cripture on this important subject are but little
understood by Christians and seem to be entirely outside the thought of
the world. It is, therefore, to be expected that any attempt to present
this truth will seem, to many, mere folly and fiction.
The name Satan has by no means been lost. It has, however, been
associated with a most unscriptural fancy. Without reference to
revelation, the world has imagined a grotesque being, fitted with
strange trappings, who has been made the central character in theatrical
performances; and by this relation to the unreality of the theatre, the
real character of Satan has come to be only one of the myths of a bygone
age.
Scripture reveals a detailed description of the person and career of
Satan; beginning with his creation; his original condition; his fall,
and on to his kingdom with all its developments, and his final defeat
and banishment. It presents a personage so mighty and so prominent in
the world to-day that the Christian heart would fail, were it not for
faith in the One who has triumphed over all principalities and powers.
This attempt to outline the Scripture teaching on this character will be
undertaken under certain general conditions:
First--The authority of the Scriptures of both the Old and the New
Testaments will be accepted without question.
Second--Evidence will be drawn from the Word of God alone, since no
final light can be found on this subject other than it has pleased God
to reveal in the Bible.
Third--There will be no discussion as to the actual existence of Satan;
this being both assumed and taught from Genesis to Revelation.
These pages are prepared especially for believers; knowing that this
body of truth will be wholly unnoticed or rejected by the Satan-blinded
world (2 Cor. 4:4).
There has also been a deep sense of the seriousness of the undertaking:
both because Satan, by his present direct power, would, if possible,
hinder any larger understanding of his projects and purposes; and
because so great a warning has fallen from the lips of Christ against
the sin of ascribing to Satan the things which are really of God (Matt.
12:22-32). The work has, therefore, been undertaken with some degree of
reliance upon the keeping and guiding power of the Spirit of God, and is
presented with the prayer that believers may have a clearer
understanding of this important body of truth and be able to say with
Paul, "We are not ignorant of his devices." It
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