Satan hates God, hates the Holy Ghost, but the full force of his hate, of necessity, is directed towards the Son of God, his rival for place and power. The supreme work of the Son was the Atonement; now, the interest and anxiety of heaven has been transferred to this planet. The supreme triumph of the Second Person of the Trinity was accomplished on the Cross where He paid the price of human redemption. His energies are now directed to the breaking down of all that was accomplished on the Cross. Every movement, every motive, every virtue, coming directly or indirectly from the merits of the Atonement, become at once the object of satanic hatred. Therefore every inch of territory conquered by the gospel propaganda was and is a victory over his hateful protest.

Serpent. At the very suggestion of this title our nature recoils. The "nachash," and "zachal," mean "fearful"-" creeper," therefore a fearful creeper. The snake is the most repulsive and dangerous of all reptiles. There is a strange antipathy about a snake; his nature is so still, so sneaking, so oily; the appearance of one produces an involuntary shudder. Who has not felt the disgust at seeing men and women—" charmers"-take a number of the sleek, slimy monsters from a cage, and wind them around arms, neck, and body? The horror felt towards the snake is not an accident; it was in the guise of a serpent the downfall of the race was accomplished.

Men and women who are subtle, smooth, deceitful, treacherous, secretive are called "snakes in the grass." Their plans and movements are under cover; they strike or sting from an hidden covert. The serpent

is synonymous with the hiss, the blazing eye, the forked tongue, the poison; once it catches the eye of a bird the poor thing may wail and flutter, but it is powerless to escape. The bird is drawn into the jaws of death by a strange magnetism.

This enemy of God and race is a serpent, slipping cautiously, noiselessly through all the dark, tangled mysteries about us. No one can fathom or interpret his cunning movements; we are stung, poisoned, charmed, fastened in the slimy coils, and yet do not know it. We have most to fear from the enemy who operates in the dark. This fallen archangel is never so dangerous as when acting in the personification of a serpent.

Dragon. In the Hebrew it is "tannoth," howlerjackal; making a noise like the howling jackal in the wilderness. Again we are appalled at this title. The dragon is represented as a monstrous animal having the form of a serpent, with crested head, wings, and tremendous claws; ferocious and dangerous. The Scriptures have appropriated this fabulous monster-believed to have existed in days of mythology as the most dreaded creature on land or seato enforce and emphasize the danger of him who seeks our destruction. He is called the "great red dragon' -or fiery dragon, howling like a vicious jackal.

It was in this peculiar manifestation that he stood before the woman and sought to destroy the Man Child as soon as He was born; then cast a flood after her as she fled from his presence. The dragon incarnates himself, and King Herod at once seeks to destroy the infant Jesus (Matt. ii.; Rev. xii. 1–5).

V

DIABOLUS-DEMONIA-ABADDON-
APOLLYON

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."-Matthew xxv. 41.

"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."-Revelation ix. 11.

WE now desire to analyze more minutely the Greek names Diabolus and Demonia; reference was made to this distinction in a former chapter. In the Authorized Version the two names are often translated or rather used interchangeably; devil for demon, and vice versa. We read of a "legion of devils," "seven devils," "cast out devils," "possessed with devils," etc. Technically-literally translated, these statements are incorrect. Demonia should never read devil-but demon; diabolus always means, not a devil, but the Devil.

Diabolus. This name designates him more as to his ruling and authority than to the elements of his character. We have noticed already the meaning of Devil, but from the original word we get more explicit meaning as to his rank of authority. As Lucifer we do not know his ruling rank, but in his lost estate he ranks as Commander-in-chief. Whatever we may say of him, the prefix," arch," designating his angel rank, can be logically attached: archspoiler -archdeceiver-archaccuser-archslanderer, etc.

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However, if accurately defined, diabolus means Calumniator-archcalumniator; a propagator of calumny. Acting in the capacity of calumniator, he seeks out and defames the innocent. He sends out a million rumours daily which would be, if tangible, cases for libel in any court.

Demonia. A demon-a fallen angel-evil spirit, an imp. Literally, a shade-a dark spot, moving as noiselessly and rapidly as a shadow. The many references in the New Testament to "devil," and "devils," should always be demons; the great multitude, so often found in one place, come from the innumerable concourse which constitute the " powers of darkness." Shadow spirits, men and women who are controlled by these dark, shadowy imps, "love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." The transformation, as we learned, which took place with Lucifier was just as great and radical with his angel followers; the difference was only that of degree of rank.

Abaddon-Apollyon. We have coupled the Hebrew and Greek names together, as each means exactly the same. We call the attention of the reader to the variety of names, all of which are so nearly alike, but convey a significant difference. AbaddonApollyon means destroyer. He has been discussed as "spoiler," but one who destroys carries the work farther than the spoiler. As Abaddon or Apollyon he is the king of the abyss, or " Bottomless Pit," and when he appears it is with purpose and equipment for destruction. Just as God sent the Destroying Angel" throughout Egypt, bringing a

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curse upon Pharaoh for his hardness of heart, this mighty messenger of the Abyss visits his destruction wherever and whenever he finds, not the absence of the typical blood upon the door, but when he finds it, or any evidence of allegiance to the One whose sacrificial blood he seeks to destroy.

As Abaddon-Apollyon he assumes the part of Finisher of his task; when we see him a destroyer, we have a full-sized photograph-leaving out not a single line of countenance, or a single character or attribute of his composite nature. He may soil, spoil, deceive, traduce, accuse, slander, wound, etc., but the ultimate aim is destruction. "When sin is finished it bringeth forth death." We see how the two great Rivals stand over against each other in their respective spheres: "For this cause the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." With the same degree of purpose, the Devil seeks to destroy the work of the Son of God.

The Devil seeks to destroy truth, righteousness, virtue, religion, hope, faith, visions of God, power of the Blood, thoughts of eternity and heaven. Every beautiful, holy thing on earth he would destroy, leaving behind only black, charred cinders where once were the flowers of Eden. Just as he destroyed the earthly Paradise in the long ago, so he would blot from our hopes and aspirations the Paradise of the soul. His ambition and supreme joy would be to turn this world over to God blighted and wrecked by his finishing touches, while hell echoed with triumphant shouts-an infernal jubilee. AbaddonApollyon: archdestroyer.