Who is the devil?  Why was he cast out of heaven?  What day did he leave heaven?

Sincerely,
Demonic Double-check

Dear Demonic Double-check,

The Bible doesn’t give us much information on the devil’s origins, and since the Bible is vague, we must also be vague.  The Bible says that certain angels sinned against God and were cast down and reserved for judgment (1 Pet 2:4).  The Bible never specifically mentions the devil as part of that crew of angels, but this may refer to him as well.  The Bible says that the devil is the father of lies and murder (Jhn 8:44).  The devil was cast out of heaven by God because the devil rebelled against God and sinned.  Beyond that, we have very little information.  We know that Jesus bound Satan when Jesus came to earth (Mk 3:22-27), and Jesus’ sacrifice cast him out of heaven (Rev 12:7-11).  We also know that the devil will eventually be cast into the fires of hell with his angels (Matt 25:41).

Are Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:12-13 really referring to Satan?

Sincerely,
Reference Research

Dear Reference Research,

Neither verse is talking about Satan.  The King James Version uses the word ‘Lucifer’ in Isa:14:12, and that has created some confusion because people often associate that name with Satan.  Most other translations use the words ‘Morning Star’.  The verse isn’t talking about Satan; it is talking about the Babylonian king (Isa 14:4).  In Ezek 28:12-13, God is talking about the fall of Tyre and His judgment against the city of Tyre’s king.  The key to understanding any verse is to keep it in its context.  Both of those verses are couched within chapters that discuss the destruction of physical kings and their kingdoms.

I have been struggling with something lately.  I grew up in the Catholic church and left it because there were many things I couldn't find biblical (purgatory, papal infallibility, unmarried priests, and so on).  I became Baptist and have bounced between various churches, but all of them were churches that believed in grace and being saved versus earning heaven through works.  I did miss the history and tradition of Catholicism but still didn't agree with the doctrines.  I have been reading/listening to podcasts on Orthodox Christianity (Greek, Russian, etc.), and it seems like everything I like about Catholicism but none of the things I saw as made up.  According to their history, they are the original church, and Catholics broke off about one thousand years after Christ, basically as a power grab in Rome.  (Papal infallibility came in handy with that.)  I have been reading about Martin Luther and the reformation also.  Sooo, what I am trying to get at is... if the churches I am going to are the grace-based evangelical/protestant/whatever-you-call-them churches didn't really come around until over 1500 years after Christ, I am led to believe this is not the church of the New Testament that the apostles established.  My next logical assumption would be to seek out the true church that still performs church the way Jesus taught them… if that exists.  Any thoughts or guidance would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Searching For The Original

Dear Searching For The Original,

We absolutely love your attitude!  If only everyone wanted to be a part of God’s original church.  You are on the right track by seeking to find a church that performs what Jesus taught – the question is: how do we do that?  Almost every church professes to be the right church, and almost every church professes that God wrote the Bible… so the way to tell which church is really God’s church is to compare their behavior to what the Bible says.  The Bible is the pattern that every sound congregation should follow (2 Tim 1:13).  The Catholic church is one of the oldest churches, but as you mentioned, their behavior doesn’t match the Bible’s teachings.  Greek Orthodox churches also have a lot of history behind them, but it is a history of tradition, not a history of biblical purity.  What you want to do is find a group of people that are dead-set on doing only what the Bible says, no more, no less.

Everything a church does (worship, membership, the steps they teach for salvation, how they spend their money, even their name) needs to have Bible verses backing them up (1 Tim 3:15).  A church needs to be able to explain the reasons for why they do what they do (1 Pet 3:15).
As an example, our congregation here in Monroe goes by the name ‘Monroe Valley church of Christ’ because ‘church of Christ’ is a Biblical name for a congregation (Rom 16:16).  We worship by singing (Col 3:16), studying the Bible (1 Tim 4:13), praying (2 Thess 3:1), taking communion (only on Sundays – Acts 20:7), and taking up a collection (also only on Sundays – 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We teach that you must hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17), believe God’s Word (Jhn 3:16), repent of your sins (Mk 6:12), confess Jesus as your Savior (Lk 12:8), and be baptized to be saved (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21).  We do all these things because they are practices found in the Bible.  As you said, you don’t want to go to a church that offers their own thoughts – you want God’s thoughts.
There are other congregations like ours scattered across the country and the world.  Most of them use the name ‘church of Christ’, but then again, many churches that use that name aren’t faithful.  A Bible name for a church isn’t enough to make it faithful... but it is a beginning.  We have helped others, like yourself, looking for New Testament Christianity find faithful congregations in their area by contacting other preachers and christians that we know.  We’d be happy to do the same for you.  If you feel comfortable, just let us know what general area you live in, and we will try and get you in touch with a congregation that lives like your Bible reads (our e-mail is askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org).

What does the Bible say about present-day demon possession?

Sincerely,
Afraid Of The Dark

Dear Afraid Of The Dark,

Evil spirits are real, but they were cast out and their powers greatly reduced by Christ and the apostles.  Demon possession ended not long after the days of Christ.  Jesus made it clear that one of His jobs was to bind the devil and take His strength away by casting out his demons (Matt 12:28-29).  When Jesus’ disciples had come back from their evangelism trips and related to Him that they had cast out many demons, Jesus told them that they were defeating Satan by getting rid of Satan’s demonic minions (Lk 10:17-18).  When Jesus and His disciples cast out demons, they did it permanently (Lk 8:30-33) and bound Satan by their acts.  We no longer have to deal with such overt attacks by the devil because he has been bound by Christ’s sacrifice (Rev. 20:2).  Demon possession no longer exists; the devil must use subtler methods to deceive us now.

Can you explain why in Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30, both describe one demon-possessed man, but in Matthew 8:28-34, two demon-possessed men are mentioned?  At first, I thought these were two different events, but no, all three books describe one event.  How can this be?  Why do Mark and Luke say there’s one, but Matthew say it’s two?

Sincerely,
Head Count

Dear Head Count,

This is a great example of why we have multiple accounts of Jesus' life.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all record the life of Christ, but they each do it from a different perspective, and they each emphasize different things.  Matthew pointed out both demon-possessed men, but Mark and Luke focused on the story of the man possessed by legions of demons.  This isn't a contradiction; it is simply a matter of only including the details that are pertinent to their particular narrative.  Mark and Luke never said there was only one man... they just told the story of the man named Legion.