A: Dear Allen,

To be more exact, the devil is not God's enemy; God is the devil's enemy. God created Lucifer, a beautiful angel. He was perfect when God made him (Ezekiel 28:12, 15). But Lucifer chose to rebel against God. It was Lucifer who started the fight, not God. The Bible says "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning" (1 John 3:8). "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).

The name "Satan" means "the adversary"; the name "devil" means "false accuser." The Bible tells us that Lucifer's heart began to swell up with pride (Ezekiel 28:17), and He began to want to be in God's place on God's throne. God wanted Lucifer to repent, but instead, he fought against God and was finally cast out of heaven. Then he came down to earth to try to tempt us to join him in fighting against God by choosing to be disobedient to God's commandments. He lies to us just as he lied in heaven. He falsely accuses God just as he did in heaven. God is the devil's enemy because that's what he has chosen. We need to be sure we choose to be loyal to God and not believe the devil's lies. Thanks for writing, and remember, there's never been a better time to share Jesus!

Your friend, Pastor Howard