The Devil
We’ve all seen those pictures of Satan dressed in red carrying a three-pronged spear used to torment sinners in hell. But you’ll never find this depiction in the Bible. Before his fall, Satan’s name was Lucifer, and he was described in glowing terms. The Bible speaks of him with the “seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). But all of that changed when he tried to stand in the place of God. He was “cast as a profane thing out of the mountain of God” (v. 16).
The portrayal of the devil as a monster with horns and a pitchfork crept into the church during the Middle Ages, when Christian leaders combined pagan religions with Bible teachings. It not only corrupted many doctrines, it also brought in a mixture of pagan deities that were modified to connect with characters in Scripture. In the ancient Greek religion, one mythological figure was the demigod Pan, who is shown with the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat.
Artists during this period made paintings and sculptures showing the devil in these grotesque ways, sometimes with chicken legs, or covered in animal hair, or with scars and boils and other deformities. Combined with these twisted pictures is the unbiblical view that the devil is now in hell. The Bible says he “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is not trapped in hell but roams the Earth to deceive and destroy (Job 1:7).
I think the devil is delighted to have himself pictured as a strange mythological figure. He knows that thinking people will reject monsters and fables, and so they deny his existence. But those who do not believe he exists are most likely to be captured by his wiles. The Scriptures teach that Satan deceives (Revelation 12:9), works miracles (John 8:44), misquotes the Bible (Matthew 4:5, 6), and even calls fire from heaven (Revelation 13:13). The devil is real, and we should not be deceived by his lies.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14
We’ve all seen those pictures of Satan dressed in red carrying a three-pronged spear used to torment sinners in hell. But you’ll never find this depiction in the Bible. Before his fall, Satan’s name was Lucifer, and he was described in glowing terms. The Bible speaks of him with the “seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). But all of that changed when he tried to stand in the place of God. He was “cast as a profane thing out of the mountain of God” (v. 16).
The portrayal of the devil as a monster with horns and a pitchfork crept into the church during the Middle Ages, when Christian leaders combined pagan religions with Bible teachings. It not only corrupted many doctrines, it also brought in a mixture of pagan deities that were modified to connect with characters in Scripture. In the ancient Greek religion, one mythological figure was the demigod Pan, who is shown with the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat.
Artists during this period made paintings and sculptures showing the devil in these grotesque ways, sometimes with chicken legs, or covered in animal hair, or with scars and boils and other deformities. Combined with these twisted pictures is the unbiblical view that the devil is now in hell. The Bible says he “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is not trapped in hell but roams the Earth to deceive and destroy (Job 1:7).
I think the devil is delighted to have himself pictured as a strange mythological figure. He knows that thinking people will reject monsters and fables, and so they deny his existence. But those who do not believe he exists are most likely to be captured by his wiles. The Scriptures teach that Satan deceives (Revelation 12:9), works miracles (John 8:44), misquotes the Bible (Matthew 4:5, 6), and even calls fire from heaven (Revelation 13:13). The devil is real, and we should not be deceived by his lies.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14
The Devil
We’ve all seen those pictures of Satan dressed in red carrying a three-pronged spear used to torment sinners in hell. But you’ll never find this depiction in the Bible. Before his fall, Satan’s name was Lucifer, and he was described in glowing terms. The Bible speaks of him with the “seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). But all of that changed when he tried to stand in the place of God. He was “cast as a profane thing out of the mountain of God” (v. 16).
The portrayal of the devil as a monster with horns and a pitchfork crept into the church during the Middle Ages, when Christian leaders combined pagan religions with Bible teachings. It not only corrupted many doctrines, it also brought in a mixture of pagan deities that were modified to connect with characters in Scripture. In the ancient Greek religion, one mythological figure was the demigod Pan, who is shown with the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat.
Artists during this period made paintings and sculptures showing the devil in these grotesque ways, sometimes with chicken legs, or covered in animal hair, or with scars and boils and other deformities. Combined with these twisted pictures is the unbiblical view that the devil is now in hell. The Bible says he “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is not trapped in hell but roams the Earth to deceive and destroy (Job 1:7).
I think the devil is delighted to have himself pictured as a strange mythological figure. He knows that thinking people will reject monsters and fables, and so they deny his existence. But those who do not believe he exists are most likely to be captured by his wiles. The Scriptures teach that Satan deceives (Revelation 12:9), works miracles (John 8:44), misquotes the Bible (Matthew 4:5, 6), and even calls fire from heaven (Revelation 13:13). The devil is real, and we should not be deceived by his lies.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14
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