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Satan (The Devil)
Satan is a spirit being. God created him. Satan did things that did not honor God and became God’s enemy. Satan is also called “the Devil” and “the evil one.” The name "Satan" is also the word for "adversary" or "enemy." The word "devil" is also the word for "accuser." Satan is the ruler of demons. Demons are the evil angels who also did things that did not honor God. Satan tries to get people to sin and to do things that do not honor God. Satan is also called the “ruler of the air” (see: Ephesians 2:2) and the “prince of this world” (see: John 12:31). He is called this because for a certain amount of time, Satan has been given permission to rule over the earth. When Jesus returns to earth, Satan and his demons will go into the lake of fire (see: Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). Advice to translators: A “being” is something that is alive, but it is not a person or an animal.
See: Spirit; Demon; Lake of Fire
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The Bible does not tell much about the time when Satan first did things that did not honor God. Some scholars think Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19 are about when Satan sinned against God. Other scholars think these passages are about human kings. Other scholars think these passages are about Satan and human kings.
Satan became a snake in Genesis 3 (see: Revelation 12:9). He told Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve obeyed the snake. She also gave the fruit to Adam, and he ate it. God cursed Adam, Eve, and the snake because they did not do what honored God. God said that the children of the woman would crush the head of the snake, and the serpent would bite his heel (see: Genesis 3:15). Scholars think this is a prophecy about Jesus defeating Satan by dying on the cross (see: Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8).
Satan enticed king David to sin (see: 1 Chronicles 21:1) and he accused Job and Joshua the high priest before God (see: Job 1-2; Zechariah 3:1-2).
In the New Testament, Satan tried to get Jesus to sin against God. However, Jesus did not sin (see: Matthew 4:1-11). Later, Satan caused Judas to give Jesus to the Jewish leaders (see: Luke 22:3; John 13:2). Satan also tried to stop people who want to obey God (see: Ephesians 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 1 Timothy 3:7).
In the Bible, there are warnings about Satan trying to get people to sin (see: 2 Corinthians 11:14; Ephesians 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8).
See: Prophecy (Prophesy); Atone (atonement); Cross; Sin; Spiritual Warfare