The Devil

His Holiness Pope Shenouda explains that the devil was a lofty angel of the rank of the cherub or the shaded cherub, and he fell because of pride as the biblical texts indicate, and many angels from different ranks fell with him.

His characteristics and methods

He explains that the devil is clever and skilled in deception and disguise; he can appear as an angel of light or a friendly adviser, and he uses illusions, false visions and false dreams. He works with experience spanning thousands of years in trying humans and tempting them with what suits each soul: greatness, wealth, bodily lust, or other things.

His followers and methods in the world

He has aides from the fallen angels and from obedient humans; he led nations into idol worship, and he deceived even the people of God in times of their weakness; he exploits envy to cause the righteous to fall, and he is patient and does not despair in his attempts.

The terrain of his work in people’s lives

The devil uses distress, illness, temptation and deviation to cause people to fall, and he attacks the successful and the righteous by stirring jealousy or sedition, and he renews his methods with the development of time, technology and innovative religious thought.

His power and its limits

Despite his power and experience, his nature as a fallen angel still gives him ability to move and speed and to whisper in minds, but he is not stronger than the blessing of the saints or the work of the Holy Spirit. God limits his work and sets boundaries for him as appeared in the story of Job.

Ways of confrontation and hope

The true defense is God’s grace and the Holy Spirit, and prayer and holiness strengthen the person to resist the devil; the fathers and saints are able, by obedience to God, to cast him out, and the believer should not be afraid but trust in the authority of God who has given him power over unclean spirits.

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