Satan: Does He Exist?

 

by Loren Stacy

 

The heart of Christianity is belief in Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Christians also believe in one all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God. They believe that this God is completely good and holy and that if individuals let Him control their lives, He will bless them with reasonably good health, sufficient material goods, and eternal life.

Yet many good people suffer from physical ailments and poverty. Evil and unhappiness run unhindered around the world. How may we explain this situation?

The answer is, Satan! Not too many years back, no one questioned the presence and power of Satan. But as science advanced and "enlightenment" spread, Satan was demythologized and relegated to the realm of superstition, with God and other things religious.

Even modern Satanists deny that they worship the Devil as portrayed in the Bible. Magister Peter H. Gilmore, a priest in the Church of Satan, says this about the Prince of Darkness:

Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates. The reality behind Satan is simply the dark evolutionary force that permeates all of nature and provides the drive for survival and propagation inherent in all living things. Thus Satan is not a conscious entity to be worshipped, [but] rather a reservoir of power inside each human to be tapped at will. [1]

Still, the last of the Nine Satanic Statements, which open The Satanic Bible and provide a solid foundation for the Satanist, says, "Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He [has] kept it in business all these years." [2]

Few are aware of a personal devil. The question is, how can we resist evil effectively when we're unaware of the presence, power, and strategies of the author of evil?

 

Is He?

In our modern, science-oriented world, many deny the existence of Satan as well as any being in the realm of the supernatural. This might be expected of those who deny the existence of God, even of those theologians who pronounced God dead. But denial of Satan crosses an ever-widening spectrum of people.

Scientific proof. There seem to be three basic objections to the concept of a personal devil. The first is that such a concept cannot be proven scientifically. But this argument is also used to object to belief in a personal God. Therefore, it is inconsistent to use this argument against belief in Satan.

A demand for "scientific proof" of God or Satan shows an ignorance of the scientific method. "Scientific method, however it is defined, is related to measurement of phenomena and experimentation or repeated observation." [3]

Scientific "proof" may be presented for repeatable phenomena, but it is by no means the only proof.

There is no scientific proof, for example, that Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States. Science cannot prove that George Washington ever lived. But there is "legal-historical proof" that depends on oral and written testimony and exhibits. Such evidence is used to "prove" historical facts beyond any reasonable doubt. Oral and written testimony and exhibits (evidence) prove the presence and power of God and of Satan.

Man-made invention. Some offer a second objection: Satan is a man-made invention, something to explain away man's evil. But such a view ignores scriptural testimony and turns its back on present and historical reality.

For example, the March 1997 issue of Charisma featured a story about an annual festival that takes place every Labor Day in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. In September 1996, "10,000 'spiritual nomads' . . . from over 20 countries converged to rebel, blaspheme, and worship Satan." [4]

Co-equal with God. Finally, many theologians object to the doctrine of Satan because they see Satan being presented as co-equal and co-eternal with God. They object to such a dualistic view.

However, this is not the biblical presentation. The Bible shows a definite beginning and end to Satan's kingdom. Satan's power is always shown to be subject to God. While it is somewhat hard to understand, God is shown as allowing Satan to operate a little while until judgment comes.

 

The Evidence

Satan: Is he? Philosophical speculation demands belief in a personal devil. The universe around us provides evidence of a powerful, wise, and kind God. Yet in the midst of God's wonderful creation, ugliness, disharmony, folly, hatred, and death exist. How can we explain this puzzling dichotomy of happiness and sorrow, wisdom and folly, good and evil, life and death?

The very existence of such a dichotomy shows an opposition to God. If there is opposition, there must be an opposer. God wouldn't fight against Himself. There must be someone actively resisting the plan of God. Denis de Rougemont wrote:

But the devil, who is possessed with desire to imitate truth in twisting it, says to us, "I am nobody. What are you afraid of? Are you going to tremble before the nonexistent?" . . . Satan disappears in his successes and his triumph is his incognito. The proof that the devil exists, acts, and succeeds lies in the fact that the intelligent world does not believe in him any more. [5]

Human experience points to Satan's existence. Thousands worship him openly, and millions more pledge their allegiance to Satan through their actions. Did God's perfect creation slip to present levels of evil on its own?

The inerrant and infallible Bible must be the final authority. Biblical revelation demands recognition of Satan as a personal devil.

From beginning to end, Bible is filled with references to Satan. In the Old Testament (Job 1 and Zechariah 3), Satan is shown in direct conflict with God. The New Testament provides an even more complete picture.

Paul believed in Satan's existence (Ephesians 2:2), as well as John (1 John 5:19). In 1 John 3:8b, John said, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (NIV). One cannot be more specific than that.

Jesus believed in Satan's existence; He knew him intimately. Matthew 4:1-11 shows Satan himself tempting Jesus. Jesus' ministry was to undo what Satan was trying to do (John 12:31). Other passages - John 8:44 and 16:11 - make clear the conflict between Jesus and Satan.

In the desperate conflict Christ waged, in which He lost His life, was He mistaken? Was it really "the prince of this world" He had to face - a terrible supernatural being whose hate for God was as dark and deep as hell? Or was Christ deluded?

That He believed in a personal devil whose dominion He came to shatter; that He commanded demons to come out of their victims; that He was convinced that if He were to save man He must show up the Prince of Darkness in his true light and break his power over human hearts; that He really believed these things, no student of Scriptures would for a moment pretend to deny. [6]

 

What Is He Like?

Much can be learned about what Satan is like by considering his names and titles. In the Hebrew culture, names were descriptive of their owners.

Satan comes from a Hebrew word that means "opposer" or "adversary." Satan opposes God.

Devil comes from the Greek word diabolos, which means "one who slanders." Satan slanders God, Jesus, and Christians.

The old serpent brings to mind the craftiness, subtlety, and deceitful actions of the serpent described in Genesis 3 and 2 Corinthians 11:3.

The great dragon is Satan's title in Revelation 12, where he is seen leading his angels in war against the heavenly hosts.

Peter, a New Testament writer, describes him as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He pictures Satan as a man-eating beast.

John, another biblical writer, applies the term the evil one to Satan (1 John 5:18). Satan is evil. He is totally corrupt and wishes to corrupt as many as he can (v. 19).

The titles used for Satan connote rank and authority - attributes of personhood. In Revelation 9:l l, he is called destroyer. In Revelation 12:10, he is called the accuser. In Matthew 4:1-11, Satan is shown to be the tempter. Ephesians 2:2 calls him "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." He is also called the prince of this world (John 12:31), the prince of the devils (Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22), the prince of demons (Luke 11:15), and the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Other terms describing Satan include murderer (John 8:44), liar (John 8:44), sinner (1 John 3:8), and oppressor of the saints (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is a perverter and an imitator (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). He has perverted God's wonderful creation for a time, but his rebellion will fail. He would be as God and often imitates what is of God, but Satan's counterfeit is always perverted, ugly, and corrupt.

 

Conclusion

Satan: Is he? Human experience says, "Yes." Most important, the Bible says, "Yes!" He is the corrupt deceiver of men; he is the avowed enemy of all righteousness.

What is Satan like? He is a murderer, a liar, a sinner, an oppressor of Christians. Worse, he has tremendous power to imitate what is godly to corrupt it. He is able to appear as an "angel of light."

Because we have such a powerful and dedicated adversary, we must strive to learn all we can about how he thinks and operates, about his limitations, and, above all, about the overcoming power available to us through Him who "is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

 

References

A version of this article appeared in a past issue of the Bible Advocate magazine. For a free subscription, contact us at bibleadvocate@cog7.org. Loren Stacy is pastor of the Church of God (Seventh Day) in Lodi, CA.

 

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© 1997 General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day)