The Evil Personality

The Evil Personality

Read: Revelation 2:12-13

“I know where you live—where Satan has his throne.”

Revelation 2:13

“The enemy will not see you vanish into God’s company without an effort to reclaim you.”

—C. S. Lewis

IN WORD Jesus’ words to the Pergamum church may have referred to this city as Satan’s central power base. Even so, we know that the words also apply to us. Satan is not omnipresent like God, so we don’t know exactly where that finite creature is at the moment. But we do know that we live where he has his throne. He runs rampant on this planet. John confirmed it in one of his letters: “The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

If you have been a child of God for long, if your home has been the body of Christ for any time at all, you know: Evil is not a force to explain; it is far more personal than that. Let the philosophers and theologians wrestle with the “problem of evil.” We wrestle with the evil one. We are not harassed by a concept. “Our struggle is . . . against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). We don’t engage in a philosophy of evil; we fight against evil personalities.

IN DEED This is a frightening task, but it’s our only way to victory: Forsake all thought of evil simply as a force in this world. Never depersonalize it. Recognize that there is a relentless, malicious intelligence behind all the pain you see. Some of Satan’s minions know you by name. Jesus’ ministry made that clear. He never cast out a problem; He cast out spirits. He held conversations with them and called them by name. You can’t do that with an abstract principle.

How does that help us in our daily struggles? It brings us face-to-face with reality. When the Bible tells us to overcome evil with good, it is not speaking about abstracts. It means we are to overcome the evil one with the Good One. We have a Warrior, a Victor, a conquering King. Read Revelation and see. And when all hell breaks loose against you, rely completely on Him.