The Satan of Scripture, by a Clergyman (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. ON THE PRINCEDOM OF THE DEVIL. WE now come to a consideration of Satanic headship?the princedom of the great fallen spirit. In this matter of headship, as in so many other respects, the devil has succeeded with marvellous skill in counterfeiting the things of God's Christ and of His spiritual kingdom. That notable scene in the wilderness of Judea, when, as recorded by St. Luke, the devil took Jesus up into a high mountain, showed Him the kingdoms of this economy, or world, in a moment of time, and then addressed Him, saying, ' All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it, ' vividly illustrates this subject at the outset. Satan claims to be a king and a god: And indeed, within certain limits, and those by no means circumscribed, such he is. Thestatements of Holy Scripture leave us without room to doubt that tlte devil is a prince, or head, over angels, over men, and over a world of spiritual darkness. The titles which the Holy Spirit has been pleased to use of the great fallen spirit abundantly prove, as we have seen, the nature of his office and dominion. It is not often that the great Jehovah?He who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, to whom the inhabitants thereof are but as grasshoppers?He who views the nations of the earth as but a drop of a bucket, who taketh up the isles as a very little thing?speaks of anyone besides Himself as 'great' Yet, when that Evil One is spoken of in his final overthrow, it is as ' the great dragon . . . that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan.'' And great indeed he is, whether we consider his power, the extent of his territory, or the nature of his kingdom. The hosts that obey his commands are reckoned by myriads, and the service they ren...