Reflections on Satan: The Adversary

                                  by John P. Alexander

    I had a vague childhood notion of a good God, who was an old man with a white beard, and a bad god, who was a tall figure with a goatee and horns on his head, dressed in a red suit with a pitchfork in his hand.

    The good God was my Heavenly Father, and the bad god was Satan, or the devil.

    I saw Satan in cartoons, standing on the shoulders both of little children and of adults: coaxing people into doing things that they knew they were not supposed to do. When people succumbed to his coaxings, Satan was waiting in a fiery hell to mete out suffering by stabbing people with his pitchfork. He always had a wicked laugh.

    In this childhood notion, supported by the cartoons, Satan was always easily recognizable, and there always was a clear distinction between good and evil.

    As I grew older, and the clear lines between good and evil became blurred, I came to doubt whether there was indeed a being called Satan after all. The concept of the devil seemed to be used by many people as someone to be blamed when anything unpleasant happened.

    In my mind's eye, the tall figure in the red suit became a plump little boy in diapers with pointed ears and a barbed tail. He was more like a mischevious little lad with boyish charm: a li'l devil.

    In Sunday school, I heard of the devil as being the god of this world. (II Corinthians 4:4).

    In high school, I read Faust, and I believed that, in order for one to obtain worldly success, one had to make a covenant with Satan. The rock band, "The Rolling Stones," who were enormously successful, sang of the devil as being a worldly man of wealth and taste, who was smooth, charming, glamorous and lethal.

    In college, I read The Exorcist, and gained my first notion of the concept of demon possession. The idea that a malevolent spirit could invade a human soul and take-over a person's volition scared me senseless!

    When I went to prison, I witnessed behaviors firsthand that truly are evil, and a degradation which is totally devoid of glamor. Many people in the world of the 21st century had a similar epiphany of the reality of evil after September 11, 2001.

    While in prison, I believe I have literally and metaphorically encountered every demon in hell!

    My experience and religious training have led me to acknowledge that there is indeed a personification of organized evil; that this entity is malicious; that this entity is powerful; and that the destruction of human souls is the motive and mission of this being called Satan.

    I came to recognize Satan as the destroyer (John 10:10), and not as a ticket or means to worldly success.

    Before formally studying theology, I always thought that the devil made his first appearance in Scripture in the Garden of Eden. When our class studied the creation story in Genesis, my fellow students and I were amazed to discover that neither Satan nor the devil are mentioned in the story of Adam and Eve. The tempter is a serpent: and, while many people identify Satan as a snake, Scripture mentions neither the devil nor Satan in the fall of humankind as related in the Book of Genesis. (For that matter, an apple is not mentioned as the fruit which was eaten by Adam and Eve).

    Satan is mentioned (by name) in the Old Testament story of Job. His first appearance in this book occurs in the setting of the presence of God.  Satan (which is the translation of the Hebrew word meaning "adversary") is a member of the heavenly court, who patrols the Earth: going to and fro, looking for humans to accuse. Satan obtains leave from God to afflict the man named Job. (Job 2:1-6).

    Satan gives Job a hard time; but, in the end, Job's faith does not fail: and Job receives a happy issue out of all of his afflictions.

    Isaiah 14:12-15 is a passage which many people interpret to be a description of Satan.

    One night, I went to theology class and waited for an opportunity to show this passage to our mentor.

    There is a word in this passage which, in the King James Version, is translated "Lucifer", (another name for the devil). However, in theology class, we were studying the Revised Standard Version, and, in this text, the same word is translated "Day Star."

    When I confronted the mentor with this passage, I was blindsided by the discrepancy in translations. The teacher calmly told me that, when viewed in the historical context of when the passage was written, this was an oracle against King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon: a historical ruler in the ancient Middle East.

    There also is found in prophecy an oracle against the King of Tyre, which many people interpret to be the description of the fall of Satan: including his presence in the Garden of Eden. (Ezekiel 28:11-19).

    Since that time, I have had many of my earlier notions about Satan dispelled by thoughtful reflection on Scripture, using my reason and experience as guides.

    While it is true that the devil tempted Jesus by offering him all of the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow to him (Matthew 4:8-9), this temptation occurred before the resurrection.

    After Jesus rose from the dead, he stated:

            "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

                                                            Matthew 28:18.

Jesus defeated the devil by his passion, death and resurrection. Christian theology teaches that Jesus (not the devil) is Lord of all the Earth. (I Corinthian 12:3). Jesus himself called the devil the prince of this world. (John 14:30).

    Psalm 104 speaks of the leviathan (which was an ancient symbol of evil and chaos analogous to the great white shark in the motion-picture "Jaws") as being made by God for sport (v. 26). However, I do believe that God created the world for just ends. In other words, God does not use the devil to play sport with human beings, as some people conclude from reading the Book of Job. The reference in Psalm 104 is to an ancient sea creature, and not to the personification of evil.

    The devil is not a mischevious, impish creature; but is truly malicious!

    Further, although the devil is powerful, he is not equal in power to Jesus (I John 4:4b). Satan is a created being. Jesus is preexistent with the Father (John 1:1), the "express image of his person." (Hebrews 1:2-3).

    In the gospels, the demons immediately recognized Jesus, and were afraid of him. (Mark 1:23-27). The Book of James says the devils believe and tremble. (James 2:19).

    Jesus easily cast out demons, (which were thought to cause mental illness), sending an epileptic into a seizure from which he arose in a state of health and wholeness. (Mark 9:26-27).

    When God wants to deal with the devil, he sends the archangel Michael to fight Satan. Michael defeated the devil and threw him out of heaven.

(Revelation 12:7-9).

    The question posed is, How do we deal with the devil?

    Jesus gave his disciples authority over the devils. (Matthew 10:1, Luke 10:18-20). Jesus also gives authority to Christians to cast out devils (Mark 16:17). However, even Michael recognized Satan's power, and would not bring a railing accusation against him. (Jude 9).

    The disciples could not always cast out every devil or demon. (Mark 9:18, 28-29). In the Book of Acts, seven sons of a man named Sceva flippantly invoked the name of Jesus, and were assaulted by the man who was possessed with the demons. (Acts 19:13-16).

    Jesus told us not to resist evil. (Matthew 5:39). However, the Book of James tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee from us. (James 4:7). One of the epistles of Peter also exhorts us to resist the devil (I Peter 5:8-9).

    What are we to do then?

    This is a case where we have to use judgment and discernment, and practice situational ethics. (For another Biblical example of advice calling for situational ethics, see Proverbs 26:4-5).

    Jesus told Peter that Satan had desired to sift him like wheat (Luke 22:31-32); so the devil still is in the business of wreaking havoc on humans. However, Jesus also prayed that Peter's faith would not fail: and it didn't!

    Later, the apostle John told the members of his congregation that they had overcome the wicked one. (I John 2:13-14, 5:4).

    It also should be noted that there remains the reality of the concept of original sin. As humans, we often behave out of the motives of our own sinful nature; and many times, Satan is blamed when our own human weakness is at fault.

    I have learned that the key to dealing successfully with the threat of Satan is found in the Book of Revelation:

        "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of

        their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

                                                             Revelation 12:11,

    The power of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, coupled with the witness of our own encounters-with and experiences-of the risen Lord; when activated by a fearless stand against evil, will bring a victorious resolution to any assaults of the evil one.

    It works for me!

"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

May 13, 2004

Our Lady of Fatima