Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
In today’s world, it is safe to say that most people are ignorant as to the origin and nature of Satan. We would do well to remember that our two greatest enemies in the Christian life are spiritual ignorance and spiritual disobedience. Spiritual ignorance is the result of biblical illiteracy, while spiritual disobedience comes from a rebellious will.
Those without biblical literacy are completely vulnerable to what the Apostle Paul called “the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). In another similar passage, we are again admonished not to allow Satan to outwit us. “For we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11). Likewise, spiritual disobedience due to a rebellious will serves the purpose of Satan and thereby dishonors God.
We are engaged in a life-and-death spiritual warfare with the adversary of our soul for as long as we live on this earth! The Lord Jesus called him a “murderer from the beginning,” and a “liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). And so we “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” (Ephesians 6:13).
There are three popular ideas about Satan—all wrong—and we want to put each of them to rest. The first myth is Satan does not exist. This is a very popular opinion among the so-called educated and enlightened people of the world. The second myth is Satan is only the personification of evil. This philosophy says Satan is not a real, objective, malevolent being. And the third is Satan is a mythological billy goat-type of being with hoofs, horns, and a tail. This is a holdover from the Middle Ages when Satan was depicted in religious dramas and books in this graphic manner for the benefit of the illiterate.
To find out more about his origin and rebellion, study the 28th chapter of Ezekiel and the 14th chapter of Isaiah. There, we learn that he was created by God and was once an angel of the highest order.
His biblical names include Lucifer, the angel of light, Satan, the father of lies, the evil one, and the god of this world. It is important to remember that he is not eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient. His doom was sealed at the cross by Christ (Genesis 3:15). Christ will one day cast him from heaven to Earth (Revelation 12:12), then from Earth to the Abyss (Revelation 20:1–3), and finally from the Abyss to the lake of burning sulfur or fire (Revelation 20:10).
Until that time, believers have victory over him now (1 John 4:4; 5:18)! Yet, will we follow in the folly of Lucifer, the rebellious angels, and the majority of mankind that populate our world? Will our daily experiences increasingly be those of frustration, nothing but dust in our mouths? Or through obedience to God will we increasingly know the fulfillment that He can bring—delight to our soul? The choice is yours.
