When a preacher expounds on the attributes of God, the glories of heaven, or forensic justification, he is preaching about the unseen. Even the concrete recounting of events in biblical history lies far outside our experience. One reason we need the Bible is because we could never approach many of its great truths apart from its testimony. Nowhere is this more true than with regard to the spirit world. There is a natural curiosity within mankind to look "behind the curtain," and even the most primitive religions picture an invisible world populated with spiritual beings, usually engaged in clashes between good and evil. Christian Scripture is distinctive in the relatively minor emphasis it gives to evil forces and God's combat with them. Nevertheless, the teaching is present, and because it is present, it must be preached.
The need for instruction on this topic is quite clear today. If most people get their beliefs about angels from the New Age section at the bookstore, the situation with Satan is worse. Popular conceptions of the devil and his host derive primarily from horror movies, fantasy games, and even Saturday morning cartoons. The church's concern in the 1980s over rock music and Satanism actually served to reinforce stereotypes of the demonic. These creatures are usually either diminutive or gigantic, and have red, glossy skin, pig faces, horns, and a whip-like tail. (The pitchfork, thankfully, is now absent except as a Halloween costume accessory.) If Satan appears as a human, he is strikingly similar to real-life Satanist Anton LaVey, with jet-black, greased-back hair and a goatee. In the days of Bugs Bunny cartoons, demons' main tasks were to torture the doomed in hell and to act as the tempting side of the conscience–usually on the opposite shoulder from an angel. Today, evil celestial beings appear in connection with occultic activity and, of course, demon possession. In fiction and games, demons join a list of beings such as ghosts, goblins, witches, and sprites as part of the world of fantasy. The constant association of demons with superstition and the paranormal may make it difficult for young people to accept their existence while rejecting that of the rest.
The Old Testament contains little explicit material about Satan. The familiar account of the serpent in Genesis 3 reveals his hand in the fall of humanity into sin. Yet while evil abounds throughout the rest of Genesis, the serpent disappears from the scene. We first read of Satan by name in the book of Job (ch. 1-2), and here are shown his role as accuser of the righteous and his ability to bring about miracles such as sending fire from heaven and causing disease. The only other sure reference to Satan is in Zechariah 3, where in a vision Satan stands accusing Joshua the high priest. The Lord rebukes Satan and has Joshua clothed in clean garments. It bears mentioning that the name Satan in Hebrew means "the adversary." There are also debatable passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 that many believe are descriptions of the fall of Satan.
The New Testament has much more to say about the activity of Satan. In fact, all the biblical authors make some reference to the devil. He is called the evil one, the tempter, diabolos (the slanderer), the serpent, the dragon, and the prince of the powers of the air. Jesus and the apostles mention him in the context of temptation on at least twenty occasions, and it is in this context that believers pray for divine protection. In addition to tempting Jesus, Satan is also behind Judas' treachery (Luke 22:3; John 13:2, 27) and Ananias' dishonesty (Acts 5:3). The Bible presents resistance to temptation as doing battle with Satan and his forces (e.g., 1 Tim. 3:6-7). It may also be said that unbelievers, because they are slaves to sin, are slaves to Satan, and are even his children in that they share his characteristics. This is helpful in interpreting Jesus' references to Satan as the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). This refers to the world of unbelievers, rather than the physical universe as is often supposed.
Beyond temptation, Satan has other ways of hindering God's people. Satan's request to "sift" Simon Peter in Luke 22:31 must involve more than the temptation to deny Jesus, because Jesus' prayer had to do with Peter's return and encouragement of the brothers afterwards, not with the denial itself. Satan hindered Paul from returning to Thessalonica (1 Thes. 2:18), evidently through unfriendly circumstances. Church members under discipline are said to be "handed over to Satan" (1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20), but this is for temporary reform, not ultimate condemnation.
The most joyful element in the New Testament teaching about Satan is his destiny. Genesis 3 is fulfilled in Jesus' mission. Satan is defeated at the cross (Heb. 2:14), and his activity is finally brought to an end at the eschaton (Rev. 20:1-10). That his defeat makes him that much more aggressive is clear from Revelation 12:1-17, but his fate is in the fire "prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Certain victories in believers' ministries are also falls and defeats for Satan (Luke 10:17-20; 1 John 2:13-14). The interaction between divine and human victory over the devil is most striking in Romans 16:20, where Paul promises that "the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet."
The Bible's teaching about other evil spirits may be summarized as follows: most of the material, while general, falls along the same lines as the verses about Satan. There is a particular emphasis on their subjection to Christ and their humiliation due to Christ's victory. Demons are behind the world's religions (1 Cor. 10:20-21; Rev. 9:20). The famous "armor of God" passage (Eph. 6:10-20) combines references to Satan and demonic forces. The words for angelic forces–(powers, principalities, etc.)–denote authority which demands some degree of respect from humans, though not fear (2 Pet. 2:10-11; Jude 8-9).
While there is some material in the Old Testament (1 Sam. 16:14-23; 18:10; 19:9; Dan. 10:13; possibly Gen. 6:1-4), by far the most passages have to do with demonization during the ministry of Jesus and the days of the early church. David Powlison notes that the language used for demonization suggests a spiritual kind of affliction on a par with physical diseases. These demons can cause disabilities and convulsions and can speak through the mouth of the afflicted. More than one demon can inhabit a person, and they can take control of animals. Only the Synoptic Gospels record Jesus' encounters with demons, whereas John chooses to focus on the more comprehensive casting out of Satan from the world. In Acts, exorcisms are mentioned at each of the four main stages of the gospel's advance.
The theology of Satan and demons finds a small place in systematic texts and receives fairly little emphasis in sermons. In this author's experience, purely doctrinal preaching about Satan is usually limited to the details of his fall into evil or his ultimate destiny in hell. The bulk of preaching has been primarily applicational and falls under the general heading of "spiritual warfare"–what happens in the conflict between Satan and believers.
Satan's first sin is something most any thinking person would agree must have happened. Satan must be a created being (Col. 1:16), and few would suggest that a good God would create a being already sinful. If the New Testament describes Satan's fall in any detail at all, it is in Revelation 12, though the context suggests the setting for this battle is eschatological and not primordial. Instead, doctrinal preaching about Satan rests heavily on Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. Here, some hold, the reader learns that Lucifer was the prince of the angels, the most powerful and exalted created being, who fell through his own pride when he sought to take God's place on the throne. Prior to this fall, he ruled a paradise called Eden, though not the same as the garden of Adam and Eve.
This depiction of Lucifer's fall is problematic because the prophetic passages cited are addressed to the human rulers of Babylon and Tyre. Commentators are quick to establish that to see Satan here is anachronistic and not the plain meaning of the text, and also that the Reformers were "unanimous" in rejecting this spiritual reading (this from the NICNT volume on Isaiah). The principle of "literal interpretation" runs into trouble here, since the prophet is either describing humans in exalted (and sarcastic) terms, or else describing Satan indirectly through the human literally addressed. Lucifer is not even a biblical name, strictly speaking, it not appearing in the Hebrew text. Nevertheless, a startling number of sermons and writings on Satan make these passages foundational to their exposition, usually without mention of any difference of opinion.
The application of the doctrine of Satan and demons has only become a point of contention in the past century. While many readers today are familiar with the fictional presentation of spirits in Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness, a similar picture appears in 1912, in a non-fiction work by early Pentecostal Jessie Penn-Lewis called War on the Saints. Some trace the modern focus on spiritual warfare to her, though her seminal concern was with confronting counterfeit revival. Before this time, spiritual warfare had primarily to do with resisting temptation, with Satan brought in as a third source, behind the other two, social and individual human depravity. Since that time, more and more ministries have directed their efforts at deliverance from demonic oppression, seeing demonic attacks as the source of believers' sins, addictions, diseases, and other hang-ups.
David Powlison sees four varieties of this new understanding of spiritual warfare, which he calls ekballistic encounter ministry. The first is the charismatic type, inspired by Penn-Lewis and characterized by ministers' direct, extraordinary encounters with demons. Dispensationalists such as Mark Bubeck and Fred Dickason developed a second model focused on pastoral counseling. John Wimber's "third wave" views the main obstacles to missions and revival as territorial spirits that must be rebuked from the cities and nations they hold in bondage before people can repent. The fourth, evangelical, variety is generally the most balanced and has been popularized by Neil T. Anderson and Tom White, among others. What these groups have in common, in distinction from "classic" spiritual warfare, are that demonization is a moral phenomenon–arising from sin and/or resulting in sin–and that demons must be rebuked, bound, or cast out in order for a believer to be restored.
A representative of this movement is Tom White. He studied with Tibetan monks and became involved in the New Age Movement. During this time, he testifies to having had a number of experiences with dark powers. He was led to Christ, went to Asbury Theological Seminary, and now heads Frontline Ministries. His book illustrates how this ministry seeks to free unbelievers and believers alike from spiritual oppression. There is, overall, an endeavor toward balance in White's teaching, and he avoids attributing all problems to demonic activity. However, his book does contain a section on generational spirits, by which an ancestor's sins establish a Satanic stronghold in the lives of his descendants. White also describes how he counseled a woman who had returned to her pre-conversion life of sex and drugs. When she showed signs of physical exhaustion after her prayer for repentance, White concluded that she was under direct demonic oppression. "We had to pray many times for nearly a year to get rid of spirits of fear, lust, destruction, and witchcraft." Throughout the book, White emphasizes the need to develop the gift of discernment–understood in the charismatic sense. Deliverance involves prayer, verbal confession of sin, and rebuke and binding of the evil forces, by name if possible.
Another example is Southern Baptist pastor Ron M. Phillips, who models his ministry after that of Neil T. Anderson. Phillips says that demon possession and oppression are "as real today as they were in the first century," and claims to have confronted "more than one hundred" demonic spirits between 1989 and 1992 alone. His "steps to victory" are (1) specific, verbal ("out loud") confession of every unconfessed sin, (2) prayer to God for the filling of the Holy Spirit, (3) verbal putting on of the armor of God, piece by piece, (4) verbal recitation of Scripture, (5) a command addressed to every force of darkness to leave one's life, and (6) confession of one's identity in Jesus. Most deliverance ministers place similar stress on the importance of speaking out loud.
Ministers such as Neil Anderson are aware of the potential for excess in deliverance ministries. Anderson's web site contains several disclaimers and reassurances; for example, that the focus should be on Christ, not on the demonic; that deliverance rests on individual responsibility; that deliverance comes through prayer and confession to God, and demons are not to be addressed. Nor do these ministers use demonic influence to excuse the believer from sin or to suggest they are actually compelled to sin. Demons present an extraordinary hindrance to following Christ, however, and only leave when actively resisted.
Critics of this new view of spiritual warfare plead for a return to the older model of standing firm by resisting temptation, enduring hardship, and trusting in God's purposes for suffering. Erwin Lutzer devotes an entire book to demonstrating how Satan is completely (though not willingly) under God's control. Believers are likewise under God's protection and cannot be possessed, inhabited, controlled, or otherwise "demonized." This is not to deny the ability of demons to tempt believers or bring guilt by accusing them once they have sinned. These can even take the form of obsessions that may require counseling. Nor is it to deny the possibility of demonic possession of unbelievers, though this is usually thought to be associated with prior occultic activity. But many evangelicals believe the effects of a demonic deliverance for a believer is more often psychological than spiritual, or that it actually does spiritual harm.
The prevalence of deliverance ministries on television, and the popularity of books and radio programs by those on both sides of the debate virtually guarantee that congregations will encounter this issue. The pastor may receive calls from members fearing they or their loved ones are possessed, or a youth minister may notice teenagers reading Neil Anderson's Stomping Out the Enemy. Children may often have as many questions about Satan as they do about God. It is not sufficient to say with Glenn Hinson that "Satan is a way of asking God what the devil is going on in [the] world" (Review and Expositor, 1992), or that demons are just an outdated way of explaining evil, and are no longer a helpful metaphor in our society. Nor will it help to preach from Jesus' miracles but steer clear of His exorcisms, a trend this author has witnessed.
Doctrinal preaching on Satan, as with all doctrines, must be first and foremost biblical. The teachings should proceed from the text, rather than from personal experience or logical speculation. These texts should also be dealt with in their proper contexts; most of the "proof- texts" for deliverance ministries have nothing to do with demons. An example is Joshua 1:3: "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you." Authority over demons is not necessarily the possession of all believers, but was given to the apostles for a temporary task (Mark 3:13-15); nor is exorcism ever mentioned as a spiritual gift, though it often appears on various lists.
Expository preachers will find themselves preaching about Satan and demons from a few key passages: Genesis 3, Job 1-2, Zechariah 3, Ephesians 6, Revelation 12, and Jesus' various encounters. Those who see Isaiah 14, Isaiah 27, and Ezekiel 28 as references to Satan may also use those with caution. (Some members' study Bibles mention the controversy, so pastors should give some evidence for their position.) All other references are brief and will thus be subpoints for a larger message.
Secondly, sermons on Satan should be balanced. No member should walk away with the impression that the demonic possessions of the New Testament were merely psychological, or that a malfunctioning toaster requires an exorcism. The demonic elements of temptation and guilt are real, and it takes more than "self-help" techniques to resist temptation. Satan never steps outside the boundaries God has set for him, but he still operates in this world and can hinder believers in their work–as can the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:7).
A third necessity for sermons is that they be directed toward the practical. The fall of Satan into sin may be a fascinating story, but what is the biblical author getting at? In both Isaiah and Ezekiel, the issue appears to be pride. In Revelation, it is warning to God's people that Satan is furious and will do his best to cause what damage he can. Most of the mentions of Satan in the epistles are connected with imperative statements. Ephesians 6 in particular stands out in its detailed account of the believer's response to the celestial war. The believer's knowledge and application of the word of God (as the "sword of the Spirit") goes beyond mere incantation; a life saturated with and devoted to the Bible will be a hard one for Satan to penetrate, and the Scriptures are full of ways to identify sin and resist temptation.
Finally, and least realized, is that these sermons must be humble. This author has witnessed evangelists call Satan the worst of names, spit as if in his face, and vividly describe the violence they would inflict on him if they could just get their hands on him. In addition to such taunts, there are ministers who give commands to Satan and teach others to do the same, on their own authority "in Christ." Deliverance ministers will often give this instruction to believers and unbelievers in the midst of sin. In these cases, the account of the sons of Sceva is instructive (Acts 19:13-16). We sing that "kingdom authority flow from His throne unto His own" without recognizing that angels–even fallen ones–are of superior rank to humans. Consider Peter's words of false teachers who "do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord" (2 Pet. 2:10-11). Jude 8-9 notes that even Michael was cautious in asking the Lord to rebuke Satan. It is Christ who has bound the strong man, but his rank will not be stripped until we "judge angels" in the next life (1 Cor. 6:3).
Pastors preparing to preach on Satan and demons should also take their subject matter to heart and apply it personally. No doubt the devil does not enjoy good biblical instruction, least of all about himself. Temptations and hindrances may arise, from bad weather to infants who scream at the most inopportune moments. Here all teachers are unanimous that prayer is the ultimate defense. If the biblical truth about Satan can be internalized in the lives of the congregation, unmixed with human misconceptions, its light will dispel an unfathomably deep darkness.
The best book on Satan I have seen is Erwin Lutzer's The Serpent of Paradise: The Incredible Story of How Satan's Rebellion Serves God's Purposes.
David Powlison's Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare and John MacArthur's How to Meet the Enemy: Arming Yourself for Spiritual Warfare are excellent defenses of the classical evangelical view of how to oppose Satan. MacArthur's is the more strongly worded of the two.
Hank Hanegraaff's recent book The Covering focuses on how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit protects believers from internal demonic oppression.
For a concise statement of my beliefs about the demonic, see my Declaration of Faith.
