If you were raised in the church or simply grew up in a “Christian” nation, then you have probably heard the term: “God never changes.” And this is true. According to the Bible God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) But I would also submit to you that Satan does not change either. He does adapt with the times—the delivery methods of temptation do change—but his underlying motivation does not.
According to Ezekiel 28:15-19, the sin that caused Satan to fall was his pride and a belief that he, a created being, could—and indeed should—become God. This desire to be worshiped is further exemplified in Matthew 4:9 when Satan tempted Jesus.
Becoming God is Satan’s ultimate motivation. It is also his trademark—a “Calling Card” if you will. If Satan cannot become God, then he will do everything in his power to make himself either equal to, or more powerful than God; or to convince man that he himself can become God.
A good example of this can be found in eastern religion. Many eastern concepts focus on uncovering one's own devine nature and ascending to a state of oneness with the devine cosmos. Furthermore, the concept of Ying and Yang is the absence of any absolutes. There is good in evil and evil in good. Ergo, Satan and God are equal—if not one and the same.
And of course, Satan wants to eliminate God altogether if he can. If God is good and you remove God from the equation, then you are left with nothing but evil. Therefore Satan replaces God. If God does not exist, then there is no standard for what is good, and no justice for what is evil.
People cannot deny the existence of evil—we hate it. Yet many try to deny the existence of the very God who says He will judge evil and punish all wickedness. (Ecclesiastes 12:14, Proverbs 11:21, Isaiah 13:11, etc.)
But perhaps the Devil’s most cunning scheme of all is that of the Conspiracy Theory. He uses the speculation of End Times Prophecy to distract Christians, misleading them with rumors and theories until they are more obsessed with discovering the identity of the Antichrist than they are with Christ himself. Eventually they forget about God and succumb to the belief that Satan is the one in control, even though the Bible clearly teaches that God alone wields absolute authority. (Job 1-42, Revelation 1-22) So, once again, Satan’s agenda is to claim God’s power and authority for himself.
In light of this, we can clearly see that Satan’s underlying motivation hasn’t changed much in the last 6,000 years. He still wants to usurp God and kill, steal, and destroy anything God holds dear. (John 10:10) His motives haven’t changed, and neither has his vocabulary.
“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”
~ Genesis 3:4-5 New King James Version (NKJV)
This is one of the most well-know passages in the Bible, where Satan tempts Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Notice how Satan used the promise of being like God to tempt Eve—again, hearkening back to his original sin. (Even at this early point in history, Satan was still trying to usurp God.) Furthermore, this passage is where the Devil first uses the phrase: “Surely you will not die.”
Surely. That is the key word to remember.
I have heard this word used by multiple individuals from a variety of backgrounds over the years. But what's interesting to me is that almost every conversation revolved around the same topic: God’s judgment of sin. “Surely God would not punish people” sounds an awful lot like, “You will not surely die.” But if God didn't even spare the angels who sinned, then why should He spare any of us, when the Bible clearly says that everyone has sinned? (2 Peter 2:4, Romans 3:23)
The Bible says that Satan is the “father of lies” and the “god of this world”, and that he has blinded the eyes of the masses. (John 8:44, 2 Corinthians 4:4) However he is a defeated enemy—Jesus crushed Satan’s head when he rose from the grave. (Genesis 3:15) Furthermore, Jesus has freed us from sin and the condemnation we deserve for participating in it. (Romans 8:1-4)
Yes, Satan has been defeated. But he is still dangerous. He is a wounded beast—a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) And you never know what a wounded beast is capable of. We can see Satan's handiwork and the trademarks that give him away—he will always try to make himself equal to, or greater than God. But we all need to be cautious. Satan will try to destroy us if he can. But ultimately God will destroy him.
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
~ Romans 16:20 New Living Translation (NLT)
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