History of Satan

History of Satan – Who is he?
Satan is often caricatured as a red-horned, trident-raising cartoon villain; no wonder people question the history of Satan. His existence, however, is not based on fantasy. It’s verified in the same book that narrates Jesus’ life and death (Genesis 3:1-16, Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11).

Christians believe Satan acts as leader of the fallen angels. These demons, existing in the invisible spirit realm yet affecting our physical world, rebelled against God, but are ultimately under His control. Satan masquerades as an “angel of light,” deceiving humans just as he deceived Eve in the beginning (Genesis 3).

Jesus Himself testified of Satan’s existence. During His ministry, He personally faced temptation from the devil (Matthew 4:1-11), cast out demons possessing people (Luke 8:27-33), and defeated the evil one and his legion of demon angels at the cross. Christ also helped us understand the ongoing, spiritual war between God and Satan, good and evil (Isaiah 14:12-15; Luke 10:17-20).

With Jesus Christ on our side, we need not fear Satan’s limited power (Hebrew 2:14-15). We ought to be wise, however, in resisting his tactics:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

History of Satan - What is his place now?
Throughout the history of Satan, evil has been his identity because he is directly opposite God’s character. God’s holy standard found in the Bible exposes evil. If not relying on its truth, we can easily error:

• One error is denying Satan’s existence
• Another mistake is fearfully focusing on Satan rather than on Christ Jesus who overcame him
• Others outright worship Satan, preferring the darkness of evil rather than light that reveals sin (John 3:19; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

History of Satan - Satan’s seduction versus reality
In our scientific, rational age, spiritual beliefs are scorned as myth. Satan, however, doesn’t mind those who rebuff the reality of fallen angels or demons. By masking himself, he can tempt and deceive people without blame. The wise will never forget that Satan and demons, determined to deceive humans, are fighting real battles and wars against heavenly angels.

Satan compels or entices his prey to follow him whether they realize it or not. Maybe they are simply ignorant and confused. Many would rather believe human theory than obey divine revelation and natural law. Whether blind, bound, or brazenly willing, they join Satan for a doomed destiny. They condemn themselves to eternity in hell.

While Satan is more powerful than we humans, God doesn’t leave us defenseless (Ephesians 6:10-11). At the Lord’s rebuke, Satan and his demons shudder and flee (James 2:19; Jude 1:9). When Jesus Christ died, He overcame them (Colossians 2:15). Only in the authority of Jesus does anyone have power to stand against the devil. Those saved from sin by Jesus’ death on the cross are protected; those who are not saved from Satan’s power perish with him (John 3:16; 1 Peter 5:8-10).

Who will you spend eternity with? Have you accepted the fact that you are a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross and rose again?