Satan - Westside church of Christ



Satan

The scriptures reveal to us the nature and extent of God’s power. He is all good, all powerful, all seeing, etc. Most Christians know these qualities by heart. However, there is much confusion on Satan. Many ideas about Satan come from Catholic traditions and books such as Dante’s Inferno. Of course, neither should be classified as scripture. He certainly is not a red-skinned pith fork carrying creature that the customs of Halloween depict him as.

On the other hand, there are some things revealed to us about this adversary. Furthermore, if God saw fir to reveal certain things about the devil, then we ought to know them. After all, if we are in a spiritual war against him (Eph. 6:10-12) and it does a soldier good to know his enemy.

What is His Name?

The scriptures identify our adversary in several different ways. Each “name” given to him reveals a different aspect of his “personality.”

He is the Serpent of Old. This one of four names that John uses to describe Satan in Rev. 12:9. It identifies him as the serpent of Gen. 3. In Gen. 3 we learn that is was he that deceived Eve. It was he that enabled man to choose rebellion against God, rather than faithful service. It was he that brought death into the world. And it was he hat would forever be at enmity with God’s people.

He is the Devil. This name for the devil actually finds its origin in the Septuagint (LXX) in approximately 250 BC. The Greek word diablos (our devil) was used to translate the Hebrew word Satan. Bt the time Christ was born this word was used frequently to identify our ancient adversary. Diabolos actually means “slanderer.” He slanders God by making a mockery of his word (Matt 4, Gen. 3) and he slanders man by lying stumbling blocks before him.

He is Satan. Both the Greek (satanos) and English words are transliterations of the original Hebrew word satan. It is used 18 times in the Old testament (15 times in Job). The word simply means adversary. Every appearance of the devil in the scriptures clearly depicts him as an adversary.

He is the Dragon. The book of Revelation is the only place in the scriptures that clearly identifies Satan as the dragon. As to why he is described this way is unknown. Perhaps this helps us understand his power and fierceness. On an interesting note, the only time Satan is recorded as quoting scripture is a passage from Psa. 91:12 “They will bear you upon their hands, that you do not strike you foot against a stone.” The very next verse speaks of Christ trampling the lion and the serpent and the young lion and the dragon.

He is the Lion. I Pet. 5:8 calls Satan a roaring lion. Peter goes on to say that he seeks to devour man. Christ calls him a murderer for every action we see him perform is meant to destroy man.

He is the Evil One. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ taught his disciples to pray to be delivered from the evil one. Satan embodies evil. The scriptures never recorded a single “good thought” of Satan.

He is the Father of Lies. The 1st recorded lie (Gen. 3) was uttered by his lips. The second lie (Gen. 4) was clearly spoken by Cain while he was under the influence of the devouring lion.

He is the Tempter. Paul calls him the tempter in I Thes. 3:5. Through Satan all work which we do for the Lord will be made void if we fall away.

The Origin of Satan

The origin of Satan is unclear. Some often call him a fallen angel. But, the scriptures never come out and call him that. There are some things however that are safe to assume. Being that God is the only one without beginning of days, we can assume he was a created being. Furthermore, we can assume he was created for a different purpose that he now serves. Col. 1:16 says that all things were created for and by Jesus Christ. We also know that when good looked upon all His creation and called it very good. It is hard to believe that God would create an evil being and call him good. We also know that he has angels of his own (Rev. 12:7-9) that were presumably the same ones that gave up their proper abode and sinned against God (II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). But, this in no way means that Satan himself was an angel. Not all spiritual beings are called angels (Rev. 4:5-8).

The moment of his fall also remains a mystery. We know that the first sin in history was a direct result of his influence. BUT that does not really prove any thing about the time of his fall. Did he fall sometime before the earth was created? Did he fall the same day the Adam and Eve fell from the grace of God? If he was cast out of heaven before the foundations of the earth were set, what does that mean Job 1-2 mean? Truth is, we do not know. These mysteries have not been revealed to us. If God wanted us to know, or if God thought we needed to know his origin it would have been clearly taught. What is clear is that God wanted us to know who he is today and what his schemes are so that we will be properly prepared to stand against him.

A God-Like Satan

Dogmas have been established on the powers and origin of Satan that mimic Roman Pantheons more than they resemble what the Bible teaches. The Roman god Hades ruled the underworld with power that rivaled Zeus himself. Many Christians today think that Satan possesses this same nature of power. They believe that Satan is all knowing, all seeing, all powerful etc. But, such depictions of Satan are without scriptural proof. If anything, the scripture prove just the opposite. Satan believed that killing Christ on the cross would grant him victory. From the story of Job we learn that Satan failed to see into the heart of Job and know that type of man he truly was. And although Satan clearly has some power, he only has what God permits him to have. Satan is not God antithesis, his is merely an unworthy adversary. In fact, through the book of Revelation not only do we see that God is victorious over Satan, but we learn that through Christ we can too, thus making Satan our inferior.

-WTK

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