Satan the devil

There are two unfortunate trends in today's Western world regarding Satan, the devil, mentioned in the New Testament as the relentless adversary and enemy of God. Most people are unaware of the devil or underestimate his role in causing chaos, suffering and evil. For many people, the idea of ​​a real devil is just a remnant of ancient superstition, or at best a picture of evil in the world.

On the other hand, Christians have embraced superstitious views about the devil known under the guise of "spiritual warfare." They give the devil undue credit and "wage war against him" in a manner that is inconsistent with the counsel we find in Scripture. In this article we will see what information the Bible gives us about Satan. Armed with this understanding, we can avoid the pitfalls of the extremes mentioned above.

References from the Old Testament

Isaiah 14,3-23 and Ezekiel 28,1-9 are sometimes considered to be descriptions of the devil's origin as an angel who sinned. Some of the details can be seen as clues to the devil. Yet the context of these passages shows that the bulk of the text relates to the vanity and pride of human kings - the kings of Babylon and Tire. The point in both sections is that kings are manipulated by the devil and are reflections of his evil intentions and hatred of God. To speak of the spiritual leader, Satan, is to speak in one breath of his human agents, the kings. It's a way of saying that the devil rules the world.

In the book of Job, a reference to angels says that they were present at the creation of the world and filled with wonder and joy8,7). On the other hand, the Satan of Job 1-2 also appears to be an angelic being, since he is said to be among the "sons of God." But he is the adversary of God and his righteousness.

There are some references in the Bible to "fallen angels" (2. Petrus 2,4; Jude 6; Job 4,18), but nothing substantial about how and why Satan became the enemy of God. The Scriptures give us no details about the lives of angels, neither "good" angels nor fallen angels (also called demons). The Bible, especially the New Testament, is far more interested in showing us Satan as trying to thwart God's purpose. He is referred to as the greatest enemy of God's people, the Church of Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, Satan or the devil is not prominently mentioned by name. However, the conviction that cosmic powers are at war with God can be found clearly in the motives of their sides. Two Old Testament motifs that depict Satan or the devil are cosmic waters and monsters. They are images that depict the satanic evil that holds the earth under its spell and fights against God. In Job 26,12-13 we see Job explaining that God "stirred up the sea" and "broke Rahab to pieces". Rahab is referred to as a "fleeing serpent" (verse 13).

In the few places where Satan is described as a personal being in the Old Testament, Satan is portrayed as an accuser who seeks to sow discord and sue (Zechariah 3,1-2), he incites people to sin against God (1Chro 21,1) and uses people and the elements to cause great pain and suffering (Job 1,6-19; 2,1-8).

In the book of Job we see that Satan meets with other angels to present himself to God as if he had been called to a heavenly council. There are some other biblical references to a heavenly gathering of angelic beings influencing human affairs. In one of these, a lying ghost beguiles a king to go to war (1. Kings 22,19-22).

God is pictured as someone who "beat the heads of Leviathan and gave him to beasts to eat" (Psalm 74,14). Who is Leviathan? He is the “sea monster”—the “fleeing serpent” and “winding serpent” whom the Lord will punish “at the time” when God banishes all evil from the earth and establishes his kingdom (Isaiah 2 Cor7,1).

The motif of Leviathan as a snake goes back to the Garden of Eden. Here the serpent - "more cunning than any beast of the field" - tempts men to sin against God, resulting in their fall (1. Mose 3,1-7). This leads to another prophecy of a future war between himself and the serpent, in which the serpent appears to win a decisive battle (a stabbing of God's heel) only to lose the battle (his head being crushed). In this prophecy, God says to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you will stab his heel" (1. Mose 3,15).

References in the New Testament

The cosmic meaning of this statement becomes understandable in the light of the Incarnation of the Son of God as Jesus of Nazareth (John 1,1. 14). We see in the Gospels that Satan tried to destroy Jesus in one way or another from the day he was born until he died on the cross. Although Satan succeeds in killing Jesus through his human proxies, the devil loses the war through his death and resurrection.

After Jesus' ascension, the cosmic battle between the bride of Christ - the people of God - and the devil and his lackeys continues. But God's purpose prevails and continues. In the end, Jesus will return and destroy the spiritual opposition to him (1. Corinthians 15,24-28).

Above all, the Book of Revelation illustrates this struggle between the forces of evil in the world, driven by Satan, and the powers of good in the Church, led by God. In this book full of symbols, in the literary genre of Apocalypse, two cities that are larger than life, Babylon and the great, new Jerusalem represent two terrestrial groups that are at war.

When the war is over, the devil or Satan will be chained in the abyss and prevented from "deceiving the whole world" as he did before (Romans 12,9).

In the end we see that the kingdom of God triumphs over all evil. It is pictorially represented by an ideal city - the holy city, the Jerusalem of God - where God and the Lamb dwell with their people in eternal peace and joy, made possible by the mutual joy they share (Revelation 2 Cor1,15-27). Satan and all the forces of evil will be destroyed (Revelation 20,10).

Jesus and Satan

In the New Testament, Satan is clearly identified as the adversary of God and humanity. In one way or another, the devil is responsible for the suffering and the evil in our world. In his healing ministry, Jesus even referred to fallen angels and Satan as the cause of illness and infirmity. Of course, we should be careful not to call every problem or illness a direct blow from Satan. Nevertheless, it is instructive to note that the New Testament is not afraid to blame the devil and his evil cohorts for many disasters, including illnesses. Illness is an evil, not something that is ordained by God.

Jesus referred to Satan and the fallen spirits as "the devil and his angels" for whom "everlasting fire" is prepared (Matthew 25,41). In the Gospels we read that demons are the cause of a variety of physical illnesses and ailments. In some cases, demons occupied the minds and / or bodies of people, resulting in weaknesses such as convulsions, dumbness, blindness, partial paralysis, and various types of insanity.

Luke speaks of a woman whom Jesus met in the synagogue who “had a spirit making her sick for eighteen years” (Luke 1 Cor3,11). Jesus delivered her from her infirmity and was criticized for healing on a Sabbath. Jesus replied, "Should not this woman, who is Abraham's daughter, whom Satan had already bound for eighteen years, to be loosed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?" (verse 16).

In other cases, he exposed demons as the cause of ailments, as in the case of a boy who had terrible convulsions and was moonstruck from childhood7,14-19; Mark 9,14-29; Luke 9,37-45). Jesus could simply command these demons to leave the infirm and they obeyed. In doing so, Jesus showed that he had complete authority over the world of Satan and the demons. Jesus gave his disciples the same authority over the demons (Matthew 10,1).

The apostle Peter spoke of Jesus' healing ministry as one that delivered people from diseases and infirmities of which Satan and his evil spirits were either the direct or indirect cause. “You know what happened throughout Judea...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with holy spirit and power; he went about doing good and healing all who were in the devil's power, for God was with him" (Acts 10,37-38). This view of Jesus' healing ministry reflects the belief that Satan is the adversary of God and his creation, especially humanity.

It puts the ultimate blame for suffering and sin on the devil and characterizes him as the
"first sinner". The devil sins from the beginning" (1. John 3,8). Jesus calls Satan the “prince of demons”—the ruler over the fallen angels (Matthew 25,41). Through his work of redemption, Jesus broke the devil's hold on the world. Satan is the "Mighty One" into whose house (the world) Jesus entered (Mark 3,27). Jesus has "tied up" the strong man and "divides the spoils" [carries away his possessions, his kingdom].

That's why Jesus came in the flesh. John writes: "For this purpose the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1. John 3,8). Colossians speaks of this ruined work in cosmic terms: "He stripped the principalities and authorities of their power, and set them openly, and made them triumphant in Christ" (Colossians 2,15).

Hebrews elaborates on how Jesus achieved this: “Because children are of flesh and blood, he also accepted it in like manner, that by his death he might destroy the one who had power over death, which is the devil. and redeemed those who were forced to be bondservants all their life through fear of death" (Hebrews 2,14-15).

Unsurprisingly, Satan would try to destroy God's purpose in his Son, Jesus Christ. Satan's goal was to kill the Word made flesh, Jesus, when he was a baby (Revelation 1 Cor2,3; Matthew 2,1-18) to try him during his life (Luke 4,1-13), and imprison him and kill him (v. 13; Luke 22,3-6).

Satan "succeeded" in the final attempt on Jesus' life, but Jesus' death and subsequent resurrection exposed and condemned the devil. Jesus had made a "public spectacle" of the ways of the world and the evil presented by the devil and his followers. It became clear to all who would listen that only God's way of love is right.

Through the person of Jesus and his redemptive work, the devil's plans were reversed and he was defeated. Thus, through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ has already defeated Satan, exposing the shame of evil. Jesus told his disciples on the night of his betrayal: "That I go to the Father...the prince of this world is now judged" (John 16,11).

After Christ returns, the devil's influence in the world will cease and his complete defeat will be evident. That victory will come in a final and permanent change at the end of this age3,37-42).

The mighty prince

During his mortal ministry, Jesus declared that "the prince of this world will be cast out" (John 12,31), and said that this prince had "no power" over him (John 14,30). Jesus defeated Satan because the devil could not control him. No temptation that Satan hurled at Jesus was strong enough to lure him away from his love for and faith in God (Matthew 4,1-11). He defeated the devil and stole the possessions of the "strong man" - the world he held captive (Matthew 12,24-29). As Christians, we can rest in faith in Jesus' victory over all enemies of God (and our enemies), including the devil.

Yet the church exists in the tension of "already there but not quite yet," in which God continues to allow Satan to deceive the world and spread destruction and death. Christians live between the "It is finished" of Jesus' death (John 19,30) and "it has come to pass" of the ultimate destruction of evil and the future coming of the kingdom of God upon the earth (Revelation 2 Cor1,6). Satan is still allowed to jealous against the power of the gospel. The devil is still the invisible prince of darkness, and with God's permission he has the power to serve God's purposes.

The New Testament tells us that Satan is the controlling force in the present wicked world and that people unconsciously follow him in his opposition to God. (In Greek, the word "prince" or "prince" [as in John 12,31 used] a translation of the Greek word archon, which referred to the highest government official of a political district or city).

The apostle Paul explains that Satan is “the god of this world” who “has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2. Corinthians 4,4). Paul understood that Satan can even hinder the work of the church (2. Thessalonians 2,17-19).

Today, much of the western world pays little heed to a reality that fundamentally affects their lives and future—the fact that the devil is a real spirit who seeks to harm them at every turn and seeks to thwart God's loving purpose. Christians are exhorted to be aware of Satan's machinations so that they may resist them through the guidance and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, some Christians have gone to a misguided extreme in a "hunt" for Satan, and have unwittingly given additional fodder to those who scoff at the idea that the devil is a real and evil being.

The Church is warned to be wary of Satan's tools. Christian leaders, Paul says, must live lives worthy of God's calling lest they "be caught in the snare of the devil" (1. Timothy 3,7). Christians must be on guard against Satan's machinations and must wear the armor of God "against the evil spirits under heaven" (Ephesians 6,10-12) tighten. They are to do this so that "they will not be taken advantage of by Satan" (2. Corinthians 2,11).

The evil work of the devil

The devil creates spiritual blindness to the truth of God in Christ in various ways. False doctrines and various notions "taught by demons" cause people to "follow deceiving spirits," unaware of the ultimate source of deception (1. Timothy 4,1-5). Once blinded, people are unable to understand the light of the gospel, which is the good news that Christ redeems us from sin and death (1. John 4,1-2; 2. John 7). Satan is the main enemy of the gospel, "the wicked one" who tries to deceive people into rejecting the good news (Matthew 13,18-23).

Satan doesn't have to try to deceive you in a personal way. He can work through people who spread false philosophical and theological ideas. Humans can also be enslaved by the structure of evil and deception embedded in our human society. The devil can also use our fallen human nature against us, so that people believe they have "the truth" when in fact they have given up what is of God for what is of the world and of the devil. Such people believe that their misguided belief system will save them (2. Thessalonians 2,9-10), but what they have actually done is that they "have turned the truth of God into a lie" (Romans 1,25). "The lie" seems good and true because Satan presents himself and his belief system in such a way that his teaching is like a truth from an "angel of light" (2. Corinthians 11,14) works.

Generally speaking, Satan is behind our fallen nature's temptation and desire to sin, and hence he becomes the "tempter" (2. Thessalonians 3,5; 1. Corinthians 6,5; Acts of the Apostles 5,3) called. Paul leads the church back in Corinth 1. Genesis 3 and the story of the Garden of Eden to admonish them not to be turned away from Christ, something the devil is trying to do. "But I fear that just as the serpent deceived Eve with her cunning, so your thoughts will also be turned away from the simplicity and integrity of Christ" (2. Corinthians 11,3).

This is not to say that Paul believed that Satan personally tempted and directly deceived everyone. People who think "the devil made me do it" every time they sin don't realize that Satan is using the evil system he created in the world and our fallen nature against us. In the case of the Thessalonian Christians mentioned above, this deception could have been accomplished by teachers who planted the seeds of hatred against Paul, deceiving people into believing that he [Paul] is deceiving them or covering up greed or some other impure motive (2. Thessalonians 2,3-12). Nevertheless, since the devil sows discord and manipulates the world, ultimately behind all people who sow discord and hatred is the tempter himself.

Indeed, according to Paul, Christians who have been separated from the fellowship of the church because of sin are “handed over to Satan” (1. Corinthians 5,5; 1. Timothy 1,20), or have “turned away and followed Satan” (1. Timothy 5,15). Peter exhorts his flock: “Be sober and watch; for your adversary the devil prowls like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour" (1. Petrus 5,8). The way to defeat Satan, says Peter, is to "resist him" (verse 9).

How do people resist Satan? James declares, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. When you draw near to God, he draws near to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and sanctify your hearts, you fickle people” (James 4,7-8th). We are close to God when our hearts have a reverent attitude of joy, peace, and gratitude towards him, nourished by his indwelling spirit of love and faith.

People who do not know Christ and are not guided by his Spirit (Romans 8,5-17) "live according to the flesh" (v. 5). They are in harmony with the world, following "the spirit which is at work in the children of disobedience at this time" (Ephesians 2,2). This spirit, identified elsewhere as the devil or Satan, manipulates people into being intent on doing "the lusts of the flesh and of the senses" (verse 3). But by God's grace we can see the light of truth that is in Christ and follow Him by the Spirit of God, rather than unknowingly falling under the influence of the devil, the fallen world, and our spiritually weak and sinful human nature.

Satan's warfare and his final defeat

"The whole world is in wickedness" [is under the control of the devil] writes John (1. John 5,19). But understanding was given to those who are children of God and followers of Christ to "know the truthful" (verse 20).

In this regard, Revelation 1 is2,7-9 very dramatic. In the warfare theme of Revelation, the book depicts a cosmic battle between Michael and his angels and the dragon (Satan) and his fallen angels. The devil and his minions were defeated, and "their place was found no more in heaven" (verse 8). The result? "And the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, which is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, and he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him" (v. 9). The idea is that Satan continues his war against God by persecuting God's people on earth.

The battlefield between evil (manipulated by Satan) and good (led by God) results in war between Babylon the Great (the world under the control of the Devil) and the new Jerusalem (the people of God that God and the Lamb Jesus Christ follows). It is a war destined to be won by God because nothing can defeat its purpose.

In the end, all enemies of God, including Satan, will be defeated. The kingdom of God - a new world order - comes to earth, symbolized by the new Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation. The devil will be removed from the presence of God and his kingdom will be wiped out with him (Revelation 20,10) and replaced by God's eternal reign of love.

We read these encouraging words about the “end” of all things: “And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God among men! And he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and he himself, God with them, will be their God; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will there be more mourning nor outcry nor pain; for the first has passed. And he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new! And he says: Write, for these words are true and certain." (Revelation 21,3-5).

Paul Kroll


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