No Sympathy for the Devil

By Patricia Backora

Some Christians believe in UNCONDITIONAL, ALL-INCLUSIVE love. Period. A very

few even believe Christians should feel deep sympathy for satan because he’s sitting
on death row. Rev.20:10, the great glad news of satan’s destruction in the Lake of
Fire, actually brings tears to their eyes! Really, though. Does the Bible support the
doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL love for EVERYBODY at ALL times, under ALL
circumstances? Does God have a soft spot in His heart for satan, His arch-enemy?
Are WE obligated to feel affection not only toward the most impenitent sinners, but
even toward satan, their daddy (John 8:44)?

Smile! Jesus LOVES You! During the Jesus Revolution of the late 60’s and early 70’s,
this message was proclaimed by a yellow smiley face pasted onto the bumpers of
rainbow-colored vans and VW’s driven by “Jesus freaks” who had repented of their
love-ins and drug trips. But in their eagerness to spread the great glad news of
Jesus’ UNCONDITIONAL love for the most depraved sinners, these hippies “high on
LJC” (Lord Jesus Christ) overlooked the possibility that God may hate not only the sin
but unrepentant sinners foreordained to be vessels (containers) of wrath fitted to
(Gk.katartizo, fitted themselves for) destruction (see Rom.9:13, 21-22). This verb
signifies the close relationship between one’s character and his destiny. A righteous
God who pours out His wrath upon sinners simply did not fit in with the starry-eyed
Christian romanticism of the Jesus Revolution. The phrase “unconditional love”
appears NOWHERE in Scripture. God can and does show tender concern toward all
His creatures, but the sinner cannot relate to God as Heavenly Father. Until we
repent of our sins and accept Christ as Savior, we are at enmity with God (Rom.8:7;
James 4:4).

While Christians twist scripture to reassure a sinner that God is too loving to ever get
angry with anyone, conveniently forgotten is that God is angry with the wicked
every day (Psalms 7:11). Instead of warning every man with fear (I Pet.3:15) and
teaching reverential fear and repentance toward the God Who is a consuming fire
(Deut.4:24; 9:3; Heb.12:28-29) the sinner is left with the mental picture of a
Captain Nice who smiles at everybody and avoids conflict at all costs.

God never changes (Mal.3:6). But various scriptures do point to dispensational

differences in God’s dealings with the wicked. Today we’re to go out and preach the
gospel to ALL nations (Matt.24:14; Mark 13:10; 16:15). But back in the OT God
reserved His special love for Israel (Deut.14:2). Far from loving ALL with an
UNCONDITIONAL love, God Himself even ordered the annihilation of an entire nation
in the Promised Land (I Sam.15:3). Elijah destroyed his enemies with fire from
heaven (2 Kings 1:10). But there’s an about-face in the NT. Jesus strongly rebuked
His disciples for wanting to copy Elijah and call down fire from heaven upon enemies
(Luke 9:51-56). Instead, Christ commanded love to be shown even toward
persecutors (Matt.5:44). If an enemy hungers, you are to feed him. Interestingly,
Elijah wasn’t rebuked by God for slaying his foes, many centuries before Christ came
to teach a better way. Instead of being upbraided for having an unloving attitude.
Elijah was counted as a righteous man. Unlike most of us Elijah even went to
heaven without first dying (2 Kings 2:11).
In the OT, God dealt more harshly with His foes. He forbade Israel to show kindness
toward certain nations who had wronged them (Deut.23:6; Ezra 9:12). Israel was
not to seek the peace and the good of people God was against. God even dealt
sternly with Israel in the days of her apostasy. God had harsh warnings for false
prophets who promised peace and prosperity instead of divine judgment.

Jere.14:11: Then said the LORD unto me, PRAY NOT FOR THIS PEOPLE FOR [THEIR]
GOOD.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an
oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the
famine, and by the pestilence.
13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see
the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this
place.
14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent
them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy
unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their
heart.
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my
name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land;
By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of
Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury
them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their
wickedness upon them.

Jesus commanded His disciples to pray even for wicked persecutors and to bless
them. But in the days of Jeremiah God condemned prophets who preach God’s
“unconditional love” and give the impression that God won’t punish sinners.

Love is Christ’s commandment (John 13:34). But is it a sin to hate things God hates?

Ye that love the Lord hate evil (Psalms 97:10a).

Abhor (strongly hate) that which is evil (Rom.12:9).

Are we to love ALL things ALL the time? For every thing there is a season.
Ecclesiastes 3:8: A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of
peace.

Rom.12:18: If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.* *
**Sometimes peace ISN’T possible because some folks don’t WANT peace! Some
people aren’t happy unless they can stir up a tornado of trouble. Some people are so
hardened in wickedness that the Holy Spirit may make an alarm go off inside to warn
you away. I’ve experienced this before, and when I ignored the warning I always
paid the price. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to live with manipulative, backstabbing,
quarrelsome people in peace, and the peaceful Christian can’t be blamed for this.

Is it a SIN to rejoice when God dispenses His justice?

In Revelation 12:10 satan is cast out of heaven down to the earth, unable to appear
before God anymore to accuse the brethren. Do the inhabitants of heaven feel sorry
for satan?
Rev.12:12: Therefore rejoice (Gk.euphraino, to make merry, to cheer), [ye] heavens,
and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath
but a short time.*** Instead of boo-hooing because God has been mean to satan,
the inhabitants of heaven rejoice! But woe to the people on earth, because during
the Tribulation, satan’s headquarters will be on earth. He and his demons will be
under “house arrest” on earth until Jesus comes back in Rev.20:6. At that time the
devil will be cast down into the Bottomless Pit until he is thrown into the Lake of Fire
at the conclusion of Christ’s thousand-year Reign.

What was God’s attitude toward punishing the wicked in the Bible?

Psalms 2: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Verse 2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Verse 3: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Verse 4: He that sitteth in the heavens shall LAUGH: the Lord shall have them in
derision.
Verse 5: Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore
displeasure.

Psalms 37:12-13: The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with
his teeth. The Lord shall LAUGH at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

2 Chron.19:2: And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said
to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the
LORD? therefore [is] wrath upon thee from before the LORD.***Here somebody gets
into deep trouble for loving the wrong people!

Psalms 11:5: The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth
violence his soul hateth.

Psalms 5:5: The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of
iniquity.

Ezekiel 7:4: And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will
recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of
thee: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.

The Lord shall abhor (strongly hate) the bloody and deceitful man (Psalms
5:6).***So much for “hate the sin, love the sinner”.

What about the apostle Paul? Surely HE never felt harshly toward any poor sinner.

I Cor.16:22: If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema
(accursed) Maranatha.

Gal.1:8: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed***Here Paul
includes apostate preachers in the “accursed”.
Verse 9: As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel
unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Titus 1:7-8: For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled,
not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;***Why
didn’t Paul simply say: “a lover of ALL men” instead of “good” men, if all are to be
equally loved and accepted?

Surely Christian love demands that hospitality be offered to ALL people, regardless of
the content of their character?

2 John 1:10: If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him
not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed:***Here John instructs believers to
be careful who they let into their home. If certain professing believers bring the
wrong doctrine, they’re not to be kept as house guests! That would certainly apply
to some drunken, blasphemous pervert as well!

Some Christians think it’s a sin to be repelled by sinners and their conduct. What did
the Risen Christ say to one struggling church?

Rev.2:2: I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not
bear (stand) them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are
apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:***Not only doesn’t Jesus rebuke
these people for being “judgmental” toward false apostles, He doesn’t even rebuke
them for admitting they can’t stand those who are evil!

The devil doesn’t deserve our sympathy. He has blasphemed the Holy Spirit and
tempted others to commit this unpardonable sin. satan has hindered the spread of
the gospel and led billions to hell by causing them to reject Jesus. He murdered
God’s Holy Son in the cruelest way. The devil is behind all outrages against little
children, every abusive step parent, all domestic violence, every sexual assault,
every robbery, every bloody, horrible war ever waged by man. When he gets
barbequed in God’s hickory pit, it will be the icing on the cake after Christ’s
Thousand-year Reign on earth.

If God hates anyone during this Gospel Age, it must be with the greatest reluctance.
God makes rain to fall upon both the righteous and the wicked (Matt.5:45). But
God’s attitude toward the wicked will soon return to a stern one of divine judgment.
During the Great Tribulation the Two Witnesses will do like Elijah and destroy God’s
enemies with fire (Rev. 11:5). During the Millennium which follows the Tribulation,
God will withhold rain from sinful nations (Zech.14:18). Even Jesus, the King, will
destroy the wicked (Isa.11:4b). At the conclusion of the Tribulation Period Jesus will
wage war against the armies of Antichrist (Rev. chap.19).

Although Church Age believers have patiently loved even their worst enemies, a
change in dispensation, the Tribulation Period, is coming soon. God will once again
stir up His wrath against the impenitent, During the Tribulation, a clear distinction
will be made between those who accept the Mark of the Beast and other people who
still have a chance for repentance and eternal life (Rev.14:9-11). There is some
controversy as to whether the Mark will be clearly visible on people’s bodies, or
whether it will be an implanted microchip invisible to the naked eye. Still, I can’t
imagine that any Tribulation believer would be required to love a blasphemer who
goes around bragging that he has taken the Mark and is at war with Christ.
As of yet, there is no Mark of the Beast system in place where you can easily tell the
hopeless sinner from the potential convert just by the outward evidence of the Mark.
Today only God knows for sure. So on the basis that ALL are assumed to be possible
candidates for salvation we’re to love all men (I Thes.3:12).

Suppose there’s a zoo employee who has a “pet” lion he talks to every day. But the
man knows the lion is bigger than he is, and he lacks the expertise to control such a
dangerous animal. Instead of entering the lion’s cage to spoon feed him his dinner,
the man either passes the lion’s food through the bars or throws it over the top of
the enclosure. People who constantly tear you apart emotionally and spiritually are
too dangerous to get too close to. You can love them from afar by praying for their
salvation and sharing as much of the Gospel as they’re able and willing to receive.
But beware of unwise soul ties which would bring you into captivity to the same
wicked spirits holding them in bondage. Just like we don’t kiss somebody who has
the flu, sometimes we must withdraw from hardened blasphemers in order to
safeguard our own souls. I strongly believe that just being constantly around evil
people exposes you to demonic oppression. Prolonged school bullying opened the
door to demons of depression and suicide which I had to resist for years afterward.
Many times, seemingly out of nowhere, these wicked spirits of the air
(Eph.2:2;6:12) attacked me with suicidal thoughts and feelings of sadness. Such
attacks are “fiery darts of the enemy” (Eph.6:16).

So what has satan DONE to earn my hatred? I barely have time to scratch the
surface. But I’ll expound on just one reason: the bullying.

Back in the late 60’s school children had NO right whatsoever to learn in a peaceful,
secure environment. They had NO right to basic human dignity, no civil rights as an
individual. Not only could children torment other children without fear of punishment,
teachers could treat you any old way they wanted. They could inflict any indignity
under the sun upon a child short of severe physical assault or murder.

I was too naïve to realize this at the time, but just like Hollywood talent scouts
search for new people to promote as stars, bullies size you up as a potential victim
from the very first day you come to school. I should have zipped my lip but I was
poor at reading people. The bullies’ Deep Throat agent asks potential victims
questions, then reports the answers back to the gang of bullies searching for
someone to pick on all year (and longer). Then, from out of nowhere, you’ll be
insulted BY NAME by kids you’ve never once met personally.

The devil despises the variety in God’s human creation. If you didn’t look like a
Barbie Doll you were in for it. If you had a funny last name or didn’t have soft shiny
hair you were liable to be bullied, and accused of being from some unacceptable
ethnic group. Even if you ironed your hair and dieted down to size zero, the bullies
wouldn’t leave you alone because you were ALREADY their designated target for life..

When I was bullied in school satan saw to it that I had not ONE peaceful day at
school where I wasn’t under continual emotional (and occasional physical) attack.
The devil inspired one or two of my enemies to urge me to kill myself to end my
misery. But I wouldn’t give ‘em the satisfaction!

Before those awful high school days, I’d gotten saved at the age of twelve, but
couldn’t grow spiritually. Since the Baptism of the Holy Ghost wasn’t taught at that
particular church, my newfound joy in the Lord wore off after a couple of days. My
Sunday School teacher taught that if you committed just ONE sin after conversion,
you were forever lost. You can imagine how scared I felt after my next argument
with my brother!

Most local churches could present the basic facts on how to receive Christ as a Savior
from hell, but offered little help on how to overcome satan’s attacks in the power of
the Holy Spirit. Most churches were cold warehouses for those who’d “prayed the
sinner’s prayer”. The Christian life consisted of “church” attendance, powerless
prayers, sleepy sermons, and trying to persuade others to believe in a better life to
come after this lousy one ended. As for living victoriously, you either sank or swam
on your own steam. And if you “fell by the wayside” it was your own fault.

All I could see was the phoniness of “Christian” kids who didn’t give a hoot about
their precious Savior when they were at school and only cared about being popular.
Where was their “Christian testimony” while I sat alone in the lunch room or
auditorium, surrounded by a sea of empty seats? I lived in the South, so there were
bound to be two or three out of every thirty kids who were genuinely born again. My
home town teemed with KJV-only churchgoers. No wonder I thought God was dead.
Country club churches and their WASP “Jesus” lent respectability to hypocrites who
forgot all about God six days out of seven.

As for “Christian” kids who join in bullying or otherwise give in to peer pressure, how
would they “make a stand for Jesus” if they had to stay on earth during the
Tribulation period? If they can’t keep Jesus’ commandment to “do unto others as
you’d have them do unto you” just because they don’t want to stick out as being
different, it’s safe to assume that during the Tribulation Period those teenagers
would chicken out and take the Mark just to stay popular!

During my high school years I felt like God either didn’t care or was powerless. I
didn’t get spiritually revived till I was out of school and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Some would say that even if I WAS born again before my hellish high school years, I
would have gone straight to a far worse hell if the bullying had overcome my natural
survival instinct enough to make me take my life. So if satan came that close to
destroying me for time and eternity, then why should he get any sympathy from me?

Bully-induced suicide of Christians opens a big theological can of worms, because

there are perhaps millions of other such sad cases, some of which end in tragedy.
Christians, like everybody else, are capable of doing something desperate when
they’re overwhelmed by crushing stress. Many get no support from other believers
or are not well-grounded in God’s Word. Somehow I survived. I’m here today writing
this. I wouldn’t relive those miserable years if you gave me all of Bill Gates’ money.
So WHAT IF I’d taken some crumb’s advice and checked out early to escape
additional emotional abuse? WHAT IF God’s mercy doesn’t extend to broken,
depressed born-again kids driven BY BULLIES to take their own lives? WHAT IF God
would send ANY suicide victim to hell, even someone who had been converted as a
small child, before bullies robbed him/her of their innocence?

If I’d died in my teen years, my wonderful daughter never would have existed. I
wouldn’t have lived long enough to discover that just because a can is labeled
“Christian” doesn’t mean it’s full of the love of Jesus. Later in life, I learned to
divorce heartless hypocrites from my concept of Jesus. I learned that the REAL
Jesus loves even gals who don’t look like Barbie. Christ actually valued me so much
that He died to save ME from death and hell. Yet, WHAT IF I’d listened to the
lowlifes who called me filthy names, cursed me, and urged me to take my own life?
What would a Christian who believes in UNCONDITIONAL LOVE have said to my
grieving parents? Even if my mother knew I went to hell for committing suicide and
had no further hope of heaven, would she have been big-hearted enough to forgive
the bullies who drove me to hell before I could learn about the love of God?

So if it’s really stretching it to love a bully who sends your own child to hell after
making his/her life hell on earth, then saying you have to shower satan with tender
compassion is pouring salt in a raw wound. How can anyone feel sorry for a devil
who could ruin the life of a poor, lonely child, then trap that child into ending up in
the ETERNAL flames of hell?

When a war is fought valiantly but fairly, sometimes a soldier might shed tears over
a fallen foe who died fighting for what he believed in. At that moment the enemy
soldier shares a fleeting moment of empathy with a fellow human being who has
suffered in the war just as greatly as himself but didn’t make it home. Satan is NOT
a valiant soldier! He’s a skulking coward who attacks frail old people, little babies,
and creatures too weak to defend themselves. Like a gang of bullies who beat up a
guy in a wheelchair, satan never picks a fight he stands a chance of losing. Thank
God Jesus defeated the devil just when all seemed lost!

UNCONDITIONAL love. With a doctrine like that going around, no wonder so many
people question the justice of God and wonder whose side He’s on.

We’re commanded to love and forgive other human beings who are capable of
receiving the love of God, but we aren’t commanded to love the devil. He laughs at
the sufferings of God’s children. Satan engineers the most horrible persecutions
against Christians worldwide. It’s high time God wiped the dirty smile off satan’s
face, and someday He will, with my blessing! I for one, will be in the forefront of the
cheering squad when old sluefoot finally takes his lumps. It will be the Greatest
Show on Earth to see my enemy get a taste of his own nasty medicine for all
eternity.

*****
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