(1 Pet. 4:11, James 1:19)
1. The Word “Speak”
To speak is to utter words with the voice or mouth, expressing one’s thoughts, opinion, or feelings but sometimes without verbal means. For example, it is popularly known that actions speak louder than words or voice.
2. The Devil is the Realm of Evil
The devils as mentioned in Rev. 18:2 refer to Satan and his fallen angels, but in general the word is impersonal. It includes every source of evil and opposition to God. The devil is called the Adversary. He is represented by numerous demons known as unclean spirits all working to have control over man. All they do is to prevent man from having fellowship with God.
THEY SPEAK
a) Through miracles, signs, wonders, magic, etc.
b) Through human lips, false prophets, juju men, native doctors, diviners, soothsayers, etc.
c) Through ignorant men, liars, and all sinners. This is the most unsuspecting, and the most dangerous, the most effective and potent weapon devil has against man in his fight for supremacy. He can speak through your husband or wife or children or kinsmen, neighbours, friends, kings, and rulers.
Ezek. 16:12-13 described Satan as full of wisdom and perfect in beauty with an executive throne that God gave to him. So he became puffed up by reason of his position, even wanting to be above God (Isa. 14:13-14). God has condemned him to be destroyed in a lake of fire. His wisdom and beauty have become corrupt, only fighting against God’s will towards man. He wants to be seen as God. He is a fascinator, a deceiver, and a destroyer. He has so deceived the world that it is difficult to convince men of God. He makes man feel he is wise, even if he does not know the outcome of what he is doing. Man does not know who he is because of the darkness of ignorance (Eph. 4:18). Every action or statement in opposition to God is the devil in action. More of what appears as Christianity today is the manifestation of devil. So it is difficult to convince men of the devil because the religions of the world do not know the difference between him and God, and therefore they do not know him.
3. The Power Devil Has To Destroy Man Is Sin.
Sin is the transgression of the Law of God. In most cases sin comes from temptations by the devil through the words that men speak, and the actions they take. The Devil tempts through everything around us in the world. The devil is in the words that men speak and in their actions. Man is not the devil but his words and wisdom and actions. The knowledge of what men do is in the hearts of men as knowledge and source of temptation. The devil moves into the hearts of men through the knowledge of what men do. He speaks by this means, so that even when you are alone, he is still speaking to your hearing.
God is in union with His children through His wisdom and nature of love. We see Him through the life, wisdom, and ability of His children. The devil also is manifested through his people, through their life, wisdom, and actions. There are elementary things that can make us know the spirit in a person, whether it is of God or of the devil, Lying, hatred, revenge, fornication, fighting, stealing, drunkenness, deceit, witchcraft, etc. (Gal. 5:19-21) are the manifestations of the devil. But the natural man may see them as the attributes of God.
Without man God has no issue with Satan except for his destruction at the end. The problem is that devil is preventing man from knowing and accepting the redemption that God has worked out for him. He makes man be busy solving earthly problems to divert his mind away from God, and from his destruction in hell and in the lake of fire. If men praise devil’s prophet you might think the moment you go to him all your problems are solved. Satan makes you see the attributes of devil as those of God to destroy your sense of Judgment.
4. What God Wants From Man
God’s will is to save man from the hands of the devil, from hell, from sin and from the lake of fire. He has done the work of redemption to enable Him to achieve this purpose. So, he wants those of understanding to know this, and believe and be converted to Him, to be co-labourers with Him for this purpose. All believers of Christ are workers together with Him for the salvation of sinners and defense of His family. The words they speak, and physical actions are described as light to change others to the image of God.
When our thoughts and actions are opposite to God and to God’s will, we become agents of the devil (Matt. 16:23). We can know this through the word of God’s grace and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Men speak the voice of the devil every day without knowing that devil is using them (Matt 5:37). Let your communication be yea, yea, nah, nah. Anything more that this comes from the devil.
5. Some Confess Unbelief
Majority of those who confess Jesus do not believe in His teachings. They only believe in the man Jesus as the Christ and son of God but do not believe in His word. In most cases they misrepresent Him. See Matt. 5:38-48. The forgiveness of human enemies is a requirement for reconciliation with God and enjoying God’s grace. Now men preach the gospel of unforgiveness. Christians pray that their human enemies should die or that evil should befall them. If you offend them, you cannot receive any help from them anymore even if they are in a position to do so. These actions are interpreted as a show of the power of God.
6. The Devil That Speaks In The Church.
Some say the human or the man that hates you is the devil and that you cannot forgive the enemy, but to kill him. This is the devil speaking. This lesson or sermon is the devil directly teaching the people. By accepting this and acting upon it Satan has got millions of people speaking for him. All the return to sender and evil for evil is the devil speaking, and the demons respond in disguise of God (See Rom. 12:17-21).
7. The Devil Is Called The Deceiver Of The Whole World. Rev. 12:9
God brought Jesus to save us from sin to make us be righteous before Him. The devil does not want us to know that the substitutionary sacrifice God did is for us to be righteous before Him. He has deceived almost all to confess that no man can be righteous. This is the knowledge Satan wants us to have against God in our heart. Those who teach and say no man can be righteous all speak the voice of the devil. They feed men with doubt and unbelief. Devil speaks the words of discouragement, deception, opposition, doubt, and unbelief.
James 3:14-17 talks about wisdom from above and the wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and devilish. The Devil rules the world and sustains his government through his wisdom. Men are the image and likeness of devil through their wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge, so devil feeds men with the knowledge of his ways to apply it for their security, defense, protection, on how to acquire wealth, and have social and political advantage. With his wisdom he is present in the way of dealing with different situations. The choice is between the word of God and applying the wisdom of the devil. He speaks through actions, events and through the things that happen in the world and feeds men with the wisdom of sin, failure, separation from God and destruction.
8. Practical examples in the Bible of the devil that speaks: -
a. Peter (Matt. 16:22):
Peter said that Christ must not die. He rebuked Jesus and said be it far from you. Jesus looked at him and said get behind me Satan, because he spoke in resistance to God’s will. If He did not die we would all be doomed for the lake of fire.
b. The famous temptation of Jesus: Luke 4:1-6. Wilderness means a state of loneliness, hunger, deprivation, walking about without food and comfort. Jesus puts himself into the circumstances that we face for forty days and forty nights. He did it to liberate us from the fear that we have when we face these circumstances and to save us from our strong desire for abuse of power. He went to Jerusalem by himself and climbed up the Pinnacle of the temple and he looked down. It was his decision to pass through all these. So, He was tempted as we are tempted, because the desires that we have also come out of Him with His mind suggesting so many things. Heb. 4:15. All the reflections of His mind was devil speaking because he speaks to us every second through the circumstances he has created for us to overcome.
c. The messengers of the king of Assyria in 2 Kings 18:27 told king Hezekiah and the people of Judah that they will eat their own dung and drink their own piss if they do not pay tribute to the king of Assyria. He first overcame the nations around them including Samaria, then he told them “Do not let king Hezekiah deceive you nor believe in him who say "the Lord shall deliver us.” No god among the nations has ever delivered his people from the king of Assyria. This is the devil’s act of intimidation.
d. Pharaoh said who is the Lord that I should let Israel go? When much evil is in a person who walks in subtlety, at the fulness of time God will make his evil come out for the people to see the danger that is in him so that if He kills him to save them they will not blame Him but to rejoice. Examples are king Pharaoh and king Herod. God provoked Pharaoh by telling him let my people go. He brought three wise men to tell Herod that a king is born. Then they commanded children to be killed (Ex 1:22; Matt. 2:3,16). It was the devil acting through them.
e. When God rejects a people, He will cause devils and lying spirits to dominate them. At the time of Micaiah, a spirit in heaven told God he would come and be a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets of Israel to persuade Ahab to go to war and die there. This simply means I will go and be a snare to them.
f. There are many ways this could be done. For example, by making the false prophets receive much reward from the king for prophesying good things or by afflicting the camp of the enemy with disaster that makes it obvious that Israel will win them. So, to prophesy defeat for Israel is conspiracy against the king and it goes with death sentence.
g. Even David was provoked to number Israel.
h. After God had divided the kingdom of Israel, the youths gave evil counsel to Rehoboam and that caused the division.
i. Pilate told Jesus “don’t you know I have the power to save you.” This is the pride of the devil.
The present day or end time men of God with their deceptive assurances and words opposite to God’s will are all examples of the voice of devil.
9. The Doctrine Of Seducing Spirits (1Tim. 4:1-2, John 19:10-11)
The gospel of Jesus is that of peace, love, kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, meekness etc. That of the devil is hatred, lying, revenge, lust, covetousness, selfishness, and war. If the sermon or the teaching or doctrine, or prophecy or testimony and the wisdom in it is toward infusing the attributes of Satan into the people, is in reality the devil speaking to them. Philosophy is human wisdom. It excludes God from its knowledge and wisdom. Sense knowledge kills but the word of God gives life. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus because of sense knowledge and he died a horrible death.
The Antichrist robs people of peace, joy, and rest. He eliminates love in your heart. He preaches war, power, defense, protection, and not love, peace, righteousness, repentance, meekness, forgiveness, etc. He preaches wealth and pleasures of the world. He creates fear and suspicion, making men to fight against fellow men, to pray, cry and shout, confessing sins with the hope that the confession will bring to them what they want. Know that crying aloud is for unanswered prayers, sometimes accusing God for injustice. These men are taught by devil to let others think that God does not work. Exaggerations, lies and promises that cannot be met are all to disprove the existence of God.
A demon possessed man confesses what the devil has done. He says I, not him but the devil to move the people against God. The Devil creates confusion and anarchy to enable him reign over the hearts of the people. Repentance is to God and not to a congregation (Act. 20:21). So Jesus did not suffer them to speak (Mark 1:34, Luke 4:41).
Devil speaks through his own signs, wonders, and miracles. God described him as the Leviathan. He makes the sea to boil like a pot of hot water. He sneezes out fire to appear terrible and invincible. He laughs at you if you come against him with physical weapons. He uses physical signs to have claim over the rivers, lands and seas and the whole world.