According to today's news reports, the war in Iraq is voters' main concern as mid-term elections draw near. The furor surrounding Senator John Kerry's joke on the subject underscores the emotions people feel on the issue and the divisiveness it has produced. White House officials are warning of a Syrian and Iranian plot to overthrow the Lebanese government, according to The New York Times. "Wars and rumors of wars" will persist until human history ends (Matthew 24:6).

"War is hell," said General Sherman. He was more right than he knew. War is being fought between nations today, and over the eternal souls of all who live in them. We've been discussing spiritual warfare for several days, learning about demons, the foot soldiers of Satan. Now let's discuss their master, the devil himself. Who and what is he? Where did he come from? Where is he going?

C. S. Lewis once suggested that we make two mistakes regarding the devil. One is to give him more authority than he deserves--then he can do what he wants. The other is to deny that he exists--then he can do what he wants (The Screwtape Letters [Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour and Company, 1990] 9). People today typically think of Satan as a symbol of evil, wearing red tights and a tail, the stuff of Saturday cartoons. He's just as happy to be ignored as to be feared.

But it's impossible to ignore his work--broken hearts and homes, abuse, disease and immorality. Even those who do not admit the reality of Satan must admit the reality of Satanism. In some places in America, the worship of Satan is growing ten times faster than any Christian church. In recent years, the Satanic Bible has outsold the Holy Bible in many university bookstores.

These essays will be written to convince you that Satan is both real and defeated. He wants you to believe neither is true. The choice will be yours.

Our first step is to acknowledge the reality of Satan. Our enemy goes by a number of names in the Bible. The two we know best are "Satan" and "devil." The former means "accuser" and is found 34 times in Scripture--the one who accuses and abuses us. "Devil" is found 36 times in the New Testament, and literally means "slanderer." Satan is also known as the "ancient serpent," the "dragon," and the "evil one."

The Bible views Satan as very real. We'll consider its detailed description tomorrow.

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