A Quick, Compelling Bible Study Vol. 111: What the New Testament Says About Satan

Thanks for joining our study. Today we conclude a two-part series about what the Bible says about Satan in the New Testament. Last week I linked to a commentary about all the names used to describe the personification of evil.

Note that only a sampling of Satan-related verses is discussed here due to space considerations. For further study, here is a list. Also, in Vol. 104, we explored "The Temptation of Jesus," which occurred shortly after His baptism and marked the beginning of His earthly ministry. It is believed that Jesus was never in danger of succumbing to temptation. However, He and the devil still had a dramatic confrontation that impacts today's study, in that Jesus was always aware of the devil's schemes and frequently chastised him in the gospels.

Let's begin with a noteworthy confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. They were the Jewish “holy” leaders threatened by Jesus's teaching who plotted against Him after Jesus performed miracles that increased His following.

On this occasion in Matthew 12, Jesus had just healed "a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute," and now "he could both talk and see." The people were astonished by Jesus and asked: "Could this be the Son of David?" Cue the angry Pharisees who said: "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man drives out demons." Were the Pharisees imprudent to accuse Jesus of being the devil after He healed a demon-possessed man? Here is Jesus’s brilliant response:

" ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you’” (Matthew 12: 25-28).

Centuries later, Jesus's reply became part of our national political lexicon (see Vol. 43). However, the 1858 warning, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," is usually attributed to Abraham Lincoln — three years before he was elected president.

Now we turn to Jesus talking about the devil’s work in the Parable of the Sower:

“ ‘When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart’ ” (Matthew 13:18-19).

What is the “message about the Kingdom?” That message is for those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior; they will be offered the fruits of God’s Kingdom — forgiveness of sin and eternal life. But unfortunately, the evil one always tries to keep people from understanding this message as part of his battle against Jesus.

What follows next is the “Parable of the Weeds.” Here Jesus described the forthcoming “final separation of the righteous and the wicked” — an interpretation quoted from my NIV Study Bible. Part of the passage in Matthew reads:

“ ‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil’ ” (Matthew 13:36-43).

Always remember that during Jesus’s ministry, He is a war with the devil, as John reminds us:

“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).

Turning to John’s gospel, Jesus talks about His earthly mission — at war with Satan (the thief):

“ ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’ ” (John 10: 9-11).

Days before Jesus taught that lesson, He alluded to his forthcoming death on the cross:

“ ‘Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself ’ ” (John 31:32).

An explanation is needed for “time for judgment on the world.” God’s judgment on the world was Jesus’s death on the cross. But, although Jesus’s death looked like a victory for Satan, it was actually a defeat. Ultimately Jesus’s resurrection unleashed countless forces that changed humanity for the glory of God. (I recommend you read one of my favorite books, “What if Jesus Had Never Been Born,” about what Jesus set in motion.)

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (Peter 5: 8-9).

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11-16).

Today’s lesson: Jesus can help you stay strong against the enemy who targets all of us. But remember never to give the devil an opening! Instead, repel the devil by praying for strength through Jesus. Amen to that!

I recently attended a prayer meeting at which Satan was accused of being the perpetrator of everything from sickness to car accidents. Is that possible? I don’t think so. Here’s a summary of what the Bible teaches about the binding of Satan:
1. Satan was BOUND at Christ’s first coming per numerous passages such as Matthew 12:28-29; Mark 16:17; Luke 10:17-19; 11:22; John 12:31; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14, and 1 John 3:8. For example, the Scripture says: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The devil was (past tense) subjugated to the authority Christ. Of note, this also marks the beginning of the millennium—Revelation 20:2 says that Satan would not deceive the nations any longer (at the beginning of the “thousand years.”) This clearly indicates that certain limitations were placed on Satan at the beginning of the millennium—that is, during Christ’s ministry on earth!

2. Christ has been victorious! The binding of Satan suggests that he cannot reverse the expansion of the gospel and God’s kingdom. However, while Satan was “bound” at the First Coming, he retained some power during the millennium (Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5: 19). He was bound; he was not in the Lake of Fire.

3. Satan was temporarily loosed for a short time (Revelation 20:3) near the end of the millennium (probably while Peter was writing about the influence of the devil in 1 Peter 5:8)—until Christ’s Parousia in AD 70. This is consistent with 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, which discusses the Man of Lawlessness, who would be revealed as an agent of Satan before the Day of God’s wrath.

4. Satan was DEFEATED at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:10). Paul (Romans 16:20) and John (Revelation 12:12) both anticipated that the crushing of Satan was near to them in time (“soon/time is short”). Therefore, the end of the millennium was near. At the Second Coming and judgment in AD 70, Christ fully implemented his power and reign (verses 10-15), fulfilling these prophecies. Satan was indeed crushed (“thrown into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:10). The fulfillment of these events is confirmed by over 30 passages in Revelation that tie the events to AD 66-70.

Some believe that Satan is still alive and may wield some power even today—that he tempts us and is able to blind the minds of some (2 Corinthians 4:4)—presumably those who are weak or not among the elect. But if Satan still exists today, he has no real spiritual power over us now. He has been cast out (John 12:31); he has lost “authority” over us (Colossians 1:13); he cannot “touch” a Christian (1 John 5:18). It seems more biblically correct to believe that we are tempted by our own desires rather than by Satan, per James 1:12-15. (Even in Bible times, it was not normative to be tempted by Satan. We remember that Jesus taught that it is what is on the INSIDE of us that defiles us per Mark 7:14-23). But the final crushing of Satan is consistent with the AD 70 institution of the eternal reign of Christ per Revelation 11:15:

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:15-18)

This passage is consistent with such passages as Isaiah 9:7 which speaks of the coming Messiah: “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.” We do not wait for an unfulfilled event for Christ’s victory. It is difficult to comprehend that a Christian would deny that Christ has already been victorious, and would deny that He reigns today, as many premillennialists do.

(This is taken from my book, CHRISTIAN HOPE THROUGH FULFILLED PROPHECY, by Charles S. Meek.)

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