SATAN'S GREAT DECEPTION. HE DOESN'T EXIST

Is Satan real? Bring up the name of the devil, and invariably the picture of a man dressed in red, with horns and a long tail will come to mind. Every Halloween, the red devil costume, with strange looking pitchforks become a staple in the costume stores. But don’t be fooled because Satan would have you accept that he is nothing more than a costume or a cartoon character. There are enough Bible verses about Satan to help us understand his influence.

The concept of a red devil seems to have taken it’s appearance from the Greco Roman Pan, who was like a horned goat. Irving Berlin helped popularize the red horned Devil in 1913 with the song, At The Devil’s Ball. From there, the character became an advertising icon for products like Underwood Ham, a fireworks company, and several different regimens, divisions, and squadrons of the military.

The devil has more temptations than an actor has costumes for the stage. And one of his all-time favorite disguises is that of a lying spirit, to abuse your tender heart with the worst news he can deliver-that you do not really love Jesus Christ and that you are only pretending, you are only deceiving yourself.— William Gurnall

Don’t think of Satan as a harmless cartoon character with a red suit and a pitchfork. He is very clever and powerful, and his unchanging purpose is to defeat God’s plans at every turn – including His plans for your life. —  Billy Graham, The Journey

Important Bible Verses About Satan

Satan made his first Biblical appearance as the Serpent in the Garden.

Bible Verses about Satan: Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” — Genesis 3:1 (NIV)

The temptation was simple: You can be like God. You can know what he knows, and be in charge of your own life. Giving into his temptation led to our exit from the Garden, and the life of bondage that we know today. Because of the tempter, we know death, birth pain, the need to work hard on the land, war, hatred, and sin. This tempter had once been close to God in heaven.

Bible Verses about Satan: How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! 
How you are cut down to the ground,
 You who weakened the nations!” — Isaiah 14:12 (NKJV)

To tempt us to be like God is an easy temptation for Satan, since this was the same temptation that he faced when he was cast down.

Consider the Garden from the book of Genesis. It was a place where we could walk and talk with God enjoying his presence without guilt or shame. We had a perfect and complete relationship with God.  Since the time when man was cast out of the garden, God has been working to restore that intimate relationship. The replacement for the garden, where we will be in his presence forever, is what we know as Heaven.

Bible Verses about Satan: We also learn in the Bible that Satan is a dangerous enemy. He is a serpent who can bite us when we least expect it. He is a destroyer (Revelation 12:11) . . . He has great power and intelligence, and a host of demons who assist him in his attacks against God’s people (Ephesians 6:11).

Using Bible Verses About Satan To Influence Our Choices

Because man made a choice to be removed from God through sin, we must now make a choice to be restored to a relationship with God through the redemption of Christ.

Bible Verses about Satan: Since we, the children, are all creatures of flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood, so that by dying He could destroy the one who held power over death—the devil. — Hebrews 2:14 (The Voice)

The good news of the gospel is that Christ paved the way for us to enter this new relationship.

Bible Verses about Satan: The Spirit then led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. — Matthew 4:1 (The Voice)

Jesus was tempted in every way, but in the end, Jesus said to Satan, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” — Matthew 4:10(NIV)

Cunning. Craftiness. Subtlety. Guile. These are the descriptive qualifiers that paint the biblical portrait of Satan. — R.C. Sproul

When Jesus sent the disciples out to preach, they returned with great stories:

Bible Verses about Satan: Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” — Luke 10:17-19 (NKJV)

According to Jesus, his victory over the power of Satan does not mean that the devil no longer has influence. Some time after the temptations in the wilderness, Jesus had a conversation with a group of doubters.

Bible Verses about Satan: “You are just like your true father, the devil; and you spend your time pursuing the things your father loves. He started out as a killer, and he cannot tolerate truth because he is void of anything true. At the core of his character, he is a liar; everything he speaks originates in these lies because he is the father of lies.” — John 8:44 (The Voice)

The Apostle Paul confirmed the words of Jesus by saying, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” — Ephesians 2:1-2 (NIV)

The fact is, we must be the ones to decide if we are going to be followers of Christ or not. By accepting His grace, and living out his will, we know what the scene will be: 

Bible Verses about Satan: Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. — Matthew 25:41 (NIV)

Our job as believers is to, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” — Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)

Just as David took his stand against Goliath and trusted in the name of Jehovah, so we take our stand against Satan in the victorious name of Jesus Christ. — Charles Stanley

We can be tempted and tested when we’re full of the Spirit. In fact, many times the greatest temptations confront us when we are in the center of the will of God, because being there has offset and frustrated Satan’s methods of attack.— Franklin Graham

This is why Peter warned:

Bible Verses about Satan: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. — 1 Peter 5:8-9(NIV)

Surveys report that many believers do not believe that Satan even exists. If this is true, then the Bible isn’t true. Satan would have us reject his reality nothing more than a comic book character because he has continued the battle to be like God. Think about the picture Jesus paints of the separation of those on his right, and those on his left. Place that picture in your deep in your mind. The separation will take place, not because God desires it to happen, but because man has made the choice not to follow him. Now, as you consider that picture, look at the terrified faces of those who are told to depart. Are there any faces that you recognize? This is why we must recognize and understand the reality of Satan. We need to take this picture seriously to make sure that as many people as possible are on the side of grace.

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. — Matthew 25:34 (NKJV)