1. Definition of the concept of “Satan”

Meaning of the word “Satan.”

The root meaning of the word “Satan” is someone who is an antagonizer or opponent. In this sense, the concept of an “anti-Christ” is very close to being Satan, with the focus of who the “Satan” is against being against God and all His people in Satan, and against Christ in the concept of the Anti-Christ. TWOT points out that the verbal form of this word means to bear a grudge or cherish animosity. The principle concept here is a person who opposes.

Among the angelic spirits of the invisible world, there are some which are evil, and the chief of these is known as the “the Adversary”, or “Satan”. He is also known as “the Devil” (Mat 4:1-12; 1Jn 3:8; Rev 12:9).

The definition of the word “Satan.”

References (50): 1Ch. 12:1; Job 1:6-9, 12; 2:1-7; Psa. 109:6; Zec. 3:1-2; Mat. 4:10; 12:26; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 3:23, 26; 4:15; 8:33; 11:5; Luke 4:8; 10:18; 11:18; 13:16; 22:3, 31; Jn. 13:27; Acts. 5:3; 26:18; Rom. 16:20; 1Co. 5:5; 7:5; 2Co. 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1Th. 2:18; 2Th. 2:9; 1Ti. 1:20; 5:15; Rev. 2:9, 13, 24; 3:9; 12:9; 20:2, 7. (The word occurs 14 times in Job 1 and 2).

The root concept of the word “Satan” has the idea of striking within, as a knife that one throws at an opponent. The Hebrew word means adversary, somebody who resists somebody else. There is discussion if the word is used with the concept of a formal person, or an office or work of somebody (“Ralph” versus “Helper” or “busibody”). Some see  the definite article included with the word as indicating an office (Job 1:6-9, 12; 2:1-7; Zec 3:1-2), while without the definite article as being the name of a person (1Chr 21:1).




By this name, we understand it to refer to the great enemy of God as well as the greatest enemy of mankind. The name is the same in Hebrew and Greek, and means adversary,and is used in such a fashion as to refer directly to the head of God’s opposition as well as anyone (human or angelic) that opposes God’s work (Num 22:22 1Ki 11:14, 23, 25; 1Ch 21:1).

Use of the word “Satan-Adversary” for Human Beings

In the Old Testament the concept of “adversaries of God” even comes to include some of the children of God, such as King David (“enemy” is “satan” 1Sa 29:4), Rezon (“adversary” 1Ki 11:23, 25), and even the Angel of the Lord is identified with a reference as opposing or being an “Adversary” (Num 22:22-23). So the concept in itself, adversary, is not necessarily always the person of Satan, but rather somebody who opposes (usually opposes God, His purposes, His work, His people, etc). The Angel of the Lord’s opposition of the people of Israel was because they strayed from the will of God, and this means that the individuals involved are not necessarily the key here, but opposition to God’s will, (so anybody can be considered a “satan” or an adversary from time to time, and in fact, Jesus directly calls Peter, “Satan” when this happened with him). The focus is in being an adversary or opponent, not so much fixing permanent who is the adversary and who is the person being opposed.

Satan in the book of Job.

The book of Job is very strange in many aspects, and it reveals “insider information” like seldom we have access to. In this book of Job, It is important to understand that “Satan” (the person) is not the exclusive adversary of God in the book, but he is against Job. It is instructive to see that Satan is totally limited in his activities against the children of God and mankind, and he cannot act in aggression against God except as God gives him liberty to do so. What we can deduce from Job is that Satan is so convinced that his goals, tactics, and methods will win his purpose in the end, that he cooperates with God in refining the saints even though it looks strange to us at first glance, but for Satan to test the children of God by opposing them is exactly his desire. In Satan’s mind, he wishes to prove to God the weak and unworthy nature of mankind to have a relationship with God or enter heaven. In other words, Satan thinks like this, he enters into the tempting and trying of God’s children with the purpose to find them unworthy. God uses this activity to make them worthy. Satan apparently “bets against us” that since in his opinion “we are unworthy” and God’s work in us cannot make us worthy nor acceptable, then he thinks God can do whatever He wishes in us, to remake us after the image of Christ, but in the end, Satan is betting on our horrible failure.

In Job, Satan acts as a minister of God, which is a rare thing considering that God demands holiness, purity, and dedication to the will of God in his servants and ministers. This dynamic is very important to understand. Satan Satan has a “bent” outlook or corrupted view of things, and following his “bent”, Satan does “what is natural” for him, following his chosen character of being evil, aggressive, and malicious. Satan causes adversity, affliction, and suffering for Job (Job 1:12; 2:6-7), and then having caused Job’s problems, this same back stabbing Satan turns to God to accuse us before God because we are unfaithful towards God in adversity.(Job 6:4; 7:14; 9:17).

Part of the resolution of this great dynamic is to understand that the will of God is that human beings live in the kingdom of Satan, under his adversity and evilness for the time of their earthly life. For God to reveal the divine power in our lives, it is necessary that we experience problems, and THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD, EVEN OUR SUFFERING.

Baker dictionary says, “It was not the holiness of Job that was Satan’s point, but the connection between his piety and his prosperity…. He implied that the holiness of Job was based on his own interests (personal economic benefit). The tests that followed are designed to demonstrate this relationship.”

So in Satan’s view of things, Job was holiness because God blessed him economically and protected him. His point was that there was no real sincere love of God in his heart, but rather everything boiled down to what benefited him materially in this world. Satan refused to accept the possibility that his trial of Job would make Job better, and God’s comments that Job was just, upright, and perfect would seem to indicate that Job was already very pleasing in God’s eyes from the beginning.

See also Devil.

2. The Origin of Satan

The Bible does not clearly and definitely declare where Satan came from or how he got to his present condition, even though it does speak of the creation of the angels. It is not the purpose of God to give the beginning and birth of this person. Our information about Satan is only that he is the antagonist of Christ and God’s children. It is impossible to consider that Satan is eternal, always having an existence as God does (actuality). This would make Satan a god, in a form equal to the one true God. Actuality (always having existed) is a divine attribute, which only God has.

“There is no lack within the intimidations and inferences, little lights that indica the original purity, a high relationship with God, and a character and conduct with is heavenly…

Peter gave in his first epistle the crises and fall of the angels as an important event that illustrates the justice of God, and its certainty and horrible character.” E.M. Bounds, Satan, pág.12.

But if the King of Tyre (Eze 28:12-19) is a valid reference to Satan, then we would place him as a cherubim in the garden of Eden, and he was over the mountain of God, that is probably a reference to the government of God in heaven. His destiny is now the lake of fire. Jude 1:9-10 speaks of the contention between Miguel the Archangel and the devil, and speaking of Satan’s lack of respect of authority. The idea is that Miguel refused to fall into the same error as the devil, and it also indicates that Satan was probably placed in a position of authority over the world by God, and still occupies that place (authority). Christ defeated these powers and authorities Col 2:15. Equally the Bible refers to Satan as having power over the world or responsibility in its events and functioning (Luke 4:5-6; 2Co 4:4).

We should understand very well who Satan is, that he is a fallen angel, who is not equal with God. Being a creature, he is very limited in comparison to God, and Satan cannot win in a conflict against God. In comparison to us, he is extremely powerful, but when we have God on our side, Satan cannot do what he wants with us except as God permits him, for purposes of testing and refining our spiritual being. Isa 44:6 says that outside of Jehovah, there is no other God. Therefore being limited to what God allows him, and even having great power, he is very capable as an archangel of God, but that is where his ability ends.

See also Angels and Demons.

See also Devil

3. Myths about Satan

There are many myths and incorrect beliefs about Satan, his personal, his power, and his being.

The first myth is that he is the king of hell, in other words, the person who tortures the inhabitants of hell for all of eternity. Satan is not actually in hell today, but is free and walking the earth (as a roaring lion). If we can assume that Isaiah 14:16 is talking about Satan, then it speaks of his entrance into hell one day in the future as a prisoner. When he enters into his eternal place, the punishment of the lake of fire, he will be no king, but a prisoner, definitely not one who guards, but a guarded person.

See also Devil.

4. The Existence of Satan

Having said the above things, the word “adversary” o Satan is at times used for the person of Satan, but also for other people who “oppose”, such as the Angel of Jehovah, and at times for the work of someone who has this task, but we can definitely say that does exist such a person as “THE SATAN”, the principal adversary of God, His work, and His people.

The strongest evidence for the existence of this person is when Jesus referred to Satan by name, and he treated him as a real person (a fallen angel).

“Can we say that Christ is a person? Christ is counter placed against the devil in opposition and contraste against his own person as a powerful evil person  that sowers evil, and Christ is who sows all good things. ‘The field is the word; the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the evil one; the enemy that has sowed them is Satan; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.’ Is this Christ person real? Are these son of the kingdom real people? Are the sons of the wicked one real people? Are not Christ and the sons of the kingdom real people? Are not then the sons of the wicked one and the devil people and really exist?… The devil in the Bible was called a prince, a governor of the world, ‘the prince of the world.’  He is designated as ‘the devil and his angels,’ and he and they are held accountable, and later condemned for their sins and rebellion, and ‘not remaining in their first state,¿ the kingdom that they were created for, and in which they were originally placed by God. In this act of his fall, as in all his declared work, direct and indirect, they all emphasize that he is a personal, living, real, free, and accountable.” E.M. Bounds, Satan, pág. 20-21.

Frequently the gospels present us with encounters and discourses between Jesus and Satan directly speaking one with the other, or indirectly fighting spiritually between the two. Jesus was tempted by Satan (Mark 1:13; Luke 13:16), and Jesus freed a woman ‘that Satan had bound for eighteeen years.’ In Luke 10:18, Jesus gives testimony that he personally saw Satan fall from heaven “as a lightning bolt.” Equally in Rev 12:9, Satan is cast out of the earth. This event as well as his imprisonment for 1000 years in Rev 20:1-3, 10; Mat 25:41, indicate that Satan is a real person, or angel, and that this is no myth. 2Cor 11:13-15 informs us that Satan too has ministers.Jude 1:9 informs us that the arcangel Miguel, “contending with the devil” for the body of Moises. We cannot contend over a body if Satan is just an influence, but we contend with people over a thing. Equally his point is that the false prophets of his day, equally with Satan, speak evil of the legal authorities that God has established. Filthy dreamers that defile the flesh by causing a despising of legitimate authority over one. This Jude 1:8 passages also places Satan after the death of Moses fighting for the dead body of Moses, a servant of God.

In the same manner, Satan is countered against God Himself. In James 4:7, we see the exhortation “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” If Satan is nothing but an influence, then is God likewise nothing but an influence? Peter says in 1Pet 5:8-9 that Satan is our adversary. He compares him to a lion, who is a real thing, that acts, thinks, plans, and executes his plans.

In the accusation that Jesus was really Beelzebub, Jesus declared that his purpose was to defeat the power and influence of Satan in the lives of God’s children, and to destroy Satan’s kingdom, reducing it within their lives. (Mat 12:26; Mark 3:23; Luke 11:18). Paul spoke of converting people “from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18), giving the person of Satan the same personality and reality as God has.

The context with these forms of speaking of Satan would seem to clearly teach that Satan is a physical and actual person, and not just a general concept.

Satan’s power, control, and influence is so strong among the unconverted world, but he also works within and among believers (Luke 22:31), and he manipulated Peter in such a way that Jesus rebuked Peter using the name “Satan” when speaking of Peter. (“Get thee behind me Satan!” Mat 16:23). Some people leave the way of God to follow Satan 1Tim 5:15. Satan “entered into” the heart of Judas Iscariot (Luke 22:3) and “filled the heart” of Annanis Acts 5:3). For these purposes, Satan can disguise himself “as an angel of light” in order to effectively execute his purposes (2Cor 11:14). Believers can be tempted in sexual matter by Satan (1Cor 7:5). Moreover, Satan strongly opposes the proclamation of the Gospel (Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12) stealing the planted seed of the gospel, and even detained Paul from arriving at Thessalonians 1Thess 2:18.

See also Devil.

5. Satan is a creature, not a god

We should not think that Satan is an “evil god”, and Jehovah is a “good God.” Satan is not a person of power equal but opposite with God, neither is he equal with God in power, intelligence, nor in his person (Satan had a creation point in which before then then he did not exist, yet God has always existed).

“The devil is a creatured being. Then he is not self-existing nor is he eternal, but he is limited and finite. There was a time when he did not exist, when he began to exist. His creation was according to the order of angels. The angels did not begin as a result of sex or family relationships. They were created as a fully mature being, without having to go through an infancy of learning, without the tender and loving relationships of human children with their parents, without the sweetness and growth of a parent-child relationship. The pains and pleasures of human growth which human being have to go through are unknown to them. Each angel is created, not born, being created personally and directly by God, with a fully mature and functioning intelligence. The devil was created as a good creature, without a doubt, a being of much good. His purity, as well as his exalted position of service to God were points of happiness and joy, and caused heaven’s citizens equal amazement, praise, and happiness.” E.M. Bounds Satan. page 18.

Satan is limited

The Character of Satan. If we accept Eze. 28:12-19 as truly speaking of Satan, then Ryrie (Systematic Theology, Chapter 23, The Creation and Sin of Satan) says…

(1) That Satan had wisdom and beauty beyond parallel (Eze 28:12). “Satan was the supreme being of God’s creatures, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”

(2) Satan also had an habitation without parallel (Eze 28:13). Eden here could be a garden in heaven by this name, or the earthly Eden where Adam and Eve lived.

(3) Satan had a “covering” without parallel (Eze 28:13).

(4) Satan had a function without parallel (Eze 28:14). He was a cherubim. “This is associated with protecting the holiness of God (Gen 3:24), and with the throne of God” (Eze 1:5). Ryrie observes that these references imply that Satan walked on the mountain of God among the stones of fire, and probably this refers to being close to the very presence of God.

(5) Satan had a perfection that was without parallel (Eze 28:15). He was perfect in the sense of a healthy being that is complete and has complete moral integrity. Even in this, he is not represented as being the same as God, or as a god, but as being a creature that one he will have to give an accounting before God as all other moral creatures of God.

E.M. Bounds in his book, Satan, page 18, says

“Character gives dignity, place and value to the person, or character degrades the person. Character is that which is inner, cut in and graven. Character abides, forms action and shapes life. Character is a fountain. It is the head and stream of conduct; character often versus reputation. Character is what we are. Reputation is what folks think we are. The real and the think so are often two worlds.”

The devil is a positive character. He wears disguises, but his ends are single and lie m only one direction, double-faced but never double-minded, never undecided, never vague nor feeble in his purposes or ends. No irresolution, nor hesitant depression nor aimless action spring from him.

Character is felt. We feel the devil. He orders things, controls things. He is a great manager.

He manages bad men, often good men and bad angels. Indirect, sinister, low and worldly, is the devil as a manager. (p18-19)

In the Bible the personality of the devil is made emphatic. He is not only the source of evil to others, but the embodiment of evil in a person… So we find Christ praying not only that His disciples should be delivered from evil, all evil, impersonal and general, but “that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one.” (E.M. Bound, Satan, pages 19-20).

Satan is identified as being fierece (Rev 12:3) even as being an angel of light (2Cor 11:14). Satan is an expert in matters of death and destruction, and in a sense, he is useful as God’s servant in executing judgment to all those who reject God and God’s ways. Even two times we read of somebody being delivered to Satan for their rebellion (1Cor 5:1-5; 1Ti 1:19-20). Apparently this implies that the person is handed over to the evil kingdom from which the Christian is rescued (Col 1:13; Heb 2:14-15) so that Satan can have free access to do his destructive work in their lives. Satan is a busy person, and he is dedicated in what he does, and never rests. He has no mercy nor sympathy for anybody (this state is anchored in his character just as mercy and compassion is anchored into the very basis of God’s character). This makes him a formidable enemy or opponent.

See also Devil.

6. The Fall of Satan

Sin was found in Satan (Eze 28:15), and Barnhouse explains this as “there was a spontaneous generation in the heart of this being, a cross of magnificent power and beauty, to whom God had given authority and privilege.” This sin should be seen as being admitted into the plans of God, not in the sense that God caused sin to enter the world, but in that God permitted it to happen. If God is angry with sin, then it is impossible that God is angry at us for sinning if God himself created sin, and caused every one of us to fall into sin.

J.O. Buswell says

“According to the Bible, then, sin orginated in the act of free will in which the creature, with purpose, with responsibility, and with an adequate understanding of the matters, chose to corrupt the holy character of holiness that God had given his creation.Satan sinned of necessity, God being justly angry with all sin… The negation of free will seems to be pure arbitrary philosophical dogmatism, contrary to the biblical view. If God is justly angry with sin, then it follows that the sinner is guilty — cosmically, finally, and absolutely… Sin has to be within the eternal decrees of God in some sense in that He is not the author of it… Within the decrees of God, there are decrees of permission for the things which God himself is not the author of them. This is not permission of the inevitable.(“The Origin and Nature of Sin”, Carl F.H. Henry Basic Christian Doctrines, 1962 pp107-9).

The Nature of Satan’s Sin.

Satan’s sin is intrigately related to his character, and in this, Satan’s being “inflated” to think of himself to be more than he was (arrogance) is specifically the root of his sin (1Tim 3:6).

See also Devil.

7. The Activities of Satan

In the Garden of Eden. Satan was using the serpent to tempt Eve to sin, and this representation of “using others” appears to constantly reoccur throughout the Bible (the serpent, the devil, the dragon, Satan, etc Rev 20:2). Here we observe that Satan disavows or counters the direct declarations of God (promises and warnings) to Adam and Eve. Satan said exactly the opposite of what God said, attacking the authority of God’s person.

In the temptation of Jesus. It was the devil that appeared to Jesus in the desert to tempt him (Mat 4:1-10). Here we see he used Scripture for his evil purposes. When Jesus was born, equally we see Satan trying to kill Jesus as a baby (Mat 2:16), and this continues until it becomes a very mark of Satan in Rev 12:1-5.

With the people of God. Satan uses his representatives to teach heresies to divide and destroy the church with false doctrine. His desire is to remove the power of the Word of God over us (Mat 13:19). God has commanded us to resist the devel James 4:7, and he will flee from us. God has given us the weapons and spiritual defenses so that we can defeat him (Eph 6:11-18). Even though Satan opposes us, God uses the character and person of Satan with all his opposition and antagonism towards us for God’s purposes of chastising us and making us stronger.

With the whole world. Satan is the tempter, who blinds the minds of all the human beings when he can. Gen 3:1-6; 1Chr 21:1; Mat 4:1-11; 1Co 7:5; James 1:13.

See also Devil.

:8. The Names of Satan

1. Satan – Job 1:6.
2. Devil – Rev 12:7.
3. Apollyon – Rev 9:11.
4. Abaddon – Rev  9:11.
   
5. Beelzebub Mat 12:27.
6. Belial – 2Co 6:15.
7. That old serpent – Rev 20:2.
8. The Adversary – 1Pe 5:8.
9. Cherubim – Ezek 28:14. See Angels.
10. Deceiver of the World – Rev 12:9.
11. The Wicked one – Mat 13:19, 38; 1Jn. 2:13-14; 3:12; Eph 6:16;.
12. Leviathan – Isa 27:1.
13. Lucifer – Isa 14:12.
14. Murderer – Jn 8:44.
15. Roaring Lion – 1Pet 5:8.
16. Son of the Morning – Isa 14:12.
17. Prince of the power of the air – Eph 2:2.
18. The spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience – Eph 2:2.
19. The Principe of this world – Jn 14:30; 14:30; 16:11.
20. The God of this World – 2Cor 4:4.
21. The Great Dragon – Rev 12:9.
22. The Beast of the Pit – Rev 11:7.
23. The Accuser of the Brethren – Rev 12:10; Job 1:6-12; Zec 3:1.
24. The angel of the pit – Rev 9:11.
25. The angel of light – Acts 12:7.
26. The Enemy – Mat 13:39.
27. The father of lies – Jn 8:44.
28. The Liar – Jn 8:44.
29. The prince of the demons – Mat 9:34; 12:34.
30. The Man of Sin – 2Th 2:3.
31. The Son of Perdition – 2Th 2:3.
32. The Thief – Jn 10:10.

See also Devil.

9. AmTract: American Tract Dictionary

SATAN: Signifies, properly, adversary, enemy, 1Ki 11:14 Ps 109:6, and is so applied by Jesus to Peter, Mt 16:23 Mr 8:33. Hence it is used particularly of the grand adversary of souls, the devil, the prince of the fallen angels, the accuser and calumniator of men before God, Job 1:7, 12 Zec 3:1, 2 Rev 12:10. He seduces them to sin, 1Ch 21:1 Luke 22:31; and is thus the author of that evil, both physical and moral, by which the human race is afflicted, especially of those vicious propensities and wicked actions which are productive of so much misery, and also of death itself, Luke 13:16 Heb 2:14. Hence Satan is represented both as soliciting men to commit sin, and as the source, the efficient cause of impediments which are thrown in the way of the Christians religion, or which are designed to diminish its efficacy in reforming the hearts and lives of men, and inspiring them with the hope of future bliss, Mt 4:10 John 13:27 Ro 16:20 Eph 2:2. See DEVIL.

The “synagogue of Satan,” Rev 2:9, 13, probably denotes the unbelieving Jews, the false zealots for the Law of Moses, who at the beginning were the most eager persecutors of the Christians. They were very numerous at Smyrna, to which church John writes.

See also Devil.

10. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Among the angelic spirits of the unseen world there are those that are evil, though the Bible nowhere records how they fell into such a condition. The chief of these evil angelic spirits is one known as the adversary – the adversary of God, his people, and all that is good. The Hebrew word for ‘adversary’ is satan, which later became the name used in the Bible for this leader of evil (Job 1:6). He is also called the devil (Mat 4:1-12; 1Jo 3:8; Rev 12:9), the prince of demons (Mat 9:34; 12:24; see also BEELZEBUL), the prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the god of this world (2Co 4:4), the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), the evil one (Mat 13:19; Eph 6:16; 1Jo 2:13; 3:12) and the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10; cf. Job 1:6-12; Zec 3:1).

God’s rebellious servant

We should not think that Satan is in some way the equal of God, one being a good God and the other an evil God. God alone is God (Isa 44:6). Satan is no more than an angelic being created by God. There are good angels and evil angels, Satan being chief of the evil ones (Mat 25:31,41; Eph 6:12; Jude 9; Rev 12:7-9; see ANGELS; DEMONS). God, however, is above all and over all.

Also there are not, as it were, two kingdoms, a kingdom of good where God is absolute ruler and a kingdom of evil where Satan is absolute ruler. Satan is not a sovereign ruler but a rebel. Like all created beings, he is under the rule and authority of God and he can do his evil work only within the limits God allows (Job 1:12; 2:6; cf. Rev 20:2-3; 20:7-8). He is still the servant of God, even though a rebellious one (Job 1:6-7; 2:1-2; Zec 3:1-2). In spite of the evil he loves to do, he is still fulfilling God’s purposes, even though unwillingly (Job 1:9-12; 1Ki 22:19-23; cf. John 13:2,27; Acts 2:23; 1Co 5:5; 2Co 12:7; 1Ti 1:20).

This does not mean that God tempts people to do evil. It is Satan, not God, who is the tempter (Gen 3:1-6; 1Ch 21:1; Mat 4:1-11; 1Co 7:5; James 1:13). God desires rather to save people from evil (Mat 6:13; 1Co 10:13). Yet God allows them to suffer the troubles and temptations that Satan brings in life, for through such things he tests and strengthens their faith (James 1:2-3,12; cf. Heb 2:18; 5:8-9; see TEMPTATION; TESTING).

Satan is hostile to God and fights against God’s purposes (Mat 4:1-12; Mark 8:31-33). But in the long run Satan cannot be successful, because Jesus Christ, by his life, death and resurrection, has conquered him and delivered believers from his power (Mat 12:28-29; Luke 10:18; John 12:31; 16:11; Acts 26:18; Col 2:15; Heb 2:14-15; 1Jo 3:8). (Concerning Jesus Christ’s conquest of Satan see KINGDOM OF GOD.)

Enemy of the human race

Although Jesus has conquered Satan, the world at present sees neither Jesus’ conquest nor Satan’s defeat. God allows evil angels to continue to exist just as he allows evil people. He has condemned them but not yet destroyed them. The world will see Jesus’ conquest and Satan’s defeat in the great events at the end of the age, when Christ returns in power and glory (Rev 20:10).

In the meantime Satan continues to operate (Mat 13:24-26,37-39). He opposes all that is good and encourages all that is evil. At times he works with brutality and ferocity (1Pe 5:8; Rev 2:10), at other times with cunning and deceit (2Co 2:11; 11:14; 1Ti 3:7). He works not only through people who are obviously evil (Acts 13:8-10; Eph 2:1-3; 1Jo 3:10,12; Rev 2:13), but also through those who appear to be good (Mark 8:33; John 8:44; Acts 5:3; Rev 2:9; 3:9).

Satan causes people physical suffering through disease (Luke 13:16; 2Co 12:7; see DISEASE), and evil spirits (Mark 3:20-27; 7:25; Acts 10:38; see MAGIC; UNCLEAN SPIRITS). He brings mental and spiritual suffering through the cunning of his deceit and temptations (1Co 7:5; 2Th 2:9-10: 2Ti 2:24-26). Above all, he wants to prevent people from understanding and believing the gospel (Mat 13:19; 2Co 4:4).

Christians, because they have declared themselves on the side of God, may at times experience Satan’s attacks more than others. They have a constant battle against Satan, but they do not fight entirely by their own strength. Certainly, they must make every effort to resist Satan and avoid doing those things that will give Satan an opportunity to tempt them (Eph 4:27; James 4:7), but God gives Christians the necessary armour to withstand Satan’s attacks (Eph 6:11-13).

Just as Satan opposed Jesus in his ministry, so he will oppose Jesus’ followers in their ministry (John 8:42-44; Acts 13:10; 1Th 2:18). But through the victory of Jesus, they too can have victory (Luke 10:17-18; 22:31-32; Rev 12:10-11).

See also Devil.

11. Concise Bible Dictionary

Satan: A name by which THE DEVIL, the great enemy of God and man, is designated. The name may be said to be the same in Hebrew, Greek, and English, and signifies ‘adversary,’ as the word is rendered in several places where other adversaries are alluded to: cf. Nu 22:22 1Ki 11:14,23,25. It was Satan who at the outset deceived Eve, for it is clear that the dragon, the oldserpent, the devil, and Satan all represent the same evil spirit. Re 20:2. Satan was the great adversary of God’s people in O.T. times, 1Ch 21:1 ; the tempter of the Lord Jesus, who treated him as Satan; and is the tempter and adversary of the saints and of all mankind now. He endeavours to neutralise the effect of the gospel; catches away the good seed sown in the heart ( Mat 13:3-23 ), and blinds the minds of the unbelieving lest the light of the gospel of Christ’s glory should shine to them. His efforts are frustrated by God or none would be saved.

Further, to counteract God’s work, Satan has raised up heretics to mingle with the saints and to corrupt them by evil doctrine, as taught in the metaphor of the tares sown among the wheat. He goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but saints are told to resist him, and he will flee from them. The power of death, which Satan had, has been annulled by Christ in His death. Saints are warned against his devices, for he is transformed into an angel of light, a teacher of morality. God has provided complete armour for His saints in order that they may withstand him and all his wiles, and has given them the sword of the Spirit (the word of God), as a weapon of attack. Eph 6:11-18.

The origin of Satan is not definitely stated, but if verses 12 to 19 of Eze 28:12-19refer to him, under the appellation of the king of Tyre (as was very early believed in the church, and may be correct), he is described as the anointed cherub that ‘covereth;’ all the precious stones and gold were also his covering, resplendent by reflected light; he had a place in Eden, the garden of God, and was upon the holy mountain of God. He was perfect in his ways from the day he was created, until iniquity was found in him. Tyre, in its worldly wisdom and beauty, is looked at morally as the creation of the prince and god of this world. He will eventually be cast out as profane and find his portion in the lake of fire.

In the Epistle of Jude, the act of Michael the archangel in reference to Satan is given as an example of restraint in speaking of dignities: he dared not bring a railing accusation against the devil, but said, “The Lord rebuke thee.” This implies that Satan had been set in dignity, which, though he had fallen, was still to be respected-as Saul’s life was sacred in David’s eyes because he was the anointed of God, though he had then fallen. That Satan had been set in dignity is confirmed by the fact of Christ having on the cross spoiled ‘principalities and authorities’ (εξουσια), not simply ‘powers.’ Col 2:15.

The expressions “the prince of this world,” “the god of this world,” and “the prince of the power of the air,” all presumably refer to Satan. When the Lord was tempted in the wilderness, Satan, after shewing Him “all the kingdoms of the world,” proposed to give to Him all the power and glory of them, if He would worship him, adding “for that is delivered unto me: and to whomsoever I will I give it.” Luke 4:5,6.

From the Book of Job we learn that Satan has access to God in the heavens; the Christian wrestles with the spiritual powers of wickedness in the heavenlies; and a day is coming when Michael and his angels will fight against Satan and his angels, and the latter will be cast out of heaven. This seems to indicate that Satan has a place in heaven originally given to him by God. During the millennium he will be shut up in the abyss, then loosed for a little season, and finally be cast into the lake of fire, a place prepared for him and his angels.

When Jesus was born, Satan attempted to destroy Him. Mt 2:16 Re 12:1-5. At the close of the Lord’s course Satan was the great mover in His being put to death. To accomplish this Satan entered into Judas the traitor, whereas, as far as is revealed, in other cases, possession was by a demon, and not by Satan himself. When the Lord was arrested He said to the Jews, “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” But Christ was morally the victor: in His death He annulled him that had the power of death, that is, the devil: He led captivity captive. Still Satan works, and will, when cast down to earth, be the spirit of a trinity of evil. He gives his throne and authority to the beast, that is, to the resuscitated Roman Empire, whose power is wielded by the Antichrist. Re 13$. He wilt also be the leader of the nations in the last battle against the camp of the saints. Re 20:7-9.

It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the malignity of Satan, God uses him in the discipline of His saints, as in the case of Job, but allows the evil one to go only as far as He pleases. Paul used his apostolic power to commit some to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. 1Co 5:5 1Ti 1:20. The thorn in the flesh which Paul himself had was a messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he should be puffed up because of the marvellous revelations made to him in the third heaven. It is well to remember that Satan is morally a vanquished foe, for he is exposed; and that no Christian can be touched by him except as permitted and controlled by his God and Father in discipline for his good.

The epithet ‘Devil’ is from ‘to strike through,’ and hence figuratively to stab with accusation: so Satan is called “the accuser of the brethren.” Re 12:10 : cf. Zec 3:1,2. Satan and the devil being identical, there is but one devil. In the A. V. of the N. T., where ‘devils’ are spoken of, the word in the original is always ‘demons.’

See also Devil.

12. Easton Bible Dictionary

adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article “the adversary” (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or the devil, and is so used more than thirty times.

He is also called “the dragon,” “the old serpent” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2); “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30); “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2); “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4); “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). The distinct personality of Satan and his activity among men are thus obviously recognized. He tempted our Lord in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11). He is “Beelzebub, the prince of the devils” (12:24). He is “the constant enemy of God, of Christ, of the divine kingdom, of the followers of Christ, and of all truth; full of falsehood and all malice, and exciting and seducing to evil in every possible way.” His power is very great in the world. He is a “roaring lion, See king whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Men are said to be “taken captive by him” (2 Tim. 2:26). Christians are warned against his “devices” (2 Cor. 2:11), and called on to “resist” him (James 4:7). Christ redeems his people from “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Satan has the “power of death,” not as lord, but simply as executioner.

See also Devil.

13. Faussett Bible Dictionary

(“adversary”.) Four times in Old Testament as a proper name (Job 1:6; Job 1:12; Job 2:1; Zec 3:1, with ha-, the article); without it in 1Ch 21:1; 1Ch 21:25 times in New Testament; the Devil also 25 times; “the prince of this world” three times, for Satan had some mysterious connection with this earth and its animals before man’s appearance. (See DEVIL) Death already had affected the pre-Adamic animal kingdom, as geology shows. Satan had already fallen, and his fall perhaps affected this earth and its creatures, over which he may originally in innocence have been God’s vicegerent, hence his envy of man his successor in the vicegerency (Gen 1:26; Gen 3:1-14). “The winked one” six times; “the tempter” twice. “The old serpent, the devil, and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world” (Rev 12:9; Rev 20:23). In Job his power is only over outward circumstances, by God’s permission. Instead of being a rival power to good and God, as in the Persian belief as to Ormuzd and Ahriman, he is subordinate; his malicious temptation of David was overruled to work out Jehovah’s anger against Israel (2Sa 24:1; 1Ch 21:1).

As the judicial adversary of God’s people he accuses them before God, but is silenced by Jehovah their Advocate (Zec 3:1-2; 1Pe 5:8; Psa 109:6; Psa 109:31; 1Jo 2:1-2). The full revelation of “the strong man armed” was only when “the stronger” was revealed (Luke 11:21-23). He appears as personal tempter of Jesus Christ. (See JESUS CHRIST) The Zendavesta has an account of the temptation in Eden nearest that of Genesis, doubtless derived from the primitive tradition. Christ’s words of Satan are (John 8:44), cf6 “ye are of your father the devil; he was a murderer (compare as to his instigating Cain 1Jo 3:9-12) from the beginning and abode not in the truth. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.” He is a “spirit,” “prince of the powers of the air,” and “working in the children of disobedience” (Eph 2:2). “Prince of the demons” (Greek), at the head of an organized “kingdom” (Mat 12:24-26), with “his (subject) angels.”

They “kept not their first estate but left their own habitation”; so God “hath reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jud 1:6). Again “God spared not the angels, but cast them into hell (Tartarus, the bottomless pit: Luke 8:31; Rev 9:11), and delivered them to chains of darkness” (2Pe 2:4). Their final doom is Tartarus; meanwhile they roam in “the darkness of this world”; step by step they and Satan are being given up to Tartarus, until wholly bound there at last (Revelation 20). “The darkness of this world” (Eph 6:12) is their chain. They are free now to tempt and hurt only to the length of their chain; Rev 12:7-9 describes not their original expulsion, but a further step in their fall, owing to Christ’s ascension, namely, exclusion from access to accuse the saints before God (Job 1:11; Zechariah 3). Christ’s ascension as our advocate took away the accuser’s standing ground in heaven (compare Luke 10:18; Isa 14:12-15).

Pride was his “condemnation,” and to it he tempts others, especially Christian professors (Gen 3:5; 1Ti 3:6). As love, truth, and holiness characterize God, so malice or hatred (the spring of murder), lying, and uncleanness characterize Satan (John 8:44; 1Jo 3:10-12). Disbelief of God is what first Satan tempts men to (Genesis 3); “IF Thou be the Son of God” was the dart he aimed at Christ in the wilderness temptation, and through human emissaries on the cross. Also pride and presumption (Mat 4:6). Restless energy, going to and fro as the “roaring lion”; subtle instilling of venom, gliding steadily on his victim, as the “serpent” or “dragon”; shameless lust (Job 1:7; Mat 12:43); so his victims (Isa 57:20). He steals away the good seed from the careless hearer (Mat 13:19), introduces “the children of the wicked one” into the church itself, the tares among and closely resembling outwardly the wheat (Mat 13:38-39).

His “power” is that of darkness, from which Christ delivers His saints; cutting off members from Christ’s church is “delivering them to Satan” (1Co 5:5; 1Ti 1:20; Acts 26:18; Col 1:13). The Jews might have been “the church of God,” but by unbelief became “the synagogue of Satan.” His “throne” opposes Christ’s heavenly throne (Rev 4:2; Rev 2:9-10; Rev 2:13). He has his “principalities and powers” in his organized kingdom, in mimicry of the heavenly (Rom 8:38; 1Co 15:24; Col 2:15; Eph 6:12). He instigates persecution, and is the real persecutor. He has “depths of Satan” in opposition to knowledge of “the deep things of God” (Rev 2:24); men pruriently desire to know those depths, as Eve did. It is God’s sole prerogative thoroughly to know evil without being polluted by it. Satan has “the power of death,” because “the sting of death is sin” (1Co 15:56); Satan being author of sin is author of its consequence, death. God’s law (Gen 2:17; Rom 6:23) makes death the executioner of sin, and man Satan’s “lawful captive.”

Jesus by His death gave death its deathblow and took the prey from the mighty; as David cut off Goliath’s head with his own sword (Mat 12:29; Luke 10:19; Isa 49:24; 2Ti 1:10; Psa 8:2; Heb 2:14). “Christ … through death … destroy (katargeesee, “render powerless”) him that had the power of death.” Satan seeks to “get an advantage of” believers (2Co 2:11); he has “devices” (noeemata) and “wiles” (methodeias, “methodical stratagems”) (Eph 6:11), and “snares” (1Ti 3:7), “transforming himself (Greek) into an angel of light,” though “prince of darkness” (2Co 11:14; Luke 22:53; Eph 6:12). “Satan hinders” good undertakings by evil men (Acts 13:10; 17:13-14; 3:8-10), or even by “messengers of Satan,” sicknesses, etc. (2Co 11:14; 2Co 12:7; 1Th 2:18; Luke 13:16). Satan works or energizes in and through antichrist (2Th 2:9; Rev 13:2) in opposition to the Holy Spirit energizing in the church (Eph 1:19). The wanton turn aside from Christ the spouse after Satan the seducer (1Ti 5:11-15).

The believer’s victory by “the God of peace bruising Satan” is foretold from the first (Gen 3:15; Rom 16:20). The opposition of Satan in spite of himself will be overruled to the believer’s good, the latter thereby learning patience, submission, faith, and so his end being blessed, as in Job’s case. Man can in God’s strength “resist Satan” (James 4:7); by withholding consent of the will, man gives Satan no “place,” room or scope (Eph 4:27). “The wicked one toucheth not” the saint, as he could not touch Christ (1Jo 5:18; John 14:30). Self restraint and watchfulness are our safeguards (1Pe 5:8).

Translate 2Ti 2:26 “that they may awake (ananeepsosin) … being taken as saved captives by him (“the servant of the Lord”, 2Ti 2:24; autou) so as to follow the will of Him” (ekeinou; God, 2Ti 2:25): ezogreemenoi, taken to be saved alive, instead of Satan’s thrall unto death, brought to the willing “captivity of obedience” to Christ (2Co 10:5). So Jesus said to Peter (Luke 5:10), cf6 “henceforth thou shalt catch [unto “life” (zogron)] men.” Satan in tempting Christ asserts his delegated rule over the kingdoms of this world, and Christ does not deny but admits it (Luke 4:6), “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; 2Co 4:4; Eph 6:12). Satan slanders God to man (Gen 3:1-5), as envious of man’s happiness and unreasonably restraining his enjoyments; and man to God (Job 1:9-11; Job 2:4-5).

Satan tempts, but cannot force, man’s will; grace can enable man to overcome (James 1:2-4; 1Co 10:13; James 4:7, etc.). Satan steals the good seed from the careless hearer (James 1:21) and implants tares (Mat 13:4; Mat 13:19; Mat 13:25; Mat 13:38). Satan thrusts into the mind impure thoughts amidst holy exercises; 1Co 7:5, “come together that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency,” i.e., Satan takes advantage of men’s inability to restrain natural propensities. Satan tempted Judas (Luke 22:5; John 23:27), Peter (Luke 22:31), Ananias and Sapphire (Acts 5). Augustine’s (De Civit. Dei, 22:1) opinion was that the redeemed were elected by God to fill up the lapsed places in the heavenly hierarchy, occasioned by the fall of Satan and his demons.

See also Devil.

14. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sā´tan (שׂטן, sāṭān), “adversary,” from the verb שׂטן, sāṭan, “to lie in wait” (as adversary); Σατᾶν, Satán, Σατανᾶς, Satanás, “adversary,” διάβολος, diábolos, “Devil,” “adversary” or “accuser,” κατήγωρ, katḗgōr (altogether unclassical and unGreek) (used once in Rev 12:10), “accuser”):

ISBE TOPICS

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I. Definition.

A created but superhuman, personal, evil, world-power, represented in Scripture as the adversary both of God and men.

II. Scriptural Facts Concerning Satan.

1. Names of Satan:

The most important of these are the Hebrew and Greek equivalents noticed above. These words are used in the general sense justified by their etymological significance. It is applied even to Yahweh Himself (Num 22:22, Num 22:32; compare 1Sa 29:4; 2Sa 19:22; Psa 109:6, etc.). The word “Satan” is used 24 times in the Old Testament. In Job (Job 1:6 f) and Zec (Job 3:1 f) it has the prefixed definite article. In all cases but one when the article is omitted it is used in a general sense. This one exception is 1Ch 21:1 (compare 2Sa 24:1), where the word is generally conceded to be used as a proper name. This meaning is fixed in New Testament times. We are thus enabled to note in the term “Satan” (and Devil) the growth of a word from a general term to an appellation and later to a proper name. All the other names of Satan save only these two are descriptive titles. In addition to these two principal names a number of others deserve specific enumeration. Tempter (Mat 4:5; 1Th 3:5); Beelzebub (Mat 12:24); Enemy (Mat 13:39); Evil One (Mat 13:19, Mat 13:38; 1Jo 2:13, 1Jo 2:14; 1Jo 3:12, and particularly 1Jo 5:18); Belial (2Co 6:15); Adversary (ἀντίδικος, antı́dikos), (1Pe 5:8); Deceiver (literally “the one who deceives”) (Rev 12:9); Dragon (Great) (Rev 12:3); Father of Lies (John 8:44); Murderer (John 8:44); Sinner (1Jo 3:8) – these are isolated references occurring from 1 to 3 times each. In the vast majority of passages (70 out of 83) either Satan or Devil is used.

2. Character of Satan:

Satan is consistently represented in the New Testament as the enemy both of God and man. The popular notion is that Satan is the enemy of man and active in misleading and cursing humanity because of his intense hatred and opposition to God. Mat 13:39 would seem to point in this direction, but if one were to venture an opinion in a region where there are not enough facts to warrant a conviction, it would be that the general tenor of Scripture indicates quite the contrary, namely, that Satan’s jealousy and hatred of men has led him into antagonism to God and, consequently, to goodness. The fundamental moral description of Satan is given by our Lord when He describes Satan as the “evil one” (Mat 13:19, Mat 13:38; compare Isaiah’s description of Yahweh as the “Holy One,” Isa 1:4 and often); that is, the one whose nature and will are given to evil. Moral evil is his controlling attribute. It is evident that this description could not be applied to Satan as originally created. Ethical evil cannot be concreated. It is the creation of each free will for itself. We are not told in definite terms how Satan became the evil one, but certainly it could be by no other process than a fall, whereby, in the mystery of free personality, an evil will takes the place of a good one.

3. Works of Satan:

The world-wide and age-long works of Satan are to be traced to one predominant motive. He hates both God and man and does all that in him lies to defeat God’s plan of grace and to establish and maintain a kingdom of evil, in the seduction and ruin of mankind. The balance and sanity of the Bible is nowhere more strikingly exhibited than in its treatment of the work of Satan. Not only is the Bible entirely free from the extravagances of popular Satanology, which is full of absurd stories concerning the appearances, tricks, and transformations of Satan among men, but it exhibits a dependable accuracy and consistency, of statement which is most reassuring. Almost nothing is said concerning Satanic agency other than wicked men who mislead other men. In the controversy with His opponents concerning exorcism (Mark 3:22 f and parallel’s) our Lord rebuts their slanderous assertion that He is in league with Satan by the simple proposition that Satan does not work against himself. But in so saying He does far more than refute this slander. He definitely aligns the Bible against the popular idea that a man may make a definite and conscious personal alliance with Satan for any purpose whatever. The agent of Satan is always a victim. Also the hint contained in this discussion that Satan has a kingdom, together with a few other not very definite allusions, are all that we have to go upon in this direction. Nor are we taught anywhere that Satan is able to any extent to introduce disorder into the physical universe or directly operate in the lives of men. It is true that in Luke 13:16 our Lord speaks of the woman who was bowed over as one “whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years,” and that in 2Co 12:7 Paul speaks of his infirmity as a “messenger of Satan sent to buffet him.” Paul also speaks (1Th 2:18) of Satan’s hindering him from visiting the church at Thessalonica. A careful study of these related passages (together with the prologue of Job) will reveal the fact that Satan’s direct agency in the physical world is very limited. Satan may be said to be implicated in all the disasters and woes of human life, in so far as they are more or less directly contingent upon sin (see particularly Heb 2:14) On the contrary, it is perfectly evident that Satan’s power consists principally in his ability to deceive. It is interesting and characteristic that according to the Bible Satan is fundamentally a liar and his kingdom is a kingdom founded upon lies and deceit. The doctrine of Satan therefore corresponds in every important particular to the general Biblical emphasis upon truth. “The truth shall make you free” (John 8:32) – this is the way of deliverance from the power of Satan.

Now it would seem that to make Satan pre-eminently the deceiver would make man an innocent victim and thus relax the moral issue. But according to the Bible man is particeps criminis in the process of his own deception. He is deceived only because he ceases to love the truth and comes first to love and then to believe a lie (2Co 1:10). This really goes to the very bottom of the problem of temptation. Men are not tempted by evil, per se, but by a good which can be obtained only at the cost of doing wrong. The whole power of sin, at least in its beginnings, consists in the sway of the fundamental falsehood that any good is really attainable by wrongdoing. Since temptation consists in this attack upon the moral sense, man is constitutionally guarded against deceit, and is morally culpable in allowing himself to be deceived. The temptation of our Lord Himself throws the clearest possible light upon the methods ascribed to Satan and The temptation was addressed to Christ’s consciousness of divine sonship; it was a deceitful attack emphasizing the good, minimizing or covering up the evil; indeed, twisting evil into good. It was a deliberate, malignant attempt to obscure the truth and induce to evil through the acceptance of falsehood. The attack broke against a loyalty to truth which made self-deceit, and consequently deceit from without, impossible. The lie was punctured by the truth and the temptation lost its power (see TEMPTATION OF CHRIST). This incident reveals one of the methods of Satan – by immediate suggestion as in the case of Judas (Luke 22:3; John 13:2, 27). Sometimes, however, and, perhaps, most frequently, Satan’s devices (2Co 2:11) include human agents. Those who are given over to evil and who persuade others to evil are children and servants of Satan (See Mat 16:23; Mark 8:33; Luke 4:8; John 6:70; 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1Jo 3:8). Satan also works through persons and institutions supposed to be on the side of right but really evil. Here the same ever-present and active falseness and deceit are exhibited. When he is called “the god of this world” (2Co 4:4) it would seem to be intimated that he has the power to clothe himself in apparently divine attributes. He also makes himself an angel of light by presenting advocates of falsehood in the guise of apostles of truth (2Co 11:13, 2Co 11:15; 1Jo 4:1; 2Th 2:9; Rev 12:9; Rev 19:20). In the combination of passages here brought together, it is clearly indicated that Satan is the instigator and fomenter of that spirit of lawlessness which exhibits itself as hatred both of truth and right, and which has operated so widely and so disastrously in human life.

4. History of Satan:

The history of Satan, including that phase of it which remains to be realized, can be set forth only along the most general lines. He belongs to the angelic order of beings. He is by nature one of the sons of Elohı̄m (Job 1:6). He has fallen, and by virtue of his personal forcefulness has become the leader of the anarchic forces of wickedness. As a free being he has merged his life in evil and has become altogether and hopelessly evil. As a being of high intelligence he has gained great power and has exercised a wide sway over other beings. As a created being the utmost range of his power lies within the compass of that which is permitted. It is, therefore, hedged in by the providential government of God and essentially limited. The Biblical emphasis upon the element of falsehood in the career of Satan might be taken to imply that his kingdom may be less in extent than appears. At any rate, it is confined to the cosmic sphere and to a limited portion of time. It is also doomed. In the closely related passages 2Pe 2:4 and Jud 1:6 it is affirmed that God cast the angels, when they sinned, down to Tartarus and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. This both refers to the constant divine control of these insurgent forces and also points to their final and utter destruction. The putting of Satan in bonds is evidently both constant and progressive. The essential limitation of the empire of evil and its ultimate overthrow are foreshadowed in the Book of Job (chapters 38 through 41), where Yahweh’s power extends even to the symbolized spirit of evil.

According to synoptic tradition, our Lord in the crisis of temptation immediately following the baptism (Mt 4 and parallel) met and for the time conquered Satan as His own personal adversary. This preliminary contest did not close the matter, but was the earnest of a complete victory. According to Luke (Luke 10:18), when the Seventy returned from their mission flushed with victory over the powers of evil, Jesus said: ‘I saw Satan fall (not “fallen”; see Plummer, “Luke,” ICC, in the place cited.) as lightning from heaven.’ In every triumph over the powers of evil Christ beheld in vision the downfall of Satan. In connection with the coming of the Hellenists who wished to see Him, Jesus asserted (John 12:31), “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” In view of His approaching passion He says again (John 14:30), “The prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me.” Once again in connection with the promised advent of the Spirit, Jesus asserted (John 16:11) that the Spirit would convict the world of judgment, “because the prince of this world hath been judged.” In Hebrews (Heb 2:14, Heb 2:15) it is said that Christ took upon Himself human nature in order “that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil.” In 1Jo 3:8 it is said, “To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil.” In Rev 12:9 it is asserted, in connection with Christ’s ascension, that Satan was cast down to the earth and his angels with him. According to the passage immediately following (Rev 12:10-12), this casting down was not complete or final in the sense of extinguishing his activities altogether, but it involves the potential and certain triumph of God and His saints and the equally certain defeat of Satan. In 1Jo 2:13 the young men are addressed as those who “have overcome the evil one.” In Rev 20:1-15 the field of the future is covered in the assertion that Satan is “bound a thousand years”; then loosed “for a little time,” and then finally “cast into the lake of fire.”

A comparison of these passages will convince the careful student that while we cannot construct a definite chronological program for the career of Satan, we are clear in the chief points. He is limited, judged, condemned, imprisoned, reserved for judgment from the beginning. The outcome is certain though the process may be tedious and slow. The victory of Christ is the defeat of Satan; first, for Himself as Leader and Saviour of men (John 14:30); then, for believers (Luke 22:31; Acts 26:18; Rom 16:20; James 4:7; 1Jo 2:13; 1Jo 5:4, 1Jo 5:18); and, finally, for the whole world (Rev 20:10). The work of Christ has already destroyed the empire of Satan.

III. General Considerations.

There are, no doubt, serious difficulties in the way of accepting the doctrine of a personal, superhuman, evil power as Satan is described to be. It is doubtful, however, whether these difficulties may not be due, at least in part, to a misunderstanding of the doctrine and certain of its implications. In addition, it must be acknowledged, that whatever difficulties there may be in the teaching, they are exaggerated and, at the same time, not fairly met by the vague and irrational skepticism which denies without investigation. There are difficulties involved in any view of the world. To say the least, some problems are met by the view of a superhuman, evil world-power. In this section certain general considerations are urged with a view to lessening difficulties keenly felt by some minds. Necessarily, certain items gathered in the foregoing section are here emphasized again.

1. Scripture Doctrine of Satan Not Systematized:

The Scriptural doctrine of Satan is nowhere systematically developed. For materials in this field we are shut up to scattered and incidental references. These passages, which even in the aggregate are not numerous, tell us what we need to know concerning the nature, history, kingdom and works of Satan, but offer scant satisfaction to the merely speculative temper. The comparative lack of development in this field is due partly to the fact that the Biblical writers are primarily interested in God, and only secondarily in the powers of darkness; and partly to the fact that in the Bible doctrine waits upon fact. Hence, the malign and sinister figure of the Adversary is gradually outlined against the light of God’s holiness as progressively revealed in the providential world-process which centers in Christ. It is a significant fact that the statements concerning Satan become numerous and definite only in the New Testament. The daylight of the Christian revelation was necessary in order to uncover the lurking foe, dimly disclosed but by no means fully known in the earlier revelation. The disclosure of Satan is, in form at least, historical, not dogmatic.

2. Satan and God:

In the second place, the relationship of Satan to God, already emphasized, must be kept constantly in mind. The doctrine of Satan merges in the general doctrine concerning angels (see ANGEL). It has often been pointed out that the personal characteristics of angels are very little insisted upon. They are known chiefly by their functions: merged, on the one hand, in their own offices, and, on the other, in the activities of God Himself.

In the Old Testament Satan is not represented as a fallen and malignant spirit, but as a servant of Yahweh, performing a divine function and having his place in the heavenly train. In the parallel accounts of David’s numbering of Israel (1Sa 24:1; 1Ch 21:1) the tempting of David is attributed both to Yahweh and Satan. The reason for this is either that ‘the temptation of men is also a part of his providence,’ or that in the interval between the documents the personality of the tempter has more clearly emerged. In this case the account in Chronicles would nearly approximate the New Testament teaching. In the Book of Job (Job 1:6), however, Satan is among the Sons of God and his assaults upon Job are divinely permitted. In Zec (Job 3:1, Job 3:2) Satan is also a servant of Yahweh. In both these passages there is the hint of opposition between Yahweh and Satan. In the former instance Satan assails unsuccessfully the character of one whom Yahweh honors; while in the latter Yahweh explicitly rebukes Satan for his attitude toward Israel (see G. A. Smith, BTP, II, 316 f). The unveiling of Satan as a rebellious world-power is reserved for the New Testament, and with this fuller teaching the symbolic treatment of temptation in Gen is to be connected. There is a sound pedagogical reason, from the viewpoint of revelation, for this earlier withholding of the whole truth concerning Satan. In the early stages of religious thinking it would seem to be difficult, if not impossible, to hold the sovereignty of God without attributing to His agency those evils in the world which are more or less directly connected with judgment and punishment (compare Isa 45:7; Amo 3:6). The Old Testament sufficiently emphasizes man’s responsibility for his own evil deeds, but super-human evil is brought upon him from above. “When willful souls have to be misled, the spirit who does so, as in Ahab’s case, comes from above” (G. A. Smith, op. cit., 317). The progressive revelation of God’s character and purpose, which more and more imperatively demands that the origin of moral evil, and consequently natural evil, must be traced to the created will in opposition to the divine will, leads to the ultimate declaration that Satan is a morally fallen being to whose conquest the Divine Power in history is pledged. There is, also, the distinct possibility that in the significant transition from the Satan of the Old Testament to that of the New Testament we have the outlines of a biography and an indication of the way by which the angels fell.

3. Satan Essentially Limited:

A third general consideration, based upon data given in the earlier section, should be urged in the same connection. In the New Testament delineation of Satan, his limitations are clearly set forth. He is superhuman, but not in any sense divine. His activities are cosmic, but not universal or transcendent. He is a created being. His power is definitely circumscribed. He is doomed to final destruction as a world-power. His entire career is that of a secondary and dependent being who is permitted a certain limited scope of power – a time-lease of activity (Luke 4:6).

4. Conclusions:

These three general considerations have been grouped in this way because they dispose of three objections which are current against the doctrine of Satan.

(1) The first is, that it is mythological in origin. That it is not dogmatic is a priori evidence against this hypothesis. Mythology is primitive dogma. There is no evidence of a theodicy or philosophy of evil in the Biblical treatment of Satan. Moreover, while the Scriptural doctrine is unsystematic in form, it is rigidly limited in scope and everywhere essentially consistent. Even in the Apocalypse, where naturally more scope is allowed to the imagination, the same essential ideas appear. The doctrine of Satan corresponds, item for item, to the intellectual saneness and ethical earnestness of the Biblical world-view as a whole. It is, therefore, not mythological. The restraint of chastened imagination, not the extravagance of mythological fancy, is in evidence throughout the entire Biblical treatment of the subject. Even the use of terms current in mythology (as perhaps Gen 3:1, Gen 3:13, Gen 3:14; Rev 12:7-9; compare 1Pe 5:8) does not imply more than a literary clothing of Satan in attributes commonly ascribed to malignant and disorderly forces.

(2) The second objection is that the doctrine is due to the influence of Persian dualism (see PERSIAN RELIGION; ZOROASTRIANISM). The answer to this is plain, on the basis of facts already adduced. The Biblical doctrine of Satan is not dualistic. Satan’s empire had a beginning, it will have a definite and permanent end. Satan is God’s great enemy in the cosmic sphere, but he is God’s creation, exists by divine will, and his power is relatively no more commensurate with God’s than that of men. Satan awaits his doom. Weiss says (concerning the New Testament representation of conflict between God and the powers of evil): “There lies in this no Manichaean dualism,… but only the deepest experience of the work of redemption as the definite destruction of the power from which all sin in the world of men proceeds” (Biblical Theology New Testament, English translations of the Bible, II, 272; compare G.A. Smith, op. cit., II, 318).

(3) The third objection is practically the same as the second, but addressed directly to the doctrine itself, apart from the question of its origin, namely, that it destroys the unity of God. The answer to this also is a simple negative. To some minds the reality of created wills is dualistic and therefore untenable. But a true doctrine of unity makes room for other wills than God’s – namely of those beings upon whom God has bestowed freedom. Herein stands the doctrine of sin and Satan. The doctrine of Satan no more militates against the unity of God than the idea, so necessary to morality and religion alike, of other created wills set in opposition to God’s. Just as the conception of Satan merges, in one direction, in the general doctrine of angels, so, in the other, it blends with the broad and difficult subject of evil (compare “Satan,” HDB, IV, 412a).

Literature.

All standard works on Biblical Theology, as well as Dictionaries, etc., treat with more or less thoroughness the doctrine of Satan. The German theologians of the more evangelical type, such as Weiss, Lange, Martensen (Danish), Dorner, while exhibiting a tendency toward excessive speculation, discern the deeper aspects of the doctrine. Of monographs known to the writer none are to be recommended without qualification. It is a subject on which the Bible is its own best interpreter.

See also Devil.

15. Smith Bible Dictionary

The word itself, the Hebrew satan , is simply an “adversary,” and is so used in (1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:22; 1 Kings 6:4; 1Kgs 11:14; 1Kgs 11:23; 1Kgs 11:25; Num 22:22; Num 22:33; Psalms 109:6) This original sense is still found in our Lord’s application of the name to St. Peter in (Matthew 16:23) It is used as a proper name or title only four times in the Old Testament, vis. (with the article) in (Job 1:6; 12; 2:1; Zechariah 2:1) and without the article in (1 Chronicles 21:1) It is with the scriptural revelation on the subject that we are here concerned; and it is clear, from this simple enumeration of passages, that it is to be sought in the New rather than in the Old Testament. I. The personal existence of a spirit of evil is clearly revealed in Scripture; but the revelation is made gradually, in accordance with the progressiveness of God’s method. In the first entrance of evil into the world, the temptation is referred only to the serpent. In the book of Job we find for the first time a distinct mention of “Satan” the “adversary” of Job. But it is important to remark the emphatic stress laid on his subordinate position, on the absence of all but delegated power, of all terror and all grandeur in his character. It is especially remarkable that no power of spiritual influence, but only a power over outward circumstances, is attributed to him. The captivity brought the Israelites face to face with the great dualism of the Persian mythology, the conflict of Ormuzd with Ahriman, the co-ordinate spirit of evil; but it is confessed by all that the Satan of Scripture bears no resemblance to the Persian Ahriman. His subordination and inferiority are as strongly marked as ever. The New Testament brings plainly forward the power and the influence of Satan, From the beginning of the Gospel, when he appears as the personal tempter of our Lord through all the Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse, it is asserted or implied, again and again, as a familiar and important truth. II. Of the nature and original state of Satan, little is revealed in Scripture. He is spoken of as a “spirit” in (Ephesians 2:2) as the prince or ruler of the “demons” in (Matthew 12:24-26) and as having “angels” subject to him in (Matthew 25:41; Rev 12:7; Rev 12:9) The whole description of his power implies spiritual nature and spiritual influence. We conclude therefore that he was of angelic nature, a rational and spiritual creature, superhuman in power, wisdom and energy; and not only so, but an archangel, one of the “princes” of heaven. We cannot, of course, conceive that anything essentially and originally evil was created by God. We can only conjecture, therefore, that Satan is a fallen angel, who once had a time of probation, but whose condemnation is now irrevocably fixed. As to the time cause and manner of his fall Scripture tells us scarcely anything; but it describes to us distinctly the moral nature of the evil one. The ideal of goodness is made up of the three great moral attributes of God –love, truth, and purity or holiness; combined with that spirit which is the natural temper of the finite and dependent we find creature, the spirit of faith. We find, accordingly, opposites of qualities are dwelt upon as the characteristics of the devil. III. The power of Satan over the soul is represented as exercised either directly or by his instruments. His direct influence over the soul is simply that of a powerful and evil nature on those in whom lurks the germ of the same evil. Besides this direct influence, we learn from Scripture that Satan is the leader of a host of evil spirits or angels who share his evil work, and for whom the “everlasting fire is prepared.” (Matthew 25:41) Of their origin and fall we know no more than of his. But one passage (Matthew 12:24-26) –identifies them distinctly with the “demons” (Authorized Version “devils”) who had power to possess the souls of men. They are mostly spoken of in Scripture in reference to possession; but in (Ephesians 6:12) find them sharing the enmity to God and are ascribed in various lights. We find them sharing the enmity to God and man implied in the name and nature of Satan; but their power and action are little dwelt upon in comparison with his. But the evil one is not merely the “prince of the demons;” he is called also the “prince of this world” in (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and even the. “god of this world” in (2 Corinthians 4:4) the two expressions being united in (Ephesians 6:12) This power he claimed for himself, as the delegated authority, in the temptation of our Lord, (Luke 4:6) and the temptation would have been unreal had he spoken altogether falsely.

The indirect action of Satan is best discerned by an examination of the title by which he is designated in Scripture. He is called emphatically ho diabolos , “the devil.” The derivation of the word in itself implies only the endeavor to break the bonds between others and “set them at variance;” but common usage adds to this general sense the special idea of “setting at variance by slander.” In the application of the title to Satan, both the general and special senses should be kept in view. His general object is to break the bonds of communion between God and man, and the bonds of truth and love which bind men to each other. The slander of God to man is best seen in the words of (Gen 3:4; Gen 3:5) They attribute selfishness and jealousy to the Giver of all good. The slander of man to God is illustrated by the book of Job. (Job 1:9-11; Job 2:4; Job 2:5) IV. The method of satanic action upon the heart itself. It may be summed up in two words –temptation and possession. The subject of temptation is illustrated, not only by abstract statements, but also by the record of the temptations of Adam and of our Lord. It is expressly laid down, as in (James 1:2-4) that “temptation,” properly so called, i.e. “trial,” is essential to man, and is accordingly ordained for him and sent to him by God, as in (Genesis 22:1) It is this tentability of man, even in his original nature, which is represented in Scripture as giving scope to the evil action of Satan. But in the temptation of a fallen nature Satan has a greater power. Every sin committed makes a man the “servant of sin” for the future, (John 8:34; Romans 6:16) it therefore creates in the spirit of man a positive tendency to evil which sympathizes with, and aids, the temptation of the evil one. On the subject of possession, see DEMONIACS.

See also Devil.

16. Nave’s Topical Concordance

H7854 G4566

 Called:

• Abaddon Rev 9:11
• Accuser of our Brethren  Rev 12:10
• Adversary 1Pet 5:8
• Angel of the Bottomless Pit  Rev 9:11
• Apollyon Rev 9:11
• Beelzebub Matt 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15
• Belial 2Cor 6:15 The Devil Matt 4:1; Luke 4:2; Luke 4:6; Rev 20:2
• Enemy Matt 13:39
• Evil Spirit  1Sam 16:14
• Father of Lies John 8:44
• Gates of Hell Matt 16:18
• Great Red Dragon Rev 12:3
• Liar  John 8:44
• Lying Spirit  1Kgs 22:22
• Murderer  John 8:44
• Old Serpent  Rev 12:9; Rev 20:2
• Power of Darkness  Col 1:13
• Prince of this World  John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11
• Prince of Devils  Matt 12:24
• Prince of the Power of the Air  Eph 2:2 
• Ruler of the Darkness of this World  Eph 6:12
• Satan  1Chr 21:1; Job 1:6; John 13:27; Acts 5:3; Acts 26:18; Rom 16:20
• Serpent  Gen 3:4; Gen 3:14; 2Cor 11:3
• Spirit that Worketh in the Children of Disobedience  Eph 2:2
• Tempter Matt 4:3; 1Thess 3:5
• The God of this World 2Cor 4:4
• Unclean Spirit Matt 12:43
• Wicked One Matt 13:19; Matt 13:38
• Kingdom of, to be destroyed 2Sam 23:6-7; Matt 12:29; 13:30; Luke 11:21-22; 1John 3:8
• Synagogue of Rev 2:9; Rev 3:9
• Unclassified scriptures relating to

Gen 3:1; Gen 3:4-5; Gen 3:14-15; 1Chr 21:1; Job 1:6-7; Job 1:9-12; Job 2:3-7; Job 9:24; Ps 109:6; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1-13; Matt 13:19; Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12; Matt 13:38-39; Matt 25:41; Mark 3:22-26; Matt 9:34; Luke 11:15; Luke 11:18; Luke 10:18; Luke 13:16; Luke 22:31; Luke 22:53; John 8:38; John 8:41; John 8:44; John 12:31; John 13:2; John 13:27; John 14:30; John 16:11; Acts 5:3; Acts 13:10; Acts 26:18; Rom 16:20; 1Cor 7:5; 2Cor 2:11; 2Cor 4:4; 2Cor 11:3; 2Cor 11:14-15; 2Cor 12:7; Eph 2:2; Eph 4:27; Eph 6:11-16; Col 1:13; Col 2:15; 1Thess 2:18; 1Thess 3:5; 2Thess 2:9; 1Tim 1:20; 1Tim 3:6-7; 1Tim 5:15; 2Tim 2:26; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1Pet 5:8-9; 2Pet 2:4; 1John 2:13; 1John 3:8; 1John 3:10; 1John 3:12; 1John 5:18; Jude 1:6; Jude 1:9; Rev 2:9-10; Rev 3:9; Rev 2:13; Rev 2:24; Rev 9:11; Rev 12:9-12; Rev 20:1-3; Rev 20:7-8; Rev 20:10 Demons

See also Devil.

17. Recommended Books and Resources:

• Bounds, E.M. – Satan: His Personality, Power, and Overthrow
• Chafer, L.S. – Satan

Among the angelic spirits of the unseen world there are those that are evil, though the Bible nowhere records how they fell into such a condition. The chief of these evil angelic spirits is one known as the adversary – the adversary of God, his people, and all that is good. The Hebrew word for ‘adversary’ is satan, which later became the name used in the Bible for this leader of evil (Job 1:6). He is also called the devil (Mat 4:1-12; 1Jo 3:8; Rev 12:9), the prince of demons (Mat 9:34; 12:24; see also BEELZEBUL), the prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the god of this world (2Co 4:4), the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), the evil one (Mat 13:19; Eph 6:16; 1Jo 2:13; 3:12) and the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10; cf. Job 1:6-12; Zec 3:1).God’s rebellious servantWe should not think that Satan is in some way the equal of God, one being a good God and the other an evil God. God alone is God (Isa 44:6). Satan is no more than an angelic being created by God. There are good angels and evil angels, Satan being chief of the evil ones (Mat 25:31,41; Eph 6:12; Jude 9; Rev 12:7-9; see ANGELS; DEMONS). God, however, is above all and over all.Also there are not, as it were, two kingdoms, a kingdom of good where God is absolute ruler and a kingdom of evil where Satan is absolute ruler.

Satan is not a sovereign ruler but a rebel. Like all created beings, he is under the rule and authority of God and he can do his evil work only within the limits God allows (Job 1:12; 2:6; cf. Rev 20:2-3; 20:7-8). He is still the servant of God, even though a rebellious one (Job 1:6-7; 2:1-2; Zec 3:1-2). In spite of the evil he loves to do, he is still fulfilling God’s purposes, even though unwillingly (Job 1:9-12; 1Ki 22:19-23; cf. John 13:2,27; Acts 2:23; 1Co 5:5; 2Co 12:7; 1Ti 1:20).This does not mean that God tempts people to do evil. It is Satan, not God, who is the tempter (Gen 3:1-6; 1Ch 21:1; Mat 4:1-11; 1Co 7:5; James 1:13). God desires rather to save people from evil (Mat 6:13; 1Co 10:13). Yet God allows them to suffer the troubles and temptations that Satan brings in life, for through such things he tests and strengthens their faith (James 1:2-3,12; cf. Heb 2:18; 5:8-9; see TEMPTATION; TESTING).Satan is hostile to God and fights against God’s purposes (Mat 4:1-12; Mark 8:31-33). But in the long run Satan cannot be successful, because Jesus Christ, by his life, death and resurrection, has conquered him and delivered believers from his power (Mat 12:28-29; Luke 10:18; John 12:31; 16:11; Acts 26:18; Col 2:15; Heb 2:14-15; 1Jo 3:8). (Concerning Jesus Christ’s conquest of Satan see KINGDOM OF GOD.)

Enemy of the human race Although Jesus has conquered Satan, the world at present sees neither Jesus’ conquest nor Satan’s defeat. God allows evil angels to continue to exist just as he allows evil people. He has condemned them but not yet destroyed them. The world will see Jesus’ conquest and Satan’s defeat in the great events at the end of the age, when Christ returns in power and glory (Rev 20:10).In the meantime Satan continues to operate (Mat 13:24-26,37-39). He opposes all that is good and encourages all that is evil. At times he works with brutality and ferocity (1Pe 5:8; Rev 2:10), at other times with cunning and deceit (2Co 2:11; 11:14; 1Ti 3:7). He works not only through people who are obviously evil (Acts 13:8-10; Eph 2:1-3; 1Jo 3:10,12; Rev 2:13), but also through those who appear to be good (Mark 8:33; John 8:44; Acts 5:3; Rev 2:9; 3:9).Satan causes people physical suffering through disease (Luke 13:16; 2Co 12:7; see DISEASE), and evil spirits (Mark 3:20-27; 7:25; Acts 10:38; see MAGIC; UNCLEAN SPIRITS). He brings mental and spiritual suffering through the cunning of his deceit and temptations (1Co 7:5; 2Th 2:9-10: 2Ti 2:24-26). Above all, he wants to prevent people from understanding and believing the gospel (Mat 13:19; 2Co 4:4).Christians, because they have declared themselves on the side of God, may at times experience Satan’s attacks more than others. They have a constant battle against Satan, but they do not fight entirely by their own strength. Certainly, they must make every effort to resist Satan and avoid doing those things that will give Satan an opportunity to tempt them (Eph 4:27; James 4:7), but God gives Christians the necessary armour to withstand Satan’s attacks (Eph 6:11-13).Just as Satan opposed Jesus in his ministry, so he will oppose Jesus’ followers in their ministry (John 8:42-44; Acts 13:10; 1Th 2:18). But through the victory of Jesus, they too can have victory (Luke 10:17-18; 22:31-32; Rev 12:10-11).

The word itself, the Hebrew satan , is simply an “adversary,” and is so used in (1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:22; 1 Kings 6:4; 1Kgs 11:14; 1Kgs 11:23; 1Kgs 11:25; Num 22:22; Num 22:33; Psalms 109:6) This original sense is still found in our Lord’s application of the name to St. Peter in (Matthew 16:23) It is used as a proper name or title only four times in the Old Testament, vis. (with the article) in (Job 1:6; 12; 2:1; Zechariah 2:1) and without the article in (1 Chronicles 21:1) It is with the scriptural revelation on the subject that we are here concerned; and it is clear, from this simple enumeration of passages, that it is to be sought in the New rather than in the Old Testament. I. The personal existence of a spirit of evil is clearly revealed in Scripture; but the revelation is made gradually, in accordance with the progressiveness of God’s method. In the first entrance of evil into the world, the temptation is referred only to the serpent. In the book of Job we find for the first time a distinct mention of “Satan” the “adversary” of Job. But it is important to remark the emphatic stress laid on his subordinate position, on the absence of all but delegated power, of all terror and all grandeur in his character. It is especially remarkable that no power of spiritual influence, but only a power over outward circumstances, is attributed to him.

The captivity brought the Israelites face to face with the great dualism of the Persian mythology, the conflict of Ormuzd with Ahriman, the co-ordinate spirit of evil; but it is confessed by all that the Satan of Scripture bears no resemblance to the Persian Ahriman. His subordination and inferiority are as strongly marked as ever. The New Testament brings plainly forward the power and the influence of Satan, From the beginning of the Gospel, when he appears as the personal tempter of our Lord through all the Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse, it is asserted or implied, again and again, as a familiar and important truth. II. Of the nature and original state of Satan, little is revealed in Scripture. He is spoken of as a “spirit” in (Ephesians 2:2) as the prince or ruler of the “demons” in (Matthew 12:24-26) and as having “angels” subject to him in (Matthew 25:41; Rev 12:7; Rev 12:9) The whole description of his power implies spiritual nature and spiritual influence. We conclude therefore that he was of angelic nature, a rational and spiritual creature, superhuman in power, wisdom and energy; and not only so, but an archangel, one of the “princes” of heaven. We cannot, of course, conceive that anything essentially and originally evil was created by God. We can only conjecture, therefore, that Satan is a fallen angel, who once had a time of probation, but whose condemnation is now irrevocably fixed. As to the time cause and manner of his fall Scripture tells us scarcely anything; but it describes to us distinctly the moral nature of the evil one. The ideal of goodness is made up of the three great moral attributes of God –love, truth, and purity or holiness; combined with that spirit which is the natural temper of the finite and dependent we find creature, the spirit of faith. We find, accordingly, opposites of qualities are dwelt upon as the characteristics of the devil. III. The power of Satan over the soul is represented as exercised either directly or by his instruments. His direct influence over the soul is simply that of a powerful and evil nature on those in whom lurks the germ of the same evil. Besides this direct influence, we learn from Scripture that Satan is the leader of a host of evil spirits or angels who share his evil work, and for whom the “everlasting fire is prepared.” (Matthew 25:41) Of their origin and fall we know no more than of his. But one passage (Matthew 12:24-26) –identifies them distinctly with the “demons” (Authorized Version “devils”) who had power to possess the souls of men. They are mostly spoken of in Scripture in reference to possession; but in (Ephesians 6:12) find them sharing the enmity to God and are ascribed in various lights. We find them sharing the enmity to God and man implied in the name and nature of Satan; but their power and action are little dwelt upon in comparison with his. But the evil one is not merely the “prince of the demons;” he is called also the “prince of this world” in (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and even the. “god of this world” in (2 Corinthians 4:4) the two expressions being united in (Ephesians 6:12)

This power he claimed for himself, as the delegated authority, in the temptation of our Lord, (Luke 4:6) and the temptation would have been unreal had he spoken altogether falsely. The indirect action of Satan is best discerned by an examination of the title by which he is designated in Scripture. He is called emphatically ho diabolos , “the devil.” The derivation of the word in itself implies only the endeavor to break the bonds between others and “set them at variance;” but common usage adds to this general sense the special idea of “setting at variance by slander.” In the application of the title to Satan, both the general and special senses should be kept in view. His general object is to break the bonds of communion between God and man, and the bonds of truth and love which bind men to each other. The slander of God to man is best seen in the words of (Gen 3:4; Gen 3:5) They attribute selfishness and jealousy to the Giver of all good. The slander of man to God is illustrated by the book of Job. (Job 1:9-11; Job 2:4; Job 2:5) IV. The method of satanic action upon the heart itself. It may be summed up in two words –temptation and possession. The subject of temptation is illustrated, not only by abstract statements, but also by the record of the temptations of Adam and of our Lord. It is expressly laid down, as in (James 1:2-4) that “temptation,” properly so called, i.e. “trial,” is essential to man, and is accordingly ordained for him and sent to him by God, as in (Genesis 22:1) It is this tentability of man, even in his original nature, which is represented in Scripture as giving scope to the evil action of Satan. But in the temptation of a fallen nature Satan has a greater power. Every sin committed makes a man the “servant of sin” for the future, (John 8:34; Romans 6:16) it therefore creates in the spirit of man a positive tendency to evil which sympathizes with, and aids, the temptation of the evil one. On the subject of possession, see DEMONIACS.