Erwin W. Lutzer - Gods Devil: The Incredible Story of How Satans Rebellion Serves Gods Purposes

1996, 2015 by
ERWIN W. LUTZER

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Previously published as The Serpent of Paradise.

Interior design: Erik M. Peterson
Cover design: Smartt Guys design

Cover image: The Archangel Michael strikes Lucifer, Pitati, Bonifazio de (1487-1553) / Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, Italy / Cameraphoto Arte Venezia / Bridgeman Images

ISBN: 978-0-8024-1313-0

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I t was the fall of 1964. I was sitting in a classroom of the Free University of Amsterdam listening to a lecture by my professor, G. C. Berkouwer. It was an unusually hot day in Holland, and the room had no air-conditioning. I found myself allowing my mind to wander as I gazed out the window, staring at the ducks paddling on a canal next to the street. My reverie was suddenly interrupted and my mind snapped to attention when Professor Berkouwer uttered a simple, terse sentence.

I dont know how many words Ive heard spoken in lectures and sermons in my life, but I am sure the number is in the millions. I am likewise sure that I have forgotten the vast majority of those words. But I still remember the words Dr. Berkouwer spoke in this single, terse statement: There can be no sound theology without a sound demonology. What Dr. Berkouwer was getting at is that if biblical revelation is taken seriously we must take seriously what Scripture teaches concerning the satanic realm.

I also learned when I was in the Netherlands that the Dutch word for match is lucifer, the very word used in Scripture for Satan. I do not know how the Dutch word for a match came from such an etymological derivation, only that it does. Surely, however, there is a lexicographical link to the New Testament assertion that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. Satan does not appear to us as the grotesque and hideous figure he is, or as he is depicted in folklore, or as caricatured by Halloween costumes. Rather, Satan is metamorphic. He likes to appear sub species bonum, under the auspices of the good. He is, as he is introduced in Genesis, the most crafty and subtle of creatures. He is the quintessential con artist working his scams via camouflage.

Satans two most effective ploys are (1) to get people to underestimate him so that he can lure us into a hidden snare, or (2) to overestimate him that we may be so intimidated by him that we are paralyzed by his threatening power. He loves it if we deny his existence and thereby ignore him or if we elevate him to the level of God and become preoccupied with him. We may not be able to be possessed by him but we surely can become obsessed with him.

When Erwin Lutzer asked me to write this foreword he was most gracious. He knew that I do not share his views on certain matters of eschatology that are treated in this book and that I would disagree with him on a few details. But if I had to agree with another author on every detail of his book before I endorsed it I would probably not be able to endorse any book save the Bible. Likewise, no one would ever be able to endorse any of my books.

There are three chief reasons I am pleased to endorse this book. (1) What unites Erwin Lutzer and R. C. Sproul in theology is far greater than what divides us. (2) I have found a profound appreciation for Erwin Lutzer as a man, a Christian, and a defender of the faith. We all know people with whom, as soon as we see them, without a word being uttered, we feel an instant rapport. When I see Erwin my spirit is buoyed. (3) Perhaps most important is that I found this book a veritable treasury of biblical insight. One of the banes of being a theologian is that most Christian books I read contain little information that I havent read many times before. Yet I learn from repetition, as I guess I am a slow learner. This book, however, is filled with lucid insights I have never considered. It was a sheer delight to learn so much at one sitting.

When I am at home in Orlando, it is my custom to arise each morning at 4:00. My body clock has its own alarm system. This morning I opened my eyes at exactly 3:58. By 4:15 I was reading this manuscript. I was facing the task of giving four lectures scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. I usually spend the early hours preparing my lectures. Today I had to forgo that luxury, as I became so absorbed by this book. In my judgment it is positively brilliant. It is the best treatment of the person and work of the enemy I have ever read. It is not simply an exercise in abstract theology: it is a feast of spiritual insight that I personally need to digest. I can hardly wait to read it again. It not only stimulates the mind but is poignantly edifying to the soul.

R. C. SPROUL