Satanology 101 (Part 2)
Satan is a personal being, the god of this world, and he is known as the devil. He deceives the whole world, disguising himself as an angel of light. He actively does evil in the world. These are discouraging truths, but there is more to the story. Satan has his limitations.
This is the second of a two-part series on Satanology 101. Click HERE to check out part one.
Satan can be successfully resisted.
Despite his astonishing power, God encourages us to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). No one can claim that they are ‘helpless’ to do what the devil suggests.
The direction to ‘resist’ is not given in isolation – we are told to do more than just resist. In the same passage, God directs us to ‘submit’ to God and ‘draw near’ to Him, while turning from sin. God says that He gives grace ‘to the humble.’
In other words, resisting the devil on our own won’t succeed. We need God’s help to resist – and He promises it to us, if we are also seeking Him, humbling ourselves, and rejecting sin.
Satan is under God’s control.
While Satan has immense power, he does not have full or absolute power. Even his power is under God’s control. The story of Job is an excellent illustration – Satan wants to destroy Job, but he must receive God’s permission first. God grants him permission, but that permission is limited. Satan is not allowed to completely ruin Job.
When Satan does evil, God gives him permission to do that evil. God never gives Satan full control. God limits Satan’s evil in the world and prevents him from carrying out all his diabolical plans.
God uses Satan to accomplish divine purposes.
The evil that Satan does in the world is used by God for ultimate good. While there is nothing good about the evil, God knows how to use wickedness for good. The story of Joseph is an excellent example of how God does this. Joseph’s brothers sell him into Egypt as a slave, but he is promoted to power and saves thousands of lives from a great famine. In the end, Josephs tells his brothers, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
Satan is already spiritually defeated, though he still has power.
Jesus was confident that ‘the ruler of this world is judged’ (John 16:11). Yes, Satan is already defeated. The perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate victory over the devil. If Jesus remained in the tomb, then Satan triumphed over God, and the world has no hope. Jesus’ resurrection proves that Satan is defeated.
Yet Satan’s power remains. Though defeated in the most important battle – the turning-point of the war – a mop-up operation continues. Satan’s defeated forces refuse to surrender. They still try to resist God, but resistance is futile. They already lost the most important battle, and the tide of war is against them. That is why we are confident that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).
Satan’s final abode will be eternal fire.
We sometimes think of hell as a place where Satan loves to be – a place where he can torment miserable humans, and his demons can enjoy a carnival of horror. This is not what the Bible teaches. It describes the lake of fire as created for the torment and ruin of the devil and his angels. They hate it and can’t stand the thought of it.
At the end of the world, Satan will be thrown into that place (Revelation 20:10). While it is true that “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15), it is also true that the ‘eternal fire’ was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
