The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

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[See posts #1, #2, and #3 on Satan: The Destroyer]

In this post, we continue our examination of 1 Peter 5:6-9:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

Prowling, roaring, ravaging

Peter depicts Satan as a prowling, roaring, and voracious lion, seeking “anyone he can devour.” First, he prowls around (peripateo – to make one’s way; to make due use of opportunities). This harkens back to Job 1:7 and 2:2, in which the Lord asks the satan where he has come from. “From roaming through the earth,” the adversary replies, “and walking around on it.” According to Marvin Vincent, the word peripateo gave identity to a sect of Greek philosophers known as Peripatetics, who walked around while teaching or disputing.  Satan is the consummate Peripatetic – always on the move, and always looking for a fight.

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