Bible Encyclopedias
Evil One

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(ὁ πονηρός , ho ponērós ): Nearly all peoples who have expressed their religious thought and feeling believe in a spirit that presides over the destinies of men for their good. They believe that there is also a spirit, a person, whose work it is to lead men into temptation: a spirit of light and a spirit of darkness. Feelings and preferences may have much to do with the conclusions. In Matthew 5:37 , Matthew 5:39 , Matthew 5:45; Matthew 6:13 , the King James Version gives "evil," the Revised Version (British and American) "the evil one ," margin, "evil," the personal form referring to the enemy of the race known by various terms: Satan, "the adversary" or "the accuser," occurs 50 times; Beelzebub is found 7 times; devil, 35 times; it means "accuser," "calumniator." See SATAN .