Deliver Us from the Evil One: Evil is personal

Today’s post is about the evil one in the Lord’s prayer, from my friend Christ John Otto’s Substack. CHRIST JOHN OTTO August 7, 2024 [Christ rhymes with wrist.]

This not only head knowledge but also reliably applicable to our hearts and relationships in these times. I can even say required reading for all followers of Jesus. It may seem long, but in reality it is very succinct for the topic. I invite you to take your time. And if it resonates at all, please check out his Substack.

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In the Greek, the prayer does not say "evil."
It says, 
"the evil."
The Bible is not abstract.  
There are no vague abstract concepts.
Abstract concepts are a hangover from Greco-Roman philosophy.
In the Bible,
everything is personal and concrete.
So as I have said before,
we remember by eating and doing.
The war we are facing is personal.
The Father is the King,
you are his royal family,
and there is a usurper and a pretender,
ruining everything--
robbing, killing and destroying.
And that pretender is a fallen angel.

Many of your Bibles will have a footnote on this verse that says:
“Deliver us from the evil (one).”
The Greek uses the word evil, but the grammar
indicates that the evil is a being.
Not the dark side, or a vague concept of energy.
Evil in the Bible is personal.

Let's add some confusion to this:
the New Testament does not name this being.
This being had a name, but is less than it was.
In the New Testament the being is described,
but not named.
Evil is an “it.”

This right here should shake your understanding of spiritual warfare.
This being is the opposite of created.
God took it’s name away.

The Bible refers to this being as the “satan”
eighty-two times.

Satan is the Hebrew word for "accuser."
It is a description.
“Get behind me, accuser.”
Whenever you think, see, or hear 
accusations 
that seem to bombard you,
you know the source.
Any time you point the finger,
you are aligning with the accuser.

Jesus refers to this being as
the "Father of Lies" in John 8:44.
All lies come from the same source,
and there are no original lies in the universe.
This being cannot create,
it can only deceive or distort.

Paul refers to this being as "Belial" in 2 Corinthians 6:15.
This is a common reference in the Old Testament to Satan,
but is not often translated.  
The word is translated "worthlessness."
The best example of this is in I Samuel 2,
where it says the Sons of Eli were “sons of Belial.”
It is translated “worthlessness” in most Bibles, but it is a proper name.
Because of the way "Belial" has been translated,
we miss Paul's reference in 2 Corinthians 6.
Throughout the Psalms,
we hear this prayer, 
"I will set no worthless thing before my eyes."
To the original reader this was a clear connection between 
the evil one and idols.
Idols are access points for the demonic.

The book of Revelation
calls this being the Ancient Serpent.
This is the same being that tempted Eve in the Garden.

Finally,
the Pharisees and the scribes refer to this being as
Beelzebub, the prince of demons.
Beelzebub was the pagan god over Ekron referred to in 2 Kings.
and was the Lord of the Flies.
A god of decay and decomposition:
Death.

Jesus continued talking with them in these terms,
but he did not use this term.
He never empowered the enemy with his speech,
but always diminished him.
And so we come back to here:
Jesus says,
deliver us from “the evil.”

And of course, this follows from trials and temptation.
The evil is looking for allies
not victims.
Human beings who use their God given position over the earth
are great helps to a being who has no power.
This is why witchcraft has to be respected and handled carefully.

So what are we needing to be delivered from?

1. Lies and deception.
All lies come from the same source.  When you deal with a liar, you are dealing with an ally of the evil.  Every day I ask the Lord to help me see the deception around me.  Help me see everything the enemy does not want me to see.  Lead me into all truth.

The most powerful lie is the withholding of information.   When someone only tells you part of the information, but withholds a key bit you are in great danger.

The second most powerful lie is the “truth with a twist.”  That is most of the truth with a bit twisted or turned on its head.  This is how the serpent tempted Eve.  This is also what you find in a lot of truly false teaching.

Every lie is designed to make you believe you are not who you are, and God is not who he is.

If the enemy can get you to believe a lie, and if that lie is connected to trauma, then you do not need to be demonized.  Your brain and emotions will go into automatic response, and you will be immobilized.

2.  Fear and despair.
The enemy’s greatest weapon is fear.  If you are afraid, you will make foolish decisions that will lead you into trouble, and then you will have more trouble.  And this cycle often will make you want to quit.  Often the best indicator of a witchcraft attack is despair.

3.  Trauma.
Traumatic events will open the door to demonic oppression.  As I mentioned, often trauma, violence, shock, or events will cause a lie to get hold.  You will then have a powerful trigger response that is physical/spiritual/and mental.  This is the best way to lead you to the main goal of the evil one.

4.  Disease and death.
The enemy wants you dead.  It wants all humanity dead.   And it will not stop until it kills as many human beings as possible.  

Think about this.  Demons cannot reproduce.  You can.  If the enemy can stop humanity from increasing in number, then it will always have the upper hand.  Human beings probably already outnumber the demonic realm, and there is a the real possibility that when believers outnumber the demons, it is finished.

Jesus is establishing a kingdom and the Lord's prayer ends on a strategic note.

Lead us not into trials and testing
and deliver us from the evil one.

Father of us all,
who rules and reigns within the heavens.
May your name be made holy among all nations.
Come Kingdom of God.
Be done, will of the God,
on earth as that will is unhindered in heaven.
Give us today our supersubstantial bread.
Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us away from trials
and deliver us from the evil one.

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