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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" ( Matthew 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.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
contrary; adversary; enemy; accuser
Smith's Bible Dictionary
The word itself, the Hebrew satan, is simply an "adversary,"
and is so used in ( 1 Samuel 29:4 ; 2 Samuel 19:22 ; 1 Kings 6:4 ; 11:14 , 11:23
, 11:25 ; Numbers 22:22 , 22:33 ; Psalms 109:6 ) This original sense is still
found in our Lords application of the name to St. Peter in ( Matthew 16:23 ) It
is used as a proper name or title only four times in the Old Testament, vis. (with
the article) in ( Job 1:6 ; 12 ; 2:1 ; Zechariah 2:1 ) and without the article
in ( 1 Chronicles 21:1 ) It is with the scriptural revelation on the subject that
we are here concerned; and it is clear, from this simple enumeration of passages,
that it is to be sought in the New rather than in the Old Testament.
I. The personal existence of a spirit of evil is clearly revealed in Scripture;
but the revelation is made gradually, in accordance with the progressiveness of
Gods method. In the first entrance of evil into the world, the temptation is referred
only to the serpent. In the book of Job we find for the first time a distinct
mention of "Satan" the "adversary" of Job. But it is important to remark the emphatic
stress laid on his subordinate position, on the absence of all but delegated power,
of all terror and all grandeur in his character. It is especially remarkable that
no power of spiritual influence, but only a power over outward circumstances,
is attributed to him. The captivity brought the Israelites face to face with the
great dualism of the Persian mythology, the conflict of Ormuzd with Ahriman, the
co-ordinate spirit of evil; but it is confessed by all that the Satan of Scripture
bears no resemblance to the Persian Ahriman. His subordination and inferiority
are as strongly marked as ever. The New Testament brings plainly forward the power
and the influence of Satan, From the beginning of the Gospel, when he appears
as the personal tempter of our Lord through all the Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse,
it is asserted or implied, again and again, as a familiar and important truth.
II. Of the nature and original state of Satan, little is revealed in Scripture.
He is spoken of as a "spirit" in ( Ephesians 2:2 ) as the prince or ruler of the
"demons" in ( Matthew 12:24 - 26 ) and as having "angels" subject to him in (
Matthew 25:41 ; Revelation 12:7 , Revelation 12:9 ) The whole description of his
power implies spiritual nature and spiritual influence. We conclude therefore
that he was of angelic nature, a rational and spiritual creature, superhuman in
power, wisdom and energy; and not only so, but an archangel, one of the "princes"
of heaven. We cannot, of course, conceive that anything essentially and originally
evil was created by God. We can only conjecture, therefore, that Satan is a fallen
angel, who once had a time of probation, but whose condemnation is now irrevocably
fixed. As to the time cause and manner of his fall Scripture tells us scarcely
anything; but it describes to us distinctly the moral nature of the evil one.
The ideal of goodness is made up of the three great moral attributes of God --love,
truth, and purity or holiness; combined with that spirit which is the natural
temper of the finite and dependent we find creature, the spirit of faith. We find,
accordingly, opposites of qualities are dwelt upon as the characteristics of the
devil.
III. The power of Satan over the soul is represented as exercised either directly or by his instruments.
His direct influence over the soul is simply that of a powerful and evil nature
on those in whom lurks the germ of the same evil. Besides this direct influence,
we learn from Scripture that Satan is the leader of a host of evil spirits or
angels who share his evil work, and for whom the "everlasting fire is prepared."
( Matthew 25:41 ) Of their origin and fall we know no more than of his. But one
passage ( Matthew 12:24 - 26) --identifies them distinctly with the "demons" (Authorized
Version "devils") who had power to possess the souls of men. They are mostly spoken
of in Scripture in reference to possession; but in ( Ephesians 6:12 ) find them
sharing the enmity to God and are ascribed in various lights. We find them sharing
the enmity to God and man implied in the name and nature of Satan; but their power
and action are little dwelt upon in comparison with his. But the evil one is not
merely the "prince of the demons;" he is called also the "prince of this world"
in ( John 12:31 ; 14:30 ; 16:11 ) and even the. "god of this world" in ( 2 Corinthians
4:4 ) the two expressions being united in ( Ephesians 6:12 ) This power he claimed
for himself, as the delegated authority, in the temptation of our Lord, ( Luke
4:6 ) and the temptation would have been unreal had he spoken altogether falsely.
The indirect action of Satan is best discerned by an examination of the title
by which he is designated in Scripture. He is called emphatically ho diabolos
, "the devil." The derivation of the word in itself implies only the endeavor
to break the bonds between others and "set them at variance;" but common usage
adds to this general sense the special idea of "setting at variance by slander."
In the application of the title to Satan, both the general and special senses
should be kept in view. His general object is to break the bonds of communion
between God and man, and the bonds of truth and love which bind men to each other.
The slander of God to man is best seen in the words of ( Genesis 3:4 Genesis 3:5
) They attribute selfishness and jealousy to the Giver of all good. The slander
of man to God is illustrated by the book of Job. ( Job 1:9 - 11 ; Job 2:4 , Job
2:5 )
IV. The method of satanic action upon the heart itself. It may be summed up in two words --temptation and possession.
The subject of temptation is illustrated, not only by abstract statements, but
also by the record of the temptations of Adam and of our Lord. It is expressly
laid down, as in ( James 1:2 - 4 ) that "temptation," properly so called, i.e.
"trial," is essential to man, and is accordingly ordained for him and sent to
him by God, as in ( Genesis 22:1 ) It is this tentability of man, even in his
original nature, which is represented in Scripture as giving scope to the evil
action of Satan. But in the temptation of a fallen nature Satan has a greater
power. Every sin committed makes a man the "servant of sin" for the future, (
John 8:34 ; Romans 6:16 ) it therefore creates in the spirit of man a positive
tendency to evil which sympathizes with, and aids, the temptation of the evil
one. On the subject of possession, see DEMONIACS.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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
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 ; Psalms 109:6 , etc.). The word "Satan" is used 24 times in
the Old Testament. In Job (1:6 f) and Zechariah (3:1 f) 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.
(1) Tempter
(Matthew 4:5 ; 1 Thessalonians 3:5);
(2) Beelzebub
(Matthew 12:24);
(3) Enemy
(Matthew 13:39);
(4) Evil One
(Matthew 13:19 , 38 ; 1 John 2:13 , 14 ; 3:12 , and particularly 1 John 5:18);
(5) Belial
(2 Corinthians 6:15); Adversary (antidikos), (1 Peter 5:8);
(6) Deceiver
(literally "the one who deceives") (Revelation 12:9);
(7) Dragon (Great)
(Revelation 12:3);
(8) Father of Lies
(John 8:44);
(9) Murderer
(John 8:44);
(10) 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 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 (See Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33;
Luke 4:8; John 6:70; 8:44; Acts 13:10; 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; 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 (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 1John 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 ; 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 f). 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). |
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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
Tags:
666, antichrist, azazel, beelzebub, belial, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, deceiver, define, demon, devil, dragon, enemy, evil one, father of lies, hell, jesus, murderer, names of satan, satan, sheol, sinner, temptation of christ, tempter
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