Who or What is the Devil? 1. Limited Information A. The Bible does not provide much information regarding the devil. 1) There are no systematic passages that clearly define the devil. 2) We do not know his origin, purpose, or goals. 3) Many have misunderstood biblical texts (i.e. Gen 6, Isa 14, Ezek 28, Lk 10...) and read into them something beyond what the text actually states. 4) The first commandment in Exod 20:3 illustrates the focus of faith. a) no other gods before/besides me does not necessarily imply the existence of other gods (spirits) but emphasizes the focus of the faithful towards God and no others (fabricated deities worshipped by their neighbors). b) God has no competitors when it comes to worship, whether it is deified heavenly beings (i.e. Baal, Molech, Re, Marduk...) or earthly beings (kings, nature...). c) the purposeful lack of information in the OT (Satan is personified only in 3 texts: Job 1-2, Zech 3:1-2, and I Chron 21:1) is retained in the NT with a few exceptions (Satan is noted 35x in the NT: synoptic gospels-14x, Jn-1x, Acts-2x, Epistles of Paul-10x half of them in Cor, and Rev-8x). The devil is noted another 32x. B. Much of what is believed today is due to sources outside of the Bible. 1) Books like Enoch, Jubilees, and The Assumption of Moses attempt to fill out material believed missing in the biblical text. 2) Other books like Dante s Inferno, Milton s Paradise Lost, and countless books have contributed to misinformation in modern culture regarding the devil. 2. OT references A. Genesis 1 the Creation. 1) When God finished creating the heavens and the earth all things were good. a) the Hebrew term tov has a wide variety of meaning including pleasing, good, appropriate, and joyful, which can include moral/ethical but not exclusively moral/ethical (BDB pp.372-4). b) since God created all things, Satan must have been a part of that creation (a possible heavenly council argument for the plural of God, us, and our will not be dealt with here), and he considered it good. B. Genesis 3 the Snake in the Garden. 1) The snake in the garden of Eden was not noted as evil but crafty (v. 1) a virtuous characteristic in Israelite culture ( Prov 12:16, 13:16) related to wisdom. 2) It can be misused as guile (Exod 21:14, Job 5:12...) which may be the reason the snake was cursed (3:14). 3) Jewish and Christian expositors read Satan into this text, but it is not put there by the author (or editors for that matter) C. Genesis 6 the Sons of God Marrying the Daughters of Men. 1) This may be read the sons of the gods (i.e. Job 1:6, 2:1) or the sons of God (i.e. Ps 29:1, Job 1:6), either reading presents problems in understanding. a) if the meaning is angels marrying women and producing superior offspring, it would make sense in the sense of crossing boundaries established by God (3:22),
and in the context of the growing wickedness of mankind but not in terms of spiritual beings inability to procreate (cf. Lk 20:36), destruction by an earthbound flood, or its remarkable similarity to common ANE mythologies of god/mortal interbreeding. b) if the meaning is that kings, rulers, and superior men are meant (Ps 2:7, 2 Sam 7:14) it argues against men in positions of power forcibly taking women into harems to establish warrior tribes but does not seem drastic enough to cause God to flood the earth, nor does it involve spiritual beings. c) if the meaning is that the sons of God are descendants of Seth who were considered to be godly men (i.e. Enoch, Noah...) married female descendants of the godless Cain argues for a boundary that has not been expressly made, considers Cain s offspring evil based on his action alone, and the phrasing they saw...good...they took (v. 2) is similar to Eve (3:6) but she is not considered evil nor is her offspring only through Cain. d) it is possible to interpret the text as referring to heavenly beings but with the information given it is impossible to conclude with certainty if they are fallen, evil, or rebellious beings. D. Isa 14:12 the Fallen Star (Lucifer). 1) This text is a warning against the king of Babylon who desires to ascend to heaven and become a god (i.e. the tower of Babel in Gen 11:1-8). 2) To interpret this as a description of the fall of Satan is reading into the text what is not there. 3) To argue this as a typology of Satan is to miss the true typology of what happens when arrogant mankind thinks he can disregard God and become a god. E. Ezek 28:11-19 The Fall from the Garden. 1) This text is a warning against the king of Tyre s pride and arrogance. 2) To interpret this as a description of the fall of Satan from the garden is to read into the text what is not there. 3) Ezekiel was an exiled prophet in Babylon who used imagery and mythic motifs from neighboring cultures in a series of oracles against Israel s neighbors to encourage and lead the Jews living in Exile to think about restoration to their land. 4) God was going to act on their behalf against their enemies pride and arrogance to re-establish Israel in the land. F. Three post-exilic texts The Personification of Satan. 1) Job 1-2: Satan is a part of God s heavenly court challenging the righteousness of Job. 2) Zech 3:1-2: Satan appears in Zechariah s vision in God s heavenly court challenging the righteousness of the High Priest Joshua. 3) 1 Chron 21:1: Satan challenges David s righteousness by convincing him to conduct a census. 4) These texts illustrate Satan as an adversary or prosecutor of man in God s heavenly court, not as an evil character in opposition to God. a) in 19 references as a heavenly being, Satan is not designated as an evil character (in Num 22 the satan is actually an angel of God blocking Balaam s path). b) 7 references to the satan is a human (including David in 1 Sam 29:4).
c) the LXX translators chose to use the Greek term diabolos to translate satan in most passages (except 1 Kgs 11:14-25) meaning slanderer, (which is not a neutral term) possibly reflecting their change in understanding of his nature and role. d) one would think that spending 70-80 years in Babylon s culture, and a few years more confronted by Persian mythology would have a more profound effect on Israel s view of the heavenly realm even though apocryphal writings gave the spiritual realm more focus, it remained more muted in aspects such as refusing to give God an equal opposite, forces of evil no match for the forces of good when pitted against one another, and presenting the ultimate end of the forces of evil as inevitable (and predetermined by God). 3. NT References A. Information regarding Satan is fuller than the OT but far from complete. 1) There are no passages giving us a systematic understanding. 2) His origin and purpose is still largely unknown. 3) He becomes clearer in focus as an opponent of God and his people (i.e. the face of evil), is personified creature known by many names (Satan, the devil, the deceiver...), and is actively engaged in world events. B. The NT does indicate certain parameters and limitations exist regarding the devil. What he is... non-mortal he is a prince or ruler of this world in power or effect (Jn 12:31, Eph 2:2), even desiring to be God (Lk 4:7), but can only appear to be a god by promoting himself or lowering people s view of the real thing as non-existent of irrelevant. What he is not... God he is not God s equal opposite, he operates within limits imposed upon him by God, he was created not the creator powerful omnipotent (all powerful) he can effect people and events in the he has already been defeated (Col 2:15) world (Acts 5:3, Lk 13:16) he can be resisted (Ja 4:7, 1 Pet 5:9) he can be fought (Eph 6:11) he can be put to flight (Rom 8:26) mobile on land or airborne (Eph 6:12) leader of an army of evil (Matt 9:34) omnipresent (everywhere) he is limited to time and space he cannot be anywhere but one place at a time, cannot travel back and forth in time, and cannot be the cause of every temptation known to mankind. unlimited in power and effect they are no match for God, Jesus, the Holy
Spirit, or believers (Matt 12:22, Lk 10:17) influential the source of sin (Rom 3:23) as tempter (Matt 4:3,Jn 13:27), or able to over-ride will (Ja 4:7) possessor (Lk 18:32, Acts 8:7) hinderer of the gospel (1 Thess 2:18) manipulator (1 Cor 7:5, Lk 13:16) hidden, defined by darkness and secrecy (2 Cor 11:14-15) which is the key to his power - using smoke and mirrors to enhance and magnify his effect through misinformation, ignorance, and apathy, not to mention control of media. knowledgable wisdom gleaned through thousands of years of history provides insight into human nature open, holy, providing salvation for mankind, being a light to the world. omniscient (all knowing) he failed to anticipate Jesus arrival, the effect of his death on mankind, the ability of God to resurrect Jesus from the dead, and extinguish the gospel and the church from the world. C. Additional NT Texts of Interest. 1) Luke 10:18 Jesus saw Satan fall from heaven. a) some interpreters combine this statement with Isa 14 and Rev 12 to conclude that Satan was tossed out of heaven and fell to earth. b) the context of this text is the ability of the disciples to control demonic activity after being sent out to minister by Jesus, during which he saw Satan fall. c) his comment makes no sense in this context if he was describing something that happened eons before this event. d) he was confirming their perception by telling them even the prince of evil was effected by their work (possibly alluding to Isa 14). 2) John 8:44 the devil is a murderer. a) there are many murders described in the Bible, but non at the hands of the devil. b) Jesus may be referring to the devil s ability to manipulate people to kill, much like the snake manipulated Adam and Eve, leading to their death and his curse. c) the context of the Jews desire to kill him may be a reference to his own impending death by their hand and was, in reality, orchestrated by the devil himself. 3) Heb 2:14 the devil has the power of death. a) this does not mean he is able to determine who dies. b) this does mean that he can use the fear of death to control behavior.
c) Paul states, in Rom 5:12-21, that Adam introduced sin into the world and contaminated all of mankind, which exerts control over us until we receive justification through God s grace. 4) 2 Peter 2:4 sinning angels. a) the context of Genesis references (Noah, Sodom) indicates he had Gen 6 in mind. b) this also seems to reflect the apocryphal book of 1 Enoch (20:1). c) Peter s understanding seems to be that whenever the sinning took place, those angels were put under lock and key until their judgment, not left to roam the earth. 5) Jude 6 rebellious angels. a) the context is once again with Genesis references (Egyptian slavery, Sodom and Gomorrah) which argues for a reference to Gen 6. b) he also appears to reference 1 Enoch (6-16). c) these angels were also were bound until their judgment. 6) Jude 9 Michael and the devil fighting over Moses body. a) this appears to come from the non-biblical book, The Assumption of Moses. b) the story goes that when Michael was attempting to bury Moses body, the devil wanted possession of it because Moses was a murderer, but was rebuked (i.e. Zech 3:2). 7) Rev 12:9 the dragon and his forces are thrown down from heaven. a) the context of this action is crucial to understanding this passage. - a pregnant woman appeared in heaven about to give birth - the dragon showed up to kill the child at birth - the child was born and whisked away (literally raptured ) and the woman fled - the dragon and his forces were confronted and defeated by Michael and his forces - the dragon was thrown to earth and allowed to continue pursuit of the woman and her offspring who are those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (i.e. Christians). b) this is not meant to be understood as a literal event played out in the sky and on earth by incredible supernatural characters, but as a description of the pursuit of the church by the forces of evil using mythological motifs familiar to 1 st century Christians. c) many interpreters attempt to identify most of the action as symbolic, yet pick out the heavenly battle as a distinctly literal event describing the fall of Satan and his angels. d) even though Revelation is written in an apocalyptic style, rules of interpretation cannot be totally disregarded, unless the interpreter believes there is no truth to the text itself except what the reader believes it to be. 4. Conclusions A. The biblical authors are not as concerned about telling us about Satan as they are about God salvation is not through avoiding the devil but trusting in God. B. Satan is not God s equal opposite but a part of the created order attempting to pass himself off as god (a poser ) to credit him with God-like power that he does not possess is to fall prey to his deception.
C. We do not know who he is, how he came to be, what his plans and goals are, or if he believes his fate as described in scripture but we can be assured he cannot defeat our God nor pluck us out of the hand of our Lord (Jn 10:28). D. The Christian cannot say, the devil made me do it, but I did it myself (just like the devil). E. Just because we keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus does not mean we are immune from the forces of evil, but may be impacted by them. F. While the devil is a formidable enemy, he can be resisted, repelled, rebuked, restrained, rebuffed, repudiated, renounced, rejected and reviled by all believers in Christ.