Everyone has heard of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but there is a fourth entity whom Christians deify. They call him the devil. First we have to understand what a deity actually is. A deity is a figure who is thought to have powers greater than ordinary human beings. It is someone who can supernaturally do things to us or for us. They can effect change to the world through their powers.
In Christianity, the devil is seen as the god of this world. That is to say that this world and everything in it is evil and falls under the authority of the devil. He is the cause of all the bad things that can happen to people. He uses his powers over this world to cause people to commit all perverse acts. He makes people commit murder and other crimes. He is the cause of addiction as well as the cause of sickness and disease. Basically, anything we don't like happening to us is caused by the devil.
I've been to churches which practice the "laying on of hands". Charismatic, Pentecostal, and some other denominations practice this ritual. This can be performed in front of the congregation or privately. Sometimes they rub olive oil on the person's forehead. While this is not mandatory, many believe it helps in some way. They will lay hands on people for various reasons. It is usually done to someone who is sick. During these sessions, the ones doing the laying on of hands are considered more faithful and stronger than others. They are usually the elders of the church. As they have their hands on the person, they pray over them. They call on God to heal the person. They also call the devil out of them in many cases. In doing this, they acknowledge that the devil has taken control of this person in some way. He can only be called out in the name of Jesus. Many believe this to be a very spiritual experience. Now there is a catch to this scenario. If the person isn't healed, it is said that they didn't have enough faith. They can only walk away from the episode feeling that there is something wrong with them. During all of these rituals in which I have both witnessed and taken part, which is a significant number, I have never seen anyone healed. What they do is simply move on. All of these failed healings are either forgotten or chalked up to a lack of faith.
To acknowledge the devil as the god of this world is to diminish the real God of this world. This is a serious offense which Christians don't realize they are committing. We know that the God of Israel is the creator of the universe. Christians don't deny this. Isaiah 45: 5-9 explains this quite well. In verse 5 God is telling us "I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God:...".In verse 7 He goes on to say "Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates evil; I am the Lord, Who makes all these." It is plain to see that God is the creator of all things, both good and evil. How could it be any other way? If we read on to verse 12 it says, " I made the earth, and I created man upon it; as for Me-My hands stretched out the heavens, and I ordained their host". What does this mean? We know from Job chapter 1 that Satan is an angel; one of the heavenly host. Verse 12 here is telling us that God has ordained the host. Through this, we know that Satan is not the adversary of God, but that he is doing what God intended for him to do. Now here is the offense. When Christians say that the devil is the god of this world they are putting him in the place of the God of Israel. In today's language, they are "snubbing" Him. In the language of Isaiah, they are contending with their creator. (see v9)
If you are a Christian reading this, I urge you to take a serious look at the things you believe. Ask yourself if you believe what you do because of what you learned in church, or because of what you have learned through scripture? You have seen how I have shown you, through scripture, that what the church has taught you about the devil is not in line with scripture. What other things have they taught you? There are many things they teach that are also not in line with scripture. I have listed some of these things in another post called "If Someone Lied to You". I cannot urge you enough to learn these things for yourself. Please don't take my word for it. Look it up for yourself. The Hebrew Bible is the only source to learn about the God of Israel. You will not learn the truth from your Christian bible. It is filled with inconsistencies. A simple internet search for " inconsistencies in the New Testament" will show you. You can sit down with your Christian bible, any version you like, and compare it against the Hebrew Scriptures and you will be able to see for yourself. Please, look it up. If for nothing else than to prove me wrong.
Copyright 2016 by
William Bouker
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