9 Satan, Sin, and Evil. Sydney H. T. Page
SYDNEY H. T. PAGE
How should the presence of evil in our world be understood? Can it be explained simply on the basis of immanent factors, or does it have a transcendent dimension? In addition to the evil wrought by people and what is sometimes called “natural” evil, the Bible speaks of supernatural perpetrators of evil. Chief among these is Satan, who is referred to as “the Evil One” a dozen times in the New Testament.1 He appears as the epitome of evil in the pages of Scripture, but he does not stand alone. Allied with him are many other evil spirits who share his nature and do his bidding.2 In this essay, we will look at the biblical teaching concerning Satan’s relationship to sin and evil.
Satan: A Created Being
Evil has not always existed, nor has the Evil One. Scripture clearly represents Satan as being on the creature side of the Creator/creature distinction. The most explicit biblical teaching on this is found in Colossians 1:15–20. In verses 15–16 we read: “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”
This text affirms that Jesus was the agent through whom God created all things, including things that are “in heaven and on earth,” both “visible and invisible.” Clearly both of these expressions were intended to be all-inclusive. Moreover, the things “in heaven” in the first phrase correspond to the “invisible” things in the second, and the things “on earth” correspond to the “visible” things. The invisible things in heaven are those that are not subject to examination by our five senses but are nonetheless real. Good and evil spirits fall into this category.3
Paul demonstrates that he has spirits specifically in view when he adds that the created things include “thrones,” “powers,” “rulers,” and “authorities.” These terms refer to supernatural forces, at least some of which are evil. Ephesians 3:10 and 6:12 inform us that these powers inhabit the heavenly realms. Although Satan is not specifically mentioned in any of these texts, there can be little doubt that Paul believed that Satan was one of the heavenly beings that God created.4
Satan: A Fallen Being
Not only does Scripture present Satan as a created being, but also it presents him as a fallen being. Some think that we have references to the fall of Satan in Isaiah 14:12–15 and Ezekiel 28:12–19.5 This is unlikely; however, that Satan fell is a good and necessary inference from the fact that Satan is a created being. The first chapter of Genesis makes clear that God’s original creation was good, but Satan is undeniably evil. The natural inference is that, like human beings, Satan was created good but fell from that original state. But the fall of Satan is not just a matter of logical inference. We have a probable reference to it in 1 Timothy 3:1–7. Verse 6 warns against appointing a new convert to leadership, lest he “become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.” This text indicates that the Devil has done something deserving of punishment. It also suggests that his sin was the sin of pride, for that was the danger confronting the recent converts.6
The activity of the Serpent in the garden of Eden has implications for our understanding of Satan’s fall as well. Although Eve’s tempter is consistently referred to as a serpent, and there is no direct reference to Satan in Genesis 3, it is commonly believed that the Serpent was an instrument through which the Devil worked. Indeed, this understanding is reflected in John 8:44, Romans 16:20, and Revelation 12:9 and 20:2. If it is legitimate to detect the influence of the Devil behind the Serpent, then Satan’s fall must have preceded the fall of humankind. There is compelling evidence that Satan is a fallen being, but it is unlikely that the Bible describes his fall, and it would be wise to avoid speculation about it.7
Satan’s Roles
Satan’s involvement in sin and evil is depicted in three related but distinct ways in Scripture. He is portrayed as (1) a tempter, who seeks to entice people into sin, (2) a deceiver, who promotes error, and (3) an afflicter, who torments people in a variety of ways.
Satan as Tempter
When we think about the relationship between the Devil and evil, it is probably his role in temptation that comes immediately to mind. One of the works of the Devil is that he seeks to entice people into moral evil.8
Sex. Although Satan is portrayed as a tempter in Scripture, it is surprising how rarely he is mentioned in connection with the ethical teaching addressed to God’s people. In only a handful of cases are believers warned that the Devil is behind the temptations they encounter. The earliest example of this is probably in 1 Corinthians 7:5, where Paul was dealing with self-control in the sexual realm. In the context, he was responding to a tendency to extreme asceticism in the Corinthian congregation. It appears that some had a very low view of sex and were even promoting sexual abstinence for married couples. Paul saw this as a dangerous practice and set out guidelines to control it. Once an agreed-upon period of sexual abstinence had come to an end, he advised couples: “Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” His concern was that by abstaining from normal sexual relations with their spouses, the Corinthian ascetics were giving Satan an opportunity to tempt them to illicit sexual activity, perhaps with prostitutes (see 1 Cor. 6:15–16).
In 1 Timothy 5:14–15, we find a passage similar in character to 1 Corinthians 7:1–7 addressed specifically to widows. There Paul writes, “So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.” Like 1 Corinthians 7, this passage deals with a situation in which the Devil could take advantage of vulnerability in the sexual sphere.
Since the preceding context refers to young widows whose sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ (1 Tim. 5:11), it is likely that Paul was concerned that young widows who attempted to lead a celibate life were putting themselves at risk. Though it might appear noble to refrain from contracting a second marriage, it would be better for them to remarry. Because they had neglected to do so, Paul says, some had already turned away to follow Satan. Paul does not say explicitly what these women had done to merit such strong criticism, but it may be that their desire for sexual intimacy had become so intense that they had formed relationships with unbelievers and had abandoned the faith.9
Note that in both 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy, Satan is presented as one who is ready to exploit human weakness in the sexual realm, but in neither is he seen as one who forces people into sexual misbehavior. Indeed, in both instances, Paul suggests that Satan’s efforts could be stymied by taking appropriate preventative measures.
Unwillingness to forgive. In addition to being mentioned in connection with sexual temptation, Satan is mentioned in connection with the temptation to withhold forgiveness. This issue is addressed in 2 Corinthians 2:5–11, where Paul encourages the Corinthians to forgive a repentant sinner. In verses 10–11 he writes, “And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” Paul appears to be dealing with a situation in which a Christian had done something so seriously wrong that the church had found it necessary to discipline him.10 The individual had, however, repented of his sin, and now the question was whether the congregation would accept him back into their fellowship. Paul indicates that he has forgiven the individual, and he implores the Corinthians to do so as well. He reinforces his appeal with the warning that failure to forgive the brother would give Satan a victory, perhaps by plunging the offender into a state of despair from which he would not recover.
Anger. There is one more situation in which Paul attributes a specific temptation to Satan, and it relates to uncontrolled anger. In Ephesians 4:26–27, Paul writes: “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Paul suggests that if believers fail to handle anger properly, then the Devil will exploit that failure to their harm and to the harm of the community of which they are part. Note that there are over thirty exhortations in chapters 4 to 6 of Ephesians, but this is the only one that specifically mentions the role played by the Devil in temptation. It is unclear why the Devil is mentioned in Ephesians 4:26–27 and not in connection with the other exhortations in Ephesians, but this certainly suggests that the biblical writers did not think it necessary to attribute all moral evil to the Devil. In fact, James reminds us that the source of temptation can come from within, when he writes, “each one is tempted when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15). Whatever role Satan plays in temptation does not diminish the responsibility of the individual for his behavior.
Satan as Deceiver
One of the activities attributed to Satan in Scripture is temptation, but this is only one of the works of the Devil. The Bible also portrays him as a deceiver. In John 8:44, Jesus describes him as “a liar and the father of lies.” One of his strategies is to delude people and thus lead them astray.
The father of lies. Jesus’ description of the Devil as “a liar and the father of lies” appears in a dispute between Jesus and some of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. The controversy centered on the extravagant claims that Jesus made about himself, beginning with his statement, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The leaders rejected Jesus’ claims about himself and were hostile toward him. They professed to belong to God, but Jesus saw in their opposition to him evidence that their profession was false. Because they would not believe him, he pronounced this searing judgment upon them: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (v. 44).
The notion that Satan was a murderer and a liar from the beginning goes back to the story of Eve and the Serpent in Genesis 3. The account of the fall implies that Satan is a murderer, that it was through the Serpent that death came into the world. It was at the Serpent’s instigation that Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and thus death was introduced into the human experience.
The Genesis account also implies that Satan is a liar, since it was through misrepresenting the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit that the Serpent convinced Eve to eat it.11 The Serpent denied what God had said and assured Eve that she would not die if she ate the fruit. The Serpent’s modus operandi was to make what was detrimental appear harmless and even beneficial. Later, when trying to excuse her sin, Eve said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:13).
In John 8, Satan’s deceptiveness is seen in the way that he keeps the religious leaders from recognizing who Jesus really is. Jesus says that the consequence of such unbelief is that they will die in their sins (v. 24). This shows us that one of the works of the Devil is to hinder people from placing their faith in Jesus and thus enjoying eternal life. Jesus also made this point in the well-known parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1–23; Mark 4:1–20; Luke 8:4–15).
The parable of the sower. In this parable, Jesus offers an explanation for the diverse responses to him and his message. In the story, some of the seed that is sown falls on the path and is eaten by birds. In his interpretation of the parable Jesus says, “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12). Though he does not attribute all human unbelief to the Devil, Jesus suggests that the Devil plays a role in keeping people from faith.
Blinding the minds of unbelievers. Paul makes a similar point in 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 when he writes, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Like Jesus, Paul found that some did not respond positively to his preaching. He traced this not to some defect in the message or in how it had been presented but to a defect in the hearers. They had been blinded by the master deceiver, whom he here calls “the god of this age.”12 They were being kept from seeing the truth and therefore were among those who were perishing rather than those who were being saved (2 Cor. 1:15).13 No doubt there are a number of factors that account for why many who hear the gospel do not become Christ followers, but Scripture identifies the Devil as one of them.
In describing the world as being under the sway of the Devil, the biblical writers did not, of course, intend to suggest that all unbelievers have deliberately chosen to give their allegiance to him. On the contrary, those Jesus saw as victims of satanic deception typically saw themselves as people who already belonged to God and were not in need of salvation. It was precisely their sense of contentment with the status quo that was the problem. Note that it was the religious leaders in Jerusalem, not the prostitutes or tax collectors, whom Jesus described as children of the Devil. Spiritual blindness is often manifest in the delusion of self-sufficiency, and it is those who do not acknowledge their need of divine grace who thereby reveal that they are the children of the Devil.
False apostles. The Bible teaches that Satan plays a role in keeping unbelievers in darkness, but he is also represented as being behind the distortions of the truth that lead believers astray. In 2 Corinthians 11 the apostle Paul warns his readers about their vulnerability to false teaching, saying, “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (v. 3). Later in the chapter, he describes the people who were promoting the deceptive teaching when he writes, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (vv. 13–15). Here the errant are identified as servants of Satan who, like him, robe themselves in a cloak of goodness in order to dupe the unwary.
It is vital to observe that Paul is here referring to professing Christians who presented themselves as representatives of Christ. They claimed to be “apostles of Christ,” but in Paul’s view they were “false apostles” (v. 13). There has been a great deal of debate about the identity of the false apostles in 2 Corinthians.14 It is clear, however, that they were highly critical of Paul and that what they taught was at variance with his teaching. Paul claims that, although they preached about Christ, they preached “a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached” (11:4). They apparently boasted of the visions they received (v. 1) and the miracles they performed (v. 12), promoting a form of triumphalism that emphasized their credentials and accomplishments to the neglect of self-denial and sacrificial service.
The connection that Paul draws between the false apostles and Satan is a sobering reminder that the followers of Christ need to practice discernment and, as 1 John 4:1 says, “test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”15
Extreme asceticism. Paul detected the influence of the Devil on his Corinthian opponents, who appear to have preached a gospel that had no room for suffering and self-discipline, but he also believed that Satan played a role in the error of those who promoted extreme asceticism. In 1 Timothy 4:1–2 we read, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” Here we see another instance of satanic deceptiveness. There is, of course, no reason to think that the teachers would have agreed that their teaching had a demonic source, but it was Paul’s judgment that they were misled and were misleading others.16
Of particular interest here is the substance of the teaching concerning which Paul was warning Timothy. In 1 Timothy 4:3 Paul says, “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods.” Since both of these prohibitions relate to the body, it is likely that the teachers had embraced a form of dualism that denigrated what was material as unspiritual. This led to an extreme asceticism that included abstinence from sexual relationships and observation of strict dietary regulations.17
In response to this error, Paul appeals to the doctrine of creation. These false teachers, who prided themselves in their knowledge of the Old Testament, had overlooked one of its most basic claims, namely, that “everything God created is good” (1 Tim. 4:4). The doctrine of creation strikes at the heart of dualistic thinking. It affirms that the material creation must be inherently good, since it was made by a good God, who, according to the opening chapter of Genesis, pronounced it good.
In addition to appealing to creation, Paul states that “nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4–5). Here the apostle appears to be appealing to the common practice of giving thanks at meals. When people ask God’s blessing on the food they eat, they acknowledge that it is a gift of God. How can anyone condemn people for eating that for which they quite properly have given thanks?
The accuser of our brothers. One of Satan’s ploys as a deceiver is to bring unwarranted accusations against the people of God. In Revelation 12:10 he is referred to as “the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night.” He adopts the role of a prosecuting attorney who stands before the divine judge to argue that believers are unworthy of God’s grace and deserve nothing but punishment. Note that it is “our brothers,” members of the Christian community, who are the objects of his accusations.
The accuser in Job. The concept of Satan as an accuser goes back to what is probably the earliest reference to him in Scripture. The first explicit mention of Satan is in the prologue of the book of Job. Here Satan appears with other angelic beings before God in heaven. God calls his attention to his faithful servant Job, saying, “There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (1:8). Satan, however, does not share God’s favorable impression of Job and suggests that his piety is motivated by self-interest. He apparently can find nothing objectionable in Job’s behavior, so he questions his motives. He then proposes a test to determine whether his assessment of Job is correct. “But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has,” says Satan, “and he will surely curse you to your face” (v. 11).
God agrees to permit the testing of Job, with the proviso that Job is not to be harmed physically. As a result, Job suffers a series of devastating losses. Within a day he loses his wealth and his family, but Satan’s cynicism concerning him proves to be unfounded. Rather than turn his back on God, Job declares:
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised. (v. 21)
Even though Job passed his test, Satan refuses to acknowledge defeat, and in the second chapter of Job he proposes a second test, saying, “A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face” (vv. 4–5). God agrees to permit Job to be tested yet again, and again Job persists in remaining loyal to God.
The interactions between God and Satan in the prologue of Job clearly represent Satan as an accuser. In the case of Job, Satan’s accusations have no basis, but Satan refuses to acknowledge this. Even when Job passes the initial test that he proposes, Satan continues to charge him with impure motives.
The accuser in Zechariah 3:1–2. Satan is also seen in the role of accuser in Zechariah 3:1–2. The third chapter of Zechariah consists of a description of a vision the prophet had around 520 BC, shortly after the return of the Jews to Judah following the Babylonian exile. The prophet writes, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, ‘The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?’”
Zechariah 3:1 specifically indicates that the reason Satan was present was so that he might accuse Joshua. Curiously, the accusations he intended to bring against Joshua are not stated. He is silenced before he has an opportunity to voice them, so we never hear what they are. Presumably, he wanted to expose the complicity of the priesthood in the apostasy of Judah that led to the exile. He could well have charged that the priests had become so corrupt that they did not deserve to officiate at the rebuilt temple. Whereas in Job the accusations of Satan are groundless, in this situation there was good reason to think the priests should be disqualified from serving in the temple. Nevertheless, God was favorably disposed towards Joshua and Jerusalem. Although Satan wanted to see the priests and their people punished, God was determined to be gracious toward them.
Satan as Afflicter
As we have seen, Satan appears as an accuser who brings unfounded charges against Job in the prologue of the book of that bears his name. But he is much more than an accuser; he is also a tormentor who afflicts Job with a variety of misfortunes. It is to that aspect of his work that we turn now.
Job the righteous sufferer. The first test of Job’s integrity that Satan proposes involves taking what he has from him. He loses his oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, servants, and children. In the second test, God allows Satan the freedom to attack Job’s person but forbids him to take Job’s life. In consequence, Job is afflicted with painful sores from head to toe, and he ends up sitting among the ashes, scraping himself with a piece of broken pottery. Having already lost his possessions and his children, he now loses his health.
The first two chapters of Job make it abundantly clear that Job’s sufferings were not punishment for any religious or ethical failing on his part. On the contrary, he was a person of unusual piety and moral integrity; in fact, it was precisely for that reason that God called Satan’s attention to him. One of the primary lessons that the book of Job teaches is that there is not a direct correlation between one’s behavior and one’s fortunes.18 The bulk of the book consists of a running dialogue between Job and four friends who have come to comfort him in his distress. Job’s friends all operate with the assumption that people get what they deserve in this life, but they are woefully mistaken. Their simplistic theology of divine retribution, in which suffering is invariably understood to be a sign of God’s displeasure, is horribly wrong.
Job is an outstanding example of someone whose sufferings are not due to disobedience on his part, but he is not alone. The biblical narratives are filled with accounts of individuals who experienced undeserved suffering, most notably Jesus.
Although suffering need not be punishment for a particular sin, there is a sense in which all suffering is due to sin. The Bible begins and ends with pictures of a world without suffering. The early chapters of Genesis describe the world before the entrance of sin. God declares that his creation is good, and the first humans are portrayed as enjoying an idyllic existence in the garden of Eden. The closing chapters of the book of Revelation describe the new heaven and the new earth that God has prepared for his people. There we read, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:4). The way the Bible portrays our original state and our final destiny shows that suffering is not an essential aspect of human life.
The book of Job is clear in its insistence that Job’s sufferings were not a divine punishment for sins that he had committed. It is, however, more ambiguous about who was responsible for his tribulations. Satan suggests that if Job is to suffer loss, then God will have to strike him. In Job 1:11 Satan says to God, “But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” On the other hand, the account of the second test portrays Satan as the one who afflicts Job. Job 2:7 says that after receiving God’s permission, “Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.” Who then is responsible for Job’s afflictions—God or Satan?19
The prologue of Job certainly attributes Job’s afflictions to Satan and also suggests that his purposes in afflicting Job are malicious. It does not, however, demand that one choose between God and Satan. The entire narrative presupposes that God is sovereign and that Satan is under his control. The narrator of the prologue of Job obviously understands Job’s troubles as being, in some sense, due to God’s will. God is, after all, the one who decides to allow Satan to torment Job. However, when we seek to explore how God is involved in human suffering, we enter an area that is both difficult and dangerous. It is difficult because it has to do with the mysterious ways of God, and it is dangerous because one must be careful not to compromise the biblical teaching concerning either God’s sovereignty or his goodness.20
The book of Job teaches that God is ultimately in control of all that happens, evil as well as good, but this is not to say that he has the same relationship to both.21 God may be seen as the giver of good, in that good comes directly from him and expresses his loving nature. He is behind the evil that humans experience as well, but here his loving character is obscured. The author of Job expresses this distinction by portraying God as one who gives permission that Job suffer, rather than afflicting him directly, and by portraying Satan as one who acts out of malice, whereas God mercifully sets limits on the harm he can inflict.
This does not, of course, help us to understand why a good God allows bad things to happen, especially to those who are undeserving of punishment. In fact, neither the book of Job nor any other book in the Bible attempts to do so. As far as Job is concerned, when he finally has the confrontation with God that he desires, he learns nothing new about the reasons for his suffering. Rather, God reminds Job of the great gulf between the Creator and the creature. He shows Job his wisdom and might as displayed in creation and reminds Job of his own weakness and limitations. Essentially, he reveals to Job that only one who is his equal can judge whether he is governing the world properly, and Job is far from being his equal. Job’s response is to acknowledge that God does not owe him an explanation for his actions, but he owes God his reverent obedience nonetheless.22
One of the ways Satan afflicts Job is through physical illness, probably a severe case of boils. Job 2:7 says that Satan “afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.” Job is not the only person to become the object of such a satanic attack in the Bible. In Luke 13:10–17, we find the story of Jesus’ healing a woman whose condition is attributed to Satan.
The woman Satan had bound. Luke tells us that Jesus was teaching in a synagogue one Sabbath when he noticed a woman who was severely crippled. He informs us that she had suffered from this condition for eighteen years and “was bent over and could not straighten up at all” (13:11). This description suggests that the woman was suffering from ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that affects the joints of the spine. This is a chronic disease in which the sacroiliac and vertebral bones can fuse or grow together so that the spine becomes rigid and inflexible.
Jesus called the woman to him and told her that she was set free from her infirmity. Immediately after he laid his hands on her, she was able to straighten up. The synagogue ruler objected because Jesus had performed this miracle on the Sabbath. In reply Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (vv. 15–16). Our interest here is in how Jesus describes the woman’s condition, namely, as being bound by Satan. Like the ox or donkey in his illustration, she had been tied up until he set her free, and the one who had tied her up was the Devil.
This is the only place in the Gospels where Jesus specifically attributes an illness to Satan, and Luke is the only evangelist who records it. It appears that Luke saw the woman’s malady as an example of the havoc Satan has wrought in God’s good creation. Did Luke think that the Devil had singled this woman out for this attack, as he had singled out Job? Probably not. It is more likely that he believed that the Devil was behind this and all illness in a more general way. This finds support in the only other text in his writings that draws a connection between disease and the Devil. In Acts 10:38, he records a fascinating statement made by the apostle Peter. Peter summarizes the earthly ministry of Jesus by reminding his hearers of “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” Note that Peter describes those who benefited from Jesus’ healing ministry as being “under the power of the devil.”
Since this statement is found in a summary of Jesus’ healing ministry, Peter cannot have been thinking only of special cases in which individuals were the personal objects of satanic attack. Nor can he have had in view only those who were demon possessed. He was referring to all whom Jesus had healed. Regardless of the nature of their affliction or its etiology in the natural realm, they were victims of the malice of the Devil. Peter seems to have believed that all illness had a satanic dimension.
Scripture suggests that one way Satan afflicts people is through taking away their health. Satan also appears in Scripture as one who stands behind the persecution of the faithful. In fact, the Gospels indicate that this was one of the ways in which the Devil attacked Jesus himself.
Opposition to Jesus. All the evangelists speak of how Jesus was hated and mistreated when he was on the earth. In the fourth Gospel, the hostility that was directed against Jesus is traced back to the Devil.
In John 8:37 and 40, Jesus says that some of the religious leaders in Jerusalem were out to kill him, and in verse 44 he tells them, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.” Jesus saw the hostility of his human enemies as an expression of the same cruel intent that motivated the Serpent in the garden of Eden.
The betrayal of Jesus by Judas plays a vital role in Jesus’ passion, and both Luke and John portray Judas as an instrument of the Devil. Luke tells us that prior to the celebration of the Last Supper, Satan entered Judas, and as a result, he contacted the chief priests to discuss how he might betray Jesus (22:3–4). In his account of the supper, John mentions that Satan had prompted Judas to betray Jesus (13:2) and says that Satan entered Judas when he took a piece of bread from Jesus (v. 27). Given the heinous nature of the betrayal of Jesus, it is hardly surprising that Luke and John believed that the Devil was directly involved in it.
John is unique among the Gospels in the way it portrays the involvement of Satan in Jesus’ death. In addition to indicating that it was Satan who incited Judas to betray Jesus, it informs us that in his Farewell Discourses on the eve of his arrest, Jesus told his disciples that he was about to confront Satan. In John 14:30–31 Jesus says, “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”23 The fourth evangelist makes it clear that the crucifixion of Jesus was not due solely to the betrayal of Judas, the plotting of the religious authorities, and the miscarriage of Roman justice. Behind all of these was the sinister work of Satan.
Opposition to the followers of Jesus. Jesus warned his disciples that they, like he, would be the objects of satanic attack. In Luke’s account of the Last Supper, he records that Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (22:31–32). Note that even though Jesus is addressing Simon personally, he tells him that both he and his fellow disciples will be sifted by Satan. The “you” in verse 31 is plural in the original, indicating that Peter is not the only one that Satan intends to sift. Note also that, as in the prologue of Job, he has to ask God’s permission to attack the disciples.
There is also a reference to satanic attack on the disciples in the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John’s Gospel. In John 17:15 Jesus prays for his followers, saying, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” Like Jesus, they would face satanically inspired hostility and would need divine protection.
Opposition to the early Christian movement. Satan was behind not only the persecution faced by Jesus and his original disciples but also the persecution that the early church encountered. In 1 Thessalonians 3:5 Paul writes, “For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.” What sort of temptation did Paul have in mind here? The preceding context shows that Paul was thinking of the temptation to abandon the faith because of persecution.24
Peter, as well as Paul, represents the Devil as the instigator of the persecution faced by the early Christian communities. In 1 Peter 5:8–9 he tells the beleaguered Christians in northern Asia Minor, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” No doubt Peter believed that it was the Devil’s goal to destroy the faith of believers by prompting unbelievers to malign and mistreat them.
Although both Paul and Peter allude to Satan’s role in the persecution of the church, it is John, the author of Revelation, who develops this theme most fully. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3, he identifies the Devil as the source of persecution in Smyrna and Pergamum. In the letter to Smyrna he writes, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10). Some of the believers in Smyrna were going to be imprisoned for their faith, and John suggests that those who would imprison them would be acting on the orders of the Devil.
John implies that the Devil was behind the persecution of Christians in Pergamum as well. John describes this city as the place “where Satan has his throne.” He then adds, “Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives” (v. 13). Here we see that Pergamum already had one martyr, a believer named Antipas, and that there could well be more.
In Revelation 12–13 John returns to the idea that Satan is the instigator of persecution. Chapter 12 begins by describing a vision of a woman who is about to give birth and a fearsome red dragon who stands ready to devour her child. The woman bears a male child who is destined to rule all the nations on earth. The child is caught up to God, where the dragon cannot reach him, and the woman flees to the desert for protection from him. Then the scene shifts to a war in heaven, in which Michael and his angels contend against the dragon and his angels. The dragon is defeated and thrown down to earth, where he pursues the woman and her offspring. When his initial attempt to kill the woman fails, he goes off to attack the rest of her offspring, who are identified as “those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (v. 17).
The language in Revelation 12 is obviously symbolic, and scholars differ over the interpretation of some of the details. Nevertheless, the main ideas John is trying to convey are quite clear. There can be no doubt that the child is Christ and the dragon is the Devil. The vision describes Christ’s coming to earth and the Devil’s hostility toward him. Christ’s entrance into the world precipitates a great battle in heaven, the result of which is Satan’s defeat. Having been conquered in the heavenly realm, Satan directs his venom against God’s people on earth. Here John is showing his readers that, even though Christ’s coming has resulted in the Devil’s being vanquished, he is still active, and his rage is now directed at “those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Christians must expect to come under satanic attack and to be persecuted.25
Chapter 13 continues to deal with the theme of the persecution of the church. It describes a fierce beast that emerges from the sea. The beast is empowered by the dragon and, among other things, is “given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them” (v. 7). A second beast emerges from the land. The primary function of this beast, which is later identified as “the false prophet,” is to incite people to worship the first beast.
It is most probable that the original readers of Revelation would have thought of the Roman Empire when they read of the beast from the sea, and of the worship of the emperor when they read of the beast from the land. John’s visions reminded them that the Devil was at work in the opposition they faced from a hostile Roman state and from anti-Christian religion in the form of the imperial cult.26
In Revelation 16 we have a vision in which God sends seven angels to pour out seven bowls of his wrath on the earth. When the sixth bowl is poured out, three evil spirits emerge from the mouths of the dragon, the beast from the sea, and the beast from the land, now called the false prophet. These spirits go out to gather the rulers of the various nations for one final onslaught against the church, the battle of Armageddon (vv. 12–16). John returns to the battle of Armageddon in 19:19–21 and 20:7–10. The outcome of the battle is that the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet suffer a crushing defeat and are thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. However, before they are conquered, they gather the rulers of earth and induce them to attack God’s people. With his description of how history will end, John shows his readers that persecution will continue and, in fact, intensify before Christ returns.
The Defeat of Evil
We have seen that the Bible affirms that there is a transcendent dimension to evil. There is an Evil One who wreaks havoc in our world, and he does so by seeking to entice people into disobedience, by blinding them to the truth and leading them into error, and by afflicting them with all kinds of hardships and adversity. Nevertheless, the Bible does not promote a spirit of defeatism. Though it takes evil with full seriousness, it also claims that evil shall not prevail because the forces behind it have been, are being, and will be defeated.
Satan’s Past Defeat
Scripture speaks of the conquest of Satan in a variety of ways. It has past, present, and future aspects, but it is the first of these that is most prominent in the New Testament. Repeatedly the New Testament writers express their confidence that Christ has conquered Satan and his minions so that he is now a defeated foe from whom believers have nothing to dread.
Hebrews 2:14–15. No text gives clearer expression to the idea that Jesus defeated Satan through his incarnation and death than Hebrews 2:14–15. Here we read, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”27 The notion that Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for the salvation of sinful human beings is a familiar one and is clearly taught in Scripture. Less familiar is the idea expressed in this text, namely, that Jesus became man and gave his life in order to defeat Satan; yet this is an equally important truth. These two understandings of the significance of the incarnation and atonement are not contradictory but complementary. In fact, we might say that the salvation of human beings and the defeat of Satan are inextricably tied together.28 Because of Christ’s death on the cross, the Devil has lost his power over believers, and he is no longer able to keep them captive to the fear of death.
John 12:31–33. There is a text that is very similar to Hebrews 2:14–15 in the Fourth Gospel. John 12:31–32 records that Jesus said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”29 These words were spoken shortly after Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and have reference to his upcoming death. The prince of this world is obviously the Devil (cf. 14:30 and 16:11), and Jesus is declaring that he is about to suffer a crushing defeat and be “driven out.” He connects the reversal that the Devil will suffer with his own being lifted up and drawing people to himself. Interestingly, the verb used here frequently refers to the expulsion of demons from those who were demon possessed.30 Jesus appears to be saying that the Devil is about to suffer the same fate as his underlings. Jesus will expel him, just as he had expelled them, and Satan will lose his power over those who had been his subjects.31
John alludes to Satan’s fate again in 16:22, but there he says that the Devil “stands condemned,” using a different figure of speech from that in 12:31. The language of condemnation suggests that the Devil has been tried and found guilty. The trial is over, and the judge’s decision is in. The only thing that remains is the execution of the sentence.32
Colossians 2:15. Oddly enough, the apostle Paul nowhere refers explicitly to the death of Jesus as a victory over Satan. He uses the imagery of conflict and victory when reflecting on the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but he speaks of conflict with and victory over evil powers (in the plural). The key text in this connection is Colossians 2:15, where he writes, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”33 Paul maintains that through the cross, Christ won such a great victory over the powers of darkness that they were disarmed. In other words, they lost their power over believers. He further states that Christ has triumphed over them, using a verb that described the victory parade that would be held when a victorious Roman general returned to Rome. Paul alludes to this practice to create an unforgettable picture of how complete Christ’s victory on the cross was. Already his enemies, including the Devil, have suffered the humiliation of being paraded as trophies of war.
Immediately before this reference to cosmic conquest, Paul says that God “forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross” (vv. 13–14). Paul obviously saw a close connection between the defeat of the evil powers, mentioned in verse 15, and the fact that the guilty verdict we deserve and its accompanying punishment have been annulled through the cross, mentioned in verse 14.
In a memorable analogy, biblical theologian Oscar Cullmann compared the victory Jesus won over Satan on the cross to D-Day in the Second World War.34 D-Day was the decisive battle in the war. Victory Day was still almost a year away, but the landing at Normandy marked the critical turning point in the war. In a similar way, the pivotal battle with the Devil took place in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. There, Satan was decisively defeated. He continues to fight, but he is fighting in a losing cause, and the final outcome is not in doubt.
Satan’s Present Defeat
The Bible not only claims that Christ vanquished Satan on the cross; it also claims that the Devil repeatedly experiences defeat in the period between the advents. Scripture contends that the followers of Christ have the ability to rout the Evil One and that they will, in fact, do so.
Romans 16:20. Of particular interest in this connection is a brief text near the end of the book of Romans. As he brings his letter to a close, Paul writes, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (16:20). Writing decades after the crucifixion, Paul says that Satan is about to be overcome. Obviously, he is not referring to the victory Jesus won over Satan on the cross. Furthermore, he does not say that the Devil will be subdued by Christ but by Christians. The feet that will crush Satan belong to the Roman believers.
The picture of Satan’s being crushed under someone’s feet is undoubtedly drawn from Genesis 3:15, where we read in the curse pronounced on the Serpent that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the offspring of the Serpent. Paul suggests that this promise would be fulfilled in the victories that the Roman Christians would achieve in their battles with Satan. Presumably, he believed that such victories were possible only because of the prior victory of Christ, but his emphasis in Romans 16 is not on that victory in the past but on the victories his brothers and sisters in Rome would enjoy in the present.35
James 4:7 and 1 Peter 5:9. Two texts in the New Testament urge Christians to resist the Devil. In James 4:7, we read, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This has a close parallel in 1 Peter 5:9. After describing the Devil as a roaring lion, Peter says, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
James and Peter take it for granted that Satan will assault believers. Resistance would not be necessary if one never came under attack. The type of attack Peter had in mind consisted primarily of persecution, with the accompanying temptation to apostasy. The context in James suggests that he was thinking of temptation more broadly, but especially temptations associated with selfishness and pride.
The command to resist the Devil implies that believers will be able to stand their ground. In fact, James attaches a promise to the command, assuring his readers that if they do resist the Devil, the Devil will flee from them. The idea that believers can put the Devil to flight encourages besieged Christians to face their adversary with confidence, knowing that they can and will prevail.
Paul encourages the same attitude in his discussion of the armor of God. He even uses the very word that James and Peter use to refer to resistance, though this is not obvious in our English translations. The verb translated “resist” in James and 1 Peter also appears in Ephesians 6:13, but there it is translated “stand your ground” in the sentence, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.”
Overcoming the Evil One in 1 John. The idea that Satan is being defeated in the lives of Christians in the present age is especially prominent in 1 John. John teaches that when people become believers, they win a victory over the Devil. In 1 John 1:14 he refers to young men who “have overcome the evil one.” Presumably he believed that this victory had been achieved when they came to faith and turned “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18).36
It is because of that initial victory that Christians have reason to believe that further victories are possible. In 1 John 5:18 we read, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.” John is not claiming here that Jesus will keep believers from committing acts of sin; in fact, 1 John 1:10 says that those who claim to have no sin make God out to be a liar. However, he does contend that believers are not held in bondage to sin by Satan. It is normal for unbelievers to sin, for “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (5:19), but the Devil does not control the followers of Jesus.
Satan’s Future Defeat
Although Jesus won a decisive victory over the Devil at Calvary, the Devil continues to wage war against the saints. There is coming a time, however, when the full impact of Christ’s victory will be realized, and the Evil One will meet his final doom.
Matthew 25:41. Jesus makes a brief allusion to the ultimate fate of the Devil in his parable about the sheep and the goats. In this parable he says that the Son of Man will divide people into two groups when he comes in his glory. Some will be welcomed into the Father’s kingdom, but to others he will say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Here we learn that God has prepared a place of punishment for Satan and his allies, and it is just a matter of time before they are consigned to it.
Revelation 20:7–10. The most familiar biblical passage referring to the ultimate fate of the Devil is unquestionably Revelation 20:7–10, and it paints a similar picture to Matthew 25:41. This passage describes a final, climactic battle at the end of human history. Satan is temporarily given freedom to deceive the nations and marshals a huge army to attack the people of God. The satanically inspired hordes march upon Jerusalem and surround it. Then we read, “But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:9–10).
There are differences of interpretation about the events that lead up to Satan’s final defeat, but Revelation clearly states that the defeat itself will be sudden and complete.37 Moreover, the Devil’s final condemnation is absolutely certain. The Devil will in the end be punished, and his punishment will be severe and permanent. Note that the final victory over the Devil will be the result not of human resistance but of divine intervention. Though believers can expect to win victories over their great adversary in this life, only God can eradicate the influence of the Devil from the earth and mete out the punishment he deserves, and he will do so at the second coming. Revelation 20:7–10 contains the last reference to Satan in Scripture, and it is very appropriate that the last word concerning the Evil One is that his final and most ferocious attack will be unsuccessful and will result in his condemnation and punishment.
Knowing that the Devil’s doom is certain, believers can face with perseverance and hopefulness the challenges of life in a world where his evil influence is all too evident, looking forward with eager anticipation to that day when his influence will finally come to an end and evil will be no more.
Conclusion
Every time we open a newspaper and watch the nightly news on television, we are bombarded with evidence of the terrible presence of evil in our world. According to the Christian Scriptures, evil ought not to be attributed to factors within the natural realm alone. It also has a supernatural dimension. The Devil and his angels have a part to play in the evil we encounter, whether it takes the form of incitement to immorality, promulgation of error, or so-called natural evil.
Although Satan is the supremely Evil One, and his powers are great, Scripture is careful to maintain that he is a created being and is subordinate to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.38 Moreover, his work does not relieve human beings of responsibility for their decisions and actions, nor is it incompatible with the presence of immanent causes of evil. John, for instance, had no qualms about attributing in Revelation 2:10 the incarceration of believers by their human adversaries to their great adversary.
The followers of Christ have an enemy who is variously described as “the prince of this world,” “the god of this age,” and “the ruler of the kingdom of the air”; however, his power is circumscribed and temporary. As Martin Luther reminds us so well in his great hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,”
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
1 Matt. 5:37; 6:13; 13:19, 38; John 17:15; Eph. 6:16; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 John 2:13, 14; 3:12; 5:18, 19. Unless otherwise indicated, biblical quotations in this chapter are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
2 The expression “evil spirit” occurs thirty-six times in the 1984 edition of the NIV. It is found in Judges 9:23; 1 Sam. 16:14, 15, 16, 23; 18:10; 19:9; Matt. 10:1; 12:43; Mark 1:23, 26, 27; 3:11, 30; 5:2, 8, 13; 6:7; 7:25; 9:25; Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 7:21; 8:2, 29; 9:42; 11:24; Acts 5:16; 8:7; 19:12, 13, 15, 16; Rev. 16:13; 18:2. Most of the NT texts in this list use an adjective that means “unclean” or “impure” (akathartos) rather than the normal adjective for “evil” (ponēros), and the 2011 edition of the NIV has “impure spirit” in these cases. The 2011 edition of the NIV uses “evil spirit” only in 1 Sam. 16:14, 15, 16, 23; 18:10; 19:9; Luke 7:21; 8:2; Acts 19:12, 13, 15, 16. Of course, many other terms are used of evil spirits, most notably “demons” (daimōn and daimonion).
3 The creation of angels is also alluded to in Ps. 148:1–6 and Rom. 8:38–39, and Job 38:4–7 refers to angels’ being present when God created the earth.
4 A close connection between the Devil and these powers is evident in Eph. 6:11–12. Verse 11 says that Christians do combat with the Devil, but verse 12 refers to their adversaries as “rulers,” “authorities,” “powers of this dark world,” and “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
5 I have discussed this issue briefly in Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1995), 37–42. For a more thorough treatment of Isa. 14:12–15, including some discussion of Ezek. 28:12–19, see John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, JSOTSup 265 (Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 166–84.
6 2 Pet. 2:4 and Jude 6 (cf. 1 Pet. 3:19) refer explicitly to a fall of angels, but Satan is not mentioned in these texts, and there is good reason to think that they refer to a fall subsequent to the fall of Satan. Cf. Thomas Wolthuis, “Jude and Jewish Traditions,” CTJ 22 (1987): 21–45, especially 24–27.
7 John Calvin helpfully reminds us not to be too inquisitive about matters concerning which Scripture is silent, in Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, Library of Christian Classics, 20–21 (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960), 1.14.16.
8 The first explicit reference to Satan as a tempter is probably in 1 Chron. 21:1, “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.” However, the interpretation of this text is problematic. See, e.g., Ryan E. Stokes, “The Devil Made David Do It . . . Or Did He? The Nature, Identity, and Literary Origins of the Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1,” JBL 128 (2009): 91–106.
9 See William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 290–92, 297, 299.
10 Older commentators generally assumed that Paul was referring to the man who, according to 1 Cor. 5:1–5, was involved in an incestuous relationship with his stepmother. More recent commentators have tended to reject the connection with 1 Corinthians 5 in favor of the view that 2 Cor. 2:5–11 alludes to someone who had attacked Paul personally. For a presentation of the case for the modern consensus, see V. P. Furnish, II Corinthians, AB 32A (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984), 164–68. For a defense of the traditional view, see David R. Hall, The Unity of the Corinthian Correspondence, JSNTSup 251 (London: T & T Clark, 2003), 223–35.
11 Chapter 16 of the Greek recension of the pseudepigraphal work “The Life of Adam and Eve” records a conversation between the Devil and the Serpent. In verse 5 the Devil says to the Serpent, “Do not fear; only become my vessel, and I will speak a word through your mouth by which you will be able to deceive him [Adam].” M. D. Johnson, “Life of Adam and Eve,” in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985), 2:277.
12 It is striking that Paul calls the Devil “the god of this age,” since in 1 Cor. 8:4, he writes, “We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and there is no God but one.” Obviously he does not think that Satan has the right to be called “God,” but people have made him their god.
13 Paul also refers to the Devil’s influence over unbelievers in Eph. 2:2, where he describes the Devil as “the ruler of the realm of the air, of the spirit that is now at work in those who are disobedient.” For a defense of this translation, see Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians, WBC 42 (Dallas: Word, 1990), 95–97.
14 For an overview of the various views concerning Paul’s opponents in 2 Corinthians, see Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 67–87.
15 Other passages that encourage critical evaluation of what purports to be a message from God include Deut. 13:1–5; 18:20–22; Jer. 23:16–22; 27:9–10; 29:8–9; Matt. 7:15–20; 24:23–24; Mark 13:21–23; Luke 17:23; 21:8; and 1 Cor. 14:29.
16 Cf. 2 Tim. 2:25–26, where Paul refers to some who had fallen prey to Satan’s deceptions. He writes, “Those who oppose him [the Lord’s servant] he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” James 3:15; 1 John 4:1–3; and Rev. 2:24 also refer to satanically inspired teaching designed to lead believers astray.
17 This has notable similarities to the asceticism Paul contends against in 1 Corinthians 7 and Col. 2:16–23. Cf. P. H. Towner, “Gnosis and Realized Eschatology in Ephesus (of the Pastoral Epistles) and the Corinthian Enthusiasm,” JSNT 31 (1987): 95–124.
18 Robert Alden says, “One purpose of the book, like the lament psalms and Ecclesiastes, was to address this matter of exceptions to the general principle of just rewards.” Job, NAC 11 (Nashville: Broadman, 2001), 40.
19 Job’s afflictions are, of course, also attributed to human adversaries and natural phenomena. The Sabeans and Chaldeans carried off his children and camels, and a mighty wind brought down the house in which his children were feasting and killed them.
20 On this issue, see John M. Frame, “The Problem of Evil,” in Suffering and the Goodness of God, ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, Theology in Community 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 141–64, especially 157–64.
21 The clearest statement that God is responsible for both good and evil is in Isa. 45:7, where God says,
I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.
See also Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6–7; Lam. 3:38; and Amos 3:6.
22 Cf. Martin A. Shields, “Malevolent or Mysterious? God’s Character in the Book of Job,” TynBul 61 (2010): 255–70. On the mysterious nature of God’s will, see also Deut. 29:29; Ps. 36:6; and Rom. 11:33–34.
23 See also John 12:31 and 16:11.
24 Cf. Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, PNTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 164–65.
25 Cf. Jerry L. Sumney, “The Dragon Has Been Defeated—Revelation 12,” RevExp 98 (2001): 98–113.
26 Cf. Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, New Testament Theology (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 35–39.
27 This is the translation in the 2011 edition of the NIV. The 1984 edition translated the verb in verse 14 (katargeō) as “destroy,” but “break the power of” is a more accurate rendering.
28 On the biblical teaching concerning the cross as the means through which Satan was defeated, see John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), 227–51.
29 On this text, see Judith L. Kovacs, “‘Now Shall the Ruler of This World Be Driven Out’: Jesus’ Death as Cosmic Battle in John 12:20–36,” JBL 114 (1995): 227–47.
30 This verb (ekballō) is so used in Matt. 7:22; 8:16, 31; 9:33, 34; 10:1, 8; 12:24, 26, 27, 28; 17:19; Mark 1:34, 39; 3:15, 22, 23; 6:13; 7:26; 9:18, 28, 38; and Luke 9:40, 49; 11:14, 15, 18, 19, 20; 13:32.
31 Although the imagery is different in Rev. 12:8–9, the vision of Satan’s being thrown out of heaven after being defeated by Michael and his angels probably refers to the same victory over Satan as John 12:31. The picture of Satan’s being chained and thrown into the Abyss in Rev. 20:1–3 may refer to this as well, though this is much more controversial. For a defense of the view that the visions in Revelation 12 and 20 refer to the same events, see G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 992–95.
32 Whereas John suggests that the crucial battle between Jesus and the Devil took place at Calvary, the other evangelists focus on an earlier confrontation between the two, namely, the temptation in the desert that followed Jesus’ baptism. Cf. Matt. 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; and Luke 4:1–13.
33 Other texts that refer to Christ’s defeat of the evil powers or their submission to him include 1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:20–21; Phil. 2:9–10; Col. 2:10; and 1 Pet. 3:19, 22.
34 Oscar Cullmann, Christ and Time: A Primitive Christian Conception of Time and History, trans. F. V. Filson, rev. ed. (London: SCM, 1951), 84.
35 A similar promise of victory over the Devil is found in 2 Thess. 3:3, where we read, “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” Compare Jesus’ words to the seventy-two disciples in Luke 10:19, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
36 Christians are frequently portrayed as overcomers in the book of Revelation. See Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 15:2; and 21:7. The verb translated “overcome” (nikaō) appears twenty-eight times in the New Testament. Six of these occurrences are in 1 John, and seventeen are in the book of Revelation.
37 Compare 2 Thess. 2:8, which says that Christ will overthrow the man of lawlessness (generally understood to be the Antichrist) suddenly and completely when he returns. See also 1 Cor. 15:23–24.
38 I have explored this theme in “Satan: God’s Servant,” JETS 50 (2007): 449–65.