Devil, Satan, Tempter
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The story of the temptation of Christ is told in the three Gospels that look most alike (which we call the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke). In Matthew's (4:1-11)and Luke's (4:1-13) versions of the story, three words are used for the one who is tempting Jesus. Devil, Satan and Tempter.

The word usually translated as Devil is the Greek word, diabolou. It is also the word used in Spanish, Diablo (the name for Cisco Kid's Horse for those old enough to remember that series that ran on TV from 1950 to 1955). In Greek literature before Jesus, the word was used in several senses, "to divide" "to separate" "to accuse" "to give false testimony" and the like. When the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) were translated into Greek, the word diabolou or diabolos is used to mean the one who comes between God and humanity or between God and Israel. It sometimes is used to mean "obstacle" "seducer" or "enemy."

The second word used in Matthew's and Luke's version of the story of the temptation of Jesus is peirazon from which we get the English word "pirate." It means "one who attempts or tests" and is usually translated as "tempter" or one who attempts to turn Jesus to disobedience.

The third word that appears in these stories is the more familiar word "Satan" which is the Hebrew proper name for the personification of evil.

Whether we think of the devil as a person or more simply as a force for evil in our world, the effect is the same. There are powers which seek to turn us away from the right path toward disobedience.

C. S. Lewis has a lighthearted treatment of the idea of Satan in his famous Screwtape Letters written during World War Two.