Does Satan really exist?
To some people Satan is merely some mythological figure, a figment of our vivid imaginations, (cartoon character on TV) simply a bit of fun . To others Satan is a genuine fallen being who has only evil intentions to inflict upon his victims, the Bible says he can appear as an ANGEL OF LIGHT but he’s a liar & a deceiver what appears as good often turns sour with serious consequences. I don’t know where you stand tonight, but I must say from the outset I believe that Satan is real and I want to unpack a number of lines of enquiry to show the validity of my assumption that Satan is Real..
• I want you to imagine you’re a detective and you’re at a crime scene, a murder , the corpse is lying face down on the kitchen floor with a bread knife perturbing out of the victim’s body, the crime has been committed, the suspect has fled, you are left to piece together what exactly happened from the evidence that’s left behind; So you start to gather the evidence firstly there is the direct evidence, (before your eyes – a dead body for instance & the knife) then you have forensic evidence ( fingerprints, DNA,) you may have differing eye witness accounts to gather from neighbours ( whether direct /circumstantial) all these lines of evidence are collaborated together to catch the culprit and to bring a strong case proving that Joe Boggs committed the crime.
It’s this type of collaborating evidence I want to bring together tonight in order to that Satan really does exist.
1. The Bible
To unpack Satan we must firstly go to a reliable source, that speaks of him and that’s the Bible. (2Tim 3:16 God breathed). This is not simply the thoughts of man about God and the world, it’s the very words of God to man, this is a reliable source because it’s given to us by God who was there in the beginning our Creator . So my first line of collaborative evidence for the existence of Satan is the authority of the Bible itself, which informs from the first book of Genesis (his origins) to the last book of Revelation (his end).
Satan’s origin.
When God first created the world it was very good (Gen 1:21) there was no evil angelic beings at this time. Then we see Satan in the form of a serpent (Gen 3 the fall). Therefore something in-between took place? An Angelic rebellion took place, these beings were cast down removed from God’s glory, (2Pet 2:4, Jude 6).
So Satan was an angel who fell (Isa. 14:12-15 Historical & metaphorical Hebrew literature) from a sinless high estate (Luke. 10:18). He was a created being who served God (Eze 28:14-19). This being had a free will, he choose to rebel against God, he desired to set himself up as God. (Isa: 14; 15) and there was a rebellion in heaven, hence God cast him out of heaven with a host of fallen angels with Him; He is the prince of this world and has a measure of control with a host of demonic forces. (Acts 10:38).
Satan’s influence.
The Bible says that Satan has a certain amount of influence in the world and over human lives today, ever since the fall back in the beginning in Genesis, where he was the serpent in the Garden of Eden, who tempted Adam & Eve & when they fell the whole of humanity fell. As a consequence of that first rebellion , we are all born in rebellion against God and are influenced greatly by Satan, we are no longer born as children of God ( hence the need for new birth John 3:3) we are now all born by nature children of Satan .
We share our fathers likeness, his influence is evident in our lives (Jhn 8:44). (pride, lust, lies, hypocrisy, greed, corruption, evil, & destruction, more ) we share these characteristics which are not of God ( goodness light) but of Satan (Evil darkness) , we manifest these traits & even promote some of these traits as a human race. Wickedness has become good and good has become wicked.
Satan’s Plan
The Bible says [1pet 5:8 ) He prowls around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Satan’s plan is to keep you from God, ultimately to destroy your life for all eternity; He may do that with pain and suffering which is brought about by following his vices, his lies, he leads us into things which breakdown lives like ( alcoholism, drug dependency, immorality, witchcraft, demonic activities, prostitution , crime and so on ).
Luke. 13:16 He blinds people physically and spiritually . He also appears as an angel of light , he may well give you success and pleasures and human intellect an awareness of self righteousness, fill you with pride, whereby you have no time for God, or reason God away with human theories and philosophies or create a God of your own imagination a counterfeit god. . Whatever he does, ultimately he desires you to live out a life of unbelief, a life whereby ultimately he keeps you sidetracked, without God .
The Bible says He is the father of lies; . He is the author of all that is evil in the world today and his desire is to take you & me down into the bottomless pit with him & into the lake of burning sulphur, the 2nd death where he and all those with him whom he’s deceived will be tormented for all eternity (Rev 20:10, 14).
So the Bible gives us a complete curricula vitae of Satan of his origins, his influence, his plans and His ultimate end, if what the Bible is saying is true then we should expect to see what it claims to be outplayed in the world around us so that takes me to another line of evidence which enables us to answer the question Does Satan really Exist?
2. Evil in the World. (Evil is a direct/indirect result of Satan & humanities fallen naturel)
If there is no Satan no God , everything is merely neutral with no evil or good ; But evil abounds; the abuse of children, the horrific daily murders, the justified abortions, the hatred & discord, wars and genocide, whether under religious disguises or secular agendas all alike are prone to evil, the injustices, the violence on our streets , the lies, the pain & suffering , how do you account for evil ?
Jn. 12:31; 14:30 He is the prince of this world . Of course its humans who are the cause of such atrocities, but its all a result of our sinful bias since the fall all humans are manipulated & influenced by Satanic forces at work beyond our human comprehension. All of us are capable of such evil. Eph. 2:2 He indwells the unsaved. We all in Adam belong to Him, God is not out Father but Satan (strong stuff) Jn. 3:8, 10 His children are unsaved people
• G.k. Chesterton was once asked, what’s the problem with the world?” His short reply “I am”
• We always try to point the finger at others thinking there far worse people than ourselves; we may point to Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin laden, Myra Hindley. Peter Sutcliffe, Saddam Hussein’s of this world, but God will not let us do that, we are all influenced to one degree another by the evil forces behind this world.
It was during the trial of Adolf Eichmann, the mastermind of the Jewish holocaust in Nazi Germany, a Jewish man , who had just given evidence against him, was found weeping in the corridor . His friend asked him , “why are you crying?” The man replied, “because I realize now that he is just a man like I am. I could have done what he did.” He had imagined some awful monster but, when he saw Eichmann right in front of him, he realized that the Nazi was just a man and the awful truth dawned on him. There are not two categories of people, good or evil, but we are all the same, that could have been him. .
How otherwise do we account for such evil if there is no source for those evil characteristics and no source for the good, there will be simply at best neutrality, but no accountability, with no answers to what we see before us simply a meaningless existence.
Christian’s believe that there is both Good & Evil that there is God & Satan and these two are in conflict . This gives us as Christians great hope because we know that there is someone outside of this world, who will judge all the evil that takes place Justly, but also that there is also someone form the outside in Jesus who comes into this world to put right what’s gone wrong. whose name is Jesus who defeated Satan at the cross.
3. Occult practices
Derek Prince writes "Somewhere in every one of us is a deep longing to make contact with the unknown, with some "higher power" - something greater or wiser or more powerful than ourselves. This is true at all levels, from the teenage girl reading her horoscope, to the witch doctor in some remote tribe who has never seen a white man, to the scientist probing outer space and seeking to discover the secrets of the universe. It was God who placed this longing within us, but His archenemy, Satan, has devised a way to divert seekers. (They Shall Expel Demons, p.113-114,)
In this country Glastonbury is Mecca of occult activity , its centre with shops & practioners promoting their wares & services, but even here on the doorstep, I’ve encountered occult activities in the heart of Countesthorpe.
Occult practices are on the increase whether its tarot cards, channelling, palmistry, witchcraft, out of body experiences, crystal healing, Ouija boards, voodoo religion, séances, spiritualism and even Satanic worshippers, although they claim do not worship Satan, the Satanic Bible & its teaching makes dark reading with its applied practices.
• Occult dictionary meaning "Not revealed; secret"
• "Not easily apprehended or understood"
• "Matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them"
The occult appeals to our natural tendency toward pride of life (1 John 2:16). Pride of life is revealed when we set aside God’s commands and seek knowledge or power to master our own destiny and control our environment according to our desires. This is a type of rebellion (1 Samuel 15:22-23) is like the sin of divination. Eve demonstrated this rebellion in Genesis 3:5-6 when she sought knowledge that would cause her to be like God.
In general, if an activity or object is used to seek knowledge or power from sources other than God, then it most likely is of the occult. To which there are three main categories;
a. Carnal knowledge / sins of the flesh and eyes: via coveting, includes all forms of sexual sin, adultery, bestiality, homosexuality, immorality, paedophilia, incest, lust, rape & pornography violence, even sending one to violence & murder.
( The Occult activity which has enveloped these individuals & its victims of such practices leaves people in a bondage which has been physical, emotional, spiritual scares with dark spiritual significances)
b. Supernatural power; via charms, curses, sacrifice, enchanting, Idolatry, magic & seeking spirits. This power can lead to the most evil atrocities
Daily mail Sept 2008 : A gang of Satan worshippers in Russia ( young kids 14-16) murdered four teenagers by stabbing each of them 666 times, police believe. The number of wounds is the same as that revered by followers of the devil. The three girls and one boy who were murdered, all described as Goths and aged 16 and 17, were allegedly forced to drink alcohol by the gang before they were attacked.
The killers then allegedly lit a bonfire under a tree near their cottage in Russia's Yaroslavl region, 300 miles north-east of Moscow, where they cooked and ate their victims' body parts. Their remains were discovered last month. One of those arrested is alleged to have told police: 'Satan will help me to avoid responsibility; I made lots of sacrifices to him.' Another, Alexander Voronovic, claimed the gang had previously dug up a grave and eaten the heart of the girl buried there. One of the gang, when asked what made him do it, is claimed to have said: 'I tried to turn to God, but it didn't bring me any money. 'I prayed to Satan, and things improved.'
c. Knowledge of the future; via mediums, psychics, spiritualists, tarot cards, Astrology, divination, omens, Necromancy(contacting the dead) fortune tellers.
People always want to know the future and so even our pubs on our own door step, advertise Physic night, spiritualist Churches contact the dead, astrology is littered in our papers every day, families are using tarot cards, people obsessed with omens, fortune tellers abound. What we once thought belonged to the dark ages is still living and active in our 21st century, techno advanced world.
• I remember once visiting a grieving mother, who was comforted by a deceiving spirit in her own home after the death of her daughter. Which prevented her from receiving the truth of the gospel and gave her a false sense of her own future security.
4. Personal experience (1Cor 6:9 -11) (Eph 2:1-5)
A Christian can testify from personal experience and testify to the life changing power of Jesus in the lives of others ( conversion - anyone who is in Christ Jesus is a new creation, no longer under condemnation) Jesus Christ has the power to deliver You from the bondage of sin & the works of Satan. Church in Corinth notice what they were & what they become ! (1Cor 6:9 -11)
Again and again we see God transform lives, often the most unexpected, lives which t have been so damaged beyond comprehension , lives which have done great evil, lives with acute as demonic possession, the lives of those who have suffered neglect & abuse, lives strangled with drink & drugs ( Debbie Forester - heroin addict – come to Christ Mike Mellor alcoholic ) have been set Free.
Even this testimony tonight of (Richard) as a child coming to faith in Christ as Saviour and Lord is just as significant & powerful, even he was once in the clutches of the evil one, but now in Christ he has been set free! (Eph 2:1-5)
You see there is a battle going on for your body & soul the evil one wants to destroy both and take you to hell but God wants to restore you back to himself , God doesn’t condemn you we stand in condemnation, God has come to rescue us, to restore, to heal, to forgive, to change and to empower you to live for his Glory! He’s holding out his hand.....
Satan’s defeat
Satan’s card were marked from the very beginning (Gen 3:14-15) God had a plan to redeem his people back to himself as a result his work is limited, people have the opportunity to be taken out of his clutches.
It’s through Jesus who during his temptations didn’t fall for his subtle lies like Adam & Eve (humanity) , Jesus stood tall & rebuked Satan with the Word at his temptations (Matt 4:1-11) he led a perfect obedient life to Father God.
Satan seeks to destroy Jesus, he enters into Judas in order to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3) , he guides the hearts and minds of the religious elite, he ‘s in the backdrop of all that is evil to the crucifixion, but where he thinks he gains the victory, he is actually defeated because at the cross Jesus satisfied God’s justice, demonstrated his love, paid the price for our sins, so that we could be reconciled to God, he then conquered death with the resurrection and defeated Satan’s rule over us . (Col 2:14-15). 14having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross
What is your personal response?
You must come to the point of repentance and personal trust in the finished work of Christ and then the bondage of spiritual chains that Satan has bound us with is broken and we are released to experience a life that God intended for us in the power of His Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Further References to Satan’s influence as seen in the Bible
• Gen. 3:1-14 He was disguised under the Edenic serpent
• Gen. 3:15 He is the serpent’s seed
• Isa. 14:12 He was Lucifer, son of the morning before the fall
• Ezk. 28:14 He was the anointed cherub that covers
• 1 Chr. 21:1 He energized David to evil
• Job 1:7-2:10 He accused and afflicted Job
• Zech. 3:1-9 He opposes unbelieving Israel, prefigured by Joshua the priest
• Mt. 4:3 He is the tempter
• Mt. 12:24; Acts 10:38 He is the prince of the demons
• 1 Tim. 4:1-6 He instigates false doctrine
• Mt. 4:4; Lk. 4:10-11 He perverts the Word of God
• Mt. 12:22-29 He works in demon possession
• Zech. 3:1 He is Satan, the Adversary
• Lk. 4:13 He is the devil, the slanderer
• Jn. 13:2,27 He caused Judas to betray Christ
• Acts 5:3 and Ananias to lie
• 2 Cor. 4:4 He blinds people spiritually
• 1 Pet. 5:8 He seeks to harm believers
• Eph. 6:11-12 He heads a celestial hierarchy of evil
• Eph. 2:2 He indwells the unsaved
• Jn. 8:44 He was branded “a liar” and “the father of lies” by Jesus
• 2 Thess. 2:9 He works diabolic miracles
• Jn. 8:44 He is a murderer
• Jn. 12:31; 14:30 He is the prince of this world
• Lk. 13:16 He blinds people physically and spiritually
• Mt. 25:41 He is a fallen angel
• Mt. 13:38-39 He sows tares
• Mt. 13:19 and snatches away the Word
• Rev. 20:1-3 He will be bound during the millennium
• Mt. 13:39 He is “the enemy”
• Mt. 13:38 “the evil one”
• Eph. 6:10-20 He is routed by Spirit-directed prayer
• 1 Pet. 5:8-9 He is overcome by faith
• 1 Thess. 2:18 He hinders God’s will in believers
• Rev. 12:9 He is the deceiver
• Rev. 12:9; 20:2 He is the dragon, that old serpent
• Lk. 10:18 He fell from a sinless high estate
• Lk. 22:31 He viewed Simon Peter as a target
• Rev. 2:9 He has a synagogue of legalists who deny God’s grace in Christ
• Jn. 3:8, 10 His children are unsaved people
• Mt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10 His ultimate fate is Gehenna
The New Unger’s Bible Handbook, Merrill F. Unger, Revised by Gary N. Larson, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984, p. 407
