The Devil pt 4: His nature

Introduction: The Lusts Of The Devil

John 8:38–45

38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning,  and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

We have already seen how perfectly the fallen nature of man is equated to the nature of the Devil himself. 

We have seen the cause of his fall and how well that same cause works in our own lives to cause our own fall. 

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

We have seen as a result of pride that leads just as naturally to fear; 

The fear of our self exaltation not being shared by others, causes within us insecurity and a natural tendency of blaming everyone else for our trials, rather than ourselves. This is becoming increasingly evident in these perilous times the Bible speaks of, “ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud…etc” (2 Tim 3:1-2)

We get the same impression of the Devil as he continues his evil in the world, no sign whatever of repentance in him nor in his angles, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. Hebrews 10:27

As it is with the devil, so it is with the natural state of fallen man.

We also note Jesus words here as he refers to one of the Lusts of the Devil is Murder;

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, 

Man is made in the image of God, man is the only creature made in God’s image, this alone explains why the devil seeks to murder man. 

Frankly, every appearance of man recalls to his mind the one he as set as his own adversary.

It ought not to surprise us therefore that every nation historically that has been turned against God, every nation who’s leaders promote atheism, are the same who have murdered large portions of their population. 

It seems the death of God in the heart leads to the murder of man in the flesh.

Deicide (The murder of god) leads naturally to Homicide (The murder of man).

Jesus also said the Devil is a Liar and that, from the beginning we are told. and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

This we see today so perfectly represented in the world that forgot God.

We have seen it in nations around the world that have long rejected God and any standard of truth, and now we see it everywhere. 

Lies spread so far and so fast we have no ability to countervail it. This is the nature of the Devil, and he is the “father of it”.

The other natures of the devil that we shall see is that of both accuser / slanderer and the summary of all his nature being that of The Adversary.

Both of those natures imbedded in his very names; Devil and Satan. 

Murderer

John 8:44

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, 

Turn to Genesis 4

Genesis 4:1–12

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 

6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 

9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

We all like to think we are righteous, it is a natural part of ourselves that seeks to justify our behaviour, even when our behaviour qualifies us to guilt.

God does not act in an arbitrary manner, there was reason why God showed he had respect for the offering of Abel rather than Cain.

Cain of the fruit of the earth, but Able offered a Lamb.

It was not a Tythe that God required, it was a sacrifice for sin that was required. “…and without the shedding of blood there is no remission” for sin (Heb 9:22).

Jesus is “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29) 

Able seemed to understand the requirement.

So early in the passage of scripture and we ask the question respecting such a law, for the Levitical Law is not evident until well after the flood, well after Abraham and into the time of the Exodus of the nation.

Nevertheless, we see that even before the food Noah had the ability to know which animals were the clean and which are they that were not clean for the arch;

Genesis 7:2

2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

How did he know, seeing the law had not yet defined it? It would seem he did know. 

Adam was covered with coats of skin, God teaching him even from the begining that a fig leaf will not do, but by the shedding of innocent blood they will be covered.

Cain would have known how to please God. 

Abel witnessed that he was righteous, Cain witnessed he is a murderer.

Hebrews 11:4

4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Cain slew his brother, the first murder of history that we are aware of is that between two brothers. One righteous, the other we are told was moved by the devil, for he was of “that wicked one”.

Abel’s work was seen as righteous, God testified of his witness before him, the work of Cain seen as evil, matching that of the one he seemed to be influenced by.

1 John 3:12 provides another insight;

12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

Beloved, the Bible does not make any secret of it but that Satan hates mankind and desires they all may die.

To think that godless men who have no regard for God and who follow in the way of Cain, who run greedily after the reward and have no regard for human life so long as they have their pockets filled, and to think them to have a benevolent motive, is the height of ignorance.

They, just like Cain, just like Balaam, are pleased to corrupt themselves for reward. 

Jude 10–13

10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 

The devil will use man to kill and to destroy, to do the work he himself is limited in doing. 

This shall increase all the more as the day approaches. Man will continue to have little if any regard for life.

The dogma of Evolution was the first true justification for thinking little of man.

The murder of the babe in the place that God had set apart for the safest place in the world, the mothers own womb. Today, only half of the Children conceived make it out of the womb alive.

The assisted murder of people at the other end of the scale already has its sorrows.

Man now thinks so little of man..just as he thinks so little of God.

Liar

John 8:44

 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning,  and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

The more the world comes to being surrounded by lies the closer the world is to being led by the liar. 

Nothing testifies greater to the nearness of the Lords return than the world being filled with deception. 

More and more people are lying today than ever before. So much so that they have no regard whatsoever for the truth of anything. The more they lie, the more they expose themselves to being lied to. It is a self perpetuating fulfilment of the last days.

In the day of judgment of our God and the day there is not justice for mankind, the world will be filled with the darkness of deception that man cannot even see light.

Turn to  

Isaiah 59:9–15

9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. 11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.

12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; 13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

In that day communications of the kings who rule will be filled with lies. Daniel wrote;

Daniel 11:27

27 And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

When asked about the sign of the coming of the Lord and of the end of the world, three times we have recorded the first response of our Lord respecting deception. 

Take heed no man deceive you… (Mat 24:4)

Take heed lest any man deceive you… (Mrk 13:5)

Take heed that ye be not deceived…. (Lk 21:8)

Today, a single phrase seems to identify the state of the world, it says “a lie circles the earth three times in a day before the truth has even gotten out of bed”. By the time the truth has come out, the people have forgotten what the lie was.

Everything is about obscurity, change the words and you change the perception and pass all that needs to be passed.

Call it “Reproductive Rights” rather than Infanticide.

Call it “Inclusivity” rather than “cultural perversion”

Call it “gender affirming care” rather than bodily mutilation.

Call it “Palliative care” rather than institutionalised murder.

Call it “Hate Speech” rather than thought crime.

We are living in the world of George Orwells “1984” in 2025. 

The strange discrimination we see today is also witnessed in Orwell’s book, “Animal Farm” where we see that we are all equals, but some are more equal than others.

Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” is beginning to feature front and centre and DECEPTION is the key instrument employed.

It was Pastor Joe Wright in his opening prayer of the Kansas Senate way back in 1996 that has become famous for both its clarity and its perception.

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness, and to seek Your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good.’ And that’s exactly what we’ve done.

We’ve lost our spiritual equilibrium.

We’ve inverted our values.

We confess that we’ve ridiculed the absolute Truth of Your Word in the name of moral pluralism.

We’ve worshiped other gods and called it ‘multiculturalism.’

We’ve endorsed perversion and called it ‘alternative lifestyle.’

We’ve exploited the poor and called it a ‘lottery.’

We’ve neglected the needy and called it ‘self-preservation.’

We’ve rewarded laziness and called it ‘welfare.’

Father, in the name of ‘choice,’ we have killed our unborn, and then in the name of ‘right to life,’ we’ve killed abortionists.

We’ve neglected to discipline our children and called it ‘building esteem.’

We have abused power and called it ‘political savvy.’

We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ‘taxes.’

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it ‘freedom of expression.’

We’ve ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it ‘enlightenment.’

Search us, O God, know our hearts today, try us and show us any wickedness in us. And then cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas and who have been ordained by You to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will.

I ask it in the name of Your Son the Living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Beloved, your responsibility to your spouse, to your family, to this Church and to this world IS TO KNOW THE TRUTH that you may have the wisdom to recognise a LIE.

Christians are meant to be the last line of defence when it comes to discernment, and yet I have found that far too many will not question accusations, will not check if matters have a fuller story, a fuller picture that reveals the truth. 

We are too quick to accept things told us and have become as foolish as the world is.

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. (Pr 18:13).

I have found so many Christians are this way inclined, the answer, they respond to things they have not searched out the truth of. They have become fools in doing so.

Having NO REGARD for the Truth damns the world.

Turn to

2 Thessalonians 2:10–12

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

READ YOUR BIBLES

PRAY FOR WISDOM

BE NOT DECEIVED.  

Beloved, the Devil is the FATHER OF LIES, Don’t act like his children!

Accuser/ Slanderer 

Revelation 12:9–11

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

It is something that far too few people realise that they are likened to. People who are so quick to accuse others of error fail to see themselves behaving just as the devil does.

^“Judge not according to the appearance”, says the Lord, “but judge righteous judgment”.

John 7:24

Far too many today are pointing fingers here, there and everywhere but themselves. Everything seems to be someone else’s fault. All are accusing, but none are “Judging Righteous Judgement.”.

Slander and accusation is endemic, both in the world and sadly, in the Church of the last days.

The “Accusers of the brethren” today seem to be the brethren themselves.

Turn to James 3

James 3:3–6

3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Gossip, talebearing, backbiting, whisperings, these are the signs of cowards and sinners like Satan who hold more to the doctrine of the devil than they do the doctrine of the Lord. 

They have no fear of “setting on fire the course of nature”, they care nothing for the truth and care only that they themselves are justified in their accusations. IF they cant succeed with the small things they do all they can to dig up or invent evil until they are satisfied.

These are they who split friends, families and churches and these have no humility nor shame.

They are quick to judge and slow to discern.

Quick to hate, slow to love.

Quick to condemn, slow to enquire.

James 4:11–12

11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

James 5:9

9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

Psalm 101:5

5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.

Sadly, when such accusers and slanderers obtain no sastisfaction, they go diligently on a search to dig up dirt on those they hate.

Proverbs 16:27–28

27 An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire. 

Like the accuser of the brethren himself, they sow discord and strife.

Next verse

28 A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

Romans 1:30 identities them as “inventors of evil things”. 

And God ALWAYS reveal them in his time.

1 Corinthians 4:5

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Beloved, I will say again and again, gossip and slander is the sin of cowards.

• They do not have the courage to go to the Lord and check their own selves. 
• They do not have the courage to deal with the matter as an adult. 
• They are afraid to address the individual with whom they think to have a quarrel and so choose to “set on fire the course of hell”.

Devil = Slanderer / False Accuser

It is interesting to note that the word Diabolos in the greek of the New Testament is the word that is translated Devil in our english Bible, but the exact same word is translated “Slanderer” and “False Accuser”.

Turn to

Turn to;  

1 Timothy 3:10–11

10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers (Devil διαβολος), sober, faithful in all things.

Go forward to;

2 Timothy 3:1–4

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers (Devil διαβολοi), incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

The Devil is a person, but his name means “Slanderer” or “False Accuser”. They that do so, identify themselves as his children beloved, for the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

There is a passage that links directly to Satan in Revelation 12:9–11, It also shows his end.

Turn there with me;

 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

The accuser of the brethren has an end. 

Beloved, do not behave like him in your private conversations. 

Do not accuse your brethren, “be ye angry but sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Eph 4:26), but deal with a brother or sister, giving them the benefit of the doubt always.

For the love and grace we show today will be the love and grace we need tomorrow.

Adversary

Zechariah 3:1–2

1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

There is yet another nature of Satan that is imbedded in his very name.

All names have a meaning, Devil means “Slanderer” and “False Accuser”.

Satan means Adversary.

He resists the work of the holy Spirit and the work of God being done within you.

He will tempt you, try you and put stumbling blocks in your path.

He will do all he can to afraid you and cause you to fall. 

But,

16 … a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Proverbs 24:16

While the Devil is our adversary, this is true, yet we ought to know he is already a defeated foe.

God uses the Devil ONLY to test the hearts of man. To bring out the truth of that which is in man. Some fall and fail, others are strengthened for greater work. Tried in the fire, purified to be meet for the masters use.

Proverbs 25:4

4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.

The nature of the Devil is what it is. He cannot be reformed, he cannot be changed, nor can he be reasoned with nor bargained to our advantage. He is a defeated foe who only awaits the broghtness of the coming of the Lord in the not too distant future.

God has a use for him yet, and to you and I who love the Lord, who have our loins girt about with truth, having put on the breast plate of righteousness, our feet purposefully shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith to quench all those accusatorial darts that are shot at us, the helmet of our salvation and know how to wield that sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, we will prevail if we do not faint.

Philippians 4:13

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.