As with angels, our understanding of Satan and the demons has been influenced by Roman Catholic traditions, superstitions and popular media. Satan and the demons are certainly not as friendly as the version in Lucifer, a TV series.
Beeke and Smalley caution that “all believers in Jesus Christ are engaged in a spiritual war against unseen enemies (Ephesians 6:10-13). No Christian can escape the front lines of battle; every disciple of Christ as the tip of the spear” (p. 1133).
At the same time, we should have a healthy, and theologically sound, understanding and perception of Satan and the demons. We should fear God, not the Devil, because Christ has already won (John 16:33).
Origin and nature of demons
“The Bible indicates that demons are angels … Therefore, what is true about the ‘essential properties’ of angels pertains to demons” (pp. 1136-1137).
“Demons are immaterial, invisible, asexual, and immortal spirits. They are intelligent, affectionate, and morally responsible beings made to serve God. They are organized, swift, powerful, and fearsome beings. yet they were created by God, and are local and limited, not omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent. Demons are not worthy of our worship. There are many demons (Mark 5:9), even hundreds of millions (Revelations 9:16-21)” (p. 1137).
The Bible does not provide a record of “a demonic rebellion and fall prior to Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve” (p. 1139). “The earliest revelation of Satan’s sin is his deadly and deceitful temptation” (p. 1138) in Genesis 3.
The authors explain one view, supported by Jonathan Edwards, based upon Ezekiel’s oracle against the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:11-19)—that “some angels did not stay in their ‘first estate’ or assigned positions of authority (Jude 6), namely, to use their power to serve [humankind] (Hebrews 1:14)” (p. 1138). “Satan envied [humans]—or perhaps held [humans] in contempt as beneath his own dignity as an angel—rebelled, and sought to destroy [humans]”. It is important to note that the authors consider this view to be speculative.
Satan and the sovereignty of God
“Although Satan rules over this world, he does so as a limited creature. Christians must not succumb to an ultimate dualism in which God and Satan are two equal but opposite eternal powers acting on the same level. The Devil and his demons are fallen angels, created by God and still subject to his decree and providence” (p. 1141).
“A demon has no power to do anything unless his being is preserved by God, his action permitted by God, and the result decreed from the throne of God. Revelation tells us that when satanic forces do evil, they work accordingly to the power, time, and extent that ‘was given’ them (Revelations 9:1-5; 13:5-7)” (ibid).
In the case of Job, “Satan could not do any harm to Job’s person without divine permission and is subject to divine limitation” (p. 1141). Job was right to attribute his tragedy to God (Job 1:21).
“The most striking instance of God’s sovereignty over Satan is Christ’s death. Satan instigated Christ’s betrayal, arrest, and murder. However, Satan’s actions to destroy Christ resulted in his own decisive defeat and the release of many sinners from his captivity (John 12:31-32) … Just as David cut off Goliath’s head with Goliath’s own sword (1 Samuel 17:51), so God defeated the Devil by the Devil’s own machinations” (p. 1142).
Therefore, the authors tell us to fear God, and not the Devil.
Activities of Satan and the demons
The authors humorously tell us that “although we should have no interest in filling our minds with the depravity that Satan inspires … it is wise for us to understand the ways in which the Devil operates” (p. 1142).
First, deception. “Satan does not force anyone to sin, but leads them to sin of their own volition by his lies” (p. 1142). Satan particularly aims at twisting God’s words, as he did for Eve (Genesis 3:1).
Satan can work through humans, and can make use of his angelic powers. “Satan may cause ‘signs and lying wonders’ (2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelations 13:13-15)” (p. 1143) to reinforce his lies. Therefore, we should not rely on supernatural experiences to test the truth.
Second, disease and death. “Satan had the power to harm the bodies of people. One woman was crippled by ‘a spirit of infirmity’ for eighteen years until Christ delivered her from ‘Satan’ (Luke 13:11). With God’s permission, the Devil can inflict illness upon God’s children (Job 2:7). Demonization often brings physical maladies such as blindness, deafness, inability to speak, and violent convulsions (Matthew 12:22; Mark 9:17-27)” (p. 1145).
Third, demonization. “Though Satan and his demons have a reigning spiritual influence over all sinners not yet saved by Christ, there are extreme cases in which a demon takes up controlling residence in a person’s body” (p. 1144). Demonization is uncommon and is “especially associated with the coming of Jesus Christ” (ibid). John Piper has only encountered one instance.
A demonized person can “exhibit superhuman strength (Mark 5:4), and unusual knowledge including that sought by divination (Mark 1:24, 34; Acts 16:16-18)” (ibid).
“Much superstition revolves around exorcisms … Satan is not disturbed by holy water, charms, sacred objects, and incantations … Christians defeat the demons by using ordinary means of grace” (p. 1145), such as by the word of God and prayer. The authors point to salvation is the “ultimate solution”—for the Holy Spirit to reside in place of demonic spirits (ibid).
Fourth, damnation. “The Devil’s ultimate goal with respect to [humanity] is not [our] death, but [our] damnation under God’s eternal judgement. In Eden, Satan did not attempt to strike down Adam and Eve, but to lead them into sin so that God would condemn the entire human race (Genesis 3)” (p. 1146).
It is important to reject the incorrect notion that “Satan is the ruler of hell and the demons are its prison guards. Such an idea has no basis in the [Bible]. Rather, the ‘eternal fire’ of hell ‘is prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Matthew 25:41)” (ibid).
Our war against Satan and the demons
The authors remind us of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—to “put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10). Beeke and Smalley remind us that “we enter into the daily battle with the confidence that the war is already won” (p. 1148).
The authors explain ten examples of Satan’s schemes:
- First, “Satan promises that disobedience will make us happy, but obedience will ruin our lives. We must respond by believing in the goodness of God and the trustworthiness of his promises” (p. 1149)
- Second, “Satan attacks at the point of our greatest personal vulnerability … Our points of vulnerability can change over time … Satan tempts a young man with sexual lust, a middle-aged man with ‘an itch for honor and to be great’, and an old man with ‘covetousness and peevishness'” (ibid)
- Third, “Satan can use one sin as a beachhead in the believer’s soul … To give place to bitterness is to give the Devil a headquarters from which to launch further attacks into our lives … Therefore, wage war against the smallest temptations” (p. 1149-1150)
- Fourth, “Satan clouds our fellowship with God by igniting lusts for this world … [Satan] may use lawful things, for it serves him just as well if he can get us to love things more than people and anything more than God” (p. 1150)
- Fifth, “Satan intimidates believers by frightening persecutions he incites through unbelievers. [Satan] hunts Christians like a ‘roaring lion … seeking whom he may devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). We must recognize that all our sufferings take place ‘under the mighty hand of God'” (ibid)
- Sixth, “Satan uses one temptation to drive us toward an imbalanced and sinful overreaction … Satan may push believers like a swinging pendulum from complacent presumption to despair over sin. He may tempt them to overreact against one heresy by embracing the opposite extreme. The way to avoid extremes is to draw near to God ‘according to the rule of the Word'” (p. 1151)
- Seventh, “Satan may use bad counsel from our own brothers and sisters in the Lord to discourage us from following Christ fully” (ibid)
- Eight, “Satan may shock us with temptations we never thought would move us” (ibid). Therefore, we should cautious of every sin.
- Ninth, “Satan makes strategic retreats so that he may attack again … Do not think yourself strong and start to play with temptation as if it were a pretty pet” (p. 1152).
- Tenth, “Satan uses false reasoning to burden the believer’s conscience with fear and guilt. He is ‘the accuser’ (Revelations 12:10), who both tempts us to sin and then tempts us to despair of God’s mercy once we have sinned”.
This article is part of a series on systematic theology, based upon the first of four volumes of Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley.
