Enter Satan, or Lucifer.
Lucifer was one of God’s created angels. He was close to God and himself was in relationship with God. The Bible talks a little bit about angels and describes their role as being God’s servants, who obey his word and do as he asks of them. Their role is to minister to man as he grows within God’s love.
Lucifer was more like God in terms of attributes and character than any of the other angels. Yet there came a point when he became consumed by jealousy, sparked by God’s relationship with man. He could not bear that man had found such favour with God, and that God would have in mind to partner with man! Extraordinary, that God would love man so much! Would this mean that he, Lucifer, would become less valued in God’s eyes? Would God end up loving man more?
And so he chose to become opposed to God. It is not that he wanted the affection of man for himself although undoubtedly he thrives on man’s attention. It is more that he can’t bear God lavishing his love on man and man responding to this love. His opposition to God is deeply rooted in jealousy.[1]
And so his intention, starting in Eden and continuing all through human history, is to entice man away from God. If he can persuade man to choose to reject God’s overtures of Love, if he can sow doubt in man about the character of God, if he can get man to cut God out of his life, then God’s intention for man would be severely hampered. Might there even be a chance that it would not be able to come to pass?
So Lucifer sets out to deceive man, to pull him away from the perfect love relationship man had with God. Not only that! If he could get man to act according to what he sees, rather than what he believes, if he could get man to walk by sight, rather than by faith, then man would end up trusting him more than God.
If man trusts him, Satan, more than God, essentially man would be inviting him, Satan, to take God’s place in man’s life. Man would in effect be dethroning God and enthroning him, Satan. Once he had man’s trust, he would continue to make sure man did not turn back to God. Like a legally elected dictator (of which there are plenty of examples in human history to illustrate this idea), he would seize the authority willingly given to him by man and from this newly acquired position of authority he would seek to control and dominate man. He would continue to deceive man, persuading man that the relationship with God is over and that God is no longer interested in man, blinding to God’s unconditional and eternal Love. He would control man by fear, because fear is the opposite of Love.
And so, the Father of Lies, he sets out to steal, kill and destroy.
He is still out to steal, kill and destroy today. He hasn't changed his strategy much.
[1] Other prevalent view(s) describe Satan becoming jealous not of man in relation to God, but of God himself, wanting to be like God in power and desiring man’s worship. Ultimately, whichever view you take is immaterial in relation to how it inspires Satan to act.
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