Who is Satan?

We've all encountered the name at some point, even from our childhood. It's incredibly famous, notorious, featured in Hollywood films, woven into folklore, celebrated in modern music, used as a metaphor, unknowingly revered by some, yet essentially a name linked with unrighteousness and the embodiment of the most potent form of evil. Undoubtedly, he is the spiritual antagonist on the global stage today. Other names associated with Satan include: The Devil, Prince of this world, Beelzebub, son of dawn, Adversary, Lucifer, father of lies, Lord of flies, Prince of darkness, and an Angel of light.

There's a well-known saying that the Devil's greatest trick was convincing the world he doesn't exist, but what does this truly imply? How can one persuade the world of non-existence when their name is as renowned as Albert Einstein's? In essence, the popularity of something and the question of its existence are entirely separate matters, with the name Santa Claus serving as evidence of this. People naturally enjoy fairy tales and entertainment; it's part of who we are, and we're willing to pay dearly for it. Satan desensitizes people's minds across all walks of life, working tirelessly to fill our thoughts with worldly desires, keeping us distant from God's word and ensuring our minds remain secular, which ultimately leads to spiritual bankruptcy.

The adversary has a deep understanding of the workings of the human mind and, regrettably, seems to know us better than we know ourselves. He acts as a puppet master, a tempter, an accuser, a manipulator, a murderer, but above all, he is a deceiver of men. His approach is stealthy; you will never anticipate his arrival. He prefers to quietly enter the back door of your life, and once he has wreaked havoc and chaos, he slips away without being noticed. Do you believe that having a comfortable life makes you immune to his influence? Or that by choosing not to believe in him, he isn't deceiving you or stealing your true identity? Are you unaware that your inheritance is life, and he's guiding you down a wide path toward death and destruction? If you think this article is complete nonsense, that's precisely what he wants you to believe, and therein lies his greatest deception.

*That he doesn’t exist*

He will check your path from time to time, keep an eye on you, and so long as you remain comfortably numb strolling through life half asleep adhering to worldly comforts and admiring your own status, he’s not gonna bother you too much as he has you exactly where he wants you - detached from the word of God, believing you don’t need a saviour or anything except yourself, knowing the name Jesus, but not really knowing the 'Real Jesus', living in your own subjective morality and living your best life now!

Satan is almost passive to the atheist and the atheist is little work for Satan. He has already marked you in the book of death. Im not only talking about atheists here, Im talking about those that are agnostic, spiritual but not grounded, new agers, those blindly practising false religions, and others who have a general metaphysical or esoteric outlook, those that travel the broad path in life.

This angel of light once revered in the heavens for his perfection and splendour [Ezekiel 28:14-18] now fallen from grace has been condemned into a fallen world. Driven by pride and a hatred for the living God, his stock in trade or ultimate ambition is to stand between mankind and his creator. He doesn’t want your eyes on the prize of the Lord.

As the living God desires you have life eternal through grace and salvation in an inexpressible eternity, by contrast, Satan strongly desires the exact opposite for you -

To spend an eternity out with the Love and presence of God

Lucifer who saw Gods new creation of man (made in Gods image) as lowly and somewhat diminished, hated the fact that God loved us , which must have stirred up a deep jealousy and rage in his being as God awarded man with dominion over the earth. He reckoned we were somewhat worthless and weak minded and deserved to be blotted out of all existence. God of course argues otherwise. The prince of darkness then sets about transferring his influence into the garden of Eden and subsequently corrupts Adam through Eve. [Genesis 3: 1-7] By one single lie, all of mankind falls into oblivion. And so, as this story unfolds and comes to a tumultuous climax, the book of Revelation reveals to us that the Lord is about to pull down the final curtain. Satan knows his time is short. Why God himself allows this entity to roam the earth causing havoc, is a truth beyond the comprehension of the secular, but for the elect it's a truth readily accepted although for some, never completely understood.

And so therefore our faith bridges that gap and Gods amazing grace rests gently on our soul.

But as God allows this carnage, he also puts limits on the licence he gives to Satan, otherwise he would tear us to pieces like a Lion devouring its prey. [1 Peter:5-8]

We see an example in book of [Job 1: 8-12]. Satan enters heaven along with the sons of God and has a discussion. God says: 'have you considered my servant Job who's upright and blameless'? Satan replies with; ‘haven’t you placed a hedge around him and his household and blessed the work of his hands. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face’. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person'. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.’

So God grants Satan a licence to wreak havoc in Jobs life with limitations not to kill him, in an attempt to get Job to curse God to his face! Satan does his worst, but Job praises and blesses God for all his troubles ! In all this we see the characters of God/Satan and Job, but ultimately God allows, or even ordains evil in a way for a higher and greater purpose. How else would Job have received such a stern test and prove his love for God? The Lord tests those he loves to the full. In the end of course God completely restores Job and Satan departs defeated. This fallen angel functions on a level beyond our understanding. If he can manifest in the heavens, converse with God, and hold the entire world in his grasp, then what kind of 'super power' are we dealing with? Naturally, he does not act alone; countless demons under his command disrupt and torment individuals constantly. So, is it true that everyone has a demon in their lives? Not at all, as many souls are inherently evil on their own, without any assistance from demonic forces.

So where is the battle?

With the atheist - the dark powers use ideologies in the world to desensitise and ensure the deceived don’t ever get a glimpse of the truth. If they do hear the truth, it usually sounds ridiculous or boring to them.

In the world of religion - the dark powers use deception to keep people practicing heresy and false doctrine. Popular world religions focus heavily on a system of works, deceiving the believer into believing they can attain their own Salvation. They bury them so deep in this false doctrine using fear and pride that it makes it almost impossible for them to escape.

The last battle is with Gods elect. Although a true Christian can never be shaken from their faith, Satan tortures Christians and preys on their fleshly weaknesses. The ultimate goal is to manifest a lie deep in their heart, that through their personal suffering/persecution God must be somewhat cruel, distant and silent and not worth the worship! But God has not left us to our own devices as he sends his Holy Spirit to strengthen us through his unconditional Love and grace.

The word of God and the mysteries in the spiritual realm are truly remarkable! The truth of the living God and his word seem almost insurmountable and the same can be said of the dark forces roaming the heavens and earth. It's so easy to push these spiritual things aside in ones mind, especially if you cant feel the effects in your own life. But this in itself doesn’t mean that these things don’t exist and are not ultimately true.

The Accuser operates on a spiritual plane far beyond human senses. Through logical analysis, it becomes evident that his most potent weapon against us is temptation, which leads to widespread deception. A lie initially presents itself as an idea to be considered, but when one accepts the lie, it transforms into deception, imprisoning the mind. We cannot escape this mental prison without the anointing of God.

Among Satan's arsenal are manipulation, accusation, and control through fear, but ultimately, it's deception with a capital D. I often ponder why our Lord permits such a powerful weapon because, frankly, if the Devil can deceive people into believing he doesn’t exist, it becomes easy to convince them that God doesn’t exist either - mission accomplished and job done ! This deception though has little traction with Christians as through the power of the Holy Spirit they cannot be deceived!

A time of reckoning is approaching when the soul will be separated from the body, and every knee will bow before Christ [Romans 14:11] A day of judgment and declaration at the Great White Throne will bring full understanding upon us. [Rev 20:11) The truth you consistently rejected in life, which held little interest, causing raised eyebrows at the mention of 'Jesus'. It won't necessarily concern what you did during your life, but rather what you didn’t do, or more precisely, what you chose to ignore. Then comes the sudden realization that you were deprived of the truth and deceived by Satan, and by then, it's far too late!

Trust me, atheist friends, you are not an accident or a product of cosmic debris. When you next watch a Netflix show about the Universe featuring an expert discussing evolution and estimating the universe's age, consider turning it off, canceling your subscription, and opening your Bible to Genesis 1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. Continue reading and allow the one who gave you life to fill your heart and mind with the word and the truth!

You're a beautiful creation made in the image of the creator himself and he desires much more for you. (Jeremiah 29:11) There is no where in the scripture that states that God will vindicate you because you were deceived by the devil. But it does say clearly that if you put your faith and trust in Christ and repent for your sins, then God will pardon you. (Romans 10:17)

Alternatively, if you decide to disregard these warnings, you will spend eternity in the lake of fire, apart and away from God's love [Rev 21:8] with ample time to acknowledge Satan and his followers for their malevolent influence, lies, and deception throughout your life.

In Jesus name amen.