SATAN
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false worship of angels or exaggerated fears of demons. It is true that Paul is not really concerned to affirm or deny the existence in the world of evil spirits. He does, however deny emphatically that, whoever they are and wherever they may be (Ephes. 6 :12), any or all of them can stand up against Christ's mission of salvation. Yet the specific fact of the existence of angels and demons and of Satan in particular, seems solidly entrenched in his way of thinking, and not simply a reflection of current, contemporary thought. JESUS AND SATAN
The current New Testament conception of Satan, at the time of Jesus, can hardly be understood as a mere dramatic or poetic personification of the power of evil. The adversary of the Old Testament is now individualized. Satan is now distinctly personal (Jam. 4 :7) the originator (2 Cor. 11 :3), instigator (1 Thes. 3:5, Mt. 4 :1), and perpetuator (Ephes. 2 :2) of sin and the cause of its penalty, death (Jn. 8:44, Hebr. 2 :14). He is the personal head of the realm of evil with its ministers (Ephes. 2 :2), the source of spiritual evil ( 1 J n. 3 :8) and bodily evil, in the case of possession (Mk. 1 :21-28). The antagonist generally of God (Mt. 13:28, 39, Acts 13 :10) and specifically of man (1 Pet. 5 :8). Satan now appears under nine distinct names. He is the prince of demons (Mk. 3 :22, Jn. 12 :31, Ephes. 2 :2), the tempter ( Mt. 4 :3), the devil, that is, the adversa1¡y ( 1 Pet. 5 :8), Satan (passim), Beelzebul (Mk. 3:22 name of a Canaanite divinity, Baal, the prince), the enemy (Mt. 13 :39), the evil one (Mt. 13:19), the unclean spirit (Mt. 12:43 that is vicious, as opposed to holy), Beliar (2 Cor. 6 :15) and, finally, the serpent (2 Cor. 11:3, A poe. 12 :9). Demons were thought of in Jesus' day as non-material existences of a personal sort, hostile to human welfare and rebellious against God. The gospels reflect widespread dread of demons and a general sense of helplessness before demonic activity. Jesus is portrayed as one who can deliver from demonic oppression and from Satan himself, evil's supreme embodiment. Demoniacs are persons controlled in body (Mt. 8:16, 28) or will (Lk. 22 :3) or both (Mt. 27 :5) by evil forces. Demon posses-