Horns and a pitchfork?

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

The subtlety of the father of lies is rooted in his character as the master of a million faces. And these faces are beautifully bathed in light. The grotesque images of the evil one as a fiery red beast with horns, a pointy tail, and a pitchfork come to us, not from Scripture, but from Middle-Age caricatures. 

The medieval church believed firmly in the reality of Satan. It understood that the evil one was a fallen angel whose head swelled with pride. So, the church proposed attacking Satan at his point of weakness – his arrogance – and he would flee. As R. C. Sproul puts it, “What better way to attack Satan’s pride than to depict him as a cloven-hoofed court jester in a red suit?” Unfortunately, later generations, including ours, maintain these distortions as if they are intended to be the real thing.

Continue reading →

Satan: Father of lies

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

What do Satan and Fletcher Reede have in common? Haven’t heard of Mr. Reede? He’s the fast-talking lawyer whose habitual untruths built a remarkably successful career for himself – and ruined just about everything else, including a relationship with his young son, Max. Actor Jim Carrey plays the strangely lovable louse in the 1997 film Liar Liar.

Reede undergoes a miraculous transformation when Max makes a wish. As he’s blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, Max wishes his dad would tell the truth – and nothing but the truth – for just twenty-four hours. Max’s wish comes true, and the ensuing scenes take Reede through an agonizing journey of self-discovery and, ultimately, a restored relationship with his son. 

Redemption rarely looks this sweet, or funny. Throughout the story, Reede realizes he is incapable of telling the truth. His pathological behavior suits him, and benefits him, until he realizes it destroys nearly everything he loves. Reede lies because he is a liar. It is his nature to lie. And it takes a miracle to set him free.

Continue reading →

Paul’s anticipation of Christ’s return

This is the fourth in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.

How could “the worst” of sinners, suffering confinement in Rome, write a letter to a distant church, expressing gratitude and joy? Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a remarkable epistle that proclaims the joys of knowing Christ, the rewards of persevering in the faith, and the secret of contentment. 

Paul writes to thank the Philippians for their financial support. He assures them that their messenger, Epaphroditus, who delivered the church’s gift to Paul, has recovered from a grave illness. And he desires to maintain his close relationship with fellow believers from whom he has been isolated. 

While Paul cannot assure the Philippians of his release from prison, or promise them relief from their own sufferings for the cause of Christ, he writes jubilantly with the full assurance of Christ’s return and believers’ future glory.

Continue reading →

The devil and his details

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

Let’s close this part of our study on Satan with a short summary of his diabolical activities and his ultimate destiny as recorded in the New Testament. Specifically, note seven key contrasts between what Satan does and what eventually becomes of him.

First, Satan binds, then he is bound. After Jesus heals a woman that an evil spirit has disabled, he explains to the synagogue leader who objects to the Sabbath-day miracle, “Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for eighteen years – shouldn’t she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16). Other Scriptures speak of those in bondage to sin (John 8:34; Acts 8:23) or taken captive by Satan to do his will (2 Tim. 2:26). 

Ultimately, however, the evil one finds himself bound in the abyss. Revelation 20 records an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seizes “the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan,” and binds him for a thousand years (vv. 1-2). Then, Satan is “released from his prison” for a time, only to be cast into the lake of fire forever (vv. 7, 10).

Continue reading →

John’s testimony from Patmos

This is the third in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.

In the visions John receives while exiled on the Isle of Patmos, he often records the words of Jesus foretelling his return. John may have recorded these visions as early as the A.D. 60s or as late as the A.D. 90s. In any case, Jesus assures his followers – and warns his opponents – that his return is certain. 

Here’s a sampling:

Revelation 1:8 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

God the Father most likely makes this statement, although some English translations  ascribe them to Jesus. It seems best to understand this verse as the Father putting his divine signature on the prophecy of the second coming in verse 7: “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him.”

While this verse is not an explicit promise of Jesus’ return, it places the Father’s stamp of approval on Old Testament prophecies of the second coming. And it ties together the redemptive work of the triune Godhead to be completed when Jesus returns.

Continue reading →