The line from a twenty year-old, country song sung by Sawyer Brown is much too true: “I’ve got to thank… the Devil for the trouble that I get into.” Just imagine it on a worldwide scale.  Here’s the sad part—you don’t have to imagine it because it’s all around us!

The world’s in trouble—lots of it: war in the Middle East; religious conflict in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia; economic tensions on all continents except Australia (for the moment); political battling nearly everywhere… If you read any news at all, you can add to the list.

Why so much trouble?

According to the theory of evolution life forms are supposed to be getting better, smarter and higher. However, based on the world’s troubles it appears that humanity isn’t much of a “higher” life form! To add to it, the religious of the world claim that their particular way is the way to peace—and they’re ready to fight to prove it.

Too few people spot the real source of trouble partly because they ignore a particular holiday—or Holy Day—that identifies the culprit.

Give the Devil his due on the Day of Atonement.

Before he was such an evil perpetrator, the Devil (which means slanderer or accuser) or Satan (adversary or enemy) was a holy angel. Like all angels back then, he had to decide to choose peace and good, but he got all puffed up and chose trouble and evil. He wasn’t satisfied to be evil alone so he spread his foul thinking to one third of the angels. And when man came along, he spread the way of trouble to this world we inherited from our forefathers. The rest is miserable history.

The Day of Atonement is one of God’s annual Holy Days when, in the days of ancient Israel, God ordered a ceremony involving two goats. One He chose as the “Lord’s goat” to represent Jesus Christ’s future sacrifice for sin. The other goat, the Azazel, was given blame for the sins of the Israelites, and then released alive to wander in the wilderness alone (see Leviticus 16).

God will see the Devil gets his due. When Atonement is fulfilled, the Devil and his demonic cohorts will be banished to outer darkness—to a “wilderness” removed from the presence of God and man where they will be “tormented day and night forever” (Revelation 20:10).

For our part, we need to follow God’s way. We can give the Devil his due alright, knowing that he is the source of so many of this world’s troubles. Then, each and every day we can thank God that He provides a way out of that trouble!

To learn more about the Day of Atonement and all of God's Feast Days please read our Bible study aid God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.