You may have heard the expression, “You’ve got to give the Devil his due.” When that is said, it probably means different things to different people. Mark Twain said it meant, “Something can be said for the devil, seeing as how he has managed to influence about 99% of all the people on earth.” Mr. Clemens (Mark Twain) was telling us that Satan should be credited for all the evil and sin in this world. There’s no debate there!
There are many questions about the Devil that come up now and then, not the least of which is: Where did he come from? We, of course, have to go to the sacred Scriptures for the answer to that question. We may determine that Satan was a part of creation since God created all things by the Lord Jesus including all the host of heaven (Nehemiah 9:6; Colossians 1:15-17). He would be of the order of angelic, spirit beings. There are three kinds of beings: divine beings; angelic, spirit beings; and human beings. Satan is not divine since he is subject to God (Job 1:12). He is not human since he was able to come into the presence of God when the sons of God presented themselves before God. Further evidence that Satan is not human is seen in the fact that he engaged in a slanderous dialogue with God regarding Job (Job 1:6-12). From this we may ascertain that he was of the angelic order of beings.
The Scripture tells us that “…God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell…” (2 Peter 2:4). Jesus described hell as “…everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Evidently, Satan was one of those angels who sinned. It has been said by some that Satan, by his own volition due to his pride, chose to rebel against God. He would have been among those who did not keep their own proper domain (did not stay within their own position of authority, ESV) according to the sixth verse of the powerful letter of Jude. This transgression could be viewed as neglect, rebellion or both. Punishment of sin is certain, and the angels who sinned were an example of that certainty.
How is Satan described in God’s Word? This is another good question. He is not the scary-looking character in a red suit with horns and a pitch fork. He is the essence of evil. He is identified as the prince and the god of this world (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4). He is also described as the tempter, the enemy, the evil one, our adversary, the deceiver, the old dragon, a murderer and the father of lies (Matthew 4:5, 13:39, 38; 1 John 5:18-19; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9; 12:3; John 8:44).
How does he work? He deceives, he blinds the minds of men, he lies, he snatches away the Word, he enters the hearts of men, he hinders the faithful in their spiritual work and he even impersonates an angel of light (1 Peter 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10; John 8:44; Genesis 3:4; Matthew 13:19; John 13:2; Acts 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 2 Corinthians 11:14).
How do we deal with Satan? We must resist him (James 4:7). Peter advises, “be sober (of a serious and sound mind; self-controlled), be watchful (wary, vigilant)” (1 Peter 5:8). We must rest assured that we will not be tempted beyond that which we are able to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). We must also put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). This is vital that we may be able to stand against the schemes of Satan, else he might “sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31).
