Fact – He’s real. He’s more than just a personification of evil. He is described in Scripture as a being that can be actually interacted with. He has personality and is labeled with pronouns.
Fact – He is a fallen angel. He is not some other sort of being. I tend to put angels as being created on what I label as “Day 0” when God created the “heavens and the earth” in Genesis 1:1. We don’t know when he fell but the earth does appear to have been created by that point.
Fact – He’s not in Hell. He doesn’t like have an office down there. If we want to be technical, he never actually goes to Hell. He gets tossed into a pit for 1,000 years followed by being thrown into the Lake of Fire for all eternity. But presently he’s on earth.
Fact – He’s a Shape-shifter. Like all angels, he seems to be able to appear in different forms. He might just be able to do so on a grander scale. Any time we look at apocalyptic literature we can get some “picturesque” images, but determining what is literal can be challenging. But we do know he can appear like an “angel of light” so he has the ability to reveal himself to humans however he’d like.
Fact – He’s not redeemable. He’s looked into the face of God and rebelled against Him. I don’t get it, but in some way and some how Satan thought he knew better. There is not a hypothetical scenario in which he will repent and say, “my bad, I take it all back.”
Fiction – He has specifically attacked you. It’s kind of prideful to think that this being that is not omnipresent has prioritized oppressing you. One of his underlings can handle you just fine.
Fiction – He’s organized. There’s nothing to indicate that Satan is the CEO of Evil Inc. I don’t think they have board meetings and strategy sessions. Seems more like he’s the biggest, baddest dude on Demon Street. Thus he’s the defacto gang leader.
Fiction – His name is Lucifer. We get the name from Isaiah 14 describing the King of Babylon. He is called the “morning star” or “Lucifer.” There is a good chance though that the passage does have a double meaning describing the fall of Satan. If Satan or the Devil’s name is actually “Lucifer” then it’s a pretty random reference.
Fiction – Satanists worship Satan. There is a small group who actually worship the Devil, but the much larger Church of Satan itself doesn’t believe he’s a real person. They just like being “worldly” and value humanism and indulgence.
Fiction – His horns and cloven feet. Anything goat related isn’t scriptural. There are lots of pagan beliefs that have been integrated into some people’s mental picture of the pitch-forked, red dude. Oh, yeah, not that stuff either.
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Joe Allotta 