One of the biggest misconceptions people have today is that
God and Satan are equal opposites. God is the ruler of Heaven and is the
embodiment of good, whereas Satan is the ruler of Hell and represents all
things evil. This dualistic belief however is a lie harkening back to the
ancient Gnostic teachings of the First Century AD.
Satan is a created being (what many would call an "angel") and is not equal to God in any way. In fact, even though he is in open rebellion against God, Satan still has to answer to God and seek God’s permission before he can do anything. (Job 1:6-12)
Furthermore, Satan is not the “Ruler of Hell”, nor does he currently reside therein. According to the Bible, Hell was created—not for bad people, as some would believe—but rather as a place of punishment for Satan and the other fallen angels. (Matthew 25:41) That being said, Satan is currently in heaven accusing us before God, and will not be cast out until the End of Days. (Revelation 12:10-12)
Satan is a created being (what many would call an "angel") and is not equal to God in any way. In fact, even though he is in open rebellion against God, Satan still has to answer to God and seek God’s permission before he can do anything. (Job 1:6-12)
Furthermore, Satan is not the “Ruler of Hell”, nor does he currently reside therein. According to the Bible, Hell was created—not for bad people, as some would believe—but rather as a place of punishment for Satan and the other fallen angels. (Matthew 25:41) That being said, Satan is currently in heaven accusing us before God, and will not be cast out until the End of Days. (Revelation 12:10-12)
Heaven
is God’s courtroom. Satan is the prosecuting attorney, accusing us day and night
while Jesus speaks in our defense. (Romans
8:34, Hebrews 7:24-25)
Another huge misconception people have
is that Satan makes them sin. I’m sure you’ve all heard the phase “The Devil
made me do it”? Well, this is simply not the case.
According to God’s word, we sin on our own, tempted from within. Very rarely does a temptation come from an external source. (Jeremiah 17:9, Mathew 15:19, James 1:13-15) In fact, the only biblical examples I can think of where someone was tempted externally are when Satan deceived Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, and when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Aside from that, sin usually follows the example of Achan in Joshua 7:19-21.
According to God’s word, we sin on our own, tempted from within. Very rarely does a temptation come from an external source. (Jeremiah 17:9, Mathew 15:19, James 1:13-15) In fact, the only biblical examples I can think of where someone was tempted externally are when Satan deceived Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, and when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Aside from that, sin usually follows the example of Achan in Joshua 7:19-21.
The
truth is, Satan has always wanted to be equal with God—if not greater than Him. This attitude of self-deification was the sin that
caused him to fall in the first place. (Isaiah
14:12-15) So if Satan can deceive the world into thinking that he is more
powerful than he is, or that he and God are equal opposites, then he can enjoy
some small measure of victory before his eminent destruction. But Satan is a
defeated enemy. Jesus conquered both sin and death when he rose from the
dead. Therefore, it is through Jesus Christ alone that our freedom is
found. For there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:11-12)
“So now
there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you
belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to
death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our
sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a
body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to
sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement
of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful
nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
~ Romans 8:1-4 New
Living Translation (NLT)
“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)
