The Devil

In short

Satan (Job 1:6), the serpent (Gen 3:1), the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31), “the tempter” (1Th 3:5).

Why he is important

He is real.

The devil in the Bible

Revelation 12:9 nicely connects the three common terms: “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.”

It’s important to know that these are all the same being, because it is one of those things that we assume is true but rarely try to prove. And some people want to say that it’s all just figurative language for evil, and I strongly disagree – I think the Bible refers to the devil as a real being.

The words “devil” and “Satan” appear 88 times in the Bible*, overwhelmingly in the New Testament (70 times). In the Old testament, it’s only in Job, Zechariah and 1 Chronicles. But all of this misses entirely the many times when other terms are used (like serpent).

Let’s look at some key stories.

The serpent in the garden (Genesis 3)

1. Didn’t take long for him to appear!
2. Interesting about this serpent is that he talks and has legs apparently (Gen 3:14)
3. But we don’t get any introduction to him; it just jumps right in to “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made” (Gen 3:1)
4. This implies he is an ordinary procreated animal, but it doesn’t HAVE to mean that; it’s just saying that he is different from other animals (I have a point that I am setting up…)

Satan in the book of Job (Job 1-2)

1. Satan is in heaven (by implication) asking God to tempt Job (instead, God lets Satan do it)
2. Chronologically, this is probably the next story in the Bible involving the devil (Satan)
3. It is the only time we see the devil in heaven, except perhaps Revelation
4. I firmly believe that Satan is a spiritual being – and basically, it’s impossible for him to be anything but that, if he is in this scene (this was the point I was setting up)
5. It says, “there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them” (Job 1:6, cf 2:1)
6. This would imply that the “sons of God” in this context are spiritual beings
7. So… is Satan a “son of God” – in other words, a spiritual being in the same realm of the good ones?
8. OK, next example!

The devil tempts Jesus in the wilderness

1. In Matt 4:1-11 it’s “the devil”
2. In Mark 1:13, it’s “Satan” (I never noticed that before)
3. The devil knows scripture – and how to twist it
4. He does seem to have some real powers: in Luke 4:5, it says, “the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time”

Theology and doctrine

As I said, the New Testament is packed full of scriptures about the devil. A big theme of these scriptures is that he can be overcome by us and he has already been defeated by Christ. But we must also always “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pe 5:8).

ℹ Footnotes

* In the ESV.