The Devil

Question: Do you believe in a real devil - one that has the qualities of a person, such as a personality and a will - or is he merely a metaphor for evil?

Most assuredly, I believe in a real devil. I could not believe in the Bible without believing in a real devil. In another book, I give conclusive proof that the Bible is the Word of God. ( "Powerful Faith" by R. A. Torrey). Therefore, I believe what it teaches about the existence of a devil.

In the accounts of the temptation of our Lord, recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, we are distinctly told that the devil (and the accounts clearly mean a personal devil) was the author of the temptations that came to our Lord. (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). These accounts have no meaning if we try to make the devil of these passages a mere metaphor for evil.

Furthermore, in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23), our Lord distinctly taught that there is a real devil. The devil does not appear in the parable, where he might be explained as being figurative, but rather in the interpretation of the parable: "Then the wicked one comes" (v. 19). Now, in parables we have symbolic language, and in the interpretation of parables we have the literal facts for which the symbols stand. Therefore, we have a literal devil in the interpretation of this parable. This is only one of numerous instances in which Jesus taught the existence of a real devil.

The apostle Paul taught the same. For example, in Ephesians 6:11-12, he wrote, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

No rational interpretation of the Bible can interpret the devil out of it. Any system of interpretation that does away with the devil would do away with any doctrine that a person does not wish to believe.

I also believe that there is a real devil because my own experience and observation teach me the existence of an unseen, very subtle, very cunning spirit of evil, who has domination over men throughout human society. The more I come into contact with men, the more I study history, and the more men open their hearts to me, the more firmly convinced I become that there is a devil such as the Bible teaches.

It is not pleasant to believe that there is a real devil, but the question is not what is pleasant to believe, but what is true.

~R. A. Torrey~