According to Scripture, God originally created the spirit-being often called Lucifer as a flawless angel. Yet he chose rebellion (Isaiah 14:12–20; Ezekiel 28:12–19), and in doing so became Satan—the adversary and enemy of God.
The Bible presents Satan not as an impersonal force but as a real, personal being. He rejected truth, spoke with God, reasoned, and acted with intent (John 8:44; Job 1:1–22; 2:1–13; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14–15).
God created Adam upright and righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:29), warning him that disobedience would bring death. Satan gained influence over humanity through his first lie—that humans would not die (Genesis 2:17; 3:4; Ezekiel 18:4,20; Romans 5:12; 6:23).
Because of sin, God pronounced the foretold sentence: “Dying, you shall die” (Genesis 2:17, Green’s Literal), and “to dust you shall return.” Yet in the same moment, He introduced a covenant promise of eventual deliverance—the prophecy that the woman’s seed would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:14–19; Revelation 12:9; 20:2).
In Scripture, a woman often symbolizes a covenant (Galatians 4:22–26). Thus, the “woman” of Genesis 3:15 can be understood as God’s covenantal word of promise—the pledge of a coming seed (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Romans 9:9; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8,16,18,29; 4:28; 2 Timothy 2:8). From that moment onward, Satan has sought to corrupt or destroy the promised seed.
Before the Flood, he influenced certain angels to materialize and take human wives, producing a corrupt hybrid offspring and widespread wickedness (Genesis 6:1–7; Jude 6–7).
God responded by destroying that ancient “world” (Greek kosmos—its social order, not the planet itself; Psalm 104:5) through the Flood, preserving only Noah and his family (2 Peter 2:4–5).
Afterward, Satan and his fallen angels quickly reasserted influence. Through Nimrod, they led humanity into idolatry and false religion, and Satan became “the god of this present evil age” (Genesis 10:1–32; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4; John 12:31; 14:30). Yet God promised Abraham that through him and his seed all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:1–3; 15:6; 17:19,21; 22:15–18; 26:4; 28:14; Romans 4:3).
Satan therefore targeted the line of promise—assaulting Isaac, influencing Esau to despise his birthright, opposing Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Israel, Saul, David, Solomon, their descendants, and the prophets (Luke 11:47–51).
In the fullness of time, God sent His only begotten Son—the promised Seed—to give His life as a ransom so that all might receive a full, individual opportunity for eternal life (Galatians 3:8,16; Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:5–6; 1 John 2:2; 4:9–10).
Satan attempted repeatedly to destroy or entrap Jesus and ultimately succeeded in orchestrating His crucifixion (Matthew 4:1–11; 8:24; Luke 4:29; 22:3–6,47–48; 23:33–34).
But God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to the highest place in the universe, second only to the Most High (Acts 2:33,36; 5:30–31; Philippians 2:9–11; Ephesians 1:3,17–23; 1 Corinthians 15:27; Hebrews 1:4; 1 Peter 3:22).
Knowing his time was short, Satan turned his fury toward the Church—the Body of Christ—seeking to corrupt, persecute, and hinder it, for it too is part of Abraham’s Seed destined to bless all humanity (Romans 12:5; 4:13–16; Ephesians 1:18–23; Galatians 3:7–9,29; Revelation 12:9–17).
Yet Jehovah caused the early Church to grow despite persecution (Acts 2:41; 5:14).
When persecution failed, Satan corrupted the Church through false teachings and ungodly practices (Matthew 13:24–28; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–10; 1 John 4:3), until the true Church became nearly hidden among the “tares.”
Still, God never abandoned His faithful ones. Amid widespread darkness, He raised up courageous servants—Marsiglio, Wyclif, Huss, Savonarola, Luther, Zwingli, Cranmer, Wesley, and others—to give His saints “a little help” (Hebrews 13:5–6; Matthew 28:20; Isaiah 60:2; Daniel 11:34; Micah 5:5).
Even so, Satan dominated Christendom through a “chained Bible,” ignorance, superstition, pagan philosophies, and doctrinal errors—especially the teachings of the soul’s inherent immortality, consciousness after death, and eternal torment. These distortions relied on literalizing portions of figurative texts and confusing Hades with Gehenna. Yet prophecy indicates that in the “time of the end,” beginning around 1799, God would greatly increase knowledge (Daniel 12:4; Nahum 2:3–4).
As older errors faded, Satan introduced new deceptions through “seducing spirits” and “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1): Evolution, Theosophy, Christian Science, New Thought, Mormonism, Rosicrucianism, Universalism, Scientology, authoritarian religious "organization", and more. He multiplied deceptive “signs and wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9): witchcraft, occult arts, fortune-telling, necromancy, Satanism, clairvoyance, spiritism, hypnotism, astrology, poltergeists, horoscopes, ouija boards, UFO phenomena, and similar practices.
Yet many Christians overlook God’s clear prohibition against such things (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26,31; 20:6,27; Deuteronomy 18:9–14; 1 Chronicles 10:13–14; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 8:19–20; 19:3–4; Jeremiah 29:8–9; Zechariah 10:2; Galatians 5:19–21; Revelation 21:8; 22:15).
Prophecy shows that God, through Christ, will ultimately expose Satan’s lies, use the global “time of trouble” (war, revolution, anarchy) to break Satan’s power, and prepare the way for God’s Kingdom on earth (Revelation 19:11–21; 11:15–18; 20:1–4; 1 Kings 19:11–12; Psalms 46:8–11; 76:8–10; Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21–22; 12:29; 6:10; Micah 4:1–4).
In due time, Satan’s dominion will end. God will “crush Satan under your [the elect Seed’s] feet shortly,” for He desires all people—including the non-elect—to be saved from Adamic condemnation and to come to an accurate knowledge of the truth (Romans 16:20; 1 Timothy 2:4–6; Numbers 14:21; Isaiah 11:9).
With Satan removed, God will establish the “new earth”—a renewed social order—where humanity will undergo its judgment (trial for life) and progress toward perfection without Satan’s blinding influence (Acts 17:31; 2 Peter 3:7–13; Isaiah 35:1–10; 65:17–25; Revelation 20:1–4; 21:1–5; 22:17).
After this, Satan will be released for a final test. He will gather followers once more, but God will utterly destroy him and all who choose wickedness (Revelation 20:3,7–10; 21:8; Psalms 37:9–11,38; 145:20; Isaiah 43:17; Hebrews 2:14).
At last, God will triumph completely. Satan will be no more, “all iniquity shall stop her mouth,” and every creature will praise God and the Lamb forever (Ezekiel 28:19; Psalms 107:42; Revelation 5:12–13).
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