Articles
Who is Satan
The Roaring Lion. The Father of Lies. The Great Dragon. The Serpent of Old. The Adversary. Prince of this World. Abaddon. Apollyon. Beelzebub. Belial. Satan.
The Tempter is our Enemy. He is in rebellion against our King, and our fight is against his forces of darkness. Plain and simple, the Devil is the deadliest and dangerous force at work in the world today.
Yet our modern culture sees Satan as a joke. Children dress as him for Halloween, commercials feature the little red man with horns hocking their products, and he is even seen as a figure worthy of admiration by intellectuals and atheists! This cultural mockery has permeated into Christianity, and many Christians today take no time to study our foe. If we are to join in the victory of Christ, we have to first know who we are facing.
Who is He? The first picture of Satan in the scriptures is in Job as “the accuser” or “the adversary” (which, in Hebrew, is satan). While specifics of the exact nature of Satan are difficult to ascertain, and ultimately not crucial to our fight against him, the scriptures seem to indicate that Satan was a created spiritual being, possibly an angel, who was created as a being of good (Genesis 1:31). Words written to the pagan kings of Babylon and Tyre seem to speak to the influence Satan had on them. Within prophesies against his earthly subjects, it is possibly indicated that Satan rebelled and sought to overthrow God (Isaiah 14:13-14) because of pride in his own beauty and wisdom (Ezekiel 28:17). Whatever its exact nature this rebellion against God failed, and he was cast out of heaven for his sin (Revelation 12:7-9). After his rebellion, Satan began his war against humanity by deceiving Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5). God cursed Satan with ultimate defeat, and prophesied that a seed of Eve’s would ultimately crush Satan (Genesis 3:15). With the Fall of mankind, Satan continued to tempt men from Cain (1 John 3:12) to Job (Job 1:9-12; 2:4-6) to Jesus himself (4:13) to join in his rebellion against God through sin.
What is His Mission? A liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), Satan seeks to corrupt mankind to join him in his fall from grace. His exact motives are unclear; perhaps Satan still is deluded into believing he can defeat God, or he simply wishes to take as many souls with him down to hellfire as he can out of bitterness and spite. Regardless Satan is the King of the Spiritual Forces of Wickedness that we daily battle against (Ephesians 6:12), and he seeks dominion and victory over us.
What are His Methods? The Serpent is crafty and conniving; he knows that he is weaker than God and so must act in secret and deception. While Satan has often worked through demons, false gods, and other such wicked manifestations (), he will also frequently disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Using false teachers, Satan will present false doctrine that appeals to men’s pride, desires, and weaknesses while still allowing them to maintain a façade of holiness (2 Corinthians 11:12-13). Satan knows the scriptures, and knows how to twist them to make it appealing to us (Matthew 4:5-6). He will use every weapon in his arsenal, that of evil and that of ‘holiness,’ to win souls to his wicked cause.
How Do We Fight Him? It is important to remember that Satan cannot cause us to sin. While he can tempt us and put us in a very dark place, only we have the power to choose God’s way or sin; temptation is not sin. It is only when we succumb to our desires and separate from God’s will that we sin (James 1:14-15). To avoid this, we must diligently fight against the wicked one. We have to ensure that our teaching and preaching is from God rather than Satan, and test every doctrine to make sure it lines up with God’s plan (1 John 4:1-3). We have to band together as brethren and resist the Devil together (Ecclesiastes 4:12), and we must pursue good wholeheartedly to avoid evil (2 Peter 1:4-7). And, most importantly, we must flee from sin and unrighteousness. There is no bargaining or trying to split our time between righteousness and sinfulness. The believer must take every effort to remove himself from tempting situations and wicked behavior, and instead fill himself with righteousness (1 Timothy 6:11).
Can He Win? Never. While his power can be intimidating, Satan is not an equal to God. Satan is neither omniscient nor omnipotent. God is eternal, while Satan is a finite created being. God has declared the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10); Satan is doomed in his futile rebellion. With the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross, our King has conquered over death and every sin (Revelation 19:11-16). Satan will receive justice for his rebellion and wicked ways; he will be cast into the lake of fire, and will be tormented forever (Revelation 20:10). Satan will not rule over Hell, but be a prisoner of it; all who chose Satan over God will suffer likewise.
We face a difficult adversary. He knows our weaknesses, he knows the will of God enough to lead us astray, and he will relentlessly pursue any soul he can. We will be tested; like Peter, Satan seeks to sift us like wheat and see if our discipleship is true or not (Luke 22:31). Satan boldly walks on the earth, and seeks to destroy all the good he can (1 Peter 5:8-10). He is an enemy we cannot defeat alone.
There is, however, great hope to be had. Satan has already lost the war. The Crucified and Resurrected Christ has cast Satan down, and it is only a matter of time before the Serpent pays for his crimes. Through the blood and power of Christ, we too can resist Satan. Envelop yourselves in good, pray without ceasing to the Lord, and gird up your loins. The battle is at hand; pick up your swords and stand with God. Fight on, brethren!
