What Can We Learn from the Bible About the Devil?

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There is quite a bit of information that we can glean from the Bible about the Devil. Although there is a lot of folklore and legend about evil beings passed down through the ages in many cultures, we believe that God’s Word gives the best and most accurate information concerning him. We can learn about this spiritual creature from the Bible in two different manners. The first method is by understanding the various terms God uses when referring to him and the second is through a close examination of the various records that describe his interactions with God and mankind.

In our first approach we want to study the various terms God’s Word uses when referring to this spiritual being. As we study these references we need to know that they are not his name, but appellations, which are titles or descriptive terms. If no one knew my name, you could learn a lot about me by the various ways in which others referred to me. Sometimes this might involve the use of my titles, or reference to my roles, occupations, or actions. If someone referred to me as a brother, then you would know I was a male, had siblings, and that I had parents. If I was called a father you could discern I had children, and if I were called a husband you would know I had a wife. You would also be able to know a lot about me if someone called me intelligent, honorable, or a cheater. In just the same way, we can learn a vast amount by the various appellations and descriptive terms God uses when He speaks in His Word about His nemesis.

One of the most common ways people refer to God’s enemy is by using the word “Devil.” The English word devil is a transliteration of the Greek word, diabolos. The Greek word diabolos, or a form of it, appears over one hundred times in the New Testament, and from these various uses we can glean quite a bit of information about him. Although most people understand that this is God’s archenemy, what they do not realize is that “Devil” is actually not his name. The word diabolos actually means “the slanderer,” which gives us insight into some of his character because we know that a slanderer is someone who maligns and defames others by attacking their reputations through lies and deceit.

In addition to the various descriptive terms God uses for this spiritual being, we can also gain valuable insights into his methods and purposes by closely examining the scriptural references to him. The first use of the Greek word diabolos, “Devil,” is found in the gospel of Matthew. There are a number of things we can learn from the record in Matthew 4, the first of which is that one of the Devil’s methods is to tempt people. The record begins by telling us that Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil (v. 1). As this record develops we see that the Devil tempted Jesus in a number of ways. In his first statement to Jesus he says, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (v. 3). After fasting for forty days Jesus would have been very hungry. The Devil’s temptation was an appeal to Jesus’ basic human need for food and nourishment. Many times the Devil tempts us to satisfy our most basic physical and emotional needs, but to do so in a way that is not godly.

This appeal of the Devil is also a temptation for Jesus to misuse his authority. Jesus was not at the point of starvation, and there was no need for him to prove that he was the Son of God to the Devil. This temptation also includes a sense of an appeal to Jesus’ personal ego, which is really a temptation to be prideful. Had Jesus commanded the stones to turn into bread, his Father, God, would have probably honored it. After all, the record concludes by saying that when the Devil left him, “angels came and attended him” (v.11). God’s enemy often attempts to get us to meet our needs not by trusting in God, but by taking matters into our own hands.

In the second temptation in Matthew Chapter 4, the Devil “took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple” (v. 5). This reveals that the Devil has some very powerful supernatural abilities. Whether the Devil actually took Jesus to the temple, or gave him a vision of being at the temple, he had to use great spiritual power to accomplish this. The Devil once again begins this temptation by questioning Jesus’ sonship, and then proceeds to quote Scripture.

Matthew 4:6
…”throw yourself down. For it is written: ” ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

We must note that the Devil knows and will quote Scripture in his attempts to get us to sin. What is also very revealing is that he quotes God’s Word, but does so by questioning its integrity. Slanderers have a way of speaking that leaves a godly listener with an unsettled feeling, even if they cannot quite figure out the problem with what was said. A closer examination of the Devil’s question shows that he takes this section of Psalm 91 out of context, which always leads to error. Whenever we misquote or misapply Scripture, we no longer have the Word of God. This Psalm actually says, “If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent” (Psalm 91:9 and10). It is in the context of making God our dwelling that He will command His angels to guard us (Psalm 91:11). Once again the Devil appeals to Jesus’ sense of self-identity, or personal pride, and attempts to get him to misuse his authority.

In his third temptation, the Devil takes Jesus to a “very high mountain” where he “showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor,” (Matt. 4:8), which was another powerful spiritual feat. The Devil, having demonstrated his great powers, now presents Jesus with his great temptation: “all this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me” (v. 9). Finally the Devil reveals his true agenda, which is to be worshipped as God. The Devil is God’s archenemy, and he stands in direct opposition to God. He is often very bold and blatant in his attempt to get mankind to worship him. This is completely contrary to the first commandment that God, and God alone, is to be worshipped (Deut. 5:7). The practice of desiring worship is a demonic theme that occurs throughout the Old Testament, which often shows demons involved in idolatry and false worship (Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; 2 Chron. 11:15; and Psalm 106:37).

The Devil was really not offering Jesus anything that he would not inherit anyway by staying faithful to God and His commands. Unfortunately, many times our sin involves our lack of patience to wait for God’s proper timing. For instance, we know that God has created sexual pleasure for men and women to enjoy, but He wants us to do so within the bounds of the covenant of marriage. We sin when we lack the patience to abide by His instructions in this area.

We have seen from the record in Matthew 4 that there are many characteristics of the Devil that we can learn from the Scriptures. Every Christian is in the center of the battlefield between God and the Devil, who are in direct opposition to each other. God desires His children to grow up, so we are able to stand against the methods of the Devil. To do this we must each discipline ourselves to study and learn all we can about the Devil, his methods, and his tactics. Jesus’ defense against the attack of the Devil involved his knowing and quoting Scripture accurately. Like Jesus, we too will be able to successfully stand against God’s enemy when we follow his lead in our dealings with the Devil.

A very cunning womanizer  who passed away over a year ago, his death and the many women that claimed him made me want to find out what was really going on.

Young and childless, this young man came to America with the hopes of conquering it all much like his mother who had many unfulfilled ambitions. It is a puzzle today, that his name has been associated with being bisexual but it makes sense.

– In a three member group where one of the members were so flamboyant and hungry for males , naming themselves one  of the highest forms of gold, did little to bring men to their table. The third member found himself in a lonely pickle because he could not find any men who would readily come to him. He began to pursue men in dancehall and found himself grinding up on a heterosexual male one night and was punched to the ground.  The young man in this story was the one to take him home, stating that they were related. This is not so. He is also responsible for the rumuor that went around about the young man family flogging him for being gay. This was his excuse for hanging around him/ being in his crew.

Popularity made the circle appear smaller as people who they encountered began to find out that they were not related and so the name changed from P to B. It is alleged that it is around this time that the young man found out that he was ill by another man who had a girlfriend also.

In dancehall money makes the women go round and he realised this, and began to hustle dishonestly from Virginia to New York and to LA. Many women became charmed by the way he spent freely on them and because of the attention he gave them, had no idea there were many more like them, including men. Many of his victims were from facebook , the more beautiful the better and the more money he would spend to impress them, often buying them expensive bags, electronics and tickets to travel from any destination they were to  visit him. Many still even today do not know why they were pursued but he marked his victims by making them material offers , the pace was directed if they took up his offer or not.

*People fill in the rest*

Family slain hours after church by mentally ill father tormented by the prospect of Obama winning the election
Albert Peterson 57, shot dead his wife Kathleen, 52, and two sons Matthew, 16, and Christopher, 13, hours after going to church because he dreaded the thought of Obama winning the election, a family friend has revealed.

A confidante of the family for the past 25 years has spoken to MailOnline about the strength and grace of the Peterson family, as well as the torment that plagued Albert which drove him to shoot dead his wife Kathleen and his two sons Christopher and Mathew at their suburban home in DC on Sunday.

A history of mental illness, the loss of a dear uncle, and a growing fear of Obama winning a second term in the White House took its toll on the mind of Mr Peterson, a wealthy defense contractor, the friend said.
‘He just did not want his kids inheriting this mess,’ Maggie L, who did not wish to reveal her last name, told MailOnline. ‘Sometimes we thought he might take his own life when he was so depressed. We never thought he would take Kathie’s.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2209719/Pictured-The-beautiful-family-slain-hours-church-mentally-ill-father-tormented-prospect-Obama-winning-election.html

The mother of the eight-year-old girl from Irwin, St James, has recounted the harrowing night of Monday, September 24 when she, her daughter and three other females aged 14, 16 and 23 were raped.

Four days after the ordeal, the woman, 28, says it has been a struggle for the entire family.

However she says it has been extremely difficult for her mother, as well as the child’s father.

“I want my mother,” the woman said this morning, tears streaming down her face.

But with her mom living in England, the distance is only adding to the pain.

And the woman says each day she goes to the hospital to see her injured eight-year-old writhing in agony, her anguish deepens.

“I break down every morning,” said the mother of two.

The woman recalled that some time after 10 o’clock on Monday night when their Irwin home was invaded by two gunmen, the criminalsgathered all five females, her three-year-old baby and a seven-year-old nephew, took away their cellphones and led them into nearby bushes.

She said the men then demanded money before taking the eight-year-old girl into the house.

The perpetrators would later rape the other four females in the bushes.

After the ordeal, the mother, her baby, nephew and the three other females went back into the house where it was discovered that the eight-year-old girl had also been raped.

By then, the men had left.

With no cellphone to call anyone for help, the woman said they remained at home cowering in fear, uncertain whether the rapists were still lurking around.

But daylight was nowhere near and her daughter needed immediatemedical attention.

“I was willing to take a gunshot but I didn’t want my daughter to bleed to death on me,” she said.

And so the mother said she and her sister decided to run to their neighbour’s house to get help.

In the meantime, the woman says her daughter has expressed that she does not want to remain in Jamaica.

“My daughter’s youth has been taken from her,” said the grieving mother, before breaking down.

Between sobs, she said her daughter has told her it would have been better had the men broken her arms.

“I want to ask them why!” she muttered. “I just want a minute with him. I have to ask him why!”

Meanwhile, the police say detectives from the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse, along with their counterparts in St James, will today interview the main suspect in the case.

[email protected]

Many people who contract the A.I.D.S virus go through a stage of denial then anger, whether acquiring A.I.D.S could have been prevented by them or not. The case concerning the young lady in New Jersey is no different but started off as follows:-
American born of Jamaican parentage , she was a troubled young lady and was living in the U.K after her mother left the U.S to live there. She was sent to Jamaica because of the problems she created at home.She managed to attend a prominent high school in Kingston where it was said that she became afflicted by a demon while there and her attitude changed immensely , it was also alleged that she became involved with a group of girls. It is said that while in Jamaica, she contracted the A.I.D.S virus, but others say she contracted it from an American man she met upon her return to the U.S. After contacting the disease she moved out of her grandmother’s place and was given her own apartment by the government. The disease was masked well because of her size. Allegedly her grandmother tried to warn some of the young men she was seemingly involved with , but because of her turbulent relationship with her family she was able to convince her victims that her grandmother was lying.
It would seem from the outside looking into her life, that the steps she took were calculated as she went for treatment of the disease more than two hours away from home.
She was a heavy smoker and wore her jackets open during the winter and because of this had a constant cough. This too hid the effects of the disease.
While calculating the steps in which to spread the disease the young lady became a very active and popular member of the New Jersey dancehall fraternity , known because of her loud mouth and appeared to many as being outspoken.
Many dancehall patrons who knew her will admit that she always seemed in hot pursuit of young men and often left one club by herself to go to another, often asking for a ride . This seemed also as a part of her calculations as many men who found themselves giving her a ride often ended up sleeping with her at some point or another. Men who were temporary homeless from the dancehall scene often shacked up with her, not questioning which she did not work or received full government benefits without a dependent. Men took sex and a free place to stay as a gift from heaven not knowing that they were being exposed.
In March of 2010, she fell ill will chronic pneumonia and could not get to the hospital she regularly went to for treatment and had to go to a treatment center close to where she lived. This was a week after celebrating her birthday, and for gifts it was said she told the crowd all she wanted was sex.
Treating her close to home, caused her well kept secret to hit the streets along with her rapid weightloss, it sent tongues in her area wagging, this sent her into a low level exile . She began to stay away from parties and tried attending church. It is alleged that upon attending church , the pastor turned her back calling out demons and spiritual warfare. She decided to stay home and after an attempt to return to the party scene, a few weeks after printing her flyers in 2011 she died.

MEK SHE A COMMON UP HARSELF SUH?

Gyptian

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Chilling with Chantal Zaky, Miss Jamaica Universe 2012 on the set for ‘Overtime’ video.