4. Human Beings Must Choose between God and the Devil
World Scripture
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Genesis 4.6-7
Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Peter 5.8
Whoever lives contemplating pleasant things, with senses unrestrained, in food immoderate, indolent, inactive, him verily Mara overthrows, as the wind blows down a weak tree.
Whoever lives contemplating the impurities of the body, with senses restrained, in food moderate, full of faith, full of sustained energy, him Mara overthrows not, as the wind cannot shake a rocky mountain.
Dhammapada 7-8 (Buddhism)
O men, God’s promise is true; so let not the present life delude you, and let not the Deluder delude you concerning God. Surely Satan is an enemy to you; so take him for an enemy. He calls his party only that they may be among the inhabitants of the Fire.
Qur’an 35.5-6
O believers, follow not the steps of Satan; for whoever follows the steps of Satan will assuredly be bid to indecency and dishonor. But for God’s bounty to you and His mercy not one of you would have been pure ever; but God purifies whom He will; and God is All-hearing, All-knowing.
Qur’an 24.21
Yes, there are two fundamental spirits, twins which are renowned to be in conflict. In thought and in word, in action, they are two: the good and the bad. And between these two, the beneficent have correctly chosen, not the maleficent.10
Furthermore, when these two spirits first came together, they created life and death, and now, in the end the worst existence shall be for the deceitful but the best thinking [Heaven] for the truthful person.
Of these two spirits, the deceitful one chose to bring to realization the worst things. But the very virtuous spirit, who is clothed in the hardest stones, chose the truth, and so shall mortals who shall satisfy the Wise Lord continuously with true actions.
Avesta, Yasna 30.3-5 (Zoroastrianism)
When Israel stood before Mount Sinai, the impurity of the serpent was removed from them, so that carnal passion was suppressed among them, and in consequence they were able to attach themselves to the Tree of Life, and their thoughts were turned to higher things and not to lower. Hence they were given heavenly illuminations and knowledge which filled them with joy and gladness. Further, God girded them with cinctures of the letters of the Holy Name, which prevented the serpent from gaining power over them and defiling them as before.
But when they sinned and worshipped the golden calf, they were degraded from their high estate and lost their illumination, they were deprived of the protective girdle of the Holy Name and became exposed to the attacks of the evil serpent as before.
Zohar 1.52b (Judaism)
The Essence of Mind or Suchness is the real Buddha, While heretical views and the three poisonous elements [greed, anger, delusion] are Mara. Enlightened by right views, we call forth the Buddha within us. When our nature is dominated by the three poisonous elements We are said to be possessed by the devil; But when right views eliminate from our mind these poisonous elements The devil will be transformed into a real Buddha.
Sutra of Hui Neng 10 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
God is supremely selfless and supremely public minded; whereas Satan is absolutely self-centered and only out for himself.
(88:209, September 18, 1976)
God has no capacity to be corrupted—He is eternal, unchanging, and unique. Therefore, regardless of his power, Satan can never bring God under his control, because God is true, and Satan cannot digest a true being. Then, why does God, who aspires to be lord of all creation, not bring Satan under His control? It is because Satan does not have God’s unchanging nature—quite the opposite. God is unchanging while Satan is always changing to suit himself. God is unique and Satan is not; God is eternal while Satan is temporal. This, in essence, is their dividing line.
Why, then, are human beings the objects of both God’s desire and Satan’s desire? People stand between God and Satan. They have qualities that can relate to both God’s world and Satan’s world.
Is someone who changes from moment to moment more on God’s side or Satan’s side? Is someone who is constantly creating divisions and fights in the home more susceptible to God or to Satan? What about the person who is immersed in his daily affairs and does not think about the whole, or the world, or history, or eternity, or any kind of long-term vision? What about a father who neglects his wife and children, who only goes off to the local bar and drinks every night, seeking his own pleasure? Certainly, Satan will claim such people.
(124:243-44, February 20, 1983)
We are living in a fallen realm. That is why we need to live a life of faith. Remember this, and always be aware that Satan governs this fallen world. This is not merely a concept; it is reality.
(161:218, February 15, 1987)
The Bible exhorts us to pray ceaselessly. The Devil can attack us and even work through us twenty-four hours a day. Although God is with us, He stays in a vertical relationship with only the mind as His base; how effectively, then, can He work with us? Satan can come at us from any direction, from 360 degrees; hence we are bound to be overwhelmed.
(200:227, February 25, 1990)
Evil activity in the spirit world had been increasing gradually ever since the Human Fall. But the situation changed drastically in the 1980s, when hosts of evil spirits descended to the earth and greatly increased their activities there.
Why did this happen? In former times, when the central figures of the Providence did not know the identity of Satan, the root of sin, or the nature of the Original Sin, Satan felt at ease and could take his time creating his self-centered world. However, when the True Parents came into the world the situation began to change. The True Parents revealed the identity of Satan, the root of sin, and that the Original Sin was fornication. They figured out all Satan’s traits and all his tricks, facts that not even God had revealed to humanity. Then the True Parents began making conditions so that Satan could no longer stand on his feet on the earth. As they achieved victory after victory in the Providence of Restoration, Satan was taken aback; then he began to get nervous. In response, Satan mobilized evil spirits in the spirit world to work with evil spirits in the bodies of people on the earth, by stimulating their resentment and their desire to take revenge on the descendants of the people who had caused them pain.11
In particular, Satan watched closely for opportunities to invade Blessed families. Whenever he found any bad conditions, he put evil spirits into them. He wanted to block them from advancing and turn them from a God-centered life. God expected that Blessed families would make unity of heart with God and True Parents by living with absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience.
Satan cannot invade such families. But when Blessed families acted in unprincipled ways, they made conditions for Satan to invade them. Most of them expected that the victory of True Parents would protect them; they didn’t look deeply at themselves to check whether they had anything for which Satan could accuse them. They didn’t reflect on whether they still had any fallen nature.
Therefore, at least from now on, we must work hard to purify ourselves from evil and sin and be reborn as original, true children.
(Heung Jin Moon, Message from the Spirit World, January 1, 2001)