J. THE DEVIL OR SATAN

We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, the Devil; that he was created by God as a glorious and powerful being; that he sinned in pride and rebellion, and fell from his position of favor with God; that a great company of angels followed him in his fall, and that some of them became demons, while others are “reserved in chains under darkness unto the judgment;” that he is the archenemy of God; that he is very subtle, and extremely wicked; that he is the adversary of believers; that he blinds men to the Gospel; that he troubles the children of God, and accuses the believer before God; that he brought sin into God’s creation; that he led our first parents into sin and rebellion and, as the god of this age, rules over a kingdom of darkness consisting of fallen angels and unregenerate men; that he counterfeits the true works of God by bringing into existence, and nurturing religious systems and doctrines which cause many men and religious movements to apostatize from the true things of God; that he is destined to judgment of an eternal justice, in the Lake of Fire. (Genesis 3:1-6, 16; Job 1:6-12, 2:4-7; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 4:1-11, 12:22-30, 13:39; Luke 10:18, 22:31-32; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:34, 11:3,13-15; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1:12, 5:8, 6:11-12; Colossians 1:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:4,9-10; 1 Timothy 2:13-14, 3:6; 2 Timothy 3:5; 1 Peter 5:8-9; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:3-10, 20:1-10)