I don't give much adherence to the devil. I simply don't see any need to. He was defeated at Calvary, and that's that! So why give him so much attention? He is a hot topic amongst the religious, however; and so I'm going to offer my one and only teaching at this time, on the adversary.
What if the best way to lure people away from the absolute truth, is to wind opinion and mythology around just enough of a morsel of truth to sound convincing and powerful?
Y'hshuwah is termed in Revelation 5:5, the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. While the reference to lion is used in I Peter 5:8 to describe the adversary. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: This indicates, Peter already knew how powerful and convincing temptation could be, and he'd already seen how devoutly the religious of his day clung to the power of their own opinions. This article desribes seven points, the seven course meal, if you will, served up regularly by the religious, to the adversary seeking whom he may devour.
First, let me point out that Peter makes the reference "as a roaring lion" indicating a copy, a counterfeit, or a facsimile.
What in our culture would counterfeit the Lion of the Tribe of Judah? All sorts of religious tradition spring to my mind, as well as the Sunday imitation of the Sabbath day? Have those willing to observe counterfeit celebrations in the Name of "the Lord" and ignore the day of rest embraced the counterfeit, already? Ignoring the example set by The Lion of the Tribe of Judah and disavowing obedience while maintaining their fervor for what they say is G-d's Word would already indicate having been devoured.
Second, the adversary gets a lot of credit for current events, which may be the results of the seals opened by the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Prophecy being fulfilled should hardly be credited to the adversary. Y'hshuwah said it would happen. In all of Job's problems never once did he give credit to the enemy. Job stated it was allowed by Elohim - G-d. The Revelation 6 tells us the Lion of the Tribe of Judah - the Lamb is opening the seals. Giving credit to the enemy for what Messiah is doing is forgivable upon repentance, but meanwhile, those crediting the enemy, are being devoured.
Third there is so much talk about personal attacks. Let's address this for just a moment, shall we? The adversary is not omnipresent, so he can't possibly be bothering all the people who are claiming to be under attack at the same time. The adversary is more than happy, however; to receive glory for the works of the flesh, and even happier to receive glory for tests and growth opportunities our Creator allows in our lives. The notion that someone is always "under attack of the enemy" exults the enemy to the status of omnipresent and lifts the human perspective to a pretty prideful level. It's amazing just how many people believe they are a threat of such magnitude to the works of evil! Sometimes these "so-called" attacks are really just the consequences of works of the flesh. What many call personal attacks could actually be wake-up calls. The feeling that one is so valuable in the work of the kingdom as to be under attack regularly, could actually be nothing more than pride, which is a work of the flesh, not the enemy at all. The works of the flesh belong to the mindset of those who are being devoured, by self . . ., but devoured none the less.
Fourth is our focus on the warfare . . . We are told to put on the armor, and we are told to stand, and we are told to look up, keep our eyes on Moshiach . . . Scripture repeatedly states the battle is not ours. One of the reasons I do not focus on the adversary, is from having seen the horrible examples set by "ministries" that have literally become consumed by this focus. It doesn't take a thesaurus to know the word consumed is synonymous with the word, devoured.
The fifth way to offer one's self for devouring is this confusion of the passage in Matthew referring to that which is bound in heaven and that which is loosed. I have heard folks go from petitioning the Heavenly Father to arguing and demanding with the enemy, in the same breath! G-d shares His glory with no one, so addressing the enemy through prayer invites a real change of direction; regarding faith and answers. When we address our Creator and our enemy in the same sentence, we find ourselves having elevated the enemy to receving our prayer time. Distractions through prayer are bad enough, but to actually include and address the enemy is to be devoured.
It's interesting that the sixth point here, six being the number of man, is the fact that we all say we beleive death is the enemy and was defeated by Messiah's resurrection, but does the belief in our heart really match the lip service we spout. Death has been defeated, the enemy was defeated at the empty tomb - resurrecting an old fight that no longer exists is like being sucked into an old debate that is no longer valid, it is to be devoured.
The seventh and last point I believe would not even be necessary, if the people claiming to know G-d, observed His day of rest. The church actually proves the very point they claim to be attempting to dispel. Proclaiming John 3:16 and the epistles of Paul to discount the rest of Scripture is exactly and precisely against Scripture. Hebrews tells us "our G-d is a consuming fire, yet Sunday religious groups associate the adversary with fire . . .
I've never heard the enemy receive any credit when attending worship at synagogue. Where is the only place on earth that formally teaches about the devil? Satanists, themselves, will tell you their worship is of self. They are hedonistic in their beliefs. In synagogue, I never heard the adversary as the topic of a teaching, only mentioned when actually referred to in a specific passage of Scripture. Church is where the enemy gets addressed and discussed. He's even mentioned in some songs. The book of James clearly states that curses and blessings do not pour forth of the same source. It is my fervent belief that this adversary stalking "as a" lion, the counterfeit; basically only shows up under two sets of circumstances. One is by the permission of our Creator, and the other is by our invitation of attention.
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