River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-04-21
Is There a
Personal Devil?
By REV. JAMES M. GRAY
Dean Of Moody Bible Institute.
Chicago

upon the theme. 'Is There a Per-
sonal Deyil?" but assume that the in
terrogative form was used as mat
ter of convenience and not as sug-
gestion of doubt. do not assume that
Christian men learned in the Bible,
and who accept it not as the word
of men but as it is in truth, the word
of God have any doubt about the
personality of the devil.
The dictionary tells us that person
atty is synonymous with self-con-
sciousness, or the power to identity
ones self That which can contrive
or design must be a person, DR.. Paley
tells US, for such capacities imply con-
seriousness of thought. But that the
devil possesses these capacities just
as man does, or indeed just as God
himself does, is very evident from the
inspired record.
That record in this case in progress
sive. At first the devil is presented
only as a serpent, although the whole
narrative of Genesis ill.,, but especially
the spiritual nature of the temptation
-tYe shall be as God'-suggests more
than a mere animal agency at work.
So clearly indeed is this suggested
that we are quite prepared for the
Identification of the serpent with the
devil and Satan which we find IN
Revelation xii, 9.
But when we come to the new Tes-
lament the veil is lifted, and his real
and awful character is portrayed in
vivid colors.
It is to the old Testament, however,
that we are indebted for the word
Satan which, as you know, means
an 'adversary'-but one possessing
hate, great hostility and a purpose
to injure. Gesenius is authority for
the statement that when this word
is preceded by the article is assumes
the nature of a proper name.
Reaching the new Testament, we
find the personality of Satan sug-
gested in several ways, as, for ex-
ample:
1. BY the titles given him. He Is
called the accuser of the brethren,
the angel of the bottomless pit,
'Apollyon, or he that exterminates;
the father of lies,' the man murderer
the prince of the DEVILS the spirit
that now wOrketh in the children OF
disobedience,' the God of this world
the unclean spirit the wicked one
and the evil one.'
2. BY the characteristics ascribed to
him. He is called presumptuous,
proud, powerful, malignant, deceitful,
cruel, always active in doing and pro-
noting evil and yet cowardly. He is
compared to a fowler setting snares
for unwary souls, a sower scattering
tares by night, wolf ravaging the
flock and a lion restlessly wandering
about for prey.
1t is astonishing in the light of such
testimony that Christians of intelli-
gence should be found doubling, much
less denying, the personality of the
devil. If personality means the essen
tial characteristic of person as dis
tinguished from a thing, is not Satan
rather more than thing?
But if it be astonishing that men
should deny his personality in the
face of testimony like this, what shall
we say of their folly who, accepting
! It in a sense, treat the subject OF the
devil in the spirit of levity and crack
Jokes at his expense and make merry
with his proclivities-as even minis
tiers have been known to do. How
such conduct testifies at once to the
ignorance of the natural heart and
the power which the archdeceiver has
obtained over it!
There is first the physical element.
He is an angel, although fallen one.
and it is said of such they excel in
strength Take the history of Job as
an illustration of this. In his case a
great fire fell and burned UP his sheep
and oxen. Then a wind from the will
derness smote the four corners of his
house, killing the young men who
were within, and then at last Job him.
self is smitten with sore boils from
The sole of his foot to the crown OF
his head.
There is, secondly, Satan's intellec-
tual power. He has a mind and will
to think. contrive and devise. His
knowledge, too, is very great, for the
reason, among others that he is very
old-'old but not infirm.'
He was in existence before Adam.
and has had the advantage of this
long period of observation to add to
his original stock of information.
With unremitting attention he has
studied the evidences of time, and
doubtless there is not an individual
on earth. and never has been, with
whose power and peculiarities he is
not familiar
He is ever going to and fro and
walking up and down, in the earth,'
scriptural language which means, we
are told not merely a careless passing
from one place to another, but a 60
ing about to spy and search ana 3D.
serve anything diligently.
Moreover. in Satan's knowledge,
there is not only his age and expe-
rience. but the access he has to the
most high. When the sons of God
came to present themselves before the
Lord. Satan came also among them.
This mystery, many another, we can
not explain. but there it stands as a
mighty fact to be reckoned with. Je-
hoyah and Satan holding a conference
concerning the integrity of man!
Pleasant Memories.
A busy. useful old lady, gray haired
but smiling eyed, said the other day,
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