Doctrine of the Devil's Seven

Doctrine of the Devil's Seven

1. The person of the devil.
   1. The devil is the highest of all angelic creatures and the ruler of fallen angels (Matt. 9:34; 12:26; Luke 11:18–19).
   2. The devil was created by God before the creation of the human race (Ps. 148:5b; Col. 1:16).
   3. The devil has three falls (Isa. 14; Ezek. 28; Rev. 12, 20).
   4. The devil has two advents (Gen. 3; Rev. 20).
   5. The devil is the central antagonist of the angelic conflict (Gen. 6; 1 Pet. 3:18–22; 5:8; Rev. 12:4).
   6. The devil has an organization (Eph. 6:12).
   7. The devil is a murderer (John 8:44).
   8. The devil is the opponent to Bible doctrine (Matt. 13:19, 39).
   9. The devil is the enemy of Church Age believers (1 Tim. 3:7; Rev. 2:9, 13, 24).
2. The rulership of the devil (Luke 4:5–7; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2).
3. The devil’s strategy regarding the nations of the world:
   1. He deceives (Rev. 12:9; 20:3, 20:8).
   2. He is the chief opponent to the laws of divine establishment, the sovereignty and freedom of nationalism.
4. The devil’s strategy regarding unbelievers.
   1. Runs the gamut from blinding their minds to the Gospel to all forms of sin and degeneracy (Luke 8:12; 2 Cor. 4:3–4; 2 Thess. 2:7–10; 2 Pet. 2; Rev. 17).
   2. Religion is the devil’s ace trump, promoting human works instead of God’s grace.
5. Strategy regarding the believer (2 Cor. 2:11).
   1. To accuse the believer (Job 1:6–11; Zech. 3:1–2; Rev. 12:9–10).
   2. To sponsor reversionism (1 Cor. 10:19–21; 2 Cor. 11:3, 13–15; Eph. 4:27).
   3. To frustrate the will of God.
      1. Viewpoint will (Eph. 4:14).
      2. Geographical will (1 Thess. 2:18).
      3. Operational will (James 4:7–8).
   4. To neutralize doctrinal application through worry and other mental attitude sins (1 Pet. 5:7–9).
   5. To destroy the believer’s focus on Christ and Bible doctrine.
      1. Eyes on people (Jer. 17:5).
      2. Eyes on self (1 Kings 19:10–14).
      3. Eyes on things (Heb. 13:5–6).
   6. To get the believer to become involved in the improvement of the devil’s world. Hence, the reversionistic believer becomes humanistic, occupied with temporal solutions to man’s problems, advocating systems to improve man’s environment, such as socialism, Christian activism, the social gospel.
   7. To inculcate fear regarding physical death (Heb. 2:14–15).
6. Religion is part of the devil’s strategy to counterfeit the plan of God. Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with God through faith alone in Christ alone. Religion, by way of contrast, is man seeking the approbation of God through his own plans, works, merits, and systems. Religion represents the evil genius of Satan, and it is viewed here from the standpoint of its many counterfeits.
   1. Counterfeit gospel (2 Cor. 4:3–4).
   2. Counterfeit ministers (Acts 13:6–10; 2 Cor. 11:13–15).
   3. Counterfeit doctrine (Eph. 5:6; 1 Tim. 4:1).
   4. Counterfeit communion table (Luke 4:3; 1 Cor. 10:19–21).
   5. Counterfeit spirituality (1 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 3:2–3).
   6. Counterfeit righteousness (Matt. 19:16–28).
   7. Counterfeit modus vivendi (Matt. 23:13–36).
   8. Counterfeit power and dynamics (2 Thess. 2:8–10).
   9. Counterfeit gods (2 Thess. 2:3–4).
7. False teachers as part of the devil’s strategy:
   1. False teachers have a phony and hypocritical facade (Matt. 7:15; Rom. 16:18).
   2. False teachers use human public relations systems and legalistic flirtation to court believers (2 Tim. 3:5–7).
   3. False teachers appeal to human ego and pride (2 Cor. 10:12).
   4. False teachers promote idolatry as part of the devil’s communion table (Hab. 2:18–19).
   5. False teachers promote legalism and self-righteousness (1 Tim. 1:7–8).
   6. False teachers continue to operate throughout this intensified period of the angelic conflict (1 John 4:1).