Tagged: Satan
The devil and his details
The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.
Let’s close this part of our study on Satan with a short summary of his diabolical activities and his ultimate destiny as recorded in the New Testament. Specifically, note seven key contrasts between what Satan does and what eventually becomes of him.
First, Satan binds, then he is bound. After Jesus heals a woman that an evil spirit has disabled, he explains to the synagogue leader who objects to the Sabbath-day miracle, “Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for eighteen years – shouldn’t she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16). Other Scriptures speak of those in bondage to sin (John 8:34; Acts 8:23) or taken captive by Satan to do his will (2 Tim. 2:26).
Ultimately, however, the evil one finds himself bound in the abyss. Revelation 20 records an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seizes “the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan,” and binds him for a thousand years (vv. 1-2). Then, Satan is “released from his prison” for a time, only to be cast into the lake of fire forever (vv. 7, 10).
Continue reading Satan: three curious cases of slander
The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.
Let’s briefly examine three biblical events that illustrate Satan’s slanderous nature.
Case No. 1: Job 1:6 – 2:10
Satan (literally the satan) appears with the sons of God before the Lord. The sons of God are members of the divine council, an assembly of created spirit beings to whom the Lord has endowed authority for governing of the universe. The satan shows up as well, although it seems he may not be a member of the divine council. Rather than consult with God, as council members do, he reports to God he has been “roaming through the earth … and walking around on it” (Job 1:7). You might say he relishes the role of divine ambulance chaser.
“Have you considered my servant Job?” says the Lord. “No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil” (1:8).
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” asks the accuser. “Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face” (1:9-11).
Continue reading The names “Satan” and “Devil”
The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.
Social-media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram have made slander a quick and easy blood sport for anyone with a smart phone or an Internet connection. American singer-songwriter Lizzo found herself on the receiving end of a defamation suit after tweeting the name, workplace, and photo of a food delivery person she claimed stole her food.
Billionaire Elon Musk engaged in an online spat with a British diver who helped rescue twelve boys and their coach from a cave in Thailand. Musk called the hero a “pedo guy” and allegedly referred to him as a “child rapist” in an off-the-record email to a journalist. The result of Musk’s accusations? You guessed it: a lawsuit.
And hip-hop star The Game chose to rant about his children’s former nanny to the rapper’s one million Instagram followers. In reply, the babysitter sued for an unspecified amount of money, claiming loss of employment, inability to work in her chosen field, and depression.
And so it goes. Despite ramped-up filtering efforts by social-media platforms, a subscriber’s flash of anger, or a simmering grudge, becomes public fodder in a matter of seconds. Equally troubling, the consequences of these viral accusations may be difficult, if not impossible, to arrest until they’ve run their course.
How did people become so adept at slander? Practice. And a supernatural role model.
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Satan as the dragon – conclusion
The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.
Read parts one, two, and three of “Satan as the dragon.”
The dragon and the beast from the earth (Rev. 13:11-18)
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And it makes everyone — small and great, rich and poor, free and slave — to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.
This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666 (emphasis added).
Revelation 13:11-18
We are now introduced to the second of two beasts: a beast from the earth, more often identified as the false prophet. He has two horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. Like the first beast, he is endowed with great authority and power, which he uses to compel people to worship the first beast while deceiving them with miraculous signs. He even gives life to an image of the first beast and causes those who refuse to worship the image to be killed. Finally, he restricts commerce so that only those who take a special mark on their right hands or foreheads, indicating their allegiance to the first beast, may buy and sell.
Continue reading Satan as the dragon – continued (3)
The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.
We continue our examination of the dragon in the Book of Revelation.
The dragon and the beast from the sea (Rev. 12:18 – 13:10)
The dragon stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names. The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?” (emphasis added).
Revelation 12:18 – 13:4
The word dragon in 12:18 does not appear in the Greek, so translators seek to identify the one standing on the sand of the sea either as “the dragon,” “he” (meaning the dragon), or “I” (referring to John). In any case, John sees a frightening beast rise out of the sea in Revelation 13:1-10. In verses 11-18, he sees a second beast rise from the earth. The dragon empowers both beasts. This is explicitly stated of the first beast and implied with respect to the second beast.
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