Of course there is no personal devil in the sense of a Satanic majesty, but there are spirits of evil which abound in the unseen world and are constantly with mortals, exercising upon them their influence of evil, and suggesting to them thoughts and desires that eventuate in sinful and wrong deeds. But these evil ones are merely the spirits of departed mortals and are not beings of a superior kind in power and qualities.
Sin, as we have told you, was never created by God, nor is it the product or emanations of any of God's perfect creations but is wholly the result of the wrongful exercise of man's appetites and will, when the desires of the flesh are permitted to overcome the desires of his spiritual nature.
With sin comes all the evils and discords and inharmonies that constitute man's manner of living his earth life, and until these things, which are not a part of his original nature, but which are the creation of the inversion of that nature, be eliminated from his thoughts and desires and appetites, the millennium will never be established on earth, and neither will Satan be bound in chains and prevented from doing his work of soul destruction.
Then what are the causes of the present condition of existence on earth, marred and tainted and controlled by sin and error and disease?
These causes are two-fold — the one arising from man's fall from his created perfection of body, mind and soul, in permitting and encouraging the animal nature to subordinate the spiritual and thereby, by the over-indulgence of the former, causing the carnal appetites to grow and transform the man into a lover of sin and things evil; and the other arising from the influences which the spirits of evil, who are always endeavoring to make close rapport with men, and exercise their evil influence over him.
While the personal Satan does not exist, yet the idea conveyed by the necessity of binding him in order to bring about this millennium is a true one, and applies to the actual relationship of men to these evil spirits, except this, that in the case of the latter it is not necessary or even possible to bind them, but to loosen them — that is to loosen their rapport with or influence over men, for when that is done, men become, as it were, free, and these evil spirits are as if they were not.
So you see, as a preliminary to the ushering in of this greatly desired time of peace and purity, men must cease to believe that it will come with the coming of Jesus in a manifested physical way, as a mortal conqueror might come with legions of followers and noises of drums and by force of arms or greatness of power subdue his enemies.
This will never be, for no man is an enemy of Jesus, but all are his brothers, and he is not now making and never will make war on any human being, only on the sin and defilement that is within his soul; and this war can never be waged by power or force of legions of angels, for so great is the power of man's will and so respected is its freedom of action by the Father, that there is no power in heaven or earth that can or will change a sinful soul into a pure one by force and threats and conquering legions of angels, even though they might be led by Jesus, which will not happen.
No, the soul is the man, and that soul can be made pure and sinless only when that soul desires and consents that such a condition may become its own.
Source: The True Gospel Revealed Anew by Jesus, Volume 1 by JE Padgett.
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