Ascribing equal power to God and Satan is called “Dualism.” “In theology, Dualism explains evil by assuming two original principles or beings, one good, the other evil. The doctrine of two primal causes, one good and the other evil, constantly warring with each other…” (McClintock and Strong). Conservative students of the Bible consistently acknowledge the supremacy of God and disavow the concept of dualism.
We must always remember, however, that Biblical religion is not a form of dualism like the religions of ancient Babylon and Persia. God’s word never presents a picture of two kingdoms (light and darkness; good and evil) with equal power! In the Bible we learn that Jehovah is without beginning and end and is all powerful forever. Satan has only such power as is relegated to him and is constantly subject to the control of Almighty God…(Butler, First Corinthians)
Jehovah God is the absolute Sovereign of all creation–including the devil. There is no religious dualism taught in the Bible. There is no Biblical doctrine of two eternal, coexisting deities, one evil and one good, engaged in a “showdown” for supremacy over human life. Such supernatural dualism is Zoroastrianism (Persian religion) and not Biblical. God alone is God. (Butler, Second Corinthians)
The Bible clearly does not teach any form of dualism despite any influence that some see from Persia in the Apocrypha. There is no hint of this view carried over into the New Testament. Satan is clearly pictured as inferior to God, not equal. (Murrell)
The very certainty of the Satan’s ultimate ruin and God’s final victory speak to the impossibility of dualism. “Here is a few words is the final rebuttal to that dualism that insists that there are two equally powerful forces in the universe, one infinitely good, the other infinitely evil, that decide the fates of man” (Fowler).
So first, it is important to distinguish between the natures and origins of God and Satan. God is eternal in nature and consequently had no beginning; God is the original cause of all that is. Satan, though is a created being and had a beginning; therefore, there exists a great disparity between the natures of the Creator and the created–under discussion here–Satan.
Though Satan is essentially an angel “gone bad,” and as such, he and his fellow band of renegade angels have powers that exceed those of mere mortals such as ourselves, Satan has limitations.
But the NT is sure of his limitations and defeat. His power is derivative (Lk. 4:6). He can exercise his activity only within the limits that God lays down (Jb. 1:12; 2:6; 1 Cor. 10:13; Rev. 20:2, 7). He may even be used to set forward the cause of right (1 Cor. 5:5; cf. 2 Cor. 12:7). Jesus saw a preliminary victory in the mission of the Seventy (Lk. 10:18). Our Lord thought of ‘eternal fire’ as ‘prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Mt. 25:41), and John sees this come to pass (Rev. 20:10). … The witness of the NT then is clear. Satan is a malignant reality, always hostile to God and to God’s people. But he has already been defeated in Christ’s life and death and resurrection, and this defeat will become obvious and complete in the end of the age. (Douglas)
Yet Satan’s attributes, impressive as they are, are not limitless. His power is subject to God’s restrictions (Job 1:12; Luke 4:6; 2 Thess 2:7-8). The reins of God on his activities are illustrated by Satan’s request to God for permission to afflict Job (Job 1:7-12). (Nelson’s)
In the New Testament delineation of Satan, his limitations are clearly set forth. He is superhuman, but not in any sense divine. His activities are cosmic, but not universal or transcendent. He is a created being. His power is definitely circumscribed. He is doomed to final destruction as a world-power. His entire career is that of a secondary and dependent being who is permitted a certain limited scope of power-a time-lease of activity (Luke 4:6). (ISBE)
The Biblical doctrine of Satan is not dualistic. Satan’s empire had a beginning, it will have a definite and permanent end. Satan is God’s great enemy in the cosmic sphere, but he is God’s creation, exists by divine will, and his power is relatively no more commensurate with God’s than that of men. Satan awaits his doom. (ISBE)
In conclusion, Scripture admits of only one God (Isaiah 45:5-6) and only concedes persons of that one Godhead possess the ability to know the mind or thoughts of mankind (Psalm 139:2; Jeremiah 17:10; Amos 4:13; Matthew 9:4; 12:25; Mark 2:8; John 2:24-25; Hebrews 4:13; Revelation 2:23). Satan himself acknowledged that his power was entrusted to him (though as a malignant angel he uses those powers for evil) by his Superior (God) (Luke 4:6). We have no biblical reason to suppose that Satan can read our minds; it would be strange were Satan able to read minds that he had not discerned from our Lord or one of his disciples that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ would be a hollow, short-lived victory. Satan operates primarily through temptation (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), and he cannot interfere with the freewill of humanity (1 Corinthians 10:13; Revelation 22:17).
Works Cited
Butler, Paul T. Studies in First Corinthians. Second Printing CD-ROM. Joplin: College P, 1992.
– – -. Studies in Second Corinthians. Second Printing CD-ROM. Joplin: College P, 1988.
Douglas, J. New Bible Dictionary. Second ed. Wheaton: Tyndale, 1982; CD-ROM. Bellingham: Logos, 1996.
Fowler, Harold. The Gospel of Matthew. Volume Two. CD-ROM. Joplin: College P, 1975.
International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (ISBE). CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1996.
McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 2000.
Murrell, Jerry. “Satan Working Supernaturally Today Refuted.” Satan: Diabolical Ruler of the World and Enemy of God and Man. Curtis A. Cates, ed. CD-ROM. Memphis: Memphis School of Preaching, 2002.
Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary. CD-ROM. Nashville: Nelson, 1986.
