Jesus of Nazareth, before beginning his earthly ministry, was sent by the Spirit into the wilderness to fast for 40 days, and when in that weakened state entered into a a strong testing period of psychological battle with the devil. Why did Jesus have to do this? God sent his son to be tried by a manifestation of his own creation, the devil--or Satan (depending on the translation). Mark 1:13 describes this wilderness with wild beasts. Was this setting allegorical of the power struggle about to ensue between the son of God and the devil?
Where did the devil arrive from? Was he as a beast? Was he as a man? Did he just appear at the appointed time, from wherever? The Gospels record this as a literal confrontation. And scripture also records that Jesus won the battle, and satan fled (for a season). Satan wasn’t killed, but deflated in some way. And it wasn’t a physical fight, but one of the soul. What is the soul, specifically, and what does this say of the contender with seeming access?
Hebrews 4:12 states that the word of God, as a sword, can pierce and divide the soul from the spirit. Many believe that the soul and the spirit are one, but we are triune beings: body, soul, spirit. Our body is just the carrier of the personality we are, or our soul: our intellect, will, emotions, desires. We have a spirit separate from our soul, or the above scripture would have no credence, and apparently there is a sealing of soul and spirt that only God can undo. Those two realms are affected by each other, and we are vulnerable. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph 6:12)
We have an enemy, and Jesus went into the wilderness to face that enemy. There are multiple names and references to this one “personality” listed here from scripture: satan--adversary, accuser; the devil--slanderer, accuser of the brethren. Also, the serpent (from the Garden); the dragon (an enlarged intimidating serpent); the prince of the power of the air (lord of our mind); the god of this world (beliefs of the time or age, especially religiously); a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (a predator seeking the carnal mind); the beast (potential of the godless human nature).
I don’t like to capitalize the word satan, and won’t from here on out, because religion has already lifted the word to deity ranks. Some congregations talk more about satan than they do God. Many church folk are not real sure who will win the “final” battle, because they talk as such. My Bible states the battle was won--at Calvary, and God’s plan was unto victory. But Jesus had to walk it out, and the wilderness battle was the first step to the cross. The cross was the victory showing itself by the lifeless body of Jesus "in" Adam (with satan and his power intact). In the wilderness, however, (over 3 years earlier) Adam‘s nature was very much alive, pressed with starvation and emotional vexation, and unaware of the suppression of power it was about to experience. No, Jesus could not move on in his divine mission until this test was passed. He was not battling a creature outside of himself, however, but the beast within--the devil.
Mythology, literature, and novels have created a devil with a literal body, and this totally fictional characterization has been built up and carried over into many a Christian belief system. Sometimes he wears a red suit, has a spiked tail and carries a pitchfork. All sorts of pictures have been drawn and movies have depicted this “creature” with hideous features and sometimes with wings. These things do not reflect a scriptural devil. Like so many other aspects of expression in our darkened realm, this is all fantasy--in the natural. Yet, many are tormented by those images. Let us shine light on this darkness.
Jesus said that satan was a liar from the beginning (John 8:44). This means he was in no way--ever--a being of light, since lies are a product of darkness. When Jesus told his disciples in Luke 10:18 “..I beheld satan as lightning fall from heaven”, he was talking about the subject matter of that chapter. He knew when he empowered his men to go and do his works that they would have the power to free men’s minds and bodies. The power of the devil is in the mind, and Jesus saw people being freed from the oppression that the devil in them had them captive to, just like invisible hands gripping their heads. But the Christ anointing loosed that hold on their minds and the power of satan fell, as quickly as a bolt of lightning hits the ground! Scriptures taken out of context and/or interpreted with natural understanding are devoid of spiritual enlightenment, and are just the result of Adam’s dusty mind, full of a dark, dead view of what life really is. Man does not know his creator, nor can he relate to the purpose of the creation.
Oh, there IS a horrible reality in the world for those who have developed a faith in the monster version. Cults of devil worshipers and satanic “followers” have from their own delusions created a very real entity that some of them see with their own eyes. Others are just scared to death because of the belief that it does exist as such. Fear fuels hallucinations and the presence of fear creates an entity. Just ask a former member of a coven if this isn’t true. This has come about because men are gods (Psalms 82:6). We are little creators (elohim) and can create evil as well as good, death as well as life. We can believe in something--or be taught as much, and give it life in our nightmare world. The expression is our beast nature, where hope and light are bullied.
In the Revelation, with its spiritual language of symbols, this beast is referred to (Rev 13:18). Scripturally, six (6) is the number of man. Three things in a group speak of a complete expression; thus, “666“ is the carnal nature at its most intense, or a human beast. This is the worldly man, devoid of righteous motivation; he is defiant, rebellious, and self-motivated. In this state we wound, cripple and kill. This beast speaks the loudest in every evil movement, every sadistic action by any person or persons who terrorize and have no value for human life. But he is intelligent and can appear tame and reasonable, even civilized. He dwells in humanism, politics, labor unions, governmental power structures, all elite groups, in the workplace and at home. And until the Christ nature affects our bestial tendencies, we are not in control.
Then also, our minds have the ability to create false realities and entities (demons) that are deeply embedded in our subconscious. They live and lurk within us UNTIL the light of Christ casts them out of that dark place where they manipulate. We were given an awesome ability to create or destroy by the very nature of our own minds, minds that are a replica of God's, but also His enemy (Roman 8:7). This power surely dwells within our soul. This “devil” is the spirit of our minds, a spirit of religion--in my perspective, because the spirit establishes belief systems apart from God. Jesus told the religious leaders of his time (John 8:37-45) that they were murderers and of their father, the devil. Ironically, they then murmured against Jesus that he “had” a devil. The religious mind and the devil are synonymous.
We must remember that religion doesn't have to be about God, and usually isn't. It is a belief in something--like the money market; whatever we worship is our god . Even atheists passionately aver their denial of God; this is their belief system, their religion. Religion contains no divine love, for it is always controlling in some way, and self-motivated. When aimed at us, it becomes a weapon, producing fear and condemnation.
John the Baptist (Matt 3) called the religious leaders snakes (serpents), and Jesus said it more than once himself (Matt, chaps 12, 23). Their hearts were so full of hate and evil, having no love nor a desire to love. Yes, the devil is a spirit, being entwined and projected from our mind, because our mind is its home. This devil feeds on the dust of Adam, with its deluded visions and ulterior motives. It is also crafty, and can actually keep us blinded and separated from its whereabouts, even though it is our own mind creating this delusion!
The devil/satan lurks in the high levels of the mind, where soul and spirit touch. It tries to interfere with our relationship with God. It “traduces”--defames the truth in a transfer from the high realms of God to our lowered state. (**) References to the serpent in Genesis tell the tale of soul seduction. Eve (our female self--our soul) was enticed by lovely thoughts of power and freedom. The serpent is the subtle whispers--the impulses from the depths of our mind that compromise evil for good and vice-versa, when its convenient. This all speaks of a power struggle in the soul’s arena, where rebellion against God (even subtly) is the rule of engagement. So entered Jesus to do battle in the unconquered territory of the human nature and its death consciousness.
Mankind’s dark realm of understanding is steeped in illusion. We feel alienated from God, but also desire to “be like God”. The best we can do is stumble around, creating our world as we go, each man with his own motivation . Since God knew of this consequence from our falling away, he also made plans for our deliverance. His son, Jesus, walked with divine motivation, but was attached to the soul of mankind. All the desires to succeed in the world were in that mind that Jesus was imprisoned with. And when the conditions were right, the dragon would be ready to rage. The beast nature would be exposed, laid open, and denied rights to the throne.
Jesus of Nazareth goes to the wilderness, existing for 40 days with no food and probably little sleep. He was alone in the habitat of the wild beasts. Alone with no human company, no comfort of any kind. I believe we cannot appreciate the intensity of this kind of isolation. And it was then that the devil appeared. He whispered and accused from the high place of the carnal mind in Jesus. In short, the challenges:
1) Being tempted to satisfy his hunger and turn stones into bread, since he was the Son of God
2) Taken to a high place, shown the kingdoms of the world, offered them, if he would bow down and worship him (the devil).
3) Taken to the top of the temple and dared to jump off, because God would send angels to catch him.
Those temptations reek of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: a tree for food (lust of the eyes), a tree to be desired (lust of the flesh), and a tree to make one wise (the pride of life); paraphrased: appetites, greed, and ambition (1 John 2:16). Jesus answered all three dares with scripture, of course, rebuking each temptation and giving his allegiance to God. But his answers were to himself, echoed within or without.
His battle was with his own carnal mind, where this prince of the power of the air (mind) dwells. Jesus wasn’t talking to some entity outside of himself. He wasn’t physically taken to a mountain top or to the top of the temple. Those scenes were appearing before him in mental images. He was as a man arguing with himself. The Adamic mind stirred in beast proportion to influence God’s Christ to turn his back on his mission and take all that was rightfully his, being the son of God. There was great mental anguish as he was sifted by the power of human nature in its passion and fury to be self-existent. This temptation started in Genesis, being the seductive power of the soul lured into independence, separated from spirit dominion.
Adam’s flesh was wrapped around Jesus (as Son of Man), and he had to battle his own urges to be a normal man. The curse was alive in his members, attaching him to all the death and darkness that interfaced with mankind when it fell from divine Eden and landed in hell. Jesus felt all the temptations affronting men everyday! And with this fire raging, he had to give up his rights to live for himself, turning his back to it. He had to overcome as no man had ever done before. What a testimony of love and sacrifice! This was the Garden of Eden re-visited with a victorious outcome, leading to the salvation of mankind. The power of the devil would be destroyed for all men. (See Hebrews 2:14, 1 John 4:14).
Can we understand now that the devil is the power of our mind separated from God? Its an alter-ego of the mind of God when it is darkened and defiled by our realm, subject to the evil desires of the beast nature. This mind (God’s enemy) must be overtaken and tamed with the mind of Christ. Paul tells us to “put on the mind of Christ”. Jesus Christ gave us that ability when he--as Jesus of Nazareth--rendered his own carnal mind impotent, and walked out of the wilderness the victor. His motives were tested by fire and proven so that as he continued on in his divine ministry, he could say “the prince of this world comes and has nothing in me" (John 14:30). He finished the course when he took the old Adam to the cross and replaced it with the new man. (1 Cor 15:47). In the wilderness, Jesus faced the beast within each of us--the carnal mind, and took that victory to the cross. There the door of Eden (paradise) was re-opened to us because a dragon had been slain in the wilderness.
**http://www.godfire.net/Traducer.html
