Is Satan Real?
 Is a Subordinate Evil Power Reasonable?
There are a variety of opinions about the existence of evil in our world. We all seem to recognize that it exists, but trying to understand its source is quite a challenge. The concept of evil clearly exists as an abstract principle, and for this reason, there is strong reason to believe that it is external to man. The notion of evil is not our invention as a species. It exists in all of creation and has preceded our appearance here on Earth. So, how are we to explain it? What is its source? As Christians, we believe that Satan is the source of evil in our world, and we also believe that Satan is a limited being, subordinate to a holy and good God; we believe that Satan is a personal agent of evil in our world. But is this rational? Is it reasonable?
When I was a new believer, the very first Christian book I had the opportunity to read was C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity”. Like millions of other Christians who have read this book, I was fascinated and impressed with both the thinking capacity and writing style of this incredible Christian apologist. But the one thing I remembered from the book above all else, was Lewis’ rational, philosophical argument for the presence of a personal, subordinate source of evil in our Universe. It has always remained in my consciousness and I am excited to have the chance to reiterate it in some small way, although I could never do his work justice. Lewis made the following argument about the nature of the evil power that must exist in our universe:
1. Evil exists in our world and begs for an explanation. There are two possibilities:
A “Good” Power is presiding over a world that is temporarily under the influence of a finite, subordinate “Evil” Power (This is the Christian worldview), or…
“Good” and “Evil” Powers (or Forces) exist in the world and are equal in strength, independent from one another, and co-eternal.
2. If two independent, equally strong, equally eternal powers of “good” and “evil” exist in the universe, each power would assert that it is “good” and the other is “bad”. True “good” and “bad” would require the existence of yet a third thing in the Universe: an outside standard that decides between the two
3. If this outside standard exists, IT is actually supreme over the two powers and is the true God of the Universe. It must “stand on its own” without dependence on yet another, additional standard.
4. We know that “evil” is the result of the perverted pursuit of one of three things: the attempt to satisfy physical need, the attempt to satisfy personal gain, or the attempt to attain power and glory, but these three objects of pursuit are actually “good” things by their nature.
5. For this reason, “evil” requires the existence of “good” before it can actually exist. “Evil” cannot ‘stand on its own’.
6. Therefore, we know that the objective standard that is supreme in the universe (and can ‘stand on its own’) must, by necessity, be a “good” power, while the “evil” power must, by necessity, be a subordinate power.
I may not be doing justice to Lewis’ argument as I attempt to describe it here, but with this simple line of thinking, Lewis provides us with a logical and reasonable conclusion that the evil power of the universe is NOT co-equal with the good power. It must be subordinate and limited.
Is a Personal Agent of Evil Reasonable?
That kind of “evil power” is starting to sound something like Satan, but we would first need to make yet another distinction. The Christian definition of Satan includes another important characteristic. As Christians, we believe that Satan is a PERSONAL being. By our definition, evil is not just some impersonal force, but it is a personal being who has a name and can be recognized. Is that reasonable? I think so, and here is the line of thinking that would bring us to conclude that this is true:
1. In order for the “Evil” Power to act in an “evil” way, it must first DECIDE to pervert something that is otherwise good if left in its original or un-perverted condition.
2. A decision such as this requires Intelligence and Free Will
3. Intelligence and Free Will are attributes of personal beings
4. Therefore the “Evil” Power must be a personal being
We began with a simple question about the nature of good and evil in our universe, and by thinking about these things with the mind that God gave us, we can conclude something about the nature of our Good God and the nature of the Evil Power who exists as a personal being (subordinate to the Good God). But that is just about all that our human reasoning will allow us to discover. For more specific details about the nature of both God and the Devil, we simply must place our faith in God’s Word, the Bible.
The Bible Agrees and Makes Sense of It All
While it is reassuring to note that our faith is REASONABLE and LOGICAL, we must always be willing to admit that REASON and LOGIC have limits. Natural revelation will simply never be as clear and as revealing as divine revelation. So, let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about the nature of Satan. We will quickly see that natural and supernatural revelation on the topic are in complete agreement:
 Satan is a Subordinate, Created Being
Just as we concluded from some ‘hard thinking’ on the topic of an “evil power” in the universe, the Bible describes Satan and one of many angels that were created by God for a good purpose:
 Colossians 1:15-17
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created by Him and for Him.
 Satan Perverted Something Good and Rebelled from God:
But as a personal, free will being, Satan made the decision (along with those other angels who followed him) to rebel against the Good God who created them:
Jude 6
And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
Why would he do something like that? Why would he leave the presence of a perfect God? Because he was perverting something good. He was seeking greater power and glory than he deserved:
Isaiah 14:12-14
"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
 Satan is a Personal Being
In order to make a free will choice like this, in order to CHOOSE to rebel at a particular point in time, Satan is already demonstrating that he is a personal being, because only personal beings can decide WHEN to act. Impersonal forces cannot make these kinds of conscious choices. But in addition to this, read the descriptions of Satan in the scripture. Over and over again he is described as a personal being who thinks, converses and stands next to a personal God:
Job 1:6-12
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Hast Thou not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse Thee to Thy face." Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.
Zechariah 3:1
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him
 Satan is Powerful and Would Like to Be Worshiped
Satan is described in a way that confirms the fact that he has incredible power. It is clear that he is THE force of evil in the Universe, just as our first line of reasoning would lead us to conclude. Even God’s holy and powerful Archangel, Michael, is afraid to face Satan ‘one on one’:
Jude 9
But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."
And don’t think for a minute that the Devil is lazy. He is always described as a personal being who has more energy than can be imagined. He is constantly in search of another project:
Job 1:7
And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."
1 Peter 5:8
Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The perverted motives he demonstrated when he first rebelled from God are constantly motivating him in his continuing work here on planet earth. He is seeking glory and recognition. Those aren’t bad things in and of themselves, but the manner in which Satan seeks these things, trying to make himself out to be God, is simply a perversion of the reality of God’s Glory:
Matthew 4:8-9
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me."
Revelation 13:4
and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"
 But Satan is Subordinate in Power to a Good God
Even with all his power and energy, Satan is subordinate to God. Our line of reasoning has already demonstrated why this must be so. And the Bible gives us even more detail about the subordinate position that Satan holds in relationship to God. In the end, God is the most powerful force in the Universe. In the end, God has the power to defeat Satan completely:
Revelation 12:9-10
And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
And even today, even in these days prior to the end of all time, God has the power to ‘undo’ what Satan has done:
Luke 13:16-17
"And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"
God Alone is God
Our reasoning on the topic tells us that God alone is God in the universe. He has no equal. Any attempt at describing a kind of ‘deity dualism’ is simply false. And this reality is confirmed by the Word of God. In the end, only God is God:
Psalm 83:17-18
May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD — that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
While Satan is clearly the center of all evil in the Universe and controls much of what goes on here on earth, he has no power over those of us who have given ourselves to God and have trusted in His Son. We are protected from this source of Evil by the true God we worship:
Psalm 121:5-8
The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.
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