Your Worst Enemy​—Is It You?

NEIGHBORS called Peter a “nice guy . . . who was hooked on running and playing tennis.” A mere 33 years old, he could already boast a prestigious job and acclaim as an amateur athlete. But one morning he strangled his father. The provocation? According to the Daily News, Peter shouted, “The Devil made me do this!”

Criminals invoking the Devil-made-me-do-it alibi, however, often find themselves being rushed off for psychiatric examination rather than gaining acquittal. And in some circles merely expressing belief in the Devil is enough to bring one’s sanity into question. ‘A shadowy figure who runs around promoting murder and mayhem? Ridiculous!’ say many. A bit more palatable, perhaps, is the notion that the Devil is just a symbol of the evil in man himself.

Imperfect man, to be sure, does have an evil side. “The inclination of the heart of man is bad from his youth up,” says the Bible. (Genesis 8:21) But decades of research by psychologists to find ‘the Devil within’ have produced little more than conflicting theories, often riddled with inconsistencies and problems. (See box.)

Take, for example, those who attribute human violence to our supposed evolutionary inheritance from animals. In his book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Erich Fromm argues that, contrary to popular opinion, violence is not an animal’s sole response to danger: “The impulse to flee plays . . . the same if not a larger role in animal behavior than the impulse to fight.” So even if one were to accept the problem-filled theory of evolution, the concept of man as an innately violent animal is suspect. But if man is not his own worst enemy, then who is?

[Box on page 3]

The Search for ‘the Devil Within’

Many have been the attempts to prove that man alone is the source of evil. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud saw man as driven by powerful life-and-death instincts. Freud’s former collaborator Carl Jung, however, saw the “Devil” in man as a “shadow” or animallike personality that emerges when man tries to repress his evil side. Konrad Lorenz said that aggression is innate, a leftover of man’s evolutionary past. Many biologists feel that genetic or organic abnormalities might be the triggers of human violence. Complicating the picture even further are those who say that nurture​—not nature—​is responsible for ‘the Devil’ in man. By this, behaviorists mean that environmental factors, such as family and friends, produce evil.

Your Worst Enemy​—Who Is He?

NO ONE denies, of course, that man is often the cause of evil. The real issue, though, is, Could man alone be responsible for the enormous cruelty and violence our generation has witnessed? Many refuse even to consider looking outside of man for another source of evil. But should you cast aside this possibility without at least investigating it? Granted, the popular image of a long-tailed, horned Devil in red tights is laughable. But the global escalation of wickedness is not.

Does it not seem incredible to you that man, a creature capable of great love and tenderness, is also the author of the concentration-camp tortures and nuclear bombs? If evil is just a simple matter of psychology or environment, why has it increased to frightening levels in an age when man supposedly knows more about himself and his environment than ever before? Why are nearly all nations reporting increases in crime? Why has this century been inundated with forms of evil that in earlier times were hardly heard of? If wickedness is solely man-made, why have man’s greatest efforts to eliminate it proved dismal failures?

Could it be that the famous Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco was right when he said: “History would be beyond comprehension if we were to leave out the demonic element”?

The Clergy’s Curious Silence

Though the question of whether there exists a “demonic element” or not would seem best answered by theologians, the religious clergy are, oddly enough, just as divided as scientific researchers. The Providence Journal-Bulletin once queried a number of local clergymen on the question, Is Satan real? There were those who claimed they had actually exorcised demons, others who believed in the Devil but had trouble ‘personalizing’ him (‘I see him more as a power that is contrary to the will of God’), and yet others who said the Devil is not a person (‘I don’t think we have to personalize him’).

Even the Catholic Church has been curiously silent when it comes to the Devil, though belief in the Devil is official church doctrine. As E. V. Walter observes in Disguises of the Demonic, the church has reacted to modern skepticism. Comparing the 1907 and 1967 editions of The Catholic Encyclopedia, Walter notices “more than a subtle difference” in the articles dealing with “demons,” “demoniacs,” “diabolic possession” and “exorcism.” While the old encyclopedia clearly acknowledged the reality of demonic possession, the newer edition took a more sophisticated approach: “Psychiatry . . . has shown that the workings of the subconscious explain many, if not most, of the abnormal conditions that earlier generations had attributed to diabolical activity.”

Pope Paul VI, however, caused a theological uproar back in 1972 when he said: “We know that this obscure and disturbing being [the Devil] really exists and that he still operates with treacherous cunning.” Liberal theologians cringed at this. The church sponsored theological study of the issue. The result? A document entitled “Christian Faith and Demonology” that clearly reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s belief in the Devil. But as Herbert Haag observes in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, the church chose a strangely inconspicuous method of publishing this study.a And in a surprising break with tradition, the author of the study is anonymous. Concludes Haag: “Rome chose the route of anonymity, which can hardly be interpreted as anything other than an admission of incertitude.”

Can We View Satan “Realistically and Seriously”?

Though the Vatican’s document was all but ignored by the media and the world, the issue of the Devil’s existence cannot be brushed aside. The consequences are just too enormous. If, for example, there is no Devil, how can you reconcile the existence of a God of love with the continuing existence of evil? As Howard R. Burkle writes in God, Suffering, & Belief: “Of all the factors which make belief [in God] difficult for moderns, however, the most important is human suffering.” Denying the existence of the Devil might therefore be one breath away from denying the existence of God!

There is also the fact that belief in the Devil is virtually universal. As historian Jeffrey Burton Russell observes, there are “parallel formulations of the Devil in diverse and widely separated cultures.” He has been called Ahriman by the ancient Persians, Iblīs by Muslims and Māra by Buddhists. But in the Western world, he is perhaps better known by the name Satan. Belief in a Devil persists in spite of the skepticism of science and the denials of theologians.

Of prime significance to Christians, however, is the question, Does the Bible teach the existence of a Devil? True, liberal theologians attempt to explain away the Devil’s appearance in the Bible, some even claiming that Jesus Christ did not believe in him. Their attitude, according to Professor Richard H. Hiers, writing in the Scottish Journal of Theology, is this: “We do not believe in Satan and demons; surely Jesus could not have done so either!” But after a careful study of the Gospel accounts, Hiers concluded: “There is no reason for us to suppose that Jesus did not view the demons in the same way as did his contemporaries and the synoptic evangelists: realistically and seriously.”

Are there thus valid reasons for you, too, to view the existence of the Devil “realistically and seriously”? What exactly does the Bible say about him?

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 5]

“History would be beyond comprehension if we were to leave out the demonic element”

[Blurb on page 5]

Efforts to limit the Devil to the evil within man have proved unsatisfactory

[Picture on page 6]

Has man alone been responsible for all of this?

Your Worst Enemy​—His Rise and Fall

THE Bible shows that the enemy emerged shortly after God placed man and woman in their Paradise home. God, requiring the loyalty and obedience of this couple, gave them a simple command: ‘Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.’​—Genesis 2:16, 17.

The enemy, however, saw this as a golden opportunity: “Now the serpent proved to be the most cautious of all the wild beasts of the field that Jehovah God had made. So it began to say to the woman: ‘Is it really so that God said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?’” Eve, doubtless familiar with the serpent and its shy ways, had no reason to run in terror. Not grasping that a superhuman power was behind this serpent, she was intrigued by its smooth words.​—Genesis 3:1; 1 Timothy 2:14.

So when Eve responded that a violation of God’s law would mean death, the serpent replied by flatly contradicting God: “You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.”​—Genesis 3:2-5.

The rest is history. Eve, deceived into thinking she could live successfully independent of God, ate of the tree, and Adam followed suit. Swiftly moving to punish the rebellious pair, God condemned them to eventual death.​—Genesis 3:16-19.

Who Was Behind the Serpent?

The Bible specifically identifies Satan as “the original serpent.” (Revelation 12:9) Delete the Devil from Genesis (as some skeptics would do) and the account is meaningless. One must then believe that a serpent somehow mustered up the ability to talk!

Yet the Bible shows that only man was created “in God’s image” and thus was able to communicate intelligently. (Genesis 1:27) Note, too, the sentence God pronounced upon the serpent: “And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.”​—Genesis 3:15.

Applying these words to a literal serpent makes little sense. Do humans really feel any more “enmity” for serpents than for, say, rats and spiders? Quite obviously, then, the “serpent,” “woman” and ‘seeds’ of that text are symbols that can be understood only in the light of other scriptures. (Galatians 4:26; 3:29; Revelation 12:1-6; Matthew 23:33) Nevertheless, it was now clear that a Satan, a resister of God, was on the loose.

The Enemy’s Origin

“That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him.” (John 8:44) Jesus Christ thus indicated that Satan was at one time “in the truth,” doubtless among the glorious angelic “sons of God.” (Job 38:7) This is a far cry from gruesomely depicting him as a horned, cloven-hoofed creature.a The Bible, however, does not dignify him by giving his original name.

‘But how could an angel sin?’ object some. Precisely what process of thinking led him into rebellion is not spelled out in the Bible. Perhaps he reasoned like the haughty king of Babylon: “To the heavens I shall go up. Above the stars of God I shall lift up my throne.” (Isaiah 14:13; compare 1 Timothy 3:6.) Likely an obsessive desire to be worshiped triggered that deadly chain reaction: “But each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.”​—James 1:14, 15.

Dividing the Universe

Why, then, did God not simply destroy Satan? Because Adam and Eve’s defection raised serious questions: Was God’s rule oppressive? Or was his rule righteous? Who had the right to rule? Was God withholding freedom from his subjects? Given the opportunity, would all of God’s servants abandon him?

Destroying Satan would have settled none of these questions. So God has wisely permitted Satan to exist​—for a limited period. This has allowed both men and angels to observe God’s and Satan’s contrasting way of ruling. People can thus align themselves with either God or Satan. This issue of God’s rule versus “independence” divides the universe to this day!

Another side to this issue was revealed centuries later. In a remarkable glimpse into heaven itself, the Bible in Job 1:6-11 tells of an assembly of angels that Satan brazenly attended:

“Jehovah said to Satan: ‘Where do you come from?’ At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: ‘From roving about in the earth and from walking about in it.’ And Jehovah went on to say to Satan: ‘Have you set your heart upon my servant Job, that there is no one like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad?’ At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: ‘Is it for nothing that Job has feared God? . . . Thrust out your hand, please, and touch everything he has and see whether he will not curse you to your very face.’”

It is obvious from the tone of this exchange that Satan was in opposition to God.b He implied that none of God’s servants would remain faithful if placed under pressure. Consequently, new questions were raised: To what extent would man be willing to suffer hardship out of love for God? Are God’s servants selfishly motivated? Again, these questions could be answered only by allowing wickedness to exist a while longer.

Are There Spirit Governments and Authorities?

Satan has spent some 6,000 years recruiting followers. He even gained the backing of rebel angels who under his influence “forsook their own proper dwelling place” in heaven. (Jude 6; Genesis 6:2) But how successful has he been in wooing humans to his side? How extensive is his influence today?

Quite extensive, according to the testimony of one angel to the prophet Daniel. Explaining why he had been delayed, the angel said: “But the prince of the royal realm of Persia was standing in opposition to me for twenty-one days, and, look! Michael, one of the foremost [angelic] princes, came to help me.” (Daniel 10:13) But who could resist an angel? Certainly no human. Why, it took but one angel to destroy 185,000 puny humans in one night! (Isaiah 37:36) The opposing prince must therefore have been a demonic agent of the great Adversary, Satan, himself!

The implications of this are enormous. The apostle Paul indicated that “wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places” are organized into “governments” and “authorities.” (Ephesians 6:12) Doubtless, then, each world power is invisibly governed by an invisible demonic “prince”! (Daniel 10:20) Indeed, Satan later boasted to Jesus of his ownership of “all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth.”c Jesus, of course, refused to have any share in this Satanic rule. (Luke 4:5-8) But what of men currently in office as national leaders? Are they not, in effect, Satan’s puppets?​—See also Revelation 13:2.

“Eat Much Flesh”

Does Satanic rule really have a tangible effect on mankind? A chilling answer to this is given in Daniel chapter 7. There the Medo-Persian Empire is pictured by a bearlike “beast.” At the end of Da 7 verse 5, the Bible says: “And this is what they were saying to it, ‘Get up, eat much flesh.’” Satan’s demon princes were evidently inciting Persian rulers to “get up” from their second-rate power status and greedily gobble up territory.

History verifies that in time Medo-Persia responded to this demon invitation to “eat much flesh.” Says The Historians’ History of the World: “It is interesting to reflect that this empire was the greatest in mere geographical extent that the world had ever seen, far greater than Egypt, greater than the Assyrian empire at its widest reach, and greater than any empire that was to succeed it until modern times, except for the brief decade [under] Alexander the Great.”

To this day, international leaders show the same inclination to extend their spheres of influence. But now the stakes are higher. Nations perform what one writer called the “macabre dance” of maintaining a “balance of terror”​—enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world several times over. The tempting prospect of a “limited” nuclear war has even seduced “military strategists of all the major powers” to abandon “their long-sacrosanct notion of mutual deterrence. . . . They are busy instead plotting how best to wage and win an atomic exchange. The unspeakable is being discussed; the unthinkable is being contemplated.” (Maclean’s, February 15, 1982) Have they gone mad? No, they are merely succumbing to the proddings of their invisible ruler​—Satan the Devil.

Who Are the Devil’s Advocates?

“I believe in [the Devil], I guess,” said one woman. “But I haven’t thought about him in a long time.” The Devil’s existence, though, should not be shoved into the corners of our minds. It must be faced squarely.

Belief in the Devil, however, does not mean being in morbid fear of him, or being fascinated by the occult. Christians flee demonistic and occult practices. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12; 1 Corinthians 10:21) Interestingly, the book The Devil’s Dominion observed: “The main reason why there has been such a growth of interest and involvement in the occult and in the satanic . . . has been the spiritual sterility of the established Church . . . the true but unwitting group of Devil’s advocates are the clergy of the established Churches themselves.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, suffer no such “spiritual sterility.” Nor do they become unwitting Devil’s advocates by joining the chorus of skeptics who deny his existence. (2 Corinthians 11:14) Knowing who man’s enemy is helps them understand why the God of love permits evil. They know just where they stand on the universal issue, preferring to submit to the good laws and the benefits of God’s rule rather than choose short-lived “independence.” And they are confident that with God’s help they can be ‘delivered from the wicked one.’ (Matthew 6:13) Recognizing that there is a Devil may open them to ridicule, but it also serves as a real protection.

A World War II poster in the United States read, “Know Your Enemy!” Battles have been lost because a general underestimated his foe. Jehovah’s Witnesses, though, know who the enemy is and they are “not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) They know that “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one” and are thus not seduced by his schemes.​—1 John 5:19.

Jehovah’s Witnesses also know that Satan’s evil reign is soon to end. The Bible foretells that soon the all-powerful Creator of the universe will rid his realm of all opposers. Satan’s rule will be succeeded by, as the apostle Peter wrote, “new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to [God’s] promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.”​—2 Peter 3:7, 11-13; Revelation 20:1-3, 10.

In the “short period of time” left, we urge you to study the Bible and learn how you, too, can “oppose the Devil.” (Revelation 12:12; James 4:7) Jehovah’s Witnesses would be pleased to help you do this so that you can rejoice in the Bible’s promise: “The God who gives peace will crush Satan . . . shortly.”​—Romans 16:20.

[Footnotes]

[Map/​Picture on page 10]

(For fully formatted text, see publication.)

Under demonic influence the Medo-Persian Empire grew to be one of the most extensive in history

The Great Sea

Black Sea

Caspian Sea

Persian Gulf

Red Sea

GREECE

MEDIA

PERSIA

ARABIA

EGYPT

ARMENIA

INDIA

LIBYA

Jerusalem

Babylon

Nineveh

Damascus

MT. SINAI

THRACE

ETHIOPIA

Nile River

Tigris River

Euphrates River

PARTHIA

ASSYRIA

LYDIA

SYRIA

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The popular conception of the Devil is borrowed from the portrayals of the mythological Greek god Pan

[Picture on page 9]

Are the world’s military leaders, now plotting nuclear strategy, succumbing to the proddings of Satan?