Not Omnipotent, But Neither Impotent

Well, good Minstrel, you said 500 words or less – and I count more than 900 in your post! That’s a relief, because it gives me license to ramble a bit, since it was your gauntlet and all! This will be a response to your musings on the Evil One; my first contribution to the discussion. Should only be about twice as long as yours. ;)

First off, I think it’s essential to this discussion to properly understand the statement in Revelation 20:3 regarding the binding of Satan. I completely agree with you that this is a reference to the present age, and not some future, utopic Millennial kingdom – whether it be a premillennial or a postmillennial one. It is my belief, from the Scriptures, that this 1,000 year binding of Satan is a reference to the “Church age” – that is, the age intervening the Ascension of Christ and His Second Advent. The age in which we now live. But how are we to understand Satan’s binding during this present age? As you note, John’s words are clear – he is bound “So that he would not deceive the nations any longer”. But this is not the complete context. In order to understand the nature of his binding (what he is prevented from doing), it is critical to understand what he does do once he is let loose (“After these things he must be released for a short time”).

When he is released – Revelation 20:7, “And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations…” - it is what he does specifically in his deception of the nations that defines the nature of his binding during the 1,000 years (what he is kept from doing during the Church Age). Is it a general, absolute binding, where he is prevented from doing anything? From deceiving anyone to any extent? It can't be, because throughout the book of Revelation, Satan – the Great Red Dragon – is portrayed as being closely allied with the Beast and the False Prophet to persecute and deceive people throughout the Church Age (described also as a period of great tribulation, when the Dragon himself deceives and persecutes the Church, which is sovereignly protected by God - cf., Revelation 12:13-17). Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 – forewarning his disciples of what will come after His death and Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven (between then and His Second Advent) – are, “False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” This supplies context to John's Revelation, where Satan’s ally, the Beast of Revelation 13, “Performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work … it deceives those who dwell on earth…” So, active Satanic deception is a reality in the Church Age, which is why Paul admonishes Christians to “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil… In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one…”

Satanic deception and scheming is specifically said to go on during this period of time, meaning that though he is bound and kept from deceiving the nations, his deceptive influence is not rendered completely impotent. Again, it is the specific goal of his deception that he is prevented from accomplishing during the Church Age. That specific goal is revealed in Revelation 20:8 as his primary agenda once he is released; “And he will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle…” In other words, in putting these scriptures together, we learn that Satan is active in the Church Age – scheming, deceiving, persecuting, tempting, etc… But he is kept from being able to accomplish his ultimate goal in all of that. He is kept from being able to engender such global rebellion against God and His Church that the nations would band together in an all-out effort to utterly overthrow the Kingdom of God and His Church, and build a counterfeit, Satanic Kingdom. That is the nature of his "binding". It is not an absolute divesting of his power. It is a sovereign limitation of Satan's power in fulfillment of Christ’s promise in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” And that binding will remain until God sovereignly releases Satan, allowing him to gather the nations in outright war against God and His Kingdom - the result of which will be Satan's utter, final, eternal destruction when Christ returns (Revelation 19-20).

So, in this present age, even though God has bound Satan, limiting his power, he is none the less prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking whom to devour. He is active in deception and persecution and plaguing even Christians with his scheming and his flaming arrows. I don’t believe that Peter can be said to be speaking of the flesh as the "roaring lion", because he specifically makes reference to the “devil”, and not the “flesh”. (Grammatically, "The Devil" is the subject of the verb, "To Prowl". He - the Adversary - the Devil, is the one prowling. Not us, prowling around like the Devil, or devilishly). The English word "Devil" is a translation of the Greek, "diabolos", used 37 times in the New Testament, 34 of which are masculine nouns which refer to the Devil as a person, Satan. (The other 3 are used in the pastoral epistles with respect to human beings who are described as "malicious gossips", because of the character of their speech. Cf., 1 Timothy 3:11, 2 Timothy 3:3, and Titus 2:3). Elsewhere, Satan’s name is used specifically to speak of his influence in today’s world – he is a “tempter” in 1 Corinthians 7:5, who has designs for our defeat, 2 Corinthians 2:11. He sends messengers to “harass” Christians, 2 Corinthians 12:7, and hinders the ministry of the gospel when he can, 1 Thessalonians 2:18. When the Antichrist comes, it will be because of the “Activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders”, 2 Thessalonians 2:9, again giving context to Jesus’ warnings of Satanic influence in this present age, in Matthew 24. He wields the power to blind the eyes of unbelievers 2 Corinthians 4:4, and keep them in darkness, Acts 26:18.

He is bound, but he is still the powerful "Prince of the power of the air", Ephesians 2:2; the "god of this age", 2 Corinthians 4:4; and the "ruler of this world", John 14:30. He is not omnipotent, but his armies are strong, and we must stand "Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" - not just those fleshly rebels here on earth. Jesus' own binding of the Strong Man in Matthew 12 did not consist of a complete divesting of Satan's power and influence, but in the casting out of demons so that the proclamation of the Kingdom would be effective. It was a sovereign limiting of Satan's influence, not yet his utter destruction which is still to come (Revelation 20:10). Yes, Satan has been defeated (Hebrews 2:14, Colossians 2:15). But like the flesh which has been crucified (Galatians 2:20), and yet still wages war against God's Spirit within me (Galatians 5:16, Romans 7); So Satan's defeat at the Cross 2,000 years ago doesn't mean that he is no longer at war with God prior to Christ's Second Coming, when his defeat will be consummated in everlasting perdition.

Over and over, God speaks in the New Testament scriptures of Satan having this type of influence now, in this present age, even though he is “bound”. So, his binding is real – and he is kept from accomplishing such rebellion and deception that he would destroy the Church – but his binding is not so absolute as to prevent him from doing anything by way of temptation, deception, persecution, etc… All of these verses refer to him either by name (Satan) or by title (the Devil). If the Apostles wanted to attribute the wickedness of those verses to the flesh only or primarily, they would have said that specifically and clearly. Yes, in Ephesians 4:26 Paul does say to us "Not to let the sun go down on our anger", so as not to "Give opportunity to the devil" in verse 27. This doesn’t mean that it is only our flesh that is responsible for evil – but that the devil actively takes opportunity to propound wickedness on the earth primarily through our flesh. Through tempting our weak, sinful, rebellious hearts. That is the avenue that presents him with the greatest opportunity to rebel against God and His Kingdom in attempting to do what he tried to do the day that he fell from heaven – dethrone the King of Kings and enthrone himself. But he is bound from being able to do it. For all his deceptive, scheming efforts, his purposes will fail and he will eventually be utterly vanquished when, at that climactic battle of Gog and Magog, “The devil who had deceived them [is] thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”, Revelation 20:10.

Does he know my name? He knows enough about me to tempt me strategically, according to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of my flesh – targeting them precisely with his flaming arrows, Ephesians 6:10-18. In Acts 19:15, the demons know Paul’s name – why not mine? Does Satan know my thoughts? Surely not as God does – but Satan was capable of filling Ananias’ heart with lies against the Holy Spirit, Acts 5:3, and he was able to “enter into” Judas, influencing him to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3). In John 13:2, John says that "The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot... to betray Him". So even if he can't be said to make us sin, Satan does have access to our thoughts and desires in some way, so as to tempt us to do his evil will. At the same time, Satan's estimation of the condition of Job's heart, and of how Job would respond to tribulation proved to be inaccurate (Job 1:9-11) - proving that Satan is not omniscient, and that he does not have comprehensive knowledge of our thoughts.

There is prolific demonic activity recorded throughout the book of Acts – subsequent to Jesus’ ascension, and those demons are clearly personal, intelligent beings who know things about the people they possess or oppress. Satan is not omnipotent, but it is a mistake to argue that he is impotent. He is clearly a powerful, active, intelligent being. Not even Michael the Archangel would speak personally against him, but pronounced the Lord’s rebuke on him in Jude 1:9. Satan's demonic emissaries are manifold – and though they are not omniscient (as only God is), they know a great deal about us and work through Satan’s influence to tempt and pester us regularly. I don’t believe that Satan is capable of knowing my thoughts as God does – but he is extremely crafty and understands the basic roots of evil and the nature of sin far better than I do (he's been at it longer), so as to be able to exploit my flesh through temptation in a highly efficient and effective manner. And we mustn't forget that Satan is a (fallen) angelic, spiritual being. His knowledge and understanding of the spiritual realm, where the true battle is fought, is far superior to our own, and we shouldn't underestimate it. And all of that means that I must be aware of his desire to tempt and deceive me. I must be acquainted with his strategies. I must realize that not only is my flesh wicked, but that I live in a wicked world in which Satan, the Devil, the god of this age and the ruler of this world, is presently active.

But of course the good news is that he was defeated at the cross, rendering his eventual and final destruction an absolute certainty. And, God’s wisdom and knowledge are boundless, and He is sovereign. Sovereign enough to guarantee that all of the resources that we need to resist the schemes of the devil are at our disposal through faith in Christ. Sovereign enough to guarantee that Satan cannot succeed in destroying Christ’s Church, or the life of any soul for which Christ shed His blood. Sovereign enough to promise that if we, "Resist the Devil," He will "Flee from us" (James 4:7) God is even Sovereign enough to utilize Satan’s purposes of deception, temptation, and persecution for His own glorious purposes – to sanctify His people through fiery trials, 1 Peter 4:12. To discipline His people through divine love, Hebrews 12:6. The violence of Satan is even used against him in God’s purposes of judgment, which is – I believe – one of the central themes of the whole book of Revelation. It is one of the primary reasons why evil continues to exist by Satan's agency – because it is inherently self-defeating. By continuing to rebel, Satan is ensuring his own eternal doom, and that of all those who will sinfully cooperate with his rebellious agenda. And that doom will accomplish God's Glory in the demonstration of His justice. In short, even though Satan is active and capable of great spiritual harm, the Christian need not fear - for our comfort is that even though Satan does roams as a ravenous, roaring lion – “We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 The biblical doctrine of Satan is not the Persian doctrine of dualistic deities - one good, and the other evil. He is a lion, but he is leashed by the sovereign hand of God.

Through the strength of God's Spirit within us, if we remain faithful - even through the worst that the Devil can throw at us - if we remain faithful even unto death, He will give us the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).