Tell the truth shame the devil! This is said to people in an attempt to get them to be honest. We know Satan as a liar for he was deemed the Father of Lies per Jesus in John 8:44. This is why truth should shame the devil because it’s the opposite of what he conveys. Because he is a liar, it never occurred to me that he has at some point told the truth. Yes, he is the greatest liar of all time and no truth dwells in him per scripture. Yet, there is also scripture that clearly shows Satan has at times spoken truth. Stay with me reader. I’m not on the edge of becoming a Luciferian, I promise. Bare with me as I dissect a few ideas.
In Genesis 3, the serpent told Eve if she ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil that she would become like God and have knowledge as gods. Satan also told her neither she nor Adam would die if they ate the fruit.
Genesis 3:4 King James Version (KJV) 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Now look at what God said in verse 22 of the same chapter.
Genesis 3:22 King James Version (KJV) 22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
So, technically the serpent wasn’t entirely wrong. In fact, he told the truth. God literally confirms he was accurate in the latter verse. Satan also told Eve she would not die. Adam and Eve did not eat the fruit and fall down dead instantaneous. She and Adam were kicked out of the Garden of Eden and cursed for their failure to adhere to God’s command… but they did not instantly die as some may have assumed they should.
Yes, Satan misled Adam and Eve. Yet, this does not negate the fact that Satan was correct in his statement. Another example of Satan stating facts is when Jesus was in the wilderness after he fasted for 40 days and nights.
Matthew 4: 5–6 King James Version (KJV) Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Satan said to Jesus For it is written — or in other words Satan told Jesus the Word of God states this, so I’m accurate. We know the Word of God is to be taken as absolute truth. So, here is Satan again literally using scripture — the gospel truth — to support his claim.
Make no mistake. Please don’t be fooled.
Satan is excellent at what he does. He has perfected his craft and he has thousands of years of experience. He is a fallen angel so he likely knows more scripture than you if you don’t study and meditate on the Word of God. He takes the unadulterated truth and places it in front of you. It’s so clever! Check out this scripture:
2 Corinthians 11:14 King James Version (KJV) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
He comes to you appearing as good and offering you mouth-watering offers that are hard to refuse. In Genesis 3:6 as Eve considered the serpents offer, it states she looked upon the fruit and it looked pleasant to her eyes. So first, he gave her truth. Secondly, he coupled the truth with appeal. It’s hard to argue with truth… especially if it’s appealing isn’t it?
It’s genius. He’s a genius manipulator. Who would argue against the truth?
But what he doesn’t tell you is that these are half-truths. He told Eve that she would gain knowledge as gods. He was right… but what Eve didn’t know is listening to the serpent would get her and Adam kicked out of paradise — which was a death in of itself. Yes, Satan threw accurate scripture in Jesus’s face to throw him off His journey. Yet, if Jesus would have listened to Satan, you and I would not have access to salvation through Jesus.
Many traps that Satan places before us will be grounded in some sort of truth and appeal. For example, a cheating spouse may step out on their partner because it is a fact that something in the relationship is lacking. It is therefore appealing for them to seek that lacking component outside of the marriage. But the destruction of adultery will likely cause that marriage to break — which is Satan’s intention from the beginning.
He comes to cause confusion, division, and heart-ache. Be aware of truths Satan may throw at you in an attempt to trick you. He did not gain the title Father of Lies lightly. He does his job extremely well. To be entitled The Father of Lies, you have to be amazing at it. You have to be a top-level, untouchable con-artist. I mean if you view Satan’s resume, it’s sadistically impressive.
He knows truth because he has knowledge of the Word of God.
He was once an angel and was kicked out of heaven along with other angels who rivaled against God. Therefore, he has a spiritual army.
He has an earthly army of Luciferians who worship and honor him.
He roams the earth, traveling back and forth, seeking whom he can devour (Job 2:2). This means he has nothing but time on his hands to destroy his victims. He works full-time, all the time.
He has thousands of years of experience and has gained victory on countless poor souls.
Indeed, his skill set is perfect for his job. What does your resume look like to combat him? What skills are you using to fight him? But before you think about that let me state this…
Listen to me carefully…
You cannot beat Satan alone.
It’s impossible and quite obvious based on the points listed above. You are absolutely delusional if you think you alone can stop someone who has thousands of years of experience in ruining lives from ruining you. Whatever skills you thought you had will fail in comparison to Satan’s skills — let alone his army.
So what do you do? If you haven’t figured out by now, you’re in a war. And in any war, you need the proper equipment to fight, God tells you how to fight against the Father of Lies here:
Ephesians 6:11–18 King James Version (KJV) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
God has given us the blueprint on how to fight back, so please use it. Satan is only powerful in our lives when we don’t have a defense. Remember, he is working full-time, all the time, to destroy us. Working part-time to read, study, and pray will not cut it. You will lose every time he attacks if you are not consistently leaning on God and His Holy Word. For Satan goes back and forth searching for whom he can destroy.
But God...
Ah! Umm, umm. My God does not go back and forth. He doesn't need to. For He is omnipresent. An omnipresent God can never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Yet Satan, when he comes back around from his daily search will win if we don't declare Christ over him. Indeed, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, including standing against Satan. But it's through Christ, not through ourselves. Furthermore, James 4:7 states if we submit ourselves before God, Satan will flee from us. So although God is omnipresent, Satan will still come out to play. And if you don't actively declare Christ, you will lose. Again, you alone are no match for a thousand-plus-year champ.
So please, be vigilant so that you will not fall for the enticing lies wrapped in truth that our adversary so masterfully presents. View everything with the lenses of biblical wisdom and understanding. For when viewed through the wrong lenses, even lies appear to be the truth.