A Theology of Satan Pt I

I suppose it's a good thing that I don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about the devil. If, to quote Verbal Kint, "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," then there are many equally convinced that he not only exists, but is infinitely fascinating. As usual, C.S. Lewis put it best,

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

Not unlike his fellow angels, however, Satan's appearance in the pages of Scripture is relatively rare. He makes his ominous debut in Genesis 3, along with sin and death, and then slithers away under the curtain of history. He doesn't appear again until out of seemingly nowhere he incites King David to take a census in Israel (1Ch.21:1), thus bringing God's judgment against the nation. Next we read of him in the opening chapters of Job, perhaps surprisingly, standing among the heavenly council of "the sons of God." And, not so suprisingly, we find him there attempting to arouse the judgment of God against his man. In Zechariah's brief vision we see the Accuser a second time in the presence of the Lord, justifying his biblical epithet, in denouncing Joshua, Israel's chief representative and mediator before God.

Of course there is the famous showdown in the Synoptic Gospels between the devil and Jesus, after which the tempter defeated leaves "until an opportune time." That would appear to have been the trying events of Christ's betrayal, (mis)trial and execution (Jn.13:2) - if not, perhaps, in the earlier manifestation of Peter's opposition to Jesus on his way to the cross (Mt.16:23). In any case, the unholy spirit continues his wiles in the early church, filling the heart of Ananias to lie to the Holy Spirit and to the church(Acts 5:3). After that, we don't see or hear from him until the Apocalypse of John, where the ancient serpant is described vividly as a great dragon, "who deceives the whole world." Finally, after much sound and fury, the old snake goes up in smoke - eternal, smoldering torment (Rev.20:10; cf. 14:11).

All told, in a book spanning thousands of years, hundreds of pages, and dozens of major characters, the Devil makes his appearance only 10 or so times. And in only a couple of these 'cameos' does he have more than a few lines. On the face it, his looks less like a lead role and more like a bit part. But of course his significance is major. Consider, for example, his many titles in Scripture: Belial, the Slanderer (i.e., the Devil), the Accuser (Heb. hasatan) and Adversary (Gk. satanas), the prince of the power of the air, the god of this age, the father of lies, the murderer, etc. In addition to his personal appearances there are of course numerous other references to him and his diabolical activity in Christ's teachings and the apostles', which we'll consider later.

To anticipate a bit where we're heading, we can briefly conclude with this summary:

Satan is man's ancient and terrible foe. And though he rarely shows himself, he is always at work, ensnaring men and women through deception and doubt, appealing to our fraility and flesh in order to lead us to our own ruin, incurring God's just condemnation against us - and all by our own hands! But in Jesus, man has won the war, even if, for now, the battle rages on...

Next we'll consider just how Satan's schemes work, what power and authority he has, and how Jesus liberates us from them.