Is Satan Real?
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Is Satan real? The short, simple answer is yes. Biblical teaching is that Satan is real. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible’s writers (including the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles) describe Satan as a real, active being with a beginning and, thankfully, an end.
Most people don’t need convincing that evil exists in the world. Evidence for sin and evil abounds.
Still, the idea that evil is embodied in a specific being isn’t always widely received. Many prefer to believe that the wrong in our world is a symptom of miseducation or lack of education, economic imbalance, corrupt political systems, or faulty social constructs.
Some people attribute the world’s shortcomings to faulted humans and don’t believe there is any power beyond what people do to one another. While faulty or corrupt systems and human sin contribute to the world’s wrong, there is also a force of evil at work, the enemy of God, Satan, and his followers.
Those who struggle to accept the reality of the spiritual have, traditionally, rejected the notion of evil personified in Satan. But, while belief in the existence of God is shrinking, according to the Barna research group, belief in the existence of Satan is actually on the rise.
In a surprising Barna study conducted in 2020, researchers found that more Americans believe in Satan than in God. Roughly 51% of American adults believe in God (a decrease from 73% in 1991), but 56% believe in the existence of Satan.
While most Christians wisely invest the lion’s share of their attention in learning to understand Jesus and live like him, it is important that we also have a working knowledge of what the Bible teaches about Satan. As more people embrace the idea of Satan, it is also true that misinformation about him will rise. This can result in unnecessary fear and deceptive teachings that inhibit a healthy trust in God’s power, provision, and protection against evil. Some may even be tempted to follow Satan, believing they will gain power, riches, and their earthly goals.
Followers of Jesus should know and be able to explain what God’s Word teaches about the devil.
Television shows, cartoons, and movies portray Satan as mischievous but not dangerous, clever and powerful but not entirely evil, and sometimes just as misunderstood. Indeed, Satan isn’t running around with horns and a pitchfork, but neither does he wear a three-piece suit and live with the hope that through therapy, he can become a friend to humans.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Where Does the Bible Mention Satan?
It’s important evidence to understand that Jesus believed Satan was real.
Jesus referred to Satan in discussion with the Jews in John 8:44: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (ESV).
Jesus recognized Satan as the great deceiver and as a murderer. Part of his deception is to convince people he doesn’t exist. Another is to convince people he has equal power with God, except he uses his for evil. While Satan does have some limited power in the world, God’s power far exceeds his.
Mark records that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan for forty days (Mark 1:13). Jesus withstood the temptation of Satan in the wilderness by utilizing God’s Word. This act demonstrated that God’s Word is a powerful weapon against him. Jesus resisted Satan, and with the Holy Spirit’s power, so can everyday Christians.
Jesus refers to Satan as a thief in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (ESV). Satan does not create, he destroys. He spreads death while Jesus, the creative force behind the universe, gives life.
The fact that Jesus acknowledged Satan as real should be enough for us, but there is further New Testament evidence. Beyond the four gospels, the New Testament writers all mention Satan as real in passages such as 1 Corinthians 7:5 and Ephesians 6:11-16 (Paul), 1 John 3:8 and Revelation 20:1-6 (John), Acts 5:3 and 1 Peter 5:8-9 (Peter), Jude 9 (Jude) and James 4:7 (James).
This is a strong testimony to Satan’s reality.
Where Does the Bible Say Satan Came From?
We understand from biblical teaching in Ezekiel 28:11-19 that Satan was a created being, one of the angels. “On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked” (Ezekiel 28:13-14 ESV). At some point, the passage explains, Satan was overcome by pride, and “unrighteousness was found” in him.
Isaiah 14:12-14 reinforces this understanding, and in Revelation 12:7-9, John devotes an entire passage to describing the war in heaven and Satan’s fall. The description ends with Satan thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
Satan and his angels comprise the demonic and evil powers Paul mentions in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (ESV). While they wreak havoc amongst us now, they will come to an end.
What Does the Bible Say about Satan’s Powers?
We know from our introduction to Satan in Genesis 3 that he is a tempter. In this passage, the serpent tempted Eve to doubt what God said. He also tempts her to doubt God’s goodness. He enticed her to think God was withholding something by limiting her access to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
This is why Paul instructed believers, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV). Weighing our thoughts against the truth of God’s Word, empowers us to root out deception and resist temptation.
The chapter also provides a glimpse of God’s plan to overcome Satan. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). While sin entered the world through Eve and Adam, it is through their son, Seth, that the line of Jesus, the Messiah, would come.
Satan does have some power (2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:1-2), especially over those who don’t follow Jesus, but God limits that power. Colossians 2:15 says this about the work of Jesus, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” God equips His followers with armor, weapons, His watchful protection, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Satan is a limited being and cannot be everywhere, know everything, or overcome God. 1 John 4:4 says, “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
The devil is an accuser who accuses those of us who follow God. “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God” (Revelation 12:10).
But we have an advocate, Jesus, who stands in our defense. “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
So, while Satan isn’t responsible for every bad thing that happens, he is real, and he is active. But we do not need to fear him. Our focus and attention should be on God, who will protect us and, through the Holy Spirit, both comfort and guide us until Jesus’ return.
What Will Happen to Satan in the Future?
When Jesus returns, Satan, his followers, and all who continue to reject salvation through Jesus Christ will be judged. Revelation 20 describes much about Satan’s end. When we read Revelation 20:10, we see Satan’s future: “… and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
We don’t need to become overly distracted in our understanding of Satan, but we should be clear enough on biblical teaching that we don’t fall prey to imagining he isn’t real. We should know his tactics and schemes and what the Bible teaches about avoiding and escaping them.
As people grow in their acceptance of Satan’s reality, some, due to sin and deception, will be attracted to follow him. Christians must be prepared with truth and armed with the Holy Spirit’s power to address this deception and demonstrate that while we believe Satan is real, we neither fear nor follow him. Our focus and devotion are all for Christ.
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