The Bible does NOT tell us that the one called the devil is named Satan. “What?” you may ask! Although the KJV and most of the translations we read have the word capitalized and treated as a proper name the Hebrew and Greek DO NOT give any indication of a need for capitalization or any indication of the original being a proper name.
The Hebrew word is satan, saw-tawn’, H7854 in Strong’s. It has the meaning of adversary, one who withstands. The word is used of human adversaries as well as a spirit adversary. The Hebrew satan is used 27 times in the Old Testament, only 19 are translated Satan. In 2 of those Scriptures the original shows the translation to be “an adversary” and the other 17 to be “the adversary.” The article “the” is very definitely used in all of those 17 places. And, the article “the” is NEVER used with a proper name. In the Hebrew it is not proper to say “the Jacob” or “the Moses.” The translators have arbitrarily left out the article “the” and capitalized the word “satan” in English.
The New Testament Greek word is satanas, sat-an-as’, #G4567 in Strong’s. This Greek form is derived from the Aramaic and Hebrew word satan, an adversary. The meaning in Greek as well as Hebrew is “adversary.” All 36 places this word appears the translators have translated it into English as “satan” and have capitalized it, indicating it is a proper name. 31 of the 36 places the word is translated “satan” the Young’s Literal Bible shows the article “the” is in the original. The other 5 places not having the article “the” it indicates the translation would be more proper as “adversary.” Even Young’s and the Weymouth, which translate most of these as “adversary” have incorrectly capitalized the word, even though there is no grammatical reason to do so in the Greek
As mentioned, the Hebrew word satan means “enemy, adversary.” It is used in this sense numerous times in the Old Testament to refer to human adversaries or enemies. Let’s look at a few examples. “And the Lord stirred up an adversary (Hebrew satan) unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite;...”(1 Kings 11:14) And again, verse 23, “And God stirred him up another adversary (Hebrew satan), Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.” Verse 25, “And he was an adversary (Hebrew satan) to Israel all the days of Solomon, ...” In these 3 verses we see two individuals, Hadad and Rezon, were satans of Israel, that is, they were enemies and adversaries of Israel. Did you know that King David was also a satan? Notice 1 Samuel 29. In verse 3 we see that David is being talked about, “Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, ...” Then in verse 4, “and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in battle he be an adversary (Hebrew satan) to us: ...” They were concerned that David would turn against them in the middle of battle and become their enemy, their satan. So, King David, the anointed of God, was a satan (enemy) to the Philistines. There are quite a number of other Scriptures that you can look at that show the Hebrew satan being a human enemy, an adversary. We see that a satan is quite simply an enemy, someone who hates and seeks harm. A satan is not even necessarily evil since King David was a satan to the evil Philistines.
We do find many references to an angelic adversary. Contrary to what Christianity has taught us “the adversary” has not been identified by name. All we have from Scripture is a reference to an angelic adversary. The first reference to an angelic satan (enemy or adversary) is in the account of the Gentile prophet Balaam. Most of us are familiar with the account in Numbers 22. Balaam had been invited by the Moabite king Balak to curse Israel but God instructed him not to agree to Balak’s request. Balak would not take no for an answer and God eventually agreed that Balaam might go to meet with Balak but he was not to curse Israel. But, as we know, Balaam had other ideas and set off to curse Israel. God was displeased by this and sent an angelic satan against Balaam. Notice Numbers 22:22, “And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary (Hebrew satan) against him...” We see here the angel of God was a satan, and adversary or enemy, to Balaam. In verses 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 34, and 35 we read that this angelic satan is “the angel of the Lord.” Notice verse 32, “And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee (marginal reading is ‘to be an adversary unto thee’ and the Hebrew is satan), because thy way is perverse before me:”
Most of us have never heard that the “angel of the Lord” was satan have we? This angelic satan is not out to win over millions in an unholy war against God. He is God’s angel. The Hebrew word for angel is mal’ach, which means “messenger.” The representatives sent by Balak to Balaam are also called mal’achim, messengers (Num. 22:5). The angelic satan in the account of Balaam is simply God’s messenger who does what God sends him to do.
It is also clear from the fact that he speaks the message of God both as himself, and as if he were God. Numbers 22:35, “And the angel of Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak...” This angelic satan refers to the words that God will speak to Balaam as “the word that I shall speak unto thee.” This is because he is speaking the words God told him to speak, which is the role of a messenger. Balak’s messengers did the same thing. In verse 5 they refer to Israel as a nation that “abide against me,” the “me” being Balak. They spoke the words of Balak in the first person as if Balak was speaking, in the same way the angelic satan speaks the words of God in the first person as if God were saying them. It was the practice of the ancient messengers to freely switch off between speaking their message as if they were the sender and speaking it as themselves.
The angelic satan that was sent to harm Balaam did not desire for Balaam to sin. He was not a tempter. He actually ordered Balaam not to defy God. He was simply a messenger of God, and like human messengers, he could speak the words of God in the first person as if he were God. Clearly this angelic satan was not a rebellious angel seeking to establish a kingdom of evil. We see that an angel that is sent to cause harm to human beings can be referred to as a satan (an adversary, an enemy). The angelic satan was not an enemy of God, but His messenger. An enemy or adversary causes harm so the angel that causes harm to human beings was called a satan.
Let’s look at another angelic satan, the account being found in the book of Zechariah. The prophet Zechariah sees two angels standing near the high priest, “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan (the satan, the adversary) standing at his right hand to resist ( to be a satan) to him.” (Zech. 3:1) The vision continues, “And the Lord said unto Satan (the satan, the adversary, the enemy), The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan (satan, enemy, adversary); even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” (Zech. 3:2) We see in this vision that the angelic satan wants to harm Joshua the high priest but God calls him off because it would cause harm to Jerusalem. Joshua here is likened to a brand saved from the fire, that is, a stick of wood about to be burned up that is plucked from the bonfire. Joshua was supposed to be burned up by God’s wrath, but God gave him a last minute reprieve, not for his own sake but for the sake of Jerusalem. After saving him from his punishment we read that Joshua’s soiled clothes are removed and he is dressed in fine robes (verses 3-5). The dirty clothes symbolized to be covered in sin and worthy of punishment. The angelic satan had been sent to punish Joshua. God forgave Joshua and cancelled the punishment, he called off the angelic satan. The angelic satan in this account, like in the account of Balaam, was sent to punish when God’s wrath was burning (“a brand plucked from the fire”) and in both cases the mission to harm is cancelled at the last minute.
We read that God rebuked the angel. Let us understand. There is one other Scripture that speaks about an angelic satan on someone’s right hand. In Psalms 109:6 King David asks God to punish those who have harmed him, “Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan (Hebrew a satan)stand at his right hand.” King David is praying that his enemies be punished by God, “appointing” an evil human to rule over them or an angelic satan who will harm them. The angelic satan who comes to the right hand to do harm is “appointed” by God. We should not be surprised to see that God rebukes the very angelic satan He Himself appointed to harm Joshua the high priest. The ability to rescind His own decree of punishment is said to be one of the merciful traits of God. “But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.” (Psa. 78:38)
God can “turn back His anger” and forgive, cancelling the punishment that He has already decreed. We know He did this for the Israelites after they worshipped the golden calf. (Psa. 106:23) He also did this for Joshua the high priest. Joshua’s soiled clothes, picturing being covered in sin and worthy of punishment, are removed and he is dressed in fine robes (Zech 3:4). When God rebukes the angelic satan this is an act of “turning back His anger.” The angelic satan was “appointed” on Joshua’s “right hand” to punish him for his sins. God decided to forgive Joshua and cancelled the punishment and removed his sin. He recalled the angelic satan He had sent to execute His wrath.
In the examples we have looked at we have seen no indication of a “Christian concept Satan.” There are, however, a number of instances in the Hebrew Scriptures in which an angelic satan does seek to lead men to sin. Let’s look at some of them and see if we see the Satan pictured most often by Christianity.
Let us look at the account of the census of King David. The Torah required that each person participating in a census pay a half shekel of silver to the Temple as “a ransom (an atonement) for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.” (Exodus 30:12) This was done by writing down the names of all who paid the half shekel and then counting the names on the list (Ex. 30:13; Num. 1:2). To simply send around a census-taker to count the people was a grievous sin that would bring God’s wrath on the nation. This is where the angelic satan enters the story. “And Satan (the satan, the adversary, the enemy) stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” (1 Chron. 21:1) David, as we know from the story, gave in to the satan’s incitement or provocation and he counted Israel which resulted in a devastating plague that killed thousands.
David’s census is also mentioned in a parallel account in the book of 2 Samuel. We know that many of the accounts in the books of Samuel and Kings are repeated in the books of Chronicles, sometimes verbatim, other times with additional information. In the case of David’s census we find some additional information. Let’s notice 2 Samuel 24:1. “And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.” Here we see that the one who incited, provoked, David was God! We just read in 2 Samuel that it was a satan. We saw in the Balaam account that angelic satans are messengers of God who do His bidding, even speaking His words in the first person, like human messengers or prophets. So when we read in one book that God incited Israel and in the other that a satan was the one doing the inciting, we must conclude that this satan was acting on God’s behalf. It is not unusual at all to attribute the actions of the messenger to the one who sent him. The sender is credited with the actions of the messenger acting on his behalf. The angelic satan provoked David on God’s behalf, so it can be said that God provoked David. Chronicles informs us that He did it by sending an angelic satan.
I believe it is worth noting that David was not tempted by the angelic satan, but was incited or provoked. To incite in the Hebrew means to urge or otherwise influence someone to do something wrong. For example, “If thy brother...entice (incite) thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods” (Deut. 13:6) We can only guess how the angelic satan urged David to count the people. From Joab’s reaction (2 Sam. 24:3; 2 Chron. 21:3) it seems that David may have suffered from a sense of inferiority and desired to know how many people he ruled over so he could feel mighty. Possibly the angelic satan even planted this seed of inferiority within David at God’s behest. David COULD HAVE controlled his desire to sin, but he chose to satisfy himself rather than obey God’s commandment.
Why did God incite David to sin? The book of Samuel tells us, “And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them...” (2 Sam. 24:1) God was angry at Israel so He sent an angelic satan to incite David to sin. We will recall that the angelic satan was also sent against Balaam because God was angry with him. When God was angry he often sent angelic satans to punish mankind. Balaam was nearly punished by being struck down by the angel. When God was angry at Israel, rather than immediately striking them down, He incited David to cause them to further sin and thereby receive greater punishment. This also gave them an opportunity to resist sinning and to receive forgiveness. This is exactly what God explained to Cain back in the book of Genesis. “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted (forgiveness)? and if thou doest not well (do not do good, do what is right), sin lieth at the door (pictured as an animal or a beast, i.e. the angelic satan). And unto thee shall be his desire (he will tempt you to further sin), and thou shalt rule over him (BUT you can resist and not sin). This calls to mind the New Testament Scripture, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
The most detailed account of the angelic satan in the Hebrew Scriptures is found in the book of Job. In the first two chapters of the book we read about two encounters between God and the angelic satan, the enemy or the adversary. The fact that this angel is called “the satan,” the enemy or the adversary, proves that “Satan” was not his name. In Biblical Hebrew a proper noun (i.e. a name) cannot be preceded by the word “the.” In Hebrew it is impossible to say “the David” or “the Jacob.” The angel in Job is called “the satan,” which tells us that satan is a description of the angel, not his name. The angel in Job is “the enemy,” that is, the enemy that was sent to harm Job.
“Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (Hebrew the satan, the adversary) came also among them.” (Job 1:6) God is described much as a king holding a royal court. Instead of royal courtiers and officials, the heavenly court is attended by the “sons of God,” the angels, including the angelic satan that would be sent against Job. The account continues with an exchange between God and the angelic satan. God declares that Job is the most righteous man on earth and the angelic satan responds that this is only because God has protected him. “But,” suggests the angel, “put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” (Job 1:11) God agrees to the satan’s suggestion and instructs the angelic satan, “Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.” (Verse 12) The angelic satan is given permission to destroy all that Job has but not to touch Job himself. We see that this angelic satan proceeds to kill Job’s children and destroy his property. The angel is called a satan because he is an enemy who harms Job.
In Job chapter two we read of a second encounter between God and this angelic satan. This time the angelic satan suggests that God harm Job’s body, “But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.” (Job 2:5) How does God respond? He grants the angelic satan permission to harm Job’s person, “Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.” (Verse 6) What we see is God smiting Job by giving him over into the hands of his angelic satanic messenger.
Just to what extent is this angelic satan an independent creature? Notice, he can only do what God allows him to do. While Job was under God’s protection the angelic satan was powerless to do anything to him. The angel complained to God, “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” (Job 1:10) When God was ready to test Job He removed His protection and turned him over to the angelic satan, just as He did to Balaam and David. Yet the actions of this angelic satan are said to be God’s actions. Remember we read in chapter one, verse 11, where the angel suggests to God, “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath,...” God puts forth His hand against Job and his property by giving it over to this angelic satan.
We find once again that the sender is credited with the actions of the messenger. Like the “sin beast” in the Cain account lying at the door, Job’s angelic satan lay waiting for Job to sin. This angelic satan’s mission from God was not simply to punish a man or mankind, but to try and get him to sin so the man or mankind could receive an even greater punishment. The angelic satan DID NOT do this on his own account or initiative. He was sent by God to wander to and fro in the earth and to tempt those who have sinned to sin further or to test those whom God wished to test.
From the Old Testament Scriptures we have seen several things. “Satan” is not a fallen archangel named Lucifer. (See my article “Lucifer is not Satan!.”) Angelic satans are enemies of mankind. They are simply messengers who do God’s bidding. Some fulfill the role of a “sin beast” that crouches or lies at the door, waiting to pounce on the sinner. The angelic satan in Chronicles fulfilled this role and was sent by God to incite David to sin. In Job the angelic satan was at first helpless to cause Job to sin, because God protected Job (Job 1:10). But when God wanted to test Job He did this by allowing the angelic satan to tempt him. Despite the horrible things that happened to Job we find that he succeeded in ruling over the great temptation to sin. Although he was turned over to the hands of the angelic satan, Job was able by acting righteously to rule over the angelic satan rather than be ruled by it.
But, surely, when we now come to the New Testament we will find a great personage named “Satan” who wars against God and mankind, right? Wrong! What we find is a continuation of what we found in the Old Testament. The Greek word satanas directly corresponds to the Hebrew satan and means the same thing, adversary (one who opposes another in purposes or act). Every place this word, satanas, Strong’s G4567, is used it is translated in the KJV as “Satan,” with the word being capitalized, although grammatically there is no reason for it. 31 times out of the 36 the word is used the Greek shows the definite article “the” is in the original, the satanas, the adversary.
The other 5 times satanas is used the word would properly be translated as “adversary” or “enemy.” Let us take a quick look at those 5 passages. “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, satanas (adversary), for it is written,” (Matt. 4:10) In the context here we see Jesus is going through His great temptation by “the devil,” verse 1. Verse 2 calls him “the tempter.” Neither “devil” or “tempter” is a name but a description. Devil is from the Greek diabolos, Strong’s G1228, meaning slanderer, accuser. Tempter is from the Greek peirazo, Strong’s G3985, meaning to try, make trial or test. These two words are, as I said, descriptions and so is the word satanas, adversary. The angelic satanas is also an angelic diabolos and an angelic peirazo. Jesus describes him as adversary, slanderer and tempter. A second passage is found in Luke 4:8. It is a parallel Scripture to this one in Matthew.
The third and fourth passages are parallel accounts. Let us notice Matthew 16:23, “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me satanas (adversary): thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” The parallel account is in Mark 8:33. Jesus is addressing Peter. He doesn’t call him “Satan” as a name. He calls him an adversary. Peter was an adversary or an enemy to Jesus at that time.
The fifth passage is located in the book of Revelation, chapter 20 and verse 2. “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the diabolos, and satanas, and bound him a thousand years.” Here we see descriptions, not names. Dragon, serpent, slanderer, adversary are descriptions of this angelic messenger from God. These are all descriptions of the activities this angelic being has been given to do by God.
There is one other term or word that we read frequently in the New Testament, devils or demons. There are 3 different Greek words, 2 being derivatives of the other one. G1142 in Strong’s is daimon, which means simply an evil spirit. G1140 is derived from G1142 and is daimonion and is the most frequently used of the three. It again means evil spirits. The third word used in reference to being possessed by an evil spirit is G1139, daimonizomai. From Revelation 12:4 we do get an indication that about one third of the angels are “evil spirits,” and are referred to as the dragon’s angels, verses 7 and 9.
If the one referred to as the adversary isn’t a fallen archangel, once named Lucifer, just where did he come from? I think we have clearly shown that the one called the adversary is an angel that was created by God. But, surely He didn’t create an “evil spirit?” Yes, most definitely He did. We try to reason around the Scripture over in Isaiah 45:7, “I form the light (which we can agree with), and create darkness (okay with that): I make peace (yes, God is the Peacemaker), and create evil (What?): I the Lord do all these things.” Yes, God says he created evil. Interestingly enough, among the many definitions for the Hebrew word rah or ra’ah is “adversity.” The adversary, the one bringing adversity, was created by God. Notice a very clear Scripture in which God tells us plainly that He created him, Job 26:13. “By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.” Revelation 20:2 tells us plainly “that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,...” We know that it was the adversary in the form of a serpent that appeared to Eve in the garden.
God is sovereign. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is able to do all; He knows all; He is present everywhere at the same time. He is the producer of all. Look at Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
God is able to do all. He is quite able to keep the adversary from going contrary to His intentions and He is able to have him do whatever is in accord with His intentions and plan. God knows all, even the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10) and the adversary has never deceived Him. God knew beforehand just what the adversary was going to do at all times. God being present everywhere at the same time, the adversary has never been able to hide from God. Since God made ALL things He is the creator and maker of the adversary. God’s plans are not being thwarted by this angelic being. Instead God uses him to carry out His plan. God brought the adversary into being, for all is out of God (Rom. 11:36), and God determined beforehand that sin would enter the universe through the acts of the adversary. We must understand that it is God who is doing all things according to His purpose and will. “...according to the purpose of him who worketh all things (this includes the adversary) after the counsel of his own will.” (Eph. 1:11)
This adversary has been given great power and authority. The only one having greater power and authority is the Messiah, who prepared for the trial from the adversary by fasting for forty days and nights. It appears from Scripture that the adversary has one third of the angels assisting him in his job. This also is according to the will of God.
The adversary was on hand at the time of the creation of mankind. God’s purpose for mankind included a need for adversity, a need for the tempter, a need for the deceiver, a need for the slanderer. Do I understand just exactly why? NO, not totally. But, much is revealed within the Job account. The testing and trials brought upon Job, as terrible and evil as they were, served God’s great purpose. Each of us must be tried and tested, must be purified through fire. God is using the adversary to blind mankind until such time as God desires to open each ones mind to truth. ( 2 Cor. 4:4; Matt. 13:15) He uses the adversary to deceive all of us, for His purpose
The adversary of mankind was on the scene from the beginning. We find him referred to as a serpent in the garden tempting mother Eve. He was there when Cain rose up and killed Abel. Jesus reveals a bit about the adversary, recorded in John 8:44. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for the is a liar, and the father of it.” God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) but He has created this adversary to whom He has given a job that involves lying, slandering and inciting to sins of all types. God is responsible. It is His plan and purpose that the adversary be here. There is not some great fallen archangel and a bunch of rebellious angels that are thwarting God’s plan. The adversary and his angels are doing what God instructs them to do and no more. These messengers of God never operate beyond the parameters set by God.
Edited 9/2/19
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