Bible Question: If God is the creator of all why would he create Satan? Why would Stan believe (knowing God is his creator) that he could be victorious over God? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Bump! Although he has persuaded many people in our modern world that he doesn't even exist, Satan very definitely is a real, personal being, the fountainhead of all unbelief and of every kind of moral and spiritual evil in the world. He is called by various names in the Bible, including Satan (meaning "adversary" - Job 1:6, Romans 16:20), the devil (i.e. "slanderer" - Matthew 4:1, 1 Peter 5:8), Lucifer (KJV, Isaiah 14:12), the serpent (2 Corinthians 11:3, Revelation 12:9), and many others. To the Christian, the existence of Satan as a real person is proved by the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ recognized him as such (Luke 10:18, Matthew 4:10) and called him "the prince of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). The Apostle Paul called him the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). The Apostle John said "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19) and that he is the one "who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). To answer your first question, God did not originally create Satan as an evil being. God had created an "innumerable company of angels" (Hebrews 12:22), a heavenly host of spiritual beings of great strength and intelligence. The highest of these beings are the cherubim, who are attendants at the very throne of God, and the "anointed cherub who covers" that throne was originally Satan himself (Ezekiel 28:14). Satan was created as being "full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." However, the angels were not created as 'unthinking machines,' and at least at some point, they were given the capacity of being able to reject God's will. Satan was among the rebellious angels that did just that - and attempted to become like God by revolting against Him (Isaiah 14:13). The root of all sin, in both man and angels, is the twin sin of unbelief and pride - the refusal to submit to God's will as revealed by His own Word and the accompanying assertion of self-sufficiency which enthrones the creature and his own will in the place of God. Nothing drives a creature farther away from God than does his own will and want of self-rule. To answer your second question, "Why would Satan believe that he can still win?".. Once Satan was cast out of heaven and his place of authority (Ezekiel 28:18, Luke 10:18), his power and influence became completely perverted once he was cast away from the presence of God (Isaiah 14:12,16-17), even though he still retained access to God's presence in heaven (Job 1:6-12; Zechariah 3:1,2). Satan knows his destiny (Revelation 20:3; Matthew 25:41). Revelation 12:12 tells us that Satan knows that his time is short. So why does he keep lying, deceiving and leading all of God's creation astray? The answer is that the nature of Satan has completely changed from being "full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" (Ezekiel 28:12) to being "clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword, who go down to the stones of the pit like a trampled corpse" (Isaiah 14:19). Now away from the presence of God and cut off from Him forever, Satan ever prowls the earth like a "roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is ever "roaming about on the earth and walking around on it" (Job 1:7), seeking to exploit each and every weakness of men and women to lead them astray (Job 1:10)! Apart from the presence of God, Satan only knows how to devour, and his entire being can only be ruination for all creation. He is irrevocably "the father of lies" (John 8:44) with no hope of reconciliation with God - his ultimate end has already been recorded in scripture to leave no doubt of where he is headed (Matthew 25:41). Satan can now only be a liar, deceiver, and devourer of humankind. Now being apart from the power, love and influence of God, there is truly no hope of changing the nature of Satan back to what it once was - he is irrevocably changed forever. There is truly no hope whatsoever for Satan and those who follow him - absolutely none. It is not that Satan cannot chose to turn from his ways - he simply has no desire whatsoever to do so, and he will gladly rule in hell instead of being a servant to the Most High God in heaven. He cannot choose any other path - Satan is the absolute "Zero", the absolute polar extremity that can never, ever be reconciled in any way, shape or form with God. And his entire being radiates that hurt, that pain, that enormity, that wretched perversity of the reality of a being that has been and is entirely cut-off from God's incredible love forever. Apart from the presence of God, noone can hope to be saved. But at least we who live have a chance to be reconciled to God, while we still live and breathe. "For whosoever believeth in Him will not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Blessings to you, Makarios |