Bible Thesaurus: Satan

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Thesaurus

Satan (50 Occurrences)
... of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4); "the spirit that now worketh in the children
of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2). The distinct personality of Satan and his ...
/s/satan.htm - 53k

Satan's (5 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Satan's (5 Occurrences). ... (WEY). Revelation 2:13 "I
know your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. ...
/s/satan's.htm - 8k

Depths (56 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SATAN, DEPTHS OF. (ta bathea ... Lord. Did those
false teachers claim to know "the depths" of Satan? Or ...
/d/depths.htm - 22k

Affliction (120 Occurrences)
... In the prologue of Job, Job's calamities are ascribed to the Satan, but even he
receives his word of command from God, and is responsible to Him, like the ...
/a/affliction.htm - 53k

Hymenaeus (2 Occurrences)
... concerning faith. The apostle adds that he had delivered Hymeneus and Alexander
unto Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme. 2 ...
/h/hymenaeus.htm - 13k

Roaming (5 Occurrences)
... Job 1:7 Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered Yahweh,
and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up ...
/r/roaming.htm - 7k

Divided (102 Occurrences)
... Matthew 12:26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. ... Luke 11:18
If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? ...
/d/divided.htm - 37k

Behind (188 Occurrences)
... Behind (188 Occurrences). Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, " Get behind me,
Satan! ... Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! ...
/b/behind.htm - 37k

Subsist (10 Occurrences)
... subsist. (DBY). Matthew 12:26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself; how then shall his kingdom subsist? (DBY). ...
/s/subsist.htm - 9k

Fro (54 Occurrences)
... Job 1:7 Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered Yahweh,
and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up ...
/f/fro.htm - 23k

Bible Concordance

Satan (50 Occurrences)

Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, " Get behind me, Satan! For it is written,'You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.'"
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 12:26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 13:39 And he who put them in the earth is Satan; and the getting in of the grain is the end of the world; and those who get it in are the angels.
(BBE)

Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men."
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 1:13 He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 3:23 He summoned them, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 3:26 If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can't stand, but has an end.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 4:15 The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 8:33 But he, turning around, and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you have in mind not the things of God, but the things of men."
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 4:8 Jesus answered him, "Get behind me Satan! For it is written,'You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.'"
(WEB KJV WBS)

Luke 10:18 He said to them, "I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 11:18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 13:16 Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?"
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 22:3 Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered with the twelve.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 22:31 The Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

John 13:27 After the piece of bread, then Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 5:5 are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 7:5 Don't deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn't tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Corinthians 2:11 that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Corinthians 12:7 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Thessalonians 2:18 because we wanted to come to you-indeed, I, Paul, once and again-but Satan hindered us.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Thessalonians 2:9 even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Timothy 1:20 of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Timothy 5:15 For already some have turned aside after Satan.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 2:9 "I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 2:13 "I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn't deny my faith in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 2:24 But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as don't have this teaching, who don't know what some call'the deep things of Satan,' to you I say, I am not putting any other burden on you.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 3:9 Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 12:9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 20:2 He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years,
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 20:7 And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 21:1 Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 1:6 Now it happened on the day when the God's sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan also came among them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 1:7 Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 1:8 Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 1:9 Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 1:12 Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don't put forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 2:1 Again it happened on the day when the God's sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 2:2 Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 2:3 Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 2:4 Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 2:6 Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 2:7 So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 109:6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
(KJV WBS)

Zechariah 3:1 He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Zechariah 3:2 Yahweh said to Satan, "Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yes, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn't this a burning stick plucked out of the fire?"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Satan

contrary; adversary; enemy; accuser

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article "the adversary" (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or the devil, and is so used more than thirty times.

He is also called "the dragon," "the old serpent" (Revelation 12:9; 20:2); "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30); "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2); "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4); "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2). The distinct personality of Satan and his activity among men are thus obviously recognized. He tempted our Lord in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). He is "Beelzebub, the prince of the devils" (12:24). He is "the constant enemy of God, of Christ, of the divine kingdom, of the followers of Christ, and of all truth; full of falsehood and all malice, and exciting and seducing to evil in every possible way." His power is very great in the world. He is a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Men are said to be "taken captive by him" (2 Timothy 2:26). Christians are warned against his "devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11), and called on to "resist" him (James 4:7). Christ redeems his people from "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). Satan has the "power of death," not as lord, but simply as executioner.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(n.) The grand adversary of man; the Devil, or Prince of darkness; the chief of the fallen angels; the archfiend.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SATAN

sa'-tan (saTan), "adversary," from the verb saTan, "to lie in wait" (as adversary); Satan, Satanas, "adversary," diabolos, "Devil," "adversary" or "accuser," kategor (altogether unclassical and unGreek) (used once in Revelation 12:10), "accuser"):

I. DEFINITION

II. SCRIPTURAL FACTS CONCERNING SATAN

1. Names of Satan

2. Character of Satan

3. Works of Satan

4. History of Satan

III. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

1. Scripture Doctrine of Satan Not Systematized

2. Satan and God

3. Satan Essentially Limited

4. Conclusions

LITERATURE

I. Definition.

A created but superhuman, personal, evil, world-power, represented in Scripture as the adversary both of God and men.

II. Scriptural Facts concerning Satan.

1. Names of Satan:

The most important of these are the Hebrew and Greek equivalents noticed above. These words are used in the general sense justified by their etymological significance. It is applied even to Yahweh Himself (Numbers 22:22, 32; compare 1 Samuel 29:4 2 Samuel 19:22 Psalm 109:6, etc.). The word "Satan" is used 24 times in the Old Testament. In Job (1:6) and Zechariah (3:1) it has the prefixed definite article. In all cases but one when the article is omitted it is used in a general sense. This one exception is 1 Chronicles 21:1 (compare 2 Samuel 24:1), where the word is generally conceded to be used as a proper name. This meaning is fixed in New Testament times. We are thus enabled to note in the term "Satan" (and Devil) the growth of a word from a general term to an appellation and later to a proper name. All the other names of Satan save only these two are descriptive titles. In addition to these two principal names a number of others deserve specific enumeration. Tempter (Matthew 4:5 1 Thessalonians 3:5); Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24); Enemy (Matthew 13:39); Evil One (Matthew 13:19, 38 1 John 2:13, 14; 1 John 3:12, and particularly 1 John 5:18); Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15); Adversary (antidikos), (1 Peter 5:8); Deceiver (literally "the one who deceives") (Revelation 12:9); Dragon (Great) (Revelation 12:3); Father of Lies (John 8:44); Murderer (John 8:44); Sinner (1 John 3:8)-these are isolated references occurring from 1 to 3 times each. In the vast majority of passages (70 out of 83) either Satan or Devil is used.

2. Character of Satan:

Satan is consistently represented in the New Testament as the enemy both of God and man. The popular notion is that Satan is the enemy of man and active in misleading and cursing humanity because of his intense hatred and opposition to God. Matthew 13:39 would seem to point in this direction, but if one were to venture an opinion in a region where there are not enough facts to warrant a conviction, it would be that the general tenor of Scripture indicates quite the contrary, namely, that Satan's jealousy and hatred of men has led him into antagonism to God and, consequently, to goodness. The fundamental moral description of Satan is given by our Lord when He describes Satan as the "evil one" (Matthew 13:19, 38; compare Isaiah's description of Yahweh as the "Holy One," Isaiah 1:4 and often); that is, the one whose nature and will are given to evil. Moral evil is his controlling attribute. It is evident that this description could not be applied to Satan as originally created. Ethical evil cannot be concreated. It is the creation of each free will for itself. We are not told in definite terms how Satan became the evil one, but certainly it could be by no other process than a fall, whereby, in the mystery of free personality, an evil will takes the place of a good one.

3. Works of Satan:

The world-wide and age-long works of Satan are to be traced to one predominant motive. He hates both God and man and does all that in him lies to defeat God's plan of grace and to establish and maintain a kingdom of evil, in the seduction and ruin of mankind. The balance and sanity of the Bible is nowhere more strikingly exhibited than in its treatment of the work of Satan. Not only is the Bible entirely free from the extravagances of popular Satanology, which is full of absurd stories concerning the appearances, tricks, and transformations of Satan among men, but it exhibits a dependable accuracy and consistency, of statement which is most reassuring. Almost nothing is said concerning Satanic agency other than wicked men who mislead other men. In the controversy with His opponents concerning exorcism (Mark 3:22 f and parallel's) our Lord rebuts their slanderous assertion that He is in league with Satan by the simple proposition that Satan does not work against himself. But in so saying He does far more than refute this slander. He definitely aligns the Bible against the popular idea that a man may make a definite and conscious personal alliance with Satan for any purpose whatever. The agent of Satan is always a victim. Also the hint contained in this discussion that Satan has a kingdom, together with a few other not very definite allusions, are all that we have to go upon in this direction. Nor are we taught anywhere that Satan is able to any extent to introduce disorder into the physical universe or directly operate in the lives of men. It is true that in Luke 13:16 our Lord speaks of the woman who was bowed over as one "whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years," and that in 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul speaks of his infirmity as a "messenger of Satan sent to buffet him." Paul also speaks (1 Thessalonians 2:18) of Satan's hindering him from visiting the church at Thessalonica. A careful study of these related passages (together with the prologue of Job) will reveal the fact that Satan's direct agency in the physical world is very limited. Satan may be said to be implicated in all the disasters and woes of human life, in so far as they are more or less directly contingent upon sin (see particularly Hebrews 2:14) On the contrary, it is perfectly evident that Satan's power consists principally in his ability to deceive. It is interesting and characteristic that according to the Bible Satan is fundamentally a liar and his kingdom is a kingdom founded upon lies and deceit. The doctrine of Satan therefore corresponds in every important particular to the general Biblical emphasis upon truth. "The truth shall make you free" (John 8:32)-this is the way of deliverance from the power of Satan.

Now it would seem that to make Satan pre-eminently the deceiver would make man an innocent victim and thus relax the moral issue. But according to the Bible man is particeps criminis in the process of his own deception. He is deceived only because he ceases to love the truth and comes first to love and then to believe a lie (2 Corinthians 1:10). This really goes to the very bottom of the problem of temptation. Men are not tempted by evil, per se, but by a good which can be obtained only at the cost of doing wrong. The whole power of sin, at least in its beginnings, consists in the sway of the fundamental falsehood that any good is really attainable by wrongdoing. Since temptation consists in this attack upon the moral sense, man is constitutionally guarded against deceit, and is morally culpable in allowing himself to be deceived. The temptation of our Lord Himself throws the clearest possible light upon the methods ascribed to Satan and The temptation was addressed to Christ's consciousness of divine sonship; it was a deceitful attack emphasizing the good, minimizing or covering up the evil; indeed, twisting evil into good. It was a deliberate, malignant attempt to obscure the truth and induce to evil through the acceptance of falsehood. The attack broke against a loyalty to truth which made self-deceit, and consequently deceit from without, impossible. The lie was punctured by the truth and the temptation lost its power (see TEMPTATION OF CHRIST). This incident reveals one of the methods of Satan-by immediate suggestion as in the case of Judas (Luke 22:3 John 13:2, 27). Sometimes, however, and, perhaps, most frequently, Satan's devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) include human agents. Those who are given over to evil and who persuade others to evil are children and servants of Satan (SeeMatthew 16:23 Mark 8:33 Luke 4:8 John 6:70; John 8:44 Acts 13:10; Acts 1 John 3:8). Satan also works through persons and institutions supposed to be on the side of right but really evil. Here the same ever-present and active falseness and deceit are exhibited. When he is called "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) it would seem to be intimated that he has the power to clothe himself in apparently divine attributes. He also makes himself an angel of light by presenting advocates of falsehood in the guise of apostles of truth (2 Corinthians 11:13, 15 1 John 4:1 2 Thessalonians 2:9 Revelation 12:9; Revelation 19:20). In the combination of passages here brought together, it is clearly indicated that Satan is the instigator and fomenter of that spirit of lawlessness which exhibits itself as hatred both of truth and right, and which has operated so widely and so disastrously in human life.

4. History of Satan:

The history of Satan, including that phase of it which remains to be realized, can be set forth only along the most general lines. He belongs to the angelic order of beings. He is by nature one of the sons of Elohim (Job 1:6). He has fallen, and by virtue of his personal forcefulness has become the leader of the anarchic forces of wickedness. As a free being he has merged his life in evil and has become altogether and hopelessly evil. As a being of high intelligence he has gained great power and has exercised a wide sway over other beings. As a created being the utmost range of his power lies within the compass of that which is permitted. It is, therefore, hedged in by the providential government of God and essentially limited. The Biblical emphasis upon the element of falsehood in the career of Satan might be taken to imply that his kingdom may be less in extent than appears. At any rate, it is confined to the cosmic sphere and to a limited portion of time. It is also doomed. In the closely related passages 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6 it is affirmed that God cast the angels, when they sinned, down to Tartarus and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. This both refers to the constant divine control of these insurgent forces and also points to their final and utter destruction. The putting of Satan in bonds is evidently both constant and progressive. The essential limitation of the empire of evil and its ultimate overthrow are foreshadowed in the Book of Job (chapters 38-41), where Yahweh's power extends even to the symbolized spirit of evil.

According to synoptic tradition, our Lord in the crisis of temptation immediately following the baptism (Matthew 4 and parallel) met and for the time conquered Satan as His own personal adversary. This preliminary contest did not close the matter, but was the earnest of a complete victory. According to Luke (10:18), when the Seventy returned from their mission flushed with victory over the powers of evil, Jesus said: `I saw Satan fall (not "fallen"; see Plummer, "Luke," ICC, in the place cited.) as lightning from heaven.' In every triumph over the powers of evil Christ beheld in vision the downfall of Satan. In connection with the coming of the Hellenists who wished to see Him, Jesus asserted (John 12:31), "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." In view of His approaching passion He says again (John 14:30), "The prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me." Once again in connection with the promised advent of the Spirit, Jesus asserted (John 16:11) that the Spirit would convict the world of judgment, "because the prince of this world hath been judged." In Hebrews (2:14, 15) it is said that Christ took upon Himself human nature in order "that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil." In 1 John 3:8 it is said, "To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil." In Revelation 12:9 it is asserted, in connection with Christ's ascension, that Satan was cast down to the earth and his angels with him. According to the passage immediately following (12:10-12), this casting down was not complete or final in the sense of extinguishing his activities altogether, but it involves the potential and certain triumph of God and His saints and the equally certain defeat of Satan. In 1 John 2:13 the young men are addressed as those who "have overcome the evil one." In Revelation 20 the field of the future is covered in the assertion that Satan is "bound a thousand years"; then loosed "for a little time," and then finally "cast into the lake of fire."

A comparison of these passages will convince the careful student that while we cannot construct a definite chronological program for the career of Satan, we are clear in the chief points. He is limited, judged, condemned, imprisoned, reserved for judgment from the beginning. The outcome is certain though the process may be tedious and slow. The victory of Christ is the defeat of Satan; first, for Himself as Leader and Saviour of men (John 14:30); then, for believers (Luke 22:31 Acts 26:18 Romans 16:20 James 4:7 1 John 2:13; 1 John 5:4, 18); and, finally, for the whole world (Revelation 20:10). The work of Christ has already destroyed the empire of Satan.

III. General Considerations.

There are, no doubt, serious difficulties in the way of accepting the doctrine of a personal, superhuman, evil power as Satan is described to be. It is doubtful, however, whether these diffificulties may not be due, at least in part, to a misunderstanding of the doctrine and certain of its implications. In addition, it must be acknowledged, that whatever difficulties there may be in the teaching, they are exaggerated and, at the same time, not fairly met by the vague and irrational skepticism which denies without investigation. There are difficulties involved in any view of the world. To say the least, some problems are met by the view of a superhuman, evil world-power. In this section certain general considerations are urged with a view to lessening difficulties keenly felt by some minds. Necessarily, certain items gathered in the foregoing section are here emphasized again.

1. Scripture Doctrine of Satan Not Systematized:

The Scriptural doctrine of Satan is nowhere systematically developed. For materials in this field we are shut up to scattered and incidental references. These passages, which even in the aggregate are not numerous, tell us what we need to know concerning the nature, history, kingdom and works of Satan, but offer scant satisfaction to the merely speculative temper. The comparative lack of development in this field is due partly to the fact that the Biblical writers are primarily interested in God, and only secondarily in the powers of darkness; and partly to the fact that in the Bible doctrine waits upon fact. Hence, the malign and sinister figure of the Adversary is gradually outlined against the light of God's holiness as progressively revealed in the providential world-process which centers in Christ. It is a significant fact that the statements concerning Satan become numerous and definite only in the New Testament. The daylight of the Christian revelation was necessary in order to uncover the lurking foe, dimly disclosed but by no means fully known in the earlier revelation. The disclosure of Satan is, in form at least, historical, not dogmatic.

2. Satan and God:

In the second place, the relationship of Satan to God, already emphasized, must be kept constantly in mind. The doctrine of Satan merges in the general doctrine concerning angels (see ANGEL). It has often been pointed out that the personal characteristics of angels are very little insisted upon. They are known chiefly by their functions: merged, on the one hand, in their own offices, and, on the other, in the activities of God Himself.

In the Old Testament Satan is not represented as a fallen and malignant spirit, but as a servant of Yahweh, performing a divine function and having his place in the heavenly train. In the parallel accounts of David's numbering of Israel (1 Samuel 24:1 1 Chronicles 21:1) the tempting of David is attributed both to Yahweh and Satan. The reason for this is either that `the temptation of men is also a part of his providence,' or that in the interval between the documents the personality of the tempter has more clearly emerged. In this case the account in Chronicles would nearly approximate the New Testament teaching. In the Book of Job (1:6), however, Satan is among the Sons of God and his assaults upon Job are divinely permitted. In Zechariah (3:1, 2) Satan is also a servant of Yahweh. In both these passages there is the hint of opposition between Yahweh and Satan. In the former instance Satan assails unsuccessfully the character of one whom Yahweh honors; while in the latter Yahweh explicitly rebukes Satan for his attitude toward Israel (see G. A. Smith, BTP, II, 316). The unveiling of Satan as a rebellious world-power is reserved for the New Testament, and with this fuller teaching the symbolic treatment of temptation in Genesis is to be connected. There is a sound pedagogical reason, from the viewpoint of revelation, for this earlier withholding of the whole truth concerning Satan. In the early stages of religious thinking it would seem to be difficult, if not impossible, to hold the sovereignty of God without attributing to His agency those evils in the world which are more or less directly connected with judgment and punishment (compare Isaiah 45:7 Amos 3:6). The Old Testament sufficiently emphasizes man's responsibility for his own evil deeds, but super-human evil is brought upon him from above. "When willful souls have to be misled, the spirit who does so, as in Ahab's case, comes from above" (G. A. Smith, op. cit., 317). The progressive revelation of God's character and purpose, which more and more imperatively demands that the origin of moral evil, and consequently natural evil, must be traced to the created will in opposition to the divine will, leads to the ultimate declaration that Satan is a morally fallen being to whose conquest the Divine Power in history is pledged. There is, also, the distinct possibility that in the significant transition from the Satan of the Old Testament to that of the New Testament we have the outlines of a biography and an indication of the way by which the angels fell.

3. Satan Essentially Limited:

A third general consideration, based upon data given in the earlier section, should be urged in the same connection. In the New Testament delineation of Satan, his limitations are clearly set forth. He is superhuman, but not in any sense divine. His activities are cosmic, but not universal or transcendent. He is a created being. His power is definitely circumscribed. He is doomed to final destruction as a world-power. His entire career is that of a secondary and dependent being who is permitted a certain limited scope of power-a time-lease of activity (Luke 4:6).

4. Conclusions:

These three general considerations have been grouped in this way because they dispose of three objections which are current against the doctrine of Satan.

(1) The first is, that it is mythological in origin. That it is not dogmatic is a priori evidence against this hypothesis. Mythology is primitive dogma. There is no evidence of a theodicy or philosophy of evil in the Biblical treatment of Satan. Moreover, while the Scriptural doctrine is unsystematic in form, it is rigidly limited in scope and everywhere essentially consistent. Even in the Apocalypse, where naturally more scope is allowed to the imagination, the same essential ideas appear. The doctrine of Satan corresponds, item for item, to the intellectual saneness and ethical earnestness of the Biblical world-view as a whole. It is, therefore, not mythological. The restraint of chastened imagination, not the extravagance of mythological fancy, is in evidence throughout the entire Biblical treatment of the subject. Even the use of terms current in mythology (as perhaps Genesis 3:1, 13, 14 Revelation 12:7-9; compare 1 Peter 5:8) does not imply more than a literary clothing of Satan in attributes commonly ascribed to malignant and disorderly forces.

(2) The second objection is that the doctrine is due to the influence of Persian dualism (see PERSIAN RELIGION; ZOROASTRIANISM). The answer to this is plain, on the basis of facts already adduced. The Biblical doctrine of Satan is not dualistic. Satan's empire had a beginning, it will have a definite and permanent end. Satan is God's great enemy in the cosmic sphere, but he is God's creation, exists by divine will, and his power is relatively no more commensurate with God's than that of men. Satan awaits his doom. Weiss says (concerning the New Testament representation of conflict between God and the powers of evil): "There lies in this no Manichaean dualism,.... but only the deepest experience of the work of redemption as the definite destruction of the power from which all sin in the world of men proceeds" (Biblical Theology New Testament, English tanslations of the Bible, II, 272; compare G.A. Smith, op. cit., II, 318).

(3) The third objection is practically the same as the second, but addressed directly to the doctrine itself, apart from the question of its origin, namely, that it destroys the unity of God. The answer to this also is a simple negative. To some minds the reality of created wills is dualistic and therefore untenable. But a true doctrine of unity makes room for other wills than God's-namely of those beings upon whom God has bestowed freedom. Herein stands the doctrine of sin and Satan. The doctrine of Satan no more militates against the unity of God than the idea, so necessary to morality and religion alike, of other created wills set in opposition to God's. Just as the conception of Satan merges, in one direction, in the general doctrine of angels, so, in the other, it blends with the broad and difficult subject of evil (compare "Satan," HDB, IV, 412a).

LITERATURE.

All standard works on Biblical Theology, as well as Dictionaries, etc., treat with more or less thoroughness the doctrine of Satan. The German theologians of the more evangelical type, such as Weiss, Lange, Martensen (Danish), Dorner, while exhibiting a tendency toward excessive speculation, discern the deeper aspects of the doctrine. Of monographs known to the writer none are to be recommended without qualification. It is a subject on which the Bible is its own best interpreter.

Louis Matthews Sweet

SATAN, DEPTHS OF

(ta bathea tou Satana): Found in Revelation 2:24, and has reference to false teaching at Thyatira. It is a question (that perhaps may not be decided) whether tou Satana, "of Satan," represents the claim of the false teachers, or is thrown in by the Lord. Did those false teachers claim to know "the depths" of Satan? Or was it that they claimed to know "the depths" of Deity, and the Lord said it was rather "the depths of Satan"? In either case the antithesis to "depths of Satan" is "depths of God," as referred to in Romans 11:33 1 Corinthians 2:10.

E. J. Forrester

SATAN, SYNAGOGUE OF

The expression occurs neither in the Hebrew nor in the Greek of the Old Testament, nor in Apocrypha. Three passages in the Old Testament and one in Apocrypha suggest the idea conveyed in the expression. In Numbers 14:27, 35, Yahweh expresses His wrath against "the evil congregation" Septuagint sunagoge ponera) which He threatens to consume in the wilderness. In Psalm 21 (22):16, we find, "A company of evil doers (the Septuagint sunagoge ponereuomenon) have enclosed me." In Sirach 16:6, we read, "In the congregation of sinners (the Septuagint sunagoge hamartolon) shall a fire be kindled."

Only in the New Testament occurs the phrase "synagogue of Satan," and here only twice (Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9). Three observations are evident as to who constituted "the synagogue of Satan" in Smyrna and Philadelphia.

(1) They claimed to be Jews, i.e. they were descendants of Abraham, and so laid claim to the blessings promised by Yahweh to him and his seed.

(2) But they are not regarded by John as real Jews, i.e. they are not the genuine Israel of God (the same conclusion as Paul reached in Romans 2:28).

(3) They are persecutors of the Christians in Smyrna.

The Lord "knows their blasphemy," their sharp denunciations of Christ and Christians. They claim to be the true people of God, but really they are "the synagogue of Satan." The gen. Satana, is probably the possessive gen. These Jewish persecutors, instead of being God's people, are the "assembly of Satan," i.e. Satan's people.

In Polycarp, Mar. xvii.2 (circa 155 A.D.) the Jews of Smyrna were still persecutors of Christians and were conspicuous in demanding and planning the martyrdom of Polycarp the bishop of Smyrna, the same city in which the revelator calls persecuting Jews "the assembly of Satan."

In the 2nd century, in an inscription (CIJ, 3148) describing the classes of population in Smyrna, we find the expression hoi pote Ioudaioi, which Mommsen thinks means "Jews who had abandoned their religion," but which Ramsay says "probably means those who formerly were the nation of the Jews, but have lost the legal standing of a separate people."

LITERATURE.

Ramsay, The Seven Churches of Asia, chapter xii; Swete, The Apocalypse of John, 31, 32; Polycarp, Mar. xiiiff;.17, 2; Mommsen, Historische Zeitschrift, XXXVII, 417.

Charles B. Williams

SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN

See SATAN, SYNAGOGUE OF.

Greek

4566. Satan -- Satan.
... Satan. 4567 . Satan. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration:
Satan Phonetic Spelling: (sat-an') Short Definition: Satan Definition: Satan. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4566.htm - 6k

4567. Satanas -- the adversary, Satan, ie the devil
... the adversary, Satan, ie the devil. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration:
Satanas Phonetic Spelling: (sat-an-as') Short Definition: an adversary ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4567.htm - 6k

954. Beelzeboul -- Beelzebul, a name of Satan
... Beelzebul, a name of Satan. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration:
Beelzeboul Phonetic Spelling: (beh-el-zeb-ool') Short Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/954.htm - 7k

955. Beliar -- "lord of the forest," Beliar, a name of Satan
... 954, 955. Beliar. 956 . "lord of the forest," Beliar, a name of Satan. Part
of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Beliar Phonetic Spelling ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/955.htm - 6k

1228. diabolos -- slanderous, accusing falsely
... Satan is by God in this plan -- as a predictable wind-up toy, playing out his evil
nature.]. ... see GREEK diaballo. see HEBREW satan. (diaboloi) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1228.htm - 8k

3789. ophis -- a snake
... Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: ophis Phonetic Spelling: (of'-is) Short
Definition: a serpent Definition: a serpent, snake; used of the devil or Satan ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3789.htm - 6k

623. Apolluon -- "a destroyer," Apollyon, the angel of the abyss
... Cognate: 623 (from 622 , "cause to perish, be ruined") -- properly, "the "
(from the Abyss), ie Satan (used only in Rev 9:11). Word ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/623.htm - 6k

2888. kosmokrator -- a ruler of this world
... 2888 (from 2889 , "world" and 2902 , "to rule") -- properly, world-ruler, referring
to Satan (demons) influencing the lives of people (used only in Eph 6:12). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2888.htm - 7k

1404. drakon -- a dragon (a mythical monster)
... Masculine Transliteration: drakon Phonetic Spelling: (drak'-own) Short Definition:
a dragon or huge serpent Definition: a dragon or huge serpent; met: Satan. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1404.htm - 7k

2725. kategoros -- an accuser
... accuser. From kata and agora; against one in the assembly, ie A complainant at law;
specially, Satan -- accuser. see GREEK kata. see GREEK agora. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2725.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

7854. satan -- adversary, also the name of the superhuman ...
... satan. 7855 . adversary, also the name of the superhuman adversary of God.
Transliteration: satan Phonetic Spelling: (saw-tawn') Short Definition: Satan. ...
/hebrew/7854.htm - 6k

7853. satan -- to be or act as adversary
... 7852, 7853. satan. 7854 . to be or act as adversary. Transliteration: satan
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-tan') Short Definition: accusers. ... satan. 7854 . ...
/hebrew/7853.htm - 6k

7855. sitnah -- accusation
... Word Origin from the same as satan Definition accusation NASB Word Usage accusation
(1). accusation. From satan; opposition (by letter) -- accusation. ...
/hebrew/7855.htm - 6k

7856. Sitnah -- "hostility," the name of a well near Gerar
... Sitnah. Word Origin from the same as satan Definition "hostility," the name
of a well near Gerar NASB Word Usage Sitnah (1). Sitnah. ...
/hebrew/7856.htm - 6k

Library

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan. <. The Great Controversy Between
Christ and Satan Ellen G. White. Table of Contents. Title Page. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the great controversy between christ and satan /

The Binding of Satan.
... EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. The Binding of Satan. "And I saw an angel descending
from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/the binding of satan.htm

The Millennium in Relation to Satan.
... Chapter Ten The Consummation Of The Redeemer's Return 1. The millennium in
relation to Satan. In our last chapter we saw that Christ ...
/.../pink/the redeemers return/1 the millennium in relation.htm

Lorimer -- the Fall of Satan
... LORIMER " THE FALL OF SATAN. THE FALL OF SATAN BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. George C. Lorimer
was born at Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1838. ... 1838"1904. THE FALL OF SATAN[1]. ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 8/lorimer the fall of.htm

Snares of Satan.
The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan. <. ... 32. SNARES OF SATAN.
[Illustration: Chapter header.] The great controversy ...
/.../white/the great controversy between christ and satan /32 snares of satan.htm

Satan's Devices
... Satan's Devices. The occasion of these words was as follows: In the church
of Corinth there was an unhappy person, who had committed ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/satans devices.htm

Satan's Banquet
... Satan's Banquet. A Sermon (No.225). ... Do you see it? It is the wine-cup of pleasure."
This is the first cup at the banquetting house of Satan. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/satans banquet.htm

Christ or Satan.
... Second Chapter. LOVE. XXXVIII. Christ or Satan. "But the greatest of these
is Love." "1 Corinthians 13:13. However fearful the ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xxxviii christ or satan.htm

Satan and the "Delivery" of Jesus.
... Book XIII. 9. Satan and the "Delivery" Of Jesus. Now we must think that
the devil has the power of death,"not of that which is ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of matthew/9 satan and the delivery.htm

The Wicked Raised, and Satan Loosed
... EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. The Wicked Raised, and Satan Loosed. "And
when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be loosed ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/the wicked raised and satan.htm

Subtopics

Satan

Satan with the Context of

Satan: Apollyon (Greek: Destroyer)

Satan: Beelzebul

Satan: Belial

Satan: Called Abaddon (Hebrew: Destroyer)

Satan: Evil Spirit

Satan: Gates of Hell (Hades)

Satan: Great Red Dragon

Satan: Kingdom of, to be Destroyed

Satan: Lying Spirit