Many people today say that Satan is not real and is just a myth that ancient people believed. This is not true and the Bible is very clear about who Satan is, his power today and his ultimate defeat by Jesus. In fact, the one person in the Bible who confronted Satan the most and spoke about him the most seriously was Jesus Himself.
What is Satan like?
In terms of who Satan is and what he is like, popular views of Satan as a devil with horns and a pitchfork are not biblical. Also, ideas that we must resist the devil with superstitious charms or special objects like crucifixes are not found in the Scriptures. The view that Satan was an angel who confronted God and fell from heaven before the creation of the world is not spelled out in detail in the Bible but is supported by passages like Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:11-19 and Luke 10:18. Theologians of the early church have thought that Satan and his angels rebelled when they saw that God created humans in His image and then became jealous of the relationship God had with them. This seems plausible, but it is speculative; it is not explained in the Bible.
The story begins in Genesis in the Garden of Eden when the tempter (another word for Satan or the devil) in the form of a serpent persuaded Eve to disobey God by eating the fruit in the middle of the garden (Genesis 3:1-6). This led to God’s curse on people and sin entering the world leading to the judgement of death. God also cursed Satan, and Genesis 3:15 holds out the hope that one day a son of Eve will crush the head of the serpent.
A free choice
How is it possible that Satan decided to rebel against God? The Bible does not explain that. It seems that the situation for the angels was similar to that of Adam and Eve. Man and the angels were created to worship God. They both had the free will to obey God or not. Satan and his angels failed that test, just as Adam did.
How is it possible that angels, who knew the glory of God, decided to follow Satan instead of God, knowing that Satan was just a creature? That Satan is able to convince even angels to follow him shows what a great deceiver and a very dangerous adversary he is. Jesus calls him “a murderer from the beginning” and “a liar and the father of lies”. (John 8:44)
Satan is defeated
Satan was crushed by Jesus. The gospel writers show us that Jesus (unlike Adam and Eve) effectively resisted the devil over 40 days in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus exercised authority over Satan and his demons by healing, restoring and delivering those in the grasp of the evil one (for example, Mark 5:1-20). Jesus secured victory over Satan at the cross and in His resurrection, undoing the deathly effects of the fall on humanity.
Satan still exercises control
We live now in a time where Satan still exercises control over the hearts and minds of people who are not Christians while also having power to tempt Christians and bring them to physical harm. He reaps destruction and organizes evil in the world at large. But we live in the reality that Jesus has won the victory, His Spirit and His Word help us to resist the devil and in the end Satan and his army will be destroyed and thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10).
God is in control
The Bible explains that God is always supremely in control. As we read in Job 1, the devil and his demons’ activities are limited by and subject to God. The New Testament doesn’t describe people fighting the devil or demons in isolation, but rather points to Jesus as the Christian’s one true deliverer. As Christians all over the world pray every day: “Our Father… deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen” (Matthew 6:9-13).
God should be our focus!
Many questions concerning Satan and his angels are not answered in the Bible. That means that our focus should not be on Satan. God should be our focus God! And may we never forget this heartening truth: Satan has been defeated. Him awaits only the eternal fire of hell. People, on the other hand, no matter how badly they have sinned, always have the opportunity to repent and receive God’s forgiveness. For Jesus did not take on the nature of an angel, He shared in our human nature, so that by His death He would conquer him who possessed the power over death – that is the devil (Hebrews 2:14).
Thanks to GospelImages for the painting.