The devil. The cute little red midget who sits on your shoulder with a trident, right? Ha. That's an unfairly benign image. Satan would love for you to think that quaint cute caricature was the only place where and the only form in which he existed. The only thing he would like more, as the character Verbal said, would be for you to believe he doesn't exist at all. In reality, he's much more insidious. He takes more forms than a chameleon in a Hypercolor t-shirt, each of them meant to deceive us and point us toward anything that is not Christ and, in so doing, kill our hearts. It is imperative that we be able to recognize his lies and identify the devil, in all his pernicious forms. In the sermon this week, Pastor Mark laid out names for Satan in the Bible and showed how his names are related to his activities. The point was that the goal of Satan and demons is to bring destruction and death. What is additionally helpful is seeing corresponding names for Jesus and how his work brings life.

Names for Satan

• Accuser (Revelation 12:10)
• Adversary (1 Peter 5:8)
• Apollyon/"destroyer" (Revelation 9:11)
• Deceiver (Revelation 12:9)
• Father of Lies (John 8:44)
• Evil One (Matthew 13:28,39)
• Enemy (Matthew 13:28,29)

Names for Jesus

• Advocate (1 John 2:1) / Priest (Heb. 4:14)
• Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
• Resurrection & the Life (John 11:25)
• The Truth (John 10:6)
• Faithful Witness (Rev 19:11)
• Holy One of God (Luke 4:34)
• Savior (Titus 3:3-7)

Contrasts

To see these in action we can look at Luke's contrasting descriptions of the man when he was oppressed by demons and after Jesus had healed him. (Cf: demoniac, n. one who is possessed by demons)

Oppressed by Demons & Sin

• Naked (Luke 8:27)
• Isolated (Luke 8:27,29)
• Hurting himself (Mark 5:5)
• Unstoppable (Luke 8:29)
• Aimless (Mark 5:5)

Saved by Jesus

• Sitting (peaceful; Luke 8:35)
• Clothed (needs cared for; Luke 8:35)
• Right mind (Luke 8:35)
• Healed (Luke 8:36)
• Given a Mission (Luke 8:39)

Praise God for a Savior who died for his enemies; who cares for us, heals us, meets our needs, gives us peace; and who saves us into a community and on a mission. For more on this topic, you can catch up on this short, four-part sermon series on spiritual warfare from February 2008, and watch this ABC Nightline debate, which happened in March 2009 at Mars Hill's Ballard campus, and featured Pastor Mark and Annie Lobert of Hookers for Jesus debating the existence of Satan with Deepak Chopra and Bishop Carlton Pearson. Also, you can dig into the Resurgence's articles on systematic theology regarding Satan and demons.