Satan - what does it mean?
The word "Satan" is of Hebrew origin and is translated as "adversary." Who is Satan and where did he come from? This is how Christianity refers to the head of evil spirits, the enemy of God and the heavenly powers, the enemy of the entire human race.
Other names for Satan are devil, Beelzebub, Lucifer. The latter means "bringer of light" or "son of the dawn." It is a Latin translation of the Hebrew word "heilel" ("morning star"). In the Russian tradition, the word was translated as Dennitsa. These names refer us to the history of the appearance of Satan.
Satan retreats from Christ after temptations in the desert (Catholic fresco)
Who is Satan and where did he come from?
According to Church Tradition, even before the creation of the material world and people, God created many intelligent disembodied spirits - angels. Their calling was to serve the Almighty. Dennitsa (Lucifer) was the main and closest angel to God. However, he became proud and rebelled against the Creator, wanting to become equal to Him.
It was through Dennitsa that evil entered the world. It didn't exist originally. Evil is not a “natural counterbalance to good,” but a conscious removal from God and Truth. Therefore evil is unnatural. Here is what Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' says about this:
“Evil is not an independent entity; it arises as we move away from good. The fallen angel was the first to oppose God and move away from Him. The first to become Satan - the focus and absolute manifestation of evil."
Through deception, Dennitsa seduced some of the angels into rebellion. He convinced them that they could be equal to God. This led to a great confrontation between evil spirits and those who remained faithful to God. The good angels were victorious and cast the rebels out of heaven. The fallen spirits became demons (demons), and their leader became Satan, that is, the enemy of God. Instead of freedom in God, they chose freedom from God. Demons hate the Almighty and His main creation - man.
Let us quote the words of the religious thinker N. Lossky about how Satan appeared:
“He who was first called to deification by grace wanted to be god in himself... This position of Lucifer exposes to us the root of all sin - pride, which is rebellion against God” (“Dogmatic Theology”).
Now there were already two kingdoms
First, there was the kingdom of God and His Son, and second, there was the kingdom of Satan and his fallen angels. One kingdom was the kingdom of light, the other was the kingdom of darkness. We already know how throughout history the devil made attempts to take possession of the kingdom of heaven: he won victories in the times of Noah, during the wanderings of Israel in the desert, and also during the times of the judges. But Christ triumphed over all his victories.
Now let's go back to Revelation 12:12:
“Woe to those who live on earth and on the sea! because the devil has come down to you in great rage, knowing that he has little time left.”
This time began to shorten at Golgotha. From that time on, Satan's rage began to increase more and more. And the closer the time of his trial approaches, the stronger his rage becomes.
A few verses later, a woman appears in the narrative:
“And the serpent sent water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, that he might carry her away with the river” (Rev. 12:15)
I think this woman is the bride of Christ, that overcoming remnant. It will include every person who has accepted Jesus as their Lord.
Next we read:
“And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:17)
Yes, Satan is angry with every believer, but if he dares to touch us, then by doing so he touches the apple of God’s eye.
What we see happening in the world now is his last desperate attempt to destroy the bride of Christ. The Devil has issued a battle cry for the final battle, where everything is already at stake. And he uses everything, his entire arsenal in an attempt to destroy God’s chosen ones.
Satan in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Satan is represented as a tempting serpent. He invited Adam and Eve to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. By the Fall, the first people deprived themselves of the bliss of unity with the Creator. They became subject to sorrow and death. Thus, the root cause of sin and death is Satan. However, the first people bear the responsibility for violating the Divine prohibition and submitting to evil.
Also in the Book of Genesis there is a prophecy that God pronounces to the snake, that is, to Satan:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it will bruise your head, and you will bruise its heel” (Gen. 3:15).
Here we are talking about the Mother of God, who will give birth to Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind from the power of the devil. It is predicted that Christ will suffer as a man, but thereby defeat Satan. For the sake of our salvation, Christ fulfilled the holy will of the Father in everything and voluntarily sacrificed Himself. Adam's disobedience led to sin and death. The obedience of Christ atones for this sin and conquers death.
Satan and Job
Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament story about the God-fearing righteous man Job. He lived in prosperity and prosperity with his large friendly family. Satan told God that Job's piety was due only to his earthly happiness. Like, if a righteous person loses all this, he will certainly hate the Almighty. In response, God allowed the devil to subject Job to all the trials of earthly life.
Satan gradually deprived Job of all his wealth and children, and then sent a terrible disease (leprosy) to him. The sufferer withdrew from people and became a vagabond. But he still refused to blaspheme God, saying:
“Are we really going to accept good from God and not accept evil?” (Job 2:10).
Any sorrows in those days were considered a fair punishment from God. Job's wife and friends thought that he was suffering for some secret sins. The righteous man did not understand the reasons for the terrible sorrows. In tears, Job asked God to testify to his family that he was innocent. The Lord not only fulfilled the request, but also put an end to his suffering.
God healed and rewarded Job for his patience. He again had many children, and his wealth doubled from before. The righteous man lived for more than a hundred years. With his humility he put Satan to shame and became an example for us all. Righteous Job is a type of Jesus Christ. The Lord suffered for our salvation, and then became glorified by His glorious Resurrection.
Satan in the New Testament
The confrontation with the devil and the victory of Jesus Christ are reflected in the New Testament. It is indicated that the Savior came “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8) and by His death to deprive him of his power (Heb. 2:14). The evil one unsuccessfully tried to influence the human nature of Christ with temptations when He fasted in the desert after Baptism (Matt. 4:1-11). The secret of the Incarnation is inaccessible to Satan. At first he could not know for sure whether Jesus was truly the long-awaited Messiah. With the help of temptations, the devil intended to lead Christ astray from the prepared path.
The first was the temptation of bread. Satan invited the exhausted Christ to turn stones into bread and with their help satisfy his hunger. The Lord answered with words from Deuteronomy:
“It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Christ notes that the highest good in human life is of a spiritual nature, not material.
The second temptation is associated with the sin of pride. It consisted of the devil's proposal to throw himself from the top of the Jerusalem Temple. The evil one pointed out that God would send angels who would catch Christ and prevent Him from perishing. Such an obvious miracle would have amazed people, and they would have immediately recognized Him as the Son of God. The Lord reminded us of the inadmissibility of a consumerist attitude towards God:
“It is also written: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7).
Christ refused to enslave the will of people by the power of a miracle. After all, true salvation lies in sincere faith, repentance and virtues. The Savior preached, first of all, with the word of Truth, turning to the hearts of people.
The third was the temptation of power. Satan invited Christ to worship him and promised power over the whole world for this. The Lord refused to betray God the Father and recognize the power of the devil:
“Get behind Me, Satan; It is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Luke 4:8).
The Savior remained faithful to the will of the Father. Christ became the true King, but by suffering on the cross, and not by accepting power from the hands of the enemy. After the third temptation, the devil left the Savior and angels began to serve Him (Matthew 4:11).
Scripture calls Satan's attacks "a river that comes forth from his mouth"
This river is a stream of wickedness. And Satan turned him against his wife to try to get her out of the protection of the Blood of Christ. Jesus warned that wickedness would abound in the last days. And because of this flood of wickedness, the love of many believers will grow cold (see Matt. 24:12).
I imagine Satan sitting in his headquarters, barking his evil commands: “take control of the media! Fill the minds of godless people with lust!
Make sure that their carnal desires lead them to pornography, and then direct them to molest children!
The result of all this is such a torrent and whirlpool of wickedness as the world has never seen. But what is especially sad is that this frenzied attack is also directed against children. Judge for yourself:
— Violent films have darkened the minds of many Christians who are attracted to them. And now sex scenes in films have become even more perverted. Our ministry receives reports of how young boys, still of primary school age, who are only six or seven years old, tried to rape little girls their age and even younger. When they were asked why, they replied: “I saw it on the video that my mom and dad have.”
— There are now more than 300,000 pornographic sites on the Internet. These sites are full of the dirtiest, most depraved images humanity has ever seen. But, worst of all, very young children fall into the networks of these sites. Their impressionable souls absorb these images, which cripples them for many years to come.
— Homosexual marriages will soon become commonplace. There are already newspapers that post messages about same-sex marriages on their pages in the “Marriages” section. Currently, a growing number of primary schools are preparing to introduce a course called “How to Live a Homosexual Lifestyle” into the curriculum. They are preparing to initiate young children into the intricacies of homosexual life!
“Homosexual madness has made its way to the highest levels of the church. The Episcopal Church recently conferred the rank of bishop on a gay man. At the end of the consecration ceremony, the newly minted bishop took his partner’s arm and they left the hall together.
Satan is increasing his deception of homosexuality in the church, and once again children are being targeted. An increasing number of homosexual priests are being caught molesting children under their care.
— The modern world of fashion no longer just sometimes allows itself obscenity, but has even begun to praise nudity. This is nothing more than an attempt to shock society through an industry that is completely indulged in shameless depravity. However, Satan plans to use it to influence God's people, especially young believers. This subtle diabolical work is designed to gradually reduce their immunity to depravity.
— There is a surge in terrible drunkenness among teenagers again. Even Wheaton College, considered a model of holiness for decades, now allows alcohol. Motive? They want to attract more educated teachers who drink. More Christian colleges are likely to follow suit. An entire generation of young believers will suffer, pushed into sin that they would never otherwise seek out.
And here are other, very recent, examples of this latest attack of Satan in history:
— A movie star running for governor of California was told that he would win if he could only get himself caught in some scandalous case. He was told that if he had an extramarital affair, it would make him a hero in the eyes of the public, and this would increase his popularity, which in turn would get him more votes.
— Laws are being published in batches aimed at finally and forever removing the name of God from society. Two US senators have proposed legislation of this kind. Their law will prohibit the appointment as judges of those who believe in God or have any belief in anything.
You've probably read about the infamous ruling by a U.S. District Court judge. He ordered the removal of the Ten Commandments engraved on a granite monument from a government building in Alabama. At the same time, at the entrance to the federal courthouse in which this judge delivered his verdict, there is a statue of Zeus.
At first I thought that all this must grieve God's heart greatly. However, I now believe that the Lord laughs at these paltry efforts of people. Why? Because God is now working on the souls of millions of young people, impressing His law on the tablets of their hearts. And no judge on earth can remove them from there.
How to defeat Satan
The temptations listed above are the main ones for a person. Having rejected them, the Lord showed us an example of the proper struggle and victory over the forces of evil. The Apostle Paul teaches about Christ:
“For just as He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted (Heb. 2:18).
The devil in the New Testament is called a “liar”, “the father of lies”, “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), “the prince of this world” (John 14:30), “the tempter” (Matthew 4:3) , “dragon” (Rev. 20:2). It is noted that Satan entered Judas before his betrayal of the Savior (Luke 22:3). The Lord mentions that he saw Satan fall from heaven (Luke 10:18). A detailed story about how the devil appeared is contained in the Revelation of John the Theologian (Rev. 12:7-9).
The Holy Scripture calls all followers of Christ victorious over Satan:
“Now has come salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, because the slanderer is cast out... They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:10-11).
Revelation also indicates that at the Second Coming of Christ, Satan will be finally defeated and punished by imprisonment in the “lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev. 20:7-10).
Satan's influence on people
Satan hates the Creator and man. The Creator - because He is higher. Man - because he was created in the image and likeness of God and received from Him gifts that are higher than even the angelic calling.
“The man who stood so low... [Christ] seated him in heaven, on a throne. He placed the one who was lower than the stones higher than angels, archangels, thrones, dominions” (St. John Chrysostom, “Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians”).
Archpriest John Kudryavtsev explains:
“The Lord took on human nature in order to save not angels, but to save people. And thereby placed man much higher than the angels. And we must remember our high dignity and calling. The Lord calls us to come before the Throne of God. So that we find ourselves in the Kingdom of Heaven. And in this, angels are only ministers, only helpers.”
Evil spirits have abandoned their noble calling, and they are not capable of independent creativity. Therefore, their existence is aimed at the destruction of God's creation. Satan and his assistants seek to lead people away from the Lord and thus destroy their souls. Demons can also torment a person with illnesses and other sorrows (Luke 13:16).
The lines of Holy Scripture eloquently speak about Satan’s hatred of people:
“Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).
He influences people through lies and deceit. The Apostle Paul taught that the evil one can even take on the form of an angel (2 Cor. 11:14). Let us quote the words of Archimandrite John (Krestyankin):
“The main task of the devil at all times has been, is and will be the struggle against God for the souls of people, where the place of battle is human hearts. All the little evil that we sinful people manage to do is brought together by the main conductor - Satan. In our seduction we forget God, we forget heaven, we forget eternity” (“Angel of Prayer”).
SATAN
The archetype of Satan is the popular image of the devil in a red robe with a long tail and holding a pitchfork. Although the details of this portrait of Satan are largely a figment of the popular imagination, the image of Satan as a demonic figure and the main enemy of God is present in the New Testament. In it, Satan is presented as the devil, opposing God and the good of people. In the Old Testament, the figure of Satan is more vague and less clearly associated with evil.
Images of Satan in the Old Testament
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Contrary to expectations, Satan does not play a significant role in the Old Testament. The Hebrew noun satan
occurs only rarely and is often used to describe actions and the role of the person performing them, rather than as a proper name of the person who performs them. The word Satan characterizes actions related to the erection of obstacles, the manifestation of hostility and slander. When used in reference to an unearthly being, the being's actions are ambiguous and open to interpretation.
To understand the Old Testament portrait of the unearthly image of Satan, which is of primary interest to us in this article, we need to turn to the idea, widespread in the ancient Near East, of a heavenly council or assembly of gods (see COSMOLOGY). The gods gathered in council to discuss important issues, resolve disputes between them and determine the fate of the universe. Relations between members of the council were characterized by intrigue and mutual deception - the gods did not hesitate in their means in order to achieve a significant position and settled scores with each other. In this understanding, the human world depended on conflicts between the gods.
In biblical literature, the heavenly assembly is directly depicted several times (1 Kings 22:19–23; Job 1–2; Isa. 6). The council is shown as a meeting to discuss issues of concern to the gods. The Israelites adapted the image of the heavenly assembly to their own beliefs, and Yahweh, the God of Israel, appears as the supreme Deity presiding over the council. Other council members called into Yahweh's presence served Yahweh's purposes while demonstrating varying degrees of autonomy. But in the Israelite texts, none of the lesser gods could really challenge Yahweh's sovereignty. The monotheism of the Israelite religion did not allow for the possibility of such a serious challenge.
The most extensive Old Testament image of Satan is shown in Job 1–2. In the Book of Job, Satan appears among the “sons of God” or heavenly beings who appeared before God as members of the heavenly assembly. Here he is called "Satan" with the definite article, and this indicates that the term is not understood as a proper name, but rather as a title or position held by a specific person. Satan plays the role of investigator, tester or prosecutor investigating human affairs. In the Book of Job, Satan talks about his activities, saying that he “walked on the earth and walked around it.” When God put Job's unblemished conduct and unblemished devotion on his shield, Satan questioned Job's sincerity and motives for his piety. He then proposed testing Job. God's consent marked the beginning of the misadventures of Job, who was beset by a series of disasters. When Job remained pious after the first attack, Satan offered a new test, even more difficult than the first. After the second test, followed by a series of speeches that occupy the center of the book, Satan fades into the background until the very end of the book.
When assessing the image of Satan in the Book of Job, it is important not to forget that it was God who attracted Satan’s attention to Job (Job 1:8). Moreover, although Job's type of testing was proposed by Satan, God approved of it and set boundaries for it (Job 1:12; 2:6). It is clear that Satan was operating according to a pattern established by God.
Is the image of Satan in the Book of Job the embodiment of absolute evil? Although the evils that befell Job are the result of Satan's actions, there is no indication that this is an original rival of God. Moreover, Satan is represented as one of the “sons of God” (Job 1:6) who came to God and acted on His instructions. In Job 1, Satan does not pose any serious challenge to God's sovereignty, but rather serves as God's representative testing the integrity of people like Job. Thus, in the Book of Job, Satan appears as a rather ambiguous figure, on the one hand, questioning God’s assessment of Job’s personality, and on the other hand, acting within the framework of the instructions given by God.
Two other passages deserve brief consideration. In Zech. 3:1–2 Satan accuses the high priest Jesus. Satan's words are not directly quoted. Yahweh reprimands him, but it is not clear whether this reprimand means a rejection of Satan himself or his accusations against Jesus, although the latter seems more likely. Here the identity of Satan is also quite ambiguous. In 1 Chron. 21:1 Satan (this time without the definite article) encourages David to take a census of Israel. Among the three passages under consideration, only here the word Satan, used without the definite article, clearly refers to an unearthly being. This probably indicates that it should be understood as a proper name. But again, there is no good reason to believe that we are talking about the main enemy of God.
To summarize, we can say that in the Old Testament there is no sufficient indication that early Israel thought in terms of personified evil in the person of Satan, who is the main enemy of God. We see in the Old Testament an ambiguous figure, a member of the heavenly council whose role may have been to test the character of people. However, it should be emphasized that Satan acted within the framework of the instructions given by God.
Satan in the New Testament
. In the New Testament we encounter a significantly different world in which the image of Satan appears. Influenced by religious views reflected in the apocryphal writings of the intertestamental period, early Christianity adopted a dualism in which the world was seen as a battlefield between God and Satan. Satan, under many guises, has become a symbol of evil, opposing God and the entire human race at every opportunity, the sworn enemy of all people, especially those who declare their allegiance to God. The wide range of names given to Satan in the New Testament - devil, tempter, evil one, prince of demons, dragon, ancient serpent, Beelzebub, slanderer - testifies to the rich experience of early Christians in depicting evil. The uncertainty of the Old Testament image of Satan disappears.
The New Testament highlights two complementary but clearly distinguishable aspects of Satan's image: Satan's hostility toward people and his opposition to God.
Hostility towards people.
Satan's hostility towards people is best expressed in 1 Pet. 5:8: “Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Such a claim may be based on several lines of Satan's work.
Satan is portrayed not only as the tempter who tests whether people will succumb to evil, in a manner comparable to the role of Satan in the Book of Job, but also as the one who attracts them to evil. In some cases, the dividing line between these two sides is blurred. The Synoptic Gospels tell us that Jesus was led into the wilderness, where He not only withstood the temptation of the devil, but also resisted it (Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13 ). After Peter confessed the identity of Jesus and predicted the trials that would follow, Peter's objection to Jesus was condemned as another temptation of Satan (Matt. 16:23; Mark 8:33). In many cases, evil deeds are attributed to the machinations of Satan, inspiring or even possessing people. Thus, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot is explained by the entry of Satan into Judas (Luke 22:3; John 13:27). Elsewhere, Peter's denial of Jesus is also attributed to the influence of Satan, who “sows” Peter like wheat (Luke 22:31). In Acts, Ananias' deception is explained by the fact that this thought was put into his heart by Satan (Acts 5:3).
Satan's hostility towards people manifests itself in the fact that he causes misfortunes, disasters and illnesses. In Luke 13:16 about a woman who suffered from infirmities for many years, it is said that Satan bound her. Paul calls his famous “thorn in the flesh” “the angel of Satan” (2 Cor. 12:7). Satan is also said to upset the affairs of people, for example, in 1 Thess. 2:18 Paul states that Satan prevented his return to Thessalonica.
Opposition to God
. As God's adversary, Satan attempts to thwart God's purposes and the Christian mission. The diametrical opposition between God and Satan is shown in Acts. 26:17–18, where in the account of his vision of Jesus and subsequent conversion, Paul quotes the words of Jesus: “By delivering you from the people of the Jews and from the Gentiles, to whom I am now sending you, to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God." The connection of Satan with darkness and God with light is also characteristic of more general images of darkness and light, evil and good, curse and salvation. Of particular importance, however, in this case is the fact that it reflects the incompatibility of Satan with God.
Satan's opposition to God is most clearly expressed in Revelation. Here we see a direct reference to the struggle between Satan and God, which began in heaven and spread to earth. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them, but they did not stand, and there was no longer a place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:7-9). Here we see a rich set of images characterizing the enemy of God. The ancient serpent is a clear allusion to the serpent in Gen. 3, which, although not identified with Satan in the Old Testament, eventually became associated with him in Judaism and the writings of early Christianity. In addition, the reference to Satan being cast out of heaven may be an allusion to Isa. 14:3–21, where the image is associated with the king of Babylon, and here is used in relation to Satan. Finally, the mention of the dragon develops the Old Testament theme of a sea monster (Isa. 27:1; 51:9), which was believed to challenge the sovereignty of God. This combination of images emphasizes the role of Satan as the main enemy of God.
Conclusion
. There is an obvious transformation in biblical imagery associated with Satan during the transition from the Old Testament to the New. In the Old Testament, Satan is shown as a member of the heavenly council under the leadership of God. In the New Testament, Satan becomes the devil, God's chief enemy, posing a spectacular but ultimately futile challenge to God's sovereignty. In addition, in the New Testament we see many images and names of Satan as the main enemy of God.
See also: DEMONS, EVIL, COSMOLOGY, HEAVENLY WARRIOR, TRIUMPH, DARKNESS.
Bibliography:
P. L. Day, An Adversary in Heaven: Satan in the Hebrew Bible (Atlanta: Scholars, 1988).
