, and when upon earth treated him with the greatest deference. When his emissaries were being oast out they had to testify, although with evident unwillingness, " Jesus, thou Son of God, I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." The Unitarian, whether he is a Socinian or not, may boast of a creed that exactly suits his fallen nature, but it will not suit the belief of the fallen devils. The creed of Satan is nearer the truth than many suppose. He in not a Spiritualist. The modern Spiritualist does not believe in miracles because the natural law cannot be broken, and all spiritual manifesta- tions are natural phenomena. As a rule spiritualists do not regard Christ as one of the persons of the Godhead, and they reject the idea of a personal devil. Some believe that evil spirits can now and again possess a human soul, others explain such a state as be- ing of human agency. Both agree in asserting that information said to come from the spiritual world is not infallible. Spiritual- ists sweep away everything connected with the atonement of Christ by declaring that neither faith nor works will enable us to get to heaven, nor will human beings ever be sentenced to a place of either physical or mental woe. Such a belief cannot be endorsed by the devil. It falls so far short of what he knows to be true, that he could not accept it, yet it is one of the favorite beliefs that he encourages men to receive. He w no^ a Universalist. The Universalist believes in the triune God ; the Bible is the revelation of His will ; salvat-on through Christ, and a place of everlasting happiness at last. There are three shades of belief held. One — Restorationism — teaches that after a time of punishment in the other world, God will come in His mercy, and, putting out the fires of hell, close it up forever. Other Bestorationists say that He will continue it as the place for tormenting the devil and his angels, but that all the fallen children of humanity will ultimately be received into endless glory. Another belief is, that no such place as hell, or a region of punish- ment, exists at all, and that every description of it in. Scripture is purely figurative. A third view is that of annihilation, which simply declares that at death, body and soul perish together. Any form of Universalism strikes the devil as absurd. 22 ** What ! no hell over which to reign 1 Must there be a time when my kingdom will cease," he might exclaim ; " must I again be cast out as a fugitive and a vagabond as I once was before, and this time from that place reserved for me. Will mankind all go to heaven and leave hell for the reprobate angels ? or will they all be like the beasts that perish? Then what about spirits — for they can never die ? No, my creed is not that of the Universalist ; for I da believe that many will always be mine to torment ; for is it not written, • These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.'" As these descriptions of time are identical, the devil's domain will never cease till the home of the glorified shall end. Having found that the great arch-enemy is neither an Atheist, Deist, Unitarian, Socinian, Spiritualist or Universalist, what is he ? If he were present in person before any of us and were asked, " What is your belief? " he might truly reply in the words of others, by changing a single expression to suit his own case — " I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, t/otir Lord ; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary ; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried ; He descended into hell (the state of the dead) ; the third day He rose again from the dead ; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty ; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost ; the holy Catholic (universal) Church ; the communion of saints ; the forgiveness of sins ; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." « * There is nothing in the character of Satan, or in the language of Scripture, to prevent us from believing that the Apostles' Creed is the devil's confession of faith. One of the strongest proofs that our system of belief is orthodox is, that the great enemy of all truth confesses it to be true. In what, then, lies the difference ? for, with all the intellectual knowledge of the ripest saints, they are devils still, They stand with us, by nature, in being both guilty and unforgiven. Why, then, do they believe and tremble ? There are two phases of the answer. From God's standing-point it is clear. , " The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the groat day." Their die is cast ; their doom is scaled ; their destiny is fixed, and they know it. 28 From mau's standing-point, the devil is found to lack the true element of saving faith which alone can raise us above that slavish fear which hath torment. Faith works by love, and love casteth out fear. Devils can never love, and, consequently, they will never cease to tremble. Bealizing the character and belief of the arch-demon, we naturally turn to investigate the method he employs in executing his diabolical designs. In fact, this is the most important part of his biography to us. •' To be forewarned is to be forearmed." A clear knowledge of the character, resources and stratagems of the enemy will help greatly in gaining the victory. We should, there- fore be anxious to know how he tempts us, that we might be ready to resist him when he comes. Taking up his biography again at the opening chapters of human history, we find him eager to cast the meshes of lust and pride around our first parents. He fostered vehement and inordi- nate desires in their hearts, making them his willing subjects, so that they might be taken captive by him at his will. To accom- plish this, he unfolded a plan that he had formed and which has often been successfully carried out since ; for if is not to be supposed that with all his sagacity he works in a haphazard way. Part of that plan is to always come at the outstart. He did so with Eve, with Jesus, the infant church, and he invariably does in our times of inexperience. The disappointments he receiver, makes him more watchful; and while " lying in wait to deceive," or " going about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour," his actions are certainly prearranged. In any plan he lias settled upon, involving, as it does, both truth and righteous- ness, he generally imitates them, carefully adapts them, and wisely leavens his whole prearranged system with them. Without a good measure of truth mixed up with his specious falsehoods, and sound moral teaching interwoven with his enticing wickedness, he could not succeed, or if he did it could not last. According to his knowledge of the case in hand — and that knowledge must be far greater than ours can possibly be — he applies that form of temptation which he believes will overcome the soul, and it requires all his sagacity to prevent his plans miscarrying. A celebrated writer makes the following pungent remarks : "He is a greater scholar than you, and a nimbler disputant. He can transform himself into an angel of light to deceive. He will get in 24 yon, and trip your heels before you are aware ; he will play the juggler with you undiscovered and cheat you of your faith, or innocency, and you shall not know that you have lost it ; nay, he will make you think it is multiplied or increased, when it is lost. You shall see neither hook nor line, much less the subtile angler himself while he is offering you his bait. And his baits shall be so fitted to your temper and disposition that he will be sure to find advantage within you, and make your own principles and inclina- tions to betray you, and whenever he ruineth you he will make you the instrument of your own ruin." Apropos to the idea of the devil being a fisher of men we quote the following . " The devil sat by the river's side, The stream of time, where you'll always find him, Casting his line in the rushing tide, And landing the fish on the bank behind him. * ' He sat at ease in a cosy nook, And was filling his basket very fast, While vou might have seen that his deadly hook Was differently baited for every cast. " He caught'm as fast as a man could count : Little or big it was all the same. One bait was a check for a round amount, An assembly man nabbed it and out he came. " He took a gem that as Saturn shone, It sank in the water without a sound And caught a woman who long was known As the best and purest for miles around. " Sometimes he would laugh, and sometimes sing, For better luck no one could wish : And he seemed to know to a dead sure thing, The best bait suited to every fish. "Quoth Satan, ' The fishing is rare and fine,' And he took a drink somewhat enthused, And yet a parson swam round the line That e'en the most tempting bAits refused. " He tried with his gold, and his Hashing gems, Hung fame and fortune upon the line, Dressing gowuH with embroidered horns — iiut still the dominie made no sign. •'A woman's garter went on the hook ; ' I have him at last,' tpioth the devil brightening ; Then Satan's sides with laughter shook, As ho landed him (piick as lightning." 25 The only way to realize the immense advantage the devil has over us is to classify his temptations and consider their attractions and power. His programme is short. Dr. Parker says ♦* it is both short and shallow, that he is not a genius of infinite resources nor an assailant that may surprise us with dazzling originalities. His temptations are stale." Nevertheless they are comprehensive enough to ruin us, and he is the happy man that can resist them whenever they come. They can all be arranged under three great divisional and have been variously described by writers as those that appeal to Poverty, Power, Pride or Sensuality, Coveteousness, Pride, or Appetite, Pleasure, Power, or Appetite, Avarice, Ambition. Another good division is those temptations that would lead us to mistrust, presume, deny, as in the ease of our Saviour's temp- tation. The first class, — that deal with the impulse of the passing moment, whatever we want most at the time, — is called in Scripture "the lust of the flesh," As this refers to the body such lusting comes under the head of luxury. When the devil came to Eve alone in the garden of Eden, circumstances were exceedingly favorable for his eiforts at raining immortal souls. Separated from her mate she would be quite unprotected. He was wise to attack the weaker vessel first, and the one who would not be in the transgression if she did break the command. Perhaps in her wanderings she had become hungry, and, if in sight of the beautiful and bountiful tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the form of temptation would be both easy and natural. Of its fruit she knew nothing. The fear that had restrained any desire they might have had seemo to have been twofold : because their Creator had expressly forbidden them to taste it, and because of an idea that there was something deadly in the fruit itself. This last restraint was very likely the uppermost one in the mind of Eve when she answered: " Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ' Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die.' " Satan saw his chance and sought to remove the barrier, whatever it was, by assuring her that God knew, and ho knew, that if she was to eat of it she would not SB mmam 20 surely die. To him a lie was seasonable and good. It apparently satisfied her and the command of God was completely forgotten. She saw that the tree was now good for food. Anticipating his success he lost no time in presenting the next class of temptations of Avarice — •' the lust of the eye." The fruit looked so good that now she believed it was good, and there arose a desire in her heart to possess it." It was beautiful to the eye. When the eye is delighted with treasures, with rich possessions, and becomes extravagantly fond of them then the soul is possessed by the lust of covetousness. We can imagine the exulting joy of the arch-deceiver on seeinj; the change produced, and, for fear of a revulsion of feeling, lost no time presenting the highest and strongest form of temptation, Ambition, " the pride of life." When a vain mind craves grandeur, honor or applause it is under this terribly seductive plan. This temptation spread out before her the satisfaction of attaining to the knowledge of the sons of God, and of greater degrees of bliss and glory in regions yet unknown to her limited understanding. On her part it was a venture, but she risked it. She fell under the first class of temptations when she saw " that the tree was good for food;" under the second when she saw " that it was pleasant to the eye," and under the third when she believed that it was a tree "to be desired to make one wise." " She took of the fruit thereof and did eat." So far the devil had triumphed and evidently left the matter largely in her hands. She became a tempter to Adam. " She embraced him, and for joy, Tenderly wept ; much won that ho his love Had so ennobled, as of choice to incur Divine. displeasure for her sake, or death, In recompense (for such compliance bad Such recompense best merits,) from the bough She gave him of that fair enticint^ fruit AVith liberal hand ; he scrupled not to eat Against his better knowledge, not deceived, But fondly overcome with female charm." Or. as the poet Burns very characteristically puts it — " Lang syne in Eden's bonny yird. Where youthfu' lovers first were pair'd, And a' the so\d of lov« they shar'd, The raptnr'd hour ; Sweet on the fragrant, flow'ry sward In Hhady bower. 27 Then you, ye auld snick-drawing dog, Ye came tae Paradise incog., And playeii on man a curaetl brogue, (Black be your fa') And gieil the infant warld a shog, 'Maist ruined a'." The templation of the second Adam was quite similar to the first. In this case the Son of Man was driven by the Holy Spirit into the desert to meet with the spirit, of evil. His person, deport- ment and work were all at stake. He went there armed with Divine energy to enter into that conflict upon which our eternal interests depended. No doubt taere were repeated assaults, and tliat every variety of spiritual warfare during the prolonged pro- bation would be resorted to by the devil. The presence of wild beasts, such as the panther, bear, wolf, hyena, and maybe the lion, would in some way add to the force of the temptations and they were necessary, at least, so that the promise contained in that very psalm from which the devil quoted so erroneously, might be fulfilled to the very letter. The three assaults recorded would likely be the most prominent and powerful. They appealed to human wants, — to gratify a bodily appetite, — to court applause and foster pride, — and to satiate ambition, love of power, or according to the order given by Luke, they appealed to poverty, power and pride. Matthew and Luke reverse the second and third tempt- ations. The most sensible explanation is, that while the first is the beginning of the devil's method in every pre-appointed on- slaught, he varies his work afterwards to suit the different tempera- ments he meats with, either by way of pride to love of power, or through ambition to the gratification of pride. When we gather these facts together we find thorn exceedingly valuable. We are the only beings the devil can tempt, and it is only through lust that we can be tempted. Beyond these three forms of temptation he cannot go, but within them he has suffi- cient scope to be our continual tormentor. He does not always follow the above order, perhaps he seldom ever does, for it was only practiced in that way on sinless persons, and we are born in sin. Often, that which is grovelling and sensual would repel the soul, while the promptings of pride and ambition would carry it away as with a flood. On the other hand, only the unholy lusts of the first class of temptations will allure some away from their natural and moral eafeguards and make them wallow in the bestial m 28 affections of their depraved natures. This base anti-trinity that the world worships, an attachment to the outward, transitory and unreal, is in direct opposition to the very ground- work of Chris- tian faith, the inward enduring and true. Satan knows what to do. He studies out our weak points. He discovers the most powerful affections and leading traits of our character, and through these plies his nefarious skill to subjugate our souls to himself. If he can make us mistrust God's word, presume on Hia mercy, and deny Him before men, he has given us a good start down the broad way. A few more shoves when we falter will be all we need to land us in eternal destruction. Some one has made an earnest appeal to the coveting, business- bound child of the world, that is worth heeding — My son you must pay for your sinning ; And if your account lias begun, It is well you should know at beginning Just where you must pay for your fun. Though you are an expert and scholar, No system that you can invent, Can swindle him out of a dollar — He collects the uttermost cent. For ho knows the mould you were made in, And appoints his own settlement day ; When out of the stock that you trade in There will be the devil to pay. Don't fool yourself ever by thinking You can catch him aught else but awake. Though seeming asleep he is winking At any false entry you make. No matter how sly your proceeding, He jots it all down in his book, And grins with delight at the reading. As he knows you are safe on his hook. In measure or weight if you lack it. Don't think you can cover the dearth ; For he always is on to your racket, • And charges you all it is worth. He cares not for written ilebentures, But holds by a pitiless law, So, if you indulge in rash ventures, Will find yourself under his paw. Oh ! he is the clerk of all ages, Expert from the earliest day, And after you balance your pages There will be the dovil to pay. I PPPPBPiP 29 You may think of endowing a college With substance yourself does not need ; Well, do so, my son, with the knowledge, That Satan won't credit the deed. V • No, charities won't make you level No matter how large, the amount Can't balance your deal with the devil — That goes to another account ! Though the loudest has been your professiou And longest the prayers you h&ve made, Remember that every transgression Is a debt that has got to be paid : And, resolve as you may on relenting, Your follies and vices when gray, Though an ocean you weep in repenting There will be the devil to pay. Then at last, when you are a debtor On his book for each gratified whim — Each whim but a link in the fetter Tliat bound you still closer to him — For all of the i)reaching since Moses Not a jot of his claim will he stay ; Even after the clearing house closes , There will be the devil to pay. If any one asks what he is doing now-a-days we have only to say "Oircam spice," — " Look around you." "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, hut is of the world, and the devil is the god of it. The world with its ungodliness and unrighteousness ot men shows his diabolical work in being full of fornication, wicked- ness, coveteousoess, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate* deceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despite- ful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to par- ents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." (Rom. 1., 29-32.) The devil is manifested as surely to-day as in the year 60. A.D., when Paul wrote the above awlul description. His handiwork, influence and power are seen in cheating, dancing, gambling, brib- ery, perjury, civil corruption, fighting, foreign or intestine wars, violation of the Sabbath, swearing, lying, fornication, in the suicidal and homocidal act, in the brewer's traflic, the rumsel- ,..<^.^^.^..^.- ,-..^.u..,.kim 30 ler's woe and the drunkard's doom. Every human heart is under the influence of either the Holy Spirit or the devil, but it cannot be compelled by either. They can only induce, Alasl alas! that the devil has such terrible power over us. What a world this would have been if he had never found it. How much a place of sin and misery he has made it a compassionate God only knows, and yet some people will scout the idea of "his ex- istence. It is terrible to think that the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, and in that blindness they love the darkness rather than the light. If the light that is in them be darkness, how great is that darkness ! We have now considered the history, character, government, creed, and manners of working of the devil. In a few words let U3 anticipate the close of his u.irthly career. His time his getting very short ; how .short he cannot tell. There is to be a millonium — a thousand yrars — a protracted time, during which the saints will have peculiar favor with God, and great freedom from sin. Whefi it will be, and what its physical and spiritual enjoy- ments, cannot be touched upon here. Before it happens, however, the Satan-devil is to be bound with a chain by the powerful spirit who has acted all along as turnkey of the bottomless pit. Into that awful place, having only walls and ceiling, he is to be cast till the thousand years are past. He was cast in there from the first, but it is not said that he was so closely confined, for permission was given to break out to disturb, deceive and destroy. This time he is safely secured ; time enough in that unresting abode to have his intense hatred whetted to the keenest edge, and now so little time granted to satiate its fiery blade. He will then be a devil at his best, and wickedness will have a revival. No part of the earth overlooked or forgotten, for he will have work in all quarters of it. His rage against all that is good will have no bounds. Ho will show himself an inveterate Satan, the impersonation of all malice and deceit. He will even dare to battle with God's people by inciting the world against them. The world of nations will be deraonized. He will deceive them by getting them to believe that their own cause is a good one, and that they can easily succeed in overthrowing the camp of the saints. As they sweep around it in military array armed with all the latest martial improvements the mm miipniVPll 81 devil will see that the great finale has come. The last effort will be the greatest. It will be a supreme effort on the part of evil to overbalance the good ; of darkness to enshroud the light ; of dem- ons to conquer angels ; and of Satan to injure God. Fire from heaven will be the signal of battle, scathing the circuit of the be- seiged enemies, and destroying the deceived nations, but demons being spiritual will laugh at the devouring element. A different doom awaits them. Not back to the bottomless pit this time, but salted with spiritual fire and cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. Some very wise people laugh at the idea of hell being a lake of literal fire and sulphurous fumes, but he will laugh longest who laughs last. If the Spirit could have described it better he would certainly have done it. All humanity whose names are not written in the book of life will be consigned at the day of general judgement to the same place — a place not prepar^d for them, for God never furnished hell for sinners, but for the devil and his demons. Into that place and company every one out of Christ must go. The devil, beast, false prophet, demons, and lost souls all together in a lake burning with fire and brimstone, or something just as awful. What a place I what a state ! The devil is to be tormented day and night for ever and ever. He will not be king in hell, doing nothing but tormenting lost souls ; it will be enough for him to bear his own punishment. Yet it will be awful to be with him, with no alternative, and no hope. We leave him to his just dessert without one pitying thought. But 0, what will it be to be there beyond the reach of a prayer, a little respite, a transient expectation, or a God. " In that dread sphere no spirit strives to reclaim the lost. On no zephyr is the message of mercy borne. There is no friend as Jesus, no voice of mercy, no day-star of hope, none to syrapatiiize, none to breathe a prayer for pardon, and no intercessor to bear it to the throne of the Eternal. It is death, lingering, long, inter- minable — dying, sorrow prolonged from age to age. Outward, onward toward eternity, ever lingering, never ending." reader are you sure about the future ? If you are, God bless you ; but if not, what then ? Don't blame the Father, the Son, the Spirit, or the devil either for the state you are in. Remember there is only one way of disappointing fear, cheating the devil and winning glory, and that is : " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Dear reader, do it. Amen. ■ pium iii