17. Satan

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:7-9

The devil is no idle spirit, but a vagrant, runagate walker, that never rests in one place. The motive, cause, and main intention of his walking is to ruin man. > T. Adams

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. > C. S. Lewis

He who would fight the devil with his own weapons must not wonder if he finds him as overmatch. > Robert South

The devil still has at least one good quality. That he will flee if we resist him. Though cowardly in him, it is safety for us. > Tryon Edwards

The devil’s best ruse is to persuade us that he does not exist. > Charles Baudelaire

Temptation is a fearful word. It indicates the beginning of a possible series of infinite evils. It is the ringing of an alarm bell, who melancholy sounds may reverberate through eternity. Like the sudden, sharp cry of “Fire!” under out windows by night, it should rouse us to instantaneous action, and rouse every muscle to its highest tension. > Horace Mann

To admire Satan, then, is to give one’s vote not only for a world of misery, but also for a world of lies and propaganda, of wishful thinking, of incessant autobiography. Yet the choice is possible. > C. S. Lewis

Talk of devils being confined to hell, or hidden by invisibility! We have them by shoals in the crowded towns and cities of the world. Talk of raising the devil! What a need for that, when he is constantly walking to and fro in our streets, seeking whom he may devour. > Charles Baudelaire

See also Romans 16:20; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15; 1 Peter 5:8-9.