The tempter
On the contrary to the tests coming from the Lord, the temptations, the trials with evil and traps, whose purpose is to harm us, are things whose originator is not God but His enemy and our enemy: the devil. Here is what the Word of God tells us concerning the one that is behind temptation:
Matthew 4:1“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
Matthew 4:3“And when the tempter came to him [Jesus], he said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Mark 1:13
“And he [Jesus] was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan.”
Luke 4:2 “Being tempted for forty days by the devil.”
Luke 4:13
“And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him [Jesus] for a season.”
1 Corinthians 7:5
“Do not deprive one another, except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
1 Thessalonians 3:5
“For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.”
Revelation 2:10
“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
As we said, many believe that the temptations and the trials with evil are coming from God i.e. that He brings evil in our life to make us better. This however is not true. The tempter, the one who tempts with evil, is not God but the devil and he does it either directly or indirectly. Let us now see the forms and the means that a temptation may take. (see #2)
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