Articles
Satan Is Alive and Well
Satan must really enjoy the historical debates on his existence. Is he real or mythological? Is he merely a personification of evil? Is he a cartoon figure in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork? No doubt, Satan is quite happy with the controversy or even outright denial of his reality, for this keeps his victims from recognizing his true identity, nature and threat.
Nowhere in scripture – the only authoritative source on Satan – is he portrayed as imaginary, symbolic or a cultural creation. He is real, present and deadly. Some of his qualities:
Rationality. When we are first introduced to Satan, he is at the very beginning with access to the garden of Eden. Though we may draw some reasonable conclusions about Satan’s origin, Scripture doesn’t delve into this in detail because, in practical terms, it isn’t relevant. What is relevant is that he exists and manifests evil intent. Satan had the capacity to reason with Eve and “deceive [her] by his craftiness” (2 Cor 11:3; cf. 1 Tim 2:14). This was in the form of conversation, not some optical illusion or projection of Eve’s evil desires. Satan argued that defying God would have a better outcome than obeying Him, and she bought it.
False accusation. Again, via rational conversation – this time with God – Satan impugns the motives of one of the godliest men to ever live – Job (1:8-12; 2:1-6). While God considered Job a man of exemplary faith, Satan slandered him as a self-serving parasite who engorged himself on God’s largesse. It is this quality that earns Satan the alternate title, devil, which means slanderer or false accuser (Gk. diabolos). Thus Jesus describes him as one who “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (Jn 8:44). The foundation of his temptation to Eve was the slander of God, Himself, suggesting that He was trying to keep from Eve what was desirable and advantageous to her: “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gn 3:5).
Temptation to evil. Satan’s desire to promote and encourage sin knows no bounds, for when deity came into the world in human form Satan tried to subvert even Him by temptation (Mt 4:1-11). He tried to persuade Jesus to rely on Himself rather than God (4:3); he questioned God’s care and protection by suggesting that Jesus deliberately place Himself in harm’s way (4:6); and, interestingly, he tried to do the very thing he accused God of doing regarding Job – he crassly tried to buy Jesus’ loyalty (4:8-9).
How does Satan operate today? Does he personally confront us via conversation in an alternate form, as he did with Eve? Does he strike us with disaster and disease as he was permitted to do with Job? Does he literally and directly challenge us in our darkest hours of trial – as he did with Jesus after His 40-day fast or as He faced the cross?
It might be helpful to note that, apart from the rare occurrences of direct conversation between man and Satan (Eve, Jesus), we would not know of Satan’s involvement in certain situations unless Scripture revealed it. So far as we know, Job never knew “what hit him”; i.e., that the terrible disasters that befell him were directly caused by Satan’s hand in his affairs. What occurred were things that commonly happen in human experience: enemy raids, storms, disease. Except they happened to Job in spades, in rapid succession and by Satan’s agency.
We also know that Jesus refers to the woman who couldn’t stand straight as one “whom Satan has bound – think of it – for eighteen years” (Lk 13:16). Whether this was directly a result of demon possession, or an ailment of natural consequence from sin’s presence in the world, is unclear. There is simply no way to know whether disaster or disease has a direct tie back to Satan or it is merely circumstantial. Again, the origin is irrelevant; what really matters is how we deal with it rather than who caused it.
What we normally observe is Satan’s evil influence in the lives of others and how those people impact us. This is illustrated by Jesus’ rebuke of Peter when he denied that Jesus would be killed: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Mt 16:23). “With scathing vehemence Christ turns his back on Peter and utters the terrible denunciation, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan’ … His death was so central to God’s plan that to oppose it, even from the purest of motives, was to do the work of the devil. By looking at His Lord’s statement from a human rather than Divine perspective (v 17), Peter the Rock (v 18), became a stone of stumbling. Had Christ followed the Peter principle, there would have been devastating consequences, for Himself and for all” (Chumbley, The Gospel of Matthew 305).
Further, Paul affirms to the Thessalonians that “we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us” (1 Th 2:18). We do not know the exact nature of that hindrance, but he does not attribute it to his work in other places, scheduling conflicts or other circumstantial interference. Rather, it seems that Satan, via his normal operations of inciting men to evil, was putting up a roadblock between Paul and Macedonia.
Other warnings are issued to Christians concerning Satan’s proximity and potential influence:
Ø “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” – 1 Pet 5:8.
Ø “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive … lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” – 2 Cor 2:11.
Ø “And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts” – Mk 4:15.
Make no mistake, Satan is an active force in the world, mainly through his loyalist followers – men and women who have given themselves over to his deceit and disobedience to God. These people will inevitably intersect with God’s people as neighbors, co-workers, government officials, etc. We must remain alert, wary and careful concerning that which threatens to destroy our peace, trust, faith and obedience to God and His truth.
