“Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.” – Peter (1 Peter 5:8 -AMP)

If this notorious ‘villain’ we read about so much in scripture is not... a literal entity, but more of a product of ‘figurative language’...you have to ask yourself if maybe the writers of the NT were guilty of ‘overkill’ in referring to him as often as they do...and usually with somber warnings when writing about him.

[Figurative language] – “is the use of words in ways that deviate from their literal definitions to add creative, emotional, or vivid meaning to writing and speech. Key types include metaphors, similes, personification, and hyperbole. It is used to enhance, emphasize, or clarify, making descriptions more engaging and imaginative.”

From Strong’s Concordance: The Devil, ‘Satan’- [diabolos] – a traducer, especially Satan; (A traducer – a person who maliciously damages another’s reputation by spreading false, defamatory, or slanderous statements.)

So again, I have to ask- If this entity we know as “Satan”, or ‘the devil’ was not...a literal, tangible ‘character’ to be reckoned with...one would have to ask: “Then why did Jesus Himself testify to witnessing his ‘fall’ from heaven, there in Luke 10:18? “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Could this have been the ‘event’ in which John writes about in Revelation 12:9 – “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

If...this ‘enemy’ that Peter referred to as a ‘roaring lion’ (figurative language)...is not real, then to whom was Jesus speaking to when Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from this silly notion that He needed to ‘die’...which quickly prompted a rebuke from Jesus to ‘Satan’, accusing him of being an offense and not ‘mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’ (Matt. 16:23)

I read that particular exchange through a different set of lenses these days. Have you ever heard a sermon or read somewhere else the call for Christians to ‘take up a cross and die to self’, or to ‘put this old man/nature to death’ if you were serious about following Jesus...and then this little voice creeps up and quickly dismisses that notion? “You don’t really have to do that...you’re fine...you are ‘saved’ because you accepted Christ as your personal savior. Jesus died for you so you don’t have to 'die'...blah blah...blah”. Ever wonder where those thoughts come from? “Has God really said....?” (Gen. 3:1)

If this ‘devil’ is simply a use of figurative language, and not real...then who was Paul referring to when he told us to “give no place to the devil!” (Eph. 4:27)? Or when he exhorted the Corinthians to forgive a repentant brother...”lest Satan should take advantage of us...for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Cor. 2:11).

Then there was that time Paul refers to him as the ‘serpent’ who deceived Eve...and expressed concerns that even we...could be deceived by him in similar fashion and end up hearing & receiving ‘another gospel, spirit, and ‘Jesus’...if we were not careful. (2 Cor. 11:3-4). In fact, when you read further down in that chapter, Paul adds that ‘Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light’...as does his ‘servants’ (those other fallen angels) masquerade as ‘ministers of righteousness’ (14-15). I wonder if that is what Jesus was warning us about when he spoke of false teachers...’dressed in sheep’s clothing but inwardly were ravenous wolves’ (Matt. 7:15)

If Satan was not real, then to whom was Paul really handing that man (caught in sin) over to as a means of punishment for the ‘destruction of his flesh so his spirit might be saved’...there in 1 Cor. 5:5? I mean really...Paul seems to go overboard at times always mentioning this idea of how we are not ‘wrestling with flesh and blood, but spiritual forces of darkness and wickedness’...and the need to ‘put on the armor of God that we might be able to stand against the schemes of the devil’ (Eph. 6:11-12).

Perhaps it had something to do with what Jesus told him as to why he was being sent to the Gentiles to preach the gospel so that “their eyes could be opened in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God...” (Acts 26:18).

And if the devil is simply a symbolic character in poetic literature...then who was really oppressing people that Jesus went about healing, as revealed in Acts 10:38- “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him”?   Oh...I’m ‘asking for a friend’ in case you were wondering.

Dare I remind us once again what John wrote when he assumed that ‘we know...that the whole world is under the power and influence of the ‘wicked one’...provided they have not yet been ‘born of God’; and to those who are born of God...we know they ‘do not sin’...and this ‘wicked one does not touch them’ (1 John 5:18-19).

And on a more personal note, I have to believe there was a reason as to why within hours... after I ‘turned my life over to God’ years ago...asking Him in to my heart to lead me in His path of truth... that the first notable ‘lesson’ I was taught...involved an ‘opening of my eyes’ and being introduced to ‘spiritual forces of darkness’ and how I better sit up and take note how real they were. Yeah...that was quite an evening that I will never forget. which occurred in back in 1980.

So when Jesus makes it known that there is a ‘thief’ out there who comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’...but that He (Jesus)... has come to offer us ‘abundant life’...it would seem to me the choice is a no brainer. (John 10:10). But maybe that’s just me, because I know...this ‘enemy’ is not a figment of my imagination nor a product of ancient folklore. I certainly don’t fear him because I’m abiding under the shadow of the Almighty (the One I do fear- Matt. 10:28)...and I ain’t coming out!  Been there and done that! (Ps. 91:1-10; Matt. 12:43-45)