Does Satan Exist?

Introduction

Shortly before the attack on Fort Donelson in 1862, a deserter from the fort turned up in General Ulysses S. Grant’s camp. At this point Grant had not decided whether to attack the fort immediately or give his tired men a day’s rest. However, on learning that the deserter, along with the other troops in the fort, had been given six days’ rations, Grant made up his mind. He addressed his men: “Gentlemen, troops do not have six days’ rations served out to them in a fort if they mean to stay there. These men mean to retreat, not to fight. We will attack at once.”

Grant and his Union forces did their homework. They found out about their enemy, analyzed what they found out and acted on that information. Because of that, Grant’s forces turned what had seemed like certain defeat early on into a major victory.

In the same way, as Christians, we need to do our homework on our enemy: Satan. The more we know about him the better off we’ll be. It’s foolish to do battle without knowing one’s opponent.

Not everybody agrees with that thinking, however. Maybe an article on Satan makes you a little bit nervous.

If so, you’re not the only one. In doing research for this article, I came across a book called “Teach them about Satan” by C.S. Lovett. It’s a step-by-step how-to book on how to organize and have a course on Satan.

Lovett said that after finishing the book he and his wife had dinner with a minister friend and his wife. Lovett relays this story, beginning with a comment from his friend’s wife:

“‘With so many nice things to discuss, why would anyone want to talk about the devil?’”

“She was actually afraid. You could feel the fear in her voice. Yet, she was a vigorous Christian, well grounded in the Word—and an active soul-winner. Obviously she was superstituous of Satan’s power over people.”

“‘Are you afraid of Satan?’” I asked.

“‘It gives me the creeps to hear about him,’” she said. “‘Besides, isn’t he apt to do something if we talk about him? I know my husband won’t even preach on him any more. He says something bad always happens when he does. Shouldn’t we change the subject?’”

“How about that? My minister friend had satanic qualms himself. Now his secret was out. His wife gave him away. I won’t mention his name, but I can tell you he is a leader of national stature. I thought to myself …’Wow. If he feels that way, what must be the extent of Christian superstition throughout the body of Christ.’”

I can relate to that story. When I told my wife I was writing about Satan she groaned and said something like “Oh great.” She apparently thought—rightfully so—that Satan wouldn’t like that too much.

In fact, it took me over two years to write this article. Satan came after me big time and frankly, I got discouraged and tired of being so oppressed so I stopped writing.

As Christians, should we be afraid of Satan? Is he even real? If he is real, what’s he like, what does he do, and what can we do to defend ourselves against him?

We’re going to unmask Satan for who and what he is. We’re not going to rely on things we’ve heard over the years. We’re not going to rely on what we’ve read in books or seen on TV or in movies. We’re going to consult the only accurate source of information on Satan, and that’s the Bible.

Is Satan Real?

For most of this article we’re going to look at two passages and go back and forth between them. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.

We’ll talk about other numerous verses as well, but because we have so much information to cover, we won’t be able to look at them all together.

In 1990 New York City’s John Cardinal O’Connor made big headlines. Why? It seems that he said that he believed the devil was real. The liberal Time magazine, eager to discredit O’Connor, turned to a Catholic theologian who assured the publication that the belief in a personal devil is just “premodern and precritical” superstition.

The majority of Americans—and a good many Christians—don’t believe in Satan. They think he’s a myth or a personification of evil, but not a real being.

Remember how TV viewers laughed when Flip Wilson in the 1960s dressed like a woman and said “The devil made me do it!” How about when Dana Carvey, dressed as the church lady hosting a talkshow, who would chastise her outrageous guests by saying, “Could it be Satan?!” To many people, Satan’s a big joke. To others, the devil is just something kids dress up like on Halloween.

I was in a meeting just before Halloween and two women told everyone there that their sons were dressing up like the devil. I’ll never forget how one of the women laughed and said how cute her son looked all dressed up. And then everybody in the room oohed and ahhed at how cute he must have looked.

They obviously don’t take the devil seriously and see him as a fictional character.

The Bible says otherwise. In Matthew 4:1 it says that “… Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

In the following verses of that passage—Matthew 4—we read that Jesus and the devil had a conversation. Jesus obviously believed in a real, personal devil. New Testament writers such as John, Paul, James and Peter also believed in Satan and wrote about him. Old Testament writers confirm the same thing. The devil is real.

Satan is also clearly portrayed as a person—that is, he has all the characteristics of personhood, including a mind, emotion and will.

Second Corinthians 11:3 says that the devil is crafty, which means he has the ability to plan. The passage we just talked about—Matt. 4—shows that Satan can communicate. And if we were to read farther in Matt. 4 we would find the devil offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world which shows that Satan desires and wants things. These are all traits of personhood.

We know from Genesis 3:15 and Romans 16:20 that God will judge the devil and hold him accountable for his actions. Animals aren’t accountable, only persons are.

The Bible also refers to Satan by personal pronouns such as you and he (Ezekiel 28:2 and 2 Corinthians 11:14-15). He is also referred to by proper names and descriptive titles such as “the prince of this world (John 16:11), “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and Beelzebub (Luke 11:15). And that’s only a small sample.

Satan has all the characteristics of personhood. He’s a person.

The existence of the devil can also be seen from a philosophical perspective.

John MacArthur says this:

“…we can conclude that there must be an adversary, because absolute harmony does not exist in the world. We know that God was powerful enough to create a perfect world. Yet there exists a puzzling dichotomy of happiness and sorrow, of wisdom and stupidity, of fulfillment and failure, of kindness and cruelty, of life and death. Something, or someone evil has obviously messed with perfection.”

MacArthur goes on to say that opposition to God is evidence of another personal being actively engaged in trying to stifle His plan.

Logic tells us that God wouldn’t create good and then create its opposite—evil—to fight against His own efforts. Philosophically speaking, then—above and beyond what the Bible says—it’s obvious that a being exists who fights the purposes of God.

Practical experience also supports the idea of a real devil. All we need to do is look around at all of the Satan worshippers in America and around the world.

In 1987, four Junction City, Missouri teenagers, in a typical Satanic ritual, carried a tiny black and white kitten into the woods, put it in a sack, hung it from a tree and took turns hitting it like a pinata.

Then, suddenly, three of the boys turned on their friend, Steve, and beat him to death in the same way. At their trial, the boys all attributed their lust for killing directly to Satan. They all said that they heard the voice of Satan inside their heads, urging them to kill.

Those three boys obviously believed Satan was real. Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, also believed the devil was real. He threw an inkwell at him in anger.

What Is Satan Like?

Now let’s look at Ezekiel 28 and find out much more about the Satan. This is where Ezekiel is prophesying judgment against the evil and godless king of Tyre. We know from verse nine that the king thought of himself as God.

Beginning in verse 12, however, it’s clear that Ezekiel goes beyond the king of Tyre to the source of his evil: Satan himself. This is common in Scripture, particularly in the messianic Psalms, where David frequently talked about himself was but was also referring to

Jesus. This technique is also found in the New Testament. One of the most obvious is when Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” in Matthew 16:23. Peter was physically there, but the Lord knew that Satan was the source of Peter rebuking Jesus in the previous verse.

Let’s read, then, verses 12 to 18.

Ezek. 28:12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ” ‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

Ezek. 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

Ezek. 28:14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

Ezek. 28:15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

Ezek. 28:16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

Ezek. 28:17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

Verse 12 tells us that whoever Ezekiel was prophesying against was perfect, wise and beautiful.

Verse 13 says that this person was in the garden of Eden, at the beginning of human history. That certainly can’t be the King of Tyre, who lived around 580 BC. The verse elaborates on his beauty—he was adorned with every precious stone.

Then in verse 14 we find out that the person Ezekiel was talking to was a guardian cherub. We know from Ezekiel 1:4-28, 25:18-22 and Revelation 4:6-8 that cherubs were God’s highest-ranking angels. The Bible depicts them as surrounding God. Two other cherubs named in the Bible are Michael and Gabriel.

Unlike Michael and Gabriel, however, something goes very wrong with this angel. Verse 15 says that wickedness was found in him. So this angel, who was perfect upon creation, verse 12, is now, in verse 15, said to be wicked. What happened?

Now let’s go to Isaiah 14.

Isa. 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

Isa. 14:13 You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

Isa. 14:14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Isa. 14:15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

Isa. 14:16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,

Isa. 14:17 the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”

We know from Job 38:4-7 and Job 1:6 and Job 2:1 that the phrase “morning stars”—found in verse 12—and the phrase “sons of God” are interchangable terminology for angels. So here’s an angel— obviously a very powerful angel—who has “fallen from heaven.”

We also know that “son of the dawn” can also be translated “Lucifer.” Maybe your Bible translates it that way.

I believe this angel is the same angel that we were just reading about in Ezekiel 28. But what did this angel—Lucifer—do to be found wicked?

We find out in verses 13 and 14. Pride. Egoism. Self-centerdness. Whatever you want to call it. Look at what commentators call the “five I wills:”

I will ascend to heaven;

I will raise my throne above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.

This angel wants to be like God. He wants power. He wants to be sovereign. But there’s only one God and one sovereign, and that’s God Himself.

Because of Lucifer’s sin of pride, God’s holiness demanded that the fallen angel be expelled from His presence. I believe that’s what Jesus is referring to in Luke 10:18, when he said “…I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Lucifer was kicked out of heaven.

Revelation 12:4 tells us that Satan didn’t go alone, however. He corrupted 1/3 of God’s angels with them. His fellow fallen angels are most often referred to in Scripture as demons, Satan’s army. The Bible doesn’t tell us how many angels there are, although in Matthew 26:53 Jesus said that he could call on more than 12 legions of angels. A Roman legion had 6,000 soldiers, so, if taken literally, Jesus is saying that he had 72,000 angels at his disposal. That means there are more than 24,000 demons in Satan’s army.

The natural question to ask at this point is how did Satan sin? Scripture’s clear that God is holy and perfect and cannot tolerate sin. We also just read that Lucifer and his fellow angels were perfect when created.

The short answer is the Bible doesn’t say and I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until we see the Lord and ask Him how that could be.

Another obvious question is why did God allow Satan and his army of demons to continue to exist. Why didn’t the Lord just zap them out of existence? Again, the Bible doesn’t tell us and I don’t know. Scripture says the “wages of sin is death,” so how come God didn’t just wash his hands of all of them, humanity as well? I don’t know, although one speculative answer that I like is that God will let our rebellion run its course as an illustration to all creation—including Satan—that nothing can ever dethrone Him. But that’s just speculation.

So what have we found about Satan so far?

We’ve found out that:

Satan is real.

Satan is a person.

Satan is a created being—a fallen angel.

What Does Satan Do?

And that brings us to the question of what does the devil do? We’ve already talked about it earlier in a more general way. Satan’s primary objective is “to oppose God, His angels and His children in any way he can.”

In fact, Scripture tells us that the majority of the world is in his camp, opposing God.

2Cor. 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Satan’s primary objective is to oppose God, His angels and Christians every way he can.

But how does he do that? Mark Twain said: “We may not pay Satan reverance, for that would be indiscreet, but we can at least respect his talents.”

Let’s look at some of the things the devil does.

Sinner

First of all, let’s remind ourselves that Satan is a sinner. We’ve already found out that he brought sin into the universe by corrupting God’s holy angels. 1 John 3:8 tells us that the devil has been sinning since the beginning. He’s a sinner.

 

Oppressor

1 Peter 5:8 refers to him as a hungry lion looking for someone to devour. Satan loves to hassle believers any way he can. He wants to oppress us at every step. He’ll make us doubt our salvation, persecute us for our faith and hinder our ministry. Satan is an oppressor and a hassler.

Accuser and Slanderer

The evil one is also an accuser and slanderer. The name devil is used 37 times in the New Testament and means “one who slanders.” Revelation 10:10 says that Satan accuses believers before God “night and day.”

Imitator and Deceiver

The Bible tells us that the evil one is an imitator and deceiver. He loves to imitate God and deceives both believers and unbelievers. Second Corinthians 11:14 says that the devil masquerades as an angel of light. Taken in context, the passage is talking about false prophets and teachers. Every single day Satan leads people down the road to hell by preaching false doctrine from the pulpit. The devil is an imitator and a deceiver.

Miracle-worker

Satan can also work miracles. Second Thessalonians 2:9, in talking about the antichrist in the end times, says “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders…” Believers need to be discerning—just because something supernatural happens, it’s not necessarily from God. Satan can work miracles.

Liar

The devil is also a liar. Jesus said in John 8:44 that “…there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The evil one is a liar.

Tempter

Satan spends a lot of time tempting us. Genesis 3 tells us that Lucifer tempted Eve to sin in the Garden. Revelation 12:9 refers to him as “…that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan…” He instigated the fall of the human race. Satan is a tempter.

Murderer

Scripture describes the devil as a murderer. In John 8:44, Jesus said Satan “…was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. First John 3:12 says that Cain “belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.” The devil loves to hear that St. Louis is annually near the top of the list in murders. He loves death. Satan is a murderer.

While we could say much more about the devil, this is a pretty good overview on him and how he opposes God, His angels and believers. The devil is a fallen angel who likes to imitate God, and that includes performing miracles. He’s full of sin and oppresses, slanders, deceives, tempts and lies to Christians. The Bible also calls him a murderer.

Conclusion

While on a trip to the zoo one day, a boy and his father saw a huge lion. The lion was prowling around his enclosure and letting out chilling roars. The boy became very frightened and screamed in terror, but his father remained calm and unafraid. why? The boy was frightened because he saw only the lion, while the father was unafraid because he saw the cage enclosing the lion.

The Christian’s view of Satan should be like that of the father rather than that of the boy, for our fierce enemy is like a caged lion.

Let’s remind ourselves that Satan was created, so he’s clearly inferior to God. While he’s an angel and clearly more powerful than humans, and while Scripture says that God actually uses Satan to accomplish His own purposes, the devil is NOT all powerful. And he’s certainly not sovereign. Satan can only do what God allows him to do.

1John 4:4 …the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Let’s also remind ourselves that while Satan can hassle us and oppress us and make life miserable for us, we can’t be “demon possessed.” We just heard that the one who is in us—the Holy Spirit—is greater than the devil and his demonic forces. Scripture tells us that our body is a temple for the Holy Ghost, not the evil one.

But how can we defend ourselves against somebody so evil and so powerful, somebody who’s after us all of the time? LIsten to 1 Peter 5:8-9.

1Pet. 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

The first thing we should do is to be self controlled and alert. We shouldn’t go around thinking we’re immune to his attacks, especially if there’s sin in our lives.

1Cor. 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

We shouldn’t be oblivious or ignore the fact that he’s out there.

But what happens when Satan comes after us?

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

When the devil messes with us we must submit to God and resist whatever temptations or lies that he’s throwing our way. If we resist, the devil MUST flee. Remember, the Lord is more powerful than the evil one.

For an even more practical look at how we can defend ourselves, turn to Ephesians 6 and let’s read about spiritual warfare and the armor of God.

Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Eph. 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Eph. 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Eph. 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

Eph. 6:15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Eph. 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Eph. 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Eph. 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Verse 12 is a good reminder for all of us. Our struggles are not against a boss that treats us like dirt, or against the ACLU, or against people running abortion clinics.

Our struggles are against demonic forces. Our battle is a spiritual one and we have to arm ourselves with spiritual weapons.

Notice in verse 13 that it says “when” the day of evil comes, not “if.”

2Tim. 3:12 …everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Regardless of your level of commitment or maturity, unless you totally shrink away from your duty as a Christian, each and every one of us will experience Satanic attacks. It’s a matter of when, not if.

In verse 14 we’re told to put on the full armor of God. For spiritual battles we need SPIRITUAL weapons, not human weapons.

2Cor. 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

And so we put on spiritual armor and start with the belt of truth. For the Roman soldier—for anybody wearing pants, for that matter—a belt is extremely important. As Christians, we know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. We also know that all Scripture is “God breathed.” Because of that, our faith is strong and we’re able to discern the lies that the evil one bombards us with.

Verse 14 also tells us to have the breastplate of righteousness in place. When we remember that Christ’s righteousness was imputed to us, when we remember that our sins are forgiven, and when we’re striving to lead a holy and obedient life and confessing and repenting of our sins on a regular basis, we have the breastplate of righteousness on. Our vital organs, if you will, are protected in battle.

Verse 15 tells us to have make sure our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The idea here is preparedness. Can you imagine going to war without any shoes on? When we’re shod with the knowledge that we’re at peace with God, that we’re no longer at odds with Him the way we were as unbelievers, we’re prepared to do battle.

In verse 16, we’re told to take up the shield of faith so we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The idea here is trusting in God, both in His power and His deliverance. It means believing that God will take care of us. Not only that He CAN take care of us, but that He WILL take care of us. When we trust the Lord, Satan’s fiery darts can’t get through and harm us.

Verse 17 tells us to put on the helmet of salvation. In other words, we’re to be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Nothing will interfere with God’s promise to bring us to glory. Absolutely nothing. If God is for us, who can be against us?

This verse also tells us to “take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Remember how Jesus used Scripture—the sword of the Spirit—when the devil tested Him in Matthew 4? The Bible is a supernatural book with supernatural words. When we know Scripture and when we apply it to our lives Satan doesn’t stand a chance. He’s impotent!

Verse 18 tells us what to do once we have our armor on. Do we start yelling and screaming at Satan? Do we start swinging our fists at him? Do try and outsmart him or fool him? NO! Jude 9 says that not even the archangel Michael slanders Satan. Scripture is very clear. We should respect the devil’s power and not slander him.

Instead, we pray! We don’t fight him using human weapons, but SPIRITUAL weapons.

In 2 Chronicles 20:15, the Lord told the king of Judah to prepare for battle against three armies. So the Jews got dressed and marched to where God told them to go. But when they got there, they didn’t have to do a thing! God had told them ahead of time that “the battle is not yours, but God’s.” The Lord fought for them that day and the Isralites found nothing but dead bodies! The Jews did exactly what God wanted them to do. They were armed and ready for battle but when it came time for combat, the Lord did all the work.

In the same way, when we’re involved in spiritual warfare, we prepare for battle by putting on the full armor of God, but the Lord actually goes to war for us. We do what we can—we’re obedient, we’re trusting and we’re scripturally wise—and then we get on our knees, tell God about the situation and then get out of the way as the Lord goes to work for us. The key to spiritual warfare is to let our heavenly Father get in the trenches, not us.

We have the belt of truth on. We know that what we believe, and who we believe in, is true.

We have the breastplate of righteousness in place, knowing that our sins are forgiven and striving to live holy and obedient lives.

Our feet are shod with the gospel of peace, prepared to do every good work, knowing that God is for us, not against us.

We take up the shield of faith, trusting God to deliver us in our time of need.

Our head is protected with the helmet of salvation, and we’re confident in the knowledge that heaven and eternal life awaits us.

And finally, we’re workmen approved by God who know Scripture and know how to use it the way Jesus did.

Then we stand back and let God do all the work!

Should we be aware of Satan and his schemes? Absolutely.

Should we be frightened of him? Wary, yes, frightened, no.

The Lord has already won the war. Listen to Revelation 20:10.

Rev. 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

That’s the devil’s destiny. The lake of burning sulfur where he and his demonic forces will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Satan is a beaten foe! The Lord Jesus Christ is going to crush him once and for all.

Rev. 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”