Satan, or the devil, has been the subject of a multitude of books and discussions for thousands of years.  Some deny his existence, saying that he is merely a mythological figure.  Others seem obsessed with him, seeing him behind everything imaginable.

HE DOES EXIST

Satan is real.  He is not a figment of one's imagination or a mere symbol of evil; he has personal existence!  He had a beginning, he is at work now, but eventually he will be judged by God.  How do we know he exists?

Since it is our firm conviction that the Bible is a supernatural revelation from the true and living God, correct in everything it affirms, we can go to the Bible and see what it says about the devil and his plans.

The evangelist Billy Sunday was once asked, "Why do you believe the devil exists?"

He replied, "There are two reasons.  One, because the Bible says so, two, because I've done business with him."

THE CAREER OF SATAN

The career of Satan begins in the distant past.  God created a multitude of angels to do His bidding.  In the angelic rank there was one angel who was given the highest position, guardian to the Throne of the Most High.  His name was Lucifer.

Lucifer, Information about Lucifer is revealed to us in Ezekiel 28:11-19.  This passage is addressed to the prince of Tyre, a man who was vain because of the wealth he possessed and thought himself to be God.  While God is rebuking the prince of Tyre for his vanity, He introduces another character called the long of Tyre, the real motivator of the prince of Tyre.

     Again the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, "Thus says the Lord God, You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering... On the day that you were created they were prepared.  You were the anointed cherub who covers; and I placed you there.  You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you " (Ezek. 28:11-15).

 The king of Tyre is Lucifer.  He was perfect in all his ways, the highest ranking celestial being, the most beautiful and wise of all God's creation.

Lucifer, along with the other angels at this time, was in perfect harmony with God.  There was no rebellion.  There was not any dissent; there was only one will in the universe, the will of God.  Everything was beautiful and harmonious.

The fall of Lucifer Everything was harmonious until one day Lucifer decided to rebel against God.  The prophet Isaiah reveals the unrighteousness in Lucifer:

     How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning!  How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  For thou hast said in thine heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High" (Isa. 14:12-14, KJV).

 The emergence of Satan.  The sin of Lucifer was rebellion.  Five times Lucifer said in his heart, "I will."

·      I will ascend into heaven;

·      I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

·      I will sit upon the mount of the congregation;

·      I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

·      I will be like the Most High.

This rebellion brought the downfall of Lucifer, for when Lucifer fell he was transformed into Satan.  By bringing another will into the universe, a will that was antagonistic to God, the once harmonious universe was now in disharmony.  When Lucifer rebelled, many of the angels rebelled with him, attempting to overthrow the authority of God.  This resulted in Lucifer and his cohorts being banished from both God's presence and His favor

We are often asked, "Why would, a good God create the devil?" The answer is, "He didn't." God created Lucifer, the highest ranking of the angels, giving him beauty and intelligence and a superior position to every other created thing.  He also gave Lucifer a free will to do as he pleased.

Eventually, Lucifer decided to stage a rebellion against God, and it was at this point that he became known as the devil or the adversary.  He was not created for that purpose, nor did God desire for Lucifer to act independently of His will.  However, Lucifer did rebel and consequently became the enemy of God and His work.

THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

After the angelic revolt God created the universe as we know it today.  We are not told what things were like before God created, so all we can do is speculate.  The Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1: 1).  Genesis 1 reveals God's creative efforts.  The last and greatest of His creation was man.

THE CREATION OF MAN

The Bible makes it clear that man was created by God in His image: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over- every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them" (Gen. 1:26, 27).

Man was God's crown of creation.  He was placed in a perfect environment with everything conceivable going for him.  He was in harmony with God, nature, his fellow man and himself.

THE FALL OF MAN

However, Satan was envious of that special relationship God had with man.  In Genesis 3 there is an account of what transpired when Satan appeared to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the form of a serpent.

     Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.  And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the gar-den'?" And the woman said to serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the which is in middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.' " And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!  For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:1-5).

The result of the yielding to temptation was a break in that special relationship between God and man.

AFTER THE FALL

Since the Garden of Eden episode, God and Satan have been locked into one great cosmic battle with man as the prize.  God is attempting to bring mankind back into a right relationship with Him, while Satan is trying to pull man away from God.  Moreover, the Bible says that unbelieving man is blinded spiritually by Satan in an effort to keep him from coming to Christ.

 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:3, 4).

Satan is called the "god of this world" hiding the gospel of Christ from the minds of the unbelieving people.

He will do anything to keep people from knowing God.

SATAN'S STRATEGY

One of Satan's plans is to convince the world that he does not exist.  Denis deRougemont makes the following insightful observation:

Satan dissembles himself behind his own image.  He chooses to don a grotesque appearance which has the sure effect of making him inoffensive in the eyes of educated people.

For if the devil is simply the red demon armed with a large trident, or the faun with goatee and the long tail of popular legend, who would still go to the trouble of believing in him, or even of declaring that he does not believe in him? . . . What appears to be incredible is not the devil, not the angels, but rather the candor and the credulity of the skeptics, and the unpardonable sophism of which they show themselves

to be the victims: "The devil is a gent with red horns and a long tail: therefore  I don't believe in the devil.  " And so the devil has them precisely where he wants them (Denis deRougemont, The Devil's  Share, pp. 19-21, cited by D. G. Kehl in Demon Possession, ed., John Warwlck Montgomery, Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Fellowship, 1976, p. 112).

In Tim Screwtape Letters, a fiction work by noted Christian thinker, C. S. Lewis, the demon is recorded instructing his apprentice as follows:

    Our Policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves.  Of course, this has not always been so. We are really faced with a cruel dilemma.  When the humans disbelieve in our existence, we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism, and we make no magicians.  On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and skeptics.... The fact that "devils" are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you.  If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that ... he therefore cannot believe in you (C.  S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, New York: Macmillan, 1961, pp. 39, 40).

Satan will use whatever method he can to keep people from coming to God.  If a person has done many things wrong in his life and feels guilty about them, Satan will attempt to convince that person he is not good enough for God, that God would never accept him.  Many people never come to God because they do not feel God could ever forgive them.

The Bible teaches that anyone may come to Christ regardless of what he has done and receive forgiveness.  The Bible says, "Come unto me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." The Bible teaches that forgiveness is available to all those who will come to Christ no matter what they have done.

There is another type of person who is also deceived by Satan but who has the opposite problem.  That person, rather than feeling he is too bad to come to God, feels that he is too good to need God.  Since he has never done anything in his life which he considers horrible, he does not feel that he needs a Savior.  This person is willing to go before God based upon his own merit, on the good works he has done in his life, feeling that God will certainly accept him.  However, the Bible says, ". . . All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and ". . . The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).

SATAN'S DESTINY

Satan is living on borrowed time.  God has promised in His Word that Satan and his angels will receive everlasting punishment for the crimes they have committed against God and man.

 Then He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and His angels" (Matt. 25:41).

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are also: and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rom 20:10).

At that time Satan will be banished once and for all from God's presence without ever again being able to inflict misery on anyone.  His eternal separation from God and punishment will be a just end to his inglorious career as the prince of darkness.

C.      Fred Dickason in Angels: Elect and Evil comments on Satan's destiny.

The Lord Jesus, the Creator and Sovereign, will judge all creatures, including evil angels (John 5:22).  He defeated Satan and his demons during His career by invading Satan's territory and casting out demons - from those possessed (Matt. 12:28-29).  He anticipated the final defeat of Satan when His disciples returned with reports of demons being subject to them through Christ's power (Matt. 10: 1, 17-20).

Through His death and resurrection, Christ sealed the final judgment of Satan and demons.  The cross reveals God's hatred and judgment of all sin.  The just One had to die if the unjust ones were to be forgiven (1 Pet. 3:18) (C. Fred Dickason, Angels:  Elect and Evil, Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1975, pp. 210, 212).

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD SATAN?

The Bible exhorts us to take the proper attitude toward Satan in order to deal effectively with his onslaughts.  We urge you to observe the following biblical injunctions:

1.  Be aware that he exists.  The Bible teaches that Satan exists but that he also attempts to hide that fact from the world.  We have already indicated that one of Satan's schemes is to have people believe that he is a symbolic figure of evil.  He would love people to see him as an "angel of light" or even as a funny little man with a red suit and pitchfork rather than as the dangerous, evil, but ultimately doomed adversary of the Lord God and all mankind.

2.  Be aware of his motives.  From the time of his rebellion until his ultimate destruction Satan has wanted to be like the Most High.  He wants adoration.  He wants allegiance.  He wants the service of people who rightly should be serving God.  He wants people to believe that it is he who is good and it is God who is bad.  However, the worship he desires is not informed worship of a god one knows and has seriously considered.

3.  Be aware of his methods.  From the time he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden until the present day, Satan has been a liar.  The Bible says:

     He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies John 8:44).

 One of his favorite schemes is to try to make a person feel content without Jesus Christ. If someone does not feel a need for God, he will not turn to God.  Therefore, Satan attempts to keep people satisfied just enough that they will not turn to Christ.

Another deception used by Satan is counterfeiting.  Whatever God has done throughout history, Satan has attempted to counterfeit it.  The main counterfeit is religion.  Satan loves for people to be religious, to go to church, to think things stand right between themselves and God when just the opposite is true.

If a person believes in some religion without receiving Christ as his Lord and Savior, that person is lost even though he thinks things between him and God are fine' The religious man, trusting in his own works, can be an example of deception by Satan, for God has informed us that to be in a right relationship with Him we must go the way of the cross, the death of Christ for our sins.

Fallen man, often with the approval and help of Satan, has developed a wide variety of religious beliefs in the world as ways to achieve God's favor without submitting to God.  Satan is always pleased when people trust in their religiosity rather than Jesus Christ.

4.  Be aware of his limitations.  Satan, the great deceiver, sometimes tries to fool people into thinking he is greater than he actually is.  One of the misconceptions that people have about Satan is that he is like God.  Nothing could be further from the truth!

God is infinite while Satan is finite or limited.  God can be present everywhere at once; Satan cannot.  God is all-knowing, able to read our very thoughts; Satan cannot.  God is all-powerful; Satan is not.  God has the ability to do anything; Satan cannot.  However, Satan would like people to believe he has these abilities.  Unfortunately, there are too many believers who see Satan behind everything, giving him credit where no credit is due.  Basil Jackson makes an appropriate comment:

Today, I believe we are seeing a most unhealthy interest in the area of demonology so that many of our evangelical friends have, in effect, become "demonophiliacs" as a result of their fascination with the occult.  They tend to see a demon under every tree and, thus, quite commonly today, we hear of demons of tobacco, alcohol, asthma, and every other condition imaginable.  In this connection, it is noteworthy that, by far, the majority of cases of demon possession which are diagnosed in the deliverance ministry today are mental in phenomenology.  This is in marked contrast with the only safe records we have of accurately diagnosed cases of demon possession-namely, the Gospels, in which at least half the people possessed had physical problems rather than any psychiatric difficulties (Basil Jackson 'in Demon Possession, edited by John Warwick Montgomery, Minneapolis, MN:       Bethany Fellowship, 1976, p. 201).

We need to realize that Satan is not all powerful; he has been defeated by Christ's death on the cross.  The power of sin over us is broken.  Therefore, we need to respect his power but not fear it to the point of thinking he can indwell believers and make them do things they do not wish to do.  The power of God is greater, but the great deceiver would have you doubting that.  Therefore, be aware of the limitations of Satan and the unlimited power of God.

SATANISM

The worship of Satan has deep historical roots.  Known as Satanism, it is found expressed in various ways.  Black magic, the Black Mass, facets of the drug culture, and blood sacrifice all have connections with Satanism.

In Escape from Witchcraft, Roberta Blankenship explains what two girls, both Satanists, wrote to her as part of their initiation ritual:

     They had had to go to a graveyard in the dead of night, walk across a man-sized cross, and denounce any belief in Christ.  Afterwards, a ritual was performed and the girls had to drink the blood of animals that had been skinned alive (Roberta Blankenship, Escape from Witchcraft, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972, p. 1).

 Lynn Walker comments:

     In April, 1973, the battered, mutilated body of a 17-year-old boy, Ross "Mike" Cochran, was found outside of Daytona Beach, Florida.  An Associated Press story said, "The verdict of police is that Cochran was the victim of devil worshippers: killed in a frenzied sacrificial ritual."

Lynn McMillon, Oklahoma Christian College professor, reports, "… one variety of Satanism consists primarily of sex clubs that embellish their orgies with Satanist rituals.  Another variety of Satanists are the drug oriented groups" (Lynn Walker, Supernatural Power and the Occult, Austin, TX: Firm Foundation Publishing House, n.d., p. 1).

TRADITIONAL SATANISM

Until contemporary times Satanism has had much more secretive associations than at present.  In the past, the anti-religious and anti-god aspect was prevalent in all aspects of Satanism.  Although this is not true of modern Satanism today, traditional Satanism still is associated with black magic and ritualism.

 The worship of a personal and powerful devil is central to traditional Satanism.  Those involved reject Christianity, yet choose the Lucifer of the Bible as their god.  The Occult Sourcebook comments:

     Traditionally, Satanism has been interpreted as the worship of evil, a religion founded upon the very principles which Christianity rejects.  As such, Satanism exists only where Christianity exists, and can be understood only in the context of the Christian worldview.  Things are, so to speak, reversed-the Christian devil becomes the Satanist's god, Christian virtues become vices, and vices are turned into virtues.  Life is interpreted as a constant battle between the powers of light and darkness, and the Satanist fights on the side of darkness, believing that ultimately this will achieve victory (Neville Drury and Gregory Tillett, The Occult Sourcebook, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1978, p. 149).

 Satanic witchcraft is to be found under this category of Satanism, where witches are involved in the darkest side of evil.

The recent onslaught of drugs and sexual perversion associated with the devil can be found here.

MODERN SATANISM

Traditional Satanism is stiff very prevalent and growing in society today.  However, in recent times, with the growing secularization of society and decline of Judeo-Christian morality, a new humanistic Satanism has emerged and drawn a strong following.  The Church of Satan is the clearest example of this new emphasis.

 In modern times groups have emerged in England and Europe, and particularly in the United States, which, taking advantage of the Permissiveness of modern society, have encouraged some publicity.  The most famous of these has been the Church of Satan, founded in San Francisco in 1966 by Anton La Vey, which currently has a membership of many thousands, and has established itself as a church throughout the United States.

Several other groups in America have imitated it, and some groups have also been established as "black witchcraft" covens.  The Manson gang, in which a bizarre mixture of Satanism and occultism was practiced, gained a great deal of unfavorable publicity for Satanism in America, but in fact this resulted in a greater public interest in the subject.  With more people rejecting the traditional values of morality, the Satanist movement will inevitably have greater appeal (Drury, op. cit., p. 154).

 In a chapter on Satanism today, William Petersen in Those Curious New Cults comments on the fact that since the mid-1960s Satanism is making a comeback.  He points to the catalyst for the strong upswing as being the box office smash of "Rosemary's Baby." Of the film he states:

 Anton Szandor La Vey, self-styled high priest of San Francisco's First Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible, played the role of the devil.  Later, he called the film the "best paid commercial for Satanism since the Inquisition.  " No doubt it was (William J. Petersen, Those Curious New Cults, New Canaan, CT Keats Publishing, Inc., 1973, p. 75).

 Many people are becoming involved in Satanism from all walks of life.  They vary in age, occupation, and educational background.

CHURCH OF SATAN

Although the Church of Satan sounds like a contradiction in terms, it was founded in San Francisco in 1966 by Anton Szandor La Vey.  The emphasis of the Satanic church is on materialism and hedonism.  Satan, to followers of this church, is more of a symbol than a reality.  In this emphasis they depart from other forms of Satanism.  They are interested in the carnal and worldly pleasures mankind offers.

La Vey is of Russian, Alsatian, and Romanian descent, whose past jobs have been with the circus, an organ player in nightclubs, and a police photographer AU during this time La Vey was studying the occult.

Of the church, La Vey declares it is:

     A temple of glorious indulgence that would be fun for people.... But the main purpose was to gather a group of like-minded individuals together for the use of their combined energies in calling up the dark force in nature that is called Satan (Drury, Occult Sourcebook, op. cit., p. 77).

 Of Satanism, La Vey believes:

     It is a blatantly selfish, brutal religion.  It is based on the belief that man is inherently a selfish, violent creature, that life is a Darwinian struggle for survival of the fittest, that the earth will be ruled by those who fight to win (Ibid, p. 78).

     La Vey is currently the High Priest of the church, which espouses any type of sexual activity that satisfies your needs, be it heterosexuality, homosexuality, adultery, or faithfulness in marriage.

There is a list of nine statements to which all members must agree:

 Satan represents:

1. Indulgence

2. Vital existence

3. Undefiled wisdom

4. Kindness only to those who deserve it

5.  Vengeance

6.  Responsibility only to those who are responsible

7.  Animal nature of man

8.  All the so-called sins

9.  The best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years.

The Satanic Church is strongly materialistic as well as being anti-Christian.  Pleasure seeking could well describe their philosophy of life.  What the world has to offer through the devil is taken full advantage of in the Church of Satan.