What can Satan do?

What he does

Stand against a nation

1Ch 21:1 ESV  Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

Stand in God’s presence

Job 1:6 ESV  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

Job 2:1 ESV  Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

Zec 3:1 ESV  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.
Zec 3:2 ESV  And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

Communicate directly with God

Job 1:8 ESV  And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

Job 2:3 ESV  And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

Make demands on God

Luk 22:31 ESV  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

Communicate directly with Jesus

Mat 4:10 ESV  Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

Luk 4:3 ESV  The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

Walk on the earth

Job 1:7 ESV  The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Job 2:2 ESV  And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Accuse God’s people

Job 1:9 ESV  Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?

Job 2:4 ESV  Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.

Zec 3:1 ESV  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.

Rev 12:10 ESV  And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Afflict people with sickness

Job 2:7 ESV  So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

2Co 12:7 ESV  So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

Act 10:38 ESV  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Disables people

Luk 13:16 ESV  And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

Must get permission to afflict God’s people

Job 1:12 ESV  And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:6 ESV  And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

Influence people who have good intentions

Mat 16:23 ESV  But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Mar 8:33 ESV  But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Tempt people

Mat 4:1 ESV  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Mar 1:13 ESV  And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Luk 4:2 ESV  for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

Luk 4:13 ESV  And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

1Co 7:5 ESV  Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Put ideas into peoples’ hearts

Joh 13:2 ESV  During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,

Motivate people to lie

Act 5:3 ESV  But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

Takes the word of God from people’s hearts

Mar 4:15 ESV  And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

Luk 8:12 ESV  The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

Blinds the minds of unbelievers

2Co 4:4 ESV  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Enter into people

Luk 22:3 ESV  Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.

Joh 6:70 ESV  Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”

Joh 13:27 ESV  Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

Hold people in his power

Act 26:18 ESV  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Believers sometimes delivered over to Satan

1Co 5:5 ESV  you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

1Ti 1:20 ESV  among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Is crafty in his schemes

2Co 2:11 ESV  so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

Eph 6:11 ESV  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Is trying to catch and devour people

1Ti 3:7 ESV  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

2Ti 2:26 ESV  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Jas 4:7 ESV  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1Pe 5:8 ESV  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Sows bad people

Mat 13:39 ESV  and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Hinders the believers from doing God’s work

1Th 2:18 ESV  because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.

Brings the anti-christ

2Th 2:9 ESV  The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,

People follow Satan

Mat 4:5 ESV  Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple
Mat 4:8 ESV  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

1Ti 5:15 ESV  For some have already strayed after Satan.

Give humans extraordinary ability

Luk 4:5 ESV  And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,

Has power to manipulate earthly human activities

Rev 2:10 ESV  Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

1Ti 3:6 ESV  He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Believers power over Satan

Rev 12:11 ESV  And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

His future

Fell from heaven (?)

Luk 10:18 ESV  And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Will be crushed under believer’s feet

Rom 16:20 ESV  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Destined for eternal fire

Mat 25:41 ESV  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Rev 20:10 ESV  and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Released after 1,000 years of bondage

Rev 20:7 ESV  And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison

Has a dreadful end

Eze 28:18-19 ESV  By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.  19  All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”

His character

Rules a unified kingdom

Mat 12:26 ESV  And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Mar 3:23 ESV  And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
Mar 3:26 ESV  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

Luk 11:18 ESV  And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

He is a ruler

Joh 12:31 ESV  Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Joh 14:30 ESV  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,

Joh 16:11 ESV  concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Prince of the air

Eph 2:2 ESV  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

He is proud

Eze 28:1-2 ESV  The word of the LORD came to me:  2  “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god—

Eze 28:17 ESV  Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.

He was perfect

Eze 28:12-13 ESV  “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  13  You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.

Eze 28:15 ESV  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.

He was beautiful

Eze 28:17 ESV  Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.

He was wise

Eze 28:17 ESV  Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.

He is wicked and evil

Eze 28:18 ESV  By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.

1Jn 2:13 ESV  I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

1Jn 5:18 ESV  We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

He is a deceiver

Joh 8:44 ESV  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Rev 12:9 ESV  And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Disguises himself as an angel of light

2Co 11:14 ESV  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

He is a murderer / destroyer

Joh 8:44 ESV  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Joh 10:10 ESV  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

He is a thief

Joh 10:10 ESV  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Names given are dragon, serpent, devil, Satan

Rev 20:2 ESV  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

As a king he has a throne and a synagogue

Rev 2:9 ESV  “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Rev 2:13 ESV  “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Rev 3:9 ESV  Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.

Has the power of death

Heb 2:14 ESV  Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

Is shown respect by other angels

Jud 1:9 ESV  But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Has great wrath

Rev 12:12 ESV  Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Miscellaneous

Isa 14:12-20 ESV  “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!  13  You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;  14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’  15  But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.  16  Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,  17  who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’  18  All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;  19  but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.  20  You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!

Mat 4:11 ESV  Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Act 13:10 ESV  and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?

Eph 4:27 ESV  and give no opportunity to the devil.

1Jn 3:8 ESV  Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

1Jn 3:10 ESV  By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Rev 2:24 ESV  But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.