Knowing Our Enemy: 1 Peter 5:8-9
1. Satan is REAL! He is not evil personified. “Personification” is the application of human attributes to inanimate objects or ideas.
a. Biblical examples:
i. Wisdom – Proverbs 8:1-4; 9:1-6
ii. Sin – Romans 6:16
b. Promoters of Personification
i. Many “Bible believers” hold this view:
(1) “The Bible plainly says ‘the wages of sin is death,’ thus the devil or satan would be long dead by now!” http://www.biblelight.org/devsat2.htm.
(2) An index of articles examining Bible passages relating to Satan as the personification of sin can be found at: http://www.bbie.org/english/resources/satan/index.html
(3) Both of these are Christadelphian sites. While adamant in their view of Satan as the personification of evil, the arguments I have read are illogical, inconsistent, and not well-presented (see statement in point #1).
ii. Transcendentalists hold this view: “There is a Satan, but it is not a particular being, but a state we live in when we have made a choice to distance ourselves from God.” Jennifer Ayers-Gould, “Satan, Person or Personification?” www.spiritualminds.com
iii. Even “true” Satanists do not believe in a literal Devil:
(1) “Satan is not a conscious entity to be worshipped, rather a reservoir of power inside each human to be tapped at will." "Satanism: The Feared Religion" by Peter Gilmore
(2) A review of “true” Satanism and related concepts can be found at http://www.dpjs.co.uk/satan.html
iv. A www.google.com search of “Satan” + “personification” registered over 9000 “hits.”
c. Problem of Personification:
i. Genesis 3 – mythologizes the creation and fall of man
ii. Job 1-2 – makes Job responsible for his personal losses, the death of his children and servants, and his own misery.
iii. Matthew 4:1-11 – makes nonsense of Jesus’ temptation
iv. Biblical examples of personification do not entail direct interaction b/w them and specific individuals as do those involving the devil.
2. Satan ROAMS the earth:
a. Genesis 3
b. Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3
c. He is “the prince of this world”– John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11
d. He is “the god of this world” – 2 Corinthians 4:4
e. He is “the prince of the power of the air” – Ephesians 2:2
3. Satan ROARS as a lion:
a. Roaring is done in HUNGER – Satan’s appetite is insatiable.
i. e.g., Europe’s political appeasement to Hitler
ii. “Give Satan an inch, and he will become your ruler.”
b. Roaring is done to incite FEAR – Satan will try to overwhelm us. 2 Kings 18-19 – Sennacherib, Rabshakeh, and Hezekiah
c. Roaring is done to declare TERRITORY – Satan reigns over most of the world: media, homosexuality, abortion, drugs, sexual immorality, etc
4. Satan brings RUIN when men act under his influence:
a. Genesis 3:1-19 (cf Romans 5:12)
b. 1 Chronicles 21 – Satan provoked David to number Israel to the destruction of 70,000 men.
c. Acts 5:1-10 – Satan led Ananias and Sapphira to LIE (cf John 8:44)
d. 2 Cor 2:6-11 – Satan is the author of unforgiveness (cf Mt 6:14-15)
e. 1 Timothy 3:6 – Satan is the promoter of PRIDE
5. Satan is RESTRICTED
a. In KNOWLEDGE – Job 1:11; 2:5
b. In POWER:
i. Job 1:12; 2:6
ii. Implied in 1 Peter 5:8 - “whom he may devour”
6. Satan has been ROUTED and REJECTED
a. Luke 10:18
b. John 12:31; 16:11 (cf Heb 2:14)
c. Revelation 12:7-10
7. Satan is RESISTIBLE
a. Requisites of Resistance - 1 Peter 5:8-9
i. Sobriety – free from evil influence of mind
ii. Vigilance – watchful, using all faculties
iii. “the faith”
(1) (Romans 10:8; Matthew 4:1-11
(2) numerous NT references to “the faith” = indicating only one
b. Reminders to the “Resisters”
i. 1 Peter 5:10
ii. 1 Corinthians 10:13
iii. John 14:30; Hebrews 4:14-16
iv. John 16:33
8. Faithfulness in resistance will bring REST: 1 Peter 5:10
a. 1 Corinthians 15:58; Galatians 6:9
b. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-6
c. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (cf Genesis 29:20)