The World and the Word

                                  The Devil's Dilemma

The Devil had read the scripture that prophesied that the Messiah would become a "worm" in His death. Psalm 22:6. The Devil also knew that the word "worm" in the scriptures symbolized sin and evil itself. Exodus 16:20; Isaiah 66:23-24. The Devil then rightly reasoned that Jesus would take all of the sins and evil of all mankind upon Himself on a cross. The Devil then reasoned that if God allowed Jesus to take all of the sins and evil of all humanity on Himself on a cross, then Jesus would not be able to bear up against the tremendous pressure of all the putrid nastiness of total evil. The Devil wagered that Jesus would succumb and sin, Hell would hold Jesus in its grip, and the Devil would succeed in his attempt to murder God. John 8:44.

Total evil hates innocence. Satan ruined the innocence of Adam and Eve because he hated them. The Devil believes innocence is a weakness. The Devil thought that the innocence of Jesus was His weakness. The Devil wagered that the weakness of the innocence in Jesus would break Him, and He would succumb to evil and sin. So the Devil decided to take what might be his only chance to murder God and have Jesus nailed to a cross. But what the Devil did not know was that he would fall right into God's eternal plan to save all of humanity from sin and evil and eternal death. Luke 19:10; John 12:31-32; John 16:33; I Timothy 6:13; I Timothy 4:10; Revelation 5:11-14; Hebrews 2:9. One of the main ways that total evil displays its hatred of innocence happens when the Devil influences adults to sexually abuse children.