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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(adversary). In O. T. a common noun, meaning enemy or adversary in general (
1 Sam. 29:4
4
And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? (1 Samuel 29:4)
;
2 Sam. 19:22
22
And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? (2 Samuel 19:22)
); except in
Job 1:6,12; 2:1
6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. (Job 1:6)
12
And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. (Job 1:12)
1
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. (Job 2:1)
;
Zech. 3:1
1
And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. (Zechariah 3:1)
, where
the word
becomes a proper noun, and
spiritual
representative of evil. In N. T. sense, chief of the evil spirits; great adversary of
man
;
the devil
(
Matt. 4:10; 25:41
10
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10)
41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41)
; Rev. 20), and elsewhere. Called also “the
prince
of this world;” “the wicked one;” “the tempter;” and in
Rev. 12:9
9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9)
, the old
serpent
, the devil, and
Satan
.
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
A name by which
THE DEVIL
, the great enemy of
God
and
man
, is designated. The name may be said to be the same in
Hebrew
,
Greek
, and English, and signifies “
adversary
,” as
the word
is rendered in several places where other adversaries are alluded to (compare
Num. 22:22
22
And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. (Numbers 22:22)
;
1 Kings 11:14,23,25
14
And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom. (1 Kings 11:14)
23
And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: (1 Kings 11:23)
25
And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. (1 Kings 11:25)
). It was Satan who at the outset deceived
Eve
, for it is clear that the
dragon
, the
old
serpent
, the devil, and Satan all represent the same evil
spirit
(
Rev. 20:2
2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, (Revelation 20:2)
). Satan was the great adversary of God’s people in
Old
Testament
times
(
1 Chron. 21:1
1
And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. (1 Chronicles 21:1)
); the tempter of
the
Lord
Jesus
, who treated him as Satan; and is the tempter and adversary of the saints and of all mankind now. He endeavors to neutralize the effect of
the gospel
; catches away the good seed sown in the
heart
(Matt. 13), and blinds the minds of the unbelieving lest the
light
of the gospel of Christ’s
glory
should shine to them. His efforts are frustrated by God or none would be saved.
Further, to counteract God’s work, Satan has raised up heretics to mingle with the saints and to corrupt them by evil doctrine, as taught in the metaphor of the
tares
sown among the
wheat
. He goes about as a roaring
lion
seeking whom he may devour, but saints are told to resist him, and he will flee from them. The
power
of
death
, which Satan had, has been annulled by Christ in His death. Saints are warned against his
devices
, for he is transformed into an angel of light, a
teacher
of morality. God has provided
complete
armor
for His saints in order that they may withstand him and all his wiles, and has given them the
sword
of the Spirit—the word of God, as a weapon of attack (
Eph. 6:11-18
11
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:11‑18)
).
The origin of Satan is not definitely stated, but if
Ezekiel 28:12-19
12
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16
By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18
Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19
All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (Ezekiel 28:12‑19)
refers to him, under the appellation of the king of
Tyre
(as was very early believed in the
church
, and may be correct), he is described as
the anointed
cherub
that “covereth;” all the precious
stones
and
gold
were also his covering, resplendent by reflected light; he had a place in
Eden
, the
garden
of God, and was upon the holy mountain of God. He was
perfect
in his ways from the
day
he was created, until iniquity was found in him. Tyre, in its worldly wisdom and beauty, is looked at morally as the
creation
of the
prince
and god of this world. He will eventually be cast out as profane and find his portion in the
lake of
fire
.
In the
Epistle of
Jude
, the act of
Michael
the
archangel
in reference to Satan is given as an example of restraint in speaking of dignities: he dared not bring a railing accusation against the devil, but said, “The Lord
rebuke
thee.” This implies that Satan had been set in dignity, which, though he had fallen, was still to be respected—as
Saul
’s
life
was sacred in
David
’s
eyes
because he was the anointed of God, though he had then fallen. That Satan had been set in dignity is confirmed by the fact of Christ having on the
cross
spoiled “principalities and authorities”(
ἐξονσιά
), not simply “powers” (
Col. 2:15
15
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)
).
The expressions “the prince of this world,” “the god of this world,” and “the prince of the power of the
air
,” all presumably refer to Satan. When the Lord was tempted in the
wilderness
, Satan, after showing Him “all the kingdoms of
the world
,” proposed to give to Him all the power and glory of them, if He would
worship
him, adding “
for that is delivered unto me
: and to whomsoever I will I give it” (
Luke 4:5-6
5
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. (Luke 4:5‑6)
).
From the
Book
of
Job
we learn that Satan has access to God in the heavens; the
Christian
wrestles with the
spiritual
powers of wickedness in the heavenlies; and a day is coming when Michael and his
angels
will fight against Satan and his angels, and the latter will be cast out of
heaven
. This seems to indicate that Satan has a place in heaven originally given to him by God. During the
millennium
he will be shut up in the
abyss
, then loosed for a little season, and finally be cast into the lake of fire, a place prepared for him and his angels.
When Jesus was born, Satan attempted to destroy Him (
Matt. 2:16
16
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. (Matthew 2:16)
;
Rev. 12:1-5
1
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. (Revelation 12:1‑5)
). At the close of the Lord’s course Satan was the great mover in His being
put
to death. To accomplish this Satan entered into
Judas
the
traitor
, whereas, as far as is revealed, in other cases, possession was by a
demon
, and not by Satan himself. When the Lord was arrested He said to the Jews, “This is your
hour
and the power of
darkness
.” But Christ was morally the victor: in His death He annulled him that had the power of death, that is, the devil: He led
captivity
captive. Still Satan
works
, and will, when cast down to
earth
, be the spirit of a
trinity
of evil. He gives his
throne
and
authority
to the
beast
, that is, to the resuscitated
Roman Empire
, whose power is wielded by the
Antichrist
(Rev. 13). He will also be the leader of the nations in the last battle against the
camp
of the saints (
Rev. 20:7-9
7
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. (Revelation 20:7‑9)
).
It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the malignity of Satan, God uses him in the
discipline
of His saints, as in the case of Job, but allows the evil one to go only as far as He pleases.
Paul
used his apostolic power to commit some to Satan for the
destruction
of the
flesh
(
1 Cor. 5:5
5
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:5)
;
1 Tim. 1:20
20
Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:20)
). The
thorn in the flesh
which Paul himself had was a messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he should be puffed up because of the marvelous revelations made to him in the third heaven. It is well to remember that Satan is morally a vanquished foe, for he is exposed; and that no Christian can be touched by him except as permitted and controlled by his God and
Father
in discipline for his good.
The epithet “
Devil
” is from “to strike through,” and hence figuratively to stab with accusation: so Satan is called “
the accuser
of the
brethren
” (
Rev. 12:10
10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:10)
; compare
Zech. 3:1-2
1
And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2
And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? (Zechariah 3:1‑2)
). Satan and the devil being identical, there is but one devil. In the AV of the
New
Testament, where “devils” are spoken of, the word in the original is always “demons.”
Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:
Number:
4566
(
find all occurrences in KJV Bible
)
Greek:
Σατᾶν
Transliteration:
Satan
Phonic:
sat-an’
Meaning:
of Hebrew origin (
7854
); Satan, i.e. the devil
KJV Usage:
Satan. Compare
4567
Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
an adversary
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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